[IC] Unlikely Heroes

[Rina]

Wednesday
“Guys, I can’t believe it. I seriously can’t believe it. Sure, I could see Cameron doing it and quite a few others. But seriously, him.” Tia said furiously as she walked into the briefing room of their old headquarters. Headquarters seemed strangely off with even fewer than essential personals required to run the place there. “Seriously, if I see that backstabbing coward again, all hell is going to break loose. I’m going to…going to…GAH! I’m so pissed I don’t even know what I’ll do.” Tia said as she slammed her fist down onto the table before wincing at the pain.

“Hey Rookie, why don’t you calm down and tell us why you’ve called all of us down here.” A man said calmly as he leaned back in his seat. He was used to Tia’s outburst and truth be told, he liked pushing her buttons at times to get a reaction from her.

“First of all, aren’t we a couple years overdue in calling me a Rookie. Second of all, how can I be calm when there’s going to be a whole new batch of Supers who are actually going to be at rookie status.” Tia said snapping back before turning her attention towards the holographic projector at the center of the table. “And whoever has their phone on mute better turn their phone off like I asked because I’m in no mood in having my briefing interrupted by your raunchy texts from your lover. By the way, you better tell her that tomorrow won’t work. We’re all going to be too busy.”

“Okay, enough Tia. Can you tell us what you’ve found?” Carter asked looking at Tia before looking at the others at the table. He was glad to see that Aaron and Annie both made it the night before and although not a Super, Richard was a reliable man. As he watched with a slight amusement as Richard quickly tried to turn his phone off, he wished that there were more there in the briefing room even though he knew he couldn’t. The Gen Alphas were out of the question due different reasons for each Super and having Pearson there would turn out problematic. He was hoping that either Mike or Caleb would have been able to make it but the team would just have to do without.

“You know how I’ve been saying that the security system at the lab has been tampered with and whoever erased everything during the time of the break in knew exactly who they were dealing with? I was correct. Not only they removed the evidence, they destroyed whatever caused the memory swipe so that I wouldn’t be able to track down the source. They even swipe the memory or disabled the cameras from a five mile radius so that I wouldn’t be able to track where the perps went or who they were. They were careful. However, I’m even better.”

“Hey now, don’t get cocky. Emotions like those leave a bad taste in my mouth and unlike you I can’t turn my abilities off.” Ben said, interrupting the woman.

“However, I know I’m better than whatever computer whiz they hired on because they were sloppy. You see, the facial reorganization program is a beautiful thing and running that on every single person that even had an ounce to do with the S Project reviled quite a few people in a fifteen mile radius between an hour before and after the break in. Only five went through the dead zone who weren’t working at the lab that day and only one of them I’ve seen leave the dead zone without ever entering it. Dr. Backstabbing Wilson was in a bus crash about ten miles away from the lab.” Tia said as she brought up a picture of a map with the lab and the bus crash highlighted without touching any of the buttons required to control the screen. With a flick of her hand, Tia brought up a surveillance video of the crash and paused it as Dr. Wilson got off the bus and zoomed in on the man as she pulled her thumb and pointer finger apart as a person would do to zoom in on a smartphone. “What’s even more interesting is that someone pulled the surveillance tape off the bus and has requested the names of those on the bus. Someone’s using the TSP’s name to get the information and I have a good idea who it is.”

“So let me get this straight, you believe that Dr.Wilson administered one of the vials on the bus?” Aaron asked with a raised eyebrow. “Dr. Wilson, even Cameron knows not to get civilians involved in this. Civilians bring nothing but trouble when it comes to the Sierra Project. Why would they be doing this?”

“Hey, I don’t know. I’m just giving you guys the facts. A bus crash happens and Wilson suddenly pops out of thin air. He must have gotten on in the dead zone because I followed the bus route back to the beginning and I never found a trace of him before the crash, even of him entering the dead zone. Now someone with a TSP badge has taken a list of those involved in the crash and I doubt it’s one of us nor Pearson and his gang of idiots…”

“However I think me and my idiots will be getting a list now.” A voice said interrupting Tia as a man followed by two armed guards entered the room.

“Oh...um, it’s nice seeing you again Pearson.” Tia said, breaking the silence that followed Pearson entering the room.

“Mr. Lee Carter, if I’m not mistaken the Sierra Project is still out of commission so can you explain to me why you and your team is here?” The hardened man late in his fifties, if not early sixties said as he ignored Tia’s greeting.

“Listen Pearson, do not take this out on my team. I requested them to come here under my orders so…”

“I don’t care, they are here now. Not only that, I’ve picked up news that three of the vials are missing. Am I understanding this right Lee, we’re going to be having untrained, civilian Supers running around and from what I caught from Tia, we don’t even know who these Supers are?”
“I’m afraid that is what it looks like Mr. Pearson.” Carter said respectfully. He knew that this day would come, however he wished that Person wouldn’t have arrived so soon so things wouldn’t have to be so complicated.

“There’s a reason the vials should have been destroyed Lee.” Pearson said shaking his head.

“Yes sir, but…” Carter started to say before Pearson raised his hand towards Carter to silence him.

“Tia, I want you to track down each and every name on that list and find out everything you can about each person and those who potentially could have turned into a Super. Aaron and Ben, the two of you are going out and will try to find all these potential Supers by using Ben’s power. There will be no contact with these Supers or there will be severe consequences. Do you all understand?” Pearson asked looking at each person as he waited for each of them to respond. “You have thirty-six hours to find all of them, do you understand? My tactile team will be arriving in forty-eight hours to be briefed on all the Supers so that they can prepare to retrieve them. Carter, do not screw this opportunity up.”

As the man and his guards left, Ben looked around the table with a similar expression of disbelief. “Wow, and I thought Rookie was the moody one.”

~.~.~

“Any progress?” Cameron asked looking between the three Supers who materialized in his in his hotel room. Days have already passed since the list of those who were on the bus was given to Josiah and Daniel and they were still busy finding each person. Things were going way too slowly for his taste and had a sinking feeling that those at the TSP might have caught wind of what was going on. He only hoped that if they so, he and the others were several steps ahead of them. However he was glad to see that Garret arrived with Daniel and Josiah this time, it would make bringing in the new Supers much easier once they reached that phase.

“We’d have more progress if it wasn’t for the fact that Daniel can’t handle it when I jump across town.” The man standing between the other two said as he released his grip on the other two.

“That only happened once Josiah. And not only that…”

“I don’t care. You’ve ruin my nice jacket, my new leather jacket that you will replace.” Josiah said interrupting Daniel with a hint of annoyance as he sat down in one of the living room chairs. “Anyways, from those we’ve found we’ve found a few Supers. We haven’t been able to track everyone down yet and quite honestly it’s hard to do so without Tia’s aid. Seriously, why don’t I go see if I can convince her to leave the mountains and help us out? Unlike the rest of you guys, she’ll actually listen to me and once she hears about the situation we’re in, there’s no doubt she’ll help us out. Or better yet, she trusts Dr. Wilson. If I bring him along we’d be back on no time since I’ve been to her house before and will be able to jump there and back. “

“No, we can’t have her involved. With everything we have planned, we cannot someone so close to Carter here. All of our plans and everything we worked for would be futile if him and the others at the TSP found out. Besides, she would be one of the first from Gen Bravo that they would bring in. By now she’s probably out trying to investigate what happened at the lab and where the vials are.” Thinking back to that day, Cameron hoped that the bus crash didn’t screw their plans up. They had everything planned to keep Dr. Wilson invisible to Tia’s eyes but the crash threw everything off course. Even though Dr. Wilson told him that he kept his head down and avoided being spotted by any cameras, Cameron was concerned on how cautious the doctor was.

“Since one of the vials were already wasted on a busload of civilians and the TSP are probably out trying to find the vials, why don’t we let them handle the civilians. Maybe they’ll think all three of the vials were administered and they’ll be off our back and too busy babysitting the civilians.” Garret asked, sitting across from Josiah. “Seriously, it’ll save time and the distraction will help us out.”

“Sure, it’ll help us out now but what about in the long run?” Daniel asked looking at Garret with a raised eyebrow. “Not only will we have to deal with Pearson and his G.I. Joe wannabes as well and Carter and his team, we’d have a whole new group of Supers in that mix. To keep our plans afloat, we’ll have to execute our plans earlier and modify what we were going to do.”

“However, that will be detrimental to the impact factor that we are striving for and we need the impact factor for our plan to work.” Cameron said as he took charge of the conversation. “Our plans might be set back due to the civilians and cause it to be more difficult. But who knows, they might become good allies and comrades down the road. Although the Gen. Charlie didn’t turn out to be who we wanted them to be, maybe we can train them to be what we want them to be. It will be beneficial to them since they’ll be able to learn about what happened to them and find out the whole ordeal between us and Carter without being told half-truths and oppressed by Pearson. Along with that, with enough training they’ll be able to aid in our cause just like those we chosen to be Gen. Charlie. The civilians don’t need to be babysat like you said Garret, we won’t make the same mistakes that happened in the past with the other civilians. We’re more capable than all the procedures, ranks and other crap the TSP tried to shove at us, we won’t make the same mistakes.”

“Alright, so yes on the civilians.” Josiah said with a slight shake of his head. He knew that a problem would arise in the future when the news had to be told to the Gen. Charlie candidates that they were unable to become a Super because an untrained group stole their spot. He only hoped that he wouldn’t have to be the chosen scapegoat that will have to deal with them. “So, do you have a plan on how we’re going to round them all up? You’re wanting to round them all up about the same time so that the TSP won’t have much time to respond so I’m guessing I’m going to be one your main guys on this job by jumping people all over the place.”

“Yes, you’re going to be teleporting them to us and Garret and Dr. Wilson will handle the rest while Daniel stands as lookout. However, we still have a few loose strings we need to fix up, especially with you and Daniel. Daniel, we need to have all the Supers tracked down and figure out all we can about them so that Josiah can memorize all the jump locations the Supers will be at because we won’t have time to drive around like we did with Garret. Things will have to move smoothly and with as few mistakes as possible. While the two of you are working on that, Garret I want you to go with Dr. Wilson and help him in his preparations for the new Supers. We have a lot to do to prepare for our new guests so let’s not waste any time.”

~.~.~

“Hey, I’d like to return my phone.”

“What is the problem?” A worker at the cellphone company asked as he accepted Jenna’s cellphone as she passed it to him.

“Well you see, my old phone broke because of an auto accident I was in so I got a new one yesterday. I charged the phone and all like I was supposed to and once it was fully charged I tried to turn the phone on. However, the screen lit up very brightly and then suddenly turned off. I’m not exactly sure what happened. I even tried to turn it on again and a few other things but nothing worked.” Deciding not to tell the man about a similar incident occurring with her TV that morning, Jenna looked at the man hoping that she could get a new phone. She desperately needed it. Especially since she was supposed to get a phone call sometime soon about potentially receiving the job she interview for at a local school.

“Well, that is quite strange.” The man said as he tried to turn the phone on. After a few seconds of seeing noting more than a black screen the man spoke again. “Let me see if I can find a replacement battery or something in the back. Maybe you received a bad battery.”

“Hopefully that’s the only problem.” Jenna said under her breath as she waited for the man to return. Ever since she’s been having technical issues with nearly every computer based electronics, she’s noticed that that wasn’t the only thing that has changed. Similar to the knife incident that happened on Sunday, she noticed a few other similar incidences during the past few days. With no one in her general vicinity, Jenna decided to see if she could cause one of those incidences again. In the back of her mind she knew she sounded like a crazy person, which was one reason she hasn’t told Emma. She felt bad, almost guilt about not telling her closest friend in whom she shared everything with but decided that it was best not to do so.

Eyeing a paperclip across the counter, Jenna wondered if she could move it just as she unintentionally moved her keys the night before without touching them. However as she stared at the paperclip and tried to will it to move with her mind, she wondered if she was doing it right. In the few superhero movies she halfheartedly watched with a few of her exes in the past, the heroes didn’t seem to have a problem using their powers, it just seem to magically come to them without too much trouble. However, here she was struggling at moving a simple paperclip a foot away from her.

After staring at the paperclip for a few seconds followed by her moving her hands in a non-conspicuous way to try to get the paperclip to move, Jenna shook her head slowly realizing how crazy she was acting. People didn’t have powers in real life, it’s all a work of fiction. Everything that has happened was just by pure coincidence and getting knocked in the head a little too hard on the bus probably made her think that the coincidences that have been happening were something else.

“Wow, I’m such an idiot.” Jenna mumbled as she rubbed her face before dropping her hand on the counter. Looking back at the paperclip as she waited for the man to return, Jenna could feel her jaw drop as she saw that the paperclip was hovering inches above the countertop. “I must have hit my head much harder than I thought.” Jenna said as she tried to blink what she imagined away before resuming her gaze at the paperclip. However just as before, the paperclip was floating in the air as it bobbed up and down as if it was riding on top of a body of water.

A wave of panic filled Jenna as she looked at the paperclip and stumbled back a few steps. However in the process of doing so, the paperclip dropped and fell back on top of the counter with a small clank.

“Ma’am, are you okay?” A voice said as the man returned.

“I…I don’t know.” Jenna said as she turned her gaze towards the man saw a look of concern. “I’m sorry… I-I gotta go.” Jenna abruptly said before turning around and headed out of the store, not waiting to hear about what happened to her phone. A million questions were crossing her mind as she walked down the street as she tried to figure out what was happening. She knew she was freaking out about the situation as she tried to figure out if what she was real or a figment of her imagination. Or maybe it was due to the accident and she needed to get it checked out to make sure there wasn’t something serious going on causing her to hallucinate.

Once she returned home, Jenna locked the door behind her, something she normally didn’t do in case Emma decided to show up. Sliding down against the door until she sat on the ground, Jenna took a good look at her hands. Besides her hands trembling, there was nothing out of the ordinary with her hands that she could see. “What is going on?” Jenna said, panic still in her voice. “This can’t be real, this all has to be a hallucination or maybe a dream. Things like this doesn’t happen in real life, it can't happen.”

[Lady Seraphina]

Christian sidled numbly to his kitchen table with the phone. He didn't have to feel around for the phone dock he just placed it neatly in place. This was impossible. Having lived in this house for three years Christian knew the space to a tee but as he thought about his surrounding an impossible realization came over him. He knew everything about this space. The exact distance between furniture. The current heat of the water in the kettle. The length between the carpet and the wood underneath in his bedroom. This wasn't possible and yet it was so. So close and yet so very far away. It was like he could see again. He knew across from where he was exactly where the TV was without counting. It was so much like he was healed again and yet he could see nothing. He was blind as ever.

Christian traced back events in his mind. There must have been something irregular to cause this. People didn't just suddenly gain a perfect awareness of there surroundings overnight. Then he thought about the phone had he caused that to. Cause an object to fly through the air when he needed it? The only thing that had happened that was out of the ordinary was... the bus accident but how could that have caused this? He didn't know but there was an excitement building in his chest.

Would this work in a place that he had never been before. He needed to check. He opened his front door and walked down the steps. He didn't need to count on his way down, he knew when he'd reached the sidewalk. As Christian walked he thought about his surroundings. It seemed that his "sight" extended exactly ten feet in every direction. He could feel where his field of view faded. As he walked he knew that the sidewalk slabs below his feet were about 1.3 meters each with about a 0.1 meter difference depending on the slab. He could feel the composition of his neighbor's painted fence and knew that it meant white paint. Everything around him flowed through his mind and he couldn't have been happier. He started to run, a proper real run for the first time in a long while. Normally he couldn't run without someone to guide him but today wasn't normal.

As the adrenaline flowed through his system and Christian cleared block after block something happened all at once. A pounding headache assaulted Christian's skull and he fell to his knees cutting his the knees of his jeans open. Information poured through Christian, for several terrible seconds he could have told you how many molecules were contained without every structure for ten miles around him, a tree branch above him cracked away from the trunk and collapsed onto the sidewalk, a nearby window shattered and dog leash snapped.

Then it was just gone, completely gone. The blackness that Christian had known for years returned leaving the boy blind and lying on the ground in the middle of where he didn't know. This was bad. He hadn't brought his white cane with him. He didn't think he'd be using it. How many exits had he passed, four, five, six, seven. Had he taken three turns or four. It hit him hard then. He was lost streets away from where he knew anything and he didn't even have his cellphone on him. He would be okay. He'd just have too, ask for help yeah. Navigate his way to one of the houses and ask for a ride. What was he thinking running off like that completely unprepared. He knew what he was thinking. He was thinking that he'd finally found freedom only to have it ripped from him at a crucial moment.

---

[Sturmgewehr]

Sunday, 11:06 AM

After eating his breakfast Max goes to check on his car. As he opens the door and goes out, Max goes to his mail box first and picks up the car keys. Frank told him that they were inside. After grabbing the keys Max goes to the car, a dark red 1987 Pontiac Trans Am, opens it and gets inside, inserting the ignition key and twisting it, starting the engine. After the turn of the key the 5.0L V8 engine started rumbling angry as Max developed a grin on his face. After stopping the engine and getting out Max is saluted by his neibourgh from the other side of the street, an old man named Tod. "Hey there Tod! Have a nice day." Said Max raising his hand to salute him. But as he turned around he saw in the Trans Am's side mirror that he no longer looked like himself but like Tod. Max got scared and ran into the house slamming the door behind him. He then went to the mirror and stood there in front of it, shocked at the sight of himself looking exactly like Tod. As he was putting his hands on his face and touching it, Max all of a sudden transformed back to his usual self. "What the fuck was that? What's wrong with me?" He said scared as he sat on an armchair and stared still at the floor.

Wednesday, 14:34 PM

Max was in the office of his car shop. He was looking at some papers regarding two cars that he was currently restoring. After getting out of the office and into the car shop itself Max talks to his crew. "Okay guys listen up! We need to finish restoring both these cars by the end of the month. I know it's kind of on a short notice but you know what they say, the customer is always right. Now i'm going out for lunch, do you guys want something?" There was silence as some of them said no. "Well okay then! I'll go eat then after i'm back i'll work with you guys a little before I call it a day. See ya!" Said Max as he saluted his guys and got out of the shop. But as he went to his car he saw someone walking around it and admiring it. "I can't believe you still have this car. Brings back so many memories, doesn't it Max!?" Said the man. His voice sounded familiar to Max. Only after the man took his sunglasses off Max recognised him. "Mike? Is that you?" Asked Max as he got closer. "No it's the ghost of Christmas Eve. Of course it's me dude. Who else" Said Mike as he started laughing. "Well i'm going out for lunch. You can accompany me if you wish. There's a diner I go to everyday to eat. We can go there, grab a bite to eat, talk." Said Max as he opened the door to his car. "Sure! Sounds good to me." Said Mike with a smile on his face as both men entered the Trans Am as Max started the car and drove away.

[Tenebrous Gaze]

James groaned as he sat in the dark room, filling out paperwork. Since stopping that robbery, everything seemed to be louder and he had felt constantly drained. The robber and the person working on the till both didn't seem to understand what had happened and although his tactic hadn't been the smartest he had managed to keep the event mostly quiet. He had, at least, managed to use it to convince people to let him just work quietly on paperwork.

Even though there was nobody else in the room, he could hear every noise from outside. From the sounds of it, though, it wasn't just his hearing. Every noise in his vicinity was louder. As somebody rolled a bed down the corridor outside, he winced as the loud rattling reached his ears. He focused and, as he had been practising, tried to focus. Something suddenly seemed to snap and the noise level went down, James' powers deactivating. He let out a sigh of relief and made a mental note to try and figure out what was happening. It had been subtle but he knew it was definitely due to him. James started whistling and focused again, slowly increasing the volume until someone down the corridor shouted something which was barely audible over the noise but sounded angry. James looked back down at his paperwork and continued to write.

[Dingo]

To say Joy was anxious was an understatement. She'd been taking a back road approach to leaving the city in an effort to escape traffic, only to run into heavy traffic anyway. She sat at the wheel of the car, drumming the steering wheel impatiently, looking out through the windshield when she saw it, a man running like a bat out of hell down the footpath, nimbly dodging and weaving his way past people and objects. Then, out of nowhere, the running man seemed to grab his head and stumble to a stop. Above his head, the limb of a nearby tree branch snapped and collapsed at the man's feet while somewhere nearby, there was the sound of glass shattering.
And then, just like that, nothing. The man rose uneasily to his feet, apparently unsure of where to go and what to do. He began to stumble around aimlessly for a moment, almost falling over as he stepped off the sidewalk and into the road, stumbling in front of Joy's car before coming to a stop, leaning on the hood.

The stranger was disheveled from his running, with short black hair and unkempt stubble. The whole incident seemed… off to Joy. The tree branch snapping at the same time as the man grabbing his head and the sound of glass shattering seemed too convenient, but considering the day she was having, Joy could just be getting paranoid, or rather, more paranoid than usual. The branch was probably old anyway and some kid probably hurled a ball through a window. Nevertheless, the man seemed lost, uneasy on his feet. Was he drunk? Suffering from exhaustion or dehydration? A dehydration headache would explain his grabbing his head at least, plus he had been running pretty fast when she had first seen him, not to mention the fact that his eyes seemed slightly unfocused and glazed over. Shifting the car into park, Joy opened her door, stepping out to walk around and address the stranger.

"Hey," she said gently, "You okay? You need some help?"

Every paranoid bone in her body was screaming to leave the guy and just keep driving, but the man clearly needed help. Joy may have been paranoid, but she wasn't paranoid enough to stop being a decent person.

[Lugubrious]

When next the sand began to flow, Adam was in the middle of a cheery green borough called Tunkhannock, not more than a quarter-hour away from home in Wilkes-Barre providing for traffic. This time, instead of a meager trickle the sand formed a terrifying cascade, blanketing the floor of the driver's side before Adam could even change lanes to pull off to the side of Main Street. He found almost immediately that the sand had piled up in such a way as to prevent him leveraging either the gas or brake pedals. At this realization, a cold sweat began to seep from his underarms and bristly neck. Finding a break in the traffic, he thoughtfully employed the parking break to slow the vehicle down enough to pull up to the curb, though he lost valuable seconds cruising forward to find a spot large enough to avoid parallel parking--a feat he wisely labeled impossible in light of the mounting sand. Once parked, he heaved his weight against the driver's-side door, flinging it wide and sending a deluge of sand onto the street. A recent rain had left the gutters streaming with trashy water, so much of the sand turned to a squelchy brown mire upon contact. Adam's shoe followed suit, sinking into the muck a good half-inch even as he beat a hasty escape from the car. This particular sidewalk wasn't terribly busy in this late morning, but Adam wasn't about to wait to be noticed. Trying to hide his hands and the very conspicuous sand falling from them beneath his windbreaker, he speedwalked into the nearest alleyway.

Though he was no expert on the subject of alleys, this one seemed rather nice by Adam's standards. While those of cities were often shrouded in darkness and danger, this one was open to the cloudy gray sky, casting light upon its bright red and deep burgundy bricks. It was also empty but for a few garbage containers, an external air conditioning unit for the boutique next door, and a truant-looking nineteen-year-old girl smoking a cigarette. Adam glanced at her disapprovingly, and for a second their eyes made contact. A faint look of suspicion crossed her face that intensified when she spotted her elder's sand stream; she shoved off the wall she was leaning against with a final puff and trundled out of the alley, hands stuffed in the pockets of her black-and-white striped hoodie. Adam was alone.

Honestly, he felt that he should be more afraid of what was happening to him than he was. It seemed like his subconscious was already accepting the freaky phenomenon as fact, though he couldn't get rid of a certain pervasive feeling of horror. Looking over his shoulder at the street, he shook his hands as if he could simple wave away the sand. Instead, history repeated itself: the sand floated in the air, defiant to the laws of physics, and began to mold itself into a new shape. As Adam watched, both fascinated and a little afraid, the sand formed the shape of a fluffy adolescent pigeon and flapped into the sky. It startled a trio of real pigeons from the boutique's roof and attempted to fly with them as they fled. Adam stared at the four birds, three flesh and one sediment, as they winged their way upward out of sight. It was a beautiful and consoling sight, giving him the notion that this 'curse' maybe wan't so bad after all. Almost instantly after his old eyes failed to see them anymore, a shapeless mass fell from the sky toward his position. He moved just in time to avoid being splattered by the falling sand, which instead burst upon the ground, scattering countless grains in all directions. Meanwhile, the unstoppable stream of and from his hands had ground to a half, though miniature dunes had formed all across the alley. "God works in mysterious ways," Adam breathed, and he turned back toward his car.

The teenager stood about ten feet behind him, cigarette fallen to the ground unheeded and mouth wide open in shock. Her hood had fallen off, and shoulder-length blonde hair stirred slightly in the Pennsylvania breeze. Her hands hung awkwardly by her sides, and her feet were positioned as if she were about to bolt in terror. As soon as Adam faced her, she took a few steps back.
"Whah...huh...wuh..?"
Adam was almost as scared as she was, but since no newfangled iPhone-thing was in sight, he guessed she wasn't about to call the cops on him. She wasn't that sort of person, he judged; this girl was a person who had seen a lot but told very little. Not an individual new to this strange, disturbing quirks of society--though this was probably more weirdness than she'd ever seen. A little persuasion and quick thinking and his secret may be safe with her.
"Pretty extraordinary, isn't it? I hardly believe it myself. But listen, please. My name is Adam, and I would owe you big time if you kept this between you and me. Not sure anyone would believe you anyway." He held his hands face up, devoid of sand, to show he had nothing to hide. "Please?"
The girl stumbled backward over a tiny dune and took off running. But she didn't scream.

[Izkripp]

Wednesday

A couple of days had passed now and Vida was getting use to her powers, actually... she wasn't. She was forgetting about them. It wasn't that often that a person got hurt enough that they would notice that they were healing instantly. The occasional stump of a toe, a scrap, or a bruise? People got those all the time and never seemed to notice them. So now that they didn't really hurt long enough for it to register. She sat down on her couch looking idly at the table that should have had a TV on it. Lifting her hand like she had a remote in it she pressed her thumb against the curve of her index finger to change the channel.

"Today in the new police found a woman murdered in the alley way a few blocks from the subway." She said in her best announcer voice. "Police are looking into the new string of murders.."

"Click." she said and pressed her thumb to her index finger again. "No one want to listen to who lost the murder lottery."

She tilted her head to the side As if the new program was a little more interesting. "Today on The Dr.s. We talk about five foods that will help you burn weight and increase your health. Also if getting to much sun a bad thing? We are here with our panel of professionals to talk about the effects of UV rays and what you can do to prevent premature aging."

"Click" Said said again turning off her imaginary TV this time. She dropped her hand back to her lap petting her cats that laid there asleep. "I guess there isn't anything good on the TV today." After a moment she reached down and grabbed one of her cats by the neck making her looking up at her. "Baby, I think that I should go out for a walk today." Her cat meowed back to her in protest that she was holding her neck. "You don't think so?" She let go of the cat's neck and as soon as she did the cat jumped down and walked away from her. "Oh! So you do want me to leave!" She yelled jumping up off the couch to chase her cat around the small apartment.

The game lasted a few minutes until she was out of breath and her cat was hissing in protest. Vida laid on the floor laughing, it had been forever since she had a day off. Somehow she had managed it. By pulling double shifts at her work places she maxed out her hours leaving her with nothing but free time on her hands. "Co-co Bear! Baby! What should I do?" She asked looking up at the ceiling. She hadn't noticed that there were dark spots on the ceiling. What had she been missing since she move in?

Vida rolled to her side then stood up. She dusted herself off and walked to the bathroom. One thing she had noticed after the past couple of days was her skin. She use to have dry skin from being in the pool for so long, but now it was soft and smooth. The small wrinkles that had been forming now vanished. If anything she felt like she was getting younger. Younger. Seriously. She had started to think that her little ability wasn't so bad at times. Her hair and nails were also starting to improve in quality. What ever it was that was making her this way was free to continue. Soon she was going to have the best skin and hair around, even as good as those models in the magazines. Taking care of her business in the bathroom she walked through the apartment picking up random article of clothing. After she found her outfit she walked tot he door slipping on her shoes.

"Shoes! That's what I can do today." She finally figured it out. Since it was her day off she would go and buy herself a new pair of shoes to replace the ones she had now that had holes in them. "Why didn't I think of that earlier?" She looked back into her apartment waving at her cats as she closed the door. "Watch the house!"

With that she was on her way to the first discount store she could find so that she could get her new shoes. Hopefully they would look decent enough.

[Sturmgewehr]

Wednesday, 14:56 PM

Max arrives with Mike at his favorite diner, where he eats everyday as both men get out of the Trans Am, get inside and sit down at a table. The waitress approaches the 2 men sitting at the table. "Hello Max what can I get you?" She asked as she had a pen and a small notebook in her hand. "Hello Jessica. You look marvelous today. We'll have two hamburgers with everything on and i'll just have a coffee, i'm driving." said max as he turned his view from the waitress to Mike expecting him to say what he wants to drink. "Just a beer please!" Said Mike as he put his elbows on the table and his hands under his chin. "Coming right up." Said the waitress as she finished noting down and left. As Max and Mike were awaiting their food and drinks Max felt the need to start the discussion.

"So what brings you back to New York?" Asked Max. "I came to see an old friend. Is that a crime?" Answered Mike with a smile on his face. "No! It's just last we saw each other, you made it very clear that you hate me because I decided to become a responsible person, that I've decided to take care of my child and her mother. I made a mistake okay. I should've used a condom. But I didn't, and I ended up beying a father at just 16 years old." Said Max trying to figure out how Mike poped up all of a sudden and was so friendly to him. "That's in the past Max. I don't hate you anymore. What's ironic in all of this is that after our 4-man gang has split, I ended up following the same path as you. But I didn't chose the Marines. I went with the regular US Army." Said Mike trying to explain himself.

"You know Jack's in prison right? He was caught selling drugs to some undercover NYPD narcotics detective. Since it was his first offense he got just 5 years. He's in his 3rd now. I don't know how he's gonna pay that 50.000 $ fine though. I've visited him a couple of times. He's a wreck. He can't wait to get out of prison and turn his life around. Do you know anything of Billy? All I know is that he's somewhere in Spain." Said Max then asking Mike if he knows anything of Billy. "Billy's in Barcelona. He's working as a driver for some pimp that poses as a legitimate businessman. But in reality the guy sells and buys women like cheap meat. Then he forces them to become prostitutes. I don't know if Billy knows about his boss's real job. But even if he does I don't think he'd care very much. You know how he is." Said Mike, filling Max in on Billy's current situation.

"Your parents told me that you've quit the Army in 2008 and you've set to see the world. Is that true?" Asked Max. "Yeah. I've seen alot of great places. Thailand, China, Vietnam, India, Japan, Peru, Chile, Brazil and may other places. I've shut myself away from everyone and everything and concentrated on my travelling." Said Mike with a visibly satisfied tone. As Max and Mike were discussing their order came. "Here you go gentlemen. Your hamburgers, with everything on, your coffee Max and this is your friend's beer." Said the waitress as she was laying down everything on the table. "Thanks alot Jessica. Here's the money...and this is your tip." Said Max smiling as he handed over the payment to the waitress plus her tip. "Thanks alot sugar. Enjoy!" Said the waitress as she left. " I think she likes you." Said Mike as he was staring at the waitress. "Maybe! I never really thought about that. Now let's eat." Said Max as both he and Mike grabbed their hamburgers and started eating.

[lydyn]

Monday, 5:34 A.M.
Office Building

The entire building was humming with silence, turned off lamps, and dark hallways. It was still too early for the front workers to come in and cover what the building was really hiding – something that Ranae knew of because of her connections with her father as one of the major, or maybe even the crime lord of New York. It was more or less of a mistake on Mr. Viktor’s part though as he tried to frame one of the more morally inclined engineers in court. Unknown to her own father, she had secretly hired one of the best lawyers in the entire state and got him off clean, leaving a simple but unique tag on his desk that he owed her a favor.

Suddenly against a bleak background of smoke and metal a white car pulled into the giant parking lot that was marked for employees before a man got out with a small briefcase, locking his car as it sounded the horn briefly. A normal day – a normal Monday morning that meant more work against questionable odds that he still fought, but more quietly as to not get the crime lord’s attention like before. As his shoes clicked against the hard surface near the door, a woman’s voice pierced the silence. “Dr. Silvana…”

He practically jumped, pulling his briefcase in front of him as to protect his chest against any unseen attacks. His eyes both widened for a moment and then narrowed, instantly suspicious of the silhouette that stood near the back entrance. “Who are you? What do you want?”

“Remember about year ago – that you owed me a favor?” she asked, making sure she was concealed against the shadows and out of the way of the camera. She had been lucky that she caught the doctor just as he passed under the watch of the security camera. Even though it might raise a little suspicion as to why it took him so long to clock in, there was no proof anyone had been talking to him seeing as the camera hadn’t been installed with a microphone. “I kept you out of jail and now I need something from you. The new tech-fiber you’ve been working on…”

Slowly, his guard went down, but now his cautiousness had been replaced with confusion and curiosity. No one should’ve known about that. Not only was that section top secret along with any research, but that research was only a few months old, giving way to surprise on how fast it had gotten out. “How do you-?”

She cut him off before he had been able to finish. “-it’s no matter, I just need enough to cover a person. You can drop it off at the Williamsburg Bridge, Broad Street at nine thirty a.m. They won’t notice it’s disappearance for a while and by that time, they won’t be able to charge you with anything.” At that, she stepped back and slipped back into a poorly lit alleyway that allowed her to effectively disappear from the doctor’s sight. She knew that they had mass produced it for testing purposes and that security change was at her given time as well as the doctor’s scheduled leave – she had acquired information overtime merely by being her father’s daughter as well as hiring an expert hacker. It just about time she started setting everything into motion – New York’s corruption was getting out of hand.

Tuesday, 8:43 P.M.
Alex Marcus’ House

Knock, knock, knock. “Wha’? Who’s at my door at this hour? Damn salesmen and stupid kid thugs… can’t leave an ol-“ The man opened the door and to his surprise, Ranae was standing there with a bag under her arm, giving him a soft smile. The two made it seem like a young woman visiting a friend of her father’s or maybe volunteering for helping the elderly; Alex was an older black gentlemen that had graying – almost white – hair and a gentle aura about him even though he could get irritated just like anyone else. “Oh, Ranae… how are you sweetie? Please, come on in.. get out of these dangerous streets.. damn thugs and throwing around gun in your face.. ugh..”

The streets had gotten progressively dangerous, even in Alex’s neighborhood, which was once one of the safest areas back in 2009. They both knew that though and that was why she was here. “Hey Alex...” She didn’t have time for pleasantries, at least not today. “I’m sorry to spring this on you, but.. I need those ’tools’ of yours.”

They were half-way across the living room as he paused and stood up straight and looking back to her with a furrowed brow. “So soon? I thought you were still working on your fighting skills and last time we tried throwing one of my discs, you didn’t do so well ... are you sure?” By now he had turned around fully and glanced at her pack more closely.

“Yes,” she replied in a straight-forward manner at first, donning a serious expression. “Things have ... changed since then, things I can’t quite explain just yet... But I know what I’m doing and just in case-” she pulled out the fabric from her bag that looked like a spandex-tight suit that seemed her size, “-I have this.”

Alex blinked for a moment and went closer, grabbing at the cloth and pulling at it for a few moments until stretching it out further than it should’ve gone only to go back to it’s original shape. “I can’t believe you found this... we were testing this new material before I left the military. How did you get your hands on it?” His old eyes drew up to hers, to which he got a smirk in return.

“Someone owed me a favor...”

[Lady Seraphina]

Christian's head hurt bad, like when you get whacked in the head with a baseball, unexpected and painful. He clutched at his forehead with his left hand while he felt around with his right. He could feel the crack of the sidewalk below his feet, he moved up it and sure enough he came to grass. Still slightly dizzy he stumbled over the lawn hoping to find the house. With a huge shock to his system Christian fell over the curb and into the streets. He was furious with himself. He should have been more carful. He hadn't kept track of which side of the road he was on, what was wrong with him. His life revolved around him being organized and in control. The moment a faint glimpse of hope sprung up he'd abandoned it all.

Christian moved his hands over the ground looking for something to help himself up by. To his horror his fingers touched the front gill of a car. He hadn't just stumbled off the sidewalk but actually into the road. He was so stupid. Christian pulled himself but by the car and leaned on the hood for a second gathering his thoughts.

There was the sound of a car door then, "Hey," a girl said gently, "You okay? You need some help?"

Christian almost jumped out of his skin. Of course there was someone in the car. He'd walked into the middle of the road, what was wrong with him. Help, yes he needed help but what if this girl had seen him weaving through the sidewalk. If he accepted help she no doubt would figure out that he was blind them she would ask him how that was possible. The smart thing to do would be to say he was fine and move on. Find someone else to help. It was the middle of the day Wednesday who would be there to help him. The kids were at school, the parents at work. Just because it was his day off didn't mean that it was others.

"Yes please thank you."

He needed to lie his ass off now. It would be easy. Some new method to help that blind that had broken down mid use. Yeah. But he'd wait till she asked. He ran his fingers along the car until he came to the passengers side door handle. "If it's not too much trouble can you give me a lift back home, I've sort of lost my way."

---

[ML]

Saturday, May 3rd: Crash-Time

In all honesty, Tony counted himself lucky. He was behind the bus when it crashed, but he managed to hit the brakes in time. He got out the car in a flash, to see if anyone was hurt badly. To his relief, there were only a few cuts and bruises that needed treating, but he still went on to the bus to make sure everyone was okay.

8 P.M.
"Sorry, Jack. I'm gonna have to pass on that dinner. I've got a killer headache." Tony excused himself graciously, and then collapsed to the couch. After a time, he managed to take some painkillers, and then he really hit the hay. Maybe in a few hours he'd be back on his feet.

No such luck. He spent the entire weekend moaning and groaning.

Monday, May 5th: 3 P.M.

"I know, Jack, I know!" Tony's hands flew across his keyboard. "I'm working on it, I swear! Sorry for missing the meeting, man, but I had a damn good reason for it!" He had a phone on one shoulder, a pencil in his mouth, and fingers moving faster than light. He was behind, because he had missed that meeting. What were the odds of that? He was supposed to have taken detailed notes, and now he was struggling, trying to find out what he had missed so they weren't all screwed.

"You know what, Tony?" Jack poked his head in the door. "Why don't you take a break? Max is on it, now, and I know you've been sick. Just because I'm your boss doesn't mean I'm the devil. Take a break, man, and get back to me tomorrow. Max can catch up from where you are."

"Oh, thank the lord." Tony dropped the receiver, closed his laptop, and spit the pencil out of his mouth. To his surprise, it landed right in the pencil cup he kept on his desk. What an interesting stroke of fate. He pulled on his coat, and had almost made it out of the office when he bumped into, out of all people, Laura the receptionist. Her coffee mug went flying, and acting more on instinct than anything else, Tony fumbled in the air and caught it. He stared at the cup, barely spilled. Was he some kind of wizard today?

"Oh, thanks, Mister Silvestri! That would have taken forever to get out of my clothes. Would have ruined my nails, too." She pouted a moment, took the cup back, and then walked on, pressing a cell phone to her ear. Tony glanced back at her, shaking his head in confusion, and then left.

There wasn't a whole lot of traffic, that day. All the red lights seemed to be at the right places for him to have smooth sailing on his way home.

---

Wednesday, May 7th: Early Morning
"Hey, Tony! You mind grabbing the delivery from Sab? It just came in a few minutes ago, and we could really use the new tech asap." Tony sighed, closing his laptop, and nodded. "I got it, Jack. gimme a few hours."

Once again, like every day that week, every single traffic light seemed to be working in his favor. He could get used to whoever was hacking the lights for him. If they really were.

'Sab', or rather Seventh Avenue Bank, was a key investor of Tony's firm. They delivered both funding and technology to the office, two things that they couldn't do without. He pulled into a free parking spot, right at the entrance, and hurried up the steps with a nod to the guy in charge. It was a pretty low-key bank. There was one security guard, but he was always in the back room anyway.

A gunshot rang out, shattering the glass of the big, bright windows. A masked duo entered the place, holding shotguns and pistols of impressive variety. "Hand over the cash!" Shouted one of them. "Unmarked, if you please, and plenty of it. Just empty the vault, if you like."

Tony couldn't let that happen. This couldn't be happening. He stood up. "Hey, you can't--" He flinched as a bullet whistled past him.

"Down, guy, unless you want a head full of lead."

Tony stood firm, while inside he was wondering what in the hell he was doing. "You can't take away people's livelihoods." He took a step forward, reasonably confident that the man wasn't a murderer, just desperate.

"Bad move." One man's gun was on the guard, whose eyes were wide with terror. The other shot Tony, almost casually. Or, at least, he tried to. The gun clicked, jamming. Tony saw his move, and tackled the robber. He had no idea what he was going to do, but it seemed like the best option to not die.

As they hit the ground, the man's gun went off, shooting the other robber in the should. with a howl, they both fell, writhing on the floor. Tony managed to muscle the gun away from the one underneath him, and then he stepped back, only just realizing how close he had come to death.

Around him the crowd burst into applause. Tony still had no idea what had just happened.

---

"You saved an entire bank, from two gunmen!" Jack clapped him on the back, while the office whooped and cheered around him. "That's it, everyone, close up for a bit! We're going out to celebrate!"

Everyone smiled and congratulated him, showing him online articles about him, already published by local and state news sites. He wasn't too worried about it. Everything would be forgotten by next week. Still, it felt nice to be the center of attention for a while.

[Rina]

Collaboration between Kirra and Izkripp

Friday

"Come on Jenna, I haven't seen you in days. Can't you at least enjoy yourself for one night because ever since the accident, you've been acting very weird?" Emma said as Jenna reluctantly followed Emma down the sidewalk. After the cellphone incident, Jenna tried hard to make excuses to stay home as she tried to figure out what was happening but Emma was persistent in getting Jenna out of the house.

It didn't take long before the two of them made it to Osteria Lupa Romana, an Italian that was only a horrendous bus ride away, which Jenna was glad when she persuaded her friend for them to walk.

"Don't worry, tonight will be a normal night. I promise." Jenna said hoping that she could fulfill her promise as she walked into the restaurant. Being a Friday night, things seemed busier than normal as she watched the workers move around crowded restaurant. "You know, maybe we can find somewhere else to go which would have less people." Jenna said as she thought about if an accident happened in front of everyone there. She could easily imagine some sort of disaster happening if someone recorded an incident she might cause on their phone and uploaded it to YouTube or something. Who knows who would be knocking on her front door the next day, but all she knew it would be nothing more than trouble.

"Nah, it'll be fine. You gotta learn to let loose and live a little Jenna." Emma said as the two followed a waitress to their table

"Well, it's easy for you to say it's not li-" Jenna started to say before she bumped into a woman about her age carrying a large tray. A large crash followed as Jenna watched in horror as the dishes fell to the ground. "You got to be kidding me. I am so, so sorry." Jenna said looking around at the mess around her.

~.~

The day had been long. Vida had been working since the early afternoon without a break so that she could be paid for all the time that she had been working. For some reason it had been busy all day, normally on Friday they didn't get busy until the afternoon. She had been running back and forth and cleaning tables fast then the other waitresses. Since the wreck she had been trying to work harder to make her boss happy. The day before the wreck she had fallen asleep and the day of the wreck her performance had been lacking.

Vida stood in the back for a moment to catch her breath. There had been a few costumers that had been less than happy with their orders or the way that had been served. She couldn't help it that all of them wanted to talk to her and she wasn't that good at talking to adults.

"Hey Vianna" One of the other waitresses called to her.

"It's Vida..." She said under her breath. She looked over at the girl. "Yes?"

"Vianna. Vida. Same thing. Whatever." The woman approached her. "So what have you been doing differently?"

Vida stared at her trying to figure out what she was talking about. "Well... I ate breakfast this morning without a cat drinking the milk out of the bowl at the same time. Also I remembered to brush my teeth finally."

The girl gave her a strange look. "That's nice.. I meant with your skin."

"Oh. OH! Yeah, well.. You know. Soap and stuff. Coconuts and baby bottom soft." She looked around nervously then spotted her order ready to go. "Oils. No bacon. Oh look at that. Food. People are hunger. You know, they want to get fat and not die today and such hah.." She laughed nervously and ran off to grab her food.

Vida held her head low as she came out of the kitchen in a hurry. Vida successfully dodged a couple of costumers and other waiter/waitresses before she turned right into someone. She saw all the dishes falling off the tray as she slipped to follow them. She hit the ground hard and laid there for a moment. It took her a moment to gather herself so that she could reply. "I'm fine. It's fine. Everything is fine." Vida stared at the mess all over the floor wondering what her boss was going to say when he saw this. She put her hands through her hair seeming not to notice just yet the large shard of glass embedded into her arm. "He's going to kill me..."

~.~

"Are you sure. Oh god, I'm such a klutz." Jenna said as she stooped down and started to pick up some of the scattered pieces of silverware. "Seriously, it was my fault let me help you out."

"Well not really kill me, but you know. He won't that means he has to bury me and that-" Vida looked at the girl that was helping clean up the mess. "Oh wait! You don't have to help. I can do it. It was my fault." Vida quickly went to cleaning the mess picking up the broken plates. She remembered as she was picking up the plates that she had drinking on the tray as well. "Glass. Glass! Miss... I can do it. I wouldn't want you to get hurt."

"No, it's fine. As long as we are careful neither of us will get cut up." Jenna said as she reached for a spoon and watched it move away from her as magnets would if the same polarity were facing towards the same side. Jerking her hand back before anyone else could see, she turned towards the girl. "But you know, we might want to get a broom and a dustpan just in case. I wouldn't want you to get hurt either."

Vida didn't notice the spoon since she was so scatterbrained at the moment with all the sudden commotion. "Oh me getting hurt, that's no problem. The other bad I got this nasty bruise that looked like I belly flopped into a bed of rocks and the next day-" She stopped herself suddenly. "Wait... Well anyway. I am fine, no worries. Apparently I get over things fast." Vida started to stack the broken dishes on the tray quickly so that she could get out of the way.

"That's nice, I guess some people are just able to get better quickly. My uncle could get over a cold so quickly, my dad always wondered if he had a superpower or something." Jenna said with a small laugh before trying again, this time with a fork. However unlike the spoon, the fork came charging towards her palm once she was inches away from grabbing it. A small hiss of pain escaped Jenna's lips, more out of being surprised that purely out of pain. After grabbing the fork with her other hand, she turned over her hand and could see a small imprint of where the prongs of the fork collided with her palm. “Don’t worry, I'm fine." Jenna said as she placed the silverware on the tray. "No blood, no foul as my father would say."

"Haha I guess." Vida replied really unsure of what she should say in response. She really wasn't good at this whole talking to people thing. She would have liked it more if the girl would have just left her to doing the cleaning and gone back to her friend. Although, this was one of the first conversations she had held with another adult in a while that didn't involve someone yelling at her. "Yeah no blood...” She looked back at the floor then noticed there was blood on the floor. Her eyes followed the droplets to her pants. She stared at it until she saw another drop fall from her arm. She lifted her arms to see the shard of a glass embedded into her forearm. "EH!" Vida stood up quickly only to fall again. "Um.. ah. Well.. I think I have this now. You have your friend to eat. I mean eat with. You shouldn't eat someone. I heard it is bad.. I mean it is bad, no one had to tell me that."

With a slight nod, Jenna stood up. "Alright, hopefully you won't get into too much trouble." She said with a slight smile before joining Emma at the table as she cautiously looked around, hoping no one saw her incident. The girl seemed nice and she would hate to see her in trouble due to her running into the girl.

~.~

Vida nodded back to the girl as she left for her table. She was a little jealous that she was there with a friend. Vida didn't remember the last time she was able to go out with a friend and enjoy herself. Oh yeah.. Never. Quickly she put everything on the tray and ran back to the back. Setting down the broken dishes she made her way to the first aid box. Vida grabbed a bunch of gauze, brand aids, and roller tape. Quickly she made her way to the bathroom to tend to her wound.

Not much longer she came out of the bathroom with her arm wrapped up and an angry boss waiting on her. "Vida!"

"Y-yes..?" She knew what was coming next.

"How could you be such an idiot to crash into a customer and what is worse made her help you clean up."

Vida's eyes opened wide. "No no I didn't make her, she wanted to. I mean I told her not to and she did it anyway. I could have forced-"

"Enough!" Her boss wasn't one to sit and listen to her rambling, he was used to it by now. "Go mop up the floor."

"Yes sir.."

~.~

"So who was that girl?" Emma asked as Jenna joined her friend.

"What do you mean, I never met her before in my life." Jenna asked as she looked at friend with a confused expression.

"Well, people don't normally help others out like that on a whim. It's her job to do it anyways." Emma said as she flipped open her menu as she glanced towards the waitress every once in a while as she mopped.

"It's not like I'm hurting someone by helping her out. It'll make her job easier since I was the one that caused that accident in the first place." Jenna said a little surprised at her friend's reaction to the aid she gave to the girl.

~.~

Vida filled the mop bucket with water and some cleaner and wheeled it out to the dining room. Ringing the water out of the mop she placed it on the floor and started to clean up the mess that she had made. Around her she could hear some people laughing at her and mumbling. For some reason she always had a bad time with people even when she didn't do anything. "Maybe if I smiled more, but then I would look like an idiot.. I am an idiot though." She mumbled to herself as she mopped. Finishing the job she went to the back and put her mop up and washed her hands.

"Ve Anna" the same girl from earlier called to her. "Your table's waiting."

"Yeah." She replied too tired to correct her. Vida dried her hands and made her way back to the dining room. Before she could get out of the floor her boss caught her arm.

"Offer them a free appetizer or dessert." He grumbled in her ear.

"Yes Sir." She replied and made her way out trying to put on her best smile. She approached the table with the girl that had helped her and her friend. "Hello and welcome to Osteria Lupa Romana. I am sorry about earlier as an apology would you like to receive a free appetizer or dessert?"

"No really, it wasn't a big deal." Jenna said with a reassuring smile. "You don't have t-"

"What, you're not skipping out on something free are you?" Emma asked as she shot her friend a surprised glance. "Come on, don't tell me you're not craving something sweet. Seriously, if you're not wanting something get an appetizer for us to share."

"Well, I guess we could get an appetizer. What do you recommend, Vida?" Jenna asked, pausing slightly to read the waitress’s name off her name tag. "Maybe some sort of finger food or something." The idea of having another incident occur seemed to be a bad idea to Jenna. Next time something bigger could occur than a fork jamming into her hand and avoiding that at all cost in front of others was something she strived to do.

Vida was somewhat shocked when the girl got her name right. Really she shouldn't be, her name an easy Spanish name that her parents had picked out. She racked her brain quickly of all the foods that they offered on the menu. "Finger foods. Well you can order the calamari, fried olives, white beans and rosemary crostini, fried squash blossoms, or mozzarella in carrozza." She thought them again in her head trying to remember if that was all of them. She figured it was then nodded to herself agreeing that that was all the appetizers. "As for what I like I’m not quite sure. I have only eaten a couple of things from here and most of that was what was left at the end of the day. But from what I have had the calamari, white bean rosemary thing and the mozzarella things are pretty good."

After a few seconds of thinking of the options Vida gave, Jenna gave a small nod. "I think we'll go with the mozzarella." Jenna said before continuing her order. "And I think I'll get the seafood alfredo with shrimp and a sprite to drink." Looking across the table, Jenna could see Emma's expression of disapproval over her choice of a drink and with a small sigh, changed her order. "You know what, I think I'll change my drink into wine. Whatever Emma is getting is fine by me." Jenna said deciding to avoid the issue of her not knowing too much about alcohol. After Emma gave her order of chicken alfredo with a glass of wine, Jenna turned her attention towards the girl. "I think we're all good. Thanks again for the appetizer."

~.~

Vida wrote down the first order that was given to her hastily as she had been taught. Short hand was the only way to go when taking down orders. When she decided to change her drink Vida looked between the two girls confused on why she would want to change her drink. "Wine.." She grimaced inwardly as she thought about the taste of wine. She had only had it once and to her it was awful. Vida thought about scratching out the girls order, but just left it as it was. If the dishes came out wrong it was on Vida and she was use to that. "Alright. I'll put the food in. I mean the order. I don't cook the food." She laughed a little before walking away from the table.

After putting the orders in Vida disappeared into the back. Her arm was feeling better as she thought it would. Unwrapping the bandage she saw that her skin was completely fine. "This might not be so bad." She washed off the blood and got the drinks. When she returned to the table she placed the wine and sprite down and quickly removed herself before getting fussed at. If they wanted her they would call one of the other waitresses to get her. Vida smiled to herself, at times getting fussed at wasn't that scary.

A smile crept on Jenna's face as Vida came back with only one glass of wine. Unlike her, Emma quickly tried to correct the mistake but the girl was gone before she could finish her sentence. "Hey, it's fine Emma." Jenna said reassuringly to her friend, hoping to avoid a conflict at the restaurant.

"Well, I guess so. At least I got you out of your apartment." Emma said with a slight shrug.

[Lady Seraphina]

Placeholder for me and Dingo's collab as I have a feeling that we won't finish it by Friday. And if we do, no harm done.

---

[Rina]

Chapter Two
Summary found here

Saturday 11:30pm

“Alright, it’s game time.” Pearson said as he exited the briefing room behind his team. Although his team were up against Supers and he didn’t receive sufficient information as he hoped for from Team Bravo, he was quite confident things wouldn’t go amiss. The Supers were inexperienced and most likely unsure what is happening and the confusion would help the tactile team to retrieve the Supers.

“You know, it’ll be better if you send my team along with your men.” Carter said, still not liking the idea of leaving Team Bravo at headquarters. “Sure, it might be easier and quicker following your method but have you thought about the repercussions? Do you think things will run smoothly after kidnapping them at gunpoint?”

“We don’t know how dangerous these Supers can be and on top of that we can’t let them reveal themselves to the public. You can deal with them with your team once they get here but we can’t waste time and chance an encounter with the Reformers by talking them into coming with us.” Pearson said as walked towards the command room.

“At least let Tia help you out. She’ll be faster and more proficient than anyone in this room.” Carter said waving his hand towards them. It frustrated Carter that Pearson wouldn’t use his team along with the tactile team, knowing well enough that if they were going to be involved with Supers, Supers were needed so that people like him and the tactile team could keep up. “Or maybe even Ben. His empathetic abilities could come in handy out in the field, especially if you come across any bystanders.”

“No, as I said the Sierra Project was, and still is out of commission. We’ll be getting these civilians and will deal with them but by no means are we starting up the Project again. TSP and especially your team will not be revived. Do you understand?” Pearson said with a harsh tone in his voice. With a hard stare, Pearson waited for a few seconds to see if Carter would object before turning around. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go clean up a mess that another Super made.”

With a shake of his head, Carter walked out of the command room knowing that he didn’t have any power to argue with him. Looking down the hallway, he could see Ben waiting for him. Carter knew he was going to ask about the team being involved and before Carter could speak up, he knew that Ben knew that answer.

“Hey, you did your best man. Might as well wait it out, they’ll need us eventually and when they do we’ll be ready.” Ben said before heading back to his quarters.

“I hope so.”

~.~

Sitting in the driver seat of the van, Dr. Wilson looked out at the others conversing right beside the modified vas they waited for the signal to head out. He was nervous and very much out of his element being involved such as he was doing tonight, but at least being the driver wasn’t as bad as Josiah’s roll in gathering all the Supers with Daniel nor having to be in the back with the Supers with Garret. With Cameron leaving an hour prior to prepare for the new Supers, Wilson was in charge with only being one jump away with Josiah’s abilities or one heavily coded call away. Turning his attention towards the cheap, pay as you go phone that he bought earlier today, and would later be destroyed so Tia wouldn’t have a trace to follow, he saw the outer screen flash on as the cellphone buzzed in the cup holder. Flipping open the phone, Wilson scanned the message that was displayed on the small screen. With a small nod, Wilson started the van up and rolled down the window. “You might want to cut your time up with your cigarette short Josiah and not only for your health, Cameron messaged me. It’s game time.”

“Yeah, but I’m going to die eventually anyways, whether it be due to a cig or a bullet from one of Pearson’s men.” With a slight snort, Josiah dropped his cigarette onto the ground and walked towards the open window. “Alright, Daniel will be able to help me find you guys, that is if he doesn’t become useless and get motion sickness again. However, Wilson I’d like you to text me where your general whereabouts are going to be as we start moving.”

“Understood, I will keep you updated.” Wilson said with a slight nod. “Garret, since we’ve added a door between the front and the back portion of the van, do you want to sit in the front until Josiah starts to bring people in?”

“I’ll be fine in the back. Anyways, I probably should make sure everything is set and I’m ready for them.” Garret said as moved towards the back and opened the doors. Similar to a reinforced police van that carried prisoners, the van was locked with two sets of doors. The regular van doors and a set of reinforced doors. However unlike police vans the second set of doors, as well as the rest of the interior of the van and the door set apart the front and the back, they were built to be Super proof. Nothing could exit or enter the van, whether it be due to strong force or even mental abilities, the van could block it out. It helped the team when they didn’t want to be spotted, especially when Wilson was dropped off at the lab. This time however, things were different since the van would have to be used to detain people. As Daniel and Josiah were busy finding the Supers, he and Wilson were busy modifying the van yet again, this time adding a locking mechanism so that the doors couldn’t be open as well as restraints if they had to be used, although Garret hoped that things wouldn’t get to that point.

~.~

“It’s game time Emma!” Jenna said with great enthusiasm before dropping her expression and revealing her tired face. “Psych, I don’t know about you but I’m heading to bed, in my own room.” Jenna said as the apartment came to view.

“What, you don’t want to spend the night again? We could have a movie marathon on Netflix or something.” Emma said stopping at the sidewalk in front of her apartment that sat alongside the building Jenna lived in, although she was on the first floor unlike Jenna.

“After last night and today, I am more than ready to catch up on my sleep Emma. Besides, don’t you have work tomorrow?” Jenna asked already knowing the answer. “I’ll see you tomorrow or maybe Monday.” Jenna said with a slight wave before making her way to her own apartment.

Wasting no time, Jenna slipped into a pair pajama pants and a simple green t-shirt and after getting ready for bed, headed to her bedroom. The Ihome alarm clock she used was broken, which was fine by her since she was wanting to sleep in. As she thought about the alarm clock, she wondered what she should do about the incidences that keep popping up. She thought about going to a doctor but thought against it since she was unsure what would happen to her. Maybe she would go to church tomorrow morning, it felt like a long shot to her since she hasn’t visited a church in a long time but maybe that was what she needed. Maybe a little Jesus added to her life would help her fix things. With a sigh, Jenna closed her eyes as she waited for sleep to wash over her.

Just as she was falling asleep, she heard a sound at her front door. Someone was there. Confident that it was Emma who trying to opened her door with a spare key and was sneaking into her apartment, Jenna kept her eyes closed and groggily yelled out towards her friend. “I’m asleep Emma, come back tomorrow.” However, instead of hearing her friend’s voice there was silence. “Emma I’m not kidding, no funny business.” After a few seconds of silence, Jenna said up with confusion. “Emma?”

~.~

Pearson watched the screens that showed their locations through gps as well as a visual view through the cameras each squad leader had on their helmet. Although other people were listening in through the mics, he would be notified immediately if there was something he should know or listen to. Watching the gps with dots spread throughout the map that represented each person either in the squad or nearby ready to pick up the Supers in unmarked vehicles, Pearson waited until each member was in position. Looking at the clock, he saw that is was nearing midnight. It was time.

“Alright, on my mark.” Pearson said turning on the mic so that all the squad and those in the vehicles could hear. “5, 4, 3, 2, 1.” Watching the screens, Pearson watched as the scene unfolded, each happening in a similar fashion as the other squads and how they practiced. With tranq guns in hand, the squad would make their way towards the target, taking out any family member or bystander that might get into the way as they made their way towards the target, knowing that giving time to tell them to leave the premises would either cause a problem with them trying to help the Super or allow the Super to have enough time to try and escape.

After finding the target, his squad will have to tranq the Supers as quick as they can as they used the element of surprise to their advantage. This could turn out tricky depending on how well the super is able to use their powers as well as how quick they are on their feet. Luckily with the information gathered about the Super, it would come to an advantage in knowing how to handle that specific person. Such as the girl with ability to control metal had tranqs without metal so she wouldn’t be able to stop them and such forth for each Super. He knew that there would be hiccups at this point, which turned out to be true as some tried to fight or resist but in the end each of the Supers were knocked out and taken to the vehicle waiting for them.

As each person was loaded into the vehicle, Pearson watched as the vehicles started to make their way towards headquarters. He was glad to see that the Reformers didn’t try and intercept them as the vehicles approached headquarters. Walking out of the command room, Pearson headed towards the entrance and watched as each Super was taken, still unconscious from the tranquilizer. However, he knew that it wouldn’t last much longer. The Supers would be waking up soon and who knows what sort of havoc they might cause. “Take them to the holding cell for now.” Pearson said and waited for his team to respond. As the area cleared up, he saw that Carter was there waiting for him. “See, we’re fine without your team.”

“Well you might want to hold on to us for a little longer. Tia found something you might be interested in.” Carter said as he started to walk towards the command room.

~.~

Although Josiah wasn’t one to admit it, he was glad to have Daniel along as it made it easier to complete his job. Jumping close to where the Super was located, Josiah waited until Daniel was able to get the precise location of where they were at. Once Daniel was locked onto the Super, all he had to do was jump and let Daniel lead him to where the Super was. A small smile always crept on Josiah’s face as he saw the look of surprisal on the face of whoever jumped in front of, and this was no different. Some were easy to grab and jump to the van, too stunned to react at his and Daniel’s sudden appearance. Others tried to fight or run, which didn’t help them out that he was able to jump out of the way if they attacked and could appear right behind them before they could figure out where he went. The hardest part was struggling to hold onto them as he jumped to the van, often leaving Daniel behind since it was hard to carry him as well as the struggling Super. However leaving Daniel behind gave him time to work as a look out and see if any of Carter’s team was heading towards them as well as to locate the next Super.

Once, Josiah and the Super make it to the van, Garret was waiting for them. Although, they didn’t have possession of a tranq gun as those at TSP, an injectable tranquilizer worked well enough with the bendable stretchman, who could grab onto them and inject the Super while still being at a distance and without bruises and other injuries he received from the Supers. The tranquilizers wouldn’t last as long for Supers being knocked out as it intended more for a calming agent so that they wouldn’t cause havoc as all the Supers were brought into the van.

With the last person found, Josiah jumped back towards Daniel but by the expression on his face, Josiah knew that something was wrong.

“We need to contact Cameron. I just felt something not too far away from here that concerns me.”

[ML]

Anthony had been walking home when it happened. A single man in combat gear, leaping out of the woodwork. He ran as soon as he saw the needle. No getting shot up for him, not on his watch, oh no. He rounded the corner into a crowd, nearly colliding with a man but twisting out of the way in the last second possible.

He grinned as he weaved through the throngs of people, a grin of shock and confusion. Who the hell was that, and how could they teleport? That was impossible, according to physics. Physics didn't lie.

Then the needle almost stabbed him in the neck. Instead, it punched through his shirt, out the other side. Barely missing him. The weird teleporter had followed him, deftly pushing through the crowd, and now he was dodging and weaving for his life. He still hadn't done anything! "You've got the wrong guy!" He shouted, when another needle stab whipped by, barely missing his arm. Third time was not the charm. He felt a pinch in his spine, and then his world dropped away.

---

He woke in...a van. It was a van, uncomfortable and cold. Others sat there as well, all looking as haphazard as he felt. He groaned, head still smarting. "this is not the government we were promised." He realized that wouldn't make sense to anyone else, so he smiled awkwardly, and waved. "Does anyone know why we're here?"

No, of course they wouldn't. They were all in a van.

[lydyn]

Wednesday - Friday
Out in New York City

After acquiring her devices from Alex, she had spent the next few nights getting down her tactics and her powers, taking down thugs that decided it was okay to rob and rape. At first they were arrogant, thinking she was just a little girl looking for trouble, but word got around quick. She wasn't perfect and got grazed here and there by bullets, but something about her powers allowed her to nearly missed them - it was reading signs on their arms and hands and being able to see when they'd pull that trigger. Not to say it was an easy task dodging gunfire behind various objects, but she needed to do this.

New York had become too corrupt with crime and dirty cops and she knew her father had the majority of it under his thumb. How could she stand by and let it happen? She, who had the best position to know what her own father was doing. No, she would regret it for the rest of her life if she didn't try and now with these powers, she had a chance to do just that.

By the third night it had become rather common that people knew of her, though many still didn't believe she was real and felt shocked and nervous when she appeared. Ranae kept with minor crimes for right now, deciding to work up the chain as she gained a reputation. She wasn't just helping out a young couple or an old woman - she was fighting a war against crime.

Saturday, 12:01 A.M.
Ranae's Apartment

She was ready for her third night out on the town as 'Red Widow.' She had originally come up with 'Red Canary,' but on her second night she was ambushing a thug and a reporter had caught the tail-end of the fight. The punk had told her she was like a red black widow and apparently it had stuck as a minor page in the paper. Honestly, it was a better name she had come up with anyways and decided to stay with it. It still related to comic books, though not so much with the DC Universe anymore but rather with one of the Marvel S.H.I.E.L.D. agents named 'Black Widow.'

She adjust her bracer a bit as she stood in her costume next to her apartment window, checking to make sure her gadgets were snug and tight. Ranae had modified her costume to hold the small round discs that Alex had made to stay put even when flipping around, but would slip out when pressure was applied in just the right place so she could take them out. Everything was ready for her fourth night and she had her eye on a particular midnight meeting she had heard about in the back of a store...

... something interrupted her thoughts though. Narrowing her eyes a little bit, she glanced back at her front door and held her breathe. Was it a shift in the air, a small creak that seemed out of place, or just a gut feeling? She wasn't sure, but when she saw two shadows outside of her dark apartment, she knew that something was going to happen - and fast. She needed to get out.

~.~

"...3, 2, 1."

With a nod, the squad leader motioned for his team to barge in. With one member of his squad entering from the back, he and the third was entering from the front door. From the files he read on the Super his team was after, she might have an ability that enhanced her combat abilities, which could be troublesome with her recent vigilante streak as well as her prior martial arts skills. With guns raised, agent Sanders thrusted the previously unlocked door and followed his partner into the apartment. "We're in" Sanders said followed by a crash from a window as the third member of his squad entered the apartment from another room, hopefully trapping the woman in the front room.

'Knew it,' she thought to herself quickly and slipped one of the devices from it's sleeve. Not many common people knew who Alex was or what he did, but he was a genius when it came to small-arms devices and weapons. The only reason her father had even fired him is because the man had morals and that never sit right with the company, so instead he spent his time designing her gadgets, knowing they'd do some good in cleaning up the streets.

As the man came flooding in, she flung the small disc at the middle of the floor, to which it attached itself using some amazing gravity-oriented technology that Ranae had trouble understanding. It only flashed three times before finally exploding into a bright flash that most people would relate to looking straight into the sun, but Ranae was already crashing through the second windows by the time it went off.

She hit the side railing of the fire exit staircase before jumping over it and flinging herself across the alleyway onto the adjacent ladder, forcing it to derail and slide down along with the woman on it. It hit the ground with a heavy thud before Ranae hopped off and looked down the alley to see who else was there - she was sure there were more than just three of them. They were professionals.

"Shit, we have a runner." Sanders said as he tried to make his way towards the window the Super exited. He was having trouble seeing but he could tell that the woman was still in the alleyway. "We need the support vehicles to block the alleyway." Sanders said as he motioned for his men to head towards the woman. Following the woman out the window, Sanders stood on the platform of the fire exit staircase and aimed for the woman as he heard a vehicle screeched to a stop at the front of the alleyway and a few more men piled out of the SUV.

His first shot was off his mark by over five feet. "Careful guys, her abilities might be more than we thought." Sanders said as he shook his head harshly as he tried to clear his vision before shooting again. Luckily by that time, he could see that the two other men in his squad was almost in position on the other side of the alley. There won't be an exit route this time.

The dart went whizzing past her as her eyes shot up towards the shooter. Still dazed, but that wouldn't work for long, this guy had some hardened discipline, which didn't exactly surprise her. With the introduction of the SUV and four more men ... well, this was likely a losing battle, but she had to try. She wasn't sure if this was a crime organization trying to get at her already or some sort of undercover S.W.A.T. unit. She slipped another device out and threw it hard towards the SUV, the magnet carrying it the rest of the way. It ticked once before suddenly flashing into an EMP pulse that put the car out of order. She ducked behind a dumpster that hide her from both parties and muttered about not having more of those EMP ones. She only had a flash and stun one left - she hadn't expected all this.

The only reasonable way to do this though was exactly what she did. She popped out from behind cover and flung the stun disc at Sanders before darting to the alley's wall, hoping she could climb over it before under going too much fire, but her only chance was that either their guns were affects by the EMP or they were surprised enough to not hit her. She doubted either of those cases were true.

"Watch it guys." Sander said as he saw the woman ready herself to throw an object towards his men. Luckily there wasn't a flash of light this time but from chatter on his earpiece, he could hear that the vehicle was down. "Headquarters, we'll need another vehicle for transport." Sanders said as he aimed for the woman but the metal clank from the dumpster confirmed his anticipation of missing.

As the woman darted out from behind the dumpster, Sander aimed to shoot the woman but she was faster as she threw another disk but this time towards him.

"Sanders!" One of the men from the SUV yelled in his mic with concern as he saw the man collapse. He could hear the tranq guns go off beside him as the others aimed for the woman as she tried to escape.

"Worry about him later, we need to get her." The woman besides him said as she tagged the target on her leg.

With a nod, the man ran towards the target, followed by another member of the squad as the two stood by the vehicle, shooting until the woman was down or once one of the members of the squad reached the woman. Off in the distance, another vehicle could be heard approaching the scene.

Another tranq reached the woman as she fell towards the ground. Reaching the woman, the two quickly disarmed her from any weapon or tools that they could find before working together to move her towards the vehicle. Once the woman was in the vehicle, the car quickly made it's way towards Headquarters as the rest of the team worked to clean up the situation and to check on Sanders.

[Lugubrious]

Once Adam had made sure his car was locked, he took off at a leisurely pace down the Tunkhannock main street. After crossing one intersection, which conveniently already had an outgoing crowd, he realized -to his dismay- that his car could very well have been left in an illegal parking lot. Remembering a hefty fine from a similar incident a few months past, Adam made a beeline back toward his vehicle, pausing only for an anxious 90-second wait for traffic to stop and the pedestrian walkway to clear. When he arrived he found all his worry wasted; a laundromat whose vibrant red brick exterior formed one side of the alley he'd been in permitted long-term parking. For a few hours more, his car would remain mercifully free of those ominous, yellow, penalty notes. Relieved, Adam tucked his sand-free hands into the pockets of his khaki pants and slowly retraced his steps down the street.

Two hours later, it was 1:20 or so and Adam was reclining in a somewhat scratchy lounge chair at the little Tunkhannock library, half-reading a thick paperback called The Enemy by Lee Child by the light coming in through a window to the parking lot and half-concentrating on controlling his ability. He was hesitant to call what was happening to him a 'superpower', but he couldn't help but think of the great Marvel heroes that had fascinated him even in adulthood. If he really had a great power, Adam decided, he would need an equally great responsibility. As such, after a decent lunch at a cheap local deli and a brief but frightening re-occurrence of the sand stream (which he hid by placing his hands in an outdoor trash can and pretending he accidentally dropped something of value within) he had decided to spend a little while trying to familiarize himself with the phenomenon in this quiet town before resuming the short trip home. Progress was slow, but he convinced himself it was working. Nothing had come to life and there were no terrifying, unstoppable torrents. Self-control, a virtue Adam had aspired to and then practiced all his life, was once again attainable. Despite his optimism, however, he had already filled two of the librarian's spare trash bags with sand.

His distracted reading was cut off when the sunlight he had been reading by abruptly vanished. Curious, he looked over he shoulder through the window as he prepared to move to a more illuminated seat. A huge vehicle, some sort of van judging by its silhouette, had imposed itself in the parking space closest to the little library. By the time Adam had picked up the bags of sand for his migration, the librarian, a potbellied black man with impressive sideburns for his advanced age, had stormed out of the front door to confront the owners of said vehicle for so flagrant a parking violation. Adam couldn't help but chuckle at seeing the fellow go; he was so full of indignation and tranquil rage that Adam thought he might burst. Shaking his head, Adam pivoted on the balls of his heels and seated himself at his new location, open novel in hand, and upon turning around instantly found he wasn't alone.

A broad-shouldered man in full combat gear, like a swat riotbreaker but without any wording or insignia on his gear, stood silently before him with crossed arms. Adam's mouth fell open. Who was this guy? Was he dangerous? How did he get in here? Before a single question left Adam's stupefied lips, a glistening needle appeared from the crook of the guy's arms, and it plunged toward the seated pentagenerian. Twenty years ago Adam might have been able to react in time, but age, dignity, and methodicalness made him slow and stuff. The needle painlessly pierced his upper left arm, and its effects took root almost instantaneously.

A dark cloud seeped onto Adam;s vision and the grumbling of passing cars on the road grew faint. Two hands gloved in armor gripped his collar, and the next thing Adam knew he was in a dark, humid space. Though he couldn't have known, Josiah had teleported him into the van. The thirty-second operation would have gone off without a hitch but for one unforeseen factor. As his senses failed him, only one action remained: he unconsciously began creating large quantities of sand, much to the surprise of the occupants of the van. In seconds it carpeted the vehicle's floor, threatening to fill up the confined space and suffocate everyone inside. Just as quickly as the stream began, however, it ended as Adam lapsed into dreamless sleep, leaving only an inch-thick coat on the van's floor.

[Sturmgewehr]

Wednesday, 15:24 PM

After finishing their food and drinks, Max and Mike rise from their table and prepare to leave the diner. Max pays for everything and leaves a tip for Jessica. After signaling her goodbye with a smile on his face Max leaves through the door. Then he and Mike stop in front of the car as Mike puts his left hand on Max's elbow. "Dude, I have a favor to ask you. Umm...since i'm back in the big city i'm gonna need a place to stay and until I find a place to stay, can I stick with you?" Said Mike looking straight in Max's eyes. "Of course you can stay with me. I don't like living alone anyway. But i'm warning you. I live in the suburbs." Said Max gesturing as both men got in the Transd Am as Max started the car and drove away.

Friday, 22:28 PM

Max was in front of the mirror, shapeshifting into various people that he saw on the streets. He had no idea that Mike was spying on him. "Ohh Max! What the fuck happened with you? Was it because of that bus crash? I saw Dr. Wilson leave in a hurry from it. Nah, it can't be." Said Mike as he headed to his room to get some sleep. Max stopped shapeshifting as a deep look of concern was in his eyes. "What's happening to me?" He said silently to himself. Then all of a sudden his doorbell rings. As Max heads to the door and opens it he looks surprised as it was his daughter, two travel bags with her too. "Angela? What the hell? Do you even know how late it is! What are you doing here?" He asked. "I had a huge argument with mom's new stupid boyfriend. I told you about him remember? So I packed my bags and here I am." She explained. "Does your mother know about this?" Asked Max. "No. She probably thinks i'm in bed sleeping. Now can I get in? It's kind of chilly outside." Said Angela as Max allowed her to get in as he got out of her way.

"Come here!" Said Max as he and Angela hugged each other. "Everything is gonna be alright. I promise.Tomorow i'll have a little chat with your mother." Said Max as he kissed his daughter's forehead. "I love you dad!" Said Angela as she made herself cozy in Max's embrace. " I love you too." Said Max as both he and Angela let go of the embrace as Max took one of her bags. "Come on, let me help you with these. Wait till you meet Mike. He's a cool guy." Said Max smiling as he and Angela started climbing the stairs.

Saturday, 23:51 PM

After a hard day at the shop, Max was ready to relax. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat down on an armchair as he opened up the TV. Mike was in his room sleeping and Angela was at a slumber party with some friends of hers. As he took a sip from his beer and was staring at the TV, all of a sudden his vision was blocked as a well made guy in combat gear appeared in front of him. "What the fuck is this?" Said Max as he rised up from the armchair with an angered look on his face. The man attempted to pierce him with a syringe but Max dodged and attempted to punch the man but he teleported away appearing behind him. Max attempted a roundhouse kick but again the guy teleported, appearing behind him once more. As he attempted to pierce him with the needle of the syringe Max managed to grab him by his arm and gave him a straight kick.

As the man fell on the ground Max looked at him with a fiery look in his eyes. "What did you thought huh? That I was gonna be some easy prey? I was a Marine asshole! For 10 years. I served my country both in Afganistan and in Iraq." As Max was lecturing the man furiously, the attacker teleported once again appearing behind him and with a quick move stabbed Max with the syringe injecting the tranquilizer in him. But at the cost of a furious punch from Max straight in his face. As Max fell on the ground he could feel himself fading away as the guy was looking at him satisfied. Max crawls at him with whatever strength he had left and he grabs him by his pants. "You mother fu..., wait till i get my hands on y..." Max didn't get the chance to complete his statement as he fell motionless on the floor.

Wakened up by all the comotion Mike saw everything. "Josiah? What the hell is this?" Said Mike with a loud tone as he walked down the stairs angry. But Josiah grabbed Max and dissapeared right before Mike's eyes. Mike ran to a window and saw Josiah putting Max inside a van that was parked outside. He quickly opened the window and jumped outside from it as he headed to the van furiously. "You're not going anywhere without me you understand. I wanna know what this is all about." Said Mike as he got inside the van willingly sitting next to a sleeping Max.

[Tenebrous Gaze]

Saturday, 23:58 PM

James moved quickly, staying close to the wall as he moved through the dark street. Given that most of them were highly qualified medics, his colleagues had a strong fondness for alcohol and although he hadn't touched a single drop for years he still stuck around into the darkest hours with them, a decision he was now starting to regret due to someone apparently making a very poor decision with street lighting. He'd been practising with his newfound ability, which gave him some confidence but he was still cautious as to the chance of someone figuring out that he had something beyond strong lungs.

As he walked forwards, taking his hands out of his pockets, he saw something moving quickly in the dark, seeming to go into an alley in front of him. He wasn't sure that anyone was there but to be careful he quickly ran across the road and started walking down the sidewalk opposite. As he passed adjacent to the alley, he heard some kind of odd noise and something seemed to narrowly miss his head. He looked in the direction of the alley, took a deep breath and screamed while activating his power, a great burst of sound emitting from him as he covered his ears with his hands and then started running. He saw another mysterious shape pass and headed down an alley to the side. When he reached a wire fence he turned and saw the clear outline of someone approaching. He turned and screamed again before starting to climb the fence but he fell down and hit the ground as something embedded itself in his neck.

[Izkripp]

Sunday 1:05 AM

Vida had been asleep for a while when she heard one of her cats hissing angrily in the next room. She grumbled a little coming out of her sleeping. She wanted nothing more than to stuff a sock down her cat's throat for waking her up so early. "Baby.." She mumbled angrily. A purred meow was given as a response from the small at that laid beside her in bed. Vida sat up still hearing the hissing followed by something falling in the other room. "Co-Co?" She called getting out of bed to see what was the problem.

Vida grabbed her bat that laid on the floor beside her bed and walked to the door way wearing her normal night attire, just a tee-shirt. She didn't normally have guests so there was no need for formal night clothes. She peeked into the living room hoping not to see anything but an angry cat hissing at the wall or a mouse he just couldn't catch. She gasped though as she saw one man standing in the room trying to get her cat to be quiet. No doubt it was him that knocked something over in her mess of an apartment. Gripping the handle of her bat tighter she thought about how she was going to handle this situation.

First: Charge.
Second: Hit him really really hard over the head.
Third: Run away and call the police.

No wait.. She should call the police first. Just as she thought that she could feel a prick in her arm. Quickly she turned to see the man standing in her room. How did he get there. There was only one way to get into her room and that was through the door. Suddenly her world went dizzy and her grip loosened on her bat letting it fall to the floor. "How did.." Was all she managed to say before she fell to the floor.

Josiah picked her up easily and teleported to the van. The tranquilizer worked really well on her coupled in with the lack of sleep she had got over the last two days. Josiah laid her down in the van with the rest of the people. The mark on her arm from the prick had already vanished by the time that she was placed in the van. Her body worked fast to neutralize the tranquilizer, but she wouldn't be waking up any time soon as she started to lightly snore transitioning into a deep sleep.