Maribeth - Brooklyn - Woods near Safe house
Maribeth had came to a halt after walking for a good half hour, maybe a mile or so away from the house and into the woods. Safely hidden away from any civilians or patrols, she began to take her anger out on the smaller trees as she began to tear them out of the ground and throw them against the bigger trees. It felt good to let out the stress that had been building up for months. Although Mari spoke about the great times she had had in Italy, she had refrained herself from sharing the moments when in the cities she'd deal with the same amount of ignorance that she did here. It was only in the small, secluded towns that she had found peace. Her arrival to the US hadn't helped at all either.
After she grew tired of ripping the scenery around her apart, she walked over a tree with a low lying branch and floated up to sit on it. What was going on? What had she came back to? Gangs, the government committing a genocide. Because that's what it truly was. Not only that but the people she considered closest to her were either at each other's throats or tensions always rising. She couldn't do it anymore, but she didn't know what else to do.
The rain had stopped by now and all that was left was the sudden cold wind that had came in after the storm. Although she wore a leather jacket, Mari still shivered, so she wrapped her arms around her and leaned on the tree trunk, not wanting to go back to the house. Although she didn't feel the need to break anything anymore, she knew if she went back and saw either Julius or Diego, she'd probably bring the house down; literally. She sighed and looked around her. The area she had been in wasn't exactly bare, but now that she had taken out most of her physical aggression, she had created a small clearing that exposed a running trail near by. In her mind she hoped that nobody would come by, then recalled that there was a curfew and felt a sense of relief wash over her.
In that moment, a voice rang out clear as day as if they had been right next to Mari. She quickly jumped and turned around, catching herself in midair and turning every which way to see who had snuck up on her. To her surprise, there was no one around. Not even sending a pulse of telekinesis out was she able to sense someone. 'Maybe I just imagined it' she thought as she tried to calm herself. But the voice was so clear. It sounded as if they were right next to her. No. Not next to her. Inside her brain as if she was wearing headphones. Before she could keep thinking about it, her ears suddenly filled with hundreds of voices, each saying something different and in several different tones and volumes. Maribeth nearly screamed as she reached up to cover her ears to try and stop the overload of voices, but it was to no avail. The voices weren't coming from someone around her, so to speak, they were coming from inside of her head. As she began to panic, the voices began to get louder and her head began to throb. She cried out and fell to the ground, her telekinesis practically gone as she tried to push the voices away or out. Was she going crazy? Is this what happened when she lost control of her temper with her ability?
Maribeth was was kneeling within seconds from when the voices had begun and tears streamed down her face from her panic attack.'Get out! Get out! GET OUT!' she screamed internally. "Ma'am...... Ma'am?" At first, Maribeth thought it was just another voice in her head, but the sudden touch on her shoulder snapper her out of her panic attack and snapped her back to reality. She gasped and stood up quickly, reaching up and grabbing the hand before twisting it in an awkward position, making it painful and difficult for the person to move. "Ma'am, please, I didn't mean to scare you. I was just wanting to make sure you're okay. Please don't hurt me." As the man spoke, a sense of calm and security filled her and she apologized to him, letting him go and taking a few steps back. "I'm so sorry, you just scared me."
"Please, don't apologize. I understand, I would have reacted the same way.... Um.... Are you okay though? You've been crying." It then dawned on her that she was the only one that knew about the voices. The panic attack was all in her head. To others passing by, she would have been simply kneeling on the ground and crying. "Oh..Yeah... Um.. I kinda got in a fight with my room mates." She laced her voice with a semi-thick Italian accent as she spoke to the man, her survival mode kicking in.
Mari wiped her tears away and offered the stranger a small, sheepish smile. "Oh! Great accent. Are you from Italy?" The man spoke with much enthusiasm, but his voice remained quiet. Obviously because of the curfew, or so she thought. "Yes. I am, actually. I've been here for a few years now." Maribeth explained without a flaw in her lie. "So, what are you doing out here so late? Isn't there a curfew?"
"I could as you the same thing." The man grinned and, for some reason, Maribeth felt safe. It was a strange feeling of calm that had washed over her and she didn't know how to shake it off. "I actually come out at night to go on a run. It's not as dangerous at night as many people think. It's worse during the day."
She studied the man from his feet up. He definitely looked like he was out for a run. Running shoes, sweat pants and a fitted hoodie. He was tall and had a slim but sturdy build, his hair as dark as charcoal and his eyes almost a silver color. "I came out here to take some anger out. I can't exactly go around hurting my best friends." She grinned at him and he laughed, nodding in agreement.
"I understand. I get in arguments with my roommate too..... But he's my childhood best friend so he puts up with my crap." Maribeth laughed with the man now but as he reached out, she took a step back, just in case. "Don't worry, I'm just trying to shake your hand. I'm Liam."
Maribeth looked at the hand and hesitated. What if he was an Empowered with the ability that Diego had? Well, if he was, she had already make skin contact when she put him in a defensive hold. Smiling, Mari reached out and shook his hand, introducing herself. "I'm Mari." The man's face beamed as she spoke and he shook her hand tightly then let go. "Nice to meet you, Mari.... So.... May I ask you... What was the fight about that made you so upset?"
Mari bit her lip and looked down for a moment before looking back up. "We got into an argument about those with abilities and those who don't have any." The man nodded as he listening intently, or so it seemed. "You see, one of my roommates believes that we can't make things work between the two. The other thinks we can but it's complicated. I just think who the fuck cares if you're Empowered or not. We're all humans in the end and we have to work for a living and we all want the same thing. At least most of us do. To lead a happy and fulfilling and loving life." Through out the entire time she spoke, the fake Italian accent followed without a flaw. She had become quite good at telling lies and making them seem very real. So real that she sometimes believed them herself.
"Oh, okay, I see. I get in those arguments all the time too." He nodded and looked around. "Since you have that view, I'll share a secret with you." He then looked back at her and leaned in closer. "I have abilities. That's why I get into arguments with my roommate so much." Maribeth's eyes widened as Liam spoke. "That's kind of how I found you."
"Did you now? Prove it." She lifted an eyebrow in disbelief and crossed her arms, waiting for him to show her.
"Since I got here, have you been angry? Upset in any way?" Liam smirked as Maribeth began to think, trying to muster up any type of anger that she had before he had gotten here. "No...." Her voice was a soft breath as she remained in thought. "You've been calm. Relaxed. That's the only reason you didn't break my wrist. Because I willed you to be calm around me. Even though I run this route every night, I could feel your anger from many meters away. From a good distance away, actually. I followed it and the closer I got, the stronger the anger was. You should be careful with that type of anger. It can consume you and make you do something you'll regret."
Maribeth nodded in acknowledgement but still remained in awe of the ability Liam had. "I have to tell you the truth though. I'm not exactly jogging for the exercise. I do these routing jogs to find others like me so I can help them. I offer them a sort of refuge at my house for a few days or weeks. Seeing your views on things, I'd love for you to come and try to help those that are staying there. Try and make them see that not all normals are the same."
Something deep inside Maribeth told her that there was something off with his story, but the overwhelming feeling of security and the need for helping others practically blinded her. She didn't reveal that she was like him, instead, she chose to go along with it. "You know what. My roommates will get worried if I stay out too late. Especially because I stormed out. Maybe another day." She gave Liam and apologetic smile and began to walk back to the safe house. "Alright! Just know I run at the same time at the same place every night!" As Mari made her way back to the house and away from Liam, she could feel the calm leave and the panic begin to set in once more. The uneasy feeling that was buried under the calm was more pronounced but she pushed it away, focusing on a bigger dilemma. She had heard voices in her head. Would that be something she'd be able to keep from the others? For now, she decided to keep everything that had happened in the woods a secret. From the voices in her head to Liam and his offer.
