[IC] Sector X (Invite only)

[Twhirtley]

Natasha & Ben Felds

Featuring The Director

The first thing Nat felt was a throbbing pain behind her eyes, a deep, throbbing headache that felt as if something were trying to escape from the center of her skull. This was followed by the feeling of hard table on which she laid. Why was she lying down on something hard? Her mind was confused by this, but a single thought whispered itself in her ears. Open your eyes. She stirred a bit, feeling the cold metal against the exposed skin of her arm. She only now registered the pink sight of the back of her eyelids, indicating there was light nearby. Open your eyes. So she did. And immediately regretted it, hissing in momentary pain at the overhead light above her. She brought an arm to shield her from the pain, when she noticed an IV in her wrist. Why was that there?

Her ears started picking up noises. She could hear the slight thrum of some machine, the mild buzz of the lights, and the soft rise and fall of someone breathing. She knew that sound, she’d listened to it every night for a few years now. Ben. It was Ben’s breathing she heard. Ben! She instantly sat up now, looking over toward the sound of her brother’s breathing, and sighed in relief. He wasn’t on a table like her, he was on a lounge across the room, curled up in his hoodie, a comic splayed out in front of him.

She immediately began getting her bearings, momentarily satisfied that he was fine. Where were they? With the Shadows? Sector X? Just a regular hospital? Probably not the latter, she’d be in a hospital gown if that were the case, probably handcuffed to the bed with guards in the room. And Ben certainly wouldn’t be there. She looked around for some obvious, egotistical sign, a name, anything that would give it away, but found none. Her room was fairly standard it seemed, had many of the things that might be needed for most standard medical situations. There was a single observation window that showed the hallway. It didn’t seem that anyone had realized she was awake yet.

Trying to ignore the throbbing in her head, she got up, pulling the IV stand with her as she checked over the room, and checked the door. Unlocked. Her pack was on a counter, and it seemed Ben had his own things as well. It didn’t matter which group that had them, Nat wanted out. They weren’t safe with these people, whoever they were. She pulled the IV free, and gathered up her backpack, slinging it over her shoulders. She then gently stirred Ben as she always did, a gentle hand on the cheek, a light cooing, “Wake up Benji Wenji, it’s time to save the world.” This was something their mother had done for him, and she had kept it going.

The boy stirred groggily, and woke up, and would’ve exclaimed and hugged his sister if she didn’t have a finger to her lips, indicating him to be quiet. “It is time to go. Get your things, we’re leaving, now.” He nodded, though there was a look of indecisiveness about him, one she never saw before. He’d always followed what she said, never bothered to question it. Had something happened? Once he was up and ready, she led him to the door, which she now opened, hoping getting out would be easy enough.

There was a rather intimidating woman with an eyepatch sitting across the doorway in the hall. “I figured you’d try to flee, given your history. Good luck though. You don’t know where you are, and neither does your brother. Also, your possessions are in possession as it were. You have caused us a fair bit of trouble Natalie. That isn’t your real name, but it was the one your brother gave us, so we’ll roll with it for now.”

Nat’s eyes had grown wide at the sight of the calm, relaxed woman sitting there. The way she spoke was unsettling. Her mind was screaming run. She looked up both ends of the hallway, finding them identical, and without signs or exit indicators, even emergency ones. She quickly felt at her pack, only now realizing that it was lighter than before, empty. She inwardly cursed herself, having not paid any attention to that. She wasn’t a fighter, and this woman looked as if she were. So for now, she resigned herself to the moment, waiting for even the slightest glimmer of hope of escape, anything at all. “You don’t know my history, nor anything about us. I don’t know which group you are, but I’m not going to be kept a willing prisoner, and neither is my brother.”

The woman pulled out a file. “Wanted for grand larceny, larceny, breaking and entering… But you did all of this for your brother. Natasha and Benjamin Felds. Reported missing a few years ago. Miss Felds, technically you could be arrested for kidnapping your brother, since he is a minor and you are of age. However, none of that is what interests me. In fact we can even help hide that record and make it go away. And who said anything about being kept prisoner? We will be more than happy to let you go once you have fully recovered from passing out. I do just ask that you hear me out before you leave.”

If Nat wasn’t in full on flight mode before, she certainly was after the woman read off her crimes, their names, and even revealed the kidnapping bit that she hadn’t even realized. But then offered to make it all disappear? Why bother? For a willing and grateful pair of servants probably. Ben could probably recite several comics where that plot point had been used. Then she felt the tug at her arm from her brother, who she had been standing in front of defensively this whole time. He whispered into her ear, “I don’t know about this pirate woman, but she’s probably like Director Fury. He had an eyepatch and he was a good guy. These people aren’t bad Nat, they’ve been nice to me so far. I made them fix you up, without handcuffs and everything.”

Nat looked back at her brother in surprise, they had done something to him, he’d never had even considered anything other than her plans before. But the look in his eyes was a pleading one, a sincere one. “Who are you people? And what do you want from us?” Cutting straight to the point. Everyone wanted something.

“I want to offer you a job. We at Sector X are here to help psychics, and someone with your talents would be of value to us. We would give you the standard package, six figures, help find a place for you and your brother to live.” The director looked at Nat and paused for a moment. “But, if a steady job doesn’t interest you, I can not guarantee your safety once you leave this facility. You’ve already attracted some attention for some less than honest people. I am guessing they probably lied to you already? Told you that we were horrible people?”

Nat snorted derisively at the supposed offer. Six figures and a home? What sort of bull was that. Nat knew she wasn’t worth that to anyone. And how does rounding up psychics make money? It was completely ridiculous. And she’d never needed her safety guaranteed before these people got involved. If anything, they stopped their escape from that dark man and blonde girl. Hell, they might even be working with them.

“Kinda hard to tell who is lying when I don’t know who any of you are. You could just as easily be doing the same. And your offer is funny, but not believable. That much money on me? To what? Chase and terrorize others like me?”

“You can start with me. Go ahead, and read my mind. And no, not to ‘chase and terrorize’ other psychics. I will admit your experience is not the typical one. We were hoping to find you before others did, but that did not happen. I apologize for the distress it caused you, and your brother. He was quite worried about you. However, if we were Shadow, we’d just wipe your brain and put you to work. Not offer you a salary.” The director frowned. It seemed she did not like what Nat was saying.

Nat grew a bit self conscious at this offer. She knew that her and her brother had that little bit of power that all psychics seemed to have, but she’d never been comfortable using it. It was so… invasive and personal. But she needed to know the truth, to know if it really was all too good to be true, at least for Ben. She even ignored the fact that the other group, this… Shadow, had said they were hoping to find them first as well. How similar they were. Her mind probe forth, tentatively, timidly, seeking out the eye-patched woman’s mind, not sure as to what she would find.

The woman’s mind was open, and there was no indicator that she herself had any powers. There were flashes of a red-headed woman sobbing as she told the director about the man that had died in front of her, her watching as a young blond woman tried to talk to a man who was tied to chair, yelling that Shadow would make everyone like them. There were other snippets of peaceful recruitments, including the same red-head from earlier, as well as others. Then it zoomed in on another recruitment who had passed on the job. Then flashed to a newspaper clipping of the person missing. None were lies.

“Is there anything else you’d like to see while you’re in there?”

Nat immediately retracted her mind after seeing the newspaper clipping. That was enough, she’d already seen the ones that were sent out for her and Ben in their hometown and that had nearly broken her heart. She looked back at Ben, who couldn’t help but keep staring at the eyepatch, everything she’d done so far was for him, was what was best. For him. Would this be better than being on the run? She’d almost lost him today, when she’d told him to run and leave her behind. He would have been missing, not just to the world, but from her as well. That wasn’t a good plan, and she now admitted it. She’d taught him well, but he wouldn’t last long on his own, she didn’t think, he was too… nice. A kind, sweet boy. Nat shook her head at the woman.

“If I take this offer, can me and my brother walk away at any time? And I won’t let you put him in danger either, he’s just a kid, not some… field agent.”

“Of course. Any time you want. As I said, you’d be an employee, not a prisoner. That is not how we work. As for your brother, he is free to come and go as he likes. With his talent he’d be more useful in the lab. But that is for another time. Right now, he should be in school, like any other boy his age. What he does is up to the two of you. But as I also said, if you leave, I can not guarantee your safety. But I will never keep anyone here against their will. And Miss Felds, you can find a position here you like as well. You don’t have to be a field agent all the time. Many of our staff have other tasks. For instance, Miss Autumn, whom your brother is familiar with, also works as a diplomat for the UN.”

Ben could go to school? She’d seen the way he’d looked longingly at them anytime they happened to be near them. He could be around kids his own age, have… friends, go to college, he was certainly smart enough. She didn’t care what they had her do, if they let him be, let him do what he wanted, and they just protected him, and let her protect him. It was too late for her to have any of those things, but she could still give them to him. She realized for a moment that if the other group, this… Shadow had given the same offer, she’d have taken it as well. She found herself nodding at the woman, relaxing just a bit, “Fine, I’ll work for you. But Ben goes to a fancy private school on your dime. And a college fund for him. We’ll pick our own place to live.” She didn’t really have any demands for herself, they’d already agreed to clear their, well, her records.

The director seemed to think for a moment and then nodded. “Sounds fair to me. But, if you do choose to leave, those will end, but I figure you already knew that.”

Nat nodded, figuring as much. Besides, six figures a year could go a long way toward being ready for anything, including leaving. “So I imagine there’s paperwork and other annoyances now?”

“Yes, but we can do that another day. You are still recovering from overextending yourself. Ben will be able to stay with you till we have one of our doctors check you out. From there, we’ll help set up a place of temporary residence while you look for a place for you and Ben. Luckily, it is early enough that we can still enroll Ben in school before it starts.”

Nat nodded, only now noticing the migraine was worse, probably from reading the woman’s mind. “Yeah, I should rest. We’ll take care of that later, miss…?” As she waited for the answer, she turned back to her room, to lie down, and sleep this off.

“You can call me The Director. Welcome to Sector X.”

Nat laid down, chuckling lightly. Sector X, The Director, the eyepatch. This place had a level of humor Ben would truly appreciate. Ben nodded at the Director, finally pulling his gaze away, and sat back down in Nat’s room, and opened his comic once more, a smile growing on his face.

[Kirah]

Niah Bautista
with Autumn Page
and Brandon Hearne

Niah’s phone beeped again. Autumn, again, this time she was telling her to get back to HQ. That was quick.

Niah drove back and headed for her office dropping off her bag before heading down to the Director’s office where she hoped Autumn and Hearne would be already for the debrief.

Autumn was looking a bit pale, but comfortably seated in one of the chairs in the director’s office. The director herself was looking rather miffed, her brows furrowed. Her anger seemed directed mostly at Autumn for some reason unknown to Niah. Hearne sat on the other side and fiddled with the button of his shirt’s cuff, pointedly looking anywhere but at the director, and waved when Niah entered.

“Sorry for being late.” Niah gave her customary bow and took a seat. She was tempted to ask what she missed, but she figured for now she’d have to wait to find out what happened.

“So, I see that your mission was, by technically, a success. You did bring in Ms. Felds and even found her brother. However, I want you three to explain to me how a guard got killed, and you let two Shadow Operatives get away!” Autumn visibly flinched at those words and looked away. Niah paled, what had she missed?

Brandon chose that moment to try and interject, just a little uncertainty leaking into his voice. “Director, I think that’s mostly my fault – I was, uh, chasing after the psychics rather than the Shadow folk. I should have been helping there instead.”

“Mr. Hearne, I appreciate your sentiment, but I want Miss Page to explain why she failed her part of the mission.” Autumn seemed to turn paler in that moment. Niah felt like an intruder, she wasn’t much of a field agent, and she hadn’t been with Autumn and Hearne. Had she failed, maybe if she had teleported - No she couldn’t do that, that would be a very bad idea to mix with her power.

”I underestimated them. I thought once I had the dampener cuffs on them they wouldn’t be able to escape. I believe one of them has some form of military training. He was able to resist my full on pheromone persuasion. I take full credit for this. Ms. Bautista and Mr. Hearne did their parts perfectly.” Autumn seemed to shrink a bit.

“Very well. I want full reports on my desk by the end of the week. Ms. Bautista, is there anything you found in your investigation that might make it easier to help Ms. Felds’ record disappear?” The director turned to look at Niah.

“I retrieved a sample of her hair, so if there is DNA of her’s at any other crime scenes we can clean that up, but other than that I don’t think it’d be easy to tie her to anything officially.”

“Luckily there was not. Natasha Felds is a missing person, so if her DNA had been found sooner, it would have made news. Thank you Ms. Bautista. Mr. Hearne, is there anything else you’d like to add?”

“Not a thing, ma’am,” he said quickly.

The director looked between the three of them and sighed. “I will commemorate you on a job well done. Yes, it did get messy in parts, but, I am also aware that a few of you don’t normally go into the field and do what you did. Miss Page, I do want you to stay. I have another mission for you.”

”Yes Ma’am.”

“As for the rest of you, unless you have anything you need to tell me now that will not be in your reports, you are dismissed.” Niah nodded and stood up from her chair. She left the room quickly not wanting to be in there any longer.

Brandon gave Autumn a sympathetic glance and quietly muttered under his breath, “It’s like being back in primary school, isn’t it?” Swiftly, he rose and left the room a few seconds after Bautista, making his exit manually for once like normal people did.

[kittyluna45]

Autumn Page

Director’s Office

Monday Afternoon

The whole day had just gone wrong for Autumn. The mission had gone disastrously and all the blame was pretty much on her. Heck, even she was blaming herself. She had underestimated their opponents, and had sent away her back up, and for that, an innocent man was now dead.

She did make mental note to thank Brandon alone later. He had stuck his neck out a bit for her, even if it had not worked. Perhaps she shouldn’t be so hostile towards him. Who knew his reasons why he did what he did? Maybe he wasn’t like her father…

Her thoughts were interrupted by the Director clearing her throat. “Miss Page. I am aware that after the mission you were sent on today, you should be due for some personal time. However, something came up. I need you to take over the mission to South Carolina. The agent who I was planning on sending on it had a personal issue come up that he needed to address.”

Autumn looked at the Director in disbelief. Another mission? So soon? ”Ma’am… I can’t…”

“We have confirmed that she is not a target of Shadow, unlike Miss Felds. This should be a simple missions. If I could send anyone else, I would. However you are the best operative I have to send at the moment. Your talents are the best suited towards a peaceful recruitment like this.”

”But Director…”

“No buts. This is your way to make up for the previous mission Miss Page. I know you were not fully anticipating what happened, but I need you right now. Are you with me?” The Director locked her one good eye with Autumn’s.

”Yes Ma’am. You said South Carolina right? I’m guessing I’ll be taking a night flight?” Autumn saw no point in fighting at the moment. If she was needed for this mission, she would take it, trauma aside.

“Once you do get back, I will arrange for Miss Lequal to have a few sessions with you.” Autumn let out a small sigh of relief. Meghan was a good person, and having a few sessions with her would be good.

”Thank you Director. I will get ready to head out soon.” Autumn stood up and turned to leave the office.

“Miss Page?” Autumn turned back to look at the director. “I am sorry you had to witness what you did. You will not face any negative repercussions. You did all you could.”

”Thank you Director.” Autumn left, letting out a long, loud sigh as she headed back up the stairs to her office. She picked up her mission ready bag and got ready to leave, ready for her next mission. ”Off to South Carolina I go.”

[Kirah]

Neil Maxwell

With Alex Mercede

Monday, late night

It wasn’t long after Neil had hung up with the director that Mercede returned with dinner. Neil was still pacing the room trying to decide how to approach this whole situation. Chris had gotten a pretty good triangulation on Pixie and she had said that if they got the car to feel free to show up.

“Hey Mercede.” Neil said, in his not so well executed attempt to seem like a normal human for once. “So I got a hold of Pixie, and she’s a bit of a strange one. Honestly she kind of weirds me out. Anyway she basically told me that if we don’t get her a ‘69 Impala then she’d join Shadow. I don’t think she realizes how stupid that would be, but I called the director, and she’s going to try to pull strings and get the car out here tomorrow afternoon. Not sure how. Those cars are impossible to find.” This whole situation was insane. Surely there had to be someone better qualified than Neil who could do this job. He was not a face.

Mercede blinked a couple of times as he stood just inside the closed door of the hotel. Then he nodded once, continued to walk toward the small table, and set down a couple of take-out boxes. “You want the tacos or the burrito? I’m not picky, and this place is supposed to be pretty damn good,” he said, seeming exceptionally nonchalant about the whole thing.

“Tacos, thanks.” Neil stepped over to the boxes of food and pulled out a few of the tacos. “So yeah this Pixie chick, she’s crazy good at games, that could be in part her technopath power, but I think that just added to her already amazing skill. She had definitely had contact with Shadow. Her passcode for voice chat today was Shadowsux. Neil took a few bites of his taco. He thought over the conversation with Pixie, she seemed like she just didn’t care what happened to herself. Neil sighed. “I’ll be honest I have no idea what I’m doing. I hope if we do talk to her tomorrow face to face you can handle her better than I did.”

“Okay. That’s all well and good, but stop talking about her for a bit and eat.” Mercede said as he bit into the burrito from the other box. “First lesson about field missions; stress is your worst enemy. When you get stressed about something, you overthink it. When you overthink something, you miss things that would normally be obvious.”

“Case in point- I don’t think she’s likely to make good on her threat to join up with Shadow. We haven’t tried to get a hold of her until today, yet she still had that much secrecy and security about her. That, plus the passcode, suggests to me that she’s had it up to here,” he waved his hand toward his eyebrow, “With them trying to find her. Which takes that concern off to the side, even if not entirely off the table. Now, I’m going to sit here and eat this amazing burrito. It will probably take me between fifteen and twenty-five minutes. I don’t want to hear another word about her until I am done.” He looked Neil in the eye, which if Neil was honest with himself was intimidating as hell. “And since I know it’s going to be on your mind, what I want you to do instead is go back over your contact with her. Try to recall everything you can, even tiny things if possible. And once I’ve got this delicious compendium of rice, chicken, and salsa safe in my belly, we’ll go over it together. Sound good?” Neil just nodded. There wasn’t much to say in response to that, except the blessed silence of eating.

[Riven Wight]

And Autumn Page

Tuesday Morning

Talia groaned and slammed her fist down on her alarm clock. She let her hand slide off it and hang at the side of her bed. She grumbled into the pillow, the bed shifting beside her as McMuffin readjusted himself after the disturbance of the alarm.
She groaned as she heard Ronaldo’s usual holler from the floor, before he jumped onto the covers and walked across her back. She stole a glance at the clock, then shoved her face back in the pillow with further grumblings about mornings and work.
Forcing herself up, she stretched, the action feline. She plopped back down and looked to the cats, McMuffin curled into a ball of fuzz and Ronaldo just laying down to clean himself.
She had spent a good portion of the night--at least, as long as her powers would let her--trying to convince the cats that the addition of a dog to their family would be a good idea, but they refused to bite. She had thought about adopting Kalik anyway, but then there was always the issue of the landlord.
With a sigh, she rolled out of bed, untangled herself from her cocoon of blankets, and groggily drug herself to the kitchen area to make a pot of coffee, McMuffin in her shadow.
After quickly getting ready for her day, she said her farewells to her dear friends, and headed out the door. As she neared the bottom of the apartment stairs, her phone went off in her purse, making her jump. She glanced around the empty stairwell, then pulled out her phone.
“Hey, Eliza,” she greeted, exiting the building. “What’s up?”
“T.J.! Good. Glad I caught you.” The relief in the girl’s voice was almost palpable. “I know it’s short notice, but there’s been a mistake with the schedules. There’re too many people working this morning.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning it looks like you get a three-day weekend this week, and one day next week.”
“Oh!” Her mind went to Kalik. “Sounds perfect.”
“Great. Bye!”
The phone disconnected as Talia’s shift manager hung up.
Hope they have room for an extra volunteer today, she thought, and hurried on her way to the shelter, pausing only to give her car a quick glance in debate, then deciding to go on foot.
When she arrived at the shelter, Talia greeted Laura’s surprised look with a friendly wave. “Got the day off,” she told the woman, who stood once more behind the counter. “Got room for one more on the staff today?”
Laura smiled and shook her head. “You know, most people sleep in their days off.” The woman looked to Talia. “Derek just called in sick. Go get changed.” She gestured to the door to the lockers with a nod.
“How’s Kalik?” Talia asked, making her way to the door.
“Kalik?” Laura’s brows knitted in confusion for a second, “Oh, the husky-mix. He’s fine. On edge, but he’s been a good boy, for the most part.”
“Good.” Talia offered a quick smile.
“Mind if I put you on desk duty, though, once you’ve said hello to your friend?”
Talia’s shoulders slumped slightly, but her expression did not waver. “Sure, that’s fine.” With that, she hurried to the locker rooms and quickly switched shirts before returning to the entrance room to mann the desk.
In walked a woman with red hair, that was pulled up into a bun. She seemed to be looking at her phone for a moment, and then looked up at Talia and smiled. “Hi, I’m looking for Talia Jones? Do you happen to know if she’s volunteering today?” She smiled a bit a Talia.
Talia looked at the woman for a moment, wondering how the woman knew her. “Yeah, I’m Talia. How can I help you?”
“My name is Autumn Page, and I represent some people that are very interested in getting to know you. Is there someplace we can talk in private? Also, I saw some very interesting looking dogs that I may be interested in.” She held out her hand to Talia in greeting.
Suspicion entered Talia’s gaze at the woman’s words. Interested to know me?
Regardless, she took Autumn’s hand and shook it. “Sure,” she answered slowly. “Do you know the names or breed of the dogs you were interested in?”
“There was one that showed up yesterday under the rescued tab. I know he’s not for adoption yet, but I wanted to see him. His name is Kalik, husky-mix.” There seemed to be a sparkle in Autumn’s eye as their hands shook. There was also a rather strange looking ear cuff on the woman’s left ear.
Talia inhaled as Autumn said the dog’s name. So, someone was already looking at him.
Why wouldn’t they? she scolded herself. He’s a beautiful dog.
“That can be arranged.” She forced her smile to broaden. “But know he can be a bit temperamental yet. Follow me.” Talia stepped out from behind the counter, gestured to a door near the side of the room with a window at its top, and went toward it, pausing to be sure Autumn followed, which she did.
On the other side of the door, a smaller, circular room waited, a long bench in its center and a few chairs sitting against the walls. Three other doors with rectangular slits for windows lined the walls.
Talia peered into the window of the first one, checking that it was empty, then pulled the door open.
“These are our visiting rooms.” Talia looked to Autumn, holding the door open for her. “If you want to wait in here, I’ll bring Kalik out. We can talk more then.”
“Thank you. I’ll wait here.” Autumn happily took a seat and looked around the room and pulled out her phone again. “Sorry, boss wondering where I am.”
“That’s fine. But I’d suggest putting it on silent. The ringtone might startle Kalik.” With that, she turned and went back into the main room, both doors closing behind her.
She went to the kennels and, taking a moment to try talking Kalik back into his collar with a few stern looks and a tone she hoped he would understand, she managed to get a leash on the dog and led him back to the visiting room.
The dog trotted obediently beside her, his ears twitching and perking at every sound.
“Here we are,” she said, more to the dog than the waiting woman as she and Kalik entered the visiting room.
A couple metal-and-plastic chairs sat against the wall, and a dog bed sat in one corner with a few squeaky toys inside. A counter spanned the wall beside the door, a couple empty terrariums sitting on it, and cabinets were mounted to the wall above.
“Kalik,” Talia knelt down in front of Kalik and took the leash off, “I’d like you to meet Autumn.” She glanced to the woman. “May I call you Autumn?”
“Please do. Hello Kalik, aren't you a pretty boy?” Autumn held out her hand to let Kalik sniff, as if knowing that just touching him right off the bat was a bad idea. “So, I’m assuming that it is just the three of us that can hear what is going on in here, yes?” She said, waiting for approval to pet.
The dog’s ears flattened slightly as Autumn reached toward him. Kalik gave Talia a quick glance. At her small nod, Kalik sniffed at Autumn’s hand before gently nudging her fingers.
“Yeah,” Talia answered, her earlier suspicion returning as she gently ruffled the fur on Kalik’s back.
Autumn smiled and gently patted Kalik on the snout and then went about to scratch gently behind his ears. “Talia, I will be frank with you. I represent an agency that works with people like you, people with psychic talents. We want to offer you a job, if that would interest you.” She looked at Talia, waiting to see the woman’s response.
As Autumn petted Kalik, Talia stood and went to one of the cupboards labeled “Treats.” She froze as Autumn called out her abilities.
Talia’s gaze darkened. She contemplated playing dumb, but something told her that that would be a waste of breath.
“What, like the government?” she asked flatly without turning from the cabinet. Her parents had warned her about the government time and again. The last thing she wanted was to become sort of lab rat, both literally and figuratively.
Kalik pulled his head from Autumn’s hand and looked to Talia at her tone. He went to her and sat beside her, his gaze almost questioning.
Talia looked to Kalik and grabbed a treat from a jar before shutting the cabinet door harder than she intended. The sound startled Kalik, and the dog jumped back with a surprised bark, then growled up at the cabinet.
“Sorry,” she muttered to the dog, carefully offering him the treat in apology.
“Not the government, but I don’t blame you for thinking that. Wouldn’t be the first time. This is more of something in the private sector.” She looked at Kalik and then at Talia. “You want to calm him down? I know you can do it.” She cocked her head and smiled at Talia.
Talia turned her gaze to Autumn and return the woman’s smile with a frown. Kalik refused the treat, instead looking between Talia and Autumn before, picking up on Talia’s mood, he growled at Autumn.
“Depends. What ‘private sector’ are we talking about, and what do you do, exactly?” Talia held a hand out to Kalik nevertheless to keep him from attacking if he chose to act. The dog glanced to her hand, and took a slight step back.
“The kind that really doesn’t have ties to the Government. We do work with them however, to assure the rights of those with psychic powers, as well as grant those who are fleeing their countries due to said powers a place of asylum. As for what we do, we help other psychics, in one way or another. Learn about their talents, help them if they’re facing some sort of issue, legal or not, as well as help those who wish to hide hide. We also wish to help human/ psychic interactions, and keep blood shed and collateral damage to a minimum. I know this is rather sudden and out of the blue, but I’m going to be frank with you. There is a group of people out there that do not agree with us, for some reason. They actively seek out other psychics and brainwash them, turning them into their little puppets. We do not know their end goal, and that is what scares us the most. They have proven they are not afraid to take any risks, or even spare any mercy when seeking someone. I am reaching out because your talents are useful, and we want to make sure we got to you before they did. They have already done some very high-risk thing this week alone, and quite honestly, that frightens me.” Autumn did indeed look frightened, like she had seen something she rather forget.
“We would be willing to help you relocate if you did join us, but if not, we can still help keep you out of others radar, if you wish.”
Talia took a deep breath, searching Autumn’s face for any misgivings. Finding none, her expression softened slightly and she knelt down to Kalik’s level, momentarily ignoring Autumn as her mind tried to process the woman’s words.
“Kalik,” she said as evenly as she could, making the dog look to her. “Easy, boy.” She extended her open hand to him, and offered him the treat once more with the other. After a moment, Kalik tentatively took it, the bone-shaped biscuit providing a one-bite snack for him.
“What kind of job, exactly, is it you’re offering me here?” Talia crossed her arms and leaned against the counter, trying to portray a sense of ease to keep Kalik calm.
The dog remained tense, his head turning to keep both women in his sight.
Autumn seemed to pause for a moment in thought. “Well given your talents, we could use you as a field agent. However, what you ultimately do in Sector X is up to you. We are aware the name is terrible, just roll with it,” she said with chuckle. She coughed and seemed to become serious again. “Also, given your secondary talent, you could be quite useful when we have situations involving animals like that cutie there.”
Talia looked to Kalik a long moment, not wanting to meet Autumn’s eyes. This woman knew quite a bit about her powers. An unnerving amount. And if she knew what she could do…
Who else does? Talia bit her lower lip as Kalik looked back to her and cocked his head slightly.
She ran her hand gently down his head and neck as she looked back to Autumn. “Can I have the evening to think on it?”
“Of course you may. Here is my number and e-mail for when you make a decision.” Autumn reached into her purse, dug around for a moment, and then pulled out a card and handed it to Talia. “I do plan to be in town for at least another day or so while you think it over.”
“Great. Thanks.” Talia pushed from the counter and took the card. She turned it over in her hand, giving it only a quick look, then put it in her pocket and grabbed the leash from where she had placed it earlier on the counter. “If we’re done here…” she let her words trail off as Kalik let her attach the leash to his collar.
“I suppose we are. I’m sorry if I gave a bad first impression. It has been a rough week. I do hope that this cutie finds a good home. It was nice to meet you, Miss Jones. Have a good day.”
Talia only nodded and watched as Autumn stood up and went to leave, giving one last look at Kalik before walking out the door.

[Saltwater Thief]

Cassie Anderson and Sophie Castellia

(With Guest NPC Meghan Lequal)

Boston, MA

Tuesday Afternoon

Sophie looked around her humble abode from the seat of her couch. Perhaps humble was too generous, she thought to herself; the place was a hole. The walls hadn’t been repainted since before she’d signed the lease, there were even a few holes in choice places from the previous tenant, and copious amounts of Febreeze was an allowance in her budget for the sake of the smell. But, she reflected, it was honestly the best she could do- there was only so much money someone like her could make.

And yet, here was a woman who said she might have a job offer for her, literally knocking on her door, and saying she could still have a chance to do some good in the world. Sophie had, of course, turned her down fairly flatly; even if she had the potential to, did she really have any right to expect anything benevolent of herself? No, she thought, Not anymore. And yet, somewhere in the recesses of her mind that had long since been forgotten, some part of her she would’ve been sworn was dead had been stirred by Cassie’s words. If nothing else, it told her, this was an opportunity that was not likely to come by ever again; she at least ought to give it consideration. It wasn’t long, however, before the memories of that warm June night surfaced in all of their cruel, crystalline clarity to crush it in the same way they had crushed every other hope she had ever dared to harbor. She silenced the TV that had been babbling away in the background with a disdainful flick of the remote, then set about trying to prepare for her two pending guests. Just as she got out two folding chairs that would doubtless be more welcoming than the two-thirds of the couch that wasn’t still hanging on to its support, there was a knock at the door.

When Sophie answered the door, there was Cassie, and another woman. The other woman’s blond hair was braided over her shoulder and she had a small smile on her face as she peeked into the apartment.“Hello again Sophie.” Cassie walked into the apartment and paused. “This is an associate of Sector X’s. Her name is Meghan Lequal.”

“Hello Miss Castellia. I’m Meghan, and it is a pleasure to meet you. Cass asked me here because she’s pretty sure she can help you. I’m working on getting my PHD in psychotherapy, but I am also a psychic with a really powerful telepathy talent. That is what I’m hoping to use to help you today. Now, I know you have questions, so please, don’t be shy,” said the blonde, whom had been introduced as Meghan. She was holding a file in one of her hands, but the name on the file was covered by the hand. She did stick out her unoccupied hand, obviously wanting to shake hands with Sophie.

”She’s one of the best there is. I’ve had a few sessions with her.” Cassie had already made herself at home, having plopped into one of the chairs that Sophie had set up. ”But, she’ll only help if you want.”

“This is true. I will never do anything without your consent. If you are worried that Cassie is here, and might hear something you don’t want to be heard, then you have no worries. My form of therapy all takes place in your head, if you’ll allow me in.” Meghan offered a smile to Sophie, her hand still stretched out.

Sophie regarded the blonde woman warily. Telepaths were trouble, far more so for her than most others; while the mental shroud technique and common psychic etiquette were enough for most people, Sophie had no way of knowing whether or not she would accidentally give them the ability to completely override her shroud, whether they liked it or not. And if this woman was as strong as Cassie purported her to be…

It must have been her nerves that did it. As soon as she finished concluding that she would need to be extra careful with herself around Meghan, Sophie felt a sensation like warm, running water go down her spine. It was, she realized as soon as it began, the telltale sign of her ability triggering- and it was about to affect a particularly powerful telepath.

“Brace yourself!” was all she had time to say before she felt something, or rather someone, picking about in her mind.

Meghan blinked and then realized what was going on and closed her eyes and started navigating Sophie’s mind, and was taking the young girl along for the ride. “I see… A booster. Hmm, there are signs of trauma… something associated with your powers. Something you don’t want anyone else to know. Why don’t we start by telling me how you learned about your ability?” Meghan was projecting directly into Sophie’s mind, and they had left Sophie’s living room and Cassie behind. The blonde looked at ease in Sophie’s mind, it was obviously not the first time she had done something like this. On the other hand, Sophie herself looked like she was about to breakdown at any moment. Her psyche’s representation stood with her arms wrapped around herself and shivering, her eyes darting this way and that in the dim, greyish colored plane.

“Wh- what are you… she started to frantically ask, “Out… I need you to get out! Now!” she practically screamed as her hands flew to the sides of her head and clutched it, an action she felt sure her physical body was mimicking in her living room. As she stood in such a pose, however, her voice sounded again- but not from the lips of the Sophie standing in front of Meghan. Instead, it reverberated from the very air of the space, as though through a PA system, but only as loud in volume as a whisper.

“She wants to help,” it said in a comforting tone, “Why not let her try?”

“Because she can’t!” bellowed a louder, clearly more powerful variant of her mezzo-soprano voice, “Nobody can, because there isn’t anything that can be fixed!

Sophie shuddered in the wake of the loud voice, as if she was a schoolgirl being reprimanded by her mother. And yet, she still hadn’t enforced her desire for Meghan to leave.

“Sophie… it is alright. Please, let me help you.” Meghan looked at Sophie and then around. She did look a little lost as Sophie started debating with herself, but she seemed firm in her resolve to help.

“Talk to me. What is it that can’t be fixed?” Meghan reached out her hands, gently putting them over Sophie’s. “Talk to me, please.”

“NO!” boomed the titanic voice, “Make her leave!”

“But if she has even a small chance of helping-” began the tiny voice in the octave reserved only for desperate pleading.

“FOR THE LAST TIME, NOBODY HAS ANY CHANCE OF-”

“Both of you, SHUT UP!!!”

Silence followed immediately. Regardless of how strong or weak either of the voices seemed, both of them heeded Sophie herself when she put her mind to it. Still trembling, she slowly lowered her hands from her head and stood up to meet Meghan’s eyes directly. There was something in her eyes, something that was neither reluctance nor resolve, but something in between. “You want to know what happened? Take a look.”

As she spoke, something like a movie theater screen faded into existence just behind her. For Meghan, it wouldn’t take long for her to realize that the “movie” in question was a memory- and she was watching it through Sophie’s eyes. “I just hope you’re allowed to forget it.”

It was unusually clear, for a memory. As soon as most got more than a few days old, they faded a little; details were smudged, the background blurred, and often times the words spoken by those present had a tinge to them, like they’d been hastily edited in. Not this one, though. This memory had retained its clarity ever since its conception. It was in a typical high school gym. Tall dome ceiling, criss-crossing support structure with athletic competition banners hanging from it at set spots, and metal bleachers surrounding a large basketball court. It was well into the evening, 8:00 pm at the earliest, and six teenagers stood around in a circle. Sophie’s sight swiveled around, finding each in turn. Three of them were women, three men, and all of them were dressed in casual street clothes. All three girls were of about the same height, the tallest being only a few inches more than Sophie herself. Two of them were blonde haired, one with long golden locks that draped around her and the other with short, carefully maintained curls about her face, and the third was a glasses-sporting, bookish brunette. The three boys were varied in height; one very tall, one average, and the third on the short side in a way that oddly complimented his dark brown skin. All three of them had an air of athleticism about them, but none of them behaved like the stereotypical jock.

“This was two years ago,” Sophie explained, “Our school had finally gotten to the point where psychics weren’t getting the crap beaten out of them for being freaks. Just in time for us to graduate. We’d all decided to get together in the gym one last time before we all went our separate ways.” Meghan nodded, keeping silent as she watched.

The movie continued, with the focus going around the circle. In turn, each of the teenagers held out their hands, closed their eyes, and made something extraordinary happen. For most, it was simply the act of telekinetically passing an old basketball around. Some of them were able to add some flair to it, like when Moriah- the curled blonde- spiraled it around herself before passing it off. For a time, they simply passed the ball around the circle, their faces full of laughter. Occasionally someone would open their mouth to speak, but no words could be heard. It was as if they held no significance in the memory. Which was why it was startling when the taller boy’s voice rang out.

“Pretty good passes guys,” he said as he spun the ball around on his fingertip, “It’s almost like you’ve been practicing!”

“Oh, like you haven’t been, James?” chimed in the brunette, giving the ball a quick bump from across the gathering. James took the bump in stride, catching the ball and physically passing it away.

“Nah,” James replied, “Not me. Not that, at least. I’ve been working on something WAY better.”

“Oh?” Moriah asked, crossing her arms in front of her body, “And what would that be?”

“Check it out!” James said in return as he extended his arm outward. A few seconds later, small sparks began to form in the air above his palm. They grew in number and in sparkiness, snapping and glowing louder and brighter until they formed a small, reddish firework floating inches above his hand!

“Whoa!” exclaimed the young black man- Will was his name, “You have a Uni-Psych?”

“Sure do,” James said as he began to walk around with the little psychic pyrotechnic, “Found out about it back in December. Been working on it all year!”

“Isn’t that hot, though?” came Sophie’s own voice, resonating from the memory.

“Nope!” James exclaimed in response as he danced with the spark toward her, “It just kind of tingles. See?”

As he extended it toward the camera, so to speak, Memory-Sophie shirked away from the little ball.

“Ahhh!” she cried out, “Don’t do that! You know I don’t like that feeling!”

“Oh come on Sophie, Sparky here just wants to be friends…” James said as he made to playfully close the gap and tease her again. Each time he approached, she backed a little more away, until finally…

“I said, get that away from me!” she cried as her hand came into vision to slap his arm away. As soon as she made contact, however, something happened. The little firework flared suddenly and started to grow hot. James, noticing it immediately, backed away and started trying to focus. The spark started pulsing as it grew larger and larger, brighter and brighter, and the look on James’s face made it plain he had no idea what to do!

“James, what are you doing?!”

“This isn’t me! I don’t know what it’s doing, this has never happened before!”

“Turn it off!”

“I can’t!”

“Well, get rid of it then!”

With little choice left, James hurled the spark upwards into the air, where it flew high up to the gym’s ceiling. The view of memory flew down to look at Sophie’s hands as she turned them over and over, trying to confirm if that had been her or not.

“Did I just…?”

Then there was a blinding light, a deafening blast, and the entire building shook! Sophie’s gaze flew around, too fast to make sense of anything.

And then the screams came. Horrible, agonized screams in her friends’ voices that curdled the blood and froze the air in the lungs of all who heard them. The screams of dying people.

As the memory’s lens snapped to the source of the noise, all that could be seen was the falling concrete and steel as the burning roof collapsed. Sophie froze with fear, unable to move an inch, and her gaze locked upon the burning wreckage.

“Sophie!!!” cried out a voice in the chaos. She turned toward it and found Moriah still standing, still breathing, staring wide-eyed at her.

“Moriah!” Sophie responded and started moving toward her. Suddenly, Moriah’s eyes snapped upwards, over Sophie’s head, and her mouth opened wide before closing in a snarl.

“Look out!” she yelled as she extended both hands toward her friend. Great telekinetic force, the kind only attainable so quickly by those with a specialty for it, struck Sophie and launched her backwards. She tumbled and rolled on the ground, finally getting to her feet a dozen yards away from the steel girder that nearly crushed her.

“Mori!” she yelled as she ran around to see her best friend. When she found her, Moriah was on the ground, pinned from the waist down by part of the demolished infrastructure. She was immobile, but she was conscious- and under a lot of stress.

“I’m okay!” she yelled through gritted teeth, “I cushioned it with my TK. Sophie, get out of here!”

“I’m not about to leave you like this!” Sophie cried as she started to run toward Moriah’s position.

“Yes… you… mmph! ARE!” Moriah returned as a much weaker force pushed against Sophie briefly, “I can shield myself until help gets here! You’re still moving around, you need to leave before that changes!”

“I can’t just-”

Another crash echoed across the gym as more of the roof turned to rubble.

“GO!!!”

One last moment of hesitation occurred... and then Sophie whirled around and bolted for the nearest unblocked door. Once she was outside, she stopped to catch her breath and review what had just happened. And then she promptly threw up on the ground. A seeming eternity passed as tears fell and mixed with the remnants of Sophie’s dinner on the ground.

And then, she was moving again. It started as a slow, tottering walk, but it soon turned into a jog and then a full run. All the while, the same sentence echoed in increasing distance as the memory came to a close.

“It’s all my fault… It’s all my fault.... It’s all my fault…"

The memory faded to black as the Sophie in the memory ran away from the scene as quickly as her legs would carry her. Meghan’s attention rounded back to the present-day Sophie, who sat on the ground with her back turned away from where the memory had been playing. “Well.” she stated, “There it is. That’s how I found out what my ‘special power’ was.” She pronounced the two words with such cynicism it was palpable. “By murdering most of my best friends. Moriah was the lucky one. She’s still in a coma, last I knew. But the doctors don’t know if she’ll ever wake up.”

Then she turned her head around to see the telepath. There were fresh tears in her eyes. “Still think you can help me?”

Meghan was frowning and she looked at Sophie. “Well, one you didn’t murder your best friends. Murder usually implies intent. However… Sophie, this was not your fault, first and foremost. A lot of accidents happened like this, especially when powers started awakening. I mean,” Meghan paused, and looked aside shamefully, “I started mind hopping a bit when I awoke. Did some serious damage to some friends. However, Sophie, what you went through, that’s not going to go away. What I can help you with is the guilt. That is if you will let me. I doubt your friends would want you to just keep yourself holed up in your shabby apartment.” Meghan offered out her hand to Sophie, and looked at her. “Also, if you want a hug right now, I don’t blame you.”

Sophie maintained her thousand yard stare, even as the hand was extended. “No offense, but I don’t think any of their parents would care if I had intent or not. They’re all dead or dying, and it’s all my fault.” she almost yelled as she came to a standing position, “I know more than anybody that it isn’t ever going away. Part of the reason I work the graveyard shift is because I can’t ever sleep at night. Any time I close my eyes the memories come flooding back, as clear as they were just now. The screaming is the worst part. Once that starts, I just…”

She turned her head away and wiped some of the tears away. “ I overloaded that fireball. My closest friend had to rescue me instead of saving herself. And then I left her to die. If they would even think of me as a friend anymore, I’m pretty sure what they’d want most is for me to make sure I never hurt anybody like that again.”

Meghan looked at Sophie, still frowning softly. “Sophie, we can help you with your gift. We have technology and others who can teach you how to control your power… but…” She seemed to pause for a moment, almost picking up something. She looked back to the younger girl. “Would you like me to include Cassie in this conversation?” She tilted her head a bit curiously, looking at Sophie, awaiting a response.

Sophie shook her head, not to answer Meghan, but to try and clear her thoughts. “I don’t know. I’m sick of feeling like this. I’m sick of the nightmares, I’m sick of the guilt, and I’m sick of living in isolation like I have a disease.” She sat down again, bringing her knees to her chin. “But what else can I do? Accident or no, I destroyed the lives of everyone I ever cared about. What right do I have to live a decent life after denying it to them? If I didn’t think I’d be cheating my rightful sentence I’d just kill myself.”

”You shouldn’t think like that. Moriah wouldn’t want that. She risked her life to save you, and honestly when she wakes up and if you were dead, she’s be rather sad.” Cassie interjected, having been slipped in at some point. ”I was one of the people who investigated the incident at your school Sophie. I didn’t know that you were a part of it yesterday. We have a healer working with Moriah, so one day she’ll wake up. As for what you said… I know that feeling too well kid. I was a marine. I did… things… that I’m not proud at times. But, we can help you. She can at least. I know I sleep well at night now thanks to Megs here. You have to be willing to let us help you first though. No progress starts without making that first step.”

Sophie’s head turned to where Cassie had suddenly appeared. She didn’t respond to the ex-marine’s words. She didn’t say anything at all for quite some time. And then, both Cassie and Meghan felt her shroud go up. “Would you mind giving me some time in my own head? Please?”

Nearly a half hour later, Sophie opened her eyes in the apartment again. She exhaled slowly, as if letting go of multiple things in her chest, then looked at Cassie. “Okay,” she said at last, her tone neutral but not as cold as it was, “Tell me more about Sector X.”

[Kirah]

Niah Bautista

Monday night to Tuesday Morning

Relieved Niah went up to her office, well it wasn't actually an office, it was a desk in a room full of desks, but if she pretended to look at something intently the other scientists would ignore her. They would all think she couldn't hear them. It was so much that she wanted to listen in on what they had to say, but mostly she wanted to be left alone. For the most part Niah was on friendly terms with the other scientists in her lab, but they all knew her rules. Don't touch her, unless necessary to get her attention, and talk about nothing personal. They talked science, and if she was asked something personal she usually just changed the subject to science.

It took maybe five minutes in the lab before she felt overwhelmed anyway. She needed to get out of the building, so she did. Her apartment wasn't far from Sector X, in truth she could walk if she really felt like it, sometimes she'd bike. Niah didn't walk though because most days she stayed late, and she wasn't going to walk home at night.

The apartment was small, and had nothing that showed she had had a life before Sector X. Everyone knew why, she was one of those that Sector X had 'killed' so they could live a normal life. Normal was not finding pictures of your father on the internet of speeches he was at or giving. Normal was not having almost zero proof that you actually, at one point in your life, had friends. Newspaper clippings did not count, that was actually creepy.

Niah went to bed after making sure her terrible sound proofing was secured in her room. Eventually she'd get real soundproofing instead of egg cartons. The window was the hard part. Sometimes in her sleep she'd accidentally activate her hyper sense, and when that happened she'd wake up nearly screaming. There was a time when that hadn't been so bad, there had once been someone there for her. So much for sleeping. Niah dug out her wallet and from it carefully removed the old photo from it. The picture was taken in one of those mall photo booths and was five years old. It was of her and four other people. She smiled at it for a few minutes before returning it to her wallet.

---

The next morning Niah didn't head straight for the labs, she instead swung through the Technopath's offices.

"Hey Chris." Niah said smiling as she poked her head into one of the corner offices.

"Hi Niah." He looked tired, probably helping someone on the field.

"Any luck?" His smile dropped a bit and he gave her a faint shake of his head.

"Sorry."

"It's okay. Just blind hope at this point right." Her own smile masked the tightness in her chest.

"Don't give up hope. I'm not. I'll find something."

"If anyone can you can. Thanks again." She gave him a wave and then went to her desk.

[Saltwater Thief]

Alex Mercede, with P1X1E, & Neil Maxwell

Tuesday, 12:25 pm

Sometimes, Alex thought wistfully to himself, field work had its benefits. It wasn’t every day that he got to drive what many would consider a legendary vehicle, and here he was in an open dirt lot leaning against a 1969 Impala. But then again, driving it had been the easy part of the day. The hard part was yet to come.

They’d managed to get a hold of the elusive “Pixie” again, this time to say they had the car and to appoint a spot to meet. After some discussion and debate, they’d settled on an old, unpaved parking lot near the edge of town. Lots of open space, little traffic, and nowhere near anything significant; perfect for a meeting between people who wanted to avoid attracting attention, for any reason. The sun was cresting directly overhead as Alex looked around. It was getting very close to time.

“Alright Max,” he asked as he scanned the area, “Should be here any minute. Any last-minute things you think we should address?”

”Not sure.” Max replied, still nervous about the whole thing. ”What do we do if she takes the car and drives off leaving us with nothing?”

“Simple; we don’t let her have the keys until we’re satisfied. Wait a minute, I hear something…”

The rumble of an old, trashed truck could be heard as it sped down the road and into the parking lot. It was definitely beaten up, the red paint dinged and scratched from almost all angles, and through the windshield a hooded figure could almost be seen, sunglasses obscuring most of their face.

Their identity was indistinguishable, at least until Pixie rolled the window down and hollered out, ”You guys actually brought one?”

Alex smiled in response. “We at least try to be nice to the people we get in touch with. You mind killing the engine and coming out here for a talk?”

There was a pause, and Pixie rubbed at her head. The engine turned off, but she made no move to get out of the truck. She did push up her sunglasses, though. ”This is my bullet shield just in case you do try and off me,” she informed him. ”Hope that’s not a deal-breaker for you.” Her gaze was focused on the Impala as she leaned out the window.

”We don’t shoot the people we’re trying to help.”

”Yeah, whatever,” Pixie said. ”So do I, like, sign a contract or some shit? Never done anything like this. Had a job. Whatever.”

”Well, that depends on a couple of things. Our little group has a couple of different ways it works with people of your skills and talents, and if you so felt you’d be free to take your pick from them, but getting you on the payroll has to come second for right now. The biggest thing we’re concerned about right now is getting you out of New Mexico.”

Alex continued to survey around the place, looking both with his eyes and sending out some of his psychic waves every so often. Despite how calm he seemed, the truth was that he was exceptionally nervous about the whole situation.

”Bro, just chill,” she told him. ”I’m watching the CCTV cameras on the way out of this place – if someone’s skulking around, I’ll see ‘em. But anyway – logistics.” Pixie cracked her knuckles, and opened the door of the truck to let her legs hang out. ”I don’t want to live in a dorm in whatever superhero complex you’re taking me.”

”You can live wherever you want. I live in an apartment. I know a few people who live in houses.”

”Hell, if you really felt like it, you could toss a bed in the back of your car and live out of it. All the work does is find ways to put people’s abilities to good use.” Alex smiled again, the kind of smile only someone else who plays competitive games would recognize. ”Better than putting the little 13-year old foul mouths to shame I mean.”

”What’s wrong with that for a pastime?” Pixie asked, completely serious.

”Absolutely nothing, I do it myself. Hell, I do it at my desk if I get all my work done in a timely manner, and my boss doesn’t care because she knows I’m good at my job and I’ll do it when I’m called to. It took me some time to prove that to her, but I always liked a challenge.”

”Uh-huh.” Pixie hummed contemplatively, eyeing Alex critically – almost like he was too old to play video games, or at least to old to talk to her about them. Abruptly, she changed the subject. ”So can I get the keys?”

”Well, that also depends on-” Alex’s attention was suddenly diverted as one of his waves bounced back with something different than empty space. Someone was approaching their little meeting. They were walking slowly, almost casually, but they were there. Thoughts began to speed through his head. Only Neil and he had clearance to be out here from S-X, there were contacts in Albuquerque PD keeping the civilian authorities out of it, and Pixie was well noted as being a total lone wolf. That left only one answer.

”You may want to get back in your truck. Neil? Get down.” Alex said as his face went from confident smile to focused stare. Pixie pulled her legs up and back into the truck, closing the door but still peering out the window at the newcomer. Neil did as he was told as well.

A young woman in cut-offs and a tank top walked over, popping a piece of bubble gum and sighed. She lowered the sunglasses on the bridge of her nose and sighed. “This is the best they had to offer. I was informed that I’d have more of a challenge here. But I see I got pencil pusher and… what? Who are you trying to kid with those headphones? This is a waste of my time. Yo! Pixie! I got someone who wants to meet ya….”

”Sorry lady,” Alex responded, ”But Miss Pixie’s appointments for today happen to be filled. Perhaps I could encourage you to reschedule?”

The woman rolled her eyes at Alex. “Who are you? Her secretary? I believe she’s her own grown ass woman who can talk to me, and not through some flunky of the poorly named Sector X.” She blew a bubble as she looked at Alex. “Besides, my friends really wanna meet her. I’m sure your colleagues have told you what happens if we don’t get what we want. Arlington got a bit fucked up yesterday, or didcha not hear?” She popped the bubble and looked at Alex.

”I’d like it if your friends all had a meeting with a speeding 18-wheeler, but we don’t always get what we-”

“Out of curiosity – like, morbid curiosity – who is it?” Pixie asked, twisting around to see even though she kept one eye on the Impala.

“Your friend from yesterday luv. He has this major crush on you and wants to take ya out to dinner. However, apparently your friends here are being a bit of buttheads. Let me see if I can get them out of our way. Have some girl chat.” The woman's hands started sparking as she walked towards Alex.

”Now, now,” Alex said as he put both of his hands up, as if he was surrendering, ”Let’s not let this get out of hand. I’d hate to be the guy who trashed a gorgeous car like this one by accident trying to protect himself…”

She smirked. “I wouldn’t be damaging the car handsome. You know that the human body runs on electrical impulses yes?” She looked at Alex, holding up her hands, sparks flying between her fingers. “I know just where to hit to make you punch yourself in the face.”

”I see. Guess I’ll just have to make sure you don’t hit me there then.” suddenly a spot on the ground just in front of where the girl was walking exploded upward like a landmine, throwing dust and debris in her face. ”Watch out for that first step, it’s a doozy.”

“Well fuck. Alex Mercedes. I should be honored. However…” The woman’s voice echoed across Alex’s mind, barely a whisper. There was a shot of lightning that flashed out, hitting the car and sparking. “I don’t need to see to do what I do!”

”Cool. Have fun with that.” And with that, Alex threw his raised hands forward, throwing a massive shockwave forward to slam into the woman. ” Neil, stay with Pixie, and get some backup out here! Pixie…” he said as he reached into his pocket, tossed her the impala keys, and opened the door for her, ”If you know what’s good for you, get in the Impala and DRIVE!”

Neil climbed into the passenger's seat of the Impala.

Pixie, who caught the keys, kissed her truck goodbye and darted into the open door of the Impala. The door slammed behind her with a little bit of telekinesis. Rolling the windows down and starting the engine, she called out, “The keys are in my truck if you need to make a quick getaway!” before screeching out towards the exit of the parking lot.

“WAIT NO GET BACK HERE!” Another streak of lightning flew across the sky, but hit nothing in particular.

“Tell Shadow he has to ask me himself!” And they were gone.

”Well then. Just you and me now. Mind if I ask who I have the pleasure of entertaining today?” Alex said as he spread his legs apart in an action-oriented stance.

“Mind if I ask you to kiss my ass?” The woman reappeared as the dust settled, a smirk across her face, sparks flying every which way. “Besides, I doubt you could entertain me anyways sugar. I bet the big headphones are to compensate for something small in your pants, right?”

”Nah, but they’re fantastic for tuning out psychotic tramps. Like so,” he said as he flipped the phones over his ears.

She smirked. “That was a dumb ass move. Electronics over your ears? Now I just have an easier channel…” She pointed her fingers at the earphones and sent a bolt of lightning at them, pretty much frying them.

Alex winced sharply as the sparks from his headphones shorting out shocked him, and he staggered back, closing his eyes in pain and doubling over.

“So… the infamous Alex, taken down by your own equipment. So…” He could hear her heels clacking on the ground as she moved closer. The ozone around him had the smell of storm. He could start to feel his hairs stand on end due to the static. “You have no backup.”

”And you…” Alex said before his voice went from painful straining to calm and collected in a heartbeat’s span, ”Have no clue!” he yelled as he dropped the rest of the way to the ground and kicked out in a leg sweep accompanied by another force wave. As soon as the kick was done he rose and thrust his hand out again, throwing another shockwave at the woman. He was smiling; Shadow agents ALWAYS fell for the wounded gazelle tactic.

The woman had managed to avoid his leg sweep, but the force waves pushed her over. She growled as she looked at him. She did seem a bit dazed as she looked at him, and smiled. “A fighter. The last agent I fought couldn’t even hit me once. I’m glad for a challenge… especially from someone as handsome as you. Too bad you have to work against me. You’d make an excellent Shadow agent.” She charged forward, sending bolts of lighting out at him.

As soon as her hands moved to throw the bolts, Alex darted to the side and out of the line of fire. ”Now that’s just insulting…”

“What’s insulting? The truth?”

”The notion I’d work for a bunch of psychos like you.”

“Now that’s insulting. Psycho? Really?”

”Truth hurts.”

“You know nothing about me... “

”Already know everything I need to.” he said as he pushed up his glasses on his face.

She frowned and shot out more bolts of lightning as she ran around, trying to hit him. It seemed like she was out of banter at the moment, as the air started to crackle more as she shot more lightning.

Suddenly she paused in her actions and lowered her hands. She grasped the sides of her head and winced a bit. After a moment she looked at Alex and narrowed her eyes. “I don’t have time for you...Agent. However, I would have won this fight.” She growled and ran off in a hurry, disappearing among the buildings.

Alex warily watched her leave, and then sighed relief when she was out of sight. As much as he hated to admit it, she was right; every bolt he’d dodged only charged the area, and before much longer she would’ve had enough to simply blast the entire lot with lightning. Given how little his waves had done to her, it certainly seemed his reputation as a field agent had led to some precautions on Shadow’s part against him. He’d been lucky, this time, but if somebody more ruthless, skilled, or cunning had been there…

He shook his head back and forth to clear it. What was most important now was hooking up with Neil and Pixie and getting back to Arlington. Thankfully, things had worked out just the way he’d wanted. As he sauntered over the Pixie’s truck, he smirked at the various electronics in the back. He’d have to make sure he got Pixie a new computer, he thought, as he picked the pieces out of the truck and tossed them very unceremoniously to the ground. As good as Pixie’s defenses were, she could still be tracked through her system that she took with her everywhere. But, with her getting away in the Camaro, all whoever was tracking her for Shadow would find was some slight movement in a dirt lot in the middle of No Place Important, New Mexico.

As he cleared out the last of it, he got in, turned the keys, and drove off on a long and winding route to shake any physical tails. A few miles down the road, he pulled out his phone- thankfully unaffected, though that could be relied on when the guy who made it could throw thunderbolts of his own- and made to call Neil.

@Kirah
@McHaggis

[Riven Wight]

Wednesday, 10:57 a.m. to roughly 12:07 p.m.

Sunlight filtered through her closed eyelids, making Talia groan. She moved to roll over in her bed, to find the alarm clock and check the time, but instead fell off a couch. An open suitcase jabbed painfully into her ribs.
“Ow,” she muttered, blinking through the haze of sleep.
She managed to push the suitcase beneath a coffee table. Before her mind could fully comprehend where she was, Kalik stood from beside the couch and nuzzled her neck with his cold, wet nose.
Talia smiled and scratched the husky-retriever behind the ears as things finally clicked.
Autumn and her Sector X had spared little time in getting Talia to Virginia. With her larger and less necessary belongings promised delivery in no more than a fortnight, she packed the bare necessities, readied her beloved furry friends, and boarded a plane. Four hours and a trip to good ol’ Walmart later, she found herself asleep in a new, small house. In a new city. All for a new job she hoped would not backfire on her.
Talia took a deep breath, first-day jitters sparking to life and making her stomach churn. At least with their efficiency, they’re definitely not the government, she thought, trying to ease her worry.
A loud growling hiss rose from beneath the couch. Talia looked under the raised sofa, and two pairs of angry feline eyes stared back at her.
“You’ll get used to it. Promise.” Talia gave Ronaldo and McMuffin a small smile, which one of them returned with another growl, then rose to her knees.
Kalik sat in front of her, watching as she grabbed her phone from the coffee table to check the time.
“Crap!” She jumped to her feet, then hurried to and up the carpeted steps to the small hallway of the second floor.
Still dressed in her clothes from the previous day, she went to the empty room she planned to make her bedroom. Pulling one of the few outfits she had brought with and hung up in the closet the night before, she rushed through her morning routine, freshening up as well as she could.
Kalik waited for her outside the bathroom door. He stood and wagged his curled, bushy tail at her when she came out. Shiny new tags hanging from a brown collar around his neck glinted in the sunlight filtering through a hallway window.
She pulled out her phone, gauging the time and how long it would take her to get to Sector X.
“Got a few minutes for exercise,” she said to Kalik as she shoved her phone back in a pocket. She led him back downstairs, then to the kitchen.
Talia paused in the kitchen, which expanded into the dining room, admiring the space and elegant black counters and matching island.
A soft whine from Kalik made her attention shift back to him. In the barren dining room, he pawed impatiently at the floor beside a large sliding glass door leading to a deck.
Talia opened the door for him. With a glance to Talia, Kalik stepped outside with the girl at his tail.
Though not the largest yard, it housed a couple trees, and a gloriously tall fence prevented easy view of the yard from the neighbors. The deck expanded a fair amount of the back of the house, with a couple steps leading to a sidewalk below.
Talia cast a look around at the fencing to be sure there were no prying eyes. With a satisfied nod, she watched Kalik for a moment as he sniffed at one of the trees.
Taking a breath, she leapt down the steps as the tugging, tingly sensation of her body morphing into a young husky-mix pulled at her. Her off-white blouse took on a golden hue that spread over her upper body, and the black of her pants turned to fur that made it look as if she had waded through ink.
She stepped onto the grass and sniffed at it, the sweet, earthy scent inviting.
Finished marking his territory, Kalik looked to Talia and cocked his head. “Talia Jones.”
“Mornin’!” Talia wagged her tail. “Call me T.J., would you? Or just Talia. So, I don’t have long before I have to report into work. Thought some exercise would be nice, though.” She lowered her head toward the ground playfully. “Betchya can’t catch me!”
She sprinted off around the yard, pausing only to see if Kalik had made chase. For the next few minutes, they bounded around the yard, Talia with youthful energy and Kalik with a cautious eye cast about the grounds.
Finally, Talia used her teeth to pull Kalik to a stop by his collar.
“Sorry, gotta go.” She trotted back toward the deck. “I’ll see you afterwards, though! I’ll leave the glass door cracked open for you to get in and out… just make sure the cats don’t escape, and nothing else comes in.”
“I’m going with you.”
The finality in his voice made Talia stop and turn around. “Huh?”
“I’m not staying here without you.” He stood beside her, his form larger than hers. “And certainly not with two terrified cats.” He snorted. “I owe you a great debt. I’m going with you.”
“You don’t owe me anything.” Talia sat. She looked at him a moment before her ears pulled back and she gave him a hard stare. “You’re to wait here for me.”
“If you manage to leave me here, I’ll howl until everyone on the street hears.” Kalik inhaled as if to do just that.
Talia gave a grumbling growl, then sighed. “I’ll make a call. See what I can do for now, but you’d have to be nice to everyone you meet.”
She turned back to the deck and returned to her human self. Kalik sat on the sidewalk at the bottom of the stairs, watching her expectantly as she called the only person she knew in Sector X.
After a short chat with a helpful man in the Human Resources department, Talia looked down at Kalik from the top of the steps and crossed her arms, trying to suppress a smile.
“C’mon, ‘work dog.’” She jerked her head toward the open sliding door. Despite her stern tone, relief flooded through her at not having to enter the unknown alone. “Just be good.”
Kalik gave a happy bark, his tail wagging as he strode smugly into the house.
“Maybe I’ll get you trained to be a therapy dog or something.” Talia bounded inside after him.
After dishing out a quick breakfast for the household, Talia grabbed her hat, purse, and Kalik’s leash from inside the front closet, and left.
Kalik’s comforting presence trudged beside her without the leash attached. Her human nervousness clashed with the dog’s sense of adventure still mulling around inside her, warring against each other as she occasionally rushed forward, egging Kalik to go faster.
They soon arrived at the rows of seemingly normal storage units. As they neared, Talia clipped the leash onto Kalik’s collar. The lax officer manning the lightly gated entrance let her through with a brandish of her “Guest” badge and directed her toward Unit “A17.”
She found the unit with little difficulty. Tucked between two other units near the end of a row, a card reader guarded the loading area. She cast an instinctive glance around, then ran the magnetized portion of the badge through the reader.
With a click, the blinking red light on the device turned green, and the metal door popped up a few inches.
Wonder if there’re chips or something in the cars that make these unlock and open themselves. Every James Bond and other spy movie she had ever seen ran through her mind as she raised the bay door enough for her and Kalik to enter.
The dog’s ears pulled back, and he cautiously crept inside ahead of her. As soon as Talia entered behind him, a string of florescent bulbs buzzed to life above, lighting the metal-lined room. A bit smaller than she expected, it looked standard enough besides a normal-sized door at the back of the unit.
The bay door closed itself, making Talia jump and Kalik spin around and growl at it.
She placed a gentle hand on Kalik’s back--though whether to reassure the dog or herself she was not entirely sure--and went to the back of the unit.
Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and stepped into a narrow hall that looked like it ran the length of the entire storage unit strip. Corrugated steel lined the walls, and a couple fans rotated lazily amidst the florescent light fixtures and ductwork overhead. A few thin windows situated high up let in daylight.
Last daylight I’ll see for a while, I bet. Talia frowned, then forced a tight smile as Kalik whined.
A piece of paper taped to the metal hung in front of her. An arrow labeled “LOBBY AND ELEVATORS” printed on it pointed to the left.
“This way.” Talia nodded down the hall as another door opened ahead of them. A man dressed in a white suit shirt and holding a shiny briefcase emerged. Without noticing them, he strode determinedly down the hall.
At the end of the hall, stairs led underground. After another short, winding hall, the space widened significantly. Lined with plaster walls, open doorways she assumed led to other rows of storage units branched off the main hallway. A few other people entered from the branches, most too busy in their own little world to pay her or Kalik much attention.
At a security station manned by three officers, she waited her turn and abided the guard’s wishes. After a final, short flight of wide stairs with an unconventionally tall ceiling, she came to a well-lit rectangular room. Three elevators waited on one of the longer walls, and a grand staircase mirrored each other at the shorter ones.
The smell of coffee saturated the space, the shhhhhhrrrit of a latté machine coming from a small café opposite the elevators. A short line of people stood in front of it, waiting to suck down their afternoon cup of Joe. A receptionist desk sat near the café. A few armchairs were placed in a wide circle around a table stocked messily with magazines, a couple of the seats occupied.
A dark-skinned man and petite woman holding a large duffel bag conversed in front of the elevators as they waited, and the man with a briefcase Talia had seen earlier sipped quietly at a foam coffee cup.
With a loud ding, the down arrow above an elevators lit up. The couple went inside first, followed by Briefcase-man.
“Hold the doors!” Talia shouted. She sprinted down the last stair toward the elevator, Kalik keeping pace.
Briefcase-man pressed a button as the doors started to close, making them slide back open.
“Thanks!” Talia gave him an appreciative smile as she and Kalik made it safely on the elevator, the couple moving aside to give them enough room.
“Yep.” Briefcase-man released the button, and the doors closed with another, gentle ding. “What floor?”
“First floor.” Her brows furrowed as he pressed the button furthest down on the number pad. “Uh, I said the first floor…”
Briefcase-man smirked. “That is the first floor. You’ve just left the seventh floor. First day?”
“Yeah.” Talia gave a self-conscious smile.
“New recruit!” The woman’s face lit up. “Welcome. You’ll get used to the floor numbers.” The woman smiled at Talia. “Beautiful dog.” She placed a hand on the railing as the elevator began its descent. “I’m Gina Bates. Field agent.” She offered a hand to Talia. “This is my associate, Will Falto.” She nodded to the dark-skinned man. “Gun expert.”
“Talia Jones.” She shook the woman’s hand, then the man’s as Briefcase-man's focus returned to his coffee.
Will got off the elevator first, saying a quick farewell to his friend in his Spanish accent. The women left two floors later, with Briefcase-man the floor after.
Alone, Talia looked to Kalik. The dog returned the girl’s stare, before the doors opened to the first floor.
Talia took a deep breath and, ever thankful for Kalik’s presence, stepped off the elevator.

[Saltwater Thief]

Sophie Castellia

With Special Guest NPC Dr Tobias Rivenridge

Wednesday Morning, Boston MA

Everything had happened so fast. Sunday and Monday had been just like the days before them, simply getting out of bed, going to work, watching whatever happened to be on TV, and then going back to sleep. Less than 36 hours later, however, Sophie had started running around her apartment in a near frenzy, trying to sort out what she did and did not care about among her material possession. Most of the furniture, she decided, wasn't worth keeping, and even what was wouldn't be practical. She packed most of her clothes, the ones that weren't torn or fading or had sentimental value at least, as well as her two good dresses and single pair of nice heels into a suitcase, and the few cooking utensils she wanted to keep soon joined them. For two years of residence, she reflected, it certainly seemed there wasn't much she wanted to keep with her from the place.

Perhaps that's for the best.

The last piece to go in was a solitary stuffed bear that had sat on the camping stool that she used as a bedside table since she had moved in. Unlike the rest of the place, the bear was happy, smiling, and nicely colored. Sophie had made sure to keep it immaculately clean and cared for, even in her darkest moods. It had been a graduation gift from Moriah, and she treasured it more than anything. That, she decided, would be a carry-on. She scooped it up, gave it a hug, and then closed her eyes for a moment.

"I'm heading out, Mori. By the time you wake up... maybe by then I'll have done enough that I can face you. Until then..."

Without finishing, she zipped up the suitcase and turned her back to the dingy little Boston apartment for good.

Wednesday Evening, Arlington VA

By the time the sun began to set, Sophie had finished moving into her new apartment. Sector X had found a specific location, more than likely based on Cassie and Meghan's advice; it was a modestly-priced location in a sparsely visited neighborhood within biking distance of the offices, and perhaps most importantly, the complex itself was laid out with the apartments sized and spaced far enough apart that she couldn't make a neighbor's powers run amok through the wall if she had a nightmare. "We'll give you a few days to go and buy the stuff you need to live here," a representative had informed her, "Make sure you keep your receipts. You'd be surprised what the Sector will have you put on their bill."

She dropped back onto the bed, relishing the fact that it neither squeaked nor groaned under her, and tried to center herself in the middle of all the changes happening. It was all happening alarmingly fast, and though nothing had gone wrong she still felt uneasy. Was this really the opportunity she needed, both for a career and atonement? What if Cassie had been wrong and they couldn't help her? Where could she go after that? What would she do then?

Her train of questions was interrupted by a quick knocking at the door. Curious, she padded across the carpeted floor to answer it. Standing on the other side was a fairly tall, skinny man in his thirties with a small mop of light brown hair atop his head. He was dressed in business casual with a long coat draped about him, and he carried a small metal case in one hand.

"Hello there," he said in a light British accent, smiling at her, "Are you Sophie?"

"I am," she replied uncertainly, "Who are you?"

"Oh, apologies. My name's Doctor Tobias Rivenridge. I'm the head of R and D at Sector X. Someone should've told you I was going to stop by today?"

"Yes, yes they did. Would you like to come in?"

"I think I would."

He ducked inside as she opened the door a little wider and looked around, taking in what decor there was at present.

"I swear the boys in HR do better every time when they go looking for these places. Making yourself at home, I hope?"

"As much as I can, Doctor Rivenridge."

"Please, call me Tobias. I'm only Doctor Rivenridge in front of the bigwigs and to my assistant who I can't convince otherwise."

"Alright then, Tobias. Cassie mentioned you would be stopping by, but she never said what for. Would you care to enlighten me to that?"

"Ah, right. Of course she didn't. Well, she did say something about us helping you rein in your gifts, I hope?"

"She did," Sophie said bewildered, "She insisted on it, in fact. But what does that have to do with you?"

"Ah, well, you see, part of that process has to do with giving you some help in keeping it under control until you can come to manage it all yourself. That help comes out of my lab in the form of..." he trailed off as he set his case down on the kitchen counter, opened it, and withdrew a small device that resembled a bluetooth earpiece. "One of these little beauties," he finished.

Sophie cautiously approached Tobias and the little device to get a closer look. "What is that?"

"It's a Subconcious Psychologic Biophenomenal Active Threshold Suppressor," He replied matter-of-factly, then turned to see Sophie's confused look and chuckled a bit. "Sorry, I do that sometimes. It's basically a limiter for psychic abilities. One of our agents, when she first joined, had a particular ability that she didn't quite have a handle on, and it posed a lot of problems with the rest of the staff. So, the boss came down and told me and my gang we needed to find a way to help her manage it. This is what we came up with, and it's helped hundreds of Sector associates and thousands more civilians around the globe 'get a grip' on their gifts, if you will."

"So it what, turns off my ability?"

"No, not quite. What it does, in layman's terms, is monitor your psychic activity, and if it detects more than the amount it's set to, it counteracts it."

"Does it hurt?"

"No, no no no. It's a little uncomfortable the first few times, but it's not painful, and you'll get used to it really fast. Now, before you can come to work, I'll need to fit you with one of these. I think... yes, this type should do!" he exclaimed as he looked at the eight or nine different devices in the case.

"There's different types?"

"Oh yes. Many different types. We've got ones that only block certain activity, ones that blanket block everything, ones that can't be turned off, ones that can, ones that adjust their strength automatically, we've even got one with a little dial that can be turned from one to nine depending on how strong the person wants the suppression. It's quite fascinating, really."

"Okay," Sophie said as she tried to keep her mind focused, "So how do you figure out which type is for me?"

"I think I already do. But first, I'd like to experience your gift for myself, if you don't mind."

Sophie's breath caught in her throat.

"I don't think that's a good idea. You might..."

"Might lose control? Hurt myself? Hurt someone else?" Tobias finished the sentence for her as he looked into her eyes. He had anticipated her objection, and he seemed unperturbed by it.

"Yes. All of that."

"Hmm. Sophie, can I show you something?" Tobias asked as he lifted up a palm. Without the slightest change in his demeanor, a crackling ball of lightning began to form above his hand, lighting the room in bluish white flickers. "This," he said, "Is my ability. I can produce lightning and electricity at will."

The lightning ball fluxed in size and intensity as he continued, growing much larger and then much smaller as he talked.

"Now, when I first discovered this... I very nearly killed a great many people. One of them was the woman I love. And because of that..."

The lightning sparked one final time and then ceased as abruptly as it began. "Because of that, I don't think you'll find anybody on the globe who's put more time and effort into controlling their power as me. I could probably stand in a swimming pool next to someone and never even tickle them if I was up to risk it. I have every confidence in myself, and I insist that you do the same. Besides, even if I'm overestimating myself, I have countermeasures at the ready. So, please, Miss Castellia, will you show me your gift?"

Sophie locked eyes with Tobias again for a short moment. Dozens of trains of thought collided in her head, until finally she simply nodded once and turned her focus inward. The feeling of warm water cascaded down her back again, and she felt her power flow out into the room. But outside of a few crackles around him and some intrigued looks from Tobias, there was no sign he'd been affected.

"Miraculous..." he almost whispered.

"Doctor- err, Tobias?"

"I've never even thought that such a thing might be possible. This could change everything we know about Biophenomenon... My God, Sophie... this is truly a marvelous gift!"

"I think it more of a curse."

"I can understand that," Tobias replied as he raised his hand and watched something Sophie couldn't perceive play out on it, "But hopefully I can help to change your mind. But first things must come first. Here..."

He reached back into the case and pulled out one of the limiters. She took it from him, and after a quick look at it Sophie grasped how to put it on. It hooked around and secured to her left ear, and once it was on Tobias walked a little closer and leaned down to put his hand next to it.

"This might feel a bit odd, one second..."

With that he snapped his fingers, sent a jolt to the device, and Sophie felt like she'd been suddenly dunked underwater in a pool. She closed her eyes and sent her hands to hold her head steady as her senses tried to right themselves. Less than a minute later they succeeded, and though everything seemed the same, something felt different. Something she couldn't quite place at first. And then she realized it; there was no sensation running down her back, no feeling of her power. Hesitantly, she reached out and firmly touched Tobias's arm, fully expecting the running water feeling to return in force... but it didn't. All that happened was an odd humming in her left ear as the device neutralized the surge.

"And there we go." Tobias said, satisfied with the results. "It's going to take some getting used to, but I have no doubt you will. And we'll be seeing more of each other, I can promise you that. You might not believe it, Sophie, but when Cassie promised you could do some good in the world, even she had no idea how right she was. Ta-ta then."

As he closed up the case and headed for the door, Sophie turned and called to him. "Doctor Tobias!"

He turned, clearly amused by the new name.

"Thank you."

"A pleasure, my dear."

And with that, he took his leave.

[kittyluna45]

Autumn Page and Brandon Hearne

Wednesday Afternoon

Autumn walked into the Sector X offices, with two cups of coffee in a tray. She had gone specially out of the office for these, since the office coffee was rather crap. She walked over to the elevator and hit the down button and waited for the elevator to come up. "What are you doing girl? He might be out of office… No, it will be fine. Just a cup of coffee, nothing more.” One the elevator button dinged and the doors groaned open, she got in and hit the button for the floor she knew Brandon’s office was on.

Once there, she stepped out and looked around, and soon spotted him and walked over. “I owed you a cup of coffee, you interested in taking a break to enjoy it with me?” She paused, mentally slapping herself. ”Well that sounded stupid.”

Brandon, with his feet on the desk and one earphone in, swiveled quickly around to look at her. He set down the notebook he was rifling through quickly, almost guiltily. “Taking a break implies I was doing work,” he said matter-of-factly. He didn’t seem to notice her slip, or if he did, he didn’t mention it. “But, yes.”

“Shall we go outside then? I could use a little fresh air.” She let what he said slide. It wasn’t like she had never slacked off at work before. She was putting off her own reports at the moment, but she wanted to talk to Brandon for a moment, and honestly, she wanted to do it sooner rather than later. “We can walk out the old fashioned way if you’d like.”

“Oh, yes, thank God. I’ll take that option.” He stood up quickly and fixed his crooked tie, ready to follow Autumn. “Lead on – I’m not sure I remember my way out of here, it’s been so long since I did it the mundane way.”

She had to giggle a bit at that. It was easy for someone with a talent like Brandon’s to get in that habit. “Walk this way then.” She walked over to the elevator and hit the button and waited. The doors opened immediately and she stepped in and made sure Brandon was following her before she hit the button for the seventh floor. Once there, she headed outside and towards the small seating area just outside of the outer disguise of Sector X. She took a seat on the bench and set the coffees next to her, leaving the spot next to them open for him.

Brandon took a seat, wasting no time in grabbing his coffee to warm his hands on it – though he didn’t start drinking it immediately. “It’s been so long since I was outside without having to either chase someone down or run for my life,” he offered as a conversation starter.

She looked over at him and picked up her own cup of coffee. “Really now? I thought you took smoke breaks on the occasion, or was I wrong about that? Also, uh… I wanted to say thank you. For Monday.” She looked down at the cup of coffee she held, playing with it a little. There were other things she wanted to say, but wasn’t sure if it was the right moment to.

“Anyone would’ve done it. You know, thieves’ honour, or whatever they call it,” he said with a dismissive wave of a hand.

“Not the thief I knew. Which is why I also owe you an apology. I misjudged you and I had no right to.” She looked over at Brandon and set her coffee down. “You’re not like anyone I’ve met before, and honestly, I’m glad for that.”

Brandon looked distinctly uncomfortable, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand whilst he hid his mouth behind a conveniently placed coffee cup. ”I dunno, there’s still time yet for me to live up to those judgements. Don’t go thinking I’m not an arse yet, thank you very much.”

Autumn looked at him and simply shrugged. “I don’t think you’re as much of an, as you put it, arse, as you make yourself out to be. For one, you’re here, working for us, trying to make an honest living, of sorts. So I will give you credit for that. That’s better than my father ever did… aww shit.” There it was, it had slipped out. Awesome. ”Way to go Page. Now he’s going to know you have daddy issues.”

True enough, he did notice that one. “Ah, father issues – don’t worry, I can write the book on it,” Brandon said sagely, if a little falsely.

“I’m sorry. This is usually like third date babbling… you don’t want to hear about my baggage, and I wouldn’t blame you.” She sighed, and sipped her coffee. She felt like an idiot. She barely knew him and yet she was willing to tell him her whole life story? She did have to admit he was cute, and a bit charming, with that roguishness about him, but… She shook her head and took another sip of her coffee to silence herself.

”Are you sure? If you need to get it off your chest,” Brandon offered. He seemed a little awkward, still hiding behind his coffee cup, but undoubtedly sincere – serious, for once. ”I mean, not a trained therapist or anything, but… A trade? Mine’s all old history.”

She raised her eyebrow. ”A trade? I unload a bit of my baggage on you and you do the same?” Now that was interesting. ”Sure, however, I doubt just one cup of coffee will be enough time for all this.”

“If we run out, I can go and get more. Plus, you’re looking all sad there. Can’t let you go back to work like that, you know?”

”Fair enough… well I guess I’ll start by saying I never knew my mother. She just handed me off to my dad and that was it. He was a con man, who pretty much made his life ripping off other people, and then moving when they started to get wise. Because of that, I have lived in all forty-eight contiguous United States at one point or another. So, no friends, new name every few months. Worst part was, he could have gone legit at any point. Stopped and made sure I was taken care of. Not that he ever did. He got off on conning people, it thrilled him. He only cared about himself, and I was just this great inconvenience to him. Hell, I only heard from him recently because he finally got caught and is in jail. Needs bail money. No, ‘Hi, how are you doing? We haven’t spoke since you went to college.’ First thing is, ‘Get me out.’ What an asshole.” She sighed, and pulled a pack of cigarettes. “I know, bad habit will kill me, yadda yadda, but I only smoke when I’m stressed. Want one?”

”Sure.” Brandon, who’d remained suitably silent during the whole story, removed one and lit up with his own pin-up girl lighter. ”He shouldn’t have dragged you around with him if he was gonna keep doing it – crime, and all that. I’ll never understand dads like that.”

Autumn pulled out her own cigarette and lit it up and looked at him, and took a long drag. ”Yeah, I guess that’s part of the reason I pretty much hate him. That and the fact he named me Maple. Ugh, stupid name. Not that I ever got to use it much in public. Anyways, so yeah, I pretty much grew up thinking all criminals were like him. But, you’re not. I mean, sure I don’t know why you did what you did, but given the chance, you did go legit. So, applause for you.”

”You say that like I don’t steal stationary from the office supplies cupboard,” he said lightly, though still rubbing at his neck.

She laughed a bit. “I think everyone does Brandon. Anyways, your turn. We did agree on a trade, did we not?”

He smiled like he’d forgotten, before coughing as one did before speaking to a crowd, or performing something. “Well, where to begin?” Brandon rubbed his hands together in what would have been a confident gesture at any other point but seemed more like a delaying tactic. He looked down at his wrist, opened his mouth and then clearly thought against it. “How’s the story of how I turned to crime sound? I’m sure there’s a life lesson in there.”

Autumn raised her eyebrow as she noticed him look at his wrist, but then looked up at him, and nodded, and took another drag of her cig. “Sure, works for me. I’d love to know why you started thieving.”

”I’m Catholic,” he said by the way of starting. ”No divorce. Or, well, it’s frowned upon. Ma and Pa hated each other’s guts for about ten years ‘til Pa – well, walked off somewhere and didn’t come back. Never knew what happened to him, exactly, but I never thought any less of him for it. Well, I don’t now.” Again with the wrist – then, Brandon took another drag. His voice afterwards was more suitably light-hearted. “So, my ma went mental, I stayed out the house for most of the days and quite a few nights too, if you know what I mean, ‘fore I left for ‘Lundun’. And – let me tell you, when you start poor and unemployed in one of the biggest cities in the world, you stay that way. Went to prison, and so on and so forth, and got out at twenty-one. Went to college. Boom, story done.”

Autumn blushed a bit at his story. She got what he meant. However, she was distracted by the way he kept looking at his wrist. “So, what is on your wrist that is gonna bite you in the ass? You keep looking at it like it’s going to attack you.” She looked at him and sipped her now cold coffee and made a face. “Ugh… I guess we’ve been out here a while.”

Brandon unrolled his sleeve down over his tattoo and put out his cigarette on the bench, drinking the rest of his coffee quickly. “I guess so, yeah.”

“Okay, I get it… I crossed a line. Sorry. We all got secrets.” She took another long drag off her cigarette and then put it out as well.

“Doesn’t bother me, just… I think I’ll leave that for another day,” he said, ruffling his hair tiredly. ”Though if you were really keen finances or the technopaths could probably work it out for you. Like Sherlock Holmes or something.”

“I’d rather have you trust me enough to tell me on your own. I’d like to be friends, not just co-workers who get along for the sake of work.” She blushed a bit. What was she saying? Did he even do the whole ‘friends’ thing?

Brandon tilted his head to the side, and smiled. “I’ll take you out for a pint, then. I save all my best and most thrilling stories for the pubs,” he said, completely oblivious to Autumn’s predicament.

”How does tomorrow evening sound?” She looked at him and smiled a bit and then paused. Was he asking her out on a date? Nah, it was just going to be the two of them talking and drinking. Not a date.

”That’ll leave me hungover – at work!” He let out a theatrical gasp and pushed himself up, throwing his empty coffee cup in the bin. ”How can I refuse? I’ll be there – text me, aight?”

”Will do. Till tomorrow evening then.” Autumn stood up and smiled, tossing out her own coffee cup, and cigarette butt. She had a bit of a blush as he walked off, and she opted to wait a minute or two before heading back in, not wanting to smell too much of smoke.

[kittyluna45]

Cassie Anderson

Directors Office, Wednesday Afternoon

Cassie walked into the directors office and set down a file before sitting down in one of the plush chairs. "So, that mission was a sucsess, however you wanted to talk director?" Cass looked at the woman infront of her, who sighed and leaned back in her chair.

"I am sure at this point you are up to day on what happened in Arlington on Monday, yes?" The director's one good eye narrowed as she looked at Cass.

"The museum? Yes, Kyle filled me in. I don't see how that is pertinent to my completed mission."

"I want immediate re-training of Miss Page and Mr. Hearne. I want you to do it. You are one of our best field agents, for a good reason. I've already pulled Miss Page off of active field duty pending psychiatric evaluation."

"Are you really that upset at them director? From what I understand they did what they could. It isn't Page's fault..."

"I am well aware. Trust me, I'm more upset at myself than anything. I should have seen the signs. Shadow is getting bolder. With their actions in both this case and others I'm convinced that he is planning something. I am working on getting a company wide set of tranq guns as well for all field agents to carry. If even Miss Page's talent couldn't do anything against this Shadow operative she was against, then I want no chances taken." The director rubbed her face and sighed.

"You really think that he's planning something big?" That wasn't a good thing to hear. If the leader of Shadow was planning something, it was never good for anyone.

"They have rarely been this bold. However, the body count from Monday alone is at least double than usual. Those two operatives were very brazen in their actions in getting Miss Felds, and from what I understand from Mr. Mercede, there was a bit of trouble with Pixie. So I want company wide retraining for dealing with shadow."

Cassie frowned. This was indeed odd behavior for Shadow. That was never a good indicator. Maybe she needed to have a chat with someone about figuring out what was going on. "I see. I will do my best to retrain Miss Page and Mr. Hearne. However, we do have those new recruits..."

"Your significant other has already been assigned to train them. I want you to be able to do field duty if needed. There are some rumors reaching my ears and I want to make sure my top field agents are open for it."

"I understand Director."

"Also, I did make sure to talk to Dr. Rivenridge about perfecting more of his little gadgets... maybe he can come up with something better than a tranq gun. Goodness knows if anyone can, it would be him and his wife. I think she's working on some plant hybrid that might help us out."

Cassie nodded. The Rivenridges were good people and if anyone could figure out a better tech than tranq guns, it would be those two. "Anything else you need while I'm here? I did make sure to note that Dr. Rivenridge should go out and see Miss Castellia."

"Thank you Miss Anderson. I don't believe there is anything else at the moment. You are dismissed." Cass stood up and stretched a bit. She walked out of the office of the director and went over to the elevator and hit the button.

"I don't like it... Shadow is up to something, and until we know what, things are just going to get tense around here... I know it." She got into the elevator once it arrived and hit the button for the 6th floor. She needed to work out some steam at the gun range. That always calmed her down a bit.

[kittyluna45]

Thursday Morning

Sector X

Kyle Richards and Cassie Anderson arrived at Sector X bright and early, as was their usual routine. However, both of them seemed to have a full agenda for the day. "So, seems we're both doing training again, huh darlin'?" Kyle said, looking over at Cassie.

"Yes, you with the new recruits and me with other agents. Should be fun. I'm sure that some of them will protest at being retrained. Not that they'll have much option. I think they're going to retrain everyone without some military experience. Apparently Shadow is getting bolder." Cass sighed, hitting the button for the elevator down.

"So I've heard. Arlington is in a bit of a mess cleaning up from the bank and museum. I hear that the local police are mighty pissed off. Not to mention that the government is going to come down harsh on us if they find out we were involved."

"We're not tied to them so they can come down harsh if they want, but in a way they still need us. Also I'm sure that the Director or someone else will smooth it over if it does come out that we were involved in that incident. So, any thoughts on the new recruits?" Cass leaned against the elevator wall and raised her eyebrow to Kyle.

"Well Pixie and Natasha are going to be trouble, I know that. Given their records and how Pixie acted when we approached her, and how Natasha keeps trying to run, I can sense problems with both of them. Talia might be the easiest of the four new ones. She seems like a nice girl, and honestly, her talent makes her a natural for field work. As for the girl you recruited..."

"Take it easy with her. She's been through enough. Also I believe Tobias will be requesting her help from time to time. He seemed so excited by her gift. Like a kid at Christmas. However, I know Sophie will take a bit to get her out of her shell. I am going to talk to the director about getting her some special training with her power. Also recommend Page for it. She really needs to stop relying on her dampener all the time." Cass sighed, and walked out of the elevator as the doors groaned open.

"Take it easy on Page for a bit, will you? She's not a bad girl, and given what just happened..." Cassie looked at Kyle and sighed.

"I know, you're right. However, I still think using technology as a crutch will prove futile in the end." Kyle wrapped his arms around Cass and kissed her forehead.

"Thank you. All I ask. Anyways, I gotta go to the training room. See you later pretty lady." Kyle let go of Cass and walked off, and she blushed a bit. She started to get ready to head to her own training room when an announcement blared through Sector X.

"Will Cassie Anderson, Alex Mercede and Niah Bautista please report to the directors office." Well, there went the idea that she would be spending today training. Miss Page and Mr. Hearne would have to wait. She walked back to the elevator, hit the down button and headed for the directors office.

[Kirah]

Niah Bautista

Thursday Morning

Niah had done her normal morning routine and was about to sit down to work on samples she had when her name was called over the intercom. Twice in one week, that was unheard of. She closed her laptop and made her way down to the Director's office.

Wondering what this could be about. Two of the biggest names of actively dealing with threats had been called, and her. Cassie she knew personally had worked with her before and had been saved from Shadow by her. Alex she knew more by reputation than personally. Both of them were well known for their service to Sector X as fighters. Niah had no desire to be part of a fight, and the Director knew that. She could trust that whatever her part of this mission would be she'd be safe and sound from threats.

Well as safe as one could hope to be. If the last week was any indication she could easily end up in the middle of something.

Shunting that thought to the side Niah stepped into the Director's office. She gave the woman a smile and curtsy as was Niah's customary greeting.

[Riven Wight]

Thursday Morning

After spending what felt an eternity filling out paperwork the day before, Talia partially dreaded returning to Sector X. She had thought about banging her head on the desk many times, and was sure she had fallen asleep while filling out a form on medical history. At least, as she had hoped, Kalik had proven an excellent excuse to return to the outside world a couple times… one of those trips for her sake, and not Kalik’s.
That morning, after an unsuccessful hour of trying to coax her cats out from beneath the couch and half-heartedly convince Kalik he should not come to work with her again, she had headed to the storage units once more on foot, the husky mix eagerly at her side. A couple squirrels followed her most of the way, until Kalik grew irritated with them and chased them off.
I don’t know how moles can stand it, she thought as she waited for one of the elevators in Sector X, a half-full plastic coffee cup she had picked up the previous evening in hand. She pulled her phone out, double-checking the time to be sure she still had a while before she had to be to training. Whoever decided to build this place underground should be fired.
One of the elevator’s sounded, and a down arrow above the doors lit up.
She, Kalik, and a handful of others entered the elevator. Noticing her floor number was already lit, she busied herself with making sure she remembered the directions to the conference room. Who was it with, again? Kyle… She bit the inside of her cheek as she tried to remember his last name. Rodgers! She suppressed a self-satisfied smile.
Down, down they went. Two men got off on the same floor as her, but went in other directions. She muttered her directions under her breath as she went. Finally reaching what she hoped was the correct door, she took a deep breath and entered.
Though she was the first one there, florescent lights already shone brightly down on a long table surrounded by ten chairs. Thin carpet spanned the floor, and textured wallpaper plastered the walls of the small, windowless room in earthy browns. Besides a smartboard that took up most of one wall, the room was rather plain.
“Claustrophobia central,” she muttered, making Kalik look to her, his ears twitching. She frowned at the room’s color code. “Maybe it would actually help to be a mole…” Don’t think I’ve been a mole before, she added silently, resolving to give it a try sometime soon.
She went to the wheeled chair at the end of the table closest to the door, placed her purse and coffee cup down, and sat. She looked at the smartboard for a moment as Kalik sniffed at the floor around the chairs within the range of his leash.
Realizing the chair spun and wishing she had thought to bring something to do, Talia loosely tied Kalik’s leash to a table leg—mostly for show—pushed away from the table, and started to spin. Kalik paused in his sniffing to watch her, his head cocked and one ear raised, then went to smell the nearest chairs as the two waited for others to arrive.

[kittyluna45]

Cassie Anderson, Niah Bautista and Alex Mercede

Location: Directors Office
Time: 9~10 AM

---

---

When Cassie reached the director's office, she saw that Niah was already there. ”Hey Niah, good to see you again.” Niah returned the greeting with a bow as she was accustomed to do. She then plopped herself down in a chair and looked at the director. ”I’m guessing this is important if you’re pulling me off of re-training for this mission.”

The director looked over at Cassie and nodded. “I need two of my best agents on this, and Miss Bautista’s talents. I will inform you of your mission and the details once Mr. Mercede arrives.”

”Alright director.” Cassie pulled out her phone and texted Miss Page and Mr. Hearne to inform them of their cancelled re-training session, and then tucked her phone away and waited for Alex to show up.

”Seems I’ve got decent timing for once today then,” came Alex’s voice as he appeared in the doorway. Niah stood and gave him a small bow as he entered the room. The look on his face suggested he was upset about something, but he was hiding it well enough. ”What can the three of us do for you then, Ms Director?” he said as he sat down in the remaining chair.

The director raised her eyebrow as she looked over Alex. “Good to see you without those headphones Mr. Mercede. After your last mission, I do hope you will keep items like that out of the field. As for what the three of you can do for me, I obviously have a mission for you.”

”I think we figured that out. What sort of mission Director?”

“There are rumors circulating of a Shadow operative hunting in Colorado. Unfortunately, that is all we have. Rumors. We have a small group of psychics in Denver that are willing to help us. They are the ones that reported it to us. Cassie, I believe you know them well.” The director handed out three folders, one to each of them.

Niah took her folder far quicker than normal, and had it open to the page about the group of psychics in a matter of seconds. She gasped and looked up at the director wide eyed. “How much clearance do they have?” There was a note of excitement and trepidation her voice.

Cassie looked over at Niah. She then opened the file and realized why, and a small smile crossed her lips. “Why do you…”

”Enough that you can tell ‘em Niah. They helped me out on a mission that would have gone South if not for them about a year ago.” Cassie interjected. Tears of what could only be happiness welled up in Niah’s eyes, but were quickly wiped away.

“Thank you.” She gave Cassie a small sitting bow.

”Ahem” Alex said as he flipped through his own file, ”What I’m going to assume are personal matters aside, what sort of rumors are we talking about?”

“Missing persons, suspicious activity. I was discussing this yesterday with Miss Anderson, but Shadow has grown bolder. Their actions this week alone have left more bodies in their wake than ever. It use to be a few bodies every year, but between Arlington and New Mexico, I fear something bigger is planned. I do plan to talk to our… informant…” The director looked at Cassie, who just shrugged, “But I doubt they know what is going on. However, I’d rather be on alert here, and see what we can find in Denver. We have at least two missing persons that were reported with powers. Follow those leads first.”

”Which is why you want Miss Bautista on this, I’d assume?” The director nodded in response to Cassie’s question.

“Any other questions?”

“None from me Director. Though I may have more once we arrive in Colorado, but those questions can be answered there.” Niah, despite the severity of the situation, had a small smile on her face, one that was obviously being restrained.

”Sounds good to me. Ladies,” Alex said as he stood up, ”I’ll meet the two of you upstairs shortly. I need to pay a visit to the Rivenridges first. Anything else you need from me, Director?”

“You may go. I have already booked you three on a flight out to Denver this afternoon. Ah, if you could also pass a message along to the Rivenridges for me please? I’d like to talk to them about some weapon designs that might make everyone’s life here a little easier.”

”I’ll be sure to mention it. Good day.” And with that, he was away.

”Director… there is one thing. The new policy?”

“Ah yes. Miss Bautista. I would kindly encourage you to stop by the tech department and pick up a stun gun or something of that sort. I want all field agents to have some sort of weapon on their person from now on.”

“Yes Director.” The smile from Niah’s face disappeared and she paled a little at the idea, but after a deep breath. “At least it’s just a stun gun.”

“My hope is that you won’t have to use it Miss Bautista, but given recent events, I just want to make sure all my agents have a way of protecting themselves. If there is nothing else, you are dismissed. Enjoy Denver.”

”Thank you Director.” Cassie stood up and tucked the file under her arm and looked at Niah. ”Excited?” Niah’s smile came back at the thought.

“Yes I am. I haven’t been back to Denver since...” She trailed off, but Cassie was well aware of what Niah was talking about.

”Well, should be fun then. And don’t worry, it will be fine.” Cassie looked over at Niah and offered her a smile. ”I’ll see you in a bit then. Need to pick up my bag.” She headed to the stairs and towards her office. It was mission time.

[Saltwater Thief]

Sophie Castellia

Thursday Morning, Arlington VA

To call Sophie nervous as she locked up her bike just outside of the small, one-story building that served as Sector X's ground floor. She'd been self-conscious enough riding the beat-up, old, and far past secondhand thing the short distance from her apartment. And now she was about to stroll right into a building full of people she didn't know for work where she couldn't even hazard a guess what she would be doing. Not to mention the risk, diminished or not, that she might kill any one of them by accident.

She closed her eyes for a moment and forced herself to take deep breaths. She would be alright, she needed to stop worrying so much, and she needed to get on with it. Being tardy on her first day would do nothing for a first impression. Especially if she was tardy because she was too paralyzed with worrywarting to walk through the front door. She pulled out a sheet of paper from her pocket, unfolded it, and looked at the directions she'd been given. Cassie had sent an email the night before detailing where she was supposed to go and how to get there. Sophie nodded once, refolded the paper in her hand, and stepped toward the door.

After a minor fiasco involving getting a Visitor's Badge for the day, she was in the elevator with several other people going down. As the other, older employees chatted about her, Sophie just leaned against the back wall and quietly wished she could fade into the wallpaper. When her floor came up, she managed to scoot past with a brief "Excuse me" and then followed her sheet to what she hoped was the right Conference Room out of many. With another deep breath, she quietly opened the door and poked her head inside to take a look. Nobody else was there, except for another girl around her age with curly brown hair with a golden-furred dog sitting at her feet.

"Umm... hello. Is this the..." she looked down at her paper again, "Recruit Orientation?"

[kittyluna45]

Kyle Richards

Training Room
Thursday Morning

---

---

"Yes, it is Recruit Orientation. You are in the right room Miss Castiellia." A voice spoke from behind Sophie. Into the room walked a rather tall man, with dark skin. He was heavily muscled, or a least in the arms from what was shown.

He looked around the room and spotted Talia. "Hello Miss Jones. Glad to see you both found your way here. It seems it will just be the three of us. There was suppose to be two others but... well... you don't need to know what is going on with them." He slid to sit on one of the tables at the front, and pulled a huge envelope out of a briefcase.

"First things first, some temporary ID cards. You will need to have your picture taken soon, but this way you don't need to get visitor passes every day. Also Miss Jones, here is a permanent tag for your dog to indicate that he is a work dog. If you go talk to Mrs. Rivenridge in HR, she will make sure you get a vest for him as well for when you're in the field. But call her Doc Rivenridge, or Stella. It gets confusing at times with her and her husband. Miss Castiellia, I believe you've already met our tech guru, Doctor Tobias Rivenridge. Miss Jones, you will get the chance to meet him later. For now, let's start with orientation." He reached over and handed each of them an ID card with their name on it.

Kyle fished out a laptop and a pocket projector out of his briefcase next. He spent a few moments setting them up, and a power point was up on the screen behind him. The cheesy opening slide said: "Welcome to Sector X!"

"So for you both to know, the name for Sector X started as a joke, but eventually became well used among those that worked here, and so the name stuck. However, the mission statement is the same. We are here to help Psychics and protect their best interests, as well as make sure we have a place in this world. However, we do make sure that we interact well with those with out our gifts."

"Luckily for both of you," Kyle hit a button and another slide popped up with the title of 'Shadow', "neither of you have met anyone from Shadow. They rather oppose us in many ways. I don't know if either of you is aware of what happened here in Arlington on Monday, but to give you a brief overview, while tracking another Psychic, Shadow brutally murdered several people in the pursuit of one Psychic. This also happened in public. You will both come to know more about Shadow with time, but that is not why either of you are here."

"So, first day will mostly be me showing you around, and get you ready for traning. After that, we will figure out where your skills will be the most useful... however Miss Castiellia, seems there is a note here that Dr. Rivenridge would like to have you work with him... hmm interesting. Miss Jones, I believe you will most likely get field work, if you're alright with that?"

Kyle smiled and closed his laptop. "So before we get too much into it, any questions from either of you?"

[Riven Wight]

Thursday Morning:
Training Room

Talia stopped spinning in her chair and looked to Kalik as he trotted to her side, let out a low growl, and pulled his droopy ears back. She followed the dog’s gaze to the door a moment before a black-haired girl who appeared about her age opened it and looked around.
When the girl addressed her, Talia opened her mouth to respond, but before she could so much as inhale, a male’s voice came from behind the girl in answer.
Kalik growled, startled, and stepped slightly in front of Talia.
“Hush,” she whispered, placing a reassuring hand on Kalik’s soft back as the tall man entered the room.
The dog looked at her for a moment. Taking in her calm expression, his ears moved to a more neutral position. Both his and Talia’s attention turned to the man when he addressed her.
Her brows furrowed for a moment, wondering how he knew which of the girls were which, before it dawned on her half a second later.
I doubt there’re too many other newcomers running around here with a dog. Though, ultimately, it would surprise her little if he knew what she had for breakfast that morning. She was, after all, in a place called Sector X. She raised her eyebrows as he continued to speak about others who were supposed to join them. She glanced to Kalik with a sarcastic look that said, “That’s reassuring.”
She slid her own chair back to the table, careful to not run into Kalik, her eyes following the man she assumed to be Kyle Richards to the front of the room.
Kalik stood on his hind legs and placed his paws on the table, his head cocked as Kyle spoke and pulled out the temporary ID cards and a tag.
Talia grinned and nodded at his further instructions with Mrs. Rivenridge, then eagerly took the card and tags when he handed them to her.
She flipped the tag over in her hand, reading the engraving on the small piece of metal. As Kyle started pulling other instruments from his briefcase--Talia partially disappointed at the normality of the items--she threaded the tag onto the ring of Kalik’s collar with the couple others already hanging there. She released the collar and rubbed both sides of his neck before Kalik hopped down from the desk and shook his head, the tags jingling together.
She looked up when the power point displayed, the simple greeting on the first slide making her suppress a chuckle before he switched slides. She momentarily divided her attention between his presentation and tucking the card safely away in her purse.
Not sure which title’s worse... The thought trailed off as Kyle continued, her expression sobering at his “brief overview.” She inhaled through her nose, her gaze turning dark as she eyed the simple word Kyle’s electronics displayed.
Talia’s grin returned at the mention of doing field work. Of being above ground. “I’m more than alright with that, Mr. Richards.”
Talia thought for a moment at his final question. She raised her hand, her elbow bent, glanced at Sophie to be sure she was not about to cut her off, then spoke. “If I may, about Shadow. Are they, like, government spies or normal citizens bent on eradicating Psychics, or are they Psychics themselves?”