[IC] Heroes Villains

[Shard]

7 A.M

It was hard to count the amount of alarm clocks crushed beneath Casper's hand every morning before he got a hold over his powers. In truth a lot of things broke beneath his strength and it was a chore to deal with, though as the years passed so did his ability to control and restrain himself. In truth, the boy was scared for his life every time he lay a hand on his little sister or offered the girl a hug. What if he slipped up? She was fragile enough as it was and if Casper made a mistake, it could be the last one he ever made. It was safe to say that he'd never be able to handle the grief of such an event. A certain form of confidence had however sprung up through the journey called life and the boy hadn't slipped up more than once or twice a month.

Placing his feet on the floor as he did every morning, a soft yawn escaped his lips before Casper carefully raised his body to a standing position. It still hurt quite majorly but did he want to miss the first day of school? Part of him was eager to see his new school but another part simply wanted to remain in bed until midday. He was told that the choice was his, that he could very well stay home if he wanted to but in truth, he wanted to return to school. It would make things feel normal again, and normality was exactly what he needed. Slipping into a new pair of jeans, this time the right size, and a t-shirt, Casper decided to wear something quite unfamiliar. Carefully extending his wounded arm through the dress shirt, he continued with the next and folded up the sleeves. This wasn't so bad, was it? The large mirror in his closet certainly didn't hide anything from the boy curiously gazing upon an uncommon reflection. This was it, wasn't it? His future, the new Casper. None of the things he found himself doing lately was considered normal for him. He was a lot more respectful towards others, he didn't jump down peoples' throats as a first reaction and most of all, he risked his life for others. Was this a better Casper? Was this a person who actually took the place of the rebellious kid he saw himself as just a few days prior or was this person a fake?

The loss of his biological mother lead to more than one realisation, and one could say that it helped him grow quite drastically. Giving him the responsibility to care for a younger person would further his development and a more stable environment allowed his mind to soak everything without constant disturbances. True, James was naught but a needle in Casper's side but one couldn't have everything. Truthfully, the boy didn't care much for what his newly acquired older brother said to him.

"Good morning, Casper. Did you sleep well?" Donna raised her head from the newspaper in her hands, shifting her attention to the coffee cup on the kitchen table.

"Yeah, thanks..." Casper returned, seeing how Miles was frying eggs and bacon. "I'm goin' to school today..."

"That explains why you're up so early." Miles chuckled, turning his attention to Casper for a brief moment.

"Are you well enough?" Donna continued.

"Yeah, it'd be nice with somthin' normal again..."

"I understand. These past few days have been rather hectic." Donna returned, sipping from her coffee. Were these the same people Casper met that day in the police station? The same people who decided to cut his hair before they even let him into their house? Now they seemed so...perfect, in a good way. At first their perfections were almost sickening, as if a commercial add clouded with deceit. None of that was visible anymore, none of it. What changed? Perhaps nothing changed, nothing but Casper that is. True, he'd never agree to their first choice of action after picking him up but not everyone on the planet had the same thought process that he did. "How are you getting along with James, dear?" Donna changed the subject, shifting it towards social matters.

"Well, he's only threatened me once..." Casper managed a soft chuckle, sitting down by the kitchen table.

"James has always had difficulties with change. He'll warm up to you eventually." Miles added, plating the egg and bacon.

It didn't take long for the subject of interest to enter the room, James setting foot into the kitchen as he rubbed his groggy eyes. "Good morning." He spoke, looking to the three already there, though his gaze lingered on Casper with a frown.

"Are you ready for your exams today, James?" Miles sat down with the rest, placing a plate in front of each person.

"Yeah." He spoke, shifting his attention to the plate as to not look at the others. Ever since Casper joined the family, he felt like things were falling apart. His perfect little rich family stood outside the conflicts taking place in the world. No freaks were part of his family, but now that Casper had been added, everything was ruined. If he could erase the boy, James would. It wasn't too far fetched to say that he had thought about it, about getting rid of the new addition somehow.

Sadly, Freya was still sleeping when Casper had to leave for school. He had hoped to say goodbye to her but he didn't want to wake the girl from her slumber. Breakfast didn't take very long and due to the incredibly tense atmosphere, he didn't want to linger. "Need help putting your shoes on, Casper?" Donna slipped into her coat, grabbing her car keys.

"No, thanks..." It was a chore but with enough determination, Casper was able to cover his feet and placed his bag over his shoulder. He had never been driven to school before, it was going to be an experience. James was taken to college before it was Casper's turn to get dropped off, though despite his suggestion that he could walk to school, Donna insisted on taking him. Was that how actual, functional families did it? Seemed like Casper had much to learn.

"Now remember, don't get into any fights." Donna looked behind her at the backseat after arriving at the school's parking lot.

"Promise..." The boy managed a soft smile, opening the door and taking his seat belt off.

"I'll be back to pick you up after school, so don't run off anywhere, dear. Now, have a pleasant day Casper." She finished, reaching over to carefully rub the boy's shoulder. After Casper stepped out and saw his new mother drive off, he continued towards the entrance. Already, several people had turned their attention to him. Had they seen the video? Heard about it on the news? Read about it on the internet? Hopefully none of what happened yesterday would affect his time at school but with a bandaged arm, people were going to ask what happened. Well, it was time to deal with it. Casper wanted normality and this was it.

[Polyurethane]

Dylan and Jaenelle Cox

Dylan sat on the couch in his living room and sighed. What a day this had been. It was then that he heard a soft knock on the door. He stood up and walked around his couch to get to the door. He opened without checking, he knew it must have been his sister. Which it was.

"Come on in, have a seat" Dylan said walking back to his living room and sitting down. His sister following shortly behind. Her body language said she was defeated and her face said she was upset.

"What is it you want Dylan, I can't have the girl so I have other more important things to do." she said in a hushed voice as to not wake Aira.

"Sis; I love you. But you've become the very same thing you hate." He said calmly.

"I didn't choose to become an evo, ok! It just happened apparently." She snapped back quietly.

"I'm talking about a murderer Jaenelle. You know those people you kill, those evos? They had families just like mom had us." He said with sorrow in his voice.

"They're too dangerous, I'm saving lives by taking theirs. Just look at what's going on around the country Dylan" she said pulling out her phone and googling evos under the news tab in Google. "A prison full of evos attacked and now they're all running loose. Anaheim Disney land, people start dropping from heat stroke. Not just one here or there, a lot went down. An attack on the highway, this little evo kid at a park fought off one of the escaped prisoners! This world would be better off without them." She paused to let what she said sink in.

"I'm sorry you feel that way... But just like humans, evos have bad guys and good guys. They are just not dangerous. But today you were going to, I assume, bring her to Quantum. Which they would just endlessly poke and pros at her for any info she has." He said.

"Whatever..." It was clear in her voice she wanted to stop talking about it.

"Anyways. I need to get Aira some clothes. I'll let you go do your thing. Just remember Jaenelle... If you're ever in danger call me. I'll be there as fast as I can." Dylan said with care for his sister. She said nothing, but stood and left the house. Dylan wasn't far behind. Slipping his shoes on and grabbing a jacket, he too left the house. He had to get Aira something to wear tomorrow while they shopped for more clothes, and art supplies.

[Chulance]

Max Stross, Los Angeles California to Anaheim California

Max fired another shot this time the bullet hit the EVO in the throat. The Evo stumbled back and hit the ground blood gushing from his wound. Max had been blasted by the EVO’s seismic bursts twice the first instance knocked him into an SUV right behind him. The second burst did more damage sending him aerial and crashing into the windshield of a crashed car. However thanks to his body armor and natural resilience he was fine and back on the high-way in no time.

The EVO had caused quite a wreck, and sirens were blaring everywhere due to highway patrol being present everywhere trying to sort out the situation. The National Guard had also stepped into the scene with armored trucks and such on the scene. Max took out his phone to call the Quantum HQ in D.C.

“Hello this is Max Stross speaking, I have some news about a situation. There’s a town in California, Anaheim no blood testing equipment because it’s lacking the proper funds. Well I believe there may some dangerous EVO’s in that town, I think we need to implement an emergency make-shift blood testing center in the town and administer tests to all the residents, I want the choppers there by yesterday! If Headquarters asks where the money’s coming from take it out my personal funds.” Max then hung up after he gave the order, he knew there was no time to establish an actual blood testing center over-night.

However, a make-shift set up was something Quantum was trained to do, just so long as someone had the money to back up the request. Max hated splurging and wasting cash but if what he saw in his nightmares had any truth to it it was imperative to capture this girl. Once he cleared through the traffic he was maintaining a consistent speed of over 100 mph. I don’t have time to waste, I need to get my target. No telling what this girl is capable of, and if I loose her…then I could loose everything. I’m going to have to play this differently.

About an hour and ten minutes later Max had reached his destination. Thanks to his government clearance he avoided any unnecessary police interaction over his excessive speeding on the highway.

“Okay going from the report to the other information I have regarding this girl, let’s see where she resides hmm..okay…so that’s the residence perfect…time to get me some answers.” Max said with a smile as he turned his vehicle to head towards that direction. He found some interesting information as he connected his phone to his car so that he could listen to information through his speakers. Interesting so she was at the scene of another incident that went down today involving Casper Everrose, the evo that made the news for “Defending” that park. Piece of shit was defending himself, and the sympathizers are trying to make these creatures look humane. I outa arrest anyone who participated in the creation of that news broadcast, fucking terrorrists.

Of all the breaking news reports the one involving Casper had him pissed and he wouldn’t mind marching up to his home with a couple agents and an arrest warrant for “reckless endangerment via use of ability.”. He reached for his phone and went to notes marking down Casper’s name and a reminder to mess up his life in the near future. “I’ll take that positive image you have little bastard and mess it up quickly.”

Max was ready for what was about to happen as he entered the neighborhood where the Smith family resided. He reached for his phone and sent out a text to a fellow agent in the area. Shortly after the text was sent a van pulled up in-front of the Smith residence and two men in black suits emerged from the van. Max tilted his rear view mirror to watch what was happening in the corner of his eye as he reached for his own gun. “Make a fucking move already…its a fucking family of three there about as deadly as Mr. Rogers..hurry this up.” He muttered to himself grumbling about his fellow agents incompetence.

He watched as the two agents burst into the Smith house-hold splitting up one of the agents rushing over to Riley’s father and shooting a sedative into his neck. The other agent bursting into the kitchen and pulling the trigger to unload a round into Riley’s mother’s stomach. Right as he was doing that Max burst in jamming a syringe into said agent’s neck causing him to stumble forward and hit the ground unconscious. Max then drew his gun and phone rushing over to Riley while dialing 911. “Shit! Shit! Listen kid we don’t have time! Come with me if you wanna fucking live, these people..are EVO hunters come on!” Max clicked the green dial button and answered.” Hello I have a woman that was shot! It’s an emergency she’s bleeding please come.” Max then hung up and pocketed his cellar device while reaching out his hand for Riley. Everything’s going according to plan just need to keep it that way, and hopefully I didn’t just cause a major fuck up.

Martin Scosman, Washington D.C - Quantum Headquarters

Martin stood in the center of the room looking at a large monitor with other agents. This was the central monitor of their headquarters that had various displays showing various things including current missions, most wanted Evo’s, some projects they were working on and some other stuff.

“Hmmm eveything’s going good, but Texas, Miami, and LA those are the hot points we need to focus our man-power on. Any sign of strength by the EVO population we shut it down immediately. We can’t just let it all rest in the hands of the Department of Homeland Security Evo division, those three cities need to be controlled and NOW! “

“Umm Director Scosman, Stross is in LA right now trying to get a handle of the situation and we’ve sent extra reinforcements to help out and their collaborating with the National Guard, local police, Department of Homeland Security’s Evo Division, and FBI. Texas we’ve just sent down extra units to help handle the fall-out but honestly we’ve got a different situation on our hands.”

“A Different situation.” Martin sighed he didn’t like the signs of these developments, right now their biggest priority was figuring out the EVO that slaughtered the protestors and wiped out the capitol building in Texas. She’d murdered the Governor of Texas and the whole country was in a state of uproar at the hands of his murder by an EVO as well a the hundreds of others murdered during her rampage. “Speak on it now.”

“The Children of the Church of Azrael the cultists who initiated the protest in Texas that led to the Evo’s retaliation…ever since the news break of all the registered identity’s there’s been more violence in Texas, reports from Evo households being assaulted by cultists members, shooting at their homes, setting fires, lynching, no doubt with the cult’s growing influence across the country and…with today’s events these attacks are going to become more frequent I believe we should divert some of Quantum’s resources to combatting this cult just as much as our evo related threats.”

Martin shook his head and sighed. “Rules are meant to be followed, and these people are breaking rules, they will be handled but that’s not our focus. Our focus is on eliminating the threat that’s making them panic, this is good this will bring Evo’s down, beat them down, ther’es talks of a resistance coming out of Florida, and you heard that speech by this Frank Jackson, we’re looking into him, and we need to handle him before the FBI, I’m going to handle the Florida situation myself, get my transport ready, I’m headed to the airport, it’s time for me to take a flight, contact the FBI and DHS To get their talk on the cultists violence it’s time to lay down the law on anyone who believed Jackson’s nonsense. The only uprising today is an uprising of justice.”

Martin left the board room and dipped out walking to his own private quarters to gather his belongings when he got another call. “Hello Scotsman I’ve got an interesting report about the girl who were looking into the suspected precog.”

“Go on with it, I’m geting ready to go to Florida so this better be good.”

“Well so far we’ve got a report that Agent Cox failed the mission, but we looked into it due to the seriousness of the matter and found something interesting. We tracked her location, and found her brother was going along the same path she was, the same time the mission was supposedly failed.”

“Hmm..so you believe their collaborating for the kid? Decided the prize was worth it? Do you have a location on them.”

“Yes there last known location was the brother Dylan Cox’s residence near Lake Tahoe. Should I send a unit to confront them?

“No need to alert Ms. Cox she may have had a little slip but so far all we’ve got to go by is location monitors, send the co-ordinates to my phone I’ll handle this personally, if we have potential access to someone who can predict the future, this may make up for Walker’s suicide, anyway send Ms. Cox on another mission I’m trying to stir up some controversy, tell her kill Frank Jackson.” Martin hung up the phone and then grabbed a few things before exiting his office. He made his way up to the roof with a briefcase in hand and nothing else before taking out his phone to see the co-ordinates where sent. “Time to get to work.” Martin then took flight into the sky at superhuman speeds headed towards Dylan’s house.

[Damo021]

Annmarie Grace.

Candle Lighting Vigil, Miami

Annmarie had a very stressful time of late, work kept her busy yes, but Miami was going downhill just like California and now Texas, these oppressive laws that were forced upon Evo's and the treatment from society in general made the doctor sick inside. To her EVO's and humans are the same thing, catergorise them any way you want, They were still humanity in her eyes and it seemed history always repeated itself when it came to changes to the normal way of life that many get to accustomed to. Annmarie had made sure she was coming to this Vigil after witnessing the fight that broke out two days prior that cost many innocent lives, Lives that in her eyes could of been saved. And compiled on to that and with her helping EVO's on the side illegally providing medical care and sometimes shelter, that was never easy to do and she had to be careful who she helped as some were good while some not.

Mingling among the crowd, Annmarie was a little digusted with some of the personalities there, Sure she knew one or two and surely family member was obvious why they were there but some people were dressed to the nine like it was a bachelor party, some of the woman she saw had dresses that left little to the imagination, short as hell and the bust area so tight that even their other assest looked like they were going to burst out for air. Ann was more a lot conservative but still wore a black dress but made her self concious with her body.

Anyway without getting side tracked, Ann was here to pay her respects yes but not just for those here but also those that won't be mentioned because of being EVO or had any ties to them like the minister Allen Brown, He was a good man, stood up for what he beleived in and was never one to back down from speaking his mind, that ultimately was what killed him, but yet like him and those speaking for Evo's where not even mentioned or shown her and that saddened the woman greatly, Even angered her a little, she did hint a little at this in conversations but was not overly well received, If she was not careful some would take hint at her sympathizing for the Evo's.

But that incident two days ago brought back a familiar face for Annmarie, A female woman that Ann had seen on and off ever since Claire revealed her kind to the world, She knew the woman in question since they were a teen back in 2008, Miami's Guardian angel as mentioned in the tabloids, but was simply something experts could not figure out and nor could Annmarie. She remembers coming across the girl wondering in the storm at the beach, like she had some form of deathwish, her head raised a little and her hands slightly raised, it was one wird ass sight. but not long after that it all changed and the teen in question collapse on the floor, Ann never asked questions and her inner doctor kicked in, taking care of the Evo in question, taking her in, of course eventually she knew what the woman was when all was revealed.

If anything that strenghtened her resovle that not all Evo's are bad, this one saved so many lives that day. Either way the guardian and come to her in distress over the event happening acorss the U.S but mostly to what happened much closer to home. for those couple of day the weather was doing wierd things but only in Miami, clouds formed and stayed constantly swirling and moving in an unusual manner never seen before, the odd rumble of thunder from time to time, it was the weather being effected by the emotions of this one guardian, Annmarie spent plenty of time with her calming the individual. so that the weather was a more calm and soothing for the vigil today.

The senator mentioned in her speach not long ago of those that could control certain unique powers, She mentioned weather control as one, If only she really knew one existed right now and that Annmarie was harbouring that particular individual right now, A class 4. It was round this time that one man that lost a loved one that day in the riots. The speech however was much more different than even she Anticipated and was certainly shocked to what she was hearing. He referred Evo's as people and this made her feel happy and warm inside but also worried, this could get another shoot out going.

But instead those that were actually there for grieving where getting inspired, Then a guy from the back got her attention, she looked at him for a moment when he asked about Quantum and the Evo division. He spoke about bringing it down, Annmarie began thinking, was there really going to be a resistance forming. Starting right here in Miami? The people starting to get a different view, this was a lot to process and some were leaving. Then it just struck her, If this gets people speaking out against the Quantum and others , then surely they will respond to this resistance and put a stop to it before it started. 'Miranda' she suddenly thought in worry, She couldn't let anything happen to her. she would need to escape Miami soon and fast.

[Shard]

As much as the boy had hoped for a break, none was about to come along. People looked at him in a mixture of fear and astonishment, the Evo who saved all those people at the park. This amount of attention was nothing he signed up for and while it was nice to read about once, Casper didn't want this to linger. He didn't want people to look at him with wide eyes, he just wanted to fade into the background like he always had. He was a quiet kid, someone who enjoyed the silence and preferred to be part of it. This, everything that was happening, it was breaking that comfort with a battering ram.

"Hey." A new voice started, stealing Casper's attention from his locker. "You're the guy on the news, right?"

"Yeah..."

"Cool, about time something good came along on the news. I'm Aiden." The boy spoke, stretching his hand out to Casper who shook it gently.

"Casper..."

"Sorry about your arm, though. I saw the video, damn...punching that looked painful." Aiden was taller than Casper, which wasn't a very impressive feat and possessed quite the opposite features with blonde hair, blue eyes and very fair skin. He appeared to possess a thin, slender frame though with enough weight to consider him quite attractive around those of similar age. The bright smile stretching across his lips hinted at a joyful and pleasant personality with his casual approach to Casper being an obvious giveaway of his social tendencies. Aiden wasn't being a nuisance, though. He was polite and gave off a better impression of this place than Casper's old home.

"Yeah..." Casper responded, closing his locker. It was still empty, though he wanted to make sure that he had gotten the right one. "He was rather sturdy..."

"Happy you won that one. If you didn't, things would have gotten really sour really fast." Aiden continued, managing a soft chuckle. "Seems like you know how to fight, though. Who taught you?"

"Buncha' people..." In truth, Casper's combat capabilities were instinctive. He had been through countless fights in his previous school, on the streets and in countless other venues where thugs tended to reside. Every fight was another experience point and while he wasn't exactly a master martial artist, he had been through enough of the rough to have good reflexes. He did want to learn more disciplined forms of fighting, though. "Been in a few brawls..."

"A few?" Aiden returned, placing a hand by his hip.

"Depends on how ya' count, I guess..."

"Mhm." Aiden giggled. "What's your next class?"

"English..."

"Me too! We're in the same class, then." Aiden finished, motioning towards the fork in the corridor. "It's in there."

"Oh, okay..." Raising his eyes from the floor where they often found home, Casper noticed how things hadn't changed much. People were still ogling him and it felt odd in so many ways. He just wanted to save his sister from a psycho, there was nothing else to it. Why were people treating this like national news? Casper just did what any person would have done in that situation, didn't he? "Why did ya' say hi to me...?"

"Huh?" Leaning against the wall next to their classroom door, Aiden tilted his head slightly and gazed down at the smaller boy with a confused expression on his face. "What do you mean?"

"Why did ya' say hi?" Casper repeated. "People don't usually walk up to strangers like that...is there anything ya' want?"

"Heh, sorry. People have said that I'm a bit too hands-on for my own good. I just saw you on the news and wanted to see what kind of person you were, sorry if I overstepped." Aiden raised his hands apologetically, something else Casper didn't expect. This guy appeared to pleasant in a lot of ways, didn't he?

"Ya didn't overstep. I'm just not used to bein' social...this is still new to me..." Casper didn't mind Aiden's presence, he actually somewhat liked it, but this was still a lot to take in. "Uhm..."

"Yup?" Aiden returned, waiting for Casper to finish.

"Nice...to meet ya'..."

"Heh, likewise, buddy. My mom always says that it's good to make a friend on the first day of school so uh, you might have made one!...if you want."

"Thanks, Aiden..." Calling him a friend this early on would be a mistake but Aiden was certainly not going in any other direction. Perhaps this would be a person Casper would see himself hanging out with rather frequently at school. He wasn't opposed to that idea, he just needed to get used to it. There were countless changes in his life and Casper was trying to keep up with them. At the very least, he had come to accept the changes rather than fight them which made everything a lot easier.

"I can show you around school after class, if you want." Aiden offered as he scratched the back of his head somewhat nervously as if not to step on Casper's nerves. Despite his talkative and social nature, the boy possessed a very calm voice. It was harmonic and serene, quite pleasant to listen to, in fact. His social endeavors also showed quite frequently as he raised a hand in greeting to many people he knew while speaking with Casper. A social butterfly indeed.

"So far, so good...right? Things are goin' a lot more smoothly than I first thought...heh, thanks Aiden. Hope things don't go downhill from here..."

[Nallore]

Elena Reese
Los Angeles, California

The moment Jack had opened the door to his apartment she quickly headed over to where she had just sat previously pushing the contents of what was on the coffee table onto the floor knocking down the glass that had her hair onto the floor as well. "No not really.." Elena said with worry in her voice, she quickly went over and closed the blinds as well in case the agents were still watching her. "Right, so a CIA agent had come into my apartment shortly after I came to see you." Elena said passing around the room rather quickly, her eyes meeting Jack's before sighing trying to calm herself down. "He came to my apartment asking about a woman who I am friends with by the name of Blaire they suspect that she is the one behind the high school attack a month ago, but I hadn't seen or heard from her in over a month now. But on that day she told me to go to her place, but she wasn't there but I found this."

Elena said pulling out what was now the burnt portable drive. "I plugged this into my computer and it crashed it completely. when I used my ability to get it started again all of these files came up." Elena told him as she turned her laptop back on, it had various windows, files, and other news articles all of them mentioning 'Dark Monday' as well as events leading all the way to it and an eclipse that would steal all evo abilities. "All of these events are going to happen in three months a week after the election.." Elena said sighing running a hand through her hair.

"The real kicker and was really weird was something weird a hologram came out of the drive, mentioning a woman named Angela Petrelli whos in New York City." Elena said handing Jack her laptop to show everything that was on there.

Riley Smith
Newberry Springs, California

Riley was standing in the kitchen helping her mother out with cleaning the dishes the whole day had been so crazy all the news of these evos in California, Miami and Florida were so crazy to her and what she witnessed earlier as well. "Are you sure everything is okay hun?" Riley's mother asked knowing that her daughter had a rather stressful day, Riley met her mother's gaze and smiled softly at her and nodded slowly nodded at her mother. "Yeah i'll be fine, its just been a really weird day is all." Riley said as she set a wet plate down on a cloth with the other plates to air dry, their kitchen was rather small and they couldn't get a proper dish washer.

Riley's father was doing some work on the computer looking over at his wife and daughter as the two of them talked to one another and smiled at them. They weren't aware that two cars had stopped right in front of their house, Riley jumped dropping a plate onto the ground as it fell and shattered into several pieces and tiny shards. Two armed men in suits had burst through the front door, one of them shooting a tranquilizer at her father causing Riley to scream. "Dad!" Riley yelled as the other agent shot her mother, who was about to rush to her husband's side. Riley quickly went to her mother's side tears started streaming down the sides of her face, noticing the gunshot wound as blood quickly started soaking through her mother's shirt.

This was about the worse day in her life, witnessing her mother being shot as well as her father then Max came bursting into the kitchen as well. Riley noticed the handgun that shot her mother was on the floor, staring at the man in front of her and grabbed it quickly. "Get away from me!" Riley started firing the handgun wildly. Riley had never held a gun before as all the shots were all fired and every single shot missing Max the bullets hitting harmlessly into the drywall behind Max then the gun started clicking as the last shot left the gun. Riley looked down her mother was barely conscious as she held her mother's hand as tight as she could dropping the empty gun onto the floor. She clearly wasn't going to leave her parent's side.

[Polyurethane]

Jack Harper
Los Angeles, California

Jack watched as she pushed the glass he had placed her hair in, off the table and into the floor. That was just great, if it fell out of the glass it would be nearly impossible to find. Oh well, it would seem that there were more important matters at hand.

He watched as she closed the blinds and spoke of the CIA, the school shooting, dark monday, and then Angela Patrelli. He couldn't help but just listen until she have him the laptop to read the files for himself.

"They're planning a genocide..." he said in disbelief. He knew most people didn't like evos but to go so far as genocide? It was absurd! "They're going to wait until we're all powerless and simply wipe out any evos they deem too powerful." He paused and set the laptop down. Staring at it for a moment, taking it all in.

"If Angela Patreli can help us stop this dark monday, then we need to find her as soon as possible. I know you can't travel by plane because you're registered as evolved, so that means we have a long drive ahead of us." Jack said as he stood from the sofa.

He made his way to the small kitchen in his apartment and opened one of the cupboard doors below the sink. Reaching in and feeling the roof he grabbed a thick envelope that was taped up there.

"I'm not too sure your mustang will make it to New York, no offense, and I don't have a car. Luckily though I have a decent amount of money saved up. We can rent a car and go searching for Angela Patreli. Are you ready for an adventure?"

Ray Belfour
Anaheim California

Ray was lining up to make the winning shot. He stopped and took a swig of the whiskey he bought then got down and really thought this hit out. He pulled back the pool stick and right as he released it his phone began to ring. This caused him to completely miss the eight ball. Now it was Jaidyns turn to attempt hitting the 8 ball in.

Ray looked at the number for a moment to see if he recognized it. He missed his money shot for a Damn random number! He answered his phone in the angriest manner possible with a smart phone.

"I hope this is important you just made me miss the eight ball!" he said in a raised voice, not knowing it was Dean on the other end of the line.

Jaenelle Angelina Cox
Tahoe City, California

As Jaenelle drove away from her brothers house she brought her phone out to call and report in. But before she could she had received a call.

"Yes?" she said as she answered the call

"We have another assignment for you. Frank Jackson is stirring things up down in Miami, Florida. Take care of him before things get too out of hand. We've got private transportation ready to pick you up at the nearest airport. All the information you need is attached in an email. That is all" the man said before there was nothing but a dial tone.

Something didn't feel right. She hadn't even reported in yet and they already have her a new assignment. She started texting Dylan.

Somethings not right. They have me another assignment before I reported in for this one. I don't have a good feeling about that, so just keep an eye out ok?

Send. Now she was on her way to the airport to catch a private jet to Miami, Florid. Frank had a date with the reaper.

[Vicier]

Dean Mitchell

Noah's Motel ~ Anaheim, California

”I hope this is important you just made me miss the eight ball!”

Jumping slightly as the sound of his friends loud and rather angered voice came through the receiver, Dean quickly pulled the phone back from his ear, clearly able to hear Ray’s dulcet tones as he ranted on the other end about his interrupting the obvious win that he was clearly supposed to have- since when the name of hell did he have a pool table anyway..? Shaking his head for a moment as though it was going to help get the thought out of his mind, he once again placed the phone up to his ear, a slightly weary though still amused expression playing over his features as he finally began to speak; his Australian accent clear as he did, the young man not really having expected for his friend to answer the phone in the first place.

“Ray; mate, you gotta relax... it’s just me, Dean- anyway look; the reason I called is cause Erin and I got ourselves into some trouble. Long ass story; but the short version is, we’re no longer at the park, and we aren’t allowed back to yours til the heat dies down.” Shifting awkwardly where he sat on the bed, he raised his hand up to rub roughly at the back of his neck, his eyes closing as he huffed out a tired and defeated sigh, “I don’t know where we are, but some guy named Bennet helped us out and is keeping us hidden til we can meet up with you again- just letting you guys know that we’re both alright... she’s a bit shaken up; she’s just getting some fresh air at the moment, but you know that I’ll keep an eye on her...”

Pausing for another moment so that he could turn his head, Dean sat himself up a little straighter and craned his neck slightly so that he could glance out the window, his gaze resting on Erin’s figure sitting alone by the motels pool for a few moments before he turned his attention back to the conversation that he was having, “..I gotta go man... I’m getting a look that says I’ve been talking for too long already... I’ll call you again whenever I get the chance next...”

[Vicier]

Isabella Français

Eastwood Evo Academy ~ LA, California

It happened again... Cleo was going to kill her- not to mention she was going to be late for the tournament now that her power to jump had sent her back to who knew when... now she just had to figure out where she was, not to mention what year it actually was. Stumbling slightly as her feet hit the ground, Isabella quickly once again lifted her head up to look about her person- the hallway was long, and apart from the doors leading off of it, was lined with things such as lockers, notice boards and what she could only assume were trophy cabinets on both sides. She was in a school... she could work with that; she’d been in schools before, not for a long time, but it was the type of environment that she had always been comfortable in. Now she just had to figure out what school she was in, and what year it was.

Taking a moment to process the situation she had unintentionally landed herself in, she reached both of her hands down to take a hold of the front of her large medieval-type ball gown, lifting it only slightly up from the ground so as not to step on it as she moved herself forward, her bright blue eyes flicking about to scan over the contents of the nearest trophy cabinet for clues before eventually, her attention settled upon one of the frames held within, the photo of one of the schools clubs catching her eye and finally managing to give her the answer that she had been seeking: Eastwood Evo Academy, athletics carnival winners 2012. So that’s where she was... an evo academy... and she had at least made it back to the right time, so that was a good thing at least.

Shaking her head lightly from side to side in slight annoyance with herself, she took a couple of steps back from the glass, her shoulders slumping forward ever so slightly as the grip she had over the material of her dress tightened, the thought of what actually awaited her back in Camelot causing her stomach to churn nervously- she was going to be in so much trouble when she got back... Cleo was going to go through her like a ton of bricks for ditching her in medieval times, Arthur was going to be so worried once he found out that she was missing; and Lancelot... she didn’t want to think of the disappointment and heartache he would feel if he come to learn that she had gone and left without so much as a goodbye... the very thought caused pain to shoot through her heart, and for her knees to feel weak underneath her...

“I-... I need to go back... I have to get back to them now...”

She had to get back- get back to him. She saw no other option... she wanted there to be no other option. Not if it meant she had a chance at being happy with the man that she loved. Once again lifting the front of her dress up so that it was no longer resting upon the ground, Isabella turned on her heel and began to hurry down the hall, her long and dark gentle curls bouncing lightly over her back with every step that she took, her feet carrying her down the hallway to where she could see daylight streaming in through the doors at the far end- she needed to get out of the restricting halls... needed fresh air, and a moment to compose herself before working her concentration to get her back to where it was she was actually supposed to be, “..wait for me, Lancelot...”

“Hey you..! No running in the halls..!”

Caught by surprise at the sudden words being yelled out in her direction, Belle turned her head so that she was able to look back over her shoulder, the material of her dress slipping from her relaxing grip as her eyes came to a stop on the figure of someone she could only believe was a teacher, his stern look giving her the warning he believed was going to work on her before he disappeared back into the classroom he had come from- it had all happened so fast... the moment that she had let go of the front of her dress, it had fallen back down to the ground, and in turn, right into the path she had been taking; her feet catching on the heavy material and her lips parting from one another in slight panic as she felt herself falling forward and into two figures who had been occupying the hall, her vibrant blue eyes shutting tightly and the thought of where it was she wanted to go flickering across her mind before she was gone. Vanished into thin air, and leaving the hall once more in the state she had first found it.

[Shard]

"The teacher should be here, soon." Aiden commented, clicking his fingers against the wall he was leaning on. Casper didn't usually find himself comfortable around others like this but due to the vast amount of change in his life, perhaps something clicked over in the boy's mind. He didn't have anything against Aiden and the thought of spending more time with him wasn't terribly uninviting. Though, Casper didn't want to get any new attachments this early on. Part of him thought it a bad idea to grow this close to Freya after such a short amount of time, despite her being his sister.

Was there something which drew Casper closer to the other boy? A desire to settle down in this new world he called home? Was it something simpler such as the desire to have a friend in the unknown? Either way, Aiden possessed an aura of harmony and serenity which could soothe even the most savage of hearts. Perhaps that was his mutation? The ability to appear appealing to those around him? It brought words to thought. "What's your power...?"

"Huh? Oh, I can heal people." Aiden responded, his bright smile quite enchanting under the strong lights above them.

"So...ya' could heal my arm...?" A question based mostly on curiosity. Casper wasn't very eager to have a random mutant he just met use whatever power he had on Casper's wounded limb.

"Yup, I could heal it right up. Using my powers without permission is a big mistake, though. I can heal you if you'd like but a lot of people think its weird so I don't really offer it anymore." The taller boy shrugged slightly, turning his eyes to many of the other students for a brief moment before returning his eyes to Casper.

"Oh, okay..." The pain was tolerable but the feeling of helplessness was high in might. What if Casper was attacked again? What could he do with only one arm? Sleeping was also a hassle with the wounds he had sustained. According to the doctor, Casper had also sustained internal damage from the fight but it was nothing that could be treated. It had to heal on its own. Its own...perhaps it didn't. Was he going to let Aiden heal him? They had some time before the teacher came so perhaps it was a good idea. Trying to weigh the pros and cons of the situation, Casper thought this through. If Aiden healed him, the wound would be gone and he'd be able to continue about his day without an issue, if Aiden didn't, Casper would have to live with the pain and inability to move his limb. Aiden could in fact be a crazed maniac who only pretended to be a healer and would utterly destroy the smaller boy with his touch, couldn't he? That seemed highly unlikely, though. "Alright..." Casper continued, looking up at Aiden who tilted his head curiously. If he could indeed heal the wounded, this was a good time to show it. "Ya' can heal me..."

"Alright, come closer." Reaching his hand out, Aiden carefully placed his palm on Casper's arm and closed his eyes. With a deep breath, he focused on the damaged tissue with a soft, barely noticeable glow emitting from the boy's hand.

"This feeling...it's so...so warm..." Casper couldn't help but watch with wide eyes as Aiden's power revealed itself. The pain was replaced by gentle warmth, the kind you felt in front of a fireplace on a cold winter night, and after a short while the boy felt nothing at all. He could move his fingers without pause and the pain in his side had completely vanished. Was this for real? Was Aiden truly able to just will the pain away, the hurt? "Th-that's fuckin' amazin'..."

"Thanks!" The taller boy smiled brightly with his hand gently patting Casper's shoulder. "You're all better now."

"The hell would anyone say no to that...?" Looking down on his knuckles, Casper removed the bandages and saw the smooth skin below. There wasn't a single hint of blood or any trace of damage left on his limb. How could anyone consider this power a danger? How could Quantum search for someone like this in a hostile manner? Aiden was a healer, a fucking doctor, why would anyone want to put him away for healing the sick?

"A lot of people find it disturbing." Aiden informed, slipping his hands into his pockets.

"It felt warm..." Casper returned, his quiet voice breaking through the otherwise loud atmosphere on its way to the taller boy's ears.

"Hm, a good warm or a bad warm?"

"A very good warm..." Casper finished, completely removing the bandages to see the undamaged tissue below. He wanted to say more, to compliment Aiden on his capabilities, but their conversation was cut short when a teacher joined the scene and shouted at some new arrival. A dress? No, a gown? Who was this woman? Out of nowhere, Casper and Aiden laid eyes on a person who could only have been dragged out of a television show. True, it was an Evo school and anything was possible in a location such as this but it was surprising nonetheless. She seemed lost, incredibly so, with an expression of disbelief on her face. This wasn't where she was supposed to be, and she knew that very well. "What the..."

"Maybe we should help her?" Aiden took a few steps forward in an attempt to approach the situation. Casper was close behind, equally curious as to what was taking place but they were caught off guard by her immediate stumble. Before they knew it, the woman fell forward.

"All the grace of a fuckin' cat..." Casper's thoughts quickly brought him forward in an attempt to catch her but as soon as she connected with the two boys, the trio vanished from the spot, leaving naught behind.

[Chulance]

Max Stross, Elizabeth Reyes, and Riley Smith
Newberry Springs, then Washington D.C.

Max was hoping his plan would have worked right off the bat. However, much to his dismay Riley possessed intelligence he didn't expect from a child. Luckily however despite her smarts her handling of a weapon was pitiful and he avoided any injury from her torrent of bullets that she launched.

"Pity for a moment I was almost worried child, but it just proves my point. Only a child and already reaching for a weapon to kill a man of the law. You evo's are trash, literal monsters. "Max spoke with venom towards the child. To be frankly honest he didn't even see her as a child, in his eyes the young evo was an inhuman beast.

Max reached for his walkie talkie. "I need a clean up team, I want you guys to make it look like Riley shot her mother and attacked her father. Her prints are on the murder weapon already so no need to set that up, be here shortly then have the real authorities show later I want her facing murder charges by the time the news comes on, oh and make sure to mention her connection to the Everrose family and their adopted "hero". " Max grinned as he raised his gun and fired a shot towards her father that just barely missed inches from his head.

"Listen kiddo your mom's about to die, fitting punishment for letting one of you brats being born. Your father...I'll spare if you come wtih me if not I'll kill him, so it's your pick you want to loose both parents today or do you want at least one human left in this world who'll take pity on you fucking freak?" Max said as he held his hand out he wasn't in the mood for a chase.

Riley's hands were pressed firmly over the gunshot wound, blood was already starting to covering her hands. "Please dont die mom.." Riley said softly, then she shot an angry glare at Max, as he spoke into a walkie talkie with a glare of pure hatred towards him. He was going to make it look like she did this to her own parents, she jumped when Max fired a single shot nearly missing her father who was now unconcious.

In fear of her father's life she looked down at her mother who was breathing very slowly now, she wiped away the tears from her eyes. And seeing no other option Riley didnt want her father to die either. "Promise you wont hurt him." Riley said softly holding her mother's hand for the last time before slowly standing up and looked at her father one last time before walking past Max.

Max was amused by Riley's attempt to save his mother's life. The pain of loosing a mother it was like no other but then again his mother never did particarly care for him that much prior to her demise anyway. " I promise...not to kill him."

Max then pulled the trigger firing a shot into her father's right leg. "Ah after you brutally murdered your mother..for outing you as the evil EVO you are, your father tried to flee. You attempted to gun him down before he could alert the authorities but luckily you ran out of bullets after shooting him in the leg." He said as he snatched up Riley by her hand and gripped her arm tight.

"Your coming with me now, Uncle Max is taking ya for a ride. ." Max said as he reached into his pocket for his syringe and stuck the needle partially into her arm before pulling it out. She's just a kid so a quarter of the dose should be good.. "Not that it was needed but you can never be too careful with Evo's. Your gonna feel sluggish, weak, nauseated but you wont throw up just close to the edge..but never quite all the way there..kind of like your attempts to save your mom's stupid life close but not quite past the finish line. " Max chuckled at his own jokes as he carried her outside to his car and tossed her into the passenger seat before strapping her in.

As he went around to get into his vehicle he noticed his men pulling up to fix up the crime scene. "Say adious Riley, we're going on a trip." Max said starting up the car and pulling off. "So I've never been one for a silent road trip, what can ya tell me about yourself Riley? Favorite hobbies, movies, music, what super power you have, come on now feel free not to talk I'll just have your father murdered just a little minor detail..I wanted to chime in..."

Riley quickly turned to go back to her father the moment Max had shot him in the leg, she cried again as Max roughly grabbed her hand roughly the younger girl started struggling against Max until she felt a hard pinch in her arm. Riley stared at the syringe just as Max pulled it out of her arm, her vision started to blur quickly as Riley was stumbling behind Max moving her to his car.

Riley watched as Quantum agents moved into her house to set up the crime scene, as Max roughly put her into the passenger seat of his car. Riley rested her head against the window, her body was feeling very woosey now. "Fuck you.." Riley said softly slowly looking over at Max, before finally telling him. "I can see other evo's in visions, where they are what they are doing.." Riley managed to say she wasnt going to tell him anything else at this point.

Max with one hand on the wheel used the other to slap Riley across the neck. "Don't use that kind of language, fucking evo kids talking like sailors before there even in middle school."

It's like it's more then just their powers, geneitcally these things are just savages. I'd say apes deserve more rights then Evo's. Max was amusing himself with his own humor when Riley mentioned her power. He nearly lost control of the car and swerve into the opposing lane slamming his foot onto the breaks to resume control.

"Holy shit." Max was breathing heavilly before picking up speed again. The nightmares he'd been having, the visions of Riley, her being the key to stopping everything, it was all making sense to him. So maybe..someone really did message me from the future, The Evo population must have some-how destroyed the world despite Dark Monday or maybe..those visions are what happens if we don't initiate Dark Monday. And this girl is the key...she's the next Molly..Walker..

"Kid that's impressive I was expecting something alot flasher like instant earthquakes or laser beams." Max said as he reached for his phone and dialed Elizabeth. Pick up Liz...damn it..this is urgent.

Riley glared at Max when he slapped her neck, she tried to shake off the sedative he injected into her. Riley groaned loudly when Max swirved close to the oncoming lane, her head slamming back into the head rest of the car seat. "If I had that power id use it to crush your ugly face.." Riley groaned as she rested her head against the car's window.

Meanwhile..

Elizabeth was sitting in the back of her private jet looking over recent news reports of evos in Miami, as well as Texas. She was flying to Ohio trying to win the voters in that state, thats when she recived a phone call from Max. Picking up her phone and setting her computer to the side. "This is Elizabeth, what is it Max did you find a lead on the high school massacre?" Elizabeth asked.

"Fortunately enough your power is pathetic and can't cause me any harm. I love when missions just go smoothly." Max gloated while still keeping his focus on the road.

He was nervously awaiting the call to be picked up, his heart drumming in anticipation. He wiped a bead of sweat of his forehead when the senator answered the phone. Flawless timing as always

"Not exaclty well I stumbled upon a potential lead but it's slow movnig. Here's the deal though a little side project of mine put me and all of Quantum in contact with an old friend of ours, Project E.P.I.C. ." Max spoke to let Elizabeth know what this meant. "I've found a suitable replacement and I'm on my way to Quantum extraction point, I'm headed straight to headquarters in D.C. I'd suggest an immediate rendevous to activate the satellite, everything is already in place from before the Walker incident, and we've mangaed to detain Suresh last weekend. The way I see it, we get together, intiate the launch, and then celebrate over champagn in Ohio tonight whadda say?"

Elizabeth was slightly disapointed at the lead into the high school incident, she however instantly grinned when she heard the news for the replacement of Molly Walker. "Well you really out did yourself today Max." Elizabeth said setting down her glass of wine looking at the clock, she would be in Ohio within an hour, then the hour long press conference to win the voters of that state.

"I want her under heavy guard, and I want you to personally supervise everything. After I finish in Ohio tonight I will be there to see everything first hand, just dont let the evo out of your sight until I get back to D.C. Then we can start running tests see how far the ability goes, and after that I think you deserve a vacation, I will be in D.C. tonight." Elizabeth said as she hung up the phone and leaned back in her seat everything was going to plan so far.

While Max was on the phone Riley was slowly starting to fumble with the seatbelt, still everything was dizzy she wasnt sure what Max had planned for her as Riley managed to take off the seatbelt Riley quickly started to try and open the car door.

Max knew Elizabeth wouldn't be pleased with his intiial lack of results but he figured getting E.P.I.C up and running by morning would more then make up for that. As expected she was proud of his results, and a vacation sounded nice.

Although to him wiping out the Evo population was life, vacation just meant he had plenty of time and extra income to do it on his own more personal means. "Thank you Senator, honestly I do it for the people." Max chuckled although he was being very serious. He listened intently as she gave the rest of the instructions.

"I'll do just that Senator, everything is going according to plan." When the phone clicked he turned to Riley and let out a sigh of relief. All the chaos in Florida, Texas, and California was getting to him it was like he finally found a light in the darkness that was consuming his mind.

"Where the fuck do you think your going!" Max said swerving in his attempt to grab Riley to pull her away from the car door and speeding up as well to make it suicidal to leap out. "I got plans for you kiddo sit tight!

Riley felt the car quickly swerving again as Max reached to grab her, the collar of her shirt being yanked back and being pulled back into the car seat. She wanted to get as far away from Max as possible but she kept him firmly in the seat.

A couple hours later Max was still dressed in his combat gear however he was a-lot more relaxed. He was in the D.C Headquarters with Senator Elizabeth Reyes herself, and everything was going according to plan. They had Dr. Mohinder Suresh captive, and co-operating running tests on Riley in another room.

Max looked to the central Quantum monitoring screen in the center of room seeing that it was being connected to the E.P.I.C sattelite. Max could only smile everything was finally coming to fruitation after months of hard work to put together a system to effectively track the Evo's.

"Senator Reyes, Director Stross, we've got word from Director Scosman and the rest of Quantum's head board they approve of the E.P.I.C sattelite being launched and many will be tuned in to view it with us over video message, Smith is fully connected to the system, give Suresh the word to activate E.P.I.C and get this show on the road." One of Quantum's head scientists spoke.

Max reached for his walkie talkie. "Tell Suresh to turn this thing on now or his mother's getting sniped ." A few seconds later a beep was heard and the monitor screen changed to show a sattelite in space being activated and the screen split in half showing the earth and then several different countries before zooming into the United States.

"E.P.I.C..loading begin..1%....2..%...5%" The computer voice droned on while Max looked towards Elizabeth.

"So within the next half hour we're going to be able to find them, all of them, we can start initiating the Evo Raids..we can go after all the unregistered, the only question that remains is if your still up for drinks after we get E.P.I.C up and running tonight Senator."

The next few hours were bad for Riley as men quickly took her into the labs where they took her blood, and registered her into Quantum's database, then they started hooking the girl up into a chair with various monitors and sensors. Men were outside the door as Riley continued to struggle, before finally she was sedated once again.

Elizabeth was sitting in a chair in the other room looking over at the various screens and reading some of Riley's vitals, her attention turned to look at Max suggesting to start the raids now and shook her head slowly. "As much as I want to eliminate the evo population as you do. If we do it now then that would just cause more problems. We wait until Dark Monday when the evos are powerless then we strike." Elizabeth said taking a sip of a glass of water. Elizabeth turned to look at Max and smiled at him and nodded. "And yes dinner would be perfect tonight."

As E.P.I.C. was finally started Riley started to wince in pain as she started to see evos all around the world, registered and unegistered they were all going on about their lives normally. Riley started thrashing around in the chair screaming in pain.

Max clapped as did other agents as the machine was nearing 100%. This was the end of tons of hard work finally paying off.

"Perhaps your right Liz." Max didn't want to intiate full scale genocide yet but then again trying to round up all the most powerful evo's at once wasn't exactly tactful. Even if they attempted that they were still out of Quantum's grasp for a reason if they weren't resourceful they made up for it in their combined raw power. Dark Monday would certainly even the odds and make things better.

"I'm glad, you won't regret it, tonight will be amazing." Max boasted but he wasn't just talking about their outing.

"E.P.I.C. 100% activated, United States, total number of evo's(number spoken), locations are as follows."

The system showed one massive map of the location of all the Evo's in the United States, and then one agent entered in India and the screen switched maps to show all the evo's there as well as the number again.

"Liz we did it...everything is in place..for us to fix the world 3 months..we can do it."

Elizabeth leaned forward watching as E.P.I.C. was designed to do, as it marked all the evos registered and unregistered across the US, as well as other countries. "You did a good job." Elizabeth said as she stood up and shook Max's hand. "Get yourself cleaned up and we can go out and celebrate." Elizabeth said and turned to look at the head scientist.

"Unhook miss Smith, and keep her in a secure cell no one is allowed to see her unless either Max or I are notified. And make sure Suresh isnt anywhere near her either in case he wants to break her out." Elizabeth said as she turned around and left the room.

Max was just happy everything was going according to plan. Meanwhile elsewhere in New York City a loud rumbling was heard near the Petrelli mansion and nearby a vortex opened up and a man was spit out. The man crashed into a dumpster and emerged from the destroyed trash container looking around. "Stross you failed me, but I won't allow your mistakes to carry into the future you will be stopped."

[Chulance]

Michael Thomas, Anna Pedrose, and Jennifer Cho
Miami Florida resistance base

Anna was back in Miami and she was happy with her blood bath in Texas. It was nice to flip the switch and turn things on the humans to give them validation for their fears and justification for their excessive brutality. The whole country was in uproar as the Governor of Texas was murdered at the hands of an EVO, as well as several others in the wake of her rampage. “In Both California and Texas specifically LA, and Austin respectively Martial Law is being put into place. The National Guard is moving to aid local law enforcement in these times of crisis in both states. The size changing EVO responsible for the mass murder of several including the governor is being hunted, and her identity is trying to be verified as we speak..”

Anna was watching the news in her hotel room where a representative from the Department of Homeland Security’s Evo Division was speaking down in Texas. These humans are so confident in their power over us, their authority yet we are the ones they fear. Even in their acts of bravado I can see beneath the cracks. These little pigs are terrified of us, and what we can do if we unite. I’m letting the world know that we are the ones with the super powers, we’re the X Men, there just civilians ha ha ha Anna couldn’t help but laugh, she was all over the news.

This would be an example to other evo’s in other countries to start standing up, a show of strength. The next thing the news showed was Frank Jackson’s “controversial” “Anti govenrment” speech and she knew no doubt he’d be targeted by the government soon. “Hmm..someone like him a figurehead, someone strong enough to stand up and say something about the shit that’s happening, can’t just sit around and let the feds kill him. I want EVO’s to know what we can do if we really stand together.”

Anna was stuck on the idea and was ready to do whatever was neccessary to get involved with everything taking place at the Vigil. Focusing her appearance shifted to it's original and she exited the room. A couple of minutes later Anna was forcing herself into the crowd which was slowly but surely exploding into arguments everywhere after Frank went up to the podium to speak. Now why do I have the feeling I can find some other EVO's here who don't want to put up with Uncle Sam's shit anymore hmm.

Still satisfied with the performance he had Frank Jackson make and the news of a powerful Evo being located somewhere here in Miami, Michael found himself comfortable against the light post he had beenough agitated by earlier on. He kept his eyes on Evan, and hoped to listen in or dissect any thoughts on this mysterious Evo, but he didn't try to block out the rest of everyone's thoughts. Hearing everyone at once was not how it was portrayed in the movies. It was more like being in a room full of talking people. He could focus on one conversation at a time in a sense.

"Hmm..." His eyes shifted to a young woman as he heard a peculiar thought. She had just arrived, so he figured he could take a peek into her head. If she wasn't good on information, then he was sure she would be good for other things. A smile snuck up on his face as he looked the woman up and down before opening up her mind like a book. Interesting... Shitty life.... Gained powers..... What the.... Wait. Michael shook his head as he stared at the woman in awe. Not only was she an Evo, this woman had to be a Level 4 or higher. She was the one that singlehandedly fucked up Austin, Texas as if she was a monster from a Godzilla movie. Michael didn't know whether to be shocked or excited by his find. He had to speak to her. She was everything he had been looking for. Powers, anti government, and she could hold her own.

He took a chance and pushed a thought into her head. He could have commanded her, but that would have just stripped away any trust he could gain from her.

Hey Anna! Listen to me... I need you to look to your right. There's a man leaning up against a light post wearing black. Speak to him. He can help you.

If anything Anna was enjoying the nice Florida weather. It was relaxing and the beach was one of her favorite places to be. So it was the perfect mix of business and pleasure, honestly she wouldn't mind if one of the Evo's she ran into was a powerful male counterpart. There was plenty of stuff she hoped to find in the sunshine city today.

She was surprised The Department of Homeland Security's Evo Division hadn't come to intervene with the vigil after Jackson's speech but he wasn't harboring unregistered evo's or commiting any actual offense's besides speaking his mind. Then something happened, something unexepected, a surprise but not at all one that was unwelcome. Hmmmm who's the Professor X in my head? Anna giggled she knew this power existed but it was cool to actually encounter it.

She heard what the mysterious man had spoke into her mind and turned to her right to see just that individual over there. And he's black mhmmmm..chocolate. Oh I guess you heard that haha. I'll be right there hun. Anna practically waltzed over to Michael with enthusiasm beaming as she got in-front of him holding out her hand." Hi I'm Anna..but I guess you might already know that well depending on how good you are with those jedi mind tricks, so what's your name and what brings you to Miami?"

Michael raised an eyebrow at the woman, he didn't mind the flattery. He actually was surprised she responded so openly. Most people who heard mysterious voices in their heads panicked for a bit. Perhaps it was because she wasn't completely stable. He grasped Anna's hand firmly before speaking.

"I'm Michael, and I..." Michael paused for a moment.

It's better to communicate it like this. I'm on the run technically, so we're both enemies of the government. Both have some pretty strong powers. And we both want Quantum to be brought down. So what do you say about being the first member of the little resistance I'm throwing together?

"You down or what?" Michael spoke out loud with a smirk to show Anna that he wasn't going to attempt to accomplish his goals with just words and protests. He was about ready to hear her answer, but someone approached them. A large Hispanic man wearing a gray hoodie, baggy blue jeans and worn out sneakers that looked like they used to be white. Michael looked at him with confusion, but the man didn't seem to be interested him. He wants her?

"Are you Anna Pedrose?" He asked with his deep voice. "A fan of your work would like a meeting with you." The man said just as Michael smiled.

"Sure, let's go." Michael answered for Anna.

A firm grip I hope that's not the only thing firm. Anna continued to amuse herself as she amused herself again.

"Michael." She smiled repeating him. "That's a nice name, I like it."

Well what do you think the answer is, duhh. I have no love for the Men in Black and their racist rules. I'd be happy to join this tango of yours Michael, you know strength in numbers and all that, plus..I'm sure we WILL make a great team. Anna was excited about the prospect of working with another powerful special, and hoped to run into others. Although that wasn't the only reason she wanted to find some more Evo's.

Anna was about to speak to this new individual who approached them out of nowhere, but Michael answered for her. Normally she'd be more defensive but she figured she had a mind reader on her side so she was safe. That was if indeed Michael turned out to be a true ally and friend if not well...she had more then a couple ways of disposing of those who tried to play her.

She could only shrug and smile going along with Michael. Hopefully I gain something from this meeting. "Count me in!" She commented oozing with enthusiasm.

Perfect. Michael thought to himself as he smiled at the larger man. What he could already read, is that this man had a group of his own. He was not the brains of the operation, but he was sure as hell taking them to him. Michael couldn't wait to meet this leader, so much that he started spoiling himself to what this messenger and escort knew about her.

The silent man waved his hand to signal the two to follow him.

"Stay close to me." He said as he grabbed his phone and started texting. When he sent his message, he placed the phone into his pocket.

Hey Anna, we're about to get picked up... just brace yourself. Michael pushed the thought. He knew what was going to happen but had no idea of how to explain it without it sounding odd. He took a breath before he heard a gust of wind. With the sound, scenery changed in an instant. The three Evos found themselves in a dim lit room that held a mild smell of marijuana. Michael exhaled as his eyes met with a woman seated at an old wooden desk cleaning a pistol. She did not look up at him, but the others in the room gave Anna and Michael their full attention. There were at least a dozen people staring at them.

"I thought Troy just bringing back the girl? Who the hell is this?" A man said with a confused and bothered look. The seated female finally looked up with her piercing eyes.

"I'm with her. Wherever she goes, I go." Michael said as if he had been with Anna for more than the two minutes that he had been. "There a problem with that?"

"No." The woman sitting down said as she put together her pistol. "I'm assuming you're one of us too.... that means we have another recruit."

Anna didn't know what to think or what she expected about what she was about to encoutner during this meeting.

Picked up? Like... Anna didn't have long to ponder on that thought before the ability changed their locations. She smiled as she was presented with one of her favorite flagarance's in the world. It smells great in here She'd already begun to take a liking to the group as soon as they had appeared.

"Recruit hmm well I Was brought here because apparently someone here appreciated my work. That's who I want to speak to, I want the info on this resistance because if there's evo's working together to stop all the bullshit the suits are doing.. I want in." Anna smirked this was better then she cold have imagined. Coming to this vigil had been one of the best descisions she made since killing the governer of texas. Not to mention she was more then happy that Michael appeared to be sticking to her side.

"Look no further Ms Pedrose." The woman answered. Meanwhile, Michael bouncing in and out of everyone's head. "I'm Jennifer, but call me Jen. I'm the leader of what will soon be a resistance that Quantum won't be able to handle. I already have the numbers to start, so..." Jennifer was cut off by Michael.

"Nah, your group isn't cut out. Half of their powers won't stand a chance to bullets, and the rest have powers that barely count as powers...." Michael said coldly before chuckling. "You actually have a guy with the power I always joke about." Michael looked to a man staring hard at him for insulting the group. With a tilt of his head to the man, Michael continued. "He glows in the dark. Come now, what's he suppose to do? Make sure I know I'm grabbing the right key when I'm being chased by Michael Meyers?!" A few people snickered.

"How about you shut the hell up! I produce radiation. On physical contact, I could make you wish you could die right away." The man retorted. Jennifer just scowled at Michael, disliking the man already.

"Then you got one guy that's in charge of pulling surveillance in this old factory basment. Sure he can see through solid objects and catch the enemy before they reach you, but can you trust a job like that to one guy?" Michael looked at the man who dared not look back at him. Jennifer stood up from her sear and squared off in front of Michael.

"You're not even in my crew, and you're questioning my authority! Who the fuck do you think you are? As a matter of fact, I don't care. I'M the only one who can bring Quantum down, because I know them better than anyone else fighting against them! If you don't like it.... leave!" Jennifer looked to Anna to see how she felt about all of this.

Anna was eager to hear this woman out on who this organization was out, she wanted to know all about Jennifer. She wondered for a moment what it would be like to have Michael's power it seemed so interesting, so invasive but still. She liked Michael, so for now she'd keep him as a friend.

A resistance the mysterious Quantum can't handle. Now this is getting interesting. Anna was intrigued by what Jennifer said but couldn't help but laugh when Michael began talking smack about them.

She was displeased about hearing that some of the Evo's present had some abilities that leaned to the weaker side. Still she was amused by Michael's banter he was smart, powerful, and humurous.

"Well first off..DON'T speak to Michael like that, if he leaves I leave as well. Now then you tell me what makes you so special that you can lead us to the destruction of Quantum? You're confident, but there's plenty of confident failures.What seperates you from them, I think we should join Michael if the two us alone are stronger with a whole group we can really let humans feel their inferiority." She spoke with glee and prejudice in her voice a desire to flip the tables on humans.

"Hmm..." Michael looked toward the man who was conducting surveillance. "There won't be much of a group in a bit." Michael said being brutally honest, but coming off as threatening. Jennifer was getting sick and tired of Michael's mouth. She wanted recruit Anna, but Michael was a thorn in her side. He almost made her want to go back to her old Evo hunting days.

"I'm confident that I know my enemy, because I was my enemy. I'm an ex Quantum Agent. One of their best. So don't think I'm not capable. I may not have an ability that let's me destroy cities, but I..."

"Get ready!" Michael shouted as one of the far wall exploded. Debris flew into the room as a task force moved in. In seconds the room was lit up in gun fire. Michael quickly used his telepathy to make himself "invisible" and grabbed moved himself towards the wall of the room before working his magic. One of the men in the take force began shooting at his own comrades.

Jennifes' body (haha) became nearly transparent as she held her pistol. She charged the men and ran through their bodies before becoming solid and shooting at them from the rear.

Anna was starting to feel like something was about to happen, intuititon, senses she didn't know but she felt it. Combat experience from someone swimming around her head, someone's gut instincts guiding her own.

"Ex Quantum agent." Anna sneared hearing this information it made sense that she knew what she knew. She was an ex narc turned to the high side, not exactly the most admirable thing. I bet she'd make a good snack, but if she's really got people on her side numbers..connections..she'll be more useful as a soldier. Anna knew that going after Jen could have some consequences that made this entire resistance thing mute and futile.

Jen didn't have much time to speak on her experience before they were under attack. "THIS IS THE JOINT DHS EVO DIVISON QUANTUM TASK FORCE LAY DOWN AND DIE! RESISTANCE IS ILLEGAL!" One of the agents yelled out as the task force began their bloody onslaught on the Evo's.

It was like a scene out of a violent military movie but this is what the Evo's where being reduced too hunted simply for congregating to conspire for their freedom. One of the men fired bullets but Anna waved her hand stopping the bullets and turning them back to their own men causing them to be pierced through by their own shells of death.

"You piece's of shit think you can tell us what to do!" Anna's voice rang with anger as an explosion went off near her and she flew forward tackling the radioative evo in Jen's group as the debris lifted up a thin layer of smoke around her. She punched a hole clean through his chest and red sparks eminated from her body surging through his converting him into energy and dragging him into her body just as the smoke cleared. She burped and stood up as radiation surged in her right hand and she launched a beam of radiation towards some incoming heavilly armed choppers causing an aerial explosion. With her other hand she sent forth beams of red energy that blasted into men converting them into energy and dragging them into her body.

Michael smiled as he watched the two women spring into action. Even though there were some heavy casualties on his side, they were able to push the fight outside where abilities were pretty free to use. Quantum kept its Evo agents out for that very reason. An pyrokinetic agent shot a column of flames toward Jennifer who phased through it and entered the agent's body. As she fought for control, Michael stepped outside with seemingly not a care in the world. He stopped as he caught view of the Armored Personnel Carriers and choppers. By the look of things, he felt that he could turn this situation to how he wanted it.

[I][color=yellow]Submit![/i][/color] Michael sent the thought to the pyrokinetic agent to help Jennifer take over his body much easier. Another Evo agent approached Jen's new body before he was burned alive by her. Jen then proceeded to send flames toward the APCs. And Evo with With super speed ran towards Jennifer, only to run passed her and scream about how he couldn't see before slamming into a wall. He got up and dusted himself off before he now saw several Evos in front of him. He took out his pistol and shot at them. In reality, he was shooting down other agents of the task force. When he cleared out his allies, he sat down on the ground. [I][color=yellow]I got present for you Anna... as a matter of fact... [/i][/color] Michael walked towards the center of it all. It helped that he could not be seen by the agents. He was like an invisible hand of God, helping the resistance.

"Quantum registered me as a Level 3 Evo... I want to show them my gains!" He shouted before looking up towards the sky and focusing all his power to the enemies in the area. "NOW! SURRENDER! Gather over here and sit!" Michael commanded them all at once before looking to Jennifer who just existed the body the Quantum agent who was heeding the command given by Michael. "You had a mole in your ranks. Now I was going to tell you before, but I think there's a lesson to be learned here. This only happened because you're man was afraid. With power like this on your side, there's only gonna be fear for our enemies." Michael massaged his temples as 9 men sat on the ground in front of him as well as the mole who outed Jenifer's group. Jennifer moved around the group of seated stone faced men and stopped at her former comrade.

"Make him kill himself... in the worst way you can think of."

"You heard her right?" Michael chuckled before pointing out towards the south. "Go walk to the beach tonight and swim as far as you can go. And when you get tired, keep swimming." Michael said to the man who nodded slowly. "That good enough?"

"I'm satisfied." Jennifer replied.

"I'm happy if my women are happy.... and you guys too." Michael said the last part to Evos of Jennifer's group that barely made it.

Anna was ready for combat as soon as they got outside because she was reeling rejuvinated with the radioactive meal she just had. So this is how Spidey felt after that spider bit him.

Anna giggled still managing to have a laugh despite the seriousness of the moment. As soon as they were outside Anna waved her hand to send out a wave of radioactive energy to blast some agents away, while one Quantum agent appeared in-front of her.

"Ah so your Pedrose, the name's Flint I'm the one who'll be killing you to do." Flint raised his hand causing a blast of force to send Anna back slamming her into a parked car. Flint then caused some space to compress above Anna forming an invisbile iron that pressed down on her pushing her into the concrete while sending forth waves of force to slash through the resistance backing up his fellow agents. "You will be subdued, you will not stand up against Quantum Industries! The agent barked as he felt the invisbile force on Anna being lifted up.

"What the..."

"You're not the only one who can move things with their mind!" Anna snapped causing the force above her to be dissipated, she then raised her arm to start causing Flint to choke. Only for the same thing to happen to her as she began screaming as she felt pressure in her head, Anna sent forth red sparks only for a wall of invisible force to block them and Anna struggled growing to gigantic sizes only for the pressure to increase bringnig her to knees falling on some resistance as she reduced herself to normal size.

"Growing won't do anything, I distort space, get bigger you make yourself a bigger target, make yourself smaller well..if the pressure hurt you big imagine if your ant sized..."

"Alright then fuck you I've got a trick for you." Anna charged forward secreting a dark black liquid towards Flint only for him to form a wall of space to intercept it. With Anna's other hand she sent forth a column of flames only for a spacial orb to encase it. Anna then grinned causing the black liquid to move towards the fire and trigger an explosion.

"What's this. "Flint moved forward only to fall to the ground feeling weak and strength rapidly declining as Anna stood before him and suddenly punched a hole through his chest. Flint stumbled backwards as Anna formed red sparks prepared to use her power on him only for him to warp a spatial wave through his body cutting him apart into several piece's blasting his body back. Anna had fy back. Anna had flew to the side to avoid the suicidal attack and turned towards some attacking agents and reduced them in size while sending forth a blast of fire to incinerate them.

After the battle was over and they rounded up the agents she was happy when Michael sent the mole packing." I've always hated snitches, so what's next?"

"Well if you want to pick an choose some powers before I deal with them, go right ahead and ask them what they got. And shrink most of the wreckage around here please, the cops are bound to be here real soon."

"How are you dealing with them?" Jennifer asked.

"There's at least two of those armored vehicles right? We get the fuck out of here with these guys and keep them until we've gotten all the information out of them." Michael said as he patted one of the men on the head. "Not doubting your knowledge, just figure that there probably have been some new developments since you've been gone.... Everyone else, get the vehicles ready, Jen and I are driving." Michael ordered.

"It's funny how you're playing boss without a name to be called." Jennifer commented.

"With my ability, I don't need one, but you can call me Michael." Michael set his hand on a task force members head and shut his eyes before taking a breath. "Alright you can use your ghost thing to take over his body. I'll drive the lead vehicle just in case we run into any obstacles.... And we're heading Texas, but we need more supplies and more support first."

"Hmm I'm good Michael I've got all that I need." She was surprised that Michael was in her head about what she did with her power and wasn't alarmed. Not that she had any plans to make a move on Michael or any potential ally. Whatever she gained in information she'd loose in numbers.

"But as for the rubble, I've always hated cleaning up." Anna waved her hand doing as instructed reducing the wreckage inside anything to keep the authorities off their trail. Although after that fight with the joint task force she was sure law enforcement would be trying to put the hammer down on this movement.

"Shot gun! I'm sitting by you Michael." She declared with excitment read yto go on this mission. Going back to Texas sounded like fun but with an actual team no matter how unorganized they'd do some real damage, and make those cultists regret everything they were doing.

[FunnyGuy]

Michael Thomas
Underground Parking Garage, Miami

A yawn escaped Michael after he had propped his legs up on the dashboard. It had been pretty hard trying to find a place to duck down in, especially with two APCs. All in all, the day was successful. Michael had gotten a group of Evos willing to fight back on his side. He would have loved to recruit the Guardian Angel that was mentioned at the vigil, but the only lead he had was that trailing thought that he heard just before being teleporter to Jennifer's hideout.

Miranda... The name had meaning and no meaning all at once. If he had only been able to stay... The thought presented itself for a short time as he glanced over to the passenger's seat at Anna. I wouldn't have gotten all of this though.... maybe I can go out first thing in the morning Michael yawned again. He thought silently to himself about what he would do to start. He would first have to do some actual research. He groaned as he knew the quest for this Miranda woman would take all day. Luckily he had time since he pretty much mind fucked the owners of this parking lot to let them stay for as long as they needed to be there. Meanwhile, Jennifer would go and recruit more Evo's and her group would gather supplies. Hmm... that's weird. It almost feels like there's... Michael looked around before shaking his head.

"Anna can you pull watch while I take a nap." Michael had a very intense look on his face before he went to sleep. Something was definitely wrong. Little did he know, it was a lot worse than just wrong.

"The Darkman"
The Mind of Riley, Quantum HQ

Riley Smith slept on floor of her cell, sprawled out on the ground as she had only fallen asleep from her exhaustion. She almost felt as if going to sleep would be like pulling herself away from all of this. All of the pain. Riley was sadly mistaken as nightmares of the event that occurred in her home replayed through her mind. These nightmares weren't even scary, they were sad... depressing. As another countermeasure of escape, her power activated on its own as it did often when she slumbered. To escape through the life of another. It was now her only antidote to this depression.

The scenery of her dream changed around her as a vision of a random Evo began to form. Who could it be? What would they be experiencing? How long would it last? The silence and sight of nothing did not answer these questions.

Suddenly the scenery of Riley's home returned, though it was a lot dimmer and her parents weren't there with her. Not even Max Stross and his agents appeared to be present. Instead, there was a figure rocking in a chair in her living room. A black figure that couldn't be recognized. Like a shadow that had come to life.

"Hello... Riley. It's nice to meet you.... Take a seat. We have a lot to discuss." The figure said with his deep ominous voice as a chair appeared in front of Riley.

[Vicier]

Athena Hale and Dylan Cox

Dylan's House ~ Lake Tahoe, California

The sound that was the front door closing behind Dylan had long ago dissipated into the comfortable silence that now filled the rest of the house, the only thing disturbing the peace being the gentle breathing of the eight year old child that had been put to bed not long beforehand- she’d been there long enough to know that Aira wasn’t bound to wake from her slumber anytime soon... the events filling the night had worn her out, and drained her of all and any energy that typically filled the child’s small body. The sight was enough to warm the heart...

Doing all that she could to not wake the child, the small and quite colorful figure that was the bunny known only as Athena slid itself out from under the girls arm, its whole body seeming to tremble for a moment as it worked to shake off any loose fur that was still latching onto the rest; its dark eyes unnaturally scanning the rest of the room and the hallway for any dangers before it once more went on the move, the creature itself dropping down to the floor beside the bed before it began to grow, and the fur to disappear from sight altogether leaving nothing more than the figure of a beautiful woman in its wake. How long had it been since she had such a luxury of being able to stretch her legs..? The luxury of sleeping, wrapped up in the comfort of a doona, rather than curled up in the hay that lined the inside of the hutch she had been forced to call home thanks to the girl’s parents... she knew the answer, and it was too long.

Slowly lifting her arms up from where they had been resting by her sides, Athena let her hands trail up the length of her extremely paint-covered and strikingly naked body, her eyes fluttering to a close as she brought both of them up and together above her head, taking her sweet time to stretch for what felt like the first time in forever- she had to get out more, and now that Aira seemed to have this new guy looking after her... well it looked as though it was a big possibility that she would be allowed to tag along every now and then. Unable to help the soft chuckle that fell out through her lips at the very thought of having a bit more freedom, she allowed her dark brown eyes to scan the room once again, seemingly to search for something before they finally came to a stop on the figure of the little girl wrapped up tightly in the blankets on the bed; she was just so sweet- so innocent... the very sight of the young child sleeping calmly within the bed bringing a small though undeniably loving smile to her soft lips... Aira looked so peaceful, so content... truly the child had become her own little piece of heaven in amongst all darkness of hell...

Taking those few couple of steps so as to close the gap between her and the child’s new bed, Athena leant herself forward and over Aira’s sleeping figure, silently working to pull the covers up and over the girl’s shoulders before finally, and with some hesitance behind her actions, she pulled herself away; her left arm once more relaxing down by her side as she brought her right hand up, rubbing exhaustively at her face for a few moments before eventually turning and making her way from the room. The house was new; and while it was going to take her a while to get used to, she was sure she had heard something about the bathroom being at the end of the hall. Groaning slightly and not even bothering to close the door as she passed it by, she turned her head ever so slightly to the side, her hand lightly ruffling her long and wavy dark brown locks of hair as her feet carried her across and to a stop in front of the shower, her body leaning into it so that she was able to turn it on; the ever relaxing sound of water flowing filled the air, the alluring warmth of the steam causing a smile to once more play over her lips- her body relaxing the very moment that she took that step and entered the shower... the water running rainbow with the paint that began to slowly wash away down the drain at her feet.

Dylan was on the way home when he got a text from his sister, telling him to keep an eye out because things didn't seem right. He pulled into the driveway and grabbed the pair of clothes he had bought for Aira to wear when they go out in the morning. He didn't think to see what size she wore, so he got her a white dress with black polka dots all over it.

Opening the door, Dylan looked to the right and hung up his jacket on the coat rack inside the door. He walked over to the fridge and opened it up to grab a beer, it was going to be a long night. Just then he noticed something wasn't right. He heard the shower running in the bathroom. Stepping lightly, he made his way down the hallway. First he looked into Aira's room to see if maybe she had the need to take a late night shower. She was laying in bed, fast asleep. But where did her bunny go?

He left the room and slowly walked towards the bathroom, finding Athena could wait. Right now he had to find out who was in his bathroom. The bathroom door was wide open, he stepped into the doorway. Staying in the door e threw open the shower curtains to find a quite attractive woman showering. He shook the thought out of his head, this could be someone from quantum for all he knows.

"Who are you, are you with Quantum?" he asked getting ready for anything; or so he thought.

A moment to herself... that’s all she was asking for; was it really that hard..? The sudden rush of cold air blew in from the hallway hitting her skin, and causing goose-bumps to form over her flesh as Dylan insisted on holding the curtain open behind her- was he kidding right now..? Quantum was the last company she would work in; no matter how big of a pay check they could write for her. They had attacked her charge- her Aira... and that was a mistake that they were going to regret dearly when the time came that they tried again.

“..don’t you dare ever group me in with those bastards, Dylan...” Clenching her jaw for a few moments as her words seemed to come out harsher than she had meant, she once again relaxed, a soft and gentle sigh falling out through her lips as she brought both her hands up to rest lightly upon her chest, barely covering her breasts as she twisted her upper body ever so slightly, her dark gaze meeting with his own though she knew for a fact that his would most likely end up wandering, “..well don’t just stand there; hurry up and get in... you’re letting in all the cold air.”

"I don't even know who yo-" he stopped and sighed. What mattered was that she obviously wasn't from Quantum. More importantly a very attractive woman was inviting him in for a shower. "Well if you insist" Dylan said as he took off his shirt. He held out his hand towards the hallway as suddenly an opened beer bottle floated down the hallway, then another unopened bottle drifted into his other hand. "Beer?" he asked using his power to drop his trousers.

“Now you’re talking.”

Not even bothering to hide the way that her once playful smile twisted up into a smirk, Athena quickly glanced around at the room left in the shower before she shuffled across to make room for him to join under the constant stream of hot water- sharing not only a beer, but also a shower with a truly handsome man... could life really get any better than right now..? She’d have to remember to thank Aira one day... and hope to God her brother never found out about the shit she did whenever she was back on two feet, “I’ve got this strong craving right now for some carrot juice; but I’d never turn down a beer... especially if the one offering it is as good looking as you are.”

Turning her body around so that she was instead facing him completely, Athena took a single step closer, her left hand coming up to rest delicately upon his chest while her right reached out to take a hold of the drink that he was offering for her to take, her soft lips parting slightly as she drew ever closer into him; the woman gently grazing the tips of her teeth against his ear as she chuckled, finally choosing to answer the statement he hadn’t even bothered to finish earlier, “..and by the way... you do know who I am...”

A mischievous grin grew on Dylan's face as she inched ever closer. He brushed off her comment about craving carrot juice, figuring she was just a health nut or something. She was in amazing shape after all, so it only made sense. Then she said something that made him lose the grin and freeze up for a moment. He knew who she was? At first his mind scrambled through the women he had precious relations with, afraid this was a crazy ex or something. Then he caught a glimpse of some colorful water that had gotten stuck around the ring of the drain. Then he remembered her comment about carrot juice. Would this night cease to surprise him?

"You're Athena? That little girl's bunny; you are a shape-shifter I'm guessing?" He asked. With all the evos out there this shouldn't be a surprise, but this was Aira's pet. How long had this woman been a rabbit, and been forced to live outside. And why, what could her motives possibly be? He took a drink of his beer while he waiting for a response from Athena.

“Well look at you… sexy and smart… I have to hand it to Aira; she really does know how to pick them- if her taste in men continues on the path it is now, she is going to be one happy woman when she gets older.” Finally taking it upon herself to remove her beer from his grasp, Athena took a step back from him, keeping the distance only long enough so that she could remove the lid and take a swig from the bottle before she once again let her body press lightly up against his, her gaze slowly taking its time to trail up his body as she took it in all its glory; a mischievous smile playing over her lips as she brought her free hand up, the tips of her nails lightly scraping over his stomach… chest… collar bone… shoulder… before finally, her hand curled almost delicately around the back of his neck- if this was how her life was going to be from now on, she wasn't going to complain.

“I can shift into any animal you can think of in that pretty little head of yours, baby… let's just say that like your ability, it was a gift I was born with…”

Dylan released his bottle, changing the vectors to keep it suspended mid air. With both hands free now, he guided them down her sides and to her hips. His previous grin returned to his face as he looked down into her dark eyes. Lowering his head just over her shoulder, he planted his lips against her neck. He would have to thank Aira as well in the future for bringing such a beauty into his life.

"It must feel Nice to be human again. How long have you been Aira's rabbit?" he asked, bringing his head back up to look her eye to eye once more.

The very feeling of his hands resting softly against her body; his lips gently pressing upon the sensitive flesh of her neck… each and every action made causing for both an excited and anxious shiver to run through her being- by fucking God… had it really been that long since she’d felt the loving embrace of a man..? Felt the warmth and safety that came with being held so tightly against a strong toned body; all the while being able to see the burning passion and lust that flickered across their eyes, showing her, and letting her know exactly what it was that they desired...

“..you have no idea handsome…” Curling her fingers just that little bit more around the back of his neck, Athena pressed herself ever closer against his body, her breasts resting flush against his chest as she once more let her gaze meet with his own- damn his eyes were gorgeous… if she wasn't careful, she could lose herself in them, and she was already walking a very dangerous line… from what she had seen already; he was the type of guy a girl could fall for…

“..a little over a year… that's how long I've been with her… Her grandfather hired me to look out for, and keep her safe- I wanted to see the world, and he knew me and what I could do…” Pausing for a moment to gather her thoughts while she continued to stare back into his impossibly addictive eyes, she let go of the bottle of beer she had been holding onto, her hand instead coming up to rest softly upon his shoulder, “I was young; I ignored my brother, and jumped at the chance… and now here I am. Joh still doesn't know what I've been doing since I left…”

"Well; you're no longer alone in your journey. We can keep her safe together." Dylan said as the two beers floated out of the shower and gently landed on the bathroom sinks counter. Then he caused the door to quietly close. "That should keep the cold air out better than the shower curtain" he said, followed by a light chuckle.

His hands slid slowly from her hips up to her back. Then he lowered his head and met her soft, full lips with his own. He held her close to his body as he kisses the lovely woman he had the pleasure of sharing a shower with.

Dylan had quite a few encounters with women he had just barely met, but Athena was different. Not just in the aspect she had been a rabbit for the past year. She was the kind of girl a guy could fall for.

[Vicier]

Isabella Français

Camelot ~ Albion

Once again it was like time stood still; when in reality, everything she had just seen and heard was left behind and instead replaced by something familiar. Once again stumbling to remain balanced upon her feet as they touched ground, Isabella quickly glanced around her person, a small though obviously relieved smile playing over her lips as she gazed about the lush forests that surrounded her- she had done it... she had managed to get back; and by the height of the sun in the sky, she had managed to get back before the tournament had begun. Seemingly unable and unwanting to hide the way that her smile grew into more of a grin, Isabella let a relieved sigh fall out though her lips, her body seeming to visibly relax before finally she reached forward, once again taking a hold and lifting up the front of her dress as she began to make her way forward through the trees, each step audible as she disturbed the leaves and brush covering the ground.

It had gotten lighter since she had left... the rays of the sun shining down through the tree tops to fall and spread a warmth throughout her body; it felt nice... comforting- though the knowledge that she had at least been gone for a couple of hours seemed to have the opposite effect. She knew she was going to be in trouble; her disappearing the way that she had wasn’t something that was going to go unnoticed. Dropping her bright blue eyes down to watch her step as she continued to move in the direction she knew to go in- how many times since her first appearance had she roamed these forests..? They were familiar, comforting... they were home- something she knew better than the back of her hand; and could maneuver just as well as any who had been brought up in the area. It was just one of the many things that Lancelot said he loved about her...

Allowing for the material of her dress to slip from her grasp as the tree line began to thin out and open up, Isabella lifted her hand up from where it was resting, her bright eyes flicked up to gaze upon the towering figure of nature as she let her palm lightly press against the rough bark of the tree- these forests were old... peaceful; giving off that strange sense that something deeper, and almost magical was hidden within. To think that over the course of years to pass it was all going to be torn down... leaving nothing behind but vast open spaces, ready to be built up during the might of the industrial era which seemed as though would only come too soon for someone who was able to understand time as well as she could. A saddened flicked seemed to grace her features for only a brief moment at the thought of such waste of beauty before eventually, she tore her gaze away from the grace of nature, instead turning her attention over to the might of a large castle sitting strong not too far from where she was stood.

Camelot was the pride of Albion, and home to the one true King... Arthur Pendragon had been the one to defy all odds stacked up against him in his quest to unite the lands- to go against his father, and to allow those who were able to wield the power of magic to lead normal lives... to have that chance to walk the right path without the fear of being hunted down, and slaughtered for the crime of being born; though she knew better than most about what was going on... there were people who were different, and what was actually considered to be magic within the walls of Camelot, was actually evolved abilities which had developed throughout the lives of those gifted; whether grown, or born into it, their abilities were something they should be proud of... and unlike during the rule of Uther Pendragon; they had no need to fear consequence unless such gifts were used for evil, and proof provided to both the royal court and King himself. Arthur was a good man... and a kind though just King.

Taking a moment to just enjoy the stunningly beautiful view that spanned out before her very eyes, Isabella slowly turned her body against the trunk of the tree, her shoulder lightly leaning up against the trunk and her hand sliding down the bark until eventually, it dropped down to meet with the other, both coming up to rest just in front of her stomach, her fingers contently playing with one another out of pure habit as she stood before the mighty Kingdom she had long ago thrown herself into the midst of.

“..I did it... I’m home...”

[Nallore]

Elena Reese
Los Angeles, California

Elena looked towards Jack when he made the same conclusion, Quantum and the Governments across the world were planning on killing off the evo population during Dark Monday. "No offense taken, I've had t sort of use my ability to give it a jump start sometimes it wouldn't last the two thousand miles to DC." Elena watched as he took out an envelope of money, she did have some hidden as well. "I have some money to stashed away i'll be back i'll pack up some things as well you should do the same." Elena said as she turned back to head out of Jack's apartment and back into her own, she headed straight to her bedroom and inside her bedside table Elena pulled out an envelope of money as well inside it held about fifteen thousand she saved up over time.

Elena quickly grabbed a duffle bag and stuffed about a weeks worth of clothes inside it, when she finished packing up Elena made her way back to Jack's apartment and leaned against the opened door. "Thanks for you know I guess coming with me to do this by the way." Elena said softly and ran a hand through her hair and sighed its going to take awhile to get all the way to New York City.

[Shard]

Time and space was a concept understood on a level considered basic among most. Casper and Aiden couldn't hope to fathom what they had just been through, how many years in time they had been sent back. The gravity of the situation had yet to settle, but a forest stretching out around them spoke of harmony. Though the case, Casper couldn't help but stare wide eyed at the change of scenery. What happened to the school, to the city? What happened to Los Angeles? Two other individuals were present and only one of them laid any kind of notice to Casper's presence, the boy Aiden. He seemed equally lost in this maze of thoughts and occurrences. "Casper...what happened?"

"Don't...know..." How could he? Aiden's question was warranted to say the least but perhaps Casper wasn't the right individual to ask, someone equally lost in both mind and body. How had they been transported to a location such as this? Another perplexity to add to an otherwise harmonic scene of green and gentle breezes was this woman of apparent royal stature. She hadn't noticed them, she never even turned to look at the boys she had brought with her into this world of swords and magic. Yes, it looked like something brought out of a story book, the worlds Casper always wished to visit as a child. In the drug infested life he called a home, Casper clung to stories of grandeur and sorcery, hoping that maybe one day he could see the unbelievable castles guarded by knights in shining armor. Of course, it was a silly thought, something brought to mind only because of this woman's dress. She seemed at home, though. She seemed to be at peace, enough so to warrant a moment's patience before approaching her concerning this situation. She had brought them here, that much was certain. She was an Evo, another obvious conclusion, but was she hostile?

“..I did it... I’m home...” Continuing through the forest, Casper and Aiden followed this woman though kept their distance. If she had the power to teleport them all into an unfamiliar location, she could very well do the same once more. The thought of being sent into a volcano because they startled her wasn't an inviting thought in the least. Placing one foot in front of the other, the boys made sure to keep moving through the sea of trunks and leaves until they finally saw the breathtaking view now blessing their sight at the edge of the forest. Was that a castle? Was that truly a castle?

"Oh my God...did she...?"

"That's a castle...are we still in 2012?" Aiden whispered, moving his lips closer to Casper's ear. The taller boy's breath carefully swept over Casper's skin, sending a gentle shiver down his spine. It made him clench his teeth and turned to see Aiden's bright blue eyes looking down at him. They were quite...enchanting...weren't they?

"Don't...think so..." Casper gulped, tearing his eyes from the blue orbs which had managed to captivate him. This was not the time, nor the place to be overcome by such silly thoughts. One complication at a time, that was the best approach. "We should talk to her..."

"Yeah." Aiden's whisper was accompanied by a nod, the boy waiting for Casper to make the first move. Looking at each other once more, the boys found themselves waiting for one another.

"You're good with people..."

"If she tries to zap me with her time powers I can't defend myself."

"You think I can?"

"You beat a man made of rock...!"

"But not a woman made of time...go and say hi..."

"What if she..." Aiden tried, though found himself cut off.

"Let's both go, okay...? But you do the talking..."

"Okay, deal..." Turning their attention back to the woman at the edge of the forest, the boys picked up their pace albeit carefully as to not startle her. Once they were close enough, Aiden raised his hand slightly, an attempt to cement his lack of hostility. "H-hello..." He began, holding onto Casper as the boys carefully approached the lady of royalty. "Uhm...do you know where we are...? We're a bit...lost..." Looking between her and Casper, Aiden offered an awkward expression of uncertainty. "Right...?"

"Right..." Casper returned, looking down at Aiden's fingers wrapping themselves around his wrist. They were both quite scared, but neither wanted to show much more than confusion. They needed to stand tall in the face of adversity but so far it looked like they were in a completely different time period. It was safe to say that alone, they wouldn't have been able to handle this sudden change. Were they truly in medieval times? "Sweet castle..." Casper continued, shrugging at Aiden who gave him a terrified look.

"Is he serious!? That woman can probably kill us and he goes on with small talk!? Geez, he's so full of surprises..." Trying to save the situation, if it actually needed saving that is, Aiden decided to drop a few choice words of his own. "A beautiful castle uhm...M-my...Lady?"

"Showoff..." The shorter boy crossed his arms, smirking softly at Aiden. It was surprising not only to his taller new friend, but also to Casper. He had not found himself being this playful in the past. Perhaps Aiden brought a side forth which had previously been suppressed? It felt rather liberating... "We're probably missing English class now..."

"I don't think that's really important right now, Casper..."

"I'm gonna' be in deep shit..."

"Let's take one thing at a time, okay...? Aiden placed his hand on Casper's shoulder, turning his attention back to the woman. "I'm Aiden, this is Casper. Sorry for uhm...disturbing you but we tried to help you back at school when you tripped and I think you might have uh...sent us back in...uhm...

"Time..." Casper finished.

"I hope we're not an inconvenience or anything but...could you please tell us where we are?" The taller of the boys finished, his finger's around Casper's arm tightening.

[Nallore]

Riley Smith and "The Darkman"
Inside The Mind of Riley

When Riley appeared back in her house in Newberry Springs she looked around, she headed up the stairs searching for her parents. "Mom, dad where are you?" Riley asked, she searched throughout the whole house until she stepped into the living room, her eyes looking towards a dark figure sitting in a chair in the middle of her living room. "Hello... Riley. It's nice to meet you.... Take a seat. We have a lot to discuss." The mysterious house guest said.

Riley stood there she wasnt sure who this person was, however she could tell he was another evo like herself. She went and sat down in the chair that had suddenly appeared in front of her. "Who are you?" Riley asked.
The dark figure did not answer the question at first. He remained silent for several moments. He knew his silence created an uneasy tension between the two, but it was of no concern to him.

"I'm a friend... I'm your friend, Riley. Now tell me, how did you find me Riley? I think it's rather important for friends to share things with each other... isn't it?" The figure said, his voice deep, but sounded purposely distorted as if he was disguising everything about himself to Riley. "Tell me everything."
Riley crossed her arms over her chest, trying her best to try and see the figure's face this was making her feel very uneasy and uncomfortable. "I dont know.. last thing I remember being put inside a cell, and throwing a fit before falling asleep." Riley said hearing his voice being distorted on purpose further making her distrustful. "If you are a friend, then why not show me your face."

"Hmm, you peep into the lives of others at will... Why would I give you the pleasure." He said as he started to stand up. Once he did, he slipped off his hood, only to reveal the face of her father. "Let's get things straight. You want me to be your friend..."
Riley glared to see the face of her own father being used by the weird man in front of her and stood up from her chair and stared into his eyes. "You think I want to do that? When I sleep it randomly happens I have no control over that." Riley took a step back. "If you are my friend or want to prove it then show it."

"I can either be your friend..." The man turned to look out towards the window that was letting sunlight into the room. "Or your enemy!" The man turned to face Riley with Max's face this time. "You're not telling me everything! And if you don't, you won't like what I do to you in your own mind!" The man teleporter in front of Riley to close the gap between them, but he did not touch her. "You used your power before you were knocked out. Why were you looking for me?!" The dark man said with Max's face still as his own.

Riley took another step back when The Dark Man's face quickly turned from her father's face and into the very man that turned her life upside down. Then he disapeared Riley quickly looked around to try and find him, until he suddenly appeared right in front of her causing Riley to scream in fear and fall down onto her back. "STOP!" Riley yelled suddenly as she stood up staring into the face of Max's.

"Outside, i'm being held in a cell I dont know where somewhere in D.C these men hooked up to some chair and it forced me to use my ability to track every evo. I was not searching for you it was against my own will I dont even know who the hell you are!" Riley quickly turned away from The Dark Man. "My life is already fucked up as it is, my mother was killed, and my father injured. Then men who captured me framed me for it so if you dont believe me then go ahead and do whatever you want." Riley said looking over her shoulder at him.
Once Riley looked, the man was gone. She had told him whatever he needed to know at the moment. The house remained quiet and empty before his voice suddenly boomed through her mind.

"As I said before.... I'm a friend, and I will free you from this life. I must free you of it in order to save everyone else... I apologize in advance Riley." And the dark figure was heard no more.
The moment Riley turned around the Dark Man was gone, she heard his voice once more and then his voice was gone leaving Riley alone once more. She wasnt sure if she could trust him or not. Riley quickly opened her eyes again only to find herself still in the high secruity cell where there were four guards standing outside she wasnt sure what to make of him yet and silently pased around her cell.

[Polyurethane]

Jack Harper
Los Angeles, California

When Elena left his apartment he started packing his things right away. He grabbed a luggage bag and started throwing clothes into it. After he packed a considerable amount of clothes he grabbed his toiletries and started shoving them in the side pockets of his bag. He stopped to think about what else he should take. He looked around his room and noticed his charger in the wall. Unplugging the charger from the outlet, he proceeded to toss it carelessly into his bag. That should be everything, he zipped up his bag and carried it to the living room. It was then that Elena showed up in his door, and thanked him.

"Of course. It's only right. I'm sure with a plan this big, us evolved will need all the help we can get. Also before we leave; May I see your hand? I can use my ability to expell your tracking chip from your body so they don't know where you're going" Jack said as he held his hand out towards her.

[Vicier]

Athena Hale, Dylan Cox and Aira Renee Rivera

Dylan's House ~ Lake Tahoe, California

Dylan lay next to the lovely woman he had met showering last night. His arm curled around Athena, holding her close to his body. He looked over and kissed the top of her head, then laid there simply basking in the moment. His hand running up and down her arm.

The moment was ruined when a sudden knock came on the front door. At first he was simply irritated that someone Would bother them at this hour of the morning. As He was getting out of bed and slipping on his clothes, he remembered what his sister had told him.

"One moment! I have to get dressed!" Dylan shouted. "Athena, you have to be ready to get Aira out of here. I don't know who is at the door but more likely than not they're here for Aira Because Jaenelle failed her mission." he said as he hopped into his pants.

The morning had been perfect… really, there was no better ending to the night they had just shared in each others company- that was until the loud rapping on the front door hit their ears, and cruelly ripped them from the bliss of laying with their bodies pressed up against each other. Frowning heavily and with obvious annoyance towards the fact that their morning had been ruined by the intrusion of another, Athena slowly lifted herself up and into a sitting position, seemingly not even bothered as the sheets fell down to pool on her lap; her dark eyes never once leaving his, though holding a saddened tinge to them as she watched him getting dressed.

“..to be honest, I'd rather just ignore the prick, and stay here in bed with you… who knows, maybe they'll get sick of waiting, and will just leave.” Pausing a moment to let her rather lame attempt at wishful thinking sink in, she shot him a small though only half apologetic smile as she began to move once more, her body slipping out from under the sheets as she crawled across to sit in front of him on the edge of the bed, “..I'm not leaving without you, Dylan; you said last night that I wasn't alone anymore- that we were gunna do this together… and even if I did get away with her, she's registered with a chip…”

"And you're not alone. I don't doubt your ability to keep her safe, but if it's quantum at the door they'll surely have sent someone more capable than my sister to do the job. The best way to keep her safe right now is for you to get her out of here while I take care of Quantum. As for the chip, I can remove it. It will be painful but they shouldn't be able to track her if we remove it." he said as he made his way to the door of his room. "Coming!" he shouted again. "Please Athena. Once I take the chip out, wait for me to answer the door. If it's quantum just get her out of here."

Twisting her body slightly over the bed, she slid herself forward and off the edge, lifting up onto her feet for only a moment before she was on the move, her hand reaching out to grab a gentle hold of his forearm, her other hand lifting up to rest lightly against his chest as a worried look flickered across her face, “You might be confident in my skills; but that isn't the issue here, Dylan… I'm scared… I'm not a registered evo; Quantum doesn't know anything about me, my powers- they don't even know that I exist…”

Shutting her eyes tightly for a moment, she turned her head away and to the side, her eyebrows furrowing as she tried to collect and make sense of the thoughts running through her mind at the time, “..I'll do what you want- I'll get her as far away from here as I can, and I'll keep her safe while we wait for you to catch up to us… but if Quantum find out about me-... that you-... just please promise me you'll be careful…”

He stopped when he felt her touch, and turned to face her. He wrapped his arms around Athena in a loving embrace, holding her close to him for a moment. With a small kiss on the head he brought his arms back to his side's. He reached up and gently took her chin in his hand. Softly turning her head to face him he looked down into her eyes.

"Everything will be all right. As long as you and Aira make it away from here, I can hold off whoever is at the door. Then I'll come and find you. Just head south and when I'm finished up here I'll head the same way and find you." Dylan brought his hand away from her face and looked down at it. Suddenly something began to emerge from his flesh; it was the tracking device he was implanted with when he was registered as an evo. He turned his hand and dropped it on the floor. "You'll need to hold Aira's hand as I remove her chip. Let's get it over with." he said taking Athena's hand and leading her out of His room to the door of Aira's.

Feeling his gentle touch slipping away from her altogether, Athena nodded her head lightly in understanding of what it was that he was asking of her, her dark gaze lightly gliding about the room before finally it came to land on a black shirt lain crumpled over the floor, letting out a soft and almost inaudible sigh of relief at the very sight of it, she hurried over to pick it up and shake it out; the woman once more returning to his side as she slipped it on over her body, and began to do up the buttons while listening to what he had to say about the chip- if Aira was going to see her in her human form, than she’d be damned before she let the eight year old see her stark naked.

“..okay... let’s do this...” Hesitating for a moment in the hallway as he lead the way into Aira’s bedroom, she shot a glance in the direction of the front door, uncertainty flickering across the surface of her eyes though she pushed the feeling to the side and instead hurried after him; a small smile playing over her lips as she caught sight of the girl lifting up the bottom of her sheets so she could look under the bed for something she had seemingly lost.

"Aira, what on earth are you doing out of bed?" Dylan asked as he watched her looking under the bed for something. "And what are you looking for?" he questioned, completely forgetting the fact that the woman he just slept with was Aira's bunny. "Never mind you can tell me later. But right now Aira, we have to get you out of here. Remember the bad man? Well he may be here." Dylan lied. He didn't know if it was the supposed bad man or not. He didn't even know if it was a man. "I want you to hold my friends hand, can you do that for me Aira?"

She wasn’t there... she wasn’t in the bed; she wasn’t under the bed- the only place she hadn’t looked was the cupboard which was on the far side of the room, its door left ajar only slightly, though with more than enough room for a small bunny to go slipping through. Scrunching up her face in an attempt to not cry at the fact that she couldn’t find her best friend, Aira awkwardly pulled herself out from under the bed, her body twisting slightly over the ground as she instead chose to sit up, her body leant against the mattress and her eyes glistening with tears to come as she looked up at Dylan and the woman she didn’t recognize.

“T-The bad mans here..? Did-... Did he take Athena..? I-I can’t find her...” As the words slipped through her lips and out into the open for everyone to hear, the tears she had in her eyes finally began to bubble over before streaming down her cheeks, and falling down to stain the front of her still paint-covered nightdress.

Oh god, she was looking for her rabbit, Athena. Dylan had to think quick on this one. The poor little girls tears tugged at his heart strings ever so much. This must be one hell of a night for Aira, first being taken from her parents by a stranger, now being taken away by another stranger. The giant of a man knelt down and bent forward wrapping his arms around the crying girl, patting a couple of times on her back. He then pulled back and put his hands on her shoulders, and looked her in those sweet little watery eyes of hers.

"Yes, the bad man took Athena, but don't you worry Aira, I won't let him harm Athena or you. I'll get Athena from the bad man, but I need you to do me a big favor. I need you to be a brave girl and get my new friend here out of here. She's special, just like you, and me. If you can get her to safety I'll get Athena from the bad man and bring her back to you. Can you do that for me Aira?" Dylan asked, knowing he wouldn't be bringing back a white rabbit for her. But he had to comfort her somehow, he couldn't stand to see her so sad.

How hadn’t she thought that this was going to happen... Feeling a sharp and guilt-ridden pain shooting through her heart at the sight of Aira crying in Dylan’s arms, Athena shifted quite awkwardly over the spot in which she stood, her left arm coming up to wrap over her chest while her right arm continued up further, her head tilting guiltily to the side as she rubbed sheepishly at the back of her neck- how could she not feel bad about what her actions had done to the poor girl..? The fact that the two of them had chosen to spend the night together, had caused Aira pain... and above that, had caused him to have to lie to cover up what had really happened... oh God; she was a horrible person...

Daring a chance after hearing Dylan’s request of the young girl, Athena turned her gaze back over to where the pair was sat on the ground, watching with slight pride as the eight year old looked over his shoulder at her before then nodding her head in answer to the question- she hated the fact that they had to lie to Aira... but with the possibility of Quantum being on the other side of that door; there really was no other way for them to do this...

“..hey Aira... I’m scared of the bad man too... do you think I could come over there and hold your hand..?” Waiting for a moment as the girl looked back and once again nodded her head, Athena gave her a small smile, the woman’s feet silently carrying her across the room and over to them before she knelt down by her side, hesitating for only a moment before finally, she took a gentle though firm hold of the girls hand; her dark eyes flicking up to meet with Dylan’s as she gave him a nod, letting him know that it was now or never.

Dylan was going to be heartbroken at what he was about to do. This little girl had been through so much in one night, and it just kept getting worse. He held her other hand flat between his own two hands. He hated to have to do this to her, he knew it was going to hurt.

"Be strong Aira" he said, pausing only for a moment before the chip burst out of her hand and into his own. In this moment he created a soundproof barrier by causing the vectors of any sound in the room to simply be redirected into the wooden floor which would absorb the sound of her cries of pain.

The shrill sound of the girls pained scream filled the room, causing Athena to scrunch up her face, and reminding her of a banshee’s wail- it was heartbreaking... one of the worst sounds that she had ever had the experience of hearing; and one that she hoped she would never again have the need to hear. The poor girl had been through so much already; a fair bit of that pain due to herself and Dylan, though it couldn’t be helped... it was a necessary type of evil that had to be inflicted if they were going to be able to keep her safe.

Unable to take the young girls uncontrollable weeping any longer than she already had, Athena pulled her hands away from the child’s, her arms gently and protectively wrapping around her small frame, pulling her close against her chest as she did all that she could to console her; her own eyes glistening with tears as she turned to look back over at Dylan as though searching for what it was that they were supposed to do now.

Dylan met Athena's eyes, with sadness clear in his own. This night had been a roller-coaster of emotions, and he couldn't even begin to understand the pain Athena was feeling. Having protected this girl for a year now, while Dylan had only known the sweet thing for one night. Extending his soundproof barrier to the window, he raised it up for them to escape out of once he confirmed if it was quantum or not. He almost hoped that it was quantum, or this would have all been for nothing. Dylan reduced the soundproof barrier so that it was just around Athena and Aira. Sound could get in but it couldn't get out. He stood up from the grown and looked down at the two.

"You should be able to hear whomever is at the door say their purpose. Of they mention quantum or Aira or even if they want to step foot in this house you run. Head south and I'll catch up. I'm sorry Aira... Remember be brave." he said as he turned to leave the room.

Relaxing her hold around the small child once Dylan had turned away from her, Athena pulled back to look down at the girls tear strewn face, her own eyes red and brimming with tears at the pain they had inflicted as she let her full attention turn down to the child’s palm; the flesh torn open and stained red with blood from where the chip had been forcefully ripped from her flesh- the very sight of it caused her stomach to churn, and her heart to sink ever lower within her chest... justified or not; how could they have ever done this to a child...

Dropping both her hands down to the material that made up the shirt that she had stolen from Dylan earlier, she took a tight hold of it before she pulled, the sound of it ripping apart filling the air as she tore a lengthy piece off so that she could use it to bandage up the child’s hand, her gaze lifting back up to look at Dylan every so often as he explained to her just what it was that he wanted her to do- this was crazy... the moment that they met up again after all of this, they had to speak; this was no way to raise this girl. Catching sight of him trying to leave the room, Athena hurried to finish tying the make-shift bandage before she scrambled up from the ground, her feet carrying her back across the room after him.

“..Dylan, wait..!” Reaching out once she got close enough, she once again took a hold of his hand, her other lifting to rest delicately against his cheek, her thumb lightly brushing back and forth over the skin just under his eye for but a moment before she once more met his gaze, “..please; I need you to make sure that she’s on my back, and that she’s holding on properly- even if she’s holding onto my mane, I don’t care... And-...”

Hesitating for only a moment before finally deciding what it was that she wanted to do, she pushed herself up and onto the balls of her feet, her eyes fluttering to a close as she pressed her lips softly against his own, allowing them to linger there for as long as she possibly could before eventually, she pulled back again, her cheeks though dark in color still gaining a light tinge of red as her eyes searched his own for the promise she wanted him to make, “..come back to me... please...”

He felt her hand in his own, and the gentle caress of her thumb underneath his eye. His eyes were glossed over, the sorrow in his eyes were clear. This girl had reminded him of his own little sister when she was just a little girl, and it killed him to see her in such pain, pain that he inflicted. He nodded, showing he understood what he had to do.

Then their lips met once more, and they lingered there for what seemed an eternity. But this was different than the first kiss they had shared. This wasn't a kiss of lust, but of love. He met the haze of her dark eyes, and stared into them as she told him to come back. He had no Idea who was waiting for him at the door. It could be an evo that could completely obliterate him. But no matter what lay behind that door He would fight to his grave to protect these two. It would be one of the most worth while things he would have done in his life.

"Let's get her straddled up shall we... I can't make any promises, because I don't know what's outside that door. But I will promise to fight my hardest for you, and Aira. And if I come out on top, I will come back." he had already lied to one of the girls, he didn't want to make an empty promise to the other. There was no telling if he could make it back to her or not. He would try his damnedest; but what if that wasn't good enough?

She couldn’t help but stare into his eyes; so full of pain... of honesty... it was clear as day that it was a promise he wanted to make, though just couldn’t bring himself to give her that false hope that they would again end up with one another, when there was always that big possibility that they wouldn’t- the thought alone caused pain to shoot through her heart, and for her eyes to sting with the tears she knew were threatening to bubble over and run down her cheeks... though she knew she couldn’t do that; she had to be strong... he needed her to be strong, at least for Aira’s sake, “..I know you will, Dylan... you will beat whatever is waiting for you; and then you will come and find us... You’re strong, and I know you can do this- I believe in you...”

Leaning up to once more press her lips against his own, though this time allowing slightly more passion to flow out through the action, Athena pulled herself away from him completely before she could change her mind again, her dark eyes closing as she took a couple of steps back, keeping distance between her and the other two as she turned her back to them both, her dark eyes shutting tightly as a slightly pained yell escaped from her lips; the bones in her body seeming to physically crack and move about under her flesh as she began to change, the sudden change in both shape and size causing the shirt she had borrowed to rip apart, and fall to the ground as golden fur emerged ever slowly from under her skin before eventually she dropped down onto all fours, the once pained yell twisting til it was the threatening roar of the king of the jungle itself.

Huffing out a few short breaths in reaction to the transformation she hadn’t made in what felt like years, Athena lifted her head up high, taking a moment to shake out large mane that now adorned her figure, her tail flicking back and forth every so often before finally, she turned her head around to look back at him, the familiar dark eyes that were her own staring up at him expectantly before she lowered herself down to the floor, her muzzle lightly resting over her paws as she waited patiently.

Dylan embraced Athena's lips, matching her passion before she stepped back and began her transformation. Her pained yell pierced him to his core. Once the transformation was complete, her roar rattling in his chest. It left him in awe for a moment, before he remembered that was a roar of pain. He stepped around the lion in the middle of the room and lifted Aira onto Athena's back.

"Ok Aira, you need to hold on tight." He said as he took her hands in his own, and placed them on each side of Athena's mane. "Hang on tightly to her mane. Keep you legs tight. Whatever you do, don't let go. And remember, keep her safe for me" Dylan said looking into the eyes of Aira. Then knelt down and looked into the dark eyes of this magnificent beast. "I'll find you, both, if things go well" he said looking back up to Aira then standing up straight.

He walked to the open door of what was Aira's room for the night, taking one long look at the two before He walked out of the room. He made his way down the hallway and stood in front of the door for a moment, taking a deep breath and then opening the door.

"Hey sorry, I just finished up in bed with my girl, had to get dressed. I'm sure you know how that is my man" Dylan said with a total change in his personality. This was trainer Dylan, the fun outgoing man who builds you up. "Anyways what brings you here at such an early hour? Is everything alright?"