duskshine749

Paradigm Shift: Agents of Fate

This was not where Zephyr wanted to be right now, he wasn't very good at helping people through their issues, and boy did Abi have some issues. Given her story he didn't expect her to know any better, that was just how life was for her. Living in an RV probably meant she didn't have a lot of access to TV or the internet or book so she couldn't have used those to see what the media depicted as normal. Not that media did a great job of depicting normal anyways be it would show her that not everyone lives like she did.

Ellen spoke up and said a few of the things Zephyr was thinking, but this mostly seemed to put Abi on the defensive. It was worth a try but if Abi would need time to realize maybe her life was maybe not as great as she thinks it was. Ellen bringing up Jesus was a bold move, Zephyr was interested in how that would turn out but Dr. Cassar put an end to things before they got too heated, which was probably a good call.

He encouraged Ellen to talk about her life, and as she spoke Zephyr had to stop himself from making some kind of noise, or letting his jaw drop. Her life growing up, much like Abi's, was very far from normal, though for completely different reasons. She had definitely lived a higher class life than anyone he had ever met that was for sure. Frequent vacations? Tons of sports? She clearly wasn't hurting for money as a kid, Zephyr hadn't either but that was more because his parents were frugal rather than being loaded. Zephyr could relate to having a family member die, although her sister was under much worse circumstances.

Ellen had certainly led a much more exciting life than Zephyr ever had. "I can go next, I guess, if we're sharing life stories." Zephyr stood up and cleared his throat, because that's what you did before speaking to a group of people. "Um, hi. I'm Zephyr, and I'm a mage, it's been one day since I last used magic." He paused briefly to see if anyone would respond to his weak attempt at an AA joke. Ellen laughed which was good enough for him, he was glad one person enjoyed his bit. He gave her a little smile before continuing, "when I was younger I had some rage issues. I hurt a kid pretty bad, he had to go to the hospital." Zephyr hadn't thought about that specific memory in a long time, and he didn't want to dwell on it for too long so he continued.

"After that my parents enrolled me in martial arts to give me an outlet, between that and some meditation I'm much calmer now. Aside from that I've lived a pretty uneventful life. Grew up in a semi-detached house in Canada, went on a few vacations to Disney World in Florida, we'd go camping in the summer a lot." Zephyr paused for a second, no matter how many years had passed this part of his life was still hard to remember, "my dad got cancer. He fought it for a few years but then he died. He loved my martial arts training so I kept at it and became an instructor in his memory. That's about it until my Awakening, sooo yeah." He always sucked at ending presentations, he'd come up with a catch phrase but he didn't want to say it here. He let his story hang for a second then sat back down.

Paradigm Shift: Agents of Fate

Zephyr had eaten his dinner quickly, hardly taking notice of the commotion, before heading off on his own. Ever since the mission he felt he needed to be alone with his thoughts. He had all these grand aspirations for how he was going to use his powers for good, but when it came down to it he didn't do anything. He was just another body taking up space. Did he even deserve to be here? These were the thoughts that had been plaguing him the past two weeks. He knew these were all just silly insecurities, but the thing about insecurities is they don't care if you know what they are. They still scratch at your mind and give you no peace. Zephyr had been finding solace in meditation though, and a lovely place to meditate was the chapel. He had found it shortly after he had returned from the mission while he was wandering aimlessly around Goodnight. Not many people seemed to know where it was, or they just didn't want to make the trek which was understandable as well.

Once again Zephyr had found himself at the chapel but today there were others there. First he saw Brooks, then a somewhat scary looking woman. Was she the one who broke up the fight earlier? Well, it didn't matter too much as Billy got his attention. "Oh, Zephyr, I'm glad your here, we're gathering everyone who was on the mission two weeks ago." And that moment is when Dr. Cassar introduced himself and explained why they were meeting. "Oh, well that's very flattering doctor, thank you. I'm just gonna sit while we wait for the others." As Zephyr took a seat he couldn't help but think how undeserving of this praise he was. He hadn't done anything special. He looked around a campsite after the others had taken out the threat. He was nothing but a fraud, and now this doctor was going to be thanking him for something he only did on technicality.

Paradigm Shift: Agents of Fate

The weeks passed fairly uneventfully, Zephyr figured the few days immediately after the Violet Dawn was the VU's most eventful time. Zephyr mostly kept to himself. As happy as he was to have been gifted these abilities, now that the initial rush was done the reality of the situation was really setting in on him. This wasn't some fantasy, and he wasn't in some lovely academy where we'd learn to use his magic. He was in a run down mall in the middle of nowhere, and any instruction he was receiving was from people who were likely at their wits end. They were doing their best and Zephyr appreciated them, but he found it more fruitful to practice on his own. He could still feel there was an ability he couldn't access, maybe he just needed to train his other skills some more? He still went to the classes, his rock skin ability seemed to be an attention getter, it was too bad he could barely move while using it, even if he combined it with his physical enhancement ability. Plus using both of them together wasn't exactly sustainable, he could do a couple minutes at most.

In addition to his magical training, Zephyr also kept is taekwondo skills sharp by practising his forms every day. It was during this time when he thought of those he had left behind. He had never been incredibly close with his mom or sister, even after his dad died, but he still loved them. He wondered if they had gone looking for him, or had they just assumed the worst and figured he was grabbed by the CA3 after the Violet Dawn? It's not like he could call them to tell them different, and trying to find them in person was certainly out of the question. So he resigned himself to thinking they had held a funeral for him, thinking he was dead. Would his ex show up at the funeral? They had broken up over a year ago but they were together for nearly seven year before that. These were the questions that plagued Zephyr's mind as he kept his body in shape. Working out seemed to be a common thing for people to do, he saw plenty of runners, some more able than others. Angeline did her yoga every morning which Zephyr sometimes joined her for, she was probably the only non-staff whose name he knew. her and Matthew.

Things continued like this for a time, until one morning Zephyr was called to Headquarters. This brought back all kinds of school related anxiety for him. Had he done something wrong? No, it couldn’t be that, Zephyr had barely done anything since arriving at Goodnight, how could he possibly be in trouble? Upon arriving at HQ he felt relieved knowing he wasn’t the only one here, there were even a few familiar faces.

Zephyr wasn’t normally a coffee guy, but as Simon spoke he grabbed himself a cup. It just felt right, and it was nice having something to drink when Simon mentioned his feat of turning to rock and lifting a steel beam. It was like being called out as a good example by the teacher, sure it was flattering but Zephyr preferred to just blend in to the crowd.

One girl seemed a bit too eager to get out of here, although Zephyr supposed he couldn’t blame her. Even he was getting a little stir crazy, and he was very happy to spend all his time inside most of the time. This proposal from Simon was exactly what Zephyr had been looking for, he had been blessed with these powers and until now he’d had no way to practically use them. “I’m more than happy to join the cause, whatever you need just say the word.” It was his responsibility as someone blessed with power to help out who he could. Even in the face of a world that hated him now for who he was, Zephyr would be sure to take a stand. If he ended up dying, at least he could face his dad in the afterlife with pride.

CONTAINMENT: Welcome to Facility B

Red ate his food at his own table, no one joined him, but that was fine. He felt like he was different from the others somehow. They all had their own groups, he was the only one with a red patch. His wing had seemed oddly empty, like he was the last of his kind or something. But it didn't bother him for some reason, he seemed to be feeling strangely cold to the situation around him. He wasn't even really grossed out by the bodies that had been massacred in this room. One of the others had gone to the effort of covering them with some tables, so clearly it was something that should concern him, right?

The thought he had earlier wouldn't leave his mind, with these strange goings on, was he not an ordinary human? Was he even human at all? As Red finished his food he looked at his hand and focused, and as though like magic it covered in a thin layer of frost. It had happened by instinct previously, but this time it was through his will that it appeared. He flexed his hand to disperse the frost as someone called out asking if anyone had a red patch on their shirt.

Red left his empty plate and walked over, "yo. I'm going by Red for now, pretty sure I'm the only one with a red patch, what's...." He trailed off as he saw the message in blood written by the man who wanted to go by Mute. "Ah, I see. Well I don't remember her if that's what you were gonna ask. I was the only one in my wing when I woke up and left my room." Was something wrong with him? Was this a side effect of his abilities, staying cool under pressure? Or was he just a sociopath who couldn't find it in himself to care for others? Whatever the reason, Red did not feel any fear of this mysterious woman who mutilated one man and murdered a few others. If anything, he was a bit curious as to why she was not in his wing, and he kind of wanted to meet her.

Paradigm Shift: Agents of Fate [Currently Accepting!]

Zephyr found himself up and unable to get back to sleep just before the sun rose in the morning. Old habits from being a bus driver he supposed. Being up early would be good for him, it would let him do some morning meditation in peace. There were a few others milling about, Zephyr gave them a friendly smile then carried on, eventually finding a quiet little corner for him to do his meditation. Usually his meditation was for him to just have some quiet, and to quell any rage he may have been feeling. Today was a bit of a different exercise, he was trying to meditate on the exact nature of the abilities he had been gifted.

As he breathed his thoughts drifted to when he lifted the debris out of the way so the car could get through. He hadn't really thought about it in the moment, he just acted. He had called on Kratos and the deities of earth, so it seemed he could give himself great strength as well as be protected by the earth. Zephyr always tried to get in turn with the element of earth, steady, constant. In reality he was probably more in tune with fire, able to both provide protection but could turn and ruin you if not treated with care.

Through Zephyrs meditation he felt his abilities within in, not their exact nature, but glimpses. Not only could he sharpen his senses, he could also shut off his sense of pain should he need it. He could give himself strength, protect himself with the earth, and there was another ability there that didn't seem related to any of the gods but within himself, though he couldn't figure out what this ability was. What he was most excited about though was trying to make something from the earth. Finding a large planter pot with whatever had once lived in it long dead he used the earth to create a Bo-Staff, his preferred weapon from his time teaching Tae Kwon Do. The staff held up pretty well as he swung it around, although if it made contact with a surface too roughly it fell apart, good to know.

After doing staff forms for a while in his little corner people seemed to be up and about, and Zephyr decided it was time for a little break. He made his way back to what he supposed was the main area of the mall where he now lived. Looking around what caught his eye was a woman doing yoga, and she seemed to be talking with the Arizona girl from the other day, did she give her name? If she had Zephyr couldn't remember it right now. He'd always meant to try yoga as a means to stay fit and meditate at the same time but Tae Kwon Do had always eaten up so much of his time. Well there was no time like the present, Zephyr made his way over to the two, "hey there. I couldn't help but notice you doing yoga, mind if I watch and try to copy your moves? I've always wanted to try yoga, see how it compares to martial arts."

CONTAINMENT: Welcome to Facility B

After the commotion in the hallway Red was happy to see people had calmed down. Although during this interaction he considered stepping in and his hand got all frosty again. After seeing all the strange things the others seemed to have going on he had a sneaking suspicion of what his deal might be, but he wasn't exactly ready to try and test it out quite yet.

Upon entering the cafeteria the first thing any reasonable person would notice would be the bodies against the wall. Something had come through here and it was not happy. There was a guy eating off to the side and a couple of the others were over there, Red started to make his way to the guy who may have answers, but it seemed like he was just out of it. He didn't talk, just pointed to where the food was then went back to eating. Like he couldn't see the mess of blood and other viscera that was just left in the room.

Red should probably have been freaking out, but he just felt a sense of cool and calm. And it made sense in a way, panicking wouldn't bring the guys back from the dead, and if he didn't eat he wouldn't have any energy to try and fight off whatever did this. So he heeded the silent mans advice and simply went to grab some food. He then proceeded to sit down at a table with some cereal and a few muffins. "I may not remember anything, but I do know that I'm hungry." Red didn't really speak to anyone in particular, he just sorta spoke because he felt like it.

Paradigm Shift: Agents of Fate [Currently Accepting!]

Amid the conversation happening around him Zephyr noticed a young girl standing just outside the conversational circle looking rather awkward. Like maybe she wanted to say something but wasn't sure how to start. After being a bus driver for a while Zephyr got decent at guesstimating how old kids were, and judging by how this girl looked he would guess high school, maybe grade 9 or 10. Zephyr was once an awkward teenager, not able to talk to people, not many friends. And while under normal circumstances a 25 year old trying to be friendly with a high schooler would be creepy these were not exactly ordinary circumstances.

"What about you, Arizona shirt?" Zephyr said, gesturing to the girl so she knew he was talking to her. "How was your trip? I'm hoping at least some people had an alright time getting here."

CONTAINMENT: Welcome to Facility B

Whatever that awful sound they heard was it did not sound good nor did Red want to know what caused it. When the lights were back on he glanced at his hand since it felt strange, was that...frost? He wiped it off and decided to try and figure out that mystery later. "Ya, food is this way, and I like you being Grey and I'll be Red, less chance for confusion that way if we run in to anyone else."

Red made his way to the cafeteria, or he supposed it was the canteen as the voice said. As he got there he saw a group of people gathering at the entrance, it seemed he and Grey were not the only ones in this facility. Among them the ones Red immediately noticed were a couple of younger kids as well as someone who seemed to be covered in some kind of shadowy miasma. That may have concerned Red before, but given Greys size and theory that people here might not be normal he figured this was just someone whose abnormality was more visible than others.

"Hello, hi," Red raised his hand in greeting as he approached the others. "I'm Red, the large gentleman behind me goes by Grey. I'm guessing you all are in the same boat as us and just kinda woke up with no memory of what this place is or how you got here?"

Paradigm Shift: Agents of Fate [Currently Accepting!]

Zephyr shook Matthews hand and listened to what weirdness he had gone through. Honestly it sounded like his night was much more eventful, although Zephyr was sure everyone had strange stories now that all of their lives had been flipped upside down. "Well I didn't have anything like that happen, although I suppose I did have someone unintentionally buy me enough time to escape." Thinking back to that night felt so long ago now, how long had it really been? A day or two? Zephyr had lost track, everything had become a blur.

"In the lobby of my building, agents had already entered and some guy was completely on fire, keeping their attention off of me. I don't even know his name, we lived in the same building so I probably knew him. I'll always remember him though." Why was Zephyr the one chosen by the Violet Underground but not this other person. The likely answer is one Zephyr didn't like; that he was just lucky and was chosen randomly. He broke free from his thoughts and told Matthew a bit more about his night.

"Anyways, before we escaped from the city there was some rubble in the way. I made my skin hard as rock and moved it out of the way. So there's that, although with everything that happened that's probably pretty standard fare with people here."

Paradigm Shift: Agents of Fate [Currently Accepting!]

The driving wasn't too bad, Zephyr had always enjoyed long car rides. Really the annoying part was digging the car out of the wreckage of what used to be a shed. At least, he was pretty sure it used to be a shed, the car really did a number on it. After that little hiccup though it was mostly smooth sailing. Zephyr offered to drive when Sam was looking a little groggy, not like the guy could handle driving the whole way to wherever it was they were going. There wasn't a whole lot of chit chat, it gave Zephyr a lot of time to think. Think about these abilities he had been gifted with and what his new role in the world would be. This wasn't like a movie, people weren't thrilled that people with supernatural abilities existed. People like him were hunted, he'd be a wanted man probably for the rest of his life. But the gods had blessed him with this power for a reason, and he'd have to figure out what that reason was. Maybe the people he would meet at their rendezvous would shed some light on the situation, even incidentally.

When he wasn't driving he meditated on what all his new abilities might be. During his meditations he found he felt very connected to the earth, and also to his own body. It seemed his talents lied in his ability to alter his physical abilities. At one point he looked out the window and sharpened his senses to an incredible degree, noticing tons of small animals in the grass and weaknesses in the road. At which point Zephyr nearly passed out from exhaustion. Mental note, don't use the Eyes of Horus for long or often.

Eventually the group made their way through another portal and had found themselves in a run down shopping mall. It wasn't much, but it seemed secure at the very least. Zephyr listened to the speeches and gave some mild applause when it seemed appropriate. Afterwards one of the guys around him made a comment about where they were, and how the mall was a classic hideout in an apocalypse scenario.

"Pretty sure that's when the mall still has food and stuff," Zephyr pointed out, "but I will agree it's a very defensible position. Kind of like a castle in that regard." The guy seemed worried about graffiti for some reason, "do I want to know about your deal with graffiti? Also, I'm Zephyr by the way." Looking at the others around they all seemed to have been picked up recently. One person caught his eye, they seemed to have a hand made out of moss and tree bark. He didn't want to go over and ask for fear of being rude but whoever did that had an incredible power, a blessing from one of the many nature deities.