Mindy stood outside of the Snowflake youth center. The small, squat building was more likened to an advanced YMCA than a place holding geniuses from all over. No one was outside in the parking lot, it was mid-afternoon so she assumed the staff had left to get lunch. She didn’t see any of her colleagues in the round bay windows in the front, though the secretary was still there typing away on the computer. Mindy took a deep breath, steadying the glasses on her face, and took a few steps into the building. The air conditioned air hit her first, and then the familiar smell of the cleaning solution used for mopping the floor. Darius used to hate the smell, she thought. The front room was decorated with dark, ombre flowers and pictures of Darius sat everywhere they seemed to have found space. Somehow, this was worse than the terrible festival in Provence. The secretary had noticed her walking in, and simultaneously connected the dots.
“Ms.Diasco, you’re back from Jersey.” She said, simply. She was a short, stocky woman with curled brown hair held together in a neat bun. Her plain, pressed white shirt and khaki pants were hidden behind a large circular desk that encased her. The desk help even more pictures of Darius, yet Mindy could feel her eyes blocking them from her peripheral vision. The woman, whose name was Caroline as was written on the nametag pinned to her collar, stared at her with a confused look. “Um....well would you like the keys to your lab? It’s been cleaned for you while you were gone. Free of charge, of course.” She said, Mindy could see her avoiding her eyes. The glasses hid most of the changes, but not all it seemed.
“Yes. That will be all, thank you.” Mindy said. Caroline nodded, reached under her desk, and handed her the keys to lab 808. Once the keys were in the palm of her hand, she turned and sped down the long, white corridor. Mindy had been wrong when she guessed that everyone was out for lunch, there was a seminar being held in one of the smaller classrooms. Snowflake always had a confusing layout, at least to Mindy.
Darius always complained about that too, she thought smiling. Her eyes began to burn with the familiar need for tears, but Mindy already knew that none would come. Two metal elevator doors stood before her, she didn’t know she had even made it to the end of the hallway. They slid open, and two excited students, GT kids on a tour of the place probably, stepped out. They stopped talking when they noticed who it was that stood in front of them. One tall, and with a tangled mess of blonde hair smiled at her, warmly. Mindy returned it, though weakly.
The other one, short and freckled with a black and old fashioned shaved bowl cut shuffled his feet. The two boys looked ecstatic to see her, and Mindy just knew she would hate being alone with either of them so they could bombard her with questions about her theories and latest breakthroughs in biochemistry. However, she relented and stepped in the elevator anyway.
“You’re Mindy Diasco, right? Oh my god, can I just say that I’m a huge fan!” The blonde one squealed. “It’s so hard to find others who accept the neurosis theory on single cell embryos. You have no idea how many times I get laughed out the room whenever I bring it up.” Mindy laughed, though this time it felt genuine.
“Oh I’m sure I know what you mean.” She said.
“It took me a awhile to gather enough evidence for it, and even I got a few strange looks when I first proposed the idea.”“What even is that? I’m confused.” Said the other boy.
“I apologize, I’m Theodore Grannity, and this is Meln.” Theodore patted his friend on the back.
“Meln?” Mindy said.
“It’s an old york name. My families weird, and traditional.” Meln said, looking down at his feet. The two of them wore dark, navy blazers with a special patch ironed onto their front breast pocket, so Mindy assumed they had to have come from some private school. The elevator dinged, and the doors opened.
“This is my stop. I guess I’ll see you two around.” She said.
“Uh, probably not. We’re just students at Manafort, so it’s a field trip kind of deal.” Theodore explained.
“The center is open to all. Stop by anytime you want.” Mindy said.
“It doesn’t have to be my center, but if you’re ever interested-”“Wait.” Meln stepped out of the elevator, Theodore close behind. “Um...can I ask? What...happened to your eyes?” Mindy balked, and put a hand to her cheek, only to find her fingers come away stained blue.
“Jesus.” Theodore breathed, horrified. “Are you okay, Miss?” He asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. She shook it off, holding in the shudders that threatened to rack her body.
“I-I’m fine. It’s just….it’s a problem I can handle, don’t worry.” She said, wiping the inky blue tears on her cardigan sleeve.
“Are you sure you’re not sick or something? It could be serious.” Meln spoke, worried.
Mindy nodded.
“I’m sure. It’s just something that’s been happening to me for awhile now. I’m certain it’s nothing radioactive are acidic in nature, I may have harbored some kind of genetic mutation in me and never realized it until now.” She said.
“Genetic…? Like, a super? You think you may have had late power syndrome, or something?” Meln said.
“Yes. though it doesn’t seem to be a major change like flight, thank goodness.” She chuckled.
“Just odd, blue tears.” Meln stood there silently, assessing something in his head; it was out of his mouth before Mindy could talk him down completely.
“Do you think I could come with you, and examine this...uh...mutation of yours?” He asked. Mindy shook her head.
“No. It’s not exactly that big of a project-”“People are disappearing, miss. People who had powers and people who supported them, that’s why I…” Meln whispered, scared. “Also, I know you aren’t too keen on grievances, but I’m grieving alongside you. Darius Winters was someone my family knew well, and I feel I have to...repay him somehow. You’re like his daughter, so it just seems right of me to try to help you this way.”
“Meln…” Theodore looked worried for his friend. “That’s sweet but maybe she doesn’t want-”
Mindy looked around the corridor, and noticed that there was no one else with them. This floor was strangely empty.
“Not here, Meln. We’ll continue talking in my lab.” She said, eyeing a camera situated at the end of the hall. If Georgia wasn’t, safe than what made her think the Youth center was? They walked to 808, and Mindy locked the door behind them. The lab was cluttered with huge equipment, and beakers of medicine and chemicals. Mindy’s heeled boots clacked against the tiled floor as she made her way over to the last place she had been when she was in this lab. The antidote still sat there, it’s prototype at least.
“I think I may need help. And I don’t have a whole lot of options here at home.” She said.
Theodore walked up next to her. “Help huh? Well, I don’t know what I could possibly offer, I mean you’re the genius among us, Diasco.” he said. He eyed the strange, blue antidote on the counter. Meln was looking at the various equipment in the room, enthralled. “I can only guess that this has something to do with your current situation?” Theodore said, pointing at the antidote. MIndy shook her head.
“No, actually. I didn’t...take any drug or chemical that made me this way. That’s why I proposed it was a genetic mutation of some kind, because this didn’t begin to manifest until after I had made...this antidote.” She gulped.
“I fear if I am to be honest with you, I should tell you everything. Though it’s not a happy tale.” She sat down, and Meln and Theodore followed suit, taking a seat on two swivel stools. Mindy then recounted the story of Soundria, and her friend Eris Goodoire. How Eris’ parents had used the drug as a means of torture and punishment, and the end result of it being Surround Sound.
“It’s a terrifying power if you really think about it. On the surface it sounds like a pleasant, and wonderful gift. To create that which you see in your mind when you hear your favorite song. But it’s a dangerous power, and I fear it is too late to reverse the effects it has had on Eris.” Mindy said.
“Eris isn’t a villain is she-” Meln asked.
“They. And no, Eris isn’t a villain. They’ve become a small town hero in Jersey. That’s why I left in the first place, to give them an antidote, to fix my mistake. But they’re...strangely happy. They’re content with Surround Sound, and they seem to have somewhat control over it now.” She shook her head.
“But now things have gotten to deep. Darius is dead, and some super killed him off. When Darius died, I was wrought with grief, and while I still am saddened by his death I have to focus on this.” She stood up, facing them both.
“I believe he was hiding something from me, about me. Like, maybe he knew all along that I had this power.” “What makes you say that?” Theodore asked. “He put you through tests or something?”
“No. I’ve gotten these suspicions from an unlikely source, the detective investigating Darius’ murder.” She walked over to a filing cabinet and pulled out relatively secretive information she had hidden from sight.
“He told me that Darius was connected with Paradox, you two are familiar with their agency?” She asked.
“I know a little about the Paradox Agency, but I thought they were like...a myth. An agency of supers who help people with impossible problems? Sounds like a fairytale.” Theodore said.
Meln nodded. “Yeah, No super nowadays would think to show their face around Georgia, and even before illegal Hero duties was...uncommon. It could get you in a lot of trouble if you went around saving people with heat vision and flight, you know.”
“Yes, well. Darius had no powers, that I am sure of. Paradox is a very real Agency. I had the pleasure of meeting their leader herself.” Mindy frowned at the memory.
“The detective said that while digging through Darius’ things, he found messages between him and a Paradox Agent. Someone called ‘Bobi Adolow’”. She spread the files out, and laid them out for the three of them to look at together.
“These are blueprints for something Darius had been working on a long time ago. I can’t even comprehend what they are but-”“Holy shit…” Theodore looked awed. He then fist pumped the air, excited. “This is a huge score, Diasco! You don’t know what you have here? It’s prints for a fully functional robotic core unit. I’ve only read about these in journals, but this is incredible to actually see prints of it.”
“Core unit?” Meln asked, confused.
Theodore nodded. “Yes, it’s a new innovation in the prosthesis field. The idea is basically to implant a metal energy core in the amputees back, and with a few adjustments done to the actual prosthesis, they will be able to have a functional arm that works just as well as any other arm.” He explained. “It’s never been tested before, not even on animals. But if Darius built a core-”
“Or rather, he implanted one inside of someone, than that would explain who Bobi Adolow is.” Mindy conceded.
“Still doesn’t explain my problem though.” “Perhaps it’s a side effect? You could’ve been living near a core, and it’s affected you in some way?” Theodore just shrugged. “I have no clue, actually.”
“I don’t think those two things are connected. I think we have to dig deeper. What do you say to us experimenting with those...tears of yours.” Meln proposed.
Mindy nodded.
“We can work on that, yes. But there are...more pressing matters at hand. This Bobi Adolow person...knows who Darius is. They probably knew him years before I did. We have to find them.” “What? Why?” Meln asked.
“I’m working alongside the detective. He’s asked me to help him find this...person. He and Eris have gone in search of one person, and now I have to find this person.” She said.
“This is going to take a long time. So if you intend to help me, prepare to stay for the long term.” “Yeah, sure. We can visit the lab like you said. Manafort is a few miles away from here, so the trip won’t be too long away…” Theodore calculated. He pointed at the glasses on her face. “What about those weird marks around your eyes? I hope those are just hennah tattoos.” He smirked.
Mindy smiled, tired.
“Unfortunately, these are another beast all together. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it though.” She said.
“I will explain at a later date. For now, let’s focus our attention on finding this Bobi Adolow person.” “How are we supposed to do that?” Meln asked.
Mindy just tapped the side of her left eye, cryptically.
“I have a way, don’t worry.” she said. Looks like she would need Dexarte’s help sooner than she realized.
………………………….
another short post, but meh the story is advancing and now you guys know more. also, be prepared because another character sheet may be coming, and this time for the very person mentioned above, Bobi Adolow. I am happy to say that it is now officially time we have a character who is a long term member of Paradox, and not just a newbie like Eris or Phoenix.I’ve been binging this particular anime, so if you like mafia’s and shit, 91 Days is a perfect show to binge, and i haven’t skipped this opening yet. 
