Silver Carrot

The Promise - Second Star to the Right, and Straight on 'til Morning.

Natalie Ellis

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"I kind of know what you mean," Natalie answered. "Most of the people here have abilities of some kind so the mere fact you have one doesn't make you an outcast. And thanks. This was actually the book we were going to be reading in junior year, but I...uh...well, didn't make it to junior year, let's say." A tense, melancholy silence settled as Amelia started sketching something. Natalie though about talking more about the book but decided against it. Her therapist had told her to open up more if at all possible, and talking about a book felt...boring, honestly.

Luckily, Amelia started talking again. Natalie opted to ignore Freaky D for the moment. She did not have a good opinion of him. The cafeteria incident, she viewed as entirely his fault, both for kick Archie and being the reason there were no security present. He was pretending to be cool and rebellious when he was actually being reckless and dangerous, and didn't seem to be showing any remorse. Part of her hoped his recklessness would get him into serious trouble so he could realize the error of his ways.

"You like to tag?" Asked Natalie, before looking over at the sketchbook. It wasn't drawings of what was in from of her, or the kind of artistic sketches you'd expect to find. Everything in this book looked like a graffiti design. Natalie had no problem with graffiti usually, but The Promise was so futuristic and pretty in its aesthetic. Why would anyone want to mess with that? Why would they want this space station to look like downtown?

At that point, Natalie saw that both Lynn and Archie were approaching. Natalie actually looked pleased to see them. Sure, none of them had talked much that day but at least they had talked. And they'd done more than that. There was now some kind of palpable bond between Natalie and Lynn. They had fought side by side in a sense. Natalie might be reading too much into it, but Lynn certainly sounded friendlier than Natalie remembered.

"Noth much, Lynn," Natalie answered. "I was just enjoying the evening by the river, reading. Amelia just got here too." She glanced at Archie but had absolutely no idea what to say to him. What would she want someone else to say if she were in his shoes? Well, truthfully, she wouldn't want them to say anything until she went first. So, Natalie waited.

The Promise - Second Star to the Right, and Straight on 'til Morning.

Natalie Ellis

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Natalie jumped when Amelia popped into existence right next to her, and the book flew out of her hands and onto the floor, closed. Natalie started at the book for a few seconds, before taking a few deep breaths, picking it up and showing the cover to Amelia. It was Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. She opened it again, flicking through until she found her place, and slid a bookmark onto the page, before putting it down beside her.

"Can you please give me some warning next time before you do that?" Natalie asked slightly irritably, before sighing. She didn't like getting harsh with the only girl who actually spoke to her, but Amelia always found new and interesting ways to annoy Natalie. "And I'm alright. And I had my first therapy session yesterday. It was alright. Having a nullifier around makes it much more relaxing than before I came here, when worrying about hurting people stressed me out and stress made me hurt people. What about you? What have you been up to in the past few days?"

The Promise - Second Star to the Right, and Straight on 'til Morning.

Natalie Ellis

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Six Days Ago:

Natalie had been released from the hospital after a few hours. Partly because despite the force of the blow she took, which numbered in the tons, Natalie had suffered no damage besides some minor burns and some bruising, for which she was wearing ointment and dressing. The other reason was, given Natalie's past, she hated hospitals. Even with nullifiers present, trying to so much as take a blood sample from Natalie was like trying to bath a cat except the cat would scream, bite you and claw you much, muss less than Natalie did to the doctors and nurses. They frustratedly gave up and told her to come back if there were any problems.

Outside, Natalie learned that she had a reputation as something close to a superhero. She was suddenly kind of popular. And sure enough, a gathering of the students she had saved from the table came to meet her. A lot of them hugged her, and shook hands with her, and took selfies, and it's as if they were all talking at once. Natalie couldn't make out any one thing any of them were saying. She presumed they were thanks and muttered a shy and humble "You're welcome" but still the overwhelming din continued. Looking back, the situation may not have been as much of a swarm as she remembered, but she did remember almost feeling claustraphobic surrounded by all these people, and their voices blending into one large sound.

"Guys. Can you speak one at a time?" She asked quietly, though it was lost in the mix. "Guys? Can you give me some space?"

The potted plant that was beside them smashed into the wall...at the far end of the room. The group immediately stopped talking, but it was too late. The one who was unlucky enough to be standing closest got hoisted up by his lapels with one hand.

"SHUT UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE!" Natalie snarled into his face, raising her fist. But the fear in his eyes, and the eyes of the crowd around her, prevented her from striking. Tears forming in her eyes, Natalie pushed her way past the crowd and ran off. None of them had the courage to follow.

Three Days Ago:

"So, you're telling me you want a shock collar to be put back on you?" the student adviser asked. "But you've made such strides! If this incident you've told me about, you were able to calm down, by yourself, without the need to any shock collar. I can't understand why you'd wish such a thing on yourself."

Natalie was idly playing with a hole in the sleeve of her newly bought cardigan. A good deal of her allotted funds had gone into clothes, toiletries, books and her very own phone, none of which she had owned for a long time. She had yet to gather the courage to talk to her parents, though, which was the main reason she had bought a phone.

"I stopped myself that time, but what if I don't next time? I don't want to hurt people, but I can't be trusted. I'd feel a lot better if measures were taken to make sure the people around me are safe."

"Natalie, you're an incredibly sweet and kind person, and honestly, I don't think those kids who called you a Hero were too far off the mark. You have issues but even in those areas you're making progress already. I admit I haven't read your file, and I don't know what happened in your life before you came here, but I know who you are now, and you're not somebody who needs to wear a shock collar."

"...I think you're wrong," Natalie replied simply.

"Tell you what? How about we set up with some therapy sessions, nullifier present of course, and then we'll monitor your progress and see how you feel after that. Deal?"

Today:

Natalie was sitting on a bench overlooking the river that ran through the 'town', idly reading a book. Since that incident six days ago, though she was still thought of as something of a hero, she had also developed a reputation as being crazy, scary, dangerous or all three, and there was no argument she would make to the contrary. Due to this, she had few friends. Amelia was the only person who really talked to her. Lynn was still in the hospital and she hadn't seen anything of Archie since the first day. Not that she could blame him. if their situations were reversed, as they could have easily been, she'd be putting off seeing him too.

The Promise - Second Star to the Right, and Straight on 'til Morning.

Natalie Ellis

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Natalie was strong, but she wasn't a fighter. The tail caught her square in the chest, luckily. If it had hit her in the stomach, her ribcage wouldn't have been able to take the blow, and she's likely need urgent medical attention to live. However, as the blow was against her ribcage, the only damage she'd get from it was a large and ugly bruise. The pain, however, did make the next several seconds a blur she can't quite recall. The next moment she remembered, she had been pulled to her feet and into the kitchen. The blow had snapped her out of her violent episode, and she was once again measured and rational. She heard Lynn telling her to get in the freezer. She felt Lynn's skin burn her own, nd she saw Archie recovering and healing from the blow. He'd be up soon. And Lynn evidently had some kind of heat power which she was about to use. Natalie didn't need telling twice. She headed straight inside the walk-in freezer, making sure there were no stragglers inside the kitchen as she went.

The Promise - Second Star to the Right, and Straight on 'til Morning.

Natalie Ellis

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Natalie heard Lynn, but the only indication she gave that she had done so was a quick, confirmatory nod. Her eyes never left Archie, who chucked another table at Lynn and then immediately gunned it for Natalie herself. Looking back on this incident in years to come, Natalie would remember thinking 'good' at this moment. It's a source of secret shame for her. Surely she must have felt some fear. But the truth was, at this moment, Natalie had gone way past the point of feeling fear.

When the beast tried to bring its arms down like two clubs to crush Natalie, she caught them both, and gripped them tight. The lizard could struggle all it wanted. She was slightly stronger than it, and it wasn't budging very much. Natalie then angled the two of them so that Archie's back was facing the kitchen, then started to push. Even with her strength, she didn't make much progress against this wild behemoth. Frustrated and snarling, Natalie stopped pushing, and instead pulled back and down, and brought her own forehead to meet Archie's. Her inhumanly thick skull, combined with the almost two tons of force that was put into that headbutt, must have had some small stunning effect on Archie. Natalie then let go of the beast's arms and punched it square in the chest with all her might, hoping to propel it into the kitchens if pushing it wasn't working.

The Promise - Second Star to the Right, and Straight on 'til Morning.

Natalie Ellis

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Natalie turned when she felt Archie's inhuman scream. At first she thought that it was something similar to her freakouts, but it soon became apparent that this was incomparable. Archie was in pain, and something was happening to him. His body was changing. Now she understood why he had been restrained on the shuttle ride over. Though not as easy to trigger as Natalie's own psychosis, his transformation was much, much worse. Natalie felt something she hadn't felt since Project Lion; fear of somebody else.

Archie emerged from the metamorphosis a giant, freakishly built lizard. Natalie looked around for nullifiers, but they had seemingly all chased after that intruder. He had a lot to answer for. First making that entrance, and being very lucky that Natalie was wearing this collar or he'd be dead for sure. Second, for being doubly responsible for this situation, both by kicking Archie and drawing away the guards. These thoughts were mixing with her fear and creating a powerful cocktail of negative emotions. Natalie's collar was already orange and beeping.

That's when she saw it rip the table up, and throw it at a group of students. There was no time to waste! She had to stop it! Ignoring Fry completely, she rushed over and made it in the nick of time. She caught the table with both arms, pushing back and completely negating the force with her own strength, before setting the table down. She looked back to make sure the rest of the students were okay, but the moment they saw her face, some of them recoiled. The dangerous, animalistic, bloodthirsty look was back in Natalie's eye. For once, she wasn't trying to fight against her own rising heartbeat. Archie had to be stopped. She knew what it was like to lose control and she'd want him to stop her if the tables were ever reverse. She was only semi-aware, however, that she was almost losing control herself. At least this time, she reasoned, her psychosis had a singular outlet. A single target.

She started to stride fast purposefully towards Archie, Lynn and the others. On the way, her collar turned red and shocked her. Natalie growled and snarled, before reaching up and tearing the collar from her neck with her bear hands. The broken pieces of it fell to the floor, and the red light died. Now the teachers and staff that were still there could see there were two unrestrained, violent super-strong beasts loose in this room.

The Promise - Second Star to the Right, and Straight on 'til Morning.

Natalie Ellis

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Natalie turned away from the conversation and took notice when the presentation started. She immediately noticed that the woman on stage first spoke inside her head, before talking normally. Natalie hoped she wasn't a mind reader, before realizing that she'd probably read everyone's file anyway and already knew about Natalie's past. However, when Dunbar looked over to her table, it was as if she had been looking right at Natalie when she said 'studied'. A chill went down Natalie's spine, but she tried to stay optimistic. This was still a school. Surely the days of Project Lion were over to never be repeated again. Learning control did sound much more appealing. If Natalie left the Promise in full control of herself, she'd be able to live a normal life again. The past two years that had been robbed from her would no longer have a bearing on her future. She'd be free. Overall, what Dunbar went on to say put Natalie's fears to ease. Now, she was looking forward to it. Looking forward to making friends if she could manage it, and looking forward to having something resembling a typical education.

Then Cara, the station's AI spoke. Natalie made a note to ask her about her room and timetable later, as she didn't have a phone, or any clothes. Hopefully this was also a problem she could so something about. The AI then introduced all of the division heads. Natalie took particular note of Elizabeth McCoy, Fry Owens and Susanna Castillo. Those are the three she'd probably be dealing with the most. Once that was all over, Natalie turned back to the table, and actually started to eat some food for a change, but less than a minute later this brief moment of peace came to an end.

A man in a large round neon helmet landed on their table. Natalie almost jumped out of her skin and stared up at him mouth agape like a deer caught in headlights. The light on her collar turned orange and started to beep rapidly. She continued to watch the bizarre and chaotic scene unfold with confusion and anxiety, as she noticed that Security had noticed and were starting to convene at their table. She made no motion or reply when Freak D offered his hand, still petrified in place. The only movement was her her eyes darting to the hand, then incredulously back at him. She continued to watch him fight off the guard, but when he kicked Archie in the face, her own face twisted and contorted into a mask of rage. Her mouth was snarling and her eyes were wide and bloodthirsty, and locked on Freaky D's fleeing form. In that brief moment, that lasted less than a second, she looked more animal than human, and it was clear to anybody who looked at her, that she had intent to kill. But no sooner had she stood up than her collar light turned red and she started to twitch and spasm, collapsing on one knee and putting her hand to her neck. The light turned orange again, and she started to pant heavily. Evidently getting shocked wasn't much fun.

By the time the light turned green, and she had both calmed down and recovered from the shock, Lynn was next to Archie, and trying to attract her attention. Lynn was asking her to find a doctor. Luckily, Natalie had taken note of Fry Even's name and appearance, so shakily got to her feet and approached the stage, heading right for Fry.

"Excuse me!" she called out to him. "We have a boy here who might need medical attention!"

The Promise - Second Star to the Right, and Straight on 'til Morning.

Natalie Ellis

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"Yeah," Natalie answered Amelia without moving her head. "Super strength is my deal. I'm sorry I got short with you. It's just..." she looks up, and gestures with her head to the people in ordinary clothes. "I don't think that's a bad thing. I wish I could be like them. I wish I could walk around without this collar but I can't. It's not safe."

Natalie ignored Lynn's comment about Valium. She had no reply to that. Or it was possible she didn't trust herself enough to try and stay calm at the same time. Her comment about Necklace shopping also annoyed Natalie, as if this was some punishment you got for bad behavior. This wasn't a punishment, nor a breach of her rights. If they offered her the choice to wear the collar, Natalie would still have taken it. But giving her the choice was a luxury they could not afford with her. Her history and records were testament to that.

The second time Archie put a reassuring hand on her back, she didn't jump, but looked up, nodded ans gave another half-smile, and returned to her silence. Now she was perfectly fine letting them talk to each other. She didn't feel left out because now she thought that getting involved might cause her to snap again, especially if she was talking to Amelia or Lynn.

The Promise - Second Star to the Right, and Straight on 'til Morning.

Natalie Ellis

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Archie replied with a smile, and a nod, and began conversing with the other girl, Lynn. Natalie wanted to join in. To say something. But she didn't know what. The only conversations she'd had in the past two years were scientists or therapists asking her questions, and all she had to do was honestly answer. Trying to talk to people her age? This felt so much more complicated. But she didn't want to just say nothing and let everybody else talk to each other. She wanted to talk to people. She wanted to feel normal for once. Still, she listened. Maybe the things Archie was saying about where he was from, or the fact Lynn's hair had changed color, were things she could talk to them about sooner or later.

Then another girl joined the table. At first, Natalie was glad that there was somebody else to talk to, but then the new girl started to talk. She talked about the 'kumbaya crap' that a few moments ago had almost brought Natalie to tears of happiness. It was clear that this girl had joined them because she didn't want to fit in and though hanging with them, hanging with Natalie, would be how she'd achieve that. Natalie's jaw tensed, and she looked Amelia straight in the eyes.

"Maybe some of us want to 'get with the program'," she said, in a noticeably louder, more confident and confrontational voice than she had used to greet Archie. "Maybe I want to join in with the 'kumbaya crap'. Do you know know how much I'd give for one chance?" Her voice was growing louder, and more emotional by the second. "Even just one day of being able to fit in and have a normal life?!"

She was interrupted when her collar made a beep and the green LED on the side turned orange. This calmed her down. She looked down at her clenched fist, and slowly opened it. A metal fork dropped to the table with a clatter, and it was crumpled and dented as if it had been made out of putty. Natalie didn't look surprised or shocked by this, just mortified and sad. A bright red flush had formed on her cheeks and her shoulders slumped. She refused to meet the gaze of anyone around her.

The light on her collar turned green again.

The Promise - Second Star to the Right, and Straight on 'til Morning.

Natalie Ellis

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There was a little conversing around Natalie but the only attention she seemed to get were people curiously looking at her collar. One girl, with bright yellow hair and a moody look on her face sat a few seats away as if to avoid her, or just avoid anyone. It was hard to tell. She heard mutterings from other students about why she'd need to wear the collar if their powers were being nullified. They really had no idea. Natalie hoped it would stay that way. Here she was, in a place full of people with powers, and she'll still be the lone, single outcast if anybody had found out what she had done, and what she was like. It wasn't fair.

That's when a boy sat besides her, between Natalie and the yellow-haired girl. Even though she was watching him, and could see him reaching out, she still jumped when his hand touched her shoulder. And then he told a bad joke, and Natalie looked away and gave a single dry, humorless chuckle. But at least she was almost smiling now. Her mouth was in a slightly different position than it was, now looking more like a squiggly line than a frown. He then took his hand away and asked for her name.

"It's Natalie," she replied in a very quiet, soft voice devoid of confidence and clearly not used to being used. "Hi, Archie."