Futuristic The Genesis Syndicate

[Effervescent]

Darren DeLuca

Talia Baardwjik

​

It was noisy inside Darren’s mind. It was as though there were more free thinkers in a concentrated area and they all had something to reflect upon. Some things were superficial like appearances or the weather. He could sometimes pick out thoughts of those who came from Eden. Overall, it was just a conglomerate of noise echoing in his cranium.


He wandered the halls in search for the exit. Charlie had pissed him off denying him of his own life choices. He didn't ask for an intervention, and she was practically a stranger. Everyone dealt with life in their own way and despite his overall attitude the events at Eden took its toll on him. Darren felt fatigued, hungry, and on edge with not knowing who to trust.


Talia had excused herself. The idea of being briefed didn’t appeal to her, and whatever the stranger had tried to explain failed to convince her. A vague part in her mind reasoned that they did get rescued from Eden, but who knew what exactly the goal of these people was and what laid ahead of them. All in all, her mood was crawling towards rock bottom.


The strange facility didn’t exactly feel threatening compared to thehorrors of Eden, but it was farfrom what Talia wished to see. That being roads or anything public. Free. “Ugh…” She began grunting in distress, only to let out a long, viscerally undulating sound, accompanied by a kick. The metallic thud of the bin hitting the wall, where it bounced off and began to circle. Her mind began to map out the likelihood of being able to burn through the walls, and she lost herself in the satisfaction of the mental image.


The thoughts of others grew louder as Darren neared the area where the debriefing was taking place. He wasn't fully aware of it, but there was a closer sound that cut through the cacophony. She looked to have a more heated temper than the one he kept tucked away. As he passed by her, his gaze flecked from the now dented metal bin rolling on the floor and then to her. He recognized her from escaping Eden.


Lava girl, he thought. In the mess of his mind coupled with his own ignorance towards his telepathic abilities, he didn't even realize he was projecting his internal monologue yet again. There was only mild amusement to be held at her display, and he huffed a small laugh.


“You showed that can who's boss,” he said before moving on. Damnit, I need a hit. Or to get out of here… Away from this shit. He rolled his eyes somewhat at that.


Talia swirled around. Lava girl, she thought with contempt. Another moniker a little too similar to the derogatory ones she was used to back home. A scowl followed, and she crossed her arms as she faced the hair framed by dark curtains of hair. “Talia, if you have to call me.” she stated matter-of-factly. A reluctant little stomp later, she let her gaze go back to the can, finding herself surprised at his thought.


“Getting out of here probably helps in getting high.”


Despite lacking judgement in tone, it was clear she didn’t think too highly of his intentions, for whatever reason. “But how?”


He stopped in his steps and turned about on his heels. “How what?” he asked rhetorically. “Getting out is pretty easy. No guards here.” Darren motioned out with his hands to the empty hallway in which they stood, and then pointed down towards the metal bin. “I think he’s all you have to worry about. We just walk out. Wherever the hell the exit is. Guessing you don't know? The fuck was going on anyway that got you so pissed at a trash can?”


She stood still for a moment, a vague expression on her face. “None of your business.” she replied, her brows furrowing and her eyes turning into slits that scanned her opposite up and down. A few thoughts started up inside her head, all of the same insecure and scared nature, but all were intentionally interrupted before they could make sense. “I don’t know where the exit is. For all I know we could be isolated or above a forest or whatever. I don’t wanna get out here and get mauled by a bear.” She swallowed audibly and let her gaze wander over the bin one more time. “If you’re leaving, please, lead the way.”


Darren stared at her with an unimpressed gaze as she spoke. “Yeah,” he said as he turned back around to walk down the hall. “You spew lava out of your hands and you're worried about a bear of all things.” He stuck his hands in the pockets of his pants. Darren was already a skinny man, but his pants now felt a little loose around his waist. What he wouldn't do for a cheese burger. But he barely had time to think on his own before someone else’s inadvertently bombarded his mind. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled through his nose and brought his hands to the sides of his head. The headache was still there along with all the other ailments that nagged him.


“You killed a man back there,” he said as he looked over to Talia. The image of the guard in agony was brief, but still stuck out in his mind. “So a bear is no big deal. Or shouldn't be.”

Collaboration with

@Sunbather
​

 

[Sunbather]

Subject 0014:

Location & Status

Mutation:

Mood

Talia Baardwjik & Darren DeLuca

Strolling

Magma Physiology

9]Aggressive

​

His words took their time to set in, but eventually struck Talia, sending a wave of chilly tingles down her spine. “I…” she began, unsure what she wanted to say. He was right. I killed someone… Suddenly, her body felt as if caged inside clothes that were too small. “I guess not.” she finally replied, her voice void of hints as to what she felt. “Could have weapons or something on the outside though.” Why was she making excuses about leaving? “Imagine burning through the ground and falling into a pit or something.”


She wiped the stale sweat of her thin nose, then balled her hands into fists and cleared her throat. “How did you wanna leave, anyways?” She wrestled with adding, but eventually caved. “Or where do you wanna get a hit, I guess.”


Her thoughts betrayed her, but not by choice. Darren heard her introspection more clearly than the other thoughts, the reflective nature of what she had done back at Eden more prevalent in her mind more than her tone of voice. He wasn't going to comment, at least not yet. That was an experience he had never felt, but even watching a man die was weird enough. Memories of the murder in Eden’s common room came back to him in momentary flashes as he remembered the sickening red that spilled on the tiles. What kind of person could take a life so easily like that?


Darren eyes Talia over once more before turning his attention back down the hall. She didn't really hesitate either. Given his lifestyle, it wasn't like he had ever been sheltered from bad people or even murderers. But they all had that particular thing about them that triggered his gut instincts. Darren was a survivor and a fighter, but he knew how to choose his fights. Talia was someone he knew not to piss off, but it was either befriend the beast or run while he still had the chance.


“I want to leave out a door,” he said. “I don't know where the fuck we are either, but I know finding a hit in here is a bust. Once I get outside I can start to figure shit out a little better.”


Rolling her eyes, Talia turned away from Darren. “I’m guessing you don’t have an idea where the door is?” Though she clearly was in the same boat, it seemed as if she belittled him for not knowing. She stared into each direction, both void of anyone but them. “I’m not really in the mood for the group. They gotta have some sort of medical supply, right? Even if it’s just for the nerves, I’ll take it. Any idea where they keep their stuff?”


This new location felt strange and endless. Not once had Darren seen a window to the outside, not even barred or blocked like Eden’s metal shields. There were far too many doors with mechanisms requiring the swipe of a coded key card to gain entry. It was as though the only door available to go through was the one to the stairwells. It felt confining and constricting, and it was starting to annoy him the longer the notion pressed his mind.


“I have no fucking clue how to get out of this damned place,” Darren admitted as he slammed his hands into the stairwell door. It swung out wide and quickly, the end ramming into the wall with a metallic slap. “There’s shit in the infirmary. Plenty of opiates. Shit like that is not typically my preferred, but…” He shrugged as he descended another level back the way he came. “Take what you can get, right? Only there’s a road block. Some bitch has it in her head she’s got to throw her morals on me. Got any ideas in how to bypass?”


Talia had strolled along silently. Opiates would do. For now, anyways. “Well, like you said. I’m kind of made of lava. Shouldn’t be hard to get her to shut up.” She attempted to sound light-hearted, though the core message was very much serious. She wasn’t about to indulge a stranger’s need to “be just” or whatever. “I mean what is she gonna do? Snitch and get us thrown out?” She actually put up a smirk. “Yeah, I’m terrified.”


He continued walking down a flight of stairs as he listened to Talia’s words. They sunk into his mind, sticking out past the infiltration of internal monologues he was picking up throughout the facility. And he tried not to think at all in complete sentences. He couldn't shake the unease of her joke, for it felt too much like there was a hidden promise to do to Charlie what she had done to the guard back at Eden. Darren turned around at the landing of the next floor down and backed into the door as he opened it.


“I wouldn't mind getting thrown out, to be honest,” he said. “Then I can finally live my life in peace again.” He kept the door at his back to keep it open for Talia to walk through. “Infirmary’s not too far from here. Elevator needs a damned key card. Go figure. But it's close to that.”


Maybe there’s a card in the… eh, probably not… Talia wordlessly followed Darren, and the two reached their destination. “This place isn’t… you know… on the grid. At least I’d be surprised if it was. They gotta have… something… right? Taken from prisoners or something like that.” Whereas the past few days had been horror shows of withdrawal-induced hallucinations, she currently felt startled and her feet seemed to be walking barefoot on top of dull needles. The urge caused her to barge into the infirmary without any subtlety.


“Just don’t get on my ass.” she barked out, not looking at anyone. The clearer her intentions, the easier this would be, she thought.

@Effervescent

 

[Ozmic]

The muffled sounds of crackling electricity followed by an explosion sounded out from one of the many training rooms in Haven. The think door vibrated, but thankfully remained as a triumphant shout of 'A-ha!' came from behind it.


Doctor Oswald Herbert Malkavich - more commonly known around the facility as 'Ohm' - was doing another round of testing on his equipment. These sounds, at least around this section of training rooms in Haven, were fairly typical since the good doctor's arrival.


Punching in a code on the small hidden touchpad embedded into the wall (his doing), he called a small creation of his over. The small bot - T1NKR - whirred and clicked as the front and back of it opened, a colorful vapor spraying forth to extinguish the flames he'd created.


He smiled behind his mask, eye lenses whirring as he inspected the damages. A clean cut right through the circular attack drone. Thankfully, it hadn't detonated terribly close to him or with much force, but he was still glad to be wearing his armor in any case.


Tapping the metal exo-suit, he removed the heavier bits and laid them carefully onto one of the tables, replacing them with simple pair of slacks, black shirt and white long-sleeve labcoat, and slip on shoes. The mask, however, he returned to his head after wiping the sweat from his face beneath it.


As he reached for his phone, it chirped shrilly at him and a message appeared. Something about a meeting and new arrivals. He smiled behind his mask and turned to the small bot again. "Tinker, if you would be so kind as to call for a cleanup crew, I would appreciate it. I've got places to be, it seems!" he exclaimed brightly, a spring in his step as the large metal door skidded open with a woosh and he glided through, making haste toward the room where the meeting was being held, his long stride making the trip a quick one.


Rapping lightly on the inside wall of the room as he ducked under the doorframe, the tall masked man cleared his throat, the gesture sounding strangely metallic along with the voice that followed.


"Beg pardon, Mr. Rook, but I was informed of a few new arrivals to Haven," he stated plainly, chuckling. "If I'm not being too terribly intrusive, I'd love the chance to introduce myself and get to know a little about them and them about me. Plus erm... I'd like to avoid frightening any unsuspecting newcomers if they happen upon me testing things or wandering around the halls."


Another laugh followed, eerily charming for how inhuman it sounded through the filter of the mask, and the tall gentleman placed his long arms behind his back and linked them, glowing lenses studying those gathered.

Tags: @Elle Joyner, @everyone else in the meeting

 

[Effervescent]

Darren DeLuca

Charlotte Brauer

​

Talia marched right into the infirmary without so much as a glance towards anyone present. Darren lingered at the doorway with partial uncertainty. He couldn't quite tell if he was getting himself into more trouble than it's worth, but at the same time here was a woman who took what she wanted and would likely be given the space to do so. If he was going to get any relief, Talia was essentially his only saving grace. In the infirmary' patient quarter he could hear voices... Or was it thoughts? It all still sounded the same, and his frustrations grew to display more visually. He brought his thumbnail between his teeth and bit at it as he watched Talia rummage through the medicine cabinets.


She'd gotten about halfway down the hallway before she'd realized she had forgotten her sweatshirt. Wandering the chilly halls in just a tank top was hardly appealing, and if she were perfectly honest, returning gave her a little more time, really, to think through what she was actually doing. She had no direction, and that made her immensely nervous... even in a place that was, or so they'd been reassured, perfectly safe.


On top of that, she wasn't entirely sure why she felt the need to help Darren. He was petulant, irresponsible and kind of a dick. But he'd also, in essence, helped save their lives and she owed it to him to make sure he had someone watching his back for once.Reaching the infirmary sector again, she paused at a familiar sight in the doorway and a frown found her lips. Speak of the devil He was back, and with Mina and Matthias off looking for the meeting room, the infirmary was deserted. So what was he waiting for? Slowly, she approached, biting the edge of her lip anxiously, "Darren...?"


His stomach lurched at the sound of Charlie's voice. Darren turned to face her quickly, his body blocking the doorway. The last thing he wanted was for her to see what Talia was doing and try to confront her or worse, try to get in her way. Find the drugs and meet up with me later, he thought towards Talia. I'll distract the problem.


"Hey," he said to Charlie. "Uh... I'm a little lost. Want to help me find some food? I'm starving."


A brow quirked at his rather sudden change in mannerisms, and for a moment she was certain she was already too late to stop him, but there had hardly been enough time for him to get back, find the morphine and inject it without someone seeing him. Still..."...Sure you don't have better plans?" She asked, with an edge of sarcasm and a small, dry smile, "I just need to grab my sweatshirt. Left it on my cot."


Darren kept himself firmly in place, his head looking over his shoulder briefly at the room where they had their last altercation. Talia would be very noticeable upon entering the room. Even if he were to volunteer to retrieve the garment, what was to prevent Charlie from following after?


"Look," he breathed in a low tone. "Can I talk to you privately? I swear we will come back and get your sweat shirt. Where the fuck did you get a sweat shirt anyway?"


Her brow rising higher, Charlie frowned. There wasn't necessarily anything particularly suspicious about his actions... except that he was Darren. But she'd already tried lectures and stubbornness and that hadn't been terribly successful. Maybe what he needed was someone to trust him. Maybe that was what she needed, too, in a way.


"...Yeah, sure." Smiling faintly, she shrugged, gesturing down the hall, "They had some clothes in the infirmary for Matt and me. Now, what's up?"


Darren walked beside Charlie to set the pace and move them further down the hall. He was concocting a lie on the fly to someone who definitely looked to be giving him a chance. Just before she displayed an air of stubbornness to the point of relentlessness and now she complies. Not knowing why started to itch at the back of his mind. Knowing he had to carry out his improvised diversion took precedence, and he began pilfering through options in search for the best method of getting Charlie to forget about her sweat shirt long enough for Talia to find the drugs and leave.


"This place," he began. "Something isn't right. I've been up and down these halls and several above and this place is full of locked doors." He lowered his voice further. "I think we need to get out of here. They know what we are. Nothing good can come from this."


Glancing over to him, Charlie smiled, shaking her head, "I get it, Dar... I do. It's not easy, coming from Eden to another place we're not familiar with. But we're not in cells. These people... they helped us. At their own expense. I think it's legit. I mean locked doors? I get that. We're strangers, and they don't know the risk we pose. Hell, we don't know the risks we pose." Rubbing warmth into her arms, she sighed, "But as for knowing what we are... that's probably because they're the same as us. And what's more, I think they can help us. Help us figure out how to... to control things. I know personally, it'd be a whole lot nicer to be able to hold someone's hand without worrying of killing them. And you could figure out how that head of yours works, without going crazy."


"No that's not-you can't know that for sure," he cut in. While the intent was to distract Charlie from her sweat shirt, the actual topic was one he considered a great deal. To him, there was no one trustworthy anymore. They were different, and anyone still normal wouldn't want to help them, but use them. "They may have patched up Mathew or given you a sweat shirt, but that doesn't automatically give them a badge of honor. I don't want them knowing shit about what goes on up here." Darren pointed to his head, and then ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. It was a tangled, greasy mess of neglect.


"Just because they took us away from Eden doesn't mean they're on our side," he continued. "This is how people get killed. They may let us roam about, but really, where can we go? How many of these doors are locked, Charlie? They have secrets. They'll try to control us just like Eden. You're blinded by a fake sense of freedom."


A sigh escaped and pinching the bridge of her nose, Charlie shook her head, "I don't know what the answer is, Darren. I don't know who these people are or why they helped us. But what I do know is out there? Out thereon our own? We're not gonna survive. Look... I know you don't have any reason to trust them, but I would hope that I've given you enough reasons by now to trust me. Just... just give it a chance? If it seems shady or something doesn't feel right then I'll right out the front door with you."


Biting her lip, she looked over at him and smile, a small crinkle in her nose, "Now... You wanna tell me why you don't want me going to the infirmary?"


Darren had the urge to shove his hands into his pockets just to find some level of comfort. His hands awkwardly brushed up against the cotton fabric of his Eden attire in search for pants pockets only to find nothing but smoothed fibers. A sigh slowly escaped his chest as he looks down at Charlie. We're shorter people always so stubborn? It was clear his ruse was ineffective, and he wondered how long she had known something was up.


"There's a chick in there," he explained in a quiet tone. "She's the one who can spout lava out of her hands. I don't think she's all there in the head. She killed a guy back at Eden. Didn't even give it so much as a second thought."


He looked over his shoulder just to be sure Talia wasn't behind him before turning back to Charlie to whisper. "If you get in her way, she'll harm you for sure. I've dealt with those types of people before. They're all the same."


It wasn't what she'd expected him to say. And maybe it wasn't the whole truth, but she'd learned enough about reading people to know when someone was outright lying and there was honesty to his tone that surprised her. She'd been pretty positive he hated her, so to hear that he was trying, at least to some degree, to protect her threw her, to say the least.


"....Oh." Was all she could say for a moment, blinking a little. When she looked up a moment later, her smile softened slightly, "Thanks, I guess. I 'd kind of suck getting melted when I finally got out of that hell hole. I thought..." Running her fingers through her hair, her shoulders rose and fell in a shrug, "Honestly, I... I kinda thought you hated me."


"Hating you implies a lot more fucks in one particular direction I'm not willing to give," Darren explained with a shrug. "I don't have a reason to hate you. You're annoying, sure, but aren't we all? Nah, you're not worth my hatred." He chuckled and leaned against the wall with his back. Now that Charlie wanted to avoid the infirmary he felt he could relax a little.


"Just wait for her to come out of there and then you can get your sweat shirt," Darren said. He was already imagining the sweet relief from the itch he was feeling.


"Anyone ever tell you you got a hell of a way with words, Darren? Like seriously. You're a regular Shakespeare." Smiling faintly, she shook her head, "Whatever she's doing in there, if I can't get my sweat shirt, I need to get out of this hallway. C'mon. We can go find the kitchen. I'm starving and staying or leaving, I need to eat something before I make any decisions."


Whether or not Charlie was being sarcastic was the least of his concerns right now. His head still pounded, his hands still shook, and his stomach was empty. Darren looked back towards the infirmary hoping Talia could find something worth while for the two of them. His plan worked, but for whatever reason he didn't feel well. He figured perhaps it washis hunger, and shrugged at Charlie's suggestion to find the kitchen.


"Assuming we can even find the kitchen," he said skeptically. "This place is a maze."


"Well... You know what they say about a maze." Pausing at the end of the hallway, she stopped for a moment, then smiling, turned down another corridor, "Always go left." Down the corridor there were no doors, but at the end a stainless steel lift waited, "Aha! Here's to hoping there's no Minotaur." Moving to the lift, she pressed the button and with a soft 'ding' the doors opened, revealing no mythical creatures, but instead a simple, brightly lit elevator, "Shall we?"


Darren's brow pushed together at Charlie's whimsy, a small chuckle escaping him airily. The lift groaned in a low hum as they slowly ascended to the next floor. Their reflection was displayed in the metal door like blobs of color. It was a small thing he was grateful for knowing he likely looked like shit. Sometimes it was better not to know the full extent of the damage, and if he looked as bad as he felt he would rather remain ignorant to what Charlie saw of him.


But it looked like Darren's sickly and ashen appearance didn't phase her. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other as the elevator dinged and came to a halt. The doors swung open, and he slipped his arm in front of the slat before motioning Charlie out the door. "I'll let you fight the Minotaur first."

A collaboration with @Elle Joyner


Projected thoughts to @Sunbather



​

 

[Elle Joyner]

STATUS|Espionage-mode

​

GROUP|B

​

LOCATION|Wandering Haven

​

There was no elevator music and silence stretched for a moment, but it wasn't uncomfortable or awkward... just a quiet sort of contemplation. She had a feeling she knew exactly what thoughts possessed Darren, even without him projecting them into her own head, and she had the grace to be a little disappointed - knowing it wasn't likely she could stop him from taking whatever Talia found in the infirmary. But at the end of the day she wasn't going to earn his trust with lectures...


He'd come along, and that was enough, for now. When the doors opened again, she glanced sideways at him and laughed, shaking her head, "How noble of you..."


Stepping out, she found herself in what appeared to be a foyer of sorts - a door to one side, and a wide hall leading off in the direction of several doors. At the end of the hall was an open space and to her relief, the first thing she noticed was the shining, glimmering stainless steel fridge. "Score..."


And looking back, she nodded, "No Minotaur, but I found the kitchen!"


Darren's feet carried him to the metal fridge almost involuntarily. It was like his body moved ahead of his consciousness as his survival instincts took over. He pulled on the lever to release the door, and it swung outwards with a burst of cold air. It was industrial sized designed to store food in large quantities, and their stock was carefully packaged and labeled and stacked upon the shelves within the large refrigerator. He brought his arms to wrap around his midsection, a shudder escaping him as he entered the fridge.


"Think they'll miss any of this?" he asked Charlie as he started skimming through the labels.


Moving past him to open a few of the cabinets, one of which proved to be a fully stacked pantry, she turned her gaze to Darren and shrugged, considering his question, "I doubt it? But we could always replace it..." Pulling out a loaf of bread, she peered over his shoulder, "Grab the butter and that block of cheese."


It took a bit of searching, but eventually he found what Charlie had asked for. Darren's stomach was churning once again at the thought of a meal. "Replace it?" he said as he closed the refrigerator door behind him. "Like they will even let us out. You watch. If we get caught there will be punishment." He huffed a laugh in amusement with the thought of getting caught. Could that be possible with his telepathy? It was still a jumbled mess of sounds colliding at once with bouts of quiet. At least he could hear Charlie over the noise, but it was all stinging his brain further and further towards a migraine. His hands instinctively moved to his temples to apply pressure.


Taking the butter and cheese, and the bread as well, she moved to the stove in the center island and pulling down a pan, started to assemble grilled cheese sandwiches. Three, in total. As she cooked, she glanced over her shoulder at him, a brow quirked.


"I dunno, Darren. I know feelings aren't everything, but ... I just feel good about this place. There's something about it... It just feels safe. Safer than Eden, anyway." Flipping two of the sandwiches onto a plate, she held it out to him, "...Food's better, at least."


The sandwich barely touched the plate as Darren swiped it up and devoured it within a minute's time. Its taste barely registered yet still felt to him as the best sandwich he had ever had. And for whatever reason he still felt nauseous despite the knots no longer present in his stomach. He was rather uncouth in his manners, though he didn't look to care much as he wiped the grease off on the front of his shirt. "Good shit," he said to Charlie. He leaned against the cabinets partly to relax but mostly to relieve the tension on his torso.


"Thanks," he said. He couldn't get comfortable for some reason. "I don't know how I feel about it still. They can have better food, but we are still stuck. Where are the fucking windows? Why are we here? But most importantly. There enough to make another?" Darren nodded towards the table where Charlie had prepared his first sandwich.


By the time he'd finished his food, she'd started on her own, but took her time. It had been a good while since she'd eaten anything quite so filling. As she ate, she contemplated what he'd said, nodded slowly, "It's definitely weird... but it's also a compound of people trying to stop the Syndicate. All things considered, I guess they have to be pretty cautious, right?"


Chuckling, she turned back to the pan to put together another sandwich for him, "As for why we're here... It wouldn't surprised me, honestly, if... if maybe they're looking for recruits. Some more people to fight back. It makes sense, right? Why not pull from a group of people that know first hand what the Syndicate is capable of."


"We don't owe them shit," Darren pointed out. He was still restless. There was still an itch; a craving beyond his hunger. Yet the craving was not as strong as he once experienced. Even before back in Eden he didn't feel a strong urge towards his chosen recreation anymore. Yet the concept still squirmed in him as he knew Talia had to have found something for later. He could stop now and control the itch, or he could indulge one last time for nostalgia's sake. Using the renewed strength brought upon by a good grilled cheese, he hoisted himself to sit on the counter next to the stove.


"You know if they use us like that they're no better," he pointed out. "They'll be using us to do some dirty shit and fill your head with delusions of grandure. Let's bust out of here. You and me. We can put all this behind us and never have to be owned again. I can guarantee that."


He had a point. A good point. One she couldn't rightly argue with. They didn't owe anyone anything. Sure, these people had essentially saved them from a pretty ugly situation, but in truth, they'd already been in the process of escaping. But she couldn't help but think where they might be otherwise, had the folks from Haven not shown up when they did... Would they all have made it? And where would they have gone?


"We don't... no. That's true..."


It frightened her a little - the idea that Darren might be right. That they were being used... But it frightened her more, the idea of trying to make it on their own...


"But where do we go... Where is there that's safe? Not just from Eden... but from everyone?" It wasn't a dismissal, but a genuine question. In a way, she might even have considered the option - the unknown terrified Charlie, and this was certainly a prime example of just that. But running off willy nilly sounded like a surefire way to end up back at Eden again, or worse.


Flipping the sandwich onto a plate, she held it out to him, looking up with a small smile, "...Can we just... can we maybe talk to someone first? Someone in charge? I told you before, you still feel like something is off, I'll walk out with you... but I don't wanna jump the gun. Not if this could be good for us."


Darren brought two fingers to tap the side of his temple. "I can hear people's thoughts," he said. "Remember? And then your shit makes things better. Stronger. We would be unstoppable! Think about it. We would hear them coming a mile away."


He took the block of cheese and ripped off a bite sized piece as he watched Charlie think. She didn't know his history or experiences. He knew the good safe houses and the bad. Where to go and how to go about it. All on a budget of zero. Popping the cheese in his mouth, he chewed slowly and contemplated her own perspective on their situation. Would knowing his past and his experiences even sway Charlie from this decision?


"Fine," he said. "As soon as I get a whiff of anything I don't like I am gone with or without you. Deal?"


"We are pretty damn unstoppable..." She smirked and turned off the stove, pulling herself up on the counter opposite Darren. It was, in essence, part of what made her certain they could actually do some good with their powers... if he could put aside his paranoia long enough.


She understood it, though. It made perfect sense, in a lot of ways. They'd been hurt bad by what Eden did to them, and it was hard to trust again. And that, she figured, was what made it easy to make any sort of deal with him about leaving.


"...Sounds good to me. Except you have to stop punching people..." Grinning, she nudged his shin with her toes, "Cause that's just counterproductive."


His dirty fingers dug into the block of cheese to pull off another small piece. Eden lingered on Darren in more ways than one. But right in this moment he had food in his belly and pleasant company. Ripping the piece of cheese in two, he popped one half in his mouth and lobbed the other towards Charlie in response to her condition.


"You know what they say about cornered animals," he said with a faint sort of laugh. "Besides it was one punch. And he deserved it. You were unconscious, so you missed the whole thing."


"Oh, no doubt he was just beastly. I'm sure it was all very justified." She said in a teasing, ministering tone, "And I'm sure you only wound up unconscious yourself, cause he sucker punched you. Poor baby."


Shifting, she slid off to the floor again, "Listen... there's apparently a meeting going on somewhere. Our people are there. Think we could check it out?"


Darren's bare feet clapped against the kitchen tile as he slid off the countertop. "Yeah," he said as he shuffled past Charlie. "I think so, anyway. I passed by something earlier. It was way too noisy." He looked over at her and pointed to his head as a quiet reference to the added clutter from his telepathy. "Probably won't hear shit going on in there. I'll take you to it, though."


It took a moment to gain his bearings and remember the direction of the elevator. He knew which floor the possible meeting was being held, but he found it by way of the staircase. If it was anything like it was half an hour ago then his telepathy would lead him right to the masses with ease. And sure enough as the elevator rose another level, the noise grew.


Following the stray thoughts guided him down the more familiar hallway where he had run into Talia. The metal bin was still overturn and laying dented in the corner next to the doorway. This was his only guess as to where a meeting could have taken place, and by the sound of it they were still in there. Darren motioned towards the door.


"Have fun in there," he said.


Following after him, she tried her best to steel herself for whatever this meeting might hold. If it was good, then they were on the right track, but if this was just another Eden? Or worse. If this was just a way for these people to take advantage of them? It wasn't going to end well... not for anyone involved. She desperately needed a break, and this seemed to be the best option they'd been handed... but it wasn't a guarantee.


Outside the door, she paused and frowning, turned back to Darren, fidgeting for a moment with her hands,


"C...come with me? Please? If it's awful, we can leave. But I don't wanna go in there alone. I'm scared."


He took in a sharp breath through his nose, a small smirk faintly curling the corner of his lips as he exhaled. "Alright fine," he said playfully. "Payment for the grilled cheese." His arm extended towards the door to pull it open, and he walked into the room.

Tags| collab with @Mr. Grin,

@Mordecai
​

 

[Dusky]

Esther Sewik

STATUS:	AGE:	SEX:	FT/IN:	LBS:	RACE:	HAIR:	EYES:
[sIGNAL LOST]	14	F	5'0"	98	Caucasian	Brown	Brown

CLASS: Energist

FIT: ?????

MUT STR: ?????

THRT: ?????

CAUTION: ?????

[sIGNAL LOST]

[sIGNAL LOST]

​

ROGUE

​

She takes the information in. So does that mean there aren't any normal people here? Maybe it's... safe? The pretty girl flirting with her brother takes her leave, and Esther is almost too preoccupied to take much note of it.


Almost. Does he have a GIRLFRIEND oh my gosh no way he couldn't he wouldn't let that happen- It takes effort to stop that line of thinking and remind herself that she needs to let go.


But any faintly budding plans to conceal her identity for her brother's own good are then squashed by Arthur. Despite her precarious position with him (though he doesn't know it), she feels a stab of anger. No no no, he's ruining EVERYTHING. The anger is soon flooded with terror though, her mind immediately jumping to conclusions, imaging Ezra's face twisting with hate and disgust for the thing that's slowly killing their parents...


But that's not what happens. She barely notices anything else. While Arthur seems weak, a strange man pokes his head in (Masked head that it is; that, at least, sticks in her mind, however hazily, for how relatable it is.), and Charlie enters the room and starts a shocked conversation of her own... Esther stares at Ezra and quivers. When he takes her hands into his own, she squeezes them, nodding slightly though the gesture is likely lost in the mask. She doesn't have tears left, not right now - maybe later, when her mind isn't so... dead tired, sluggishly processing the stricken, but not at all hateful, expression on his face.


She feels colder when he withdraws to give attention to the group, but then she supposes he has a job to do. She almost laughs, hearing him suggest food like it's the answer to everything, but then she realizes how ravenous she is. Tentatively, she raises her hand, trying to think of how to communicate this without words.


She makes a circle with her hands, then a pouring motion. Her way of saying pancakes. She never was good with the conceptual.

 

[Space Cowboy Ein]

STATUS - Uncharacteristically annoyed

​

LOCATION - His own personal cell

​

WITH - An annoying little serpent, his thoughts

​

TY Elle for the colab


Everything that happened did so in a series of quick flashes for Silver. One moment he was outside of the facility chasing down subjects, the next he was somewhere else entirely. He felt a strange tugging somewhere in the middle, a sensation that he truly couldn't put his finger on. But by the time he was aware of everything, he could hear unfamiliar voices call out something about a gun, his gun. Somebody approached him, and suddenly that somebody became multiple people, all the same person. He didn't have time to think on what exactly the person was as they quickly descended upon him. He fought for all he could but was eventually overpowered and knocked unconscious.


When he came to, he found himself bound with his arms behind his back and in a cell not that different from the ones back at the facility. With a groan he positioned himself into a sitting position against a nearby wall and sighed. His body ached, reminders of his scuffle upon arrival. He tried to rack his brain to figure out what happened or where he was. He knew of Torniquet, but could they have been so bold and so well-equipped to act so fast. Or was the whole escape planned? He needed answers, but he couldn't work up the energy to cause a raucous so all he could do was bide his time and think of an escape plan.


From one cage to another. That was what it felt like. Maybe it wasn't fair, they had let her wander around the facility, after all. But sometimes, the illusion of freedom was enough to keep a prisoner from rebellion. Jaden, though... she'd never be fooled. No. The best way to find out how you were going to be treated, when the wool came off and the fangs came out, was to see to how the world looked for someone who broke the rules.


And so she'd found herself taking that 'open invitation' to scour the grounds as an opportunity to hunt down one less than enthusiastic 'new recruit', and where better to look than the lower levels - the dungeon. If you would. She located Silver without much effort. While it wasn't exactly Dracula level dungeonry, it was certainly pretty clear -he- wasn't getting the chance to wander off on his own. Kept in a rather cushy looking cell, he looked... for the first time since she'd come to the nightmarish laboratories, vulnerable. And it... was... beautiful.


Approaching the glass, she smirked and pushing back the hood of her sweatshirt, she wandered over, giving it a little tap with her knuckles, "...Well well well. Look who's the rat in the cage, now."


After some time, Silver found himself dozing off. The soft sound of a generator and A/C unit running in the distance was enough to lure him into a trance. Minutes were ticking on without him counting and he was ready to fall asleep until footsteps brought him back to full alert. He figured that they would come to interrogate him sooner or later, maybe even kill him. Whatever the boss man did, Silver was likely guilty by association. His death was a very real possibility upon taking this job, but did he really have no qualms about dying?


A question to be answered later, it seemed, as a familiar face came into the cell's view. He couldn't miss that scaly purple skin from a mile away. The woman in front of him was one of the longest interned subjects at the facility, her name was Jaden. And she was relishing in the reversal of their roles. "Come ta' gloat 'ave ya'? You've traded one masta' for anothah, so 'ave I." He shifted in placed and looked the woman in the eye. He knew Jaden too well, often the task of dealing with her was delegated to him, the man that dealt with the 'difficult' ones. "Best ta' get yer revenge now, 'fore these hosts of ours beat ya' to it."


"Oh, Come now, Silver. Don't be salty..." Her lips curved in a smooth smile, but not a friendly one. There was very little, really, that was friendly about her, anymore, "Haven't you heard? We're free... Free to go, free to stay. Whatever the hell we want. Trouble is, it don't work that way for real, does it? Not for people like us." Leaning a shoulder up against the glass, she shrugged, inspecting her fingernails, "But I ain't lookin' for revenge. Fact is, scum like you... you ain't worth it. Tell me, though. How's it feel? Bein' the one behind the glass, now?"


Silver rolled his eyes at the woman and sighed. What more could he have expected from someone like Jade? "Oh, never thought ya' one to care about how I'm feelin'." He shifted again and cocked his head towards Jade. "Doesn't feel all that bad, really. It's not mah first time in this position. Y'know what they do to us agents?" He asked, brow raised. "They make us like you, 'cept it's all sciency shite. Drugs and test tubes and operations and tha like. A very painful experience. You kids got it off easy."


Laughing, she pushed off the glass, turning to face him, "Good. I hope it hurt like hell. I hope you wake up in the middle of the night, screaming from the memories. Got off easy? You smug son of a bitch. Do you have any idea what those bastards did to us in that place? The experiments? Real easy to stand there and cry like a girl about what you went through. At least it was your choice."


Silver scoffed. "Do I know? I watched. That nut case Avramenko would 'ave it no other way." He shrugged and pushed himself up to his feet, using the wall as leverage "Some of you kiddos got it off easy, yes. 'N you what? I don't even know if I made a choice. Can't remember anything past waking up on tha' operatin' table." Slowly he approached the glass and never took his eyes off Jaden. "Nobody had it easy that landed under the boss man's thumb. You didn' come down here fer a pissin' contest, so what do yah really want?"


Turning back to the glass, she frowned, her eyes narrowing, "To watch you suffer like we did. To see you get what you deserve. Sick part is, you don't even care what happens to you, do you? Ain't even capable of it. Did it ever bother you? No... I dunno why I even asked. You have to be human to feel... and you? You're a robot without the mechanics."


"And guess who's fault that is Sheila?" Silver couldn't help but smile and yet behind those defiant eyes was a fire of longing. Even now he could get inklings of memories that didn't quite make sense to him. Of a life he didn't remember living. A time before the Syndicate. "I was made this way. Can't fight your programmin'."


"Like hell you can't." A smirk fixed to her features and she shook her head, "That excuse only goes so far. Fact is, you don't care enough to want to fight it. Otherwise, you'd have tried, already."


"Oh, but I 'ave." He glanced away from her to look down either side of the hall. "It's a brick wall with cracks in it. But try breaking tha' down with some rubber toys. All I get is scraps. And all I know are the rules. And all I know is that many of them were broken at that facility. But I know none of this matters to you, really." He looked back to her and smirked. "With these people, soon enough you'll be no better than the Syndicate. And you'll feel just as righteous as Avramenko when you hear what they do to me."


"They aren't gonna do a damn thing more than interrogate you. Maybe they'll keep you here a few days, then they'll teleport you out to some field somewhere and leave you be. Because that's the difference between these people and you. And what's sad is, you'll probably run back to the Syndicate, tail between your legs, beggin' them to take you back."


Silver took a step back and looked Jade over. It was so easy for her to be so talkative on the other side of the glass. Of course, it wasn't like the reversal of roles stopped her back at the facility. It never really mattered what side of the glass you were on. Just the fact that the glass was there in the first place. "Think what you will..." The concept of being put out on his own was an intriguing one, one that couldn't escape his features.


Another thought came to him as he remembered the other item he had brought with him from the the facility. In his pocket rested Talia's tape player that he had picked up on the way out from her cell. "Open the food slit." He said as he awkwardly fished the player from his front pocket. He turned around and offered it towards the declared opening in his cell. "You know Talia. Tattoed, firey attitude ta' boot. Give this to her."


Frowning, Jade glanced down at the slid in the door. She considered telling him to stuff it, and really, wouldn't have thought much more about it than that. She didn't owe anyone anything, least of all one of the normies... who looked at her like she was something to scrape off a shoe. But once... somewhere in his past, before all this had begun, she'd been a decent person. She remembered...


Sliding back the slot, she grabbed the player, "You wanna prove you're capable of change... You oughta stay here and do some good for once."


Silver exhaled and backed away from the door once Jade took the player away. "What makes you think I can? What makes you think they'd want me here?" The wishful thinking was starting to annoy him. But it was likely fatigue kicking in harder now. Feeling slightly defeated, he returned to his seated position against the wall. This time his eyes shut and he could feel the edges of sleep tugging at him. "Stay, go. Either way it'll bring pain."


"Hell if I know. Or care. You're the one who wants to prove he's not a villain here. You figure it out." With a shrug, she tucked the tape player into her pocket, taking a step back, "It's been real, Agent Silver."


"Don't let the door hit you on the way out, Jade." He responded with a breath, glad to be over with that little spat.


And just like that, he was lone again.

Tags:

@Elle Joyner



​

 

[Master Attano]

Status: Cautious


Location: Unknown


Group:

Mathew's head positively spun as revelations shook the room. The small figure in the hazmat suit drawing the serious young man's attention as it was revealed that they were brother and sister, while Charlie's supposed father appeared, a seemingly tense but emotional exchange following as Mathew stood awkwardly in the corner of the room. The thought of his parents, unsurprisingly, rose unbidden to his mind and twisted in his stomach. A growl of hunger snapped him back to reality however as food was mentioned, the very concept seeming strange and foreign after everything that had happened.


"Food would be amazing." he said, the words slipping from his mouth before he react. "But...you said we could go home if we like right?" he continued, cautiously glancing between the two men as he felt as if all eyes in the room turned towards him. The desperate belief that he had finally found sanctuary and escaped from the nightmare of Eden clinging in place.

Tags: @Mr. Grin,

@Mordecai
​

 

[Tronethiel]

Arthur Khedwen

Stats:

​

Location: Eden B, Common Area


Mental Age: 33


Biological Age: 39


Genetic Vitality: 910/1700

Quite frankly, Arthur wasn't sure what was going on, and the nausea wasn't helping. Esther, Charlie, and Lord knew who else had prior relationships with the administration at Haven. There were tears, tense stares, and general clamor amongst the rooms inhabitants. Arthur staggered, only catching bits and pieces of conversation as the room spun more quickly. "Essie....Dad....Chuck...."


Arthur wanted to smile, but instead, he took a step and keeled over sideways. None of the directions seemed particularly right nor better than one another. Everything seemed off. Left, right, he wasn't even sure what he was supposed to be thinking about anymore. Where am I? Trying to push himself up as his inner sense of balance righted, a rancid acidic tasted covered the back of Arthur's tongue, and the sour liquid streamed from the corner of his lips in a steady stream. I...I...I....Suddenly, the room took on a bloody tint as he felt his rage boil and saw the man who was looking intently at Esther. His side was to Arthur as he faced her, something about food came out of his mouth, but Arthur didn't really care what this freak had to say. Something seemed wrong about him and this whole gathering. He didn't like the way this....this abomination was looking at her. He wasn't going to let another soul harm her.


No. No. That's not right, Arthur though, halting in attempt to clear his head. "Someone," he muttered, further words stopped by gasping breaths. His body was icy and then boiling. Sweat poured from every gland, his Eden jumpsuit soaked to the fiber now. He looked back at Ezra, yes, that was his name. The boy suddenly seeming saintly again. Then rage returned. Then confusion. The swirling of emotions and sensations became so intense that Arthur fell to his knees and began to scream. "Help....please help." Arthur weakly spit up again as he began to punch the ground over and over again. His arm ripped inhumanly as cement cracked and cratered beneath his fist. "Noooooooo!" he screamed. "Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop." Arthur kept punching, his arm shattering and remaking itself more quickly than his bones could crumple. Blood spurted from the lesions that opened and closed without ceasing.


Arthur's screams rang out one last time, and suddenly a deep exhaustion washed over him. His body gave out, collapsing into the puddle of sweat, blood, and vomit. He flopped over, arms outspread as mild euphoria joined the exhaustion, and sighed. "Blessed is his name!" He cried out, and then there was silence.


Mentions: @Elle Joyner and @Anomaly

 

[Effervescent]

Darren DeLuca

Everyone was so noisy. Darren’s eyes rolled in his quiet exasperation, his hands moving to his head. Dark strands of hair gathered between his fingers as he pressed his palms to the sides of his head. There was so much noise both inside and outside his mind. Reunions were barely noticed as he tried to sift through all the talking and thinking. What voices were in his head? Which ones were being spoken? Darren brushed off his outward frustrations with a sigh as his arms heavily fell back to his sides.


Charlie looked confused as her gaze fixed upon the man Darren surmised was called Sentry. They were talking about something that made the man look happy. He was eventually able to catch that the old man was her father. Was she the reason they took them from Eden? Darren still felt a little skeptical about the whole organization despite the new information, and he looked over at her curiously. He would never be able to convince her to leave now. It was displayed in her eyes the way she looked up at him in wonderment. She had apparently thought him dead. Charlie's hands had a grip on his arm. Maybe she was skeptical too.


Talia’s absence didn't settle well with him either. Was he douped? Thoughts quickly turned back to the relief brought upon by a high; a high he felt was much needed and deserved. The noise in his head was a mess! And it was all about Charlie or Sentry or Esther or Ezra or—


Food? He knew he could definitely eat again. After Eden, he could eat for days and not care about the repercussions. Even after the sandwiches and cheese he consumed he wasn't completely satisfied. Maybe he could trust them enough for one last meal before he took his leave. He looked over to Mathew as he hesitantly posed the question to confirm whether or not they were free people.


“Yeah,” Darren chimed in as he approached the group. “Where’s the door out of--"


His words were cut off by the religious man pitching some sort of fit. The display left him incredibly uneasy. It reminded him of people he had come across in his years peddling the streets. Darren waited through the violent display watching the ground turn red with his blood. And then his eyes flecked back towards Sentry.


"I'm sure you can understand," Darren continued in a casual tone. "This sort of thing isn't isn't my deal."

 

[Master Attano]

Status: panicked


Location: unknown


Group:

Mathew had been internally cringing at his outburst, praying it had been lost in the whirl of activity that had surrounded it. He didn't know who these people where, and while they had already treated him kindly he thought, glancing over at the woman who had miraculously healed his arm, there was no way to be sure of their intentions.


The smiles and caring demeanour a shroud over the hidden dagger. The escape from the Eden only seeing him end up straight back inside another facility of some kind.


The arrival of the dark haired young man from Eden drew his attention however as, Darren? He thought, looked straight at him, opening his mouth to speak.


Mathew's attention was completely drawn away from whatever he was saying however as the older priestly man, also from Eden, toppled to the floor. An inhuman for seeming to grip him as he muttered and twitched, his features twisting from one emotion to the next. Ugly rage gripping his face in flashes.


Eyes widening, Mathew slowly baking away from the man as he begged for help. The cry for help quickly turned into a blood chilling scream however as the man began to smash his fist into the floor over and over again.


Blood pouring an splattering from his wounded arm as it seemed to magically seal up only to be then smashed open again.


By the time the display ended the man had collapsed on the ruined floor. Mathew himself finding he had slid to the floor as well. His back pressed hard against the wall, his knees drawn to his chest as his right arm throbbed. The breaths that filled his lungs coming fast and shallow. His mind unable to produce any rational thought from the scene he had just witnessed, except for a strong desire to flee.

Tags

​

 

[Elle Joyner]

STATUS|Reconciling

​

GROUP|Tourniquet

​

LOCATION|Haven

​

Twelve hours. It had been exactly twelve hours since they had escaped Eden. Since they had been rescued, and been brought to Haven. For Charlie, it should have been a momentous occasion, worth of celebration, and maybe in a way it still was, but she would have been lying to say there weren't some surprises that had heavily marred the desire for merriment. Since leaving the meeting room she hadn't spoken to her father, but his words still resonated in her mind. Kidnapped by the Syndicate, forced to design the very weapon that had put them all in their predicament. Understanding that, comprehending it all was more than a lot to take in, and after everything they had all been through, it was more than she could handle.


It was Arthur's strange outburst that had essentially taken precedence over everything else. The infirmary had it's work cut out for them that day, and everything else was put on hold while the minister was tended to. In the meantime, as Ezra had promised, they were given freedom to explore the facility with very little reservation. Most, perhaps because sticking together made more sense than anything, ended up in the kitchen, where a meal was laid out, fit for an army (a funny thought, all things considered). Charlie, with no appetite, her stomach reeling from the sandwich she'd eaten earlier found herself a seat by the window where, half-absently, she watched the rest of the room.


Both Darren and Mathew had expressed interest in leaving, and truth be told, she had considered it, herself. But Ezra had explained it would take some time to coordinate their return, if that was truly what they wanted. Tourniquet as a whole was concerned, of course that with Eden looking for them, there would be repercussions about sending them home, but Ezra (and her father, by proxy) it seemed had no intention of going back on his word if that was really what they wanted... But the fact of the matter was, Charlie had no real home to return to.


She felt lost... hurt, confused and beyond frustrated. In many ways, she felt betrayed. But as far as she understood, it wasn't going to get any easier, not with Eden breathing down their necks. Haven was their best bet. At staying alive, and at taking down the Syndicate. And as much as it pained her to admit that his absence in her life had been worthwhile at all, that was largely her father's doing.


Rising to her feet, she made her way to the hallway leading to the elevators. It was a moments decision, or maybe just impulse. She knew the way down to the infirmary by heart, now and her footsteps were almost subconscious, carrying her along the path when the lift door opened. At the end of the hallway, a small group of workers had gathered, chatting amongst themselves. As she approached, they fell silent, one of techs looking up with a small, welcoming smile.


"Don't... don't want to interrupt. I just came to see if Arthur was alright?..."


"We've done what we can, but it's going to take a few more sessions before his arm is one-hundred percent. He's resting now, but you're welcome to sit with him, if you'd like."


Nodding, Charlie smiled, "I'd like that, thanks..." And passing the group she slipped into the infirmary, scooting a chair beside the minister's bed before settling into it.

Tags| @Tronetheil

​

no slide

no slide


no slide no slide


no slide no slide

Esther was alive. Everything else - all the crazniess that went down in that meeting room seemed wholly surreal given this new development, and following the minister’s meltdown, and the room clearing out as everyone made their way down to the kitchen to eat, Ezra sequestered his sister, keeping her back for a moment.


He’s spoken to her only briefly, assured her that her friend would be well taken care of in the infirmary and that his arm would be healed in no time - that they had many ways of helping people at Haven, and that if anyone was willing, that included helping them learn to control their powers and fully realize their potential. Esther, of course, was limited when it came to communication which might have been frustrating were Ezra not reminded of their on site wizard by Ohm’s presence in the room earlier.


Her hazmat suit, however efficient it might’ve seemed to Eden (who had no real interest in Esther’s well being) was hardly conducive to actual comfortable living, but if anyone could help her - keep her safe, but as non-invasively as possible, it was Ohm. Ezra walked his sister to the older man’s lab and left her at the door with some brief instructions.


It was difficult, walking away, but he had one other destination in mind before catching up with his sister. Heading to the elevator he took the lift back upstairs where he found a small crowd gathered around what looked to be every bit of food they had in stock. Catching sight of his quarry amidst the group, he moved through them, catching Mina gently by the elbow.


”Hey… Borrow you for a minute?”

Tags| @Mr. Grin,

@Mordecai
​

[/color][/color]

 

[Mordecai]

​

Location: Haven

Group: Tourniquet


Mood: Better than before

After the hubbub in the lounge and with all the swirling emotions, Mina had snuck out before things took a dramatic turn for the worst. In her arm, there was a dangerous ache and her eyelids felt as though they had been strung with anvils, every blink she took growing longer and slower. Escaping into the quiet refuge of her dormitory bed, Mina caught a half hour nap and when she awoke, she felt a crisp re-freshness wash over her. Gone was the slicing pain in her arm, gone was the pounding ache in her head, gone was the blurry confusion in her field of vision. What wasn't gone was the pit in her belly.


Stopping the hunger was her number one priority and, rolling out of bed, Mina straightened the crinkles in her dress and slipped on her shoes. She made an attempt at trying to tame the dark and wild curls, but they just became more aggressive at every attempt so she eventually gave up and decided her dinner wouldn't care how her hair looked. Sweeping into the kitchen, she elbowed her way (she was a hungry girl) through the crowds of newcomers (and a few familiar faces) to pick up a small triangle finger sandwich. She had been two bites in, a third from finishing, when a gentle tug at her elbow caught her attention. Eyes widening, cheeks puffy with deli meat, bread, and cheese, her eyes darted to find Ezra's profile.


She quickly swallowed down the bite, causing her throat to hurt. "Of course," she replied with a hint of smile, popping the last bite in to her mouth, chewing, swallowing and gently grasping at the wrist cuff of his shirt to tug him away from the crowd. "Come on, I bet we can find somewhere quieter."


Ezra followed along with a word, and until they were out of earshot, remained as such. It wasn't until they'd reached the living room and come to a pause than with a sigh, he spoke, his voice a quiet rush, missing that quality of control he normally possessed, "I thought..." Sinking down onto the couch, he rubbed his hands over his face with a frown, "I thought she was gone, Min. Esther. I... honest to God, I thought she was dead. She just disappeared and we didn't hear from her. Not a word... At first, I thought maybe it was guilt, you know? Cause of what she thinks she did to my grandma... but all those days, just gone. And now here she is... They had her... those bastards. They had my baby sister."


Mina didn't know what quite to do with the admission besides soften and furrow her brow. "Hey-- you couldn't have known, you can't beat yourself up over something you couldn't have known. You're a lot of things Ez, but a psychic isn't one." With a sigh, she plopped down next to him. "God, it's all so messed up," she managed out with a sigh, "but she's here now. You're here now and you two will need each other."


"I just... What if she blames me, Mina? Esther... she's always looked up to me, and I... I tried, you know? To be there for her, but she just... she was so broken, and I... maybe I didn't try hard enough? I was supposed to protect her, and I let her down. I let her down, big. I... I can't expect her to forgive that."


Mina didn't know the story-- she knew bits from what he had told her in the past, but as for how it all happened, she didn't know, but what she did know was hearing him speak like that caused her heart to shatter in her chest. The look of desperation flooded his face and she knew, immediately, there were no words that would ever help fix what was raging on in her head. "Hey--" Mina began, trying to find the words soft and slow, "Hey, hey, hey-- it's okay. It's going to be okay. Maybe it'll be rough for a while but if I've learned anything about being here, it's that if something isn't okay, it just means it's not the end."


Glancing over to Mina, Ezra's lip twitched upwards in a small, anxious smile as he shook his head, "How do you do that, Min? How... how do you make everything sound like it's gonna be fine, when I feel like the whole world's on fire?"


Mina's hands knotted together and she leaned her elbows on to her knees, though her head was angled in such a way to look up at him, her gaze soft and warm and obvious friendly affection seared into her face. "Because I didn't think it was going to be okay either," she admitted, "When I first came here, I didn't think I was ever gunna be okay. I never thought I'd be fixed, you know? I thought I was too broken, too jaded but it did get better. You'll always be her big brother, Ez, but love like that doesn't just go away. It changes and can be damaged, but it won't go away."


Chuckling dryly, Ezra shifted, his shoulders scrunched in a shrug, "I'd feel a hell of a lot better, still, if you talked to her instead. Some of these powers that folks got? They don't make a ton of sense, but you and me? We got pegged, huh? Me, I run... I run the hell away from everything. And you? You fix it. You always fix it..."


Mina laughed, "I fix it, huh? I dunno about that," her hand coming up to cover her mouth as her head fell back with amusement. "Tell you what, I'll go with you, but you need to go, she's your sister. I mean, she's a sister to me, but she's not my sister," with her knee, she gave his a gentle nudge.


Grinning, Ezra leaned back as well, slinging an arm around Mina's shoulders to tug her close, "Can I hide, though? Like... I dunno, under a desk or something? Until I'm sure she doesn't wanna strangle me for letting her get nabbed by the monsters under her bed? God... I'm a crap brother."


Mina leaned her weight into him, her head lolling to the side to rest against his shoulder. "I think you could hide behind me," she murmured with an amused smirk, "Just think... she'll never be able to see you if I'm towering in front of you. Plus, you shouldn't worry! If she gives you a bloody nose, I can fix it," she reminded him, "But I doubt she is gunna hate you."


Laughing, Ezra shook his head, "We gotta talk about that severely damaged sense of self image you got going on there, ma petite, before you try to stop a Mack truck with you bare hands... Still, thanks. But maybe I should do this on my own. Show Essie I want to be there for her... You can moral support me from afar? Though not too far, in case she really does take a swing at my face."


"What?" she grinned up to him, "You don't think I have the strength to do that? Look at these guns, mister!" holding up her arm, she gave it a flex, but they were nothing more than burnt Sienna coloured toothpicks. She was a feisty little thing, able to put up a fight... but her muscle mass was nonexistent; he had a point. "I think you're right. I think you need to do it, but hey, I'll fix that pretty little face of yours right up if you need," she gave him a pat on the cheek to reiterate.


"Oh... Oh, wow!" Giving her bicep a squeeze, he whistled through his teeth, "I stand corrected. You are a most impressive beast. Mack truck doesn't stand a chance."


Shifting, he straightened upright, raking his fingers through his hair, "I should go check on her, anyhow. Sent her down to Ohm, to see if he can't get her a more efficient suit. Lord knows he's talked one ear off already. I... I'll uh... stop by later. Let you know how it goes."


"You should," she offered a smile in response, "I'll talk to you later and you know I'm always here if you need anything... even if you need good food or a peptalk or... I dunno... someone's bicep to just fondle for a while. I make a damn good waffle. I'm-- I'm always here, Ez. Alright?"


Smiling, he rose to his feet, "I may take you up on that... The waffles, not the fondling. Thanks, Mina. I'll see you in a bit."

Collab with

@Elle Joyner
​

 

[Space Cowboy Ein]

STATUS - Even more uncharacteristically annoyed, but hopeful

​

LOCATION - His own personal cell

​

WITH - Sentry

​

TY Elle for the colab


Footsteps were coming down the hall again. Had Jade returned to gloat at him again? Silver thought he had beaten her off with enough convincing. Or maybe someone else was coming to essentially poke a stick into his animal cage. He sitting down against one of the walls, feigning sleep he wished he was still getting and sighed when he heard a man's voice. With a pause he focused on the individual in front of him.


"As it so 'appens my schedule is clear." He snapped back, more out of exhaustion than hostility. Really, what the hell kind of request was that? Playing good cop wasn't really going to get them anywhere with him.


Leaning back against the glass, Abraham nodded, crossing his arms over his chest, his ankles hooked casually. He had no intentions of playing cop at all, truth be told. What he wanted were answers, certainly... but he would much rather prefer to get them without being reminiscent of a jailer.


"...We never met, did we? I escaped the facility before your conditioning was completely, I believe. Abraham Brauer... Though they call me Sentry, here. I run the place... How're they treating you? Well, I hope. You've eaten?"


Silver had to fight the urge the scoff and instead shifted himself in place. This man was their leader? He didn't all too impressive, even if he did manage to find a way to escape the facility. It was likely before the reign of Avramenko that this happened. Otherwise, there probably wouldn't have been much of a subject base to speak of.


"Silver..." He responded hesitantly as an introduction. "We 'aven't met. An' I've been graced with ah big, fat goose egg since my arrival here. I honestly should lodge a complaint with management but... 'ere you are." With a huff the agent pushed himself into a standing position and crossed his arms. Distance was his only ally in this situation. "I'm not tha' best at small talk, so lets get on to the meat 'n potatoes eh?"


Chuckling dryly, Abe shook his head, turning to the glass window to view the man behind it, "Meat and potatoes it is. Fact of the matter is, Agent Silver... you and I, we both have something the other wants. You have information regarding the Syndicate - the inner workings. Their strengths, their weaknesses. If we're to take them down, this is information that my organization desperately need."


Examining his nails for a moment, he glanced up again and shrugged, "And for you, well... I have the means to return to you what the Syndicate removed. Your memories... all of them, Agent Silver. All you need to do is cooperate, and they're yours."


Silver looked onto the man suspiciously. He found it rather convenient that this man had any idea of how to bring back his memories. And with what he had done while with the syndicate, he wasn't entirely sure if that was something he wanted. "How can I be sure that you aren't fookin with me?" He kept his position against the wall, unwilling to budge even though he felt the urge to get closer to the window. "Even if I did tell you what I knew, it would best to kill me on the spot afterwards."


"Because that isn't how we work. We aren't the Syndicate. Perhaps it would be easiest to dispose of you, certainly. But it's in our best interest to have you as an ally, than it is to have you dead. What the Syndicate made me do, Agent Silver? I will never be able to reconcile that. But if I can do any good in taking them down, well... that's what I strive for."


Silver's brow furrowed at his statement about what they made him do. Finally, it caused him to stand a little straight, back from the wall. His eyes were fixed on Abe's now. Since he had no memory of this man's involvement with the Syndicate, he was curious. And at the very least, he could sniff out the sincerity of his captor through a few questions of his own. "An' what'd they make you do? How'd yah even escape?"


"...I'm not surprised they didn't reveal the information to you. They'd prefer their guard dogs as ignorant to reality as possible, I imagine. Agent Silver... I'm the reason that genmuts exist. I was forced to create the bioweapon that was released over the city. As for my escape, let's just say it was a bit of dumb luck and having to do something I will undoubtedly regret to my last breath."


Silver was incredulous at this revelation, to say the least. This man, the one that was now running this sorry little resistance group, was the one that started this whole mess in the first place. It was almost comical when allowed himself to entertain that this might be true. "An' does everyone else here know that? That you made tha weapon? Brought this down on everyone? Yah must've known what would happen." Again the suspicion set in. "If I'm to tell you what I know, I'll need a show of honesty from you. What did you do to escape?"


"They are aware of the fact, yes. I find no point in keeping secrets. An open book cannot often be misread. As for whether I knew or not, let's just say I wasn't given much of a choice. I would have gladly died, Agent Silver, in resistance... but it wasn't me they were threatening."


Rubbing his forehead, he shrugged, "I killed a man. There was a syringe and I injected an air bubble into his jugular vein. Then using his uniform and keycard, I was able to disguise myself and leave through the front door. I'm not proud of my actions, but without them, I couldn't be here to undo what I've done."


Silver scoffed. "And here I thought you'd have murdered an flock." His eyes remained fixed on the man. He was amused that the death of one man weighed so heavily on his conscious. "Nobody's innocent, on either side of this conflict." He didn't buy the man's seeming remorse over killing a guard to escape. No matter who they were, everyone had a rationale for why they needed to kill. "But then, we're not 'ere to argue philosophy."


He took a few steps towards the window and stopped in the middle of the room. "I'll tell you what you want to know. Only if you bring my memories back. I can't take you on your word that you wouldn't dispose of me afterwards."


"Fair enough. But then... one of us is conditioned, Agent Silver, and one of us is not. I cannot, as I'm sure you understand, rely on your word either, can I? So I propose a deal. You will write it down... Everything you know about Eden, about the rest of the Syndicate - about their plans for the future... And we will place the paper in a lock box to which I will give you the only key. We'll then work on restoring your memories, upon which you will return the key to me. Then neither of us is working off of blind faith."


Silver gritted his teeth and sighed. Nothing was ever so easy, was it? The deal was, like this whole encounter, suspicious, but it might be better than death. And a chance to get those nagging dreams out of his head might help. He just had to be prepared for anything. if the syndicate had no hope in him, or if Avramenko didn't lose his job, he was as good as dead anyway. He hated the deal, but he was quick to realize that it was something he felt. "Very well then. You've got a deal..."


Nodding, Sentry pushed off the cell entrance, "Good. We'll set it up, then. It might take an hour or so, and I've something else to deal with upstairs - but someone will be by shortly to release you. I trust we'll have no need for restraints, Agent Silver?"


Silver shrugged. "Only if it makes you sleep better at night. Otherwise you've got nothing to worry about. So long as you keep your word." If he could get out without any restraints, it would give him that much more security. The second he felt something was off, he could at least attempt an escape. He wasn't ready to be their test subject against his will.


"Very well... You'll be released as soon as I have the materials I need. Shouldn't be terribly long, and in the meantime, I'll send someone down with food. Thank you for your cooperation, Agent Silver." Nodding, Abe turned and without another word, made his way down the hallway in the direction he'd come from.

Tags:

@Elle Joyner



​

 

[Dusky]

Esther Sewik

Collab with @Mr. Grin - Part 1 of 4

​

Arthur’s breakdown quickly drove everything else from Esther’s mind for a spell - even her recent betrayal of him. She scrambled to his side, tried to still his arms but quickly realized that would only result in her getting hurt, and then turned to call someone else’s attention to him.


She didn’t have to; he made quite a spectacle of himself.


She didn’t have the energy for heaving sobs or shaking hands or a thudding heart. She watched her friend being taken away sadly, then was pulled aside by Ezra. She couldn’t respond to his assurances, but they put her at ease nonetheless. He must have noticed her silence (and how could he possibly not have?), because the one-sided conversation ended in Ohm’s lab.


And there she now stood, staring at the masked man that she was sure she glimpsed earlier, hands clasped in front of her. Waiting.


The giant of a man cleared his throat, producing a strange feedback from his mask before he spoke again. “Apologies for my rambling. I tend to get a tad excited about things like this. I’ve not tackled such a challenge in some time.”


Esther, for her part, simply tilted her head to one side.


He thought on this, tapping the cheek of his mask. “Not to say you’re nothing but a challenge, young lady, but sharp minds tend to enjoy the taste of a grindstone now and again.”


A chuckle followed as he punched in the impossibly long code on the hidden keypad by the door to his laboratory, slender fingers a blur that only stopped when a ‘thunk’ sounded and the door hissed open. “Home sweet home,” he mused, extending a hand to let her move around him through the door. She walked in hesitantly and looked around.


The man’s lab was strangely clean, attributed mostly to his robotic companion, but Oswald enjoyed some order with his chaos now and again. It seemed at first a small area, really, but a quick glance revealed a number of interconnected rooms and outcroppings that all housed various types of storage and items, ranging from computer parts to weaponry.


The walls, plain as they seemed, shone strangely as if coated with something, and the doors to the other rooms were nigh-invisible. It appeared that most things were built for function rather than fashion, likely to his request.


The coating on the walls gave the appearance of a screen. Curious, Esther tapped one, and jumped as a desktop-like display lit the broad expanse. Comprehension suffused her, and she quickly found and located a word processor, pulling it up. However, from there she was stumped, and she looked back to Ohm in confusion.


Ohm spoke up quickly. “MINERVA, please expand the keyboard to about… oh, let’s start with five-hundred percent, just to make things a bit more viable for our guest, hm?”


A surprisingly human-sounding female voice spoke up, confirming the command, and the keypad grew to nearly the perfect size for easy keying.


Esther shook her head quizzically, thinking, That’s 500%? Why on earth isn’t that 100%?


“There we are! Much better. If you could, young ma’am, could you possibly tell me the nature of your abilities quickly? That way I can plan ahead accordingly.”


”Ability”. There’s one way of putting it, she thought, then slowly she tapped out a response.


It’s pretty simple. I’m radioactive. I don’t really know anyth - backspace backspace backspace - I don’t know the range or the strength, just that I’m dangerous.


She fidgeted, waiting for the strange man to tense up, or step back, or otherwise shift his behavior.


The eyes on the tall man’s mask turned up, a look of surprisingly human emotion washing over the still mask. A frown was slightly visible through the material as well. ”Dangerous?” he questioned, waving his hands. ”Well, Miss Esther, that’s something we’ll have to fix then, won’t we? Don’t you worry about a thing, I am to make you considerably less so!”


The lines of a smile reappeared behind the mask and he tapped his chin thoughtfully. ”Firstly, we’ll have to do some tests. I should be able to easily block radiation using one of these rooms here, so that won’t be an issue, I’ll just have to study just how strong it is and work accordingly. Should be easy enough, I’d imagine.”


Moving around quickly, the man had a tablet at once, tapping furiously on it. The room at the end of the main space whirred as equipment began to set up and it began to prepare for scanning. A second door slid from one of the walls, making a small space in the entrance for decontamination. It wasn’t something he’d dealt with before here, but he had certainly seemed to plan for things of that nature.


”If you’re willing to step into the far room, I can try to get this done as quickly as possible and get that suit off of you. I have my doubts that it’s the most comfortable thing to wear, hm?” he questioned, one eye-lens widening as if a single brow was quirked upward.


Esther’s hands hung in the air for a moment as if unsure what to do with themselves; she had a slight urge to hug Ohm. She shook the urge out of her head, causing a barely visible motion of her helmet, then turned her back to Ohm and pointed at the padlock hanging on the back of her neck, fixing helmet to suit.


”Well, that poses a slight problem then… hm.” Turning, he moved to another side of the room and started digging through a white storage container. Eventually, he returned with a small dremel looking tool, attaching a circular blade to one end and flicking it on with a glove thumb. The thing whirred to life and he gave the girl a nod before leaning forward and touching it to the padlock.


Cupping a hand over one side, his glove shielded the mask from any sparks at the blade cut through one side of the padlock easily. Before long, a thud sounded on the matte tile floor and the padlock dropped to the ground.


”There we are. Done and done!” he stated excitedly going to return the tool where he’d gotten it from.


It was a minimal difference in weight, but somehow still noticeable. She felt a little taller and her head lifted a little higher at the thunk of the ruined lock. Why, she’d even say it was worth the stomach-twisting fear that he would accidentally cut into her suit or her skin. Smiling faintly, she stepped through the doors Ohm had indicated, then peered around curiously, wondering how she would know when it was okay to take the suit off. In Eden it’d be when the doors closed and the whir of the machines doing whatever they did stopped, but she wasn’t about to take any chances.


Pressing a button on the side of the first door, it closed with a hiss and the second followed, sealing the girl in the room. Clicking softly on the wall, a screen appeared there as well and he prodded around, selecting two pieces of software and opening them. The inside of the chamber appeared and he spoke, an intercom blipping to life.


”Alright then, the room should be sealed and I’ve activated the safety measures in case radiation gets overpowering. It should just remove it from the room completely, negating any negative effect,” he explained calmly. ”If you’d care to remove the suit now, we can begin the testing and I can see about making you something a tad less erm… cumbersome.”

 

[Ozmic]

Esther Sewik

Collaboration with

@Anomaly - Part 2 of 4
​

Esther hesitated, memories of Eden’s “testing” flooding her thoughts. The man curled up in the opposite corner, the slow reddening of his skin, the sick that nobody bothered to clean up, his unbreathing body, her own sobs and pleas for forgiveness. It was her faith that Ezra wouldn’t deliver her from the frying pan to the fire which enabled her to reach up, unscrew her helmet, and slowly lift it off, long hair falling tangled and lackluster down her back. It’s not that Eden didn’t give her showers, just that they didn’t give her much reason to care.


As she tugged the zipper down to expose wrinkled Eden inmate clothing, she hummed experimentally, then said, “...I haven’t talked to anyone in a real long time. Eden jerks weren’t very interested in conversation.” She didn’t know why she was confessing as much; maybe she was just compelled to use her voice indiscriminately, now that someone kind could hear it.


He smiled warmly at the voice, the sincere confession of it, and nodded. ”I’m sure it’s freeing, being rid of that bulky thing,” he stated plainly. Removing his gloves, he reached under his own mask and unplugged a few wires there, lifting the sheer material with a small pop of static as it disconnected the bottom electronics.


Clearing his throat, he spoke again, this time the mechanical modulation gone. “I haven’t spoken to someone normally in quite some time either. Though not the same it’s… well, a rather freeing feeling. I can’t imagine being silenced for so long,” he said, emotion clear in his baritone words.


Esther was a little confused by the shift in the quality of his voice, until she remembered that he too wore a mask, much like her.


“If you tap on the wall in there, you’ll be able to see me as well from that room. The video application is there on the desktop. Makes it easier to talk that way, I’ve found.” He chuckled at this and pressed a few spaces on the wall, starting the testing and starting the datalog, saving everything automatically to prevent any data loss.


Pulling Ohm’s scarred-but-pleasant face up on the wall brought further understanding. For a moment she was speechless, and then she looked down, swallowing back her own emotion… without much success. She sniffled and nodded, waiting for the her voice to feel steady before she tried to talk.


As they rolled in, the numbers were staggering, but they were something he could work with. Something that he could control through an exosuit. Oswald breathed a light sigh of relief, another smile pulling the corners of his scarred features upward.


“Well, I’ve got good news, Esther. I should be able to fit you with an exosuit that not only dampens the radiation, but should have a seal of radiation shielding to protect those around you. The material will have to be durable enough to avoid accidents, but that shouldn’t be an issue. I have a few materials I’ve invented that should work nicely and even be able to stand up to things like knives if that situation ever arises. Gods, I hope not.”


Don’t cry don’t cry don’t cry you’ve literally spent like half of the last week just crying don’t you dare cry- She nodded again, trying to swallow the lump in her throat.


The man continued. “Of course, I’ll have to come up with an external power source as well. My own suit is powered by a erm… well, call it an inner conductivity. I’m quite the battery, it seems.”


He grinned at this, jotting down some notes and making sure to run every possible test on the computer before going forward with any plans. Taking no risk, he made sure the material would be resistant to much higher levels of radiation than she currently produced.


Safety first.


Esther stepped out of the suit fully, stumbling a little as she got caught on the material, then straightened, lifting her arms away from her body as if to test their freedom of movement. She opened her mouth to speak - and only managed a “Thank you,” before she began sobbing, a jumble of emotions rushing out that were more positive than negative, for the first time in a long time. “Th-thank you, thank you, thank you…”


She crouched and crossed her arms over her knees, burying her face there as her shoulders shook.


Oswald was surprised to find his own eyes prickling with moisture as she thanked him, breaking into sobs. He blinked a little behind his mask, the glowing lenses on the mask mirroring the effect, and cleared his throat before speaking, a small knot there of his own. “You’re very welcome, Esther. It’s… it’s moments like these why I take such pride in my work and my new abilities.”


Going silent as she curled up, he input the girl’s proportions into another program and sent the suit in for crafting. It wouldn’t take long, maybe another half an hour, and he was anxious to have her try it and go back to a somewhat normal existence. It wasn’t a cure of any kind, not yet, but it was a vast improvement over the bulky Hazmat gear she’d been confined to.


“Esther,” he said softly, not wanting to intrude, but wanting to keep the girl up-to-date. “The suit is being processed right now. If you’ve got any preferences on color, let me know and I can have that added to the suit and the mask if you’d like.”


His own mask’s lenses pulsed orange at this, as if signifying what he meant.


“Regrettably, you won’t get the amazing vocal modulation that my mask has,” he said jokingly. “But I have a feeling that won’t be much of an issue. Your voice will remain largely unchanged, if not just slightly muffled.”


Esther wiped her eyes and laughed tremulously. “Well, crud. I was hoping to have a cool robot voice.” She sniffed, then laughed again, more suddenly as if at her own thoughts. “Would it be too ironic to have green? Like… toxic waste green?”


The tall man grinned and nodded. “Not too ironic at all. Good choice,” he said with a grin, typing some specs into the computer to add some green outline in a couple of spots and a glow to the girl’s new mask.


“Now, your exo suit will be a bit thicker than mine, due to having to power it and the nature of the radiation, but it will still be mobile. Soon enough, it will end up feeling much like a second layer of skin - strange as that sounds.” He chuckled. “You get used to wearing them for extended periods of time, and the material is comfortable, so there shouldn’t be much issue of it feeling at all uncomfortable.”


“Why do you wear your suit?” Esther asked. She regretted asking as soon as she did; it felt too much like prying. But it had escaped her as she thought of it.


Ohm thought on this for a moment before he answered, looking down at his own exo-suit which he wore simple clothing over.


“Well, functionally, I wear my own because I can use the suit to power other devices. My defensive augmentations - a set of strong metal cables used for both offensive and defensive encounters - are one example,” he explained calmly, then cleared his throat.


“The other reason is, well… I find it makes it easier for people to process my mask.” Reaching up, he touched the material with his slender fingers before moving to disconnect more of the wiring that connected it to his bald head. He winced a little, but kept at it until the mask was disconnected, slipping it off completely.


His entire face, though still that of a handsome man, was a maze of scars that criss-crossed along the flesh and almost seemed to form a pattern of circuitry over the pale skin where small ‘nodes’ lay.


The most striking feature, however, were his eyes and the area surrounding them. In almost ovals around the two sockets were strange looking burn scars that darkened his normally pallid flesh to a deeper, reddish brown hue.


In sharp contrast were his eyes themselves. The irises were a brilliant white, but the pupils were completely greyed over in blindness. As he looked ahead, the orbs seemed to pulsate with a dim, bluish glow.


And yet, Ohm just blinked a few times and looked around slowly, reaching out to steady himself on the wall as if this was all a very common thing. “The mask allows me to see more functionally and, well, protects others from the ‘shock’ of my appearance,” he explained with a light chuckle at his own joke. “Without it, I can still ‘see’ - in a way - but it’s difficult to handle. Think of it as if er… seeing only in electronic pulses. A bit hard to explain, really, but the only thing I can really compare it to.”


Esther was fascinated, for lack of better wording. There was an undercurrent of surprise and pity, but all washed out by sheer interest and a pleasant feeling of understanding the man better.

 

[Dusky]

Esther Sewik

Collab with @Mr. Grin - Part 3 of 4

​

“That’s really cool. You look really cool!” Esther blurted out, then winced. Tact had once been counted as one of her many strengths, but her social skills were rather rusty. People probably don’t like their blindness and burns being called cool, Esther, you idiot. She pulled her lips back and bared her teeth in the universal expression of ‘hhhhhhhawkward’. “I-I mean, of course I think whatever happened must suck and seeing in electronic pulses is probably really weird but it’s also really cool and, um… Actually, I’m going to stop talking now.”


Oswald blinked at the exclamation that soon turned from amazement to floundering as awkwardness set in. He snickered at first, then outright laughed, a cheery deep sound. “Please, don’t. And no need to be put-off by it, it’s actually pretty refreshing to have someone think it’s ‘cool’ and not recoil in fear or avoid speaking of it completely.”


He wiped at his eyes lightly with slender fingers, a bit of moisture there from the laughter, and continued with a smile. “I’ll admit, it did ‘suck’ at first, but the amazing things I’ve done with these newfound gifts of mine have made such a difference in such a short time. It was an accident that caused this, and one I still partly curse even now, but dwelling on the negative and being consumed by it… well, there’s just no denying its pointlessness!”


Going quiet for a second, he cleared his throat. “That said, I probably sound like a motivational speaker right now, so I’ll stop at that,” he finished with another small laugh.


Esther giggled. “You do, a little. But… you don’t talk down to me even though I’m a kid. So I don’t mind.” There was a pause, and then her face fell, dark eyes half-shut as she wrapped her arms around her knees, hugging them. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to do much with this stupid ‘power’ I’ve got. It’s good there are people like you.” She sighed, privately wondering if there was even a place in the world for people who hurt others just by existing.


With a pale hand, the older man waved off the concern and shook his head. “I think you’ll be able to do greater things than you know, Esther. And as for the issues with your abilities… let me see if I can’t work on that. This suit… it’s just the beginning. Time may not always be the healing property that we’re promised, but in cases like this, I am almost certain I’ll be able to come up with something given the time to study these results.”


Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, he gave a half-smile. “I would rattle off something about patience being a virtue, but that’s not always the truth either and being patient has never really been my cup of tea,” he joked, trying to lift her spirits again.


She laughed, the heavy set of her face lightening. “Well, try to figure it out before I get old!” she chided jokingly. “I’d like a boyfriend eventually!”


He laughed, and the conversation continued like this for quite awhile, back and forth, until a chime sounded and MINERVA’s voice sounded above both of theirs.


“Sir and ma’am, it would seem the suit is ready for delivery. Should I have T1NKR deliver it to the young lady?” the AI questioned curiously.


“You can have it delivered to the main lab, MINERVA, T1NKR is still busy charging from cleaning up the erm… mess I left the lab in earlier. Explosives were involved, but log that the armor IS effective!” he said brightly, and the order was put through to have someone deliver the gear. “Shouldn’t be long now, Esther. I’ve made a couple of tweaks to the material of the helmet that I think you’ll enjoy as well. A bit different from mine, of course, but can’t be having anything be too uniform, hm?”


“Hm?” Esther tilted her head, peering at Oswald curiously and rising to her feet. Her fingers tapped on the sides of her thighs with pent-up excitement, and she glanced towards the door as if willing it to open. “What do you mean? I’m all curious now. And how long is ‘shouldn’t be long now’? Like… a minute? I don’t know if I can wait a minute.”


As if on cue, the door slid open and Ohm looked to the bespectacled man, nodding and smiling in a greeting. For a second, the delivery man - his usual courier Stephen - stared at him, confused. It wasn’t until he spoke that the man stammered his hellos back awkwardly and handed over the box, exiting quickly. “See what I mean?” he called back to Esther. “I much prefer ‘cool’!”


“He just has no taste is all,” she says with a grin.


“Okay then,” he said with a huff, adjusting his position and picking up the box by the sides. “This isn’t very heavy, so you should be able to pick it up or slide it over the floor. No door jams to worry about or anything, thankfully.”


He rubbed his chin again, as if the feeling of not wearing the mask was almost more uncomfortable after such a time, but then dropped his hand and spoke again unphased. “I’ll let you figure the suit out, of course, but once you get to the helmet give me a shout, okay?” he said, sliding the box across the floor and toward the door, opening the first and depositing the large crate.


The door closed behind it and the small room hissed and it circulated the air, replacing it automatically.


As soon as she could get at the crate, Esther wrapped her hands around the corners and dragged it further into the room. She opened it up and peered inside at the folded - folded! - fabric. Slowly, she reached in and picked it up, teeth worrying her lip and eyes wide and alert. She sighed at the feeling of it in her hands. The material wasn’t as thin as normal clothing, but it sure wasn’t a hazmat suit either. Esther didn’t have the mind for estimating the width of a fabric, but the mesh was perhaps a few times thicker than activewear. She pulled on it experimentally; it stretched quite easily. She looked up at the screen, a little embarrassed. “Um… could you turn off the video?”


“Of course,” he said, clicking the screen and watching the wall go back to… well, wall colored. As she changed, he took his own mask from the nearby table and, reaching up, began securing the wires into place on his skull and down the back of his head. When everything was secured, he slipped the thin material of his own mask back over his face and got to work adjusting it, blinking a number of times behind the lenses as he regained sight.


It was a little awkward pulling the suit on, but no more so than a pair of tights, and much less likely to tear. She stepped over to the wall and found a camera app, using it as a mirror of sorts. She looked at herself with an odd expression - awe and sadness and confusion. Her body was unrecognizable, smaller and thinner than she remembered, bordering on scrawny, but she found she didn’t feel insecure about it. She felt like she’d earned this body. It was hers.


The bright green accents running down her sides accentuated the straight, angular lines of her body. She turned around and looked over her shoulder, then laughed - a radiation trefoil emblazoned in green on her back, under her shoulders. “I like the warning symbol,” she said, assuming Ohm could still hear her. “Useful and cheeky. Anyway, I’m decent.”


”I thought you might like that,” he said with a chuckle, modulation in his voice ringing through the intercom again. He clicked the video back on and gave a wave. “Alright, everything fitting well? The material is stretchy, which helps with sizing like you’d not believe.”


Esther closed the camera app and waved back. “I do believe.” She tugged on the fabric then let go, watching it snap back into place. It also sort of made her wish she had something to put over it, but bodysuit beats Eden clothes ten times out of ten. She looked into the crate again and spied the helmet. She frowned with confusion. “Is it just me, or is it kind of… glowing?” She lifted it out of the box carefully.


The masked man chuckled. “It is. The green on the helmet is blended with a bit of Phosphorus. Safe, of course, but when reacting with oxygen, it can give a slight glow. Especially in the dark, but this blend shows just enough in the light to make it noticeable.”


Grinning behind his mask, he continued. “The real surprise is the front of the helmet, though. I’ll let you try it on first, though, then we can test to see if it’s functional. There should be a single plug to connect the helmet to the suit as well, but we can worry about that once it’s on and sealed.”


Esther turned the helmet over, peering inside it. “But how do I get it on? My head won’t fit in that hole…” She found a mechanism and tugged on it, then nearly dropped the helmet as it opened, back separating from front on a hinge. “Oh.” After staring for a moment, she held the front to her face and reached around, pulling the back down and hearing the click of the two pieces sealing together.

 

[Master Attano]

Status: Hungry


Location: Unknown


Group:

Collab with @Effervescent


The past hour or two had flown by with startling speed, the thought of food had first made Mathew feel sick after the terrifying display by the priest, but as soon as it was laid out before him his rumbling stomach quickly took precedent.


As he dug into the various sandwiches laid out over the table various thoughts and memories about the past few days began to crawl back to the forefront of his mind after he had downed only a couple of the small ham and cheese sandwiches he had picked out. His appetite quickly vanishing as he felt sick to his stomach.


With a grunt of disgust with himself he dropped his half-eaten sandwich into the bin, noticing Darren out of the corner of his eye as he did so. Swallowing his ill feelings he walked nervously towards him. "I...ah...I heard what you did for me back at Eden..." he said, awkwardly rubbing his arm before extending it towards him. "I just wanted to thank you."


Darren slowly chewed on a turkey and swiss sandwich as Mathew approached. His dark gaze mulled him over in a thought before switching the sandwich over to his left hand. The hand shake was met briefly, and he responded with a mouth half full of food tucked into one cheek.


"No problem," he said, and then nodded to the trash bin. "You know, you shouldn't really waste food like that. Especially if you're planning on getting out of here. You don't know how long it'll be until your next meal and you don't exactly strike me as a survivalist. No offense."


Mathew looked confused for a moment as he looked blankly at Darren and then the trash can. "So...you really think they'll just let us leave?" he said hesitantly, turning back to Darren "If people want to I mean."


"They said they'd let us," Darren replied, "but whether or not they're telling the truth..." He shrugged at that in near apathy, almost as if he expects them to be liars to some degree. "They don't want us to go. So it's really a matter of seeing if they'll make us stay."


"Yeah I guess your right." Mathew said, shoving his hands into the pockets of the loose fitting track pants that they'd given him. "I just..." he said, pausing for a moment before shaking his head. "After everything that's happened to us, that batshit crazy display with the priest guy and all the messed up stuff we dealt with back at that facility how can they expect us to not want to leave it all behind?" he said, fighting to hold back the emotion that suddenly clogged his voice.


Darren took another bite of his sandwich and chewed as he huffed a laugh. He nodded in agreement to Mathew's statement as he shared the exact sentiment. Arthur's display showed him that not everyone that came from Eden is of sound mind. The entirety of this new place stunk of high risk. It didn't help that he still heard thoughts of pity or fear or doubt. He quickly pushed back the thoughts before they overwhelmed him again, though it was still only a matter of time.


"Exactly," he said as he pointed a corner of his sandwich towards Mathew. "Which is why I'm going to cash in on that invitation to leave while it's still extended. Maybe I'll go to Canada. Leave every bit of this shit behind."


"Canada?" Mathew said, staring at Darren for a second. Even after everything that had happened the idea of packing up and leaving all he had ever known behind him was a scary thought. Beyond anything else he simply wanted to see his parents again and forget this had ever happened. They must be worried sick. he realised, a gnawing feeling churning in his gut.


"You don't have any family you want to see again?" he asked


Mathew's thought didn't go unnoticed by the telepath. It was louder and more prominent than the others. He only gave a shake of his head at first in response as he chewed his food, swallowing the bite before speaking. "Nah," Darren said. "Lucky me, right?" He eyed Mathew over as he contemplated the issues he must be facing in regards to his family. While Darren had people that technically fell into that category, he hadn't seen them in over a decade. Their current whereabouts were completely unknown to him. And to that he almost felt thankful, as though their absence in his life was doing them all a favor.


"You know you can't see your family again," he continued, "right?"


Snorting at his first comment Mathew shook his head. "I can see why you might think that." he said with a smile, the memories of the many times as a kid that he had felt frustrated to the point of explosion with his family, his sister in particular in some cases coming to mind.


His eyes widened at the second thing Darren said however, a cold chill striking through him. "N-no, w-why would you say that?" he stammered, pushing down the panicked outrage that flared up inside of him.


It was clear now Mathew hadn't thought at all about survival. His thoughts were only of comfort without any other concern to repercussions or possibilities. It was tunnel vision, and that very thing was something that could get them killed or worse, captured and taken back to Eden. Darren slowly took in a deep breath in disappointment, though now that he looked at Mathew he should have seen this coming.


"Think about it," he began. "Eden kidnapped you. They did it to us all pretty easily. So how does someone achieve that on any scale? They watch your life. They were watching your every move. They know who you are, what you like to do for fun, your daily schedule, what porn you like to jack off to, how many friends you have, and guess what? They know who your family is and where to find them too. Even if you weren't living with them, family is the best place to stake out if you're looking for someone on the run. Because either you're going to call them, or you're going to physically go there and let them know you're okay. Then bam. They've got you again. Human weaknesses are predictable, Mathew. You can't see them again without risking their lives and your own."


Each word from Darren's mouth pounded upon Mathew's psyche like a drum, cracking and rending the fantasy that he would simply be able to truly walk away from it all.


Deep down part of him had already known what Darren was telling him, buried under a desperate stubborn hope that he would be able to forget everything that had happened and waltz back into where he had left off before the Syndicate had taken him.


In truth he felt like crying, despair creeping into his very bones before a surge of stubborn anger pushed it aside. "No, no come on man," he said, shaking his head in denial. "Sure they might be watching our families but none of this can be legal. The government would never go so far as to blatantly sanction the abduction of its own citizens in the manner we were taken. We could go to the police!" he said, gesturing suddenly. "Or the media! If we got our story out they wouldn't dare take us again." he finished, staring desperately at Darren for confirmation.


There wasn't a word that could quite capture the feeling Darren felt as Mathew tried to rationalize their situation. Pity and sadness didn't quite match the multifaceted emotion that dwelled inside his mind that magnified with every syllable spoken. But Darren's head shook in return just ever so slightly as it all culminated into disappointment yet again.


"Eden was highly funded," he said. "Probably even running under the radar if not government funded. Going to the police or the media will only either make you look like a mad man or just draw attention to you. So then at that point guess what?"


To explain his point further, Darren moved his hand up, curling his fingers to imitate a gun as he pointed it towards Mathew. He acted like he pulled the trigger, a soft sound of a gunshot bursting from his lips before he spoke again. "They'll just want you dead at that point. And you'll be easy to find. If that's what you want to do, go for it. Knock yourself out. Go to the media and shit and tell them all you know and see how that works out for you. But if that's what you want to do, you're on your own. No way I'm getting involved in that shit. I actually like my life."


"And what sort of life will that be exactly?!" Mathew shouted, fighting to control his voice as glances from around the room were thrown their way. "I don't know about you but scrounging for food out of rubbish bins," he said, gesturing to the bin. "while freezing my ass of in Canada, always looking over my shoulder and never able to settle or feel safe doesn't sounds like a life worth living to me." he hissed, his frustration boiling over as he turned to leave.


After a few steps he paused however, looking down at the ground as he rubbed his temples. Get a grip you idiot, he's only telling you the truth you've been so desperately avoiding since the start of this mess.


"Look, I'm sorry." he said, looking up from the ground as he turned to face Darren. "It's just, they've done so much to us already. The idea that I can never see my family or even live a normal life again because some corporation, government funded or not, has an interest in me is something I'm struggling to accept." he said, quietly.


"And to be honest I don't want to accept it. I refuse to believe we have no power at all in this situation, and have to just roll over and let them take everything from us because they are big and scary and have lots of money to throw around. That's what they'd want us to do and it doesn't sit right with me, and it shouldn't for you."


Taking a deep breath he shook his head. "Sorry about that." he said turning to leave, once again.


Darren didn't care. He had telepathy. Mathew shared his sentiments passionately, and he listened to every word past the infiltrating thoughts. While he felt it was all wasted energy, he at least could see Mathew was willing to push past his hesitancies. He definitely looked far more of a man than he did just moments earlier. A small smirk founds its way to Darren's lips, but he said nothing in return allowing Mathew to have the final word. Instead, he gave him a casual two-fingered salute and a nod of his head. There was nothing more to say.

Tags:

​

 

[Ozmic]

Esther Sewik

Collaboration with

@Anomaly - Part 4 of 4
​

Esther blinked. “I can’t see. Do I have to… power it on or something?”


Ohm nodded to the camera, explaining how to power on the helmet as best he could without being in the room to give her a hand. “Yes, if you reach back - yep about right there - you’ll feel a single plug, about the size of an HDMI cable. The plug in on the suit should be right under it and it should power on and seal. Don’t let that surprise you - it won’t be loud, but it can be sudden.”


She fumbled with the plugs before getting them connected, then startled slightly as the effects kicked in. The display came to life, showing her surroundings clearly (though there was something slightly, inexplicably different about viewing them through a video display rather than her own eyes), and the neck of the helmet seemed to lock in place. Her head turned from one side to the other, lips unable to stop a smile. “You can hear me?”


The girl’s voice rang out clear as a bell from a row of speakers hidden in the bottom of the helmet. The software controlled the volume automatically, matching the tone of her voice exactly to prevent distortion.


”Loud and clear! Can you hear me alright?” Oswald replied with a mechanical-toned chuckle, making a note to himself to invest in the same technology for his own mask somewhere down the line.


“Yeah! I mean, roger that. Copied. Or… however it goes.”


”The helmet itself has a lot of features you’ll just have to explore and discover, but it will also double as an augmented reality device. Meaning anything from checking messages to navigation around this maze of a place is all pretty easily accessible without needing any sort of outside devices,” he said with pride.


Esther’s eyes widened, and she bounced on her heels with excitement. “Is that with, like… voice commands? Won’t I sound weird talking to myself? Or is there like… something on like my suit?” She hastily pats her arms and helmet, looking for buttons of some sort.


Oswald couldn’t help but beam at her excitement. It was a great feeling and his pride only swelled as he explained the controls. ”Well, let me explain. The suit has… well, we’ll call them receptors on the fingers and palms. It will likely take some getting used to, but when activated by tapping underside of the left wrist four times, the AR portions of the helmet can be controlled using either gestures like a mobile device or simulated mouse movement much like a computer just… without the physical peripherals. It’s… still experimental technology, but testing has been extremely successful in the ease of use.”


“That is so wicked.”


Stepping closer to the camera, he mimed pressing buttons where the ‘ears’ would be located on the sides of the helmet. Behind where your ears should be are two buttons as well - very small and probably a bit difficult to locate at first. Go ahead and press those as well for… the last hurrah of your new helmet.”


Patting gently until she felt them, she pushed them firmly. The quality of her vision changed; blinking, she realized the glass of her helmet had cleared, and she could see through it. She cried out with delight. “Sweet! This is awesome! Is it see-through on that end, too?”


”It is!” he replied, finding it hard not to echo the girl’s enthusiasm.


Esther stuck her tongue out at the man, as if celebrating her increased capacity for nonverbal communication. Suddenly, her face took on a thoughtful cast. “It works, right? The radiation levels are normal?”


Ohm nodded. ”According to the readings… but I’d like to try one more test,” he said, approaching the door. ”I’d like you to come to the door. I’m going to open it so you can come into the main room. No time to test things like the present, eh?”


He knew it wasn’t the safest of trials, to subject himself, but Ohm enjoyed the thrill of the risk with experiments such as these… and of course had a backup plan if anything went wrong.


Esther approached the door, albeit hesitantly. “That seems like a bad idea, if you’re still not sure. Though, it wouldn’t affect you… Something about the Genmut gene? Eden didn’t give me any details.”


Oswald blinked. ”Oh! Well in that case, it’s even safer! I’ll just seal the room to prevent any outside interference for the time being until we can make sure it’s safe for everyone else. I just want to be certain that the readings in both rooms match up, of course.”


Moving toward the door, the man poked and prodded at the hidden keypad on the wall until MINERVA spoke again, signaling the room had indeed been sealed off temporarily. Moving back to the other room, he pressed the keypad there and the door on her side slid open. ”There you are.”


She stepped through, pushing the buttons on the sides of her helmet again out of curiosity. The display faded back in. She pushed them again. The display faded out. Fascinated, she managed a few reps before turning to Ohm and anxiously asking, “Are things alright here, too?”


The older man nodded briskly. ”From what the readings show, outside of a light lingering radiation - probably from the old Hazmat suit - readings seem to be at stable levels in that room. Once you’re through the double doors, in theory, the lack of radiation should persist to the room here as well.”


Esther squirmed, waiting for the cycle to finish so she could enter the other room and know for sure, until a detail circled back to her. “The suit was irradiated?” She was mildly horrified, thinking of all the people who might have come to harm.


Waiting for the other door to close and the new one to open, he continued, shaking his head. ”Not the outside, of course!” he explained quickly, noting the shock in her voice. ”The inside of the suit, however, likely held on to a bit of radiation. Speaking of… MINERVA, start up and log another round of scanning in this room, please.”


Esther relaxed visibly as Ohm clarified, and when the door in front of her opened she stood for a moment, then took a slow step into the room, wrapping her arms around her body and turning her questioning gaze to Ohm.


For a moment, the room was full of a heavy tenseness. When the machine beeped at him again, however, Ohm exhaled, realizing he had been holding in a breath. ”It would appear…” he started, looking over the readouts carefully. ”That everything is in the clear.”


A large smile pulled at the edges of his mask and he looked down to her, extending a large and slender hand. “Pleased to finally make your proper acquaintance, young lady,” he said with a chuckle. ”Oswald Malkavich, glad I could be of assistance.”


Esther took his hand and shook it like her brother taught her, firm but unassuming, and accented it with a smile. “Esther Sewik, but you knew that.” After a beat, she added, “Actually, there’s something I haven’t done in a while that I really can’t wait much longer to do. So if I break anything… Sorry about that.”


The ensuing cartwheel was disastrous.

 

[Sunbather]

Subject 0014:

Location & Status

Mutation:

Mood

Talia Baardwjik

Strolling

Magma Physiology

Annoyed

​

Loaded up on a handful of painkillers, Talia's state of mind was somewhere inbetween relieved and deprived. That boy, Darren, albeit having formulated a smart enough train of thought, overestimated the facility, it seemed. The infirmary ended up being a total bust. Unsuccessful in her search for anything worthwhile, she watched Darren leave with that blonde broad from the facility, and Talia ended up stuffing her pockets with anything she could find, though nothing really provided much satisfaction. The fact that she was still in this place put her on edge. She was promised they could leave, but as of now, the facility felt endless and cagey. She had avoided people for the majority of her time here, and figured they might want to interrogate the escapees before letting them leave, but the thought felt naive and stupid.


As if...


Her sulking was interrupted upon hearing a vaguely familar voice. She turned with a frown on her face, but her expression quickly shifted as she looked into the eyes she had seen just before getting out of the Syndicate. She barely looked human anymore, maybe even less so in the new environment. Talia wondered if it was the pills or if the nightmare of a facility just made her look less peculiar. Her mind went to the moment the two of them were transfered to the other building - Just moment before their previous cells were blown to smithereens.


She caught the player, almost letting it slip through her fingers. Talia furrowed her brows, and struggled to keep her composure for a moment. Even the challenging tone of the scale-girl couldn't antagonize her as her finger wrapped around the device, her knuckles turning white from the firm grip. She swallowed audibly. Flashes of her old cell appeared in front of her eyes, and ended with Silver bringing her the player into her new one. She denied the thought. The Syndicate's staff was scum, and she found herself surprisingly at ease with the fact that two men had been burned alive by her hands. Talia had fantasized about revenge for quite a while, yet, she had imagined more of a burden on her conscience. The lack of compunction was a relief though.


"What are you talking about?" she hissed. She had no boyfriend, and for the sake of that woman, Talia hoped she wasn't implying what she thought she was. Beyond that, the word dungeon alerted her. The word was too draconic for a facility that claimed benevolence. It irked her to no end that Jaden had been in possession of her tape player, and she couldn't help but glare at her.

@Elle Joyner

 

[Elle Joyner]

JADEN

As Talia took the tape player, or rather scrambled to keep the thing from crashing to the floor, a brow quirked at her question and Jaden smirked with a small, dry scoff, "Sweetheart, I ain't a !@#$%^&* messanger. You wanna find out, you go talk to good old Agent Silver. Animal's in a cell where, if you ask me, he belongs. Me? I'm gonna go get something to eat, then find a way to get outta this joint... Do-gooders? Ain't my thing..."


Giving a small mock salute, she turned and continued down the hallway towards the elevators, one of which she disappeared into.

Tags| @Mr. Grin,

@Mordecai
​

 

[Dusky]

Esther Sewik

STATUS:	AGE:	SEX:	FT/IN:	LBS:	RACE:	HAIR:	EYES:
[sIGNAL LOST]	14	F	5'0"	98	Caucasian	Brown	Brown

CLASS: Energist

FIT: ?????

MUT STR: ?????

THRT: ?????

CAUTION: ?????

[sIGNAL LOST]

[sIGNAL LOST]

​

ROGUE

​

In the aftermath of her cartwheel (which resulted in a broken container that had held pens, among other things), the screens shift suddenly to a news feed, featuring an enormous plume of smoke and the ruins of a large area of a city. Esther gasps, and a voice blares through the intercom overhead. "West Tempest Falls is under attack. Paramedics cannot reach the scene. We need all hands on deck to treat the injured and to locate and disarm any other bombs that may be planted; any interested in assisting with Haven efforts please report to the Holding Platform in the next ten minutes. I repeat, West Tempest Falls is under attack. Paramedics..." It's a woman's voice, urgent and full of verve.


Esther's heart drops. "The hospital... is in West Tempest Falls..."


She doesn't know where her parents are, not really, but she assumes they're there, receiving treatment for cancer, and it's one of many things she wants to talk to Ezra about when she gets the chance. Besides, so many sick people, so much potential for calamity... She had once wanted to be a nurse, before the whole "surprise, you're radioactive" thing. So she wheels around to face Ohm, asking him to guide her to the room being mentioned in the announcements.


As she follows him at a brisk pace, she wrings her hands. What if this is the wrong decision? What if she just gets in the way? She almost turns around, but then they're at the door, and it seems too late to be a coward. Hesitantly, she steps into the room and then approaches the nearest person.


"I..." She thrills a little at the sound of her voice, even in this grave situation. "How can I help? My powers are lame, I don't really know anything, I'm not strong..."


The man looks her up and down, then turns around and grabs a large pack, handing it to her. "Water and towels," he says. "Distribute them to the injured, call a medic over to the ones that need it." Esther nods and slings the bag across her shoulders, then searches for a familiar face and finds several. Ezra, Charlotte, even Darren. No Arthur though. She worries, and she wonders if any of them will recognize her with the new gear. Anxiously, she turns off the display on her helmet, rendering the glass see-through.

 

[Effervescent]

Darren DeLuca

The light touch on his arm caused Darren to turn suddenly. As much as he could hear people's thoughts, right now it was too much of a jumble to really be of any use. Not to mention he wasn't paying attention to what they were saying…or rather, thinking. Zoning out was the best the telepath could manage at this time despite it being a dull relief to what substances could provide. And there would unfortunately always be that itch to go back. He was finally technically clean. He just lacked the willpower to keep it that way.


Charlie’s voice was soft, yet still carried more clearly than the rest of the mess he heard. She wanted to leave. After that reunion with a father she thought was dead and gone she wanted to leave, and weirdly he felt conflicted. Regrets were difficult to push past. He nodded his head, though, for it wasn't up to him to decide how she would live her life. Besides, regret wouldn't be a burden for him when trying to keep them safe and secret.


But mid nod sirens blared, and for once there was a noise that drowned out everything. Charlie’s old man entered the room and turned off the alarm. It only allowed far too many thoughts to rush back in full force as people began to wonder what was going on. The Asshole turned on the nearest television allowing him the opportunity to understand a semblance of what was going on. Another explosion in the city, and they didn't even feel even a small quake in this underground base. The old man and the asshole exchanged glances and words, and Darren looked to Charlie. They were out in the middle of nowhere, which could work in their favor, but Darren was used to surviving in an urban setting.


Whatever was going on in the aftermath of the news was lost on him. He barely even noticed the strange person in a weird suit as he moved back over to Charlie. His voice was barely audible to his own ears, and it was likely he spoke a little too loud for the actual commotion around them.


“What's going on?” he asked Charlie. Things were starting to settle in his mind as people began to focus their attentions on their tasks. It almost sounded like these people were making plans to head out there where the explosion took place. How idiotic. But if that was the case, it would be the perfect opportunity to make a run for it in an environment he knew best.

Mentioned

@Anomaly @Elle Joyner
​

 

[Mordecai]

​

Location: Haven

Group: In the hoard


Mood: Prepared

Oh bother… she was wearing her best sandals.


It was becoming quickly apparent that her best sandals were about to see a little bit of dirty work. She had heard about explosion and shuffled through the halls with the soft woosh of her dress as she moved, a frown printed into her features like it had been stamped there, but it felt oddly foreign on her normally bright face. Just her brisk walk from one of the conference rooms towards the kitchen was enough to make her breathing rapid and shallow, her pulse pounding against her temples.


The sounds of the broadcast spilled over into the hall, growing louder as she grew closer, until she had all but broken into a trot to swing into the kitchen. It was a bit of organized chaos with all the new Eden refugees clumped together like confused and bleating sheep, but Mina’s eyes had already fallen upon the television monitor, giving a bird’s eye view of the destruction in Tempest Falls. Bringing her hand up to her mouth, she nibbled at the edges of the skin. Her nails were already bitten down to the quick; she nibbled at their frayed form edges like a famished field mouse. It was a bad habit—and it always chipped her nail polish.


“Did someone call for a teleportation-ready EMT?” she asked, worming her way through the crowd to get a better look at the screen. There were two towers of smoke billowing up from the wreckage—one white, simple steam, but the other black and sooty, revealing that oil was burning. It would be a miracle at all if anyone could survive such a blast, and Mina was no necromancer, but if there was anyone still with even a thread of life in them… no matter how small… now that she could coax back to life.


“Because if they did call for one, that could totally be me.”

 

[Elle Joyner]

STATUS|Panic-mode

​

GROUP|B

​

LOCATION|Wandering Haven

​

"Eden..." She offered to Darren's question, her voice nearly quaking. This was it. This was the retaliation for their escape. This was how Eden was going to pay them back for their defiance. By murdering potentially thousands of innocent people. And blaming it on the Genmuts. Tears welled in her eyes and she blinked them away in frustration, her hands balled into fists. "Eden is what happened. They bombed the city... tried to say it was a Genmut who did it. People... people are hurt. Dead. They can't... the EMTs... they can't get in to help."


She'd wanted to run. A minute ago. She'd been sure of it. She'd been sure it was the right move. She was never going to be able to get over what happened with her father - what he'd done if she didn't get away from the mess, from the chaos and think. But this? This wasn't something any of them could run from. Not really. Not so long as they possessed a conscience in their minds that functioned. People were going to die. Had already... and they couldn't prevent it from happening in the first place, but they could do their part to try and repair some of the damage.


"They could use you, Darren." She knew what she was asking of him - knew there was a good chance he could say no, and really, she couldn't blame him. It was a lot to ask, and he wasn't always centered on compassion... But the truth was, she trusted him, and she didn't want to do this without him. "After, we can decide what to do... whether we come back or not. But... but I can't let those people suffer. Not when I... not when I feel like it's my fault."


She'd pushed the escape. She'd given Mathew the power to break them out... And Eden's retaliation, she was at least partially responsible for it. If she did nothing, she'd never be able to reconcile anything.


"Please... Come with me?"

Tags| collab with @Mr. Grin,

@Mordecai
​