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Realistic or Modern FP Arcadia

FlumpPod

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  • In 1991 an asteroid threatened to destroy life on earth, but it was stopped with minutes to spare by a group of people below it who had gained supernatural powers minutes before it would have landed. The bulk of its destructive force was lost, but what remained still destroyed the area below. The remains of the asteroid rained down on Los Angeles and wiped it from the map, leaving just 6% of the people there alive afterwards.

    The people gifted with new power were mostly pulled into government service, though some slipped through the cracks. 5 years passed and the Bureau of Powers was established in the US while the UN created the the Global extra-normal Service as people around the globe were gaining powers, though the rates in the US and Mexico far surpassed the global rate. The prevailing theory was that the asteroid had been carrying something that was causing these changes, but analysis was unable to determine what, if anything, was causing this. Regardless, the people with powers were studied and eventually the term of "extra-normal" became their official moniker, with the average people calling them some variation on extra or x.

    The US had gained an enormous boost to its might with the addition of the extra-normals to their ranks coinciding with the world's nuclear arsenal being depleted in an effort to stop the asteroid. Thankfully the strongest of these extra-normals, a woman now going by Sol Glory after her radiant powers, was a peace advocate and managed to prevent war from breaking out during this time while the world adjusted to this new paradigm. A golden age of peace and prosperity seemed just around the corner with the new extra-normals lifting up society with their strange gifts. The city of Arcadia was built on the site of the ruined LA and became the center for extra-normal activity.

    The uneasy peace was broken in 2001 when a 2nd asteroid was spotted in the skies above Shanghai. The extra-normals mobilized and saved the day with a much lower casualty rate, but this tipped the balance of power as the extra-normal population exploded overnight with eastern Asia now having an estimated number of extra-normals almost double that of the combined rest of the world. In part due to higher population densities and largely due to the lower casualty rate of this event. Hostilities nearly boiled over many times over research rights and citizenship status for the new extra-normals as everyone in the area wanted them for themselves.

    A third asteroid in 2006 threw the world into further chaos when it appeared over Kabul and a pair of new extra-normal children were able to completely turn it away with help from Sol Glory and destroy it with no casualties. Estimates placed this as the largest one so far and through the power of the previous strongest,Sol Glory, and these 2 new faces, Myth and Legend, the world waited in fear for what they would choose to do with this new power. The answer was to sue for peace once more; Myth through charm, Legend through force. Myth asked the world to unite and work together, when the world ignored her plea and a multi-front war exploded across the middle east between every faction and their allies Legend destroyed every weapon on the continent and in the surrounding seas. Peace treaties were signed before the fires were put out.

    The media decided to put a poetic spin on things and refer to the 3 asteroids as the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Fall, noting that we rose up stronger than before after each one. The world waited for next disaster theorized to strike in 2008, but the time came and went. New timelines were proposed and 2011 seemed next most likely, but still nothing. The world relaxed and waited for the 10 year mark in 2016 but still nothing. When the clock rolled around to 2022 around the globe most people agree that we've made it through all the trials and no longer need to worry about another asteroid like those. They choose to focus on the present and let those terrible times stay in the past, they've got the strongest things on the planet forcing peace to be kept and so many others are working to make life better around the planet, we've arrived at the doorstep to a golden age at last.

    It's not perfect yet, there is still crime and corruption; some say the extras made things worse because they can't be stopped by normal means like a baseline human can. Others say that we're following false idols and are doomed to burn with them. Yet more complain about the forced peace and lifting impoverished countries and peoples up to stand as equals with the rest of the world. Technology has improved by leaps and bounds in the last 31 years under the efforts of those gifted advanced intelligence and inspiration. Law enforcement has had a rough time adapting to the surge in unpredictability the extra-normals caused leading to teams of "heroes" helping out with law enforcement and disaster management.

    Each of the 3 landing sites have become local hubs for extra-normal activity, but no one can deny that Arcadia is by far the most interesting since it has a completely new culture built around the extra-normals. Everyone that helped rebuild it had some connection to the old LA or had survived the first asteroid, the world was indebted to those few that had saved the world and they wanted to repay their efforts and honor their memory. The older folks tend to view the extra-normals with a sense of awe and respect. Those growing up around the time of the 1st asteroid tend to see them as more of a novelty if they never directly interacted with them. And the youngest now feel entitled to be given everything the extra-normals can provide since they have the power to do anything they should do everything. Of course individuals exist and people will be people, but that seems to be the general breakdown.

    Arcadia looks forward to seeing how you choose to interact with it.
 
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Name: Tibby
Identity: Theobald “Tibby” Ledford
Age: 31

Strength: 10
Damage: 0
Durability: 5
Mobility: 3
Intellect: 0
Perception: 3
Control: 2
Power: 0
Other: 0

BTL_02.png



Climbing; flight; burrowing; pheromones; Enhanced size, strength, & durability; Enhanced and augmented senses of touch, vision, & smell. Initially entered metamorphosis as part of becoming extra-normal but observations suggest he no longer possesses transformative capabilities. In his new form he can no longer perform human speech. He also does not seem to suffer the effects of aging and seems to be able to consume and digest materials normally unfit for human consumption. Due to the size and appearance of his form, as well as the various traits that come with such a physicality, he is found grotesque and frightening by the average person. Due to this subject is not recommended for government contracts.

Tibby was born two years before the First fall and his family was present in L.A. when it happened. Partly exacerbated by this, his parents' had a rocky relationship that assisted in the strained home life that severely effected his social capabilities growing up. Tibby gained his powers when he went through a series of transformations: The first for a very brief duration in 2015, the second most violent transformation immediately one day later, and the third taking place over the course of nearly a year leading up to his resurfacing in 2016. Since then he had to disprove his own death, regain his identification and paperwork, find a job, and find a home. He currently works at Floormart as a 'team member', though he primarily assists with freight and freight related duties in the back room. After a recent accident causing him to be late to work, his manager strong-armed him into attending therapy sessions. He otherwise lives a somewhat normal life, despite personal struggles.


Name/Identity: Evan Harman
Age: 31

Evan was born and raised in the pacific northwest within a privileged family, as his father invented a non-plastic material similar to PVC that was biodegradable over time, especially when exposed to water. Growing up, he realized that not everyone had equal access to the same resources and opportunities to make more of their lives, and he decided to take part in a lot of charity work and activism that was geared toward helping the less fortunate, and providing more opportunities for people to create better lives for themselves. His father wasn't a fan of the idea, believing that in order to be a man, you had to claw tooth and nail to take what's yours, firmly believing that if you were unsuccessful, it's because you were not motivated or driven enough. As what he believed to be his duty as a parent, he informed Evan that he would be moving out and supporting himself the day of his eighteenth birthday, and was expected to get a job and learn how to handle himself without any guidance from his parents. So, at eighteen he took his belongings and left for California, applying and eventually landing an internship, and eventually employment, with various content creators as part of their behind the scenes crew, not operating cameras mind you, but as more of a clerical role doing research, gathering information, and other more social aspects of production. This experience eventually landed him a more stable job working for a small team at a network television station.

Evan is human with average human traits and capabilities, but considers himself good with people.
 
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“Theobald’s father and mother were aspiring actors, and lovers in the city of L.A. The type that really didn’t have a shot, really thought they did, and really wouldn’t shut up about it. The father was a classically trained English actor, or at least he claimed to be, flunking out of acting school before he really got any of that training and moving straight to L.A. to try to make it on the big screen. His mother was the typical southern girl sick of working away at the local diner, running off to the big city to make something of herself.

"They met one day while both ‘employed’ as trademark friendly versions of popular characters outside the Hollywood Walk of Fame when a man grabbed Winkerchime’s ‘magic bag of thank you gifts’ and took off down the street. Of course, Wally the Pal gave chase, running as fast as his chubby bear legs could carry him and managed to bring the thief to the ground, scattering the money everywhere.

"The thief got away of course, but Wally’s willingness to assist her (despite being a common occurrence in the panhandling community) sparked her interest in him that led to a passionate physical and emotional relationship. After about two years Theobald was born to the unwed couple, few rocky years after that, disaster struck. Theobald, or Tibby as he was nicknamed, was only two years old in 1991 when the First Fall disaster destroyed L.A., and things were never the same.

"The first few years after the fall were pretty simple, but incredible stressful on the family, except young Tibby who couldn’t have had a care in the world at that age. Those many cares in his world, many inconveniences to him, many reasons to hate everyone, those would come later.

"For now, we focus on the plight of Glen Ledford and Chartreuse “Cherry” Delight (Legally changed years ago from Hillary Clearwater, in preparation for fame of course). Much of their family was unaffected by the disaster, being they did not even live in California, but their homes were gone, many of their friends were dead, and show business just really didn’t seem like a viable option anymore.

"They took what they could and left town for northern California, where Glen took three part time jobs in fast food, and a side gig trying to pursue voice over work while Cherry stayed home with Tibby. She wasn’t a bad mom, but she wasn’t the best partner either, as every penny scraped and saved by glen that wasn’t whisked away for rent was spent irresponsibly, to the point where some of the utilities would even suffer.

"Now, previously they had planned to get married, which would have done wonders for Glen’s career options as he was currently not a citizen, and that would have helped him make citizenship much easier, but the tension made that prospect seem quite unlikely at that point. The tipping point though came when Tibby was about seven years old, (Well after his father had gained citizenship without the added help of marriage mind you), when Glen came out as Trans, and revealed to his wife that he would like to have a sex change operation.

"That was the straw that broke the camel’s back, not only did she not accept him, but she felt betrayed, lied to, and honestly felt that he could be a dangerous child predator if allowed to be in Tibby’s life (Which was totally unfair, just for the record).

"She took the boy, and moved back to L.A., or rather Arcadia. Despite her attempts at keeping him away, Glen, or rather Nataly now, fought for her rights tooth and nail to keep contact with her son. Apparently, the life she chose as a struggling actor in combination with being forced to support a struggling family on three part time fast food/customer service jobs, really helped her when it came to uphill battles. Because of this, she was eventually able to gain shared custody and move to Arcadia herself.

"Things were looking better for Nat with the recent changes (Sex included, as she officially underwent the surgery some time during those events), as not only did she feel free to be herself, but also as part of moving to Arcadia she managed to land a better job as assistant manager of a popular Diner called ‘Nuggets’, which was especially ironic given what she’d given up to get there.

"Cherry Delight however, decided that it was time for her to re-enter the acting scene, devoting all of her time and energy toward that pursuit rather than motherhood. She was able to do this primarily because, despite having signed up to receive welfare as a single unwed mother, Nataly was still financially supporting them entirely (off the record of course).

"She was still an irresponsible spender, of course, and as such the quality of the babysitters she hired to for the long hours away reflected that. By this of course, I mean that not many babysitters were willing to consistently tolerate the circumstances that were expected of them, and caused a lot of variety and turnover among the ones who were. Tibby’s childhood was pretty slummy because of it, but in Cherry’s mind those sacrifices would be worth it some day when she was a star on the big screen.

"Eventually she started an affair with a big movie producer, who was actually not big or a movie producer, and she was convinced to undergo a number of cosmetic surgeries to ‘fit the type’ that the industry ‘was looking for’ these days, which only exacerbated their financial problems.

"Eventually the jig was up, and Cherry found out that her huge executive producer man was actually just some drug dealer who happened to own half of a pornography studio, and all of her ‘exclusive sneak peeks’ ‘behind the scenes’ or ‘on set’ were just him dragging her through those sets in order to reinforce his lies, and empty promises. Specifically promises that eventually by listening to him she would gain the exposure she was looking for. In actuality, he was just manipulating her into altering her appearance so beyond repair that she would be dependent on him both financially and emotionally, and he would be able to do pretty much whatever he wanted, even force her to work in those smut films he co-owned.

"Thank goodness for Cherry that she was a strong independent woman, and wasn’t the type of to take that kind of abuse. Well, at least when she knew it was happening. Her fury in those events was such that poor Tibby, became afraid to ever lie to her ever. About anything. At all. This meant that, for Tibby at least, sneaking out for teenage hi-jinks would never be an option, and further complicated his ability to socialize with other kids when Cherry decided to turn all of her attention, loneliness, and affection toward her son. Fortunately for Tibby this didn’t express itself in anything predatory, though her methods of overbearing still problematic, and she tended to ignore the idea that boundaries could be helpful in raising a well-developed child. Due to this and her appearance, their relationship was what one might call creepy as fuck from the outside looking in (not that it was less so from the inside either).

"Nataly of course was appalled when she found out what had been going on, and despite her criticisms Cherry wouldn’t hear a word of it, as it had been ‘none of his business’. Cherry had always been out ‘working’ whenever Nataly came around to spend time with Tibby, regardless of if he just visited for the afternoon or if Tibby was staying over at dad’s house.

"After she found out though, Nataly had a heart to heart with Tibby, letting him know that no matter what, he could always come live with Dad if he wanted, and he could always, and should always, tell Dad if something bad was going on. Tibby didn’t take her up on either of course, though he did find sleepovers at Dad’s house much more favorable to time at home. He was too scared of Mom doing something insane as a consequence, as Tibby was pretty sure she was bat-shit crazy at this point. She wasn’t really, at least not in the ‘murder and rampage’ sort of way, and honestly even her intense flip outs were mostly just supposed to be a way of showing the other side she wasn’t a pushover, but those intimidation tactics were terrifying to Tibby, who decided he would just distract himself from his problems with video games, television, and fantasy novels. Eventually he would get a computer too, but not until late high school when he was employed.

"Now that we understand what a wreck his parents are, lets go ahead and turn ourselves to good ol’ Tibby and get his side of growing up. By the time the drama over his father’s sex change had settled, and that fiasco with the drug dealer was over, Tibby was about twelve or thirteen years old. He tended to be a quiet kid due to his home life, and didn’t make friends very easily. He had a few from time to time, but usually they were either too creeped out by one or more of his parents to socialize with him outside of school.

"It didn’t help that when middle school rolled around, he lost contact with some of them, or that the more demanding social hierarchy of middle and high school managed to scare the rest from of being affiliated with him. Partly for this reason, he fell into a bit of a depression over the course of his teen years. No friends, no social life, and no hope of even talking to girls (let alone a girlfriend), left him feeling pretty alone and hopeless.

"It was around then that Nataly did some snooping, as she could tell something was going on with him. She tried to talk to him about it, but he just wouldn’t share, so after persistently pestering Cherry, and even hiring a P.I. to look into things (an expense she couldn’t really afford by the way), he more or less guessed that Tibby needed a push toward independence.

"That’s how Tibby got his first job in the food industry. Nataly had talked to her bosses and set it up that he could work at Nuggets part time during school, and eventually full-time both during summer break and after graduation. Though he hated the job, and wasn’t well liked by either his co-workers or the customers he did learn to improve his hygiene and his social skills to an extent.

"At the very least, he had a distraction from his other problems by way of mandatory interactions, and he even seemed suited for customer service. At least in that he already knew how to keep his emotions bottled up and out of the way, even under constant abuse. Even when he felt he couldn’t possibly take anymore, he had found an outlet in the internet, and online gaming, where Tibby could get into all of the flame wars, and over the mic screaming matches he wanted. It wasn’t exactly a healthy outlet, but at least he wasn’t a serial killer.

"Eventually, watching his son waste his life in fast food and the internet, still friendless and living with his mother, Nataly sat her son down and encouraged him to get a real job. One that could pay for bills instead of just fuel his gaming addiction, and after some persistent nudging, and a few artistic liberties on his resume, he told his dad he’d look into it.

"He didn’t, of course, but he said he would, and he realized full time at Nuggets was more than enough to split rent on an apartment with someone else. So, after looking into more than just a few adds and some assistance facilitating things from Dad, he finally found someone willing to rent with him.

"The place was an absolute dive, and the guy he was renting with wasn’t exactly a great roommate (pretty bad in fact), but so was he, so it worked out just fine.

"Tibby was used to putting up with a lot and had an outlet for his anger, and Ron (the roommate) was pretty stoned all the time and was never able to get people to live with him very long, so since neither of them did anything super drastic they got along more or less alright.

"Then, a couple years later, when Tibby was around twenty-four years old, he awoke in the middle of the night to find that all of the body fat had burned away, and he was left with a perfectly chiseled, muscular, and fit body. He had firmly believed he must have developed some extra-normal traits, and excitedly shared this information with Ron.

"He thought to call and ask one of his parents, but he figured they might worry if there were other complications to such a sudden change so decided against it, for now.

"Ron wasn’t exactly thrilled at being woken up in the middle of the night, but the idea of having an extra-normal roommate or wing man appealed to him, so together they set out to a nearby park to test his abilities.

"What they found, is that he could lift a car up on one side fairly easily, though it strained him a little, and he seemed to be able to do feats of athleticism and run around a bit without getting winded or anything. Because of this, and the fact that even humans can lift a car up with some effort, they weren’t one hundred percent sure if he had any ‘powers’, but they were pretty sure chicks would dig his new look. They decided that, from there, they would hit the town and see if any ladies were interested in helping relieve them of their virginity.

"Unfortunately for Tibby, he was still a socially awkward mess, and did not spend enough time in his youth learning how to engage with girls. He was still terrified of them, in fact. So, between Ron’s complete lack of appeal, and Tibby’s counter-game, a long night of fruitless searching ended with each of them alone in their beds.

"The next day, Tibby found he was still a stud muffin, which was a relief because he worried it may have been a dream, and though Ron had suggested they try again, Tibby was too anxious from the night before. Instead, he elected to search the internet for pickup lines and tricks of the trade, in preparation for a second try some other evening. Now that he was hot, it couldn’t be too hard, could it?

"Perhaps hot was not the best choice of thought, as that very night (just around the twenty-four hour mark from the initial ‘hottening’), his blood began to feel as if it were boiling, and his body started to convulse violently. In that moment he would undergo a body horror transformation so brutal that even the strongest of fortitude would be repelled.

"Hearing the commotion, Ron rushed to Tibby’s bedroom only to see, what he thought, was a giant pulsating grub monster trying to consume his roommate. He sprung into action (Mostly because Tibby still owed rent for the month), grabbing Tibby’s chair and striking him three or four times before a terrifying screech from ‘the creature’ caused him to lose his courage and sprint from the apartment.

"Now of course, the ‘grub monster’ wasn’t actually eating Tibby, as Tibby was, in fact, becoming a grub monster and when the transformation was complete, Tibby was actually more or less just a giant disgusting mindless grub. Not a potentially cute disgusting grub either, but a massive, fat grub with bulbous segments, and powerful jaws. Less like a caterpillar and more like a cross between a Goliath Beetle grub and an Amazonian giant centipede, but with vaguely human features and about twice the length of a horse.

"Tibby ate everything in sight, including parts of the building, and when law enforcement eventually arrived, they were unable to stop him or even slow down his rampage, but before they could call in extra-normal backup it was over. In that moment, his actions were judged as a rank 4 event, but in hindsight officials estimate that a rank of 7 would have been more warranted, and it could have potentially been worse if it hadn’t come to its own conclusion.

"Somehow, Tibby managed to escape detection upon retreat into the ground, burying himself deep in the earth after inadvertently collapsing a building onto himself, where he would enter a deep sleep from which he would not awaken for almost one year. Many were killed during his rampage, and both Theobald Ledford and the mystery monster were presumed dead from the events.

"Once he awoke, he could tell something was different. He had, and still has, no conscious memory of these events, only becoming aware of them after a psychic, under government request, had probed deep into his mind for the truth.

"All he knew upon waking up and crawling his way out of the surface, was that for a brief moment in time he was a beautiful shining star, with limitless potential, and great new life ahead of him. A life that would allow him to bury his old one in the past, discarded as an unfavorable memory. A brief forgotten moment, replaced with the heavy reality that he had become a disgusting monster, inciting horror from everyone unlucky enough to have watched him emerge.

"He tried to tell them, he tried to reach out, but his voice had been replaced with the growls, chitters, and other vocalizations appropriate for the monster he had become. A monster that, rather than resembling a grub-centipede hybrid, was more similar to a hulking bipedal beetle.

"He wandered around looking for help, until the authorities arrived, where he surrendered and was taken in for questioning. Eventually they were able to bring in an extra-normal who could understand what he was trying to say, and as part of trying to assist him in finding his place, they went through the long and obnoxious process of re-claiming his identity. It was during this that the mind reading extra-normal mentioned previously came to assist, and Tibby was able to finally get his paperwork in order.

"Ironically, though each of them had gone through such drastic changes themselves, neither of Tibby’s parents were willing to accept him back into their lives-”

“Well, we can’t use him.” Loraine interrupted as Even lowered the paper he’d been reading. “If we do, it’s just going to set a bad precedent to some viewers that this sort of thing only happens to people whose lives were already shitty.”

“I don’t know, I think we can give our audience a little more credit than-” Evan attempted to push back, before being interrupted by one of the others.

“Even if it doesn’t, we already have a boatload of potential candidates who grew up poor, or abused, or whatever, what we really need is a sandwich. Take a couple ex-norms with an average childhood to get the ball rolling, a couple whose lives were already a shit show and a couple who had real potential or promise before what happened to them to bring the mood real low and get the waterworks going, then you get some actual success stories and put them at the end to bring people back up. That’s T.V. baby!”

“Yeah, but Clay, aren’t we trying to tell real stories about real people here? Shouldn’t we show that people can come back from this in a-” Interrupted again.

“Come off it, Evan, this is television, nothing we’re doing here is sincere. We’re already making a show about a bunch of undesirables, we need to pad it out a little so it’s fun to watch. Nobody’s made a real documentary in years. Get off your high horse, and help us choose from what we already have laid out. There’s a deadline, you know.”

Thomas was right, unfortunately, but it didn’t make Evan feel any better about the situation. Putting Theobald’s Essay back into the pile with the other rejects, and moving the folder full of unread applicants off the table he started to help narrow down the actual contenders for the project.

The only reason he applied to this project was he thought he could help make a difference. Show people that they could still live a normal, healthy life despite having been changed. Instead, he was helping to sensationalize, further marginalize, and vilify an entire minority group, all while insulting the intelligence of their audience.

After finishing up he decided to grab a couple of items from the local Floormart, completely unaware that just on the other side of the building, a certain beetle-like extra-normal happened to be on shift.
 
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Legend pushed the wheelchair out of the elevator the same as always, taking the energy from the slight bump of the uneven floors before it could jostle the seated woman, as always. He fixed his eyes forward concentrating on seeing his surroundings as objects and people rather than the collections of mass and energy his powers showed them as. He tuned out the thrum of electromagnetism that came from the wires and devices of the city, choosing to try to see faces and hear voices. Some of the voices said his name but there was a wall between them, not a greeting, safe to ignore. Another voice gave greeting, the seated woman moved her face and responded, Legend gave a nod, the voice's owner moved their face and continued walking away from their destination.

Katherine shifted in her seat, half to make sure she didn't drift into sleep as her chair glided along the floor without a single bump despite the textured steel floor, a phenomenon she knew was the result of her escort's efforts. One of the Bureau administrators paused as she crossed an intersection in the hall to greet the pair, Katherine returned her smile and greeted her in kind. She saw the woman look at the man behind her before her smile evaporated. The poor girl fled the hall as her the color drained from her face.

"Legend, what are we going to do about that dreadful face you must put on? I have no idea what my student must have done for you to be so inept with people," she closed her eyes and wagged a finger back towards the target of her words.

His charge expressed lament at his lack of social grace, he must work harder to understand the people around him. She wants that too. His attention was pulled to the east at the thought of her, even so far away he could feel her gentle light. When the seated woman had finished expressing her disappointment he responded simply. "I'm sorry, ma'am."

"Yes yes, just keep trying. Maybe you should take a break to visit your wife, you always do better after the calls and goodness knows you have the time off to do it," Katherine laughed as the door to the meeting room chirped a confirmed security clearance before either of them were close enough to have triggered it, allowing them to glide into the room unimpeded.

She looked around at the various people in the room and on the monitors, many stood to attention upon their entry taking their seats again as her chair was pushed into place. upon her escort taking a seat she glanced at his face to find his eyes already locked onto the monitor showing her student and his wife. Myth was smiling into her own monitor, no doubt after seeing them both enter.

Legend listened to the reports as always. Blue Falcon suing for support and for assistance from others in light of rising crime rates involving extra-normal abilities, some suit or another responding with vague, empty promises. Baohu reporting that was was on schedule despite setbacks. The local Bureau head reporting budget constraints and various numbers concerning his underlings' collective performance over the past month, his assistant setting this month's goals. The PR head had schedules passed out to those with upcoming interviews or public appearances. Eventually the moment he'd been waiting for came.

"I believe it is time to hear from Myth, what news do you have for us regarding your post in Africa?" The president of the Global Extra-normal Services asked.

"Thanks Mr. Kegsson, I'll give the good news first; the aid mission is moving smoothly ahead of schedule thanks to support from locals and other extra-normals in the vicinity, I believe we'll be ready for Baohu in only 2 months rather than 7. We'll need a fabricator or extra shipments to make that happen though, you should have gotten my reports by e-mail last week regarding those," she smiled at her screen as several people nodded that they had seen the e-mails. She continued after the time delay of distant electronic communication.

"I'm afraid the bad news about my primary objective is tremendously bad." The tension in the room immediately strangled the positive atmosphere. "I can't tell where it is going to appear, my visions are giving me conflicting information."

Legend listened to the roar of quickening pulses around him as they all came to their own similar conclusions: her visions were never wrong. Sometimes they came from strange perspectives, but they were never wrong. He watched her face distort in discomfort as she watched their reactions on her own monitor.

"Legend, what's your take on this? You know more than any of us how it works," Blue Falcon stared across to the man he'd addressed.

"We have to consider that everything she is seeing will happen, I'd like to hear more before I say more than that. Please give us the details, Angel."

"Right, I..." she wiped away a tear before continuing. "The strongest vision I'm getting is from West Africa, it's myself and some locals pushing the asteroid away and out of orbit in the mid-day. Nobody else is there, but there is a vaporization flash over the west horizon and another from the north then finally one that destroys the asteroid I pushed. After that is one that seems to be from South America in the early morning. There is a huge local response before Legend and Sol Glory arrive, Legend then leaves and Sol Glory holds the asteroid before her barriers fail and the asteroid is destroyed in atmosphere below clouds. The observer appears to die from the rain of debris. The third is Australia or New Zealand in the late night and Red Force is there. The observer hears a huge impact and rushes outside to see the asteroid falling in pieces. Red Force is seen deflecting the largest chunks into the Ocean, Baohu's machines block the waves and smaller chunks but the observer is blinded but dust. In the last one only Legend is present. I can barely tell what is happening, you're in space and badly hurt there is a glowing blue asteroid that you take your time vaporizing. You see another and vaporize it as well, then you just..."

Silence hung over the people in the room. Katherine was the first to break it. "So, it sounds like we're in for a real rough time then. We only have one of us for the next asteroid for whatever reason. Could it be some kind of dimensional power?"

"Maybe, but it sounds more like they might happen all at once to the same planet since the flashes are visible in the sky. The blue asteroid, were you seeing it with my eyes or through my eyes?" Legend asked.

"Through, which is more concerning to me since you-"

"That means it was horrendously radioactive and I wanted you to be able to see at all. Hmmm."

"How soon, Myth?" Red Force asked.

"November eleventh, maybe twelfth."

"I guess I'll see one last birthday then," Katherine barked out with a laugh.

"Glory," Blue Falcon wanted to say more but nothing was coming.

"We all knew it was going to happen someday, I wouldn't be in this chair if it wasn't. I'm more concerned for the rest of you; especially you, Legend. What's it take for you to be hurt, again?"

He didn't respond to the other voices, he was focused on the noises from one of the monitors: diesel engines and water hitting dry ground. There was too much interference from everything else. He stripped away everything else to see why one the offices was picking that up. Myth was the only one not in a secure location but that's not the monitor the sound was coming from. Two of the monitors lost signal. Baohu and the head of the Special Projects Division. A moment later several of the cameras shook and then the headquarters building shook with them. Not an earthquake. The vibrations were absorbed and the source located. He stood and threw air at a wall, neatly removing a chunk. One of the masses jumped in front and became energy which he threw a precise amount of force at, waiting just a moment for it to speed off before following.

"Meeting adjourned, eyes on the streets you know the drill everyone!"

"It's been a fun time these last 30 years. Isn't that right, Forcie?"

"Yeah yeah, the best. Fighting comic book villains was not a career I thought would exist, but here we are. I'm heading out there, you coming with?"

"No, I think you kids have it. I don't have much juice left and I'm going to need it this winter," she shooed him away as she turned the chair herself. "I'm going to talk to my favorite student."

"Hmph, right."

She heard the slight rustle as his cape caught the wind. She got close to the monitor she wanted, the girl on it watching the room of people rushing about like bees in a kicked hive. The old woman adjusted the volume and spoke quietly. "He'll be fine, it's going to take a lot more than four of those asteroids to stop him."

"I know. There is something else, I just don't know what it is. Even when he tries to make things look like that he can't for me, he's just focusing on that, his mind and eyes are still getting that data which is what I read. Something was dreadfully wrong, Kathy."

"Do they know that?"

"No, they never understand when I talk about that stuff. Even the scholars can't seem to keep it straight with recordings."

"Maybe another expression of your power. Does he know it?"

"Yeah, he was covering it up for some reason. Is there something going on with him?"

"Always. Try to get him to visit you. I'll survive a few days without him pushing more life into me. He needs the break and you could use it too."

"I think I'd rather come home for a bit, we're way ahead of schedule and have bigger fish to fry."

"Suit yourself but I was trying to get you both some time away from the office, so to speak."

"Kathy! You're absolutely right, we'll do both!"

Mentor and student shared a conspiratory laugh from half a world away.
 
Name: Blink
Identity: Jason Silver
Age: 24

Strength: 10
Damage: 0
Durability: 5
Mobility: 15
Intellect: 0
Perception: 10
Control: 0
Power: 0
Other: 6

He has super speed but with an additional ability to phase through objects by shifting into a parallel dimension. He can extend this to others via touch and inanimate objects, even complex machinery if he focuses hard enough, and has enough precision to remove a specific piece if so desired. He can also see in both dimensions at once, or separately. He uses phasing in conjunction with parkour to traverse in unique ways.

Blink is more of an urban legend than a recognized threat. A vaguely humanoid Gray-ish Teal blur has been documented around the scene of more than a few robberies, and even a few bizarre deaths over the past 6 or so years. Yet in the same span of time the same blur has been reportedly seen saving civilians from the scenes of similar crimes and potentially fatal accidents or disasters. Motives of the individual in question is unknown and it is recommended to keep a safe distance and gather intel if encountered.

Jason Silver is a reserved, yet friendly and easy to get along with young man. Being raised by two GES Operatives has built him a strong moral foundation, always willing to lend a hand to those who ask. Though his family has fallen on some troubling times recently, his super speed has helped him to hold down a few jobs, due to his excess of energy limiting the need for him to sleep. Even with as busy as his schedule gets he still makes time for his friends and family.


Associated Characters:

Myrna Swan/Warg - Blink's partner in crime. Has the ability to form "bonds" with animals, and can perceive through a bonded animal's senses at an untested range. Also has an innate side power that makes all animals subconsciously friendly towards her even if not bonded. Blink enlists her most commonly as a scout or lookout, and sometimes, much to her chagrin, as animal control. Has a legit job as a Zoo Keeper.



Brent Calhoun/Why-Naught - Another of Blink's associates. A standard "gym bro" in appearance and attitude, however his power is entirely mental. His ability allows him to compel people to do things, but he does so by hyping them up. He can also choose to boost their capabilities, though does so sparingly as it is exhausting. Victims of his power believe this to be their idea when the effect happens, and even forget he was hyping them to do it after 24 hours. Blink sometimes enlists him to stir up trouble when he needs a distraction for his criminal activities. Has a legit job as a Fitness Instructor.



Garret Silver/Boost - Jason's father. A retired "hero" with a medical condition. He has super speed, but it has begun to give him heart attacks in his old age, so he takes medicine to suppress it. He also had the ability to extend the speed boost to others and objects via touch, but he mainly used this on civilians when rescuing them so that they could handle the G-Forces.



Beatrice Silver/Bea-Gone - Jason's mother. Another retired "hero" who has the ability to seemingly erase things from existence. She has refused to test this power on any living creature, but has successfully "deleted" things such as trees and other plant life, even down to the root systems, though only the roots of the plant itself, and not any that were tangled. What the power actually does is send it to a parallel dimension(the same one that Blink can shift into) but nobody knows that since they never had the equipment handy.
 
Jason looked out the window at the neighborhood before him. It was a lovely day by normal standards, sun shining down on the neighbors as they go about their daily lives. Mail was retrieved, dogs were walked, greetings were exchanged, and just as Ms. Cardenas was getting ready to water her garden, it happened again.



A sensation he was familiar with, as sound began to distort and one moment began to stretch into a thousand. Water cascaded from the nozzle, floating gently down like snowfall to the grateful flowers below. Similarly, across the street another flow cascaded from a Miniature Schnauzer, descending upon a less grateful Mailman, who sneered in disgust. Finally he settled directly outside the window, at one of his mother's feeders, where a Hummingbird could be seen, its wings drifting gracefully in a figure eight pattern, as it hovered at the fake flowers to drink their would be nectar.



Though distorted, he could hear an almost rhythmic humming, drawing his attention back inside to his father's amused expression. Recognizing it as a chuckle from dear old dad, he reigned in his wandering thoughts and began to focus his mind on what was in front of him.



All at once the world returned to normal, sound crashed back in like wave from an angry sea god, and he could hear his father clearly once again.



"It happened again, eh Speedball?" his father quipped.



"Er, yeah." Jason replied, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, "Sorry about that Dad, it's been getting harder to reign in"



"You don't think something's wrong do ya?" his dad asked, his current health concerns springing to mind.



Jason looked at his father's brow furrowed in concern, and his face twisted in confusion, until he realized the implication and rushed to alleviate his worry.



"Ah, no it's nothing like that" Jason assured, placing a hand on his father's shoulder. "I've been getting more exercise since Brent got me that job as a parkour instructor, so I've gotten a bit faster"

"I see," his father replied, his concerns mostly alleviated, "y'know between that gym thing, that delivery work, and all the other odd-jobs you cram into your schedule, I just can't fathom how you have time to come by here, let alone go out and live your life"



"Well, time and energy are one thing I have in spades dad" Jason chuckled, accepting a mug from his mother, who just entered from the kitchen.



"We both know where he gets that from" she deadpanned, her face adorned with her typical stoic neutrality, yet her eyes containing a sparkle of mirth to them.



As they began their marital banter, Jason leaned back and sipped the coffee his mother had brought him, decaf as always, smiling at his folks' antics.



His father, Garret Silver, ever full of energy, even now with his powers suppressed. Though his body has softened somewhat since his days in the GES, he still retained his rugged good looks, now adorned with what he affectionately refers to as "The Dad-Stache", though the light brown is now peppered with gray white, and the only hair left on his head save his eyebrows. He used to joke that one day when he stopped running, his hair kept on going.



His mother, Beatrice Silver, was a complete contrast to her husband. Always calm and graceful, her pale blue hair and her stoic demeanor, as well as her soft yet melodious voice, all combine in an almost ethereal beauty that has been known to turn a few heads, even nowadays. Her hair, even as it sits now in a neat bun, seemed to glow in a certain light. She was dressed for work, having taken an early shift in the GES office nearby. She took the secondary job in response to the decrease in large scale disasters recently. She figured it would be best, as they would certainly excuse any absences that came about because of something they called her for.



As they began to ramp down from their current “argument” Beatrice’s alarm rang, indicating her need to depart.



“Well as fun as this has been, I have to go to work now” she stated, gracefully untangling herself from her husband’s embrace, “And it’s about time you went home and got some sleep young man”



Jason flinched at the accusation, a mistake he realized, as her stoic face gave way to a loving frown, something only a mother could manage.



“When was the last time you slept?” she scolded, his reaction prompting her to continue, “You know what? Don’t say anything, I can tell the answer is upsetting”



“Gunning for my record, eh Speedball?” Garret quipped, only to to flinch and take a sudden interest in something outside, sipping his coffee silently at the withering glare his beloved wife was giving him.



“The signs of fatigue are harder to spot in people with powers like yours,” his mother began, choosing to ignore her husband’s comment, “but a lack of focus is among the symptoms, so try to get some rest dear, you do still need it”



“Yeah…sorry ma” Jason replied, head hanging in shame.



“Enough of that,” she chastised half heartedly, “Since you’re up, run me to work before you head home”



The emphasis she put on the end of the sentence left little room to argue, and Jason wordlessly approached his mother, allowing her to climb onto his back, and then turned to give a nod of farewell to his dad.



“See ya tomorrow pop.” Jason called, not noticing the jet of hot coffee leaving his father’s mouth and nose as he sped out the door.



Garret was in a state between laughing and groaning in pain at the searing liquid passing through his sinuses. In the end the sight of his wife’s stoic face as she clung to their son’s back had been too much for him to handle when he had mustered up the courage to look back towards the pair.



Jason dropped his mother off at the GES building with little hassle, only stopping once to pick up breakfast for the two of them. As he said goodbye to his mother, his phone began to ring, earning him a pointed look from her as she backed into the building, leaving him alone. As he checked the caller ID he noticed his friend Myrna was calling.



“Yo, what’s popping Murray?” he asked, fully aware of her frown on the other end of the call.



“I’m choosing to table my outrage for now,” she replied quickly, “You need to get here asap, I’m at Brent’s”



“Right, be there in 5” he said, shelving further sass and hanging up.



Banter was a good 75% of his relationship with Myrna, so for her to forgo it meant one of two things. Either they were in trouble, or they were about to make some.
 
"What a nightmare," Officer Krenshaw took a long drag on his cigarette as he looked at the rubble of the former office building.

"Hey, L.T.! We got BOP on scene," the junior officer Esteves pointed a thumb over his shoulder at the man following him to Krenshaw.

"Right, go help out Martinez, we're probably out of here in 5," Krenshaw pinched the cherry from his smoke and ground it into the puddle he stood in.

"Lieutenant Krenshaw."

"Deputy Director Ingham."

"My team is spreading over the scene now, anything we need to know?"

"Looks like it was Sluice and Steel Princess. Not sure how they got the water all the way over here but you can smell that it's saltwater and Princess left one of her platforms over there," Krenshaw gestured to his right where a 20 foot shiny stalagmite appeared to have rapidly grown up through the middle of a parking lot.

"Mm," Ingham pressed a finger to his earpiece at that "Blue, Red, you're chasing Sluice and Steel P." He removed his finger "is that all?"

"Should be everything you need for the on scene. We'll have our reports in within an hour of getting back to the office."

"Clear out your people with any civilians. Same for fire and medical. We've got a 12 controller about to start up."

"Fuck!" the officer slammed his radio's hand-piece "All units clear the area, control 12 is active, I want everyone not in a BOP uniform out now! Repeat: control 12, full evac immediately!" Krenshaw felt more than he saw or heard the change that happened. He chanced looking around as he sped towards his own vehicle, freezing up when he saw what he'd been looking for and stumbling headlong into the briny water.

Legend had materialized in the air above Ingham, the feeling of raw power emanating from him was overwhelming. Ingham flinched too, though he was able to stay standing. His vision blurred and his gut lurched as if on a roller coaster, and then he saw that he was standing next to his car 3 blocks from where he'd parked it. Krenshaw was bone dry but he immediately rectified that with a cold sweat.

All around were other people, police, medics, firemen and reporters standing looking every bit as stunned as Krenshaw felt. Some wept while others ejected the contents of their stomachs, bladders, or bowels. Krenshaw knew intellectually that no cameras were working in the moment, they'd been briefed endlessly over the years and he'd experienced this before. He used the time to try to compose himself mentally, ignoring everything around him. When he felt the power wash over him a second time he made his way to the reporters, perfectly clean and dry, just like everyone else.

"Are we all clear, Legend?" Deputy Director Ingham asked through clenched teeth.

The man gestured with his hand, Ingham's world fell apart around him for a moment. He could see between the air and feel the light shift according to the man's will. Then the world re-stabilized and there was a familiar building where there had been rubble moments ago. Legend was no longer facing him, Ingham followed his gaze and failed to see anything of note, just a different office building than the one they'd been here for.

"What's the status inside, Legend?" He knew to close his eyes after asking that. He smelled smoke and opened his eyes again.

"Fuck you, Legend. Let me be dead next time," Baohu spat and a brown projectile landed on Legend's shirt.

"Enough, Baohu. Legend, how many failed?"

"Enough?! You let him just-"
"None failed. Three are of concern."
"What the hell, he was dead! I-I saw it!"

Baohu and Ingham both looked to the third person, Legend continued to face the direction he'd chosen upon entering the building. They all saw a blonde woman in a nice blue blouse and black slacks sitting on the floor.

"Well, that's one. What's your name miss?" Ingham knelt and offered a hand to help her up.

"Ashley. Ashley Nilpine," she took the offered hand and used it to stand. "You're the Deputy Director. What's going on, I, I thought-"

"Miss Nilpine, what area of the building do you normally work in?"

"I-I'm a mail room clerk, what does-"

"Ah, you must have been delivering something to Mr. Baohu I take it. How's your ankle? It looked like you twisted it a bit when you fell."

"Oh, uh, it feels fine. I guess I was just shocked to see you and Legend here and lost my balance. This is so embarrassing, um..." She looked around for a moment before Ingham handed her a yellow bubble mailer envelope.

"I think you must have dropped this."

"Oh, thanks, uh Mr. Sun's desk is there," she set the parcel on the desk that Legend had moved it from. "Sorry, to interrupt gentlemen, you have a wonderful day!" She sped off towards the elevator. Ingham looked back at Legend.

"And the other two?"

"Already dealt with."

"Mm, you're supposed to ask when you copy my power."

"Not yours, Angel's."

"She isn't here for you to copy it, and you aren't allowed to hold onto her powers for as long as she's been gone."

"I'm looking at her now, I haven't been holding it."

"We'll discuss this later. Go assist Red Force and Blue Falcon."

"Sluice, Steel Princess, and Cargo have exited my allowed range of operation. Are you clearing me to-"

"Absolutely not. Return to headquarters." Before he'd finished saying 'return' Legend was already gone. "So, Baohu, what side project got you targeted this time?" Ingham tried to place a hand on his subordinate's shoulder.

"Don't touch me," Baohu dodged the hand. "If it was Sluice then it was probably to prevent maintenance on unit 97. He probably hired Cargo. Don't know why Princess would help," he lit a cigarette ignoring the half-smoked one sitting in his ashtray.

"Just checking. Well, everything is back to normal here. Make sure to get some rest."

"Make sure to keep that thing on a leash. I'll be reporting his disregard for-"

"Yeah yeah, he went against your DNR; make sure to include what you feel an appropriate punishment would be when you report it. We haven't found anything that he cares enough about," Ingham turned away to head down the elevator.
 
Wayne Erupted with laughter as the delivery driver stormed around the other side of the cargo trailer and into the loading area, where the Floormart warehouse staff were present.

“What the fuck did you just do!?” He screeched, placing his hands onto his head as he stared at the torn steel and several decimated pallets of broken product.

“It looks like someone took a 12 gauge to a tuna can you fucking moron! How the hell am I supposed to explain this?”

Tibby let out a terrifying sound that caused Donald, the driver, to jump backward defensively, unaware that it was the equivalent to an exasperated sigh.

“Relax man, our manager is on the way.” Seth responded, in an attempt to calm the man. “We’ll get this figured out; it was an accident.

“How the hell do you accidentally destroy a 5-ton trailer full of cargo!?” he shot back, more of demand than a question.

Tibby just stayed still, not only hoping to somehow become invisible to the situation, but also because he was terrified any attempt to get up would cause more damage.

“OH MY GOD, is everyone okay?” Reena asked, taken completely aback by the site.

Tibby wished her presence would have made him feel more at ease, which usually was the case, but this situation felt bad enough that he wasn’t even sure his favorite manager would be able to help him out of it, if she was even willing.

Wayne choked to contain his laughter as she shot a sharp look his way.

“OKAY? Your spider-shrek just destroyed thousands of dollars’ worth of cargo and equipment, of course it’s not okay! What am I supposed-”

“Is every*one* okay, is what I asked, respectfully sir, and although I do understand your concern regarding the equipment but everyone needs to step away from the situation and we need to make sure everyone is safe and that this doesn’t become a bigger hazard.”

Donald continued to shout, but his complaints fell on def ears as she began to dial the management above her, as well as emergency personnel just in case, all while motioning for her employees to get out of harm’s way in case more pallets fell or part of the vehicle and trailer came loose.

Tibby continued to remain still, except to give an awkward thumb’s up to Reena, which incidentally sliced a gash into a row of sports drink above and behind him, causing them to spill all over him.

“Looks like you got yourself into a sticky situation huh Tibbs?” Joked Archibald, an older man who liked to push the boundaries of the company’s written and verbal warning system.

“Tibby you sit tight we’ll have you out of there in a sec alright hon?” Reena shouted to him.

While he waited, Tibby thought about everything that led up to this moment carefully, because there was no doubt in his mind, he would have to try to explain the incident later, a task which he did not trust his co-workers with in the slightest.

Since his employment there, he’d been repeatedly assured that the company was not allowed to discriminate against him, and that he had rights which prevented harassment and other problems that might crop up due to his condition, however repeatedly he had also seen various employees skirt around these safeguards, taking advantage of his inability to explain things clearly and conveniently. Recently at least, he had learned about devices that he might use to ‘speak and spell’ his way into more convenient conversation, but so far, he’s had to settle for writing or typing messages with a white board or specialized phone keypad.

Wayne and Archibald were some of the worst offenders, who felt the need to prank him often, or put words in his mouth for a laugh. Wayne wasn’t usually as bad, but Archie was the type of guy you’d expect to be eating people’s lunches out of the fridge or pocketing small products to take home with him. He’d never been seen doing any of those things mind you, but he was definitely the type.

That said, jump scaring Tibby in the loading area definitely seemed like the kind of prank that was up their ally, so he couldn’t decide if he should be madder at them for doing it, or himself for not seeing it coming.

Since Tibby was incredibly strong, you would think they would have him move pallets from the truck, but because he was so heavy and so big, he couldn’t maneuver well in the cargo trailer without risking damage to the truck or the pallets, so his primary task when truck would arrive was typically to stack pallets that had been off-loaded, and move them out of the way so that when the unloading was finished they could unpack the pallets so the product could be entered into inventory and placed where it needed to go.

In Wayne’s defense, Tibby was technically still supposed to be using the proper equipment to transport the pallets back and forth, officially at least. Unofficially he had become accustomed to moving them by hand because it was faster, and his incredible strength made it easy. Unfortunately for Tibby his incredible strength also made it easy to throw the full pallet of product while tripping backward out of the loading area, dragging the truck and all it’s cargo down with him as he fell.

The result? Several racks and shelves full of product and the pallet thrown into them looking as if they had been hit with a wrecking ball, one sideways 16-wheel semi-truck and trailer partially torn and smashed, and a healthy mix of scared, bewildered, and entertained co-workers all trying to figure out what the procedure for such a cluster-fuck should be.

Tibby sighed again, this time inviting a concerned Reena to check in on him again.

“Tibby, you alright? Can you get up without making things worse?” she asked.

He wasn’t sure if he could, and it would turn out he couldn’t, but he tried anyway. He rolled back and forth for a moment, using his extra arms to nudge him a little as his primary arms grasped the side of the trailer, simultaneously pulling him to his feet and crushing more trailer and cargo. Once he was standing, he looked himself over and saw that other than filth, he was fine. Well physically anyway.

Reena waved him over and took a look over him. “Go ahead to the bathroom and clean up, then go to the meeting room and we’ll have a chat, okay?” she said. She didn’t sound mad, but he still couldn’t shake the feeling that even discrimination laws and policies couldn’t help him much here.

Washing up was a chore, as the alterations that most large business made to the handy capped bathroom stalls didn’t usually take the handwashing stations into account, but he managed. Once he reached the meeting room, he began to write down what had happened, and he heard a strange noise coming from the crushed plastic and metal that once passed for a walkie. He always thought it was dumb to give one to him, but he supposed that he still needs to receive messages and instructions from his co-workers. After switching out to a new one he was able to receive a repeated version of the message.

“Hey, Tibbs, could you come to customer service and take a look at this for me? I could use a second opinion.”

He probably should have stayed where he was, but he figured Reena and the other managers would be tied up for a while before they got to him; plus, if he was about to get fired anyway, he’d at least go check on it.

Ignoring the usual reactions of folks not quite used to seeing someone like him, he made his way to the customer service station and was greeted by a friendly smile from Cloe, the co-worker who had made the call on the walkie.

“Not to worry, sir, looks like help has arrived.” She stated, as she made her way out from behind the counter.

“This fine gentleman purchased a keyboard recently for his son, and we’ve seemed to come to a disagreement as to whether or not his keyboard is covered under warranty for this particular issue, since you’re something of a techie I thought you could weigh in on the situation.” As she spoke, she held the item in question aloft and Tibby carefully took the item to look it over.

Despite the customer’s current claims that Cloe didn’t know what she was talking about, and that her son never spilled anything on they keyboard in question, there was no doubt in his mind that this object was a victim of abuse rather than defects. The most glaring piece of evidence being the Cheeto sludge caked under the keys.

Tibby made a sound that caused the customer to flinch, but it was just him attempting to talk again. He gestured to the mess on the keyboard and shook his head.

“Ah, I was afraid of as much. I’m sorry sir, but it looks like my hunch was about accurate. Tibby here seems to think these are signs the object was abused and unfortunately you would need some kind of insurance protection that covers that kind of thing in order to get it replaced, warranty is more for manufacturer issues…” she just kind of let her words trail off as the customer snatched the keyboard back, threw it to the ground and stomped out of the store.

Tibby couldn’t really muster the facial expressions to convey his displeasure with the situation, but that didn’t seem to stop Cloe from picking up on his attitude anyway.

“What? I needed a second opinion… and maybe someone the customer would be less comfortable yelling at… Quit looking at me like that.”

Tibby let out another sound as he returned to his prior directive. It wasn’t unheard of for him to be used to intimidate rowdy customers but he kind of liked Cloe, so he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. On one hand, he could decide that it’s alright because he was helping out a friend, and maybe he’d make an exception for her anyway, but on the other hand he didn’t like the idea of someone he wanted to be closer to potentially using his situation as a tool for their benefit. Then again, he’d probably have done the same thing in her shoes. Either way at least he could use this philosophical conundrum as a distraction for the trouble he felt was coming his way.

After about an hour and a half of waiting his superiors finally made their way into the room. To his surprise they only wanted to make sure he wasn’t going to hold the company liable for his accident, and that he filed the proper paperwork for a workplace accident or injury. Apparently the rest of whatever was going down wasn’t his problem.
 
Last edited:
Name: Doner
Identity: Poppy Marylan
Age: 15

Strength: 0
Damage: 0
Durability: 10
Mobility: 0
Intellect: 0
Perception: 0
Control: 0
Power: 0
Other: 0

Poppy's physical appearance resembles a zombie with blue skin, white hair, and purple eyes, otherwise retaining the basic appearance and shape of a human girl. Rather than round pupils, they have adapted into the shape of a "Plus" sign or cross.

Still retaining scars from injuries from an animal attack that took place before gaining her transformation, she has the ability to otherwise heal and recover from any wound including death to the point where she would even regrow her body fully after cremation. This recovery sometimes results in gaps in her memory; however, she retains most memories important to her identity and ability to function.

She also possesses the ability to heal others from all wounds or sicknesses including death but must attach parts of herself to a wound in order to regrow ones that are lost, or use said body parts as 'glue' to re-attach severed but missing portions from another person. The portion of herself Poppy chooses to use to facilitate this need not be the same as the injured area, nor need it be similar in mass. She can only provide healing for humans and extra-normals and is unable to heal plants and other wildlife.

In addition to healing from injury/death, she is also immune to sicknesses and disease and can similarly cure others of sickness and disease including cancer. Because of her healing factor it is presumed that she will not degenerate with age and has the potential for immortality in that regard as well, however since the age of ten when she first underwent a physical change, she has physically aged to her current age of fifteen, so it is likely that her body will continue to change until it is at its natural peak, and likely be unchanged from that point.

Due to her physical condition and her past experiences Poppy has a phobia of water as she believes it will cause her to fall apart and may even be able to kill her permanently, as it is considered a weakness to many undead in media.

If she were brave enough to expose herself to water, she would find these theories to be false.
 
I wake in fear to the sound of metal scraping over each other as it crashes and rolls down to a stop. I put my hand to where my heart is and sign in relief that I’m fine. My blanket drops off me as I stand up and stretch walking over to grab my hoodie slipping my shoes on as I put the hoodie on. I grab a sack and step outside pulling the black hood over my short white hair. I move a board away from the hole on the side of my home and stepped out into the day. I move it back and bent down to pet my puppy.

“Hey, there boy. I have to go get food now I’ll be back later. Love you, Skelly.”

I give him a kiss on the head and head out of the scrap yard heading into town to search for food. I keep my head down and avoid the stares of mean people turning their nose up at me. I’m very good at keeping my head down and being small. I step into the allies and start searching for food. After two hours I find something small but it will do. I sit down leaning against the wall and start eating the burger with my eyes closed trying to get past the mold taste. It got a lot easier over the years to picture something else while eating crap.

I walk around window shopping looking at clothes mostly. Picturing myself wearing them as if I was normal. I hear snickering behind me and two girls making fun of me. I turned and run-off upset.

After I got away, I just walked around aimlessly bored out of my mind. It was getting dark so I headed back home with the stuff for my puppy. I see a man riding on a motorcycle swerving. He was coming down a steep hill and he hit a pothole and flipped a couple of times, landing in an aqueduct with his bike on him. I ran over to him thanking the lord that it was dry and no longer in use, as otherwise, I could have gotten wet.

I slide down into the Aqueduct and moved his bike slowly off him. He was fucked up. I can see his bone sticking out of his leg and arm and he’s bleeding a lot. He was unconscious so he was not screaming, but I’m not sure if he was alive I bent down and used my powers to heal him up the best I can. I reset his bones so I can heal him properly. when he is fully healed, I try to wake him up by slapping him in the face. He starts stirring a little bit.

“Uh, sir wake up. Are you ok?”

“Mm… yes, what happened?”

“You crashed your bike but I healed you up good as new. But you should still call the cops to make sure you’re ok.”

He nods his head a little and I stand up waving bye to him. I step back up on the road and started walking home. I hear a woman’s voice from behind me.

"Uh, hello? I'm Luminous with the Bureau, I think we might have a spot for someone like you if you're interested?"

I turn to look and there was a woman standing there She look like she works out regularly. She’s Wearing a white/yellow skinsuit with some armor pads on her joints and gloves. She’s also wearing a helmet that covers her upper face. She looks very important and really clean and well kept. I get nervous and I pull my hood down more casting my gaze down to the ground.

"Umm no I'm good. I don't want to be a test subject" I turn to walk away "I was only helping"

"Test subject? I think you have the wrong idea. We're an organization focused on using our powers to help people. I know that's strange for a government organization, but it's true."

She shows a business card and then sets it down before backing away.

"I don't want to be pushy about it, so I'll just leave my card. And not to be rude but it looks like you might need some new clothes, I'll leave a voucher for Arcadia Wardrobe for a pair of outfits, my treat," she sets a sheet of paper on a conjured-light ramp and it slides down next to the business card. "No pressure, just think about it. We can always use more support from gifted people."

I pick up the business card and look at it and look back at her "you think I'm gifted? but... I’m a monster..."

"Wha--no! You're a teenager. The monsters are people who think those that look different should be treated different. That's the kind of thing the Bureau is trying to change."

"But..." I pull my hood down more to hide my face "my... my parents shot me dead... ‘cause I'm a monster they said..."

"Your...Oh no. Do you-can I give you a hug?" Luminous reaches one hand towards the girl but waits for permission before moving.

I look at her iffy but nod slightly "Uh... yea but I ... smell"

"Don't you dare worry about that. Are you alright? Do you have a safe place to stay?" Luminous wraps the girl up in what she hoped was a warm, comforting hug.

I accept the hug and sigh a little. "I sleep in the scrapyard, in a water tower that is sideways. It’s warm in there. and no one really bothers me ‘cause is dangerous in there. But I don't get lonely I have a dog"

"We can get you set up with a safe place to stay if you want. There are programs for situations like yours. I can't guarantee that you won't have roommates though."

I frown slightly thinking I pull away from her.

"Are you sure it’s okay...? I'm not a people person... not that I don't wanna be it's... just look at me. I'm kind of..." gesturing with my hands trying to find the word "freaky?"

"Of course! There are plenty of others who have had physical changes. We can find a place for you."

I stand there for a few seconds thinking about it. "Ok let me get my stuff"

"Oh, yeah."

I start walking to the junkyard to get my backpack. The only thing in that is an old teddy bear that was mine. my parent buried me with it. The lady was following me. She conjures basically a light cycle from Tron.

“Do you want to go for a joyride before you pick up your dog?”

"Sure."

When we get there, I show her my home and my dog. "This is skelly. He don’t bite he is a very good boy aren't u skelly?" I pet the head of a clearly dead dog. the dog looks like it’s been here for months.

"He knows a few tricks watch Skelly, stay. good boy! now play dead. good boy!" I smile big "see he is a good boy, right?"

"Uh, yeah, one of the best." She bends to pat the head very, very lightly.

"I think he is sick though. if I try to love him. he uh... breaks apart. and I can’t fix him. only people"

"Well, we don't want him to break. It might be better to leave him here until we can get a vet or Myth out to take a look..."

"Oh, ok then. We can go now then" I pat skelly on the head " I’ll be back boy. I love you" I give him a small hug looking upset. then I followed her back to her car.

"We'll get started on a place to stay then we can get you some spare clothes, sound good?"

"Yeah. I'm kind of hungry too. I was looking for food when I saw that guy crash" I look out the window tiredly

"Oh, of course. Burgers ok, or are you craving something?"

"That sounds awesome. I haven't had warm food in a bit. can I get fries and a shake too?" I look at her excitedly

"Psshh, can you even eat a burger without those?"

We get food and I’m taken to a tall building downtown. Big open lobby with a bunch of receptionists talking to people. There are other people in costumes, some in suits, others in casual clothes, there is even a super tall reptile walking next to some people chatting away. A few people notice us and nod or wave, but this place seems pretty busy.

She guides me to an office where a chubby old toad of a woman in a suit is tapping away at a laptop. Her voice sounds like it belongs in a cartoon as if she was using a creaking door to speak as she greets us.

"Miss Luminous," she nods "I'm Mrs. Long, may I ask for your name young lady?" She stands and offers a hand for a handshake.

"Uh… Poppy" I say, timidly shaking her hand

"Please, have a seat, Poppy. Miss Luminous sent me an email so I have a general idea of your situation. We should be able to get you a temporary place tonight with a more long-term solution tomorrow or the day after. Would you be ok living in a house with some other women? You'd each have your own room with a communal kitchen, bathrooms, and living area." Mrs. Long closes the laptop and sits with the fluid grace of a routine maneuver.

"Mmhmm, I'm ok with that. Can my dog come too? She said she can get a vet to see him.” I sit down.

"That shouldn't be an issue as long as any potential roommates are ok with it. I think we had 2 vacancies with unrestricted pets. Do you have any allergies or problems with animals like snakes or birds?" She types on a keyboard that doesn't appear to be connected with anything and a screen attached to the side of the desk on a swivel kicks on with spreadsheets and an email program open.

I watch her with interest and awe. "Uh no I’m ok with them"

"Perfect, I'll message them about you and we can have them give a tour so you can pick which one will suit you better. We have a few forms for you to fill out with whatever you can."

She slides a clipboard with some forms and a fancy metal pen my way.

“If you don't know everything, they ask it's fine, we can come back to update them later. I just need something to plug in my system for now."

The forms ask for basic info like full name, age, gender, contact info, education level, job history, etc.

I do; my name is Poppy Marylan, age 15, gender female. "I don’t know my other stuff when I died, I forgot some things"

"You...died? I'm sorry to hear that," she clears her throat before continuing. "I see you're 15, would you like to go to school? We can also try to get you a part-time job if you'd like to work. You don't have to do either if you don't want to, they're just options."

"Well, if u want the rest of my info you can talk to my parents. idk how that will go through, and I would love to do school and work."

"That will be fine. We'll wait to start you in school until you've settled into your new place. As for a job, what would you be interested in trying? We can get you into just about any entry-level position you'd like to try. I will warn that there are people you might run into at customer service-related positions that might treat you poorly based on your status as an extra-normal individual, but the other staff are there to deal with that should it occur."

"Uhh… whatever u think would be good for me?"

Mrs. Long looks at Luminous for a moment. "We'll figure something out. Do you have a phone or e-mail?

"No, I don't I'm Amish"

"Oh. Hmm, that will make things a little complicated. Would you be against using modern devices?"

"No. I actually want one. This stuff is so cool." I smile at her and point to her pc.

"My parent did not like that idea in my head though. "

"Perfect, I'll have one prepared for you," she gives a wide smile. "We'll have you in building J for now. I think that takes care of everything for me. Sorry to ask so many questions, Poppy, do you have any questions for me?"

"Uhhh… will I be healing people?

"If that is something you can do as an extra-normal individual, it is a possibility. We don't require that those in our program use their extra-normal abilities. But if you want to do that then I'm sure we'll be able to get you set up to do just that. It would likely require you to join the GES since you're too young to work for the Bureau of Powers for now."

"Ok that sounds good. not trying to be rude or anything but I'm tired..." I look over at Luminous then back at Mrs. Long.

"Of course, would you like Miss Luminous to escort you or shall I call for someone else?"

"Luminous if she's ok with it. I don't want to be a bother"

"Haha, don't worry about it. This is my favorite part of the job. It's not far anyways. Ok to take a card, Mrs. Long?" She asks pointing towards her business cardholder. Mrs. Long gestures that it's fine. "Yes, yes, now get her to a bed."

I stand up and curtsy "thank you so much Mrs. Long for helping me"

"I am very grateful to you both"

"Haha," she stands up and returns the curtsy with a shallow bow. "It's been too long since I've seen a curtsy. I'm glad to help you, Miss Marylan. We'll talk tomorrow," she gives a small wave. Luminous gives Poppy a thumbs up, "You bet, I'm glad you were willing to come along. Now let's head out."

Luminous takes you for a short drive to a nearby building that looks like city apartments. A middle-aged man in a red flannel has a quiet TV playing college sports behind the reception counter. He looks up as a bell above the door chimes.

"Ah, hey Luminous. And you must be Poppy?" He stands up and stretches.

I nod and hold my hand out to him "yes I am. nice to meet u"

He shakes your hand, "Name's Lachlan, you'll be up on the 19th floor so the elevator is over here. Stairs are behind that door if you'd prefer or in case of emergency." He hands you a plastic card with "J19-18" printed on it. "That's your room key, it'll operate the elevator too." He leads you both into the elevator and points at a hole in the wall with a flashing light.

I take it "thank you sir” I put the card into the hole and go up to my floor with Luminous and that man. I start fidgeting with my fingers a little.

He leads me to room 18, there's a similar device on the door, and upon opening, he gestures for me and Luminous to go in while he talks from the doorway. It's pretty much a really nice hotel room.

"Bathroom on the left, there's a bag in the closet for dirty laundry. Mini-fridge has water and sports drinks. You've got soap, towels, and bedding too. The cafeteria is in the basement; your room key will get you in there. If you need anything else press the intercom button by the door here. Any questions?"

"Yea I don't have clothes to change into... what bed is mine? I don't know how to work these things" I point to the whole area in the Livingroom and kitchen. hmmm I think that it"

Luminous helps me out with the modern junk and tells Lachlan to have a small sweatsuit brought up. "I'll try to take you to shopping tomorrow, but I might have to send someone else."

"Ok thank u. I'm going to bathe then go to sleep. I'm tired. and thank u again I mean it." I give her a hug

"Sure thing," she hugs you back. "Talk to ya later! Let's go Lachlan."

I look around the room a little then go “bathe” which means a slightly damp cloth running it over my body. I’m afraid of water so no normal bath for me. I put on the new clothes and hop into the soft bed which feels like it is engulfing me. I stare up at the ceiling as I fall asleep holding my teddy.
 
Luminous bids Lachlan a good evening as she feels a familiar vibration from her pocket. Exiting the building she checks to see the call is from Mrs. Long, prompting a sigh before she answers.

"Good evening, Mrs. Long; is there something else you need me for? I have my own paperwork to fill out and my patrol ended 5 hours ago so-" Mrs. Long cut her off before she could finish the excuse.

"I request your presence in my office, Miss Luminous. In regards to your earlier e-mail." Luminous mentally cursed at her abuse of the secure information codes.

"Of course, I'll be there shortly."

A quick jog brought her back to the familiar office building, not allowing her the time to mentally prepare for the coming argument. The heroine strode through the office again, returning waves and smiles to those that gave them until she reached the door she had been summoned behind. She paused to knock but the inhabitant called out to her before she managed.

"Please, come in, dear."

She hurriedly entered and flinched at the wall of air freshener scent that assaulted her nose upon entry.

"Close the door and sit, we're busy people, you know."

"Of course, that said if we could make this quick?" Luminous took the ordered seat.

"You know I'm not supposed to be doing this anymore. I moved out of the Programs Department years ago," Mrs. Long leaned on the desk and laced her fingers under her mouth to afix the heroine with the proper look of frustration. "I know you aren't using your time off and I know you are maxing out your overtime and volunteer time, I would suspect you are doing more than that but the head of GES Personnel Resources has been emailing me asking for confirmation of the same things, meaning you are doing it there as well."

"I'm just-"

"Stop. I know you are technically allowed to do so under the regulations. I helped write those regulations and the intent was for times of emergency and disaster relief efforts. Just tell me why you are working 22 or more hours every day. I'm concerned both as the head of Personnel Resources for the Bureau but also as a mother. Rachel, I-"

"Don't. Don't you dare call yourself a mother. Scotty-"

"Scott was killed. It's unfortunate-"

"Unfortunate? You abandoned him. You lied and said he ran away. Did you even read the note he left where they found him? I know they would have given it to you."

"Yes, I read it. Why are you-"

"He took that poisonous cure because of you. Because he wanted to go home. Because you couldn't accept what he'd beco-" Mrs. Long reached over the desk to interrupt Luminous with a slap.

"You stop that. I've cried my tears for Scott. I know I was wrong. That doesn't mean I can't still be concerned about you. You're working yourself into an early grave to make up for a mistake that wasn't yours. Is that how you want to make it up to your brother, by being there for everyone else since you couldn't be for him? Do you think he'd be happy about that?" Luminous glared without saying anything before Mrs. Long continued. "You're father misses you, Rachel. I miss Rachel too, don't you?" The two sat in silence again before Luminous spoke up.

"Is it my turn then? No, I don't miss Rachel; she was a puppet who only existed for the sake of earning pointless accolades so her parents could brag to their friends about things they didn't do themselves. Rachel hid her powers for 5 years because her parents wanted her to be a normal over-achiever. I HATE Rachel Long. I do think Scotty would be proud of what I'm doing, even if he couldn't be happy with how I have to do it. And I don't do it just because I regret the past, I also do it because it is the right thing to do. These are people, the same as you and me, and they deserve to be treated like it," Luminous rubbed away the tears from her cheeks as she spoke.

"So you intend to keep on going at this pace then?"

"Yes. There are-"

"Then I am going to formally request you be placed on temporary leave out of concerns for both your physical well-being and your mental health."

"You can't-!"

"I can and I am."

"This is bullshit!"

"You need rest, you still get tired and stressed. No one could keep this up forever."

"Why single me out then? Baohu works just as much as me. Legend only takes 8 hours off per year."

"Because Baohu and Legend don't NEED rest like you do and they are both allowed special circumstance for being too strong. You are not on their level in that regard."

"I'm going to-"

"Rachel-"

"-fight this tooth and nail. You-"

"Rachel!"

"What?!"

"Your father is...He's dying."

Luminous sat quietly, searching Mrs. Long's face for something, anything, that would betray a lie. She couldn't find anything. "Wh-why tell me now?"

"Because you won't answer Rachel's phone, just Luminous's. I want you to visit him, please. I want you to have a chance to say goodbye this time."
 
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When most employees had an incident at work, they would report to one of the back offices and have a discussion with one of just a handful of employees that seemed, at least to him, to live their whole lives in those little offices, but with Tibby’s bulk they had to make due.

Before his employment there, the meeting room simply had a long table surrounded by chairs in the center of the room, with a projector screen on the very end of the table, which would project onto a pull-down screen. Those things were still in the room, mind you, but since his employment there they had added a single computer and desk to the back corner of the room, where one of the employees could assist Tibby in anything relating to his job that might require a PC.

With most of the chairs moved outside into the hall, and the table pushed toward the back of the room to make room, Tibby crouched quietly, pretending to sit on the chair provided for him. They did have a sturdier chair for him, mind you, but he already felt like he could be in trouble and didn’t want to ask to have that brought in, as it was fairly heavy and bulky in itself.

Frolo, the highest manager at this specific store, sat across from Tibby, filling out necessary paperwork with the assistance of another employee, Nadio, who would take the sheets of paper he was filling out and re-enter the data electronically at the aforementioned computer station.

A knock on the door frame drew attention to another entity, causing Tibby to fall out of his stance and break the chair in an attempt to view them. The figure moved immediately to assist Tibby back to his feet as he spoke, then moved to shake Frolo’s hand, who was delayed a moment from the distraction.

“My apologies for the delay, there was a communications error on our end. I kow Mr. Prost is usually the one who deals with these things, but he is currently indisposed. I am Allacuros, Vice Chief of Abnormal Relations,” the voice was deep and smooth with perfect pronunciation.

Tibby recognized the figure from the internet: a large imposing man with anthropomorphic feline features, with a reputation of being an actual demon of some sort, or maybe it was a devil. Either way he was a clear favorite among various online communities.

King of the furries aside, he stood brimming with a presence of professionalism unmatched by anyone Tibby had met prior. His free hand offered up a business card, which Frolo took happily.

Tibby continued to stare at the man, wondering if he was truly sent due to an indisposition or if they just decided to send someone else who was… abnormal looking for that sake alone.

“Nadio, could you perhaps fetch a chair for Mr. Allacuros, as well as Tibby’s chair from the other room? I should apologize, I suppose with the sudden and severe nature of the accident something as simple as furniture slipped my mind. I’ll try to be more mindful going forward.”

As he finished his sentence, Allacuros Snapped his fingers, and flames wreathed around the broken chair and an empty space beside Tibby, creating two chairs fit for the statures of Tibby and Allacuros himself.

“Never mind I suppose.” Frolo said, just before he and Nadio jumped in surprise to a terrible sound coming from his employee.

It only amounted to something along the lines of “Wow” but it’s similarity to electrical saws on chalk, startled them none the less.

Tibby settled in to his chair in a way that seemed a little too comfortable, sort of reminiscent of dragging ones back along a rough surface to scratch a really good itch, prolonging the assault of strange noises coming from the large invertebrate.

After a moment of recovery, Frolo moved as if to speak, only to be interrupted again by a large amount of chunky viscous fluid splattering in great volume from his employee’s mouth-like region. It was incredibly thick with obvious signs of life squirming about inside: an unfortunate consequence of Tibby’s positive reaction to the chair.

The creatures almost resembled the type of toy used to create small scale roller coasters for children, strangely shaped gears and rods of organic material each between the size of a small cookie and a large cellular phone.

Frolo let out a sigh, requesting that Nadio print extra copies of the forms that had been destroyed by the ‘vomit’.

Despite how horrific the event seemed to be to the Floormart staff present, Curo smiled, having already sat down in his chair, which slid forward to bring him closer to the table.

“I take it the chair is to your satisfaction then. Excellent. Before I begin, I will ask permission to use a translation spell on you for the benefit of the others.” He stated, though he did seem aware that the low croaking sound that had been escaping the mystery organ responsible for producing the ‘vomit’ wasn’t speech.

Nibby began to nod enthusiastically in response, causing light fixtures above to sway as the room shook with his enthusiasm.

“That would certainly be helpful.” Frolo added.

With the answer to his offer being a positive one, Curo began speaking some unintelligible incantation, causing a fiery circle to form in front of his own face before exploding across the room, harmlessly washing over everything. It would seem this gave the ability for everyone to understand everyone, and everything else in the room, regardless of language or special barriers.

Tibby and Frolo were both quite impressed by the action, offering a “Pretty cool trick.” and “Astounding!” respectively as a response, neither noticing Nadio’s look of horror directed at the small mucus creatures, who were actively and enthusiastically begging to be eaten and killed, before beginning to enthusiastically and loudly, engaging in activity that one could only guess was something akin to mating.

Curo swept a paw over the table, causing the creatures to once again fall silent, still moving but no longer heard.

“I’d forgotten how unpleasant that can be.” He remarked. “Now then, I would like to hear your account of the incident Mr. Tibby.”

“Yes, please do share.” Mr. Frolo offered as well, in a way that felt to Tibby like he was attempting to stay relevant or assert dominance over Allacuros’ initiative.

“Well, Archi asked me to move a few pallets for them near the loading area and then Wayne jumped out and startled me, so I dropped everything and fell backward into the truck. I tried to catch myself, but I just flipped the truck and tore through its trailer with my... uh... talons? Those guys are always doing shit like that. They like to make up shit and just tell people I’m saying stuff. I don't know if that's something people believe but sometimes it feels like some of them do."

The pair listened intently as Tibby recounted, and Curo asked that those employees who were present for the event be brought in for statements as well, if possible, to which Frolo nodded and sent Nadio to retrieve them. Shortly after, Archi, Wayne, Reena, and the other employees present arrived to crowd the meeting room.

“I’m Terriby sorry to hear that.” Frolo said nervously, though he was perhaps more nervous about whether or not Curo would judge him for the troublemaker’s continued employment than actual concern for Tibby, as one could infer if they were that blatant about such a flashy prank they were likely a persistent issue.

Tibby slumped a little at his own assumptions regarding that likelihood.

"Mm, this Wayne may face a minor criminal charge for directly causing this incident, the others will likely only face whatever Floormart policy dictates. Naturally, our agency will provide temporary workers should this cause a staffing issue, if necessary."

"But we'll see what they have to say for themselves, first."

Those less directly involved in the incident were invited to give their statements first, as that would allow them to get back to work and out of the way. Archi, Wayne, and Reena were asked to stay behind for more thorough feedback on the matter, with Archi focusing more on how useful Tibby’s strength was for the task, hence the request, and insisting he was not involved in Waynes part of events, only laughing as a reaction to the uproar from others.

Similarly, Wayne claimed he had not jumped out, but had in fact tripped during an attempt to warn Tibby of loose product in his path, insisting that was the reason for his sudden appearance and shouting.

For the time being, Reena only mentioned that she came into the situation after the fact, and could not corroborate one way or the other how the events occurred.

To Frolo’s credit, he did give the two employees push back on the matter, questioning why they had not cleared the loading area beforehand, as well as questioning the fact other employees left those details out if they were true.

“You’re full of shit Wayne,” Tibby accused. He was frustrated with how slow this process was going, and sick of being pushed around, using the voice he finally had to air other grievances, listing off a number of his offenses in the work place.

Frolo attempted to de-escalate the situation, but it only fueled Tibby’s fire, causing the large beetle to complain about how he hasn’t been able to speak for ages, and how unfair it is to ask him to quiet down or shut his mouth when he’s finally able to call people out for the bullshit they’ve been doing.

He went so far to even accuse Frolo, and the company of trying to weasel their way out of liability or responsibility, and how the handicap accommodations in the restroom still wasn’t enough to help with his unique issues. He was clearly intent on voicing every problem he’s ever had in this job, every complaint he was unable to voice, and Frolo, the one who was supposed to be in control, was just barely able to keep from showing how terrified he was as Tibby’s hulking, shrieking form refused to settle down. Even limiting his gesticulation to awkward close-to-the body motions, as comical as they may have otherwise been to see, shook the very room from the sheer power behind them.

"Make my eyes pierce the lies and lay bare before me the truth of all things!" Curo's eyes glowed bright white as he muttered the incantation, which was made intelligible by his previous spell.

"Mr. Wayne, will you give your statement one more time?" Curo requested afterword.

The room fell silent as everyone watched intently, unsure of what was about to take place. This time as Wayne spoke, attempting to reiterate his prior statements, a thick black smoke poured from his mouth. He didn’t seem aware of it, but everyone else could see, their eyes following it upward, the smoke disappearing before it hit the ceiling.

Frolo let out a strange groaning sound in surprise, but did nothing to interrupt or speak on the matter.

Upon finishing his statement again, Curo spoke.

"Mr. Wayne, are you aware of what my powers are? That I am a manifestation of crushing the enemies of those who called me? Are you absolutely certain that you aren't trying to avoid blame?" Curo leaned heavily on the table, cracking it from the weight of his mass. The flames of his neck gently grew to a point of two feet or so in all directions.

Frolo continued his groaning, unsure if he should be interrupting.

“Shit, no job is worth this kind of aggravation. I quit!” Wayne threw his vest onto the table and stormed out of the room, his fear poorly hidden behind a veil of indignance.

"Very well, we will continue our investigation and contact you at a later date then." Curo replied, settling back down to his chair, his mane and eyes returning to what appeared to be their neutral state.

Tibby looked at curo, then at the door Wayne just exited. “Well, that’s a shame, I thought you were gonna kill him.” He joked darkly, forgetting in the moment about the magical translation.

Archie and the three members of management jumped a little with surprise at the statement.

“Oops… mute guy humor?” Tibby offered awkwardly in an attempt to correct his lack of professionalism.

Frolo shrugged the statement off, and Reena followed suit. He then turned to Nadio, tasking him with the job of convincing Wayne to at least talk to HR and maybe take some time off rather than quitting, as well as seeing if he was willing to come back and continue the discussion.

"Haha, sadly I have been commanded by Myth not to do such things. And there is a process for dealing with these things that professionals such as myself must adhere to. However, it feels as though that wasn't the first time he has crossed you, Mr. Tibby. Would you care to elaborate?" Curo’s statement brought the room’s full attention back onto Tibby.

“Well, since you asked…” Tibby sighed and began to list of several instances of workplace bullying, ribbing, and other problems with Archi and Wayne that were either against the rules of employment or actually illegal, including things that had nothing to do with him. Ho took his time discussing unrelated grievances with his employment and the company that he attempted to rant about prior, this time with a much more calm and professional approach.

Frolo attempted to excuse some of the complaints, mentioning that they’ve been asking corporate about more specific accommodations to Tibby’s needs, explaining that their response is always a mix of a perpetual ‘we’re working on it’, and claims they’ve already made such accommodations for his conditions.

The problem was, the changes corporate had provided were too generalized, and didn’t help with many of the issues he happened to have personally.

Frolo even went out of his way to mention the extended break times Tibby was being provided by the company, though Tibby wasn’t sure if they were genuinely trying or if he was just trying to give the appearance of someone conscious of his employees ‘special needs’.

"Well, if I may be so bold, it sounds like you are unhappy working here; beyond the normal malaise of the working world. If you'd like we can see about placing you elsewhere. I'm sure we can find a place where you'd feel better. And this isn't a dig at the store or company, Mr. Frolo, I know you are trying on your end." Curo suggested, prompting an obligatory “Of course.” From Frolo.

“I don’t know about that.” Tibby said hesitantly. “Like a bigger warehouse? I can’t think of anything that wouldn’t at least be an equal nightmare to this mess. Either I bumble around making a mess of everything, or I stand outside like a circus animal getting poked and prodded by pedestrians as I hold a sign for some slop joint or corrupt financial institution that barely pays minimum wage for people who can’t get better employment. I feel like dealing with customers isn’t an option, so what normal job could I actually do; substitute for the walruses at the local zoo?” He didn’t even try to hide the pessimism in his voice. He knew what he was, and he knew how people felt about that.

“Mm, perhaps construction or grounds keeping. No need to worry about a building or customers with either of those.” Curo offered as examples.

“Construction is a shit job. Well, I guess so is this. No offense.” (He meant offense) “Grounds keeping like how? Like gardening? Grave digging? I’d probably just end up eating all of the corpses…” Tibby complained.

Management couldn’t help but give him another look at this point, though he couldn’t tell if the concern was for him or for those who might have to interact with him.

“Tibby, you have options… and for the record, you’re more than welcome to keep working here with us.” Reena said, placing one of her hands on his rather large forearm.

“That’s sexual harassment.” Tibby joked thoughtlessly, causing her to quickly remove her hand. It was clear from her nervous body language that she was worried he might be serious. It made him feel bad.

He thought to make it more clear he was joking, but that thought was interrupted by Curo.

“Just the first things that came to mind, I'm not as knowledgeable with the modern world, but we have an entire department dedicated to placement for those in your situation. Of course, the option is always on the table for you to join The Bureau of Powers or The Global Extra-normal Service. I'm sure both would be happy to have you. Or you can stay here like Ms. Reena said. I just wanted you to know you have options."

“Aren’t those the superhero jobs though?” Tibby asked confused, wondering how much of the rumors around Curos’ origins were true. Most of it had to be fan-fiction, right?

He’d seen interviews with Curo online, public speaking videos, all things he was positive had to be some kind of top tier fan dubs. The amount of work they put into getting such a skilled voice actor to accurately mimic his very unique voice was impressive, so much so that he saved a few of those videos to his personal computer. Out of respect. No way he was a furry, especially now that he himself was somewhat beast-like. Well, if you consider that side of the animal kingdom beasts.

It kind of made him wonder if creatures of a demonic nature did in fact exist, and whether the religions they’re tied to might have some actual truth to them. If so, could such creatures truly exist as some kind of evil, or do they just have some kind of natural role to play in the ecosystem? It was hard for him not to think of even clearly unnatural things as somehow natural. Even something refined, sculpted, and altered from its original state by outside forces is natural in a way, after all, its not coming from nowhere. Can one really say something isn’t meant to happen, or exist? It was too much philosophy for today though, best left for later.

"Not all of our work is 'superhero jobs' as you put it, we have plenty of jobs available for private citizens and civilians alike. Jobs like what I'm doing right now, or data entry, or any of the myriad of jobs that are required for any large-scale operation to function. Again, the specifics elude me in the modern world, but there are people with the answers. And don't feel pressured to make a decision right now, my card. If I'm not available one of my subordinates will be. And for the store as well, obviously."

Curo broke Tibby’s line of thought as he spoke, and was sure to offer business cards to everyone present, all of which took one without question.

“I’m free now if you just want to take me to figure all that out. Honestly, I’m sick of this job anyway and being able to talk to someone for the first time in a long time is something I’d like to make use of if I can. Feels like it’ll make the whole thing easier. Even if it’s because of demon magic or some such thing.” Tibby said.

“Well,” Frolo interjected “don’t quit quite yet, Tibby, but take all the time you need to figure out what you want to do. We’ll make sure you have the time necessary; we’ll make sure HR knows you might come see them about some things and take care of the rest of what’s necessary for today.”

Tibby wanted to gag. He guessed Frolo never really did anything to contradict the idea he might be a nice guy. If he gave him the benefit of the doubt and admitted to his own bias about how he chose to view all of his actions and dialogue so far today, and his limited interactions from before, he would have to admit he never really did anything to say otherwise. Tibby just couldn’t shake his disdain.

"Haha, well I don't mind. We'll keep this door open just in case. I'm sure we'll be in contact, Ms. Reena, Mr. Frolo. Now, Mr. Tibby, let us away to my carriage."

As Curo and Tibby both stood, the chairs vanished, causing the room to feel even more empty as the two bulky mutants left management alone to finish taking care of business, making their way through the staff area of the building and into a store, busy with customers of all shapes and sizes.
 
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As the pair of beastmen moved their way through the store itself, a large portion of customer’s couldn’t help but stare. There was a diverse mix of reaction from the various patrons of the Floormart location, but perhaps one reaction was a bit strong for Tibby’s comfort.

“Oh no, not the demon king!” an oily overweight lady of indeterminate age began, making all manner of sounds Tibby could only assume were supposed to be feline in origin. “It would be a shame if he violated me, and in plain view of all these onlooker’s too! Such a bad, bad kitty I must have been to attract the attention of such a powerful commanding man!”

Tibby felt nauseous, and for a moment was certain another batch of organism soup was on its way to meet the onlooking shoppers.

In that moment, he was right.

As a spew of chunky fluid once again left his body to cover the poor strange woman, she slipped and fell hard on the firm shopping center floor, some rolls of fat breaking free of the overworked bonds of the unflattering outfit she had chosen for the day.

To Tibby’s surprise, Allacuros snapped his fingers and ignited the woman harmlessly in a wave of flame, which burned away the mess and left the woman completely unharmed.

Helping her to her feet he produced an autographed photo of himself from thin air, handing it to her and sending her on her way.

Tibby was unsure if he was more disturbed with her actions, or the fact that he had just rewarded her for them, the crowd looking on in a mixture of awe at Allacuros and confusion similar to Tibby’s.

They then continued their path until they had successfully exited the building, and made their way through to Allacuros’ transportation, which was at first obscured by another large group of people admiring it, some even taking photos of themselves in its presence.

The vehicle in question was a sleek covered wagon in a gothic style with four fiery beasts attached. The creatures looked both draconic and feline in nature. The wagon was black with dark red accents and trim, with an angry imp at the helmsman seat, spiked chains serving as the reins. It was both classy and timeless, with an appearance that could be described as primarily metal, servicing both interpretations of the word as far as Tibby was concerned. It was made even more impressive by the fact that it was clearly large enough for such and impressive being as Allacuros himself was, and any guests he might fancy to bring along for a ride.

“Bitchin’ ride my dude.” Tibby said in admiration.

“Is there a riddle or something that needs to be solved in order to embark? Looks like something a riddle would protect at least.” This last part was mostly a joke, though it wouldn’t surprise him if it ended up being true.

“I am a duke of the demons. You should see the Kings’ carriages though, truly a spectacle. And the only riddle will be where you want to sit.” Allacuros answered.

“Oh. Uhh… here I guess.” Tibby said as he entered in through the side, sitting on the right as to face frontward, looking around at the interior. He saw a very posh internal décor with what appeared to be dark red crushed velvet upholstery and intricate reliefs depicting things you might see in biblical artwork or on the album cover of various metal bands, all carved into the walls and ceiling.

Tibby couldn’t help but note he was very much a fan of the style, interested and curious noises escaping his orifices as his proboscis slipped stealthily out of his face, searching his beard for the various juices he had spewed earlier, despite Allacuros having removed all traces of the mess in question.

The noises served to remind him that he still, in fact couldn’t talk. The diverse manner of squawks, shrieks, growls, whistles and other nonsense merely translated through magic to those specified in his prior spell, or simply understood by Allacuros naturally through his mysterious set of powers.

Allacuros sat opposite Tibby, facing reverse and telling the driver to go back to the office he had been prior to coming to the meeting at Floormart.

“So, is there like some kind of permanency spell, or permanent version of the spell, or like… a spell to mutate me back to how I was?” Tibby asked hopefully, trying not to let his desperation show. “At least maybe something that would let me actually talk instead of all this nonsense?”

“I have no need of the spell to speak with you, but it does last 24 hours normally.” Allacuros informed.

“If you like, I’m sure I have an amulet or something enchanted with the spell that wouldn’t cost much.” He rang a bell as he made the offer, and the door they had initially entered from opened to a black void, allowing a maid to enter the carriage with them.

She seemed to be a primarily humanoid woman with devilish features, including horns, a tail, and a dark reddish skin tone of a hue Tibby was uncertain of. She was extremely attractive, to the point that Tibby found himself not only staring, but also producing a strong-smelling pheromone from his body he was entirely unable to prevent. Her uniform was professional, yet also highlighted many of the features he happened to find desirable, such as a prominent cleavage with a visible, but tasteful mole.

“Does the master or guest require refreshments or snacks?” She asked, bowing slightly as she waited.

Tibby stammered a “No, thank you.” Trying very hard to keep his thoughts straight while very overtly gazing down her blouse.

Unknown to Tibby, the scent of his pheromones was causing all manner of insect and other arthropod creatures to react, attempting to follow the source of the smell. Were the carriage not moving at the speed it was, its likely there would have been a swarm of various creatures crawling and flying this way and that around the vehicle in an attempt to get inside to where the smell was strongest. Luckily, most of the attracted creatures simply lost track of the scent and wandered away confused and forgotten, creating various strange sights throughout the town minor enough that they were likely not noticed by most.

“A bottle of Toolkfejij’s wine for me, and check my effects for anything with the command of word and bring them as well.” Allacuros requested.

“As you wish, master.” She replied, leaving in the same manner she had entered.

“It seems she matches your tastes. How curious, she is rather plain by our realm’s standard. Perhaps I should consider opening a night house if your taste is typical. I shudder to think of what the succubi would be able to accomplish.” He said, placing his paw to his chin in consideration.

“You don’t spend a lot of time on the internet, do you?” Tibby replied, already quite embarrassed by the situation.

“I keep hearing people talk about that. What is it, and how does one get ‘on’ it? If so many people are on it, it must be some manner of ship or building; but I don't know what could possibly be so special about it since the enchantments are lost to this era. It wouldn't show you anything different than a normal ship or building."

Tibby was surprised by Curo's lack of knowledge on the subject. He knew he was supposed to be portrayed as some ancient being, but he thought surely that would somehow extend to having learned about such things, even if he had only been on the scene ‘in this realm’ for so long. He wondered exactly how much truth there was to what he claimed to be.

"Well, I’m not the most technical person, but I do like to dabble a little, so I’ll try to give you a better understanding, I guess. The "on" is more figurative, and refers more to accessing the internet than actually being physically on top of anything. I don't know if you've ever looked over at a computer screen or... actually here let me show you."

Tibby fumbled with his phone so he could show Curo a search engine, as well as some forums and other internet-y things while he explained.

"It’s basically like a network of information sharing that's depicted mostly through words and images where people can interact pretty much anywhere in the world that's connected.

“I can't really explain how the technology works, but it’s kind of like signals in the air or data sent through cables and things, to and from devices that can connect.

“I’m not sure how the internet is 'stored' or 'kept' but essentially anyone with access can go onto these sites and talk about, or share things; including images and videos.

“Also, because you don't have to be in person, things can feel pretty private, so folks tend to share more than they would otherwise. You're actually super popular there, and... well so are pretty devil ladies, and ladies of any kind really.

“Actually, because of how many people can access it at any given time it sometimes makes things less popular appear more popular than they are, or perhaps reveals things that are secretly popular that might be embarrassing or unacceptable to share in public. In fact, it could be a fantastic way to spread your unholy agenda to the masses, for instance"

“Fascinating.” Curo Responded. “You’ve made an inferior copy of The Ages. Hmm, it appears that false entries are much more numerous than the truth though. Still, that is fine work for being done with no arcane maths. I will have to look into making my own entries at some point."

The maid then returned with a small bottle and a large jewelry box. Curo took the bottle and she took a knee to present the box to him.

“Your effects with the command of word, master.” She offered.

“Very good, find something Mr. Tibby can wear and help him don it.” He instructed.

“By your will master.”

She turned to face Tibby and opened the box, sorting through it with machine-like precision. She then closed the box and stood with a pair of rings and three necklaces.

“Which one of these suits your taste, sir?” She asked.

The first ring was a thick silver band designed as a series of Celtic knots with small sapphire inlays around the entire ring. The other was a thin golden band with a large engraved surface like a signet ring, depicting a pair of horseshoes enclosing a bird, and a crown from above and below.

The first of the necklaces was a simple leather strap with a delicate-looking scarab completely covered in a rainbow of jewels. The second was a fine gold chain with three emeralds at the center, each with a strange rune engraved on their surface. The third necklace, and final item, was a thick black chain with silver whorls in the metal with a massive red gem dangling from the center link.

Looking over the items Tibby was enamored, they all looked really cool, really expensive, to the point where he did feel a little uncomfortable about the situation, but he was tired of living a life unable to be heard.

Today was a day for change.

“Uhhh… a ring I think… this one.” He said, selecting the ring with the Celtic designs. “Are you sure it’s alright for me to borrow one of these? They look pretty important.”

Despite the impressiveness of the rings, and the fact that he was talking to Allacuros, he couldn’t help but continue to glance at the maid, unable to will himself from the distraction her incredible appearance presented him.

She nodded and put the other items aside, then held her hand out for Tibby to rest his chosen hand on. Tibby held his right hand out and placed it onto hers, feeling a sensation of warmth more intense than a typical human, but not in any way uncomfortable, and otherwise unremarkable compared to another person’s.

She placed the ring onto one of Tibby’s fingers with a delicate touch, then gave a slight bow before backing away. The ring managed to fit despite the unusual size and shape of the appendage.

“Will that be all for master and his guest?” She asked dutifully.

A world of possibilities swam around in Tibby’s flustered and unclean mind, yet despite the fantasies of all the pleasant experiences one might be tempted to ask of a tempting creature, he knew better, and pushed those thoughts away.

“Uhhh… that’s all for me, thanks miss…” he responded, finally pulling his gaze away and fixing it onto his hands.

He fiddled with his fingers as he did so, kicking himself not only for allowing himself to boldly and so obviously objectify her, but somehow also for not giving in to his impure thoughts on the small chance such firmly grounded media stereotypes around ‘devil girls’ happened to hold true in the real world.

The maid placed the jewelry back into the box and left once again from where she had come.

“I was hoping you would ask for a necklace so she’d have to climb up to put it on you. Ah well. As for it being alright to borrow, we can discuss payment whenever. It’s a useful trinket to be sure, but not worth much to me.” Allacuros responded.

Tibby’s emotions felt as if they were being put into a blender at the very idea of what he suggested.

“Right, that’s fine. I’d give just about anything to at least be able to talk… I just wish things could go back to the way they were before.” Tibby said, referring to a small window of time just after receiving his ‘powers’ before the metamorphosis truly began taking effect.

A time where he was rendered something of an idealized version of his former, original, unfit self rather than the monster he would become.

“So… How does this work exactly?” Tibby asked.

“The ring, or getting you a different job?” Allacuros replied.

“The ring. Don’t get me wrong, because I am grateful for the help changing jobs too, but compared to being able to talk again, maybe, it can eat a dick.” Tibby Clarified, hoping he wasn’t coming off like a complete ass.

"Generally speaking, it functions the same as the spell but in reverse. So instead of everyone affected understanding each other for the duration, the affected is understood by everything while the ring is worn. A word of caution, I did not say everyone, that was not a mistake. I said everything. And while there are far less of them around the Spirits and Others do still exist. Try not to say things you don't mean too often." Allacuros said, both informing and warning Tibby at once.

"So, there's like a... like lying brings bad luck?" Tibby asked.

"That's one way to look at it, yes. You remember the black smoke Wayne was spewing? Well, that is present for all things, but those without the sight don't see it and those who don't understand the meaning in the smoke can't see it either. While you wear that ring anything with the sight will see your smoke, and many things either don't like seeing the smoke or will feed on it. Both of which will have effects on you depending on how it is moved or removed."

"Well I think I can live with that.” Tibby said.

“Thanks again... not to sound ungrateful though, do you think there's anything... better we could look into down the road?"

"I could teach you the spell, but you heard the limitations. There are other baubles that ward away those things, but if your smoke builds up too much then they will eventually fail, and it could be catastrophic; as in all the bad luck you might have had for however long strikes you all at once. Honestly, as long as you aren't someone like Wayne who tells selfish lies often then you won't have it too bad. Minor misfortunes like stubbing your toe or dropping a drink once in a while, unless the Others in this city are so few and far between that they never see you."

"Fair enough." Tibby felt pretty satisfied with the terms. He began to ponder about how strange Allacuros’s portrayals were on the internet and the media he had seen.

He wasn’t sure he understood it all correctly, but he thought there was some kind of supernatural destiny tied to him in some way. He also thought it was odd that the one weakness on the ring he happened to choose seemed to tie perfectly into his personal situation.

Unintentionally he had almost been trained to speak his own mind regardless of the consequences, because nobody could understand him, and now honesty was the key to avoiding mishaps with this object that would allow him to speak again.

He also wondered if joking around or being sarcastic constituted as a lie for the purposes of this object, since supernatural stuff is known to be pretty tricky in the way it’s portrayed in fiction, but he’d have to cross that bridge when he got there. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too bad.

Tibby was pulled from his thoughts as the carriage began to slow down, and Allacuros spoke.

"Ah, my master's manse. Such a curious construction. Come we'll get you talking to the right people for a new job," Curo exited the carriage the instant it stoped moving, and Tibby followed suit.

Tibby bumbled as he exited the carriage, catching himself with his large arms and pushing back to his feet before looking around them.

They had arrived to a familiar building in the middle of down town: the headquarters of the BoP.

“So… I assume you have other things to do. Do we just part ways once I get introduced to like, a new case worker situation, or do I talk to the lady who helped me before when I woke up? Or like, do you stick around and take care of that yourself as part of your duties or whatever?” Tibby asked curiously. He had nothing against the old worker per say, she was nice, but some part of him hoped Allacuros had more resources somehow than he had been introduced to originally. Plus, if he was being honest, he was starting to like him.

"I'll explain the situation and they can see you to someone. If you'd prefer, I can hang around, but there is little I can do beyond explaining what I know." Allacuros offered.

"No, I don't want to waste your time. It's interesting, people kind of portray demons and devils as these creatures made up of evil that exist for the sole purpose of causing harm but it seems to be more complicated than that. Unless it's not...?" Tibby paused for only a moment before continuing.

"In any case, some time when you're not on the clock if you're interested in a conversation, I'd like to kind of get to know what it's really like on the other side of things. Do you think I could get a picture of us to post online?"

"Sure, and you have my card; I'll instruct my subordinates to schedule a meeting whenever you decide. Just tell them it's for 'Ring Maintenance' and it'll make it to the top of my list."

The idea the ring could require maintenance was a little worrisome, but Tibby hoped it was just a way to make the meeting more noticeable within his busy schedule.

"Well, alright then." Tibby said.

He decided to take a picture of the business card so he wouldn’t have to worry about losing it, then took a quick selfie with Curo, using the building as a backdrop.

He posted the image to his social media with the text: "Guess who's helping me get a new job! Maybe after this we can be Beetle-ze-buds", punctuating it with an emoji that was crying, laughing, and upside down.

"After you.” Tibby said once finished with his post.

Upon entering the building and approaching the front desk, the pair were assisted by a very starstruck clerk, who happened to end up with an autographed photo of Curo as a reward for their assistance.

Tibby was grateful for Allacuros continued presence, as he felt out of place here despite one of the building’s purposes being to help exactly the type of person Tibby had become. Perhaps his pessimism was too persistent, but despite this he still somehow felt less uncomfortable when Allacuros finally parted, at the arrival of the worker the front desk clerk had summoned, as he was led back into their office.

It was still a little cramped, but not as much as he had remembered. Perhaps they had modified the layout to be more accommodating of larger builds such as he had. If he wasn’t simply misremembering, and this was true, perhaps he could be more hopeful this time around.

Or maybe it was just the suddenness of his original change and confusion, or the difficulty communicating through unfamiliar equipment, that made him feel more cramped, or more trapped. A social or emotionally fabricated claustrophobia rather than a true lack of space in his past visit.

Regardless, he somehow felt more at ease.

He was right to feel more optimistic in this moment, as the agent he was currently working with was phenomenal; at least to his standards.

Mr. Spellman, that was what the fellow had introduced himself as, and he seemed genuinely interested and empathetic toward the issues discussed. He asked a great deal of questions pertaining to his ‘specialty needs’, somehow without coming off as too intrusive, and managed to convey this energy without a hint of deception or annoying tendencies that Tibby expected to accompany such a personality.

Perhaps it was the contrast against the stereotypical overworked older woman with glazed over eyes and unfeeling tone that he found himself expecting from such institutions, but he quite enjoyed his interaction.

Better still were his suggestions. Tibby had felt so limited in his options before, even with the quickness Allacuros had in coming up with employment opportunities he hadn’t realized how many ways his ability and stature could be applied in the real world, or that they would actually be truly willing to accommodate or work around his problems.

Information about resources he was unaware of was given, and resources he was aware of but unsure how to apply for were covered as well, and ultimately, Mr. Spellman even assured Tibby he would be with him every step of the way thought he process, until he was fully settled in his new job, and housing, should he decide to make a move from where he was currently living.

In the end, all things considered Tibby decided he was going to try his hand at some security job at one of the extra-normal housing places, since he figured the combination of residents with extraordinary abilities paired with his own imposing appearance would lessen the likelihood, he’d have to do any actual work.

Who would be dumb enough to cause a ruckus at a place like that after all? Like security guards in popular media, he hoped to spend his time sitting around surfing the web, or going for calming walks around the property, hopefully making some pleasant acquaintances while on the job.

In addition, he was currently living in a temporary housing situation, which meant he could potentially upgrade from his current residence to a more permanent, and hopefully more suitable place; which would be especially convenient if he could move into the same housing place he was meant to be working at.

As much as he’d love for people on the outside to get used to his existence, he couldn’t help but appreciate the thought that he could avoid going into town at all if this ended up being the case.

As helpful as Mr. Spellman was, it did still take a couple of hours to go through all of his options and get the proper paperwork in place.

He couldn’t help but find himself getting excited about the potential of his new life, though unknown to him, passersby on the street were having a slightly less comfortable day as an unusual number of invertebrates where harassing people just outside the building.
 
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“What’s the situation?” Jason asked, leaning over where Myrna was seated at the computer.



“FUCK bro!” Brent shouted, spilling his Powerade all over the front of his shirt, startled at Jason’s sudden appearance, “What’d I tell you about using the door?”



“I walked through it…” Jason defended, shuffling his feet uncomfortably.



“Brent,” Myrna began, irritated from the start she received, “Shutthefuckup, and Jason…”



Myrna pointed at him sharply with a glare, and then turned back to the monitor.



“Burninator is uptown going toe to toe with some hero” Myrna provided, gesturing to the livestream happening on the screen, “I don’t recognize them, but I think the streamer said they were called Comet”



Myrna pivoted her swivel chair and pulled up a news feed on the other monitor, showcasing an aerial view of the altercation, only for a stray projectile to speed towards the camera. The feed went dark and cut to the co-anchors covering their mouths in shock. The livestream caught the ground view of the accident, revealing the projectile to have been Comet themselves, who sped towards Burninator at blinding speeds, only to ricochet off of some unseen barrier towards the chopper, sending it careening into the side of a nearby office building. The steamer screams out a few curses and repositions, never letting the camera stray from the action.



Jason sighed wearily and pinched the bridge of his nose as he took in the sight before him on the screen.



“He should be running,” Jason said, head now resting in both hands as he rubs his eyes, “So what’s the plan then?”



Myrna rid the second monitor of the shaky news crew, and pulled up a map of the city.



“Emergency responders are trying to cordon off the area and evacuate the bystanders,” Myrna informed, as the crowd the streamer is in began to get forced back by a few officers, “But seeing as that keeps changing, they have their hands plenty full”



“Which is just what we love to hear” Jason interjected with a grin, his eye twinkling with mischief.



Brent frowned slightly, still scrubbing his shirt where the wet spot clung to his chest.



“Still though,” Brent contributed, “That guy is cleaving his way through the city and that newbie is doing fuck all to stop him”



“He’s doing plenty” Jason scoffed, “he’s just too brash to realize that he’s exacerbating the situation”



“He’s WHAT?!” Brent shouted in surprise, stain forgotten and now scanning the screen with a fervor, “Bro that’s fucked up, there could be kids out there!”



Jason did a double take at his friend, needing a few seconds to process that, even at super speed, and then threw his head back in a howl of laughter.



Myrna put her head in her hands and groaned violently as she looked at Brent, who was now looking puzzled at Jason, as if trying to decipher what was wrong. She swiveled back around to face them.



“Hey, chucklefucks?” she called over the fit of laughter, “If you’re done dicking around like middle schoolers, we have some work to do, yeah?”



Jason composed himself and put a hand on Brent’s shoulder, steadying himself while shooting his friend a reassuring glance.



“Right so what’s the deal?” Jason asked, amused expression falling away into a determined knitting of the brow.



“Third Try National is nearby,” Myrna said, swiveling back around to the map, and zooming in on the bank, “it’s out of the way enough that it wasn’t hit, but still close enough to be vulnerable due to the commotion”



“Pair that with my; ‘particular set of skills’ and we’ve got some easy money” Jason all but cheered, slipping into a mid tier Liam Neeson impression for some light hearted humor.



Before anyone could respond Jason disappeared, reappearing in few seconds in his gear. A bodysuit made of a durable yet maneuverable material, armored at the waist, shins, forearms, and shoulders. The mask is made of the same material as the bodysuit, but includes almost emissive teal colored eyes, and an armored mouthpiece that stretches up over the nose, and back along the jaw, ending in a jagged point of metal, roughly flayed out like a wing, the same shape found at the ankle of his boots. Over the head and the shoulder armor is a tattered hood and muffler, and other bits of tattered cloth can be seen coming from beneath his waist armor and the elbow end of his bracers, and almost seems to flow ethereally . The entire outfit is a muted teal and gray color.



Brent seemed visibly perturbed at his sudden disappearance, but lit up in excitement when he returned in his equipment. Myrna on the other hand rolled her eyes and shot him an un-amused deadpan expression. Without a word he half stepped into The Ether, his name for the otherworldly dimension he used to pass through matter. His appearance became blurred and wispy, looking more like a gray-teal vague silhouette of a human, his outfit’s cloth dancing about, making even that questionable.



“You look fucking SICK bro!” Brent declared fervently, “I’m getting pumped just looking at you!”



“Thanks Brent,” Jason, now Blink, replied sincerely, his voice coming out a growled whisper that carried an echo unbefitting the small room they sat in.



“Yeah, great, you two can kiss each other goodnight later, we’re kinda on a time crunch here” Myrna reminded, a smirk on her face betraying her feigned irritation.



Jason didn’t stick around to hear Brent and Myrna begin their traditional beginning mission banter, as he raced off towards the bank, shifting fully into The Ether to conceal himself from any witnesses. He arrived in record time, stopping to grab a butterscotch candy from one of the teller’s desks on his way to the vault. Upon stepping past the vault door half-stepped back out and began to gather the contents of the lockboxes into his bags, phasing the loot through without need to break them open. He is almost halfway done when he begins to hear a commotion from outside the vault.



“Uh, Warg?” Blink asks over comms, “Can I get some eyes on the bank?”



“Shit, hold on” she says, the sound of a slight scuffle preceding it. “Uh-oh, Blink you’ve got company”



Blink’s response is cut off before it begins by the sound of the vault door being ripped open violently, he turned in surprise towards his “company”.



“Uh, Who the hell are you supposed to be?”
 
"Ungh," Golem couldn't stifle the groan as he came to his senses.

"Recovery time up 20%, you must be nearing your limits, Mr. Landstorm," he heard the old man behind a window speak over the PA system in the room.

"Yeah, and I'm sure you'd do just fine in whatever this cage is too. What the hell is going on here? One minute I'm kicking back enjoying the pay from the Kulari gig and the next I'm somehow sore all over stuck in... a lab I think?" he took a moment to take stock of his surroundings, making sure to keep an eye on the old man as well.

"Interesting, you've lost that much memory this time? I'm not sure if that means its more effective or your defenses are just weakening. A test for another day I suppose. This is a lab of sorts, yes, and you need to escape it," the old man's smile bothered Golem more than it should have.

"You really think this shithole can hold me?" he punched the wall of his cell opening a large hole. "Like a wet paper sa--huh?!" The old man waved a hand as if shooing a fly and the wall reformed itself, even the dust that had been floating in the air was sucked back in.

"As a matter of fact I think it could, unless you use your full potential that is. Or is a simple cell too much for the great Golem?" He wasn't smiling anymore and that was bothering Golem even more.

"Tch. Right, a simple cell with the backing of some time manipulating freak. Why should I even bother trying to leave if you're going to stop me like that? 's'not like I need to eat or anything. I can just wait for you to get bored."

"True, you could simply wait me out. Allow me to motivate you then," the old man reached down and hit a button. The window he was behind stretched sideways and Clifford saw someone he never thought he'd see again.

"-ddy! Help!" a yellow mist was slowly pouring from vents above the girl who was bound to the a chair.

"Phoebe!" Golem crashed through the wall and slammed his shoulder into the corner of the window with as much force as he could muster. He stumbled when he next footfall landed him back in a repaired cell. The mist continued creeping into the other chamber.

"Stop! Damnit! Just! Let! Me! Out!" Each utterance a new similar attempt met with the same result. The mist was pooling around her ankles.

"You must not value her much if you can't even bother trying something different when you fail," the old man's voice was calm and even.

"What? Why-" his voice hitched, he hadn't known he could still cry.

"Use your potential. You are more than a brute," The old man sounded angry now.

"I don't-Legend!? Hey! Save her!" Golem started to respond to the the old man, but Legend suddenly appeared in the cell.

"Doctor, there is severe damage in his-"

"I'm aware, boy. Get out of there." Legend appeared next to the old man at that.

"Aren't you a hero you piece of shit?! You're supposed to save people, right?!" Golem continued slamming through the wall and reappearing behind it again, not taking the Doctor's advice to try something else.

"Hm? She isn't in danger," Legend ruined the Doctor's plan.

"Ugh, and after all the effort we just gave," 'Phoebe' groaned and stood up, apparently never actually bound to the chair. The mist disappeared and the wall of the chamber opened into the room with Legend and the Doctor as she strode to them. She grew taller with every step and her short blonde hair flowed into long brown curls, her skin tanned as well. "But I can't stay mad at you~!" The girl, now a young adult, draped herself on Legend with an uncomfortable familiarity.

"Aster, mind your manners; Mr. Yarlown is a married man," I spoke as I entered the room.

"What--Who are you people?" My appearance must have sent our captive over the edge, sensible given the circumstance.

"You too, Michael?" The Doctor asked of me.

"Of course. You know it pains me to see her act that way."

"Forget it, clear his memory and send him away. Why are you here if not to ruin my research, T?"

Golem's anger and confusion were washed away with his consciousness as I applied my power and rewrote his experience of the past hour, while my partner sent his physical form crashing through his hideout, requiring a slight modification to the scenario I had planted in him, trivial but vexing nonetheless.

"Two reasons: the first is that Deputy Director Ingham suspects me of hiding information relevant to Michael's powers. I will be forced to answer questions when I report back," Legend spoke with Dr. Yarlown.

"Yes, I imagine we'll need to be revealed sooner rather than later anyways. And the other reason?" The Doctor was frustrated at losing access to such a valuable specimen's data, he wasn't showing the respect due to the god he spoke to. I felt a deep frown across my mind.

"I am to die in November, Aster will need to be ready to take my place, and Michael may need to take Angel's soon after."

"What is the certainty?"

"Directly from Angel, so at least as accurate as anything Michael would have seen in your dimension." A chill ran up me and left my feathers ruffled as he clarified his certain doom using me as a benchmark.

He went on to explain Myth's visions and that he has never been able to track his own data beyond that time. Aster tried to do the same but she was still getting the hang of using her abilities here, something about this dimension worked differently than our own. I had yet to have any visions further than a day out but my range was steadily expanding. The Doctor asked hundreds of questions, but none of the answers were anything we could work with to circumvent what would happen. And then Aster finally spoke.

"We weren't in her visions though, why wouldn't we have helped too?" Her emotions were boiling over the mental connection we were using and the Doctor's flashed through a rainbow of shock and self-disappointment, while Legend's shifted ever so slightly in the muted way that his do.

"They happened before you were here, but her vision is stronger than that; she has seen dimensional issues before," he gently pushed her hope aside.

"She is right though, it is preposterous that these two would be absent for something of that scale. It could be that--"

"It could be, but it wouldn't account for my inability to see beyond that point for the past 21 years, and my continued inability to do so. You must accept it. That is why I found you and brought you here. It is why I have turned so much of my attention beyond my designed limits." The pressure he was exuding threatened to collapse my ability to maintain the connection but I felt him holding back for my sake, such a gentlemen. The pressure released as he continued. "To that end, I want to try to synchronize their abilities to ours, Angel will be coming back this week and should be able to help both of them."

"Hmph. I don't like the difference in your attitude compared to Aster's. Angel seems like she turned out fine, but you are a terror to work with," the Doctor was upset at having to listen to someone else for once.

"Father, I'm sure you had your reasons in our dimension to do things differently; you had the luxury of time with us, but here you died nearly 20 years ago."

"Aster's right, Father, don't be so hard on the other you." The Doctor grumbled at us but didn't argue any further. "So, we should reveal ourselves before then? Did you have a plan in mind?" Legend explained his plan to us before leaving.

"Ugh, I could feel you licking his boots the entire time, Michael; I know he's the better version of me but try to contain yourself. I'm going to get some fresh air," Aster disappeared in a huff. She was upset to be losing the only thing that could challenge her, the only thing that had ever saved her.

"She's right, it won't do for you to feel that way towards him and Angel when you meet her. You are their equal, even if the two of you are younger. Now, begin preparations for the plan." The Doctor didn't, couldn't, feel it but Aster should have been able to. It didn't make sense, he was in the middle of talking to Ingham as he was with us and she didn't ask him how he was doing something she couldn't. She ALWAYS asks how he does new things so she can learn to do them too. Was it something he was trying to hide from us? Was he trying to show only me?

"My apologies, father. You designed me to adore Aster and he is her in every way that I have to differentiate between people." I smoothed my feathers as I tried to explain my position.

"Just as I designed her to fall in love with you, yet that appears to have failed and she has placed those feelings on her doppelganger. Perhaps his disappearance will allow you to reclaim what I need you to in order to complete both your projects. Though, I suppose if Aster was to make a child with him that offspring could be used for the same purpose." I felt a strong pull to open my mind to the future and reflexively did so. I saw further than I had since coming here, absolute disaster. Unavoidable now, the Doctor need not know.
 
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