Fantasy [Open] Derika: Land of the Gifted

[DynastyFlormai]

[Jayce]


Letting out a light groan as he lifted up one of the smaller crates and went to carry it with him, Jayce seemed to be having a small bit of trouble as he felt a bit sore before finally getting a good grip around the edges. Looking at Asta as the two walked, he figured she had already sent in the info since they were lugging this stuff and he'd seen her on her watch. Though this brought a good question to mind. Where the heck was Sven and why was he making the guy who got shot carry this!? Letting out another groan from how he realized the guy must've ditched or something before he had to do work, Jayce seemed ready to resign himself to his fate before realizing something. "W-Wait, do I have to carry all those crates back at the warehouse?!"

 

[Pixilated]

[ Asta ]


Asta curiously looked at the box "We can tell them the rest of the crates are back at the warehouse...but...Im not sure all those crates are the things we needed to get..." She finally says as she continues to stay quiet, her hair still slightly blood red as she plucks at her scarf idly, adjusting the papers in her arm as she looks around the fairly deserted streets "Can you carry that or do you need help?" She says clearing her throat as she looks over to him brushing her hair to the side.

 

[DynastyFlormai]

[Jayce]


"It's. . . Fine. I got it. Probably." he says with a light grin, seeming to mainly have a hold on it as he will sometimes shift from side to side, a bit dizzy still but not too weak to pull his own weight. "Though uh. . . Out of curiosity, what'cha gonna do with your share? Points sound pretty cool, but they're offering a lot of cash for this stuff!" he says with a light laugh as he goes to playfully bump her shoulder with his hip, sticking his tongue out at her.

 

[Pixilated]

[ Asta ]


Asta blinks as she stumbles a bit to the side and makes a face glancing at him as she adjusts her grip on the papers "Iunno...havent thought much about it...probably buy a game..." She mumbles a bit "Some food..." she says dully, clearly unsure what to really buy as she's never had any free money to use. She glances up to him before shifting the papers more "What are you gonna get with yours?" She says quietly stretching slightly as she lets out a soft drawn out yawn.

 

[DynastyFlormai]

[Jayce]


"Duh!" Jayce said as his grin grew wider, looking at her with eyes that seemed to be filled with inspiration. "I'm going to buy what every American from New York wants! A baseball bat and a ton of baseballs. Then I'll practice until I'm as good as the Yankees!" he said with a light cheer, humming a bit now as he walked as he seemed to be in a really good mood as he briefly thought about some old games he'd catch by hanging out in bars. "Maybe some more pancakes too!" he added after a bit.

 

[Pixilated]

[ Asta ]


Asta glances at him rolling her eyes a bit at his enthusiastic attitude "You're pretty stuck in the old times huh" She says looking around at all the futuristic things Brinkhaven has available and shifts the papers in her arms as they grew closer to the Physical faction building yawning again as she grumbles a bit as she licks her lips and her stomach growls weakly "Gonna turn this stuff...in...and go to my apartment...eat...a chocolate bar and sleep" She grumbles.

 

[DynastyFlormai]

[Jayce]


"Not a bad plan. Not bad at all." Jayce said as he gave her a light nod, chuckling a bit as he walked before spotting his faction's place, pondering for a moment. "I haven't even been to my room yet. I hope it isn't a dump." he pondered out loud before he looked over to her. "Oh yeah. So are we a team now or was this just a one time thing?" he questioned with a genuine curiosity showing in his eyes, not really knowing anyone else to work with.

 

[Pixilated]

[ Asta ]


Asta shifts around as she sets the papers down on the lobbies desk thingy in front of the secretary and tells her that they finished a mission, the other stuff was left at the warehouse as it was too much to carry. After a bit to confirm this the secretary nods and soon transfers what they would like to their faction accounts with Asta preferring the $1,500 option and soon has that in her faction account thingy before she looks up to Jayce "I guess we can stay a team...I dont know where Sven went but" She shrugs before holding her Z-watch up and does a little searching before she finds Jayce and adds him on her contacts before letting out another yawn rubbing her eyes as she grumbles rubbing her stomach "I'm going to head up to go sleep..." She grumbles before heading towards the elevator.

 

[DynastyFlormai]

[Jayce]


Jayce quickly moved forward to finally release the crate from his grasp, panting a bit before giving the secretary a cheerful thumbs up. After explaining how he also helped in the mission a bit, he went to opt in for the $1,500 option as well since that'd cover his split of the mission, figuring it'd be way more than enough for a pretty good wooden bat. Maybe next time he'd go for points, but for now he wanted to see he actually had enough cash to bail him out if there was any trouble. "Cool.~" he said in a cheerful tone as he went to do the same, adding her to his contacts before he watched her. "Nighty night." he waved her off before watching her head into the elevator. It was there he waited for a few moments before a thought crept into his mind. He just missed the elevator! Groaning a bit, he went to just go up the stairs instead. It couldn't be that far anyways, right? Pulling out his card, he looked it over curiously before noticing it was on the fifth floor. A feeling of dread quickly washed over him, but he reluctantly made his way up slowly.


(@negativenull)


(+$1,500 to myself, Asta, and Sven.)

 

[Pixilated]

[ Asta ]


Asta waited for the elevator to reach the top floor before she stepped off and headed to her room, unlocking it with her key card and stepping inside she sighs softly as she tugs on her scarf before shutting the door heading further inside to retrieve the chocolate bar she had been waiting for which she quickly devours and brushes her teeth before jumping in bed.

 

[DynastyFlormai]

[Jayce]


After a bit of moving up the stairs, Jayce seemed like he was fairly out of breath despite being in pretty good shape, still a bit out of it from being shot even if he got healed after. Moving off the stairwell, he finally made his way to the fifth floor before finding the room and swiping his card at the door, pulling it open before heading in and locking it behind him, sighing tiredly as he goes to hop onto his mattress and just lay there for a bit.

 

[Computing Magus]

Suddenly, Marcus felt a change of mind; Marcus changed requests almost immediately and decided that he should do it now. Marcus thinks how he should break it to Sylvia.


"Oh, sorry to say but I might have to go solo on a request here. I'll add you to the list of friends on the Z-Watch, though, so we can go on a request together another time. And also..." and with that, Marcus placed $5 on the table. "That's my payment to my order. Sorry for the sudden hurry Sylvia. I'll see myself out." then he stood and left the building.


(@beeb, where art thou?)


---


Once Marcus was outside he used his Z-Watch to skim through the information again of the request he accepted and tries to remember to information. He mumbles as he walks down the street ("Medium...reddish...so it's lost...2453 huh...reasonable price...Megan Warner...). Then he realized something; he hasn't really entered his own room at the Physical faction building. Deciding between beginning the mission now or prepare, Marcus chooses the latter and heads for the Physical faction building. Upon entering, he enters one of the elevators and reaches the third floor. He exits the elevator and finds his room whilst fumbling for his keycard at his pocket. He swipes the door with the card then enters, locking the door behind him. It was a room much more comfortable than he used to have. He finds the couch and sat there. Remembering the request he took, Marcus uses his Z-Watch to search for the person named Megan Warner. Upon finding the person, Marcus initiates a video chat, waiting for the other person in the line to accept.

 

[Aerose]

[Esther]


Directly across the street of the rat infested building, Esther and several other BPD officers stand watch for rats escaping the building. The bottom few floors were completely sealed off by a Gifted capable of creating a barrier of light, strong enough to resist the relentless impacts of the rats. Any rat that managed to survived the long fall was immediately shot, and after the first five attempted this route, no more followed.


On BPD's first arrival to the scene, the standard ammunition used against the rats had little effect, leading to the swift exit and decision to seal the building. Armor piercing rounds were sufficient to penetrate the rat's armored outside, but there was no time to distribute that kind of ammunition to every officer responding immediately.


Occasional gunfire is heard as rats try various routes of escape. Some scramble out of windows and jump for other buildings, others climb out the side to go to the roof, but none make it far from their source.


Several BPD vans drive up at this point, each stopping a block away from the target building. A man and a women, both carrying large cases, knock on the back of one of the vans, and head inside.


Curious of what the plan was to deal with the CRIMINAL Gifted, Esther turns to her fellow officer. James Crane, a non-Gifted like many other officers in the BPD.


"Hey uh, Jamas, do you know what they're planning to do to deal with these... metal rats?"


"No, but I did just notice two of our teleporters head into that van carrying cases, so maybe they're teleporting something in those cases" James responded.


"Targeting the Gifted inside?" Esther asks.


James shakes his head. "No, apparently they tried that and the rats jumped over the Gifted to shield him before they could get a shot off, and they don't want to risk it again. Another BPD guy came in, did a whole x-ray vision magic thing to find the hostage kid in the first place, so they probably know where he is within the building. My guess is that they'll be teleporting bombs into the room and quickly teleporting whoever dropped them back out before setting them off. No way those rats will be able to save that guy from explosions."


Esther grins and looks back at the building, near silently whispering "get rekt mate" under her breath." James slightly glances at her, but stays quiet.


Precisely 10 minutes after, the BPD radio goes on again, broadcasting instructions for all nearby officers to back up. Officers on the street and rooftop withdrew the instructed distance away and resumed their previous task of monitoring for escaping rats.


While moving back, Esther notices a girl on the adjacent rooftop for the first time since her group of officers were teleported to their roof. Waving her arms to grab her attention, Esther shouts out “Hey! Move back a bit! It's dangerous!” before proceeding.


Now stationary in the designated area, James pulls out a tablet and reads the more detailed information sent along. "Oh, I was wrong Esther... wow very wrong. Apparently they're not just targeting the Gifted inside, they're going to blow the whole building up.”


Esther skeptically looks back at James. “Why the whole building? Isn't the Gifted inside enough?”


“No they want to make sure that all the rats inside too are exterminated” James says, gloved finger pointing at a line of text on his tablet. “I should probably word it better, they're going to destroy the foundation of the building specifically, not exactly blow it up. The collapsing debris will crush the rats easy.” James continues as he reads down the document “Ok this is making more sense, it's an already old building set for destruction, so the building schematics were available to us and… That's about it on how this is going down. Detonation is in about two minutes.”


Esther nods in approval, watching the distant building as spreading flames were now visible through the large hole in the middle. The radio goes live again, counting down until the explosives would go off. “THREE, TWO, ONE, GO!”


Explosives set all along the foundations of the building go off within a second of each other, precisely teleported to cause the maximum amount of structural damage. The barrier of light surrounding the building intensifies in brightness as it contains the bottom half of the building, quickly filling with falling debris and rubble of the collapsing building.


Moments before detonation, Esther stands and faces away from the building. She reaches into a pocket and slips on a pair of sports sunglasses and rests her rifle on one shoulder.


James, still watching for rats escaping shouts “Hey what are you doing watch for rats they could be escaping through the chaos and dust!”


Esther firmly shakes her head and screams back “NO YOU CAN'T LOOK AT EXPLOSIONS IT'S NOT COOL!”

 

[CHIMNY]

Proteus casually walked out of a bar, shoulders laid back. His hoodie partially covering his face. "What to do next..." He said as he stretched his arms. Its been a while since Proteus had fun, he needed adventure. Its been a few months since he came to Brinkhaven and tried to make money through all sorts of ways. Selling media, drugs from time to time, and a few jobs before getting fired. He needed money, but mostly adventure.

 

[Ryik]

Lí


Now that you're a member of the elemental faction, you have access to faction housing, food, and their point system, which seems incredibly useful if what you're looking for turns out to be an artifact, but something isn't right about the whole thing. You've started learning more about Brinkhaven lately, and clearly it hasn't been around for a long time. Not if a founding member can be almost as young as you. You were given black and white photos to hunt down some kind of relic, but so far...


You're pulled out of your thoughts along with your head from an upright position. You fall over backwards, onto someone behind you, who immediately scrambles up and runs away. You catch a glimpse of her as she leaves, but you don't recognize her at all, and before you can get a good look, she's around a corner and out of sight.


"What is that all about?" You think, but end up muttering out loud.


In response, you get a question yourself. "How do you do that?" You turn towards the voice, to your right, finding a young boy staring at you.


Your English is not the best. In this case, it fails you entirely. "I'm very good?" You thought the question was out of place, but when he gives you an odd look, you know you misunderstood. You're about to explain, but he cuts you off preemptively, apparently accepting your response as an answer. "Come on! Tell me your secret! How do you keep your hat on like that? It's a gift, isn't it?"


This time, you're more confident you understood what he said. That girl pulled on your hat and it didn't come off, right? You answer in kind, with a cool smile on your face. "This hat is dedicated to what I do, no one will not fall off."


He gives you a dubious look and you know you fucked up. Trying to look cool while doing it just made it worse. He starts walking away silently and you, not wanting to chase after the guy just to explain that your English is pretty trash, stand there dejectedly mourning the language you just butchered.

 

[Swag]

Frank was accepted into the dimensional faction, but he had a hard time keeping his mouth shut in front of some very powerful people. He then found himself $6,499,930 and 6,500,000 points in debt. At first, of course, Frank refused to pay, but then he checked his wallet and his seventy dollars had disappeared. It was at that moment Frank fully understood the power of the person he had offended. He would totally do it again. No regrets. NONE.


Since getting a job would be too boring for Frank, he took a look at the general and faction requests. The hell? A million for a flying pig? Escorting a convoy. Eh, can't do that alone. Steal Li's hat? $999,999. That makes no sense. That cannot be legit. I could do protection detail. Damn, he's looking for two. Might as well sign up, because nothing else seems worth it. Frank pondered. He stares at the ceiling of his faction room. At least I'm not poor and homeless.

 

[CHIMNY]

Proteus continued walking around Brinkhaven, maybe he could join faction. The physical would be the best for him. He knew he could help them out, maybe as a bodyguard or hitman. He just needed to be accepted first. "Crap! I missed the faction recruitment event." Proteus said in anger, this let his hopes down, the man punched a brick wall leaving a big dent in its wake. (someone interact with my character please, he might become a hobo )

 

[IceSolstice]

[Kuhaku]


As Haku watches the screen, she wonders if she acted like that in the ETG. While the scene depicts gruesome images, Haku isn't fazed at all. I guess I did do all these things since it doesn't affect me at all. She couldn't figure out the butterfly person on stage though. Her actions seemed to defy logic itself-- surely the woman could've done better with the ending speech?


She tenses as she senses the crowd around her become agitated and angry. Another person curses at Alice. People near her look scared, worried, and some even determined? Haku figures that these will be the people left to join the factions. She makes her way, getting rude looks when she forces herself past some people. What would she do now? Liam and Jake were nowhere to be seen, and those were the only people she really knew.


Haku decides to just wander on her own for a while, to explore Brinkhaven a bit. It's the first time she's had this much freedom after all. As she walks around the city, Haku is alerted when a man punches a wall, expressing his frustration of missing the faction recruitment event. He missed it? But the factions are recruiting all the time.





Haku tentatively goes near the anguished man and says, "You can still join the factions, the assembly today was to just garner interest."

 

[Ryik]

Jake aka Ezel


It was a sunny day. Beautiful, really. It gets your blood pumping to see such an expansive horizon out your window. On days like these, you like to throw yourself into the really tough stuff. Better to fight dragons in the sunshine that the rain, right? Well, maybe dragons aren't the best example what with the fire and all, but you know what you mean. Browsing through the faction quest listings on your Z-Watch, you find one in particular that you think suits your particular skill set. Following discreetly behind, without being noticed, but ready to protect the client? Not only does it sound like something straight out of an action movie, but you can damn well bet you're great at protecting someone from a distance! One might even say your gift was made for it. ((It wasn't)) This job was practically made for you! ((It wasn't)) These quests are just the best, by far. That's it, there's no stopping you. It's too perfect a quest to turn up, nevermind $999,999 for some silly hat. IT'S GO TIME.


...You stop to realize you'll need to charge some more ammo for the day. Ok, so you'll charge the ammo, then warp your way to the client's place in a fever pitch of undue excitement. Excellent plan, Jake.

 

[CHIMNY]

"Oh, well im stupid." Proteus replied embarrassed, he had hopes up again. "Do you perhaps know where I could apply?" He has asked again, being new had always been a problem for Proteus. He looked at the hand he punched the wall with, it was turning bluish, thats when he realized the pain. Proteus bit his lip as he stretched his fingers. "Ouch." He muttered under his breath. He looked up at the woman, she was considerably shorter than him, but its her hair that amazed him. He had never seen someone with such pale hair.


@IceSolstice

 

[IceSolstice]

[Kuhaku]


Haku nods, she wasn't much for words and doesn't even introduce herself.


"Follow me," Haku says curtly, leading the way to the recruitment building.


It was laughable. A few days ago, she was a weapon for the ETG. Now, she was helping a potential new recruit become part of the Factions. Haku trembles at the thought of the ETG coming back for her. What would they make her do? Slaughter people? Innocent children? Entire families? The thought almost makes her sick. Almost. She hadn't been desensitized for nothing.


Haku shakes her head, getting rid of those thoughts. She had to focus on what was happening now. Besides, Brinkhaven is probably the best place to be in terms of staying safe from the ETG. Haku forces herself to relax. She could worry about the ETG later when she was hunting them down with Liam and Jake. For now, she was leading this man to become part of the Factions.


@CHIMNY

 

[CHIMNY]

[Kuhaku]
Haku nods, she wasn't much for words and doesn't even introduce herself.


"Follow me," Haku says curtly, leading the way to the recruitment building.


It was laughable. A few days ago, she was a weapon for the ETG. Now, she was helping a potential new recruit become part of the Factions. Haku trembles at the thought of the ETG coming back for her. What would they make her do? Slaughter people? Innocent children? Entire families? The thought almost makes her sick. Almost. She hadn't been desensitized for nothing.


Haku shakes her head, getting rid of those thoughts. She had to focus on what was happening now. Besides, Brinkhaven is probably the best place to be in terms of staying safe from the ETG. Haku forces herself to relax. She could worry about the ETG later when she was hunting them down with Liam and Jake. For now, she was leading this man to become part of the Factions.


@CHIMNY

Proteus quietly followed her, trying not to stare at the bleached looking hair. He was beginning to get excited. Im finnaly gonna join a faction! The rewards would be great but I gotta keep in mind the risks. ETG will probably hunt me down, or I will be heavily involved with them. On the other hand, I get free food, housing, and wont die on the streets. Ive been lacking some fun for a while so why not join, I dont really care about the ETG but considering their evil doings, I might as well be a good person. Proteus thought.

 

[IceSolstice]

[Kuhaku]


Haku reaches the recruitment building and peers at the whole setup, interested. After all, she certainly didn't go through the normal recruitment process, being former ETG and all. She remembers being interrogated for information, only for them to find out she had no episodic memory. Haku still hasn't pieced all the information together and the missing memories create a void in her heart. Who was she? Where did she come from? How did she end up in the ETG? What did she do--what did she do to people?


Revealing nothing of her inner turmoil to the man following her, she gazes around critically. People were sitting down with clipboards, filling out some sort of form. Others were lined up, waiting to demonstrate their Gift. In the demonstration room, she could see a Gifted throwing a fireball at a dummy while judges watch intently. Another Gifted was being led away by a guard, most likely to be mentally checked like she was. All in all, it seemed similar to what she experienced, minus the paperwork and demonstrating her Gift. She was part of the ETG--of course her Gift would have some sort of combat merit for her to be fighting on the front lines.


She looks back at the man and states, "I think you have to fill out some paperwork and then line up where the others are to demonstrate your Gift."


Haku pauses, letting that sink in before she speaks again, "If there's nothing else, I'll be taking my leave."


@CHIMNY

 

[Mattie]

Spoiler

[Abbey]


T_T Everything is so expensive...


She sits back in her chair with a sigh, staring at the ceiling with her arms resting on the armrests. Her laptop hummed quietly on the desk in front of her, displaying an ugly number of $75,000. That’s what her calculations told her it would cost to make a barebones powersuit, without any protective or offensive attachments. True, with Gifted around, she could probably drive the cost down, but it was still a very high number for a girl that only possessed a couple hundred dollars to her name.


Her powersuit could be divided into four different components: the energy source, the actuators, the skeleton, and the armor. Her plans for a ground-breaking new Lithium-ion battery would ensure she would never be lacking for power or hurting for weight limits, but the cost of the experimental battery was unknown. Hopefully there were Gifted that could make production cheap and easy. Abbey had many different choices for actuators, but the most cost-efficient option for now were hydraulics, which were a known factor with a known price. The hydraulics wouldn’t be a problem. The skeleton determined the strength and sturdiness of her powersuit, and depended on the material used. To some materials were strong but heavy, others were lightweight but weak, and those that were both strong and light were too expensive. She chose steel as the basis for her skeletal structure since the experimental battery should make up for the extra weight steel had over titanium. Finally, Abbey had the armor material to choose from. While arguably the most important component, it would also be the most expensive. Graphene, carbon nanotubes, and layered polymer composites would be ridiculously strong and lightweight, but would be equally expensive. Certain Gifts could potentially drive the costs down again, but that would require further research. For now, Abbey settled on aluminum, as she could always upgrade the armor later.


Once put together, Abbey could start collecting data to refine the processor she’d use to control the actuators. Until then however, she could only write a program that would handle the data inputs she’d get from field testing in order to refine the movement controls.


With the prototype design finalized, Abbey sent in a request for the parts to be fabricated and leaves the Mental Faction for a breath of fresh air. She was running an errand at the same time--one that might be able to help her with her financial difficulties. Judas leaps up from the chair beside her and follows her outside, tail wagging happily. He’d been getting bored cooped up inside, which his master had a tendency to do.


--


[Edonis]


Looking back the past hour, Edonis begins wondering what he was smoking to come up with a plan as bad as he did.


If he had the armor hold its ground against the car, it probably would've ended up killing the driver inside. Therefore the swerving car carried the armor straight into a storefront, a candle shop.


Edonis could still sense that his armor, and the case inside were secure, much to his relief. But the situation was escalating, with a growing crowd and BPD arriving soon with no doubt.


OK looks like the airbags went off which means the driver is probably alive and this isn't a crime crime, just a… Lawsuit. I think that's how law works.


Thinking of his options, Edonis attempts moving his armor. He roughly managed to stand it upright, but without seeing exactly what it was standing or or where in the candle shop it landed made things difficult to maneuver. No choice but to get closer, he runs up to the side of the car, where several people were already, assisting the driver out of the car. Fortunately, no-one was inside the store.


The armor was standing right up against the back wall, perfectly intact with the case inside as well. Such craftsmanship. Looking back to the street, Edonis sees several BPD officers arrive, directing traffic away and leading pedestrians away from the scene.


Need a distraction to get the armor out of here… There!


Focusing his Gift on the fire hydrants on the street, he bursts all of them simultaneously, creating a torrent of water. A perfect distraction for him to bail out. With the case now out of the armor, and instead in hand, he ran beneath the cascade of water into the nearby alleyway with his armor not far behind.


I really hope this water doesn't ruin my phone.


--


Abbey fumes and stomps across the street, soaking wet. A fire hydrant had burst right next to her, and while that was fairly annoying, it was forgivable. But Judas? Water did terrible things to cyborgs, and while it wouldn’t kill him, it would take days to get all the water out of his body. She hurriedly covered Judas with her lab coat, anxiously looking around for the source of the chaos.


Fire hydrants don’t just explode. The accident was one thing--people getting hit was simply natural selection--but multiple hydrants burst simultaneously. Almost certainly caused by a Gift, and probably connected to the accident. Among other things, Abbey records the entire scene, intent on catching it all in case she missed something. Edonis’ irregular movements as he slips away into the alley catches her attention. Wiping water from her eyes, she furiously taps away on her Z-watch as she follows the sportily-dressed guy into the alleyway and stops him with snarky “Wanna tell me what’s in that case?”


--


Snarky response in return? Maybe...


“Snakes. 300 live ones. What's it to you?”


Perfect. There's no way she'll be able to respond to that.


“Tasty. Can I see your snake, Miiiiister~?” She responds, her soaking wet white t shirt very obviously transparent.


Edonis pauses for a moment, unsure if this was leading to an adult video or a confrontation.


“OK you caught me. I actually have a Pepe inside, and I can't open it. Need to maintain the rarity.”


Edonis spreads his metal wings out at this point, intending to look intimidating to the sopping wet girl.


“If you don’t want to ruin that Pepe, you shouldn’t have caused such a big scene back there. People are going to ask questions, and that case will be one of them.” Edonis's display of dominance went ignored. Displaying plumage was for birds, and she wasn’t chicken.


“Questions Huh? Well maybe you should back the fuck up before you get smacked the fuck up.” Edonis floats his wings forward, forming each feather into separate blade slivers, all pointing toward Abbey.


“Calm down Doctor Suess, kill me and footage of you leaving the scene of the crime with a suspicious briefcase will be sent to Justice-minded people. And added onto that footage will be a picture of this.” Abbey gestures at the storm of blades aimed at her with her left hand, the one with the Z Watch in plain view.


Damn. Edonis lowers the blades, slowly forming them back into wings around him. He slowly steps forward with the case outstretched. “I don’t know what’s in here actually, so if it’s some bomb and this activates it, it becomes your problem. In fact. Give me a second.” Edonis sets the case down and steps sideways into his armor. “I open the case, you take a peep, delete your footage, and we both walk away. That sound good kiddo?”


“You know, I don’t actually care about what’s in the case. You cared, but I’m quite curious now, so open it up.“


Edonis nods and flicks open the latches, spinning the case at the last moment before wrenching it open towards Abbey. 9000 drugs spill out. “Oh, look more Rapture. Don’t do drugs kid.”


“That looks like it’s worth a great deal of money...” Abbey drools before catching herself. “So you’re a drug runner then. Pretty bad at your job.” She remarks, crouching down by the case and sifting through the drugs. Abbey freezes and goes stiff as her hand abruptly bumps into something beneath the surface of the drugs. It wasn’t the bottom of the case--her hand wasn’t deep enough. Pushing aside more Rapture, a complex mechanical device starts coming into view, with a multitude of wires, vials, and one rather alarming red LED light display in the very center of the case.


The lights displayed a number.


The number was counting down.


The number wasn’t very high to begin with, grew lower every second.


The number showed just under 550 seconds left.


This was a bomb.


This was bad.


“...”


“Hey Seuss. You may want a quick word with your employer once this is all over.”


“Oh. That. That is a bomb. And I don’t ask questions about what’s in the cases, I just get them where they need to be. And while we’re at it” *click* Edonis whips out his phone and takes a photo of Abbey in front of the bomb. Niceeee. Not for that kind of stuff, but for other reasons. “More importantly… You just activated a bomb. I told you. I swear this is why they tell us not to open the cases… shit like this man…” At least I can fly away.


“Wait. With your help, I can defuse it. In return, you give me the case. Deal?” Abbey spins and and proposes, her voice dead serious. “And in case you haven’t realized, an explosion so close to the crime scene you were just seen leaving with a sketchy briefcase is only going to make things worse.”


Edonis shrugs at the suggestion. He was only a little skeptical of what the sopping wet girl and her dog could do. “Alright, I can still fly away before it explodes I guess. Not that I’m also in dank armor. My employer isn’t going to be happy about this buuut. What kind of help do you need exactly.”


“Given that you don’t have to see your wings to keep them floating, it’s likely that you can sense metals within a good range. You’re going to tell me what exactly is inside this case, and I’ll tell you what and how to move certain things to defuse it.” Abbey finishes.


“Wow that is a great plan of action. I can see this working just perfectly.” Edonis replies.


“It’s a wonder you can see anything out of that suit. Any sensible person would have protected their face with bulletproof glass or just installed cameras--instead, you have medieval-looking gaps for eyes. But, I suppose for you, sensibility is in short supply...” Abbey sighs mockingly, brushing the drugs into the top half of the briefcase to fully reveal the bomb.


After a painstakingly slow 2 minutes, Edonis finishes describing in exact detail the interior components of the bomb. After a minute of analyzing the mental picture she formed and clarifying certain points with Edonis, it only took another minute to explain to him what to move to defuse the bomb. With plenty of time to spare, the LED display turned off.


“Counter-Terrorists Win.” Abbey smirks.


Edonis scoffs at her comment and replies with “Should’ve bought a damn defusal kit.”


“I’m the defusal kit.”

 

[CHIMNY]

[Kuhaku]
Haku reaches the recruitment building and peers at the whole setup, interested. After all, she certainly didn't go through the normal recruitment process, being former ETG and all. She remembers being interrogated for information, only for them to find out she had no episodic memory. Haku still hasn't pieced all the information together and the missing memories create a void in her heart. Who was she? Where did she come from? How did she end up in the ETG? What did she do--what did she do to people?


Revealing nothing of her inner turmoil to the man following her, she gazes around critically. People were sitting down with clipboards, filling out some sort of form. Others were lined up, waiting to demonstrate their Gift. In the demonstration room, she could see a Gifted throwing a fireball at a dummy while judges watch intently. Another Gifted was being led away by a guard, most likely to be mentally checked like she was. All in all, it seemed similar to what she experienced, minus the paperwork and demonstrating her Gift. She was part of the ETG--of course her Gift would have some sort of combat merit for her to be fighting on the front lines.


She looks back at the man and states, "I think you have to fill out some paperwork and then line up where the others are to demonstrate your Gift."


Haku pauses, letting that sink in before she speaks again, "If there's nothing else, I'll be taking my leave."


@CHIMNY

Proteus sighed. "Thanks, thats all." He told the woman as he went to the front desk and asked for a clipboard and pencil. Proteus sat on a chair and began filling out the questions. This is pretty necessary, Ive always been terrible at paperwork, oh well. Proteus began to slowly answer the questions, trying to find the simplest answers to go around the work quickly. For a second Proteus gazed at the demonstration room, he saw some pretty offensive gifts. "Would suck if I went up against them." He said sarcastically.