Fantasy ◀ The Recruiters ▶

[java]

Ivan rested lazily on the open back of a truck him and his merry band had rented the night before. He could catch the faint rumble of voices from the truck’s interior, lapsing in and out of comfortable silence. The years spent training tied them close, made them a team. It had reached the point where he rarely noticed their physical appearance and instead felt them as people. Every small cue and expression felt like sinking into an old leather chair, soothing and familiar. This was aided by the parasitic and competitive nature of the company they’d stemmed from, making heaps of cash but viewing their special employees as metaphorical milking cows. He was no different, but the free meals, housing, and extra expenses kept his mouth shut.


The frigid Alaskan waters lapped innocently on the other side of the freeway, the truck idling on a turnaround that continued on to become a quaint hiking trail. His breath fogged the air and ghosted across his vision as he surveyed the lush pines and fireweed that framed the trailhead. Flooded with peace, the dry and frozen air only added to the ambiance as he tucked his hat further over his ears. They were kept to some semblance of a dress code (professional yet approachable) but factors like weather provided a convenient loophole. Aside from the woolen hat, he donned a well crafted parka coat with a fur lined hood with a dressy buttoned shirt beneath. Watching the waves, the ebbing patterns and contrasting light play made him feel vaguely ill as he subconsciously tapped into whether there was a message behind it all. It was easy enough for the human brain to tell itself stories about everything, even more so when the cracks in the sidewalk could have a meaning from his ability. He felt he lost hours at a time on off days, submerged in watching the way objects layered and textured, creating planes of geometry and symbolization. He was quick to build anxiety if he couldn’t sync with reality, but not in calm moments like these.


The previous day, they’d made a successful yet somehow disappointing recruit. A young girl working as a receptionist for a veterinary clinic proved to have superior memory, overall good but not exciting. The higher ups will love her, someone to manage a company and keep ends tied up. He felt like he’d just unknowingly sentenced her to a life of laboring in an office, one without the added bonus of working with animals. They had the option, when they found someone, to either send them back to the nearest headquarters for practical career training, or immediately begin learning by being adopted into the recruitment team. The later had yet to happen.


Sliding off the bed of the truck and hitching the back into place, he veered for the passenger side, giving a quick knock on the window before opening the door. Ivan was blasted by soggy warmth and the lint-y scent of old gloves as he leaned inside, waiting for Vi to slide out of the seat so he could flip it forward and claim the back row.


“You get anything out there?” Will asked in indication to Ivan’s waking acid trips, resting his chin on a relaxed hand as he peered backwards.


“No. Why?” he slighted, slipping off his hat, “you eager to ship off to the next place already? It’s not like we’re getting a board slapped with gold stars for working twice as much as we need. Or a raise for that matter.” He laughed, knowing they’d complained enough to be over the whole thing. Objecting was more like a motion they went through because it felt right, not that he was bitter at this point.


“I guess I am eager, but you can’t blame me after our last run-in. Who gets to say they get to document superpowers on the daily? I’m just itching to find something cool- something groundbreaking, y’know?” Will’s voice grew charismatically while his posture remained relaxed, highlighting why his charming personality was selected to be the front man. “There’s no point in leaving until we have a lead, but keep an eye out. Not that you’re not already.” He offered, jutting the car into reverse.


“Mhhmm” Ivan agreed dismissively, watching Vi roughly comb her hair with her fingers, her sharp features silhouetted by the pale dusk outside.  


“Either way,” Vi commented with sigh, “tonight we need to hit up a grocery, or better still something premade. For the time being we need some food and some sleep, and we can decide what we want to do tomorrow.” Will gave a quiet finger snap and a point in her direction to indicate his agreement, and pulled into the lane winding back into town.


 

After a blur of fast food (Ivan had a fuzzy period where he couldn’t remember what he ordered), he burritoed into bed, the sting of cold water from the sink fading on his face. Will had taken the couch, ever the one to sacrifice for the team, and Vi slept comfortably on the adjacent bed. It wasn’t, however, her faint snores that kept him awake. Rather, it was the nauseous sensation that was building behind his eyes. It felt as if he’d taken six shots of tequila on an empty stomach and finished it off with a truck to the face. Anticipating the imminent visionary dream, he curled on his side and focused on breathing until sleep crept over him.


 


 


 

 

[Houndstooth]

The days after a successful recruitment always passed like a dream for William. The months, weeks and days hunting a potential were always charged with such intense energy that he felt somewhat deflated after sending the asset along their merry way. The world felt less tangible around him; colors were muted, sounds muffled, and a feeling somewhat like claustrophobia would slowly build and swell until Ivan finally had another vision. Honestly, if Will didn’t have Vi and Ivan there to ground him he’d be pacing up the walls.


As it was, there was really nothing William could complain about at the moment. They had pulled off the freeway about an hour ago, idling in the truck surrounded on one side by Alaskan wilderness that even in his laconic trance, Will had to admit was stunning. Ivan had crawled out of the cab some indeterminable time ago and laid himself out on the truck bed, Will angling the rearview mirror to keep the Seer in his sights. Vi was in the passenger seat beside him, bundled up in her warmer clothing against the Alaskan chill. Will was dressed as he usually was, crisp white button down, narrow gray tie, and dark washed jeans. His knee length trench coat that he used to hide his wings was currently draped over the seat behind him, abandoned shortly after they had left the hotel. Others may have found it odd that Will was so plainly dressed for such a chilly season but his companions were accustomed to his resistance to the cold. As it was, Will was wondering if Vi would snap at him if he cracked the driver’s side window to get some fresh air. 


Time passed comfortably there in the truck, they had been driving for hours at this point in an attempt to trigger a vision from Ivan and because none of them really wanted to spend the day cooped up in their small hotel room. Will had pulled over for the opportunity to stretch his wings and when he had climbed back in, found he had no desire to put the car back into drive. So they sat there, drifting through familiar conversations and comfortable silences broken only by whatever radio station Vi had tuned into. Will was actually starting to drift off when he was disturbed by the sudden shifting of the truck and the slam of the trunk’s gate closing. He reached up from his slouched position in the driver’s seat, tweaking the rear view mirror to put Ivan back in his sights as he made his way to the passenger side door. 


As Ivan slide into the back seat, Will leaned forward to turn down the radio before turning towards the seer. “You get anything out there?” Will asked, resting his chin in his hand as he propped his elbow up on the center console. “No. Why?” Ivan slighted, slipping off his hat, “you eager to ship off to the next place already? It’s not like we’re getting a board slapped with gold stars for working twice as much as we need. Or a raise for that matter.” Will laughed at that, a soft snort at the familiar gripe they liked to dust off from time to time. “I guess I am eager, but you can’t blame me after our last run-in. Who gets to say they get to document superpowers on the daily? I’m just itching to find something cool- something groundbreaking, y’know?” Will asked, his face brightening with the warmth in his voice, some of that spark from the hunt humming back into him.


“There’s no point in leaving until we have a lead, but keep an eye out.” Will said as he straightened in the seat, adjusting the mirrors back into their positions. He caught Ivan’s reflection in the mirror and he smiled apologetically. “Not that you’re not already,” he amended, putting the car into reverse and backing out of their parking space. “Either way,” Vi commented with a sigh, “tonight we need to hit up a grocery, or better still something pre-made. For the time being we need some food and some sleep, and we can decide what we want to do tomorrow.” Will nodded, snapping his fingers and pointing at Vi in agreement. He hadn’t really noticed it in his funk, but he was actually getting pretty hungry. 


As far as Will was concerned, one of the biggest perks of their job was being able to try local cuisine from all over the country and always felt like fast food was cheating. Still, Vi was right and it was getting late so Will let the wasted opportunity go in favor of whatever fast food joint they happened upon first. He didn’t bother parking in the lot to eat his food, instead keeping one hand on the wheel while he ate with the other. The trip back to the hotel was uneventful and full of questionable music choices from the passenger seat. 


Returning to the hotel room, Will felt what remained of that small spark of energy he had found earlier abandon him, leaving him tired and lethargic. Wordlessly, he made his way to the bathroom, washing his face and brushing the bits of burger and synthetic cheese out of his teeth. He stumbled out of the bathroom half undressed, tugging the waistband of the cotton pants he had changed into further up his hips. Will never wore a shirt to bed, the hassle of tailoring pajamas to fit over his wings an unnecessary expense. Besides, if his companions minded they didn’t say anything, or at least hadn’t complained about it long enough for it to leave his memory. “You guys get some sleep, we’ll start fresh tomorrow. I’m thinking we should hit that diner we passed for breakfast in the morning, I don’t trust the ‘continental breakfast’ in the lobby.” Will said as he slumped down onto the couch with his blanket from the previous night still balled up on the end. 


Will always took the couch, or the floor even, when there wasn’t a third bed to sleep in. It was the option that made the most sense to him, after all Vi was their muscle and needed to be in top condition and Ivan got some of his best leads while sleeping. Besides, thanks to Will’s mutation, just about any surface was a feather bed so long as he slept on his back. Laying there with his eyes closed, listening to his companions settle in for the night, it didn’t take long at all for Will drift of to sleep. 

 

[Ironrot]

Vi wriggled and tugged at her pajamas. She could not stand the feeling of her legs being trapped in the cotton tubes. The whole experience was made worse again by the sweltering room. She had run from the car to the hotel, arms wrapped around her to ward off the biting cold air but the moment they stepped inside it was like a sauna. Why do people in cold places have to over compensate like that? At home Vivian would have preferred to sleep cool in a room like this. In a t-shirt with her shoulders out of the covers on a night like this, but with the other two around...


"Will. You need to talk to the company about paying for two rooms." She rolled around, trying to make herself comfortable. "Don't get me wrong. You're lovely boys. You're just... boys." Initially, she had enjoyed staying with the pair, it was like a sleep-over or a camp, not to mention a brilliant way to make fast friends. Lately, however, it had begun to feel a little awkward and as the shine wore off Vi found she wanted more space to herself. "Could one of you hit the lights?" She asked.


Vivian closed her eyes, trying to find sleep. A few things passed through her head, but she landed on the girl they had just recruited. Poor thing. Vi could not help but feel a connection to her, having almost been resigned to the same fate. Shame she had had such a mundane power. That was something that Vivian was truly grateful for; something to make her someone. She pulled a hand out from the covers and created a little anomaly, nestled between her fingers. She ran it past her face so she could feel its meager pull, dispelling the effect when it started grabbing at her hair. Vi ruminated for a moment on how much her power had changed her life. Even her outlook. Things that she had completed dismissed in school were becoming increasingly important. Sports. Fitness. Physics even more so as evidenced by her recent reading material, but maybe it was cheating when you could skip a textbook's diagrams and recreate them yourself. There was a bag of marbles stuffed into her coat that she had been using to create little orbitals around her anomalies. But none of this was helping her reach sweet, sweet unconsciousness. With a sudden grunt of frustration, Vi drove under her covers. If she couldn't fall asleep by herself. Her head appeared at the opposite end of the bed, closer to her partners.


"What constitutes groundbreaking?" She asked, out of the blue. Upon realizing that this made little sense in the context of recent conversation she explained herself. "Powers. What is the ground breaking power that you want to find?" She rolled another anomaly around her palm to entertain herself, intent on making it just as hard for everyone else to sleep.

 

[xDawn2463x]

Music blasted out speakers, massive waves of sound pumping throughout the room, the air was electric, filed with alcoholic drinks, puffs of smoke, and an upbeat vibe. People were dancing and rocking to the music, flourishing in all parts of the club, all moving and grooving to the beat. The First Avenue & 7th St Entry night club in the state of Minnesota was the place to be, for while many had taken to the dance floor some would wonder to the bar, where drinks were served with passion.


“Martini over here for the gorgeous young lady. Oh! And…. We’ve got ourselves a margarita, there ya go…. And a good ol pina cloda for you!” His voice was lively, filled with enthusiasm as he made drinks with ease, swiveling left and right to grab this and that, instinctively knowing what went with what, adding with swift moving hands that shook shakers, poured bottles, and stirred cocktails with the flawlessness of a magician.


Had one took the time to notice would they see that he too was dancing to the addicting music that filled the air, hips and body moving to the sounds all the while he put forward drinks. Eyes that seemed dipped in chocolate had a gaze that bounced around from person to person, before finally landing on two familiar faces.


“Jamie! Cecelia!” Without acknowledgement of what he was doing he had already began whipping up their preferred drinks as he spoke to the two. “What up man!” He fist pumped Jamie. “And how ya doing darling.” He dared to kiss her hand that lifted, even as she rolled her eyes, his playfulness and flirty attitude a sign of his friendship.


Jamie spoke first. “Dude! Cecelia saw like the cutest guy today! Hopefully I can find him here.” Clearly Jamie was no straight guy, like Lucca he enjoyed both worlds, unlike Cecelia who sought herself as someone who liked the opposite gender. “I have to agree with Jamie on this one tho, the guy even had a bun Lucca. Surprisingly your fashion is the in thing now.” She would use her hands as quotations on her last statement to prove of the sarcasm, erupting a laugh from Lucca. A hand had gone to actually hold onto his bun to make sure it was still in place, curly locks bound by a rubber band for the night.


[SIZE=12pt]As Lucca put up the drinks on the counter for the two, he let loose on the chorus of a song. “Ceceeeelia! Your breaking my heart! You’re!-“ – “Oh shut up.” He had been cut off by the one and only Karen who’s elbows were now on the counter. They all erupted into laughter before Jamie and Cecelia would saunter off to the dance floor. Before Lucca would return to his duties he would look to Karen with a puppy dog pout. “What ya say? Take up my shift?” She replied in a snarky yet still playful manner. “Hell no!” Before heading off, leaving Lucca with a pleased smile on his faced as he carried on serving up drinks like a pro.  [/SIZE]                 

 

[Houndstooth]

“What constitutes groundbreaking?”


The question was sudden and while spoken plainly, managed to split the silence of the torrid room as well as a shout. Will opened his eyes to the dim room, furrowing his brow at the murky ceiling as he processed the sound that woke him from sleep. Staring into nothing, he was almost certain he had dreamed the voice when Vivian rephrased her question, asking it again. Will turned his head towards the pair of full beds across the room, squinting in the faint light at the mass of long blonde hair poking out from beneath the covers. “Huh?” Will managed to croak out groggily, as if he had been unable to hear the question. It was more of a stalling tactic really, giving him enough time to pull his wits together. 


Will glanced about the room to get his bearings, noticing first his blanket on the floor beside him, presumably banished there in his sleep for being too suffocating in the stuffy atmosphere. He groped blindly in the darkness towards the coffee table beside him, flipping his phone screen up and clicking the button on the side. The blocky numbers on the screen showed that little time had passed since he had crashed onto the couch, little more than an hour really. He let the device fall back onto the table with a clatter, bringing his hands up to scrub at his face. “I don’t know,” he finally replied, the question bobbing back to the top of his consciousness. “I just meant…” Will trailed off, trying to figure out what exactly he had actually meant when he said that in the truck that evening. “I don’t know,” Will repeated dumbly, his sleep addled mind scrabbling for the words to explain himself.


“I’m not sure what I’m looking for, just something…big,” Will whispered, keeping his voice low in case their seer had somehow managed to cling to sleep still. “I want to find something that’s going to change the world, change the way we look at everything,” he said, rather vaguely and cursing himself on the inside for his inarticulateness. He lay still for a few moments, running his fingers through the feathers beneath him as his thoughts churned. “I want to find more people like the two of you. Ivan’s powers are so beyond anything I can even wrap my head around and you can bend universal laws to your will.” Will said, his voice growing more animated as his excitement bled into it. “And your powers are only at their starting point, just think of all the things you might be able to do one day.” Will continued, somehow managing to keep his tone light and unencumbered. 


It wasn’t that William was jealous really of his teammates, or that he felt his own powers were inadequate. It was more that his abilities were fairly standard compared to some of the abilities they had encountered. Sure, his wings made for an impressive display and self-powered flight had been a dream of mankind since the first apeman had looked to the sky. But Will was also aware his particular power set was limited in it’s growth and range. 


Checking the time on his phone once again, Will sighed, turning over onto his side. “Anyway Vi, it’s getting late. You should try to get some sleep. I’m getting restless and even if Ivan doesn’t get anything I’m thinking we should get out of town. I don’t think I can stand this particular hotel for another night.” He said through a yawn, hoping Vi’s curiosity had been satiated enough for them to get back to bed. 

 

[Ironrot]

@java I lost the OOC threads url, but... are we going to call this?
 


@Houndstooth @xxlifexx