Unlikely Heroes IC

[Fox of Hearts]

"How rude! It's almost like you …. Argh, never mind! I doubt you'd understand." Callie puffed up her cheeks then let off a huge sigh, as she fell into the empty space on the bench beside Max. She twiddled her thumbs, eyeing the man suspiciously. Somehow she had the oddest feeling that he deliberately switched to that strange "gibber-jabber" Russian passengers used. Often, if they spoke any English at all, it would be so heavily accented that she'd be struggling to understand them. A huge turn-off, really. "You know, it'll be hilarious, if you were actually talking to an automated voice recording system at the moment." She shrugged. "Buuut foreign languages sound so fast anyway, so I can't judge."

Cal ran her fingers through her thick, tangled hair that desperately needed some Daddy-O conditioner. Think Cal, think, she coaxed herself mentally. There had to be better alternatives then looking up and calling out to Daniel, who was hovering nearby. Doing that might aggravate the situation, since the guy appeared rather jittery as it was. Frustrated, she kicked dumbly, dragging her shoes against the warm, paved ground. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw her assigned target dropping something. Cal held her breath waiting for him to notice, but he continued talking absentmindedly. She waited a few more seconds then leaned forward and picked it up.

"Dr. Larry Bher – Migraine Specialist," Callie read loudly and dramatically, stretching every second syllable in an exaggerated manner, as some tended to do when faced with a non-English speaker. Again the man beside her seemed remarkably good at pretending not to hear or notice her. By now, it was obvious that he was avoiding her at all costs, which sucked. She rolled her eyes and leaned back. The woman stared at a passing cloud, when something about that card came to mind. She ran a finger down the edge, as her eyes focused on the name then the supposed specialization. "Migraine? Isn't that like some sort of headache?" She mused. "I know people say it is god awful, but I think Dr. Wilson is very capable. He has to be with so many people relying on him."

It never once occurred to the bubbly blonde that perhaps Dr. Wilson might not even be a medical doctor. A doctor, in her opinion, was always a man or woman in a white coat, who loved diagnosing you with some unpronounceable disease that inflates the medical bill. Most of which (ironically) were curable with aspirin or antibiotics. Dr. Wilson seemed to be much more decent than that. At least, based on the little she heard while gossiping with the kitchen crew in the morning. Hence, it was only through utter blind faith (and the absence of contradicting evidence), that Cal was able to say this next bit with a very straight face. "I'd definitely recommend him for anyone in need to get their head fixed."

 

[Rina]

A smile started to creep onto Jenna's face as she saw the man start to stop. At least there was some progress. Closing the gap between the two as the man spoke, the realization of what step two entailed started to sink in. How was she supposed to convince a complete stranger about weird powers that she barely understood and wanted to do nothing more than get rid of them as well as the fact that there was two warring groups in which she had to blindly put her trust into one of them so that she wouldn't be confined as a prisoner, or worse. Looking back with a pleading look for the older man to hurry up, Jenna knew she would have to start up the conversation before Pat would have the chance to arrive. Why couldn't convincing someone to join a group she knew for only a day with tendencies to kidnap people for the sake of convenience be just as easy as convincing a class full of preschoolers that biting your classmate is a big no-no.

"Well, Daniel seems like he knows what he's doing so I trust him when he says you were effected by the serum too." Jenna started to say as worked on pushing her nervousness aside. "Think of this as a safety precaution if you don't anything weird has been happening to you. If you're clear, good. You can walk away and think that I'm some sort of lunatic but if you were effected, wouldn't it be good to know what is going on?"

"Do you have a quarter? You must have one seeing that you are out here busking out on the streets. Would you believe me if I could prove to you that I'm not crazy because maybe you haven't seen these weird things happen to you yet?"

~.~​

Maybe giving the Charlies the job of recruiting the newest Charlies they came across was the best idea. Taking a few paces away from Ms. Priss and the Foreigner, Daniel looked in the direction of the Runaway, Grampa and the Coward. He wasn't very keen on letting another incident occur and the distance the Runaway created wasn't something Daniel was very happy about but at least the trio stopped. As long as the Foreigner didn't have any nosy friends nearby to get in the way, the biggest concern was making sure the Runaway could be convinced instead of taking off again. At least if push came to shove hopefully Grampa could stop the man in his tracks because pulling a tranq gun out in the middle of the park wasn't the best approach while trying to be discrete, although the Coward might have already screwed that up with her yelling.

Glancing down at his watch as he made his way back towards the bench, he knew that they needed to hurry. Who knew when Cameron would be back but things needed to be resolved before then, or at least the best they could, or else a huge argument was in store for them in the near future.

~.~​

"Well," Garret started to say as he worked on fishing his keycard from his pant pocket. "Christian seems like a pretty good guy. He seemed pretty quiet when I saw him but between being stuck in a van and during breakfast, I doubt everyone was as chatty as they could be." Garret before leaving a slight pause as he tried to come up with specifics that Masaru would deem usable. The lack of time was really an issue and being stuck in the infirmary away from the group wasn't very helpful either. Besides Cameron, he had the least exposure of those two from the rest of the Reformers and at this point in time hated that fact. Swiping the card and opening the door for Masaru, Garret looked at all the equipment they had. If push came to shove, there was enough to arm both the Reformers and the Charlies if fighting was deemed necessary against this foreign group or even the TSP. Garret only hoped that if they ever reached that point the Charlies would have enough time to train so that they wouldn't be defenseless. Things would quickly become messy and he wasn't very keen on seeing that happen. Another round of bloodshed due to the serum was one thing he hoped to avoid.

"It was kind of interesting though, for a blind guy he didn't have a cane with him." Garret resumed as he tried to shove his previous, more somber thoughts aside to focus on the present. Added negativity would do nothing to help the situation. "Hmm, but I wonder if that's only because he was taken by the TSP without one. Either way, he does pretty good job as a blind guy. I don't know what his powers are but if he was able to keep up with the Charlies when they were chasing after the gang, I wouldn't doubt he would have some sort of sixth sense as his power."

"Sam was an interesting kid from what I saw. It's kind of sad to see someone as young as her get involved in all of this though but since we haven't heard her speak about her parents or had to find a way to avoid an Amber Alert or some other child abduction alert, I don't think she has a very good relationship with them or maybe wasn't with them at all before all of this." Garret said as he picked up one of the nearest handguns and curiously examined it. He was far from being the weapons expert within the Reformers but knew enough to notice that even during the hiatus, someone was taking good care of the weapons, if not a tad bit too much seeing how clean everything was. "She did have some sort of medical emergency earlier today though. I don't know what all it was about and I doubt Wilson figured it all out yet but it must have been because of her powers so keep an eye out for that if you see her."

 

[dpickle]

After what seemed like an eternity the man stopped running. Pat wasn't sure why, but at that moment he really didn't care. They could finally talk with this guy and get this whole ordeal over with. Despite protests from his back, Pat picked up his pace a bit. He expect there to be any trouble at this point, but if there was he would have to provide back up. Pat couldn't help but smirk at the insanity of the situation. Here he was, a sixty-two year old man with a sore back and a pounding migraine and he was the back up. The Reformers really needed to get their act together.

Pat came to a stop a fair ways behind Jenna, just close enough that he could speak to them without having to raise his voice. His mere presence was enough to spook the guy before and he didn't want to risk sending the guy off running again. It seemed Jenna was going to do some kind of coin trick with her power to try and convince the guy they were telling the truth. Hopefully the guy would buy it, or at least be intrigued enough to want to know more. Still, there was the possibility that Pat would have to do a demonstration in order to convince this guy, and Pat would be lying if he said he wouldn't savor the opportunity to zap this guy for all the trouble he put them through.

"Yes, believe it or not we're actually trying to help you. Damned if I know why. "

 

[Nemaisare]

(Collab between Kirra and myself)

In a neighbourhood near the park
~2 hours in the past

The world had changed overnight. One bad headache and funny sort of flu (though she really hadn't felt like laughing at the time) and suddenly that strange bright lights and too clear vision that came along with headaches wouldn't leave her alone. Although now it was the other way around. It was her eyes bringing about the headaches. And Teddy was thoroughly pissed off that she couldn't make it stop. Advil was touch and go, keeping the room dark only worked until she had to leave it, cool cloths were nice, but impractical for moving around with. School had been the worst. The light wouldn't stop flickering and she'd had to run out of math class on Monday to find a garbage can to vomit into when it made her queasy trying to ignore it.

The only good thing about that was she'd gotten out of taking the test, and stayed home Tuesday. Her parents figured it was some lingering illness from the weekend, or maybe a concussion from the accident on the bus, but they couldn't find any other symptoms, so she'd managed to avoid a trip to the hospital. If it kept up though, she might just ask if they could book her an appointment with the family doctor, because she didn't like it, and she didn't want it to stay. It had been fading a little though, the rough effects, and just that afternoon she'd discovered something pretty awesome. So, she thought she might wait one, maybe two more days in case the problems kept diminishing and her head finally wrapped itself around what had happened.

Sitting in the tree in her backyard after breakfast, Teddy was regaling Dana with her stories. The short version, since she didn't want to accidentally drop the phone and that meant texting and texting lots meant sore thumbs.

-No srsly. I no reflexes = fast but this wsn't reflx. I WATCHED falling and I caught it. Easypeasy. Coaster flip is a breeze! No challenge. Honest!-

-U just think it wasn't. For srs, Teddy, catching things is instinct. That's probs what it was.-

Of course, that's what Dana thought. It's what she'd been thinking most of the week too, until she realised it was so consistent. But she'd saved the best for last. Coaster flipping was nothing, she was already relatively good at it, as Dana was so keen on pointing out. Oh no, she had something far better.

-I saw a hummingbird. Ok. This HAVE to no isn't normal you. I could see its wings. They move in figure eight.-

-Youtube has an awful lot of slowed down hummingbirds, Teddy...-

Sighing, she eyed her phone in annoyance, then stuck out her tongue and took a selfie, sending that in place of words. Dana loled, then allowed that maybe she'd seen a hummingbird, but seeing its wings flapping was a bit of a stretch.

-U sure this isn't from that bump u got on the bus?-

-I no it isn't.-

She had had concussions before, much as she didn't want to remember them, they had never left her imagining she could see hummingbird and bumblebee wings while they were flying or following a softball someone hit right at her and know just where to put her hand to catch it. She might have been athletic, but she wasn't that good at softball.

-But tis all due to what happened on the bus dearie~-

A message said appearing on Teddy's phone seconds later from a new number.

-I know you wanna know why <3-

She stared at it for a long, hard minute, longer than a minute really, as the messager told her Dana had replied. But convincing Dana of her abilities, new and improved eyes or whatever, had suddenly become second to figuring out who had just texted her. And how the hell they'd known what she was writing to her friend.

-Not a dearie............... Is this a prank text?-

Were those even a thing? She'd heard of prank calls...

-Depends on if hummingbird wings are a prank :P-

Great, now random strangers were disbelieving her PRIVATE conversations. Scowling, Teddy checked the number against her other contacts, maybe someone had changed simcards or whatever it was. No one she knew. No one she could think of in her parents' list of contacts either. Brat was more likely, but he wasn't even here to enjoy the joke. And he wouldn't know what she was typing.

-Hey Dana, nvm that, can you call 212647914? Ask for Brat, I think hes messing w/me-

....................

-No one there. It says it's not a #. There's a robot voice and everything.-

-Ok, thnx, I'll kick his ass later, gtg Mum wants me.-

She didn't, her mum was actually very busy not wanting her while out shopping for shoes, but she didn't want to carry on a conversation that someone was stalking. Especially not somene who didn't exist. If that wasn't a number, who was texting her? Frowning, Teddy pocketed her phone and swung out of the tree, ignoring the slight scrape of the bark and dropping the last few feet to hurry to her laptop to try looking up the number there. She left the phone on her desk where she could see it though, half hoping, half dreading another text.

-Now Dearie, why must you get other people involved? What fun is that? Let's not get Dana involved, okay. She would just make this thing we have between us a bit too messy <3-

She grabbed it as soon as it blinked, the internet was probably useless anyway, she wouldn't know where to go after google.

-U do creepy stalker well. Plz stop.-

-Aww fine :( I thought u wanted answers Dearie but I guess not. Good luck figuring things out. U need it :P-

-Answers to what?-

-The weird things that happened to u. Seeing hummingbird wings and last week's flu is because of the crash. I'm the same boat as u too.-

-U no about that?-

-Mhmm. Phones not safe.-

Seconds later an address started to be typed out in the web browser and the results pulled up a map to a local Starbucks about a mile away from Teddy's house.

-Let's meet up, okay. Come visit me in 2 hours and I'll tell u everything.-

The flicking on the screen alerted her, and Teddy stared at the map when it came up, terrifyingly thrilled. It probably wasn't a good thing that someone had just taken control of her computer, but it was rather exciting. Like she'd suddenly become involved in a movie. She bit her lip as she read the text, knowing it wasn't exactly the best idea to meet strangers with no knowledge of their intentions. But it wasn't like she'd be able to tell truth from lies with texting. And she knew that Starbucks pretty well... She'd just have to remember to tell someone where she was going, right?

-Ok. 2 hours. How will I know u?-

-No worries Dearie, I know u <3 Take the table at the back, okay-

-Ok...-

 

[ReganOs]

Ester watched Garrett skid off to find the man he was with before Ester pulled him away.

Ester's small smile soon faded into a sad frown of defeat, groaning in self-hatred as she covered her face with her hands.

'Oh god why rehab???' She moaned. 'Zack's going to kill me, i'll need to find a new job...'

Ester needed to collect her thoughts, think of a plan after the situation that she was dragged into ends.

...If it ever ends.

Roaming down the corridors, Ester felt like she was lost, continuously pushing back her long dark brown hair past away from her face in a fidgety manor. She stopped at hallway breaks, different paths leading to different directions, confused at the halls and different areas she'd walk past again and again. Ester soon familiarised herself, she was near the infirmary, where Wilson treated her.

'God this place is a maze...' She muttered to herself, brows furrowed in frustration.

Just as Ester remembered where her quarters was, a voice stopped her. A female one.

"They need me. I bet they are going 'Meow, meow. We are hungry!"

Ester began to follow away, pushing her dark brown hair behind her ear. She was puzzled by what she just heard.

The voice spoke again.

"A way out. There must me a way out..."

Ester finally found the woman, looking down the hall, puzzled and confused. Clearly she didn't see Ester.

Ester stepped forward and spoke out.

'Is everything alright?' She asked her.

 

[of Dirt]

Katsuro looked down at the water a significant distance below him and jumped off the cliff. He could feel the wind rushing by, obscuring his hearing, but the voices in his head rang louder and with more persistence than anything the real world could conjure. Sometimes it wasn't voices at all. Sometimes it was the memories of sounds that he couldn't forget due to the pain they caused. He remembered the sound his ribs made the first time they broke, having been the victim of a vicious roundhouse kick. The sound carried more than the physical pain, but also the moment of realization that he had so utterly lost. He could hear laughter from students during his school years. He could hear the scolding tones and voices of every single girlfriend he's had and the similar lectures that came just before his leaving them. And just before he would hit the water like hitting a brick wall at 60 mph, he'd hear each of his parents tell him something that they hate about him.

He woke up in his single bedroom apartment from the nightmare with an elevated heart rate and sweat. He grimaced and clenched his teeth in frustration, getting into an upright position as he buried his face in the palm of his hand. "Stupid shit," he muttered under his breath. He kept his eyes closed. "Stupid, weak shit," he said after clearing his throat loudly. His eyes opened slowly as he sighed, the end of his bed slowly coming into focus. Although his hand was right in front of his eyes, he could still see the blurry end of his bed. He furrowed his brow and slowly moved his hand away from his face, his eyes totally focused on it. He clenched his fist, moved his fingers around. It was all there. He could feel his hand there, but he couldn't see it, and as he moved it further away from him he realized he couldn't see his forearm either, or his bicep. As his confusion rose, adrenaline rushed through his body in panic.

"What the…?" he mumbled before quickly pulling the sheets away from him. All he wore to bed were athletic shorts and that was all he saw. The rest of him was gone. It was like he was a ghost. Am I still dreaming? He thought as he raced to the bathroom and turned the light on with his face an inch away from the mirror. "Ugh!" he yelled and jolted backward at the unexpected sight of his own reflection. I'm here, he thought reassuringly as his heavy breathing began to slow. His hand pressed against his chest to monitor his heart rate. He stared at his own reflection as his mind raced. What the hell was that? He took a deep breath and shook his head. "Great. I'm losing my mind or something, now," he muttered as he returned to the living room and turned the lights on.

He grabbed a glass of water and sat down on the couch. It was still very early in the morning. The sun hadn't shown itself yet. He kept checking his hand to see if it was still there. It always was. Did I really just imagine that? It was way too real, he thought as he walked back into his bedroom to retrieve his iPhone. He sat on the couch again and checked his messages. It wasn't uncommon that he'd wake up in the morning to a text he didn't get to respond to before falling asleep. There were two from Ariel, a new girl he'd been seeing for about a week now. One text was about drama at her workplace that he didn't care about. The other was asking if he wanted to check out a new restaurant for dinner the following day. He was about to send a text to accept, but he stopped himself. It was too early in the morning. It'd be weird. He set the phone down on the table and lied down on the couch He closed his eyes and thought. At first he thought about Ariel, but then it went on to things he didn't want to think about. The past. Mistakes. There were a lot of those. He could count them like sheep. Before long, he was passed out on the couch.

When Katsuro woke up a little before noon, he replied to Ariel and decided to take a walk in the park. He still felt a sinking feeling in his chest and couldn't sit in his apartment all day. I need to walk this off, he thought as he put on some jeans and a long-sleeved, button up shirt. He rolled up the sleeves and styled his hair a bit before leaving. Even if he didn't intend on meeting up with someone, how he looked always meant a great deal to him. Anything in his life that he could control he did. It's the losing control that makes him angry, especially when he doesn't know how to get it back. He checked his hand.

 

[Perry]

Not only did his Russian fail to throw her off, but also it seemed that she was even more eager to keep yapping in his ear, and boy did she have a piercing voice. It reminded Max of some sort of speech which went on regardless of how uninterested the audience was. Now Max felt so unnerved, in addition to helpless, that he started swearing and swinging his free arm about while pretend-speaking with Viktor. He could only hope she was not built up with heavy muscles, or in the company of several others who were. After all the years of growing up together and then fleeing the homeland, Max did not need put much effort into improvising a call to Viktor, he could think about a thousand things, watch a movie, repair his old bike, and still pretend-call Viktor, letting no one on earth suspect the other end of the line.

It was first at the mention of Dr. Bher's name that he spoke slower, yet not much than anyone engaged in a real phone call would. "How the hell did she get that?", he asked the imaginary Viktor in Russian, still refraining from turning his head her way or paying her any noticeable attention. "Some sort of a headache?!!", Max now yelled at the imaginary Viktor – still in Russian, "Which retard hasn't heard of migraine nowadays? Every kid back home knows to shut up when parents have migraine." But then she finally said something Max could no longer ignore, something he no longer wished to ignore.

So far Dr. Bher has been their last resort, one they hoped would lead to a real diagnosis and not just end up being another butthead unable to make any sense, or eager to shove medication down Max' throat, without being able to really tell what he had. But what if this Bher was not what Max had been looking for? Moreover, what if this Wilson so many people relied on had the real answers? He was not going to go childish on this, but that was a real possibility, worth considering. "Hold on a second," he automatically said, as if in a real conversation, and stopped speaking Russian.

It felt weird, how was he supposed to talk back now that he had done his best to ignore the woman sitting next to him. Awkwardly he searched with his free hand for the card he had apparently dropped, until his hand touched the woman beside him. Max pulled back with haste, which lead to his fingers hitting his chest. At least now he felt a little less awkward. "Wil... Wilson?" His head turned halfway towards her. "Dr. Wilson, you said?" His accent was easily recognizable as Russian, though mild enough not to get in the way of people understanding his English. "Is he a specialist...", and feeling rude all of a sudden he added, "ma'am?" which sounded weirder than any other chosen word. Did people ever say »ma'am« in a real conversation? She must have thought of him as a fucking retarded Russian from a far off place where English speaking people could never reach.

"You have a phone number of this Wilson?" was the best change of his speech Max could come up with. "My friend..." he said, lifting the phone in his hand a little, pointing out it was the friend – supposedly – on the line, "could take me, if I can get an appointment... or is he overbooked, with so many people relying on him and all?" Afraid, that he might actually miss on a real opportunity, Max then emphasized, "My friend's coming to pick me up in short. We'll call Wilson and see about the appointment if you can get me the number."​

 

[Rina]

Adam, Pat and Jenna
Collab between dpickle, Cerulean and Kirra

Adam eyed them both, cautiously hoping they wouldn't try to take him by force. "Okay. I'll bite. Show me your little magic trick." Reaching in his pocket, the clinking of metal coins sounded before he twisted to look for the right kind of currency. "Here..." He reached out to her, with a rather worn quarter from 1971.

Taking the quarter from the man, Jenna rested the coin in the center of her right palm. With the added pressure of having to preform the powers she barely understood wasn't very helpful when trying to use her power earlier was already a struggle. She only hoped that this time she would be able to use her power without too much of a fuss.

Concentrating on the coin in a similar way as she did with the attacker's piercing earlier, she tried to push the coin away from her. Although she couldn't put her finger on it, something about the coin didn't feel exactly the same. Whether it was the pressure of trying to preform or something entirely different, something was making harder compared to the first time. From what she have observed so far, her power had to do something with metal so there shouldn't be too much of a difference between a piercing and a quarter. Or was there?

"Well you see, this is about the point where I made things move last time." Jenna said with a nervous chuckle as she could feel the second start to tick by. "But please, don't leave yet. I know I can do this. Well, maybe..."

He shook his head, not really feeling that this whole situation as not being some sort of ruse. Reaching over and almost taking the coin back, the musician had seen enough. "I know that you seem to believe that you really do have some sort of ability. If you really do, there seems to be something that is escaping you. As for me, I think it's time to either let me go or show me something."

Pat inwardly groaned as he watched the situation unfold. Jenna must have choked under the pressure or something. In any case, he needed to act fast, before the guy ran off again. Pat began to slowly approach the man. "I can show you something alright but its going to require physical contact. My power will make you feel a bit... erm... uncomfortable. So consider yourself warned."

Before Jenna could step in and try out her act on the coin again, Pat thankfully stepped in. She was more than fine letting him take over but as she remembered the incident they had earlier at the base, she wondered if it would bean advisable route. What if he wasn't able to maintain his power and it hurt the man more than being a discomfort. "Are you sure about this Pat?" Jenna mumbled as she waited to see what the musician would choose to do.

Adam blinked and took a step away from Pat but stayed closer to Jenna. "I'd rather you not. Not only do I not trust you, but it sounds like I shouldn't let you near me." Sighing, he looks over to Jenna. She looked happy that he made it over. Her questioning of him didn't help either. "Fine. I will go with you. If nothing is wrong, I will leave. I will also never see you again, or the police become my speed dial 1."

"Sounds fair enough to me." At that Pat turned around and started heading back towards the van. Finally this whole ordeal was done with. Of course, the man could still run off despite what he said, but at this point Pat was totally fine with letting him go get himself killed by the TSP. He had done enough.

Although the man agreed to come, Jenna wasn't exactlysure if she trusted him fully seeing how little it took for him to run. Letting Pat take tthe lead, Jenna walked besides the man man with a slight smile on her face. "Here's your quarter back." Jenna said as she passed the coin back to the man. "By the way, my name is Jenna and that's Pat. The antsy man over there is Daniel. He's with the group that is involved in all of this and the lady over there is Cal. She's trying to convince someone else to join us as well so you're not the only one."

 

[Nemaisare]

[Nem/Kirra collab]

Well, she was here.

Staring around the Starbucks like it had undergone some surprise renovation, Teddy felt both embarrassed and excited at the prospect of a clandestine meeting. She was also very sure that if this did wind up being some elaborate plot to kidnap her(though why her, she couldn't figure out), she was going to laugh herself silly and then spend the rest of her days telling herself she'd told herself so, but had she listened, oh noooo... As though that wasn't liable to send her around the bend.

She'd left a note telling her parents where she was going, and that she was definitely still hoping for dinner. That would surely be enough time to not be kidnapped and still figure out who was texting her. Right?

Swallowing her sudden case of nerves, and wanting very much to roll her eyes at herself because she really ought to make up her mind about this being a good or bad thing, honestly, Teddy made her way to the counter, waving at the girl behind the register. She wrote out her desire for an iced caramel macchiato, which was damnably hard to spell, and a brownie, if she pleased, paid for it, and then delayed going to the back tables by dithering there until they'd got it made. But she couldn't wait forever, and when she had her brownie and drink, Teddy forced herself to take a deep breath, turn around and sit at a table in a back corner where she could see everything, and everyone, at once.

She shrugged her green sweater nervously up higher on her shoulders until she could catch the zipper tab between her teeth, and stirred the macchiato with the straw. It didn't need it, but she was really too nervous now to actually eat anything, she'd just wanted to fit in with all the other people ordering.

"Oh Dearie! You came! I knew you would." An energetic voice said from a lady in a colorful pink and orange scarf and multiple bracelets jingling on her wrists. Approaching Teddy, the woman gave the girl a quick hug before Teddy could have a chance to get away from the embrace and took a seat beside the teen. "I can't believe how young you are. I knew you were young and all from your profiles online but damn, I still can't believe someone as young as you has to be involved in all of this. I guess I was young too when the whole ordeal started. I wasn't even twenty yet when...when..." The woman said with enthusiasm and speed before pausing. "Oh shit. Here I am talking up a storm Dearie and I have no idea if you can even keep up. Can you read lip or should I grab my phone?" The woman said as she tried to fish out her phone from her pant pocket.

"Ah!" The sound escaped her as she jumped in surprise, caught up in a hug she had not been expecting. Definitely not from something as bright as this... lady was. She'd been watching her, had noticed her coming close, but who would ever suspect a lady in a pink and orange scarf to be a... well, a hacker?! Not her, that's for sure. But the woman remained adamant, as far as she could tell, that she knew exactly why she was here. She sat down at the table and everything.

Teddy only stared. She could see her lips moving. If she'd had any presence of mind, she might have remembered that meant talking, but she was just so surprised by her accoster that the notion of holding a conversation had been completely flung from her head. At least, until her anonymous stranger paused and went for something in her pocket, then Teddy blinked, shook her head and starting signing up a storm. Some of it was pure annoyance that they'd met and she'd understood absolutely nothing of what had just been said, the rest was just her taking a turn at forgetting herself. But she stopped when she got all her thoughts off her chest. It really wasn't fair that this woman, obviously confident about whatever she was talking about, looked more like a fashion(questionable) diva than a kidnapper. But seriously, did she want to be kidnapped?! She was being an idiot.

Frowning, Teddy held up a finger and pulled out her own phone, finding the app she wanted and typing in what she wanted to say. The most important point she'd take away from this meeting, she was sure. When she hit the button, it talked back at the lady, a very officious little robotic voice, so she'd been told. "You are very bright..."

"Oh yes, with all this doom and gloom business Lee likes to talk about I have to have some sort of fun." The woman said with a slight smile. "He says it isn't professional but some of the things he, Carter or Cam does isn't very professional either." Pulling out her phone, the woman messed around on her phone for a few seconds before giving a slight nod towards Teddy. "I am the best at what I do in the world but still, we don't want any eyes watcing us. The government is easy to avoid but there are other more mischievous people out there that might be interested in our little talk, especially if they are linked to Cam."

"Nm!" Teddy held up a hand, frowning and shaking her head. Then typed on her phone. "What? Did you say government?" Lipreading was a lot of guesswork, and right now, she had absolutely nothing to go on. "Can you write? Please?"

-Yes, government- A message said appearing on Teddy's phone from the same number as before. -Oh and can you mute your phone? I don't need the audio to hear your phone ;) - The woman replied before taking a sip of her coffee. She knew that things would be difficult without words but this challenge was one she was interested in. Tech was her forte and with the right moves this could become an advantage to her.

She didn't? What...? Maybe she was just reading it upside down. Or... Teddy skipped that route in favour of doing as she'd been asked and turning off the sound, it wasn't as though she needed it. Then, because it kept niggling at her, she asked. -U can hear no audio?- How did that even work?

-The same way you can see things you're not supposed to Dearie. Tech and I have this weird bond, a superpower if you must call it that. We're not the only ones too-

-The bus?-

-Mhmm. It happened before too. I was only 19 then-

Only, she said, like 19 was that young. Of course, being 18, Teddy had a rather different perspective there. Alright, so, she wasn't imagining things. Well, she might be, but this woman probably didn't think so, and even if she was, other people were imagining things too. And she definitely wasn't imagining her not looking at her phone to know what she'd written. -Ok, weird stuff is happening. Why?-

-A serum. It was locked away but was stolen by the Reformers and was released during the accident (hopefully by accident...). It's not reversible but it isn't all that bad too-

-Reformers?- Well, it was already more exciting than she'd half been expecting. But there'd been very little clearing up of facts. So far. At least the woman seemed happy to answer questions and stay in Starbucks.

-Mhmm. We were once together but drama happened and Cam and a few others left. I almost went but Cam is an asshole. Not all of them are jerks though. Garrett is amazing and we still chat every once in awhile. They are actually why I wanted to talk to you. Most of the new guys are with them and Garrett isn't talking to me.-

That was a lot of very boring information that was actually exciting... How was that even possible? -New guys? Bus people? Who's Garrett? And Cam?-

-New guys= Bus People. The technical term is Charlies since you are the third generation (Alpha, Bravo, Charlie). Garrett is with the Reformers (my bff) and Cam is the one in charge (but you might want to call him Cameron. I heard he doesn't use the name Cam anymore...)- Pausing just to take another sip of her coffee the woman sent another message to the teen. -It's dangerous being alone with your powers. Not only do you not know how to control it, the TSP and Reformers are possessive and will meddle with your life. You should be able to make a choice and you should do it before one of them makes it for you.-

Reading all of that, Teddy's frown became more and more pronounced. It was true that she believed she could see things. This woman... actually, that was wrong. They'd skipped the second most important step of this whole secret meet and greet thing. They'd met, but they'd forgotten about greeting(apart from the earlier enthusiastic hugging, anyway).

-Ok, lots of questions, first. Hello, I'm Teddy, what's your name?-

Holding out her hand, she smiled as well as she could in such a situation. For all the strange manner of their coming together, she thought she might like this lady. And she wanted to make sure that was clear, but not so clear that she'd lose whatever small advantage she had right now in her probably wanting some trust and working towards it. She knew how these things worked, she watched lots of crime shows, and had seen as many of the superhero movies as she could, twice. Netflix had a pretty good collection. At least... She hoped she knew how this worked. All those stories were fiction, this was real. It was her life.

Giving a slight chuckle as she read the message sent her message to Teddy before tinkering on her phone. She could sense something was off but being overwhelmed with the abundance of signal in the city it was hard to pinpoint the exact source. -Whoops sorry about that. I'm a bit of a scatter brain sometimes. I'm Tia, an Aries and electronic communication is my ability.-

Tia and Teddy. Cool. Electronic communication? Also pretty cool. And explained the whole phone thing. Maybe. She thought she was doing a pretty good job holding herself together, but wasn't sure if she was waiting to explode, or didn't quite believe this was all happening yet. Either way, she'd find out eventually, and wouldn't that be fun... Nice to meet you, she signed, still smiling until she decided that was that and now she had to go back to thinking about this whole strange mess of super powers and Alphas and government things that she probably didn't understand at all. But that's what questions were for, as her English teacher had once said.

-Cool. Ok. tsp and reformers? Choices? What?- She didn't really know where to start, but the more she asked about anything, the more she'd be able to figure that out, right? Finally taking a sip of her mocchiato, Teddy pushed the plate with her brownie on it towards Tia, raising her eyebrows in question. She'd be happy to share if she wanted some. It was the polite thing to do, right?

-Hmm where to start...- Tia said pausing to take a piece of the brownie as she thought things over. Compared to the others she wasn't the best conversationalist to discuss important information such as this and without the protection from the constant barrage of information she had while at the TSP headquarters, keeping her focus was getting harder the longer she sat down with Teddy and she wasn't going to compromise her own safety or ruin her plans by turning her powers off. She would just have to make it until she got back. But still, something was off. If only she could clearly see what it was. -The TSP (the group I'm with) and Reformers are both groups with people like us. There some bad blood between us and the Reformers are trying to recruit the Charlies (the new guys like you) too. The choice is yours on who you want to join, I don't want to force you but it's too dangerous to be on your own when you don't understand your powers. I might meet you in private but I don't think the others will. What would your family think if news got out? These powers are dangerous and do you really want to get them involved in something like that?-

She was pleased, strangely, when the woman, Tia, when Tia took some brownie. Like they were sharing a secret and dessert. Made it all the better. She was less pleased when the full explanation arrived on her screen and her family was brought up. She thought it might have been something of a threat, but at the same time, Tia wasn't throwing it in her face, just, making it very clear that not knowing what she was doing was a bad idea. And probably, that she shouldn't have been talking about it with Dana...

No, I don't want that. She finally shook her head, signing the denial without bothering to type it out. But, they were her family. She didn't expect them to suddenly kick her out or stop talking to her. What she didn't want was them getting involved with the news or anything like that if the public got curious. And, well, maybe it never would. But, if this was a thing, and her headaches and seeing things wasn't her own imaginings, then she kinda did want to learn more about that. -How do I choose? I don't know either of them.-

She might have simply said she'd go with Tia and never mind making any other informed decision, but if these two groups weren't seeing eye to eye, there had to be a reason. And if it was the Reformers who had the other... Charlies, then she'd be alone with the TSP.

-TSP might be a good choice (they have ties to the government too) but I'm worried about the Charlies and Reformers. Maybe you can check in on them Dearie if you feel up to it?- Without being in contact with Garret, she was worried about what was going on within the walls of the Reformer's base. The news of Wilson joining the Reformers was new to her and she wondered what else Cameron might have up his sleeve. -Of course you will have to keep our meeting a secret but we can keep communications open between us just in case something happens.

-How?- For a moment, Teddy was baffled by how they might talk to each other secretly, then she grinned and picked up the phone, eyebrows rising questioningly. Of course! Tia had found her that way before, she could probably do it again. -Nvm... No offense to you and TSP, I think I want to be with other people in my boat.-

It didn't take her a lot of consideration to reach that conclusion. There wasn't a whole lot encouraging about two groups of powerful people chasing each other. From what she understood, the Reformers had the others who were just learning, and if they didn't, they'd keep trying to get the rest. Better to go with them first and just see what they were like. Maybe she could help them see eye to eye! -I can learn with them, and still talk to you?-

-Mhmm, of course- Reaching for the bag that Tia had, she searched through it before pulling out a small case and slid it towards Teddy. -There's a microSD card inside. Keep it hidden for now and after they check your phone or give you a new one just put it in and it will do all the work for you. Just make sure they don't find it and you will be good to go.- The chip was a pet project she had been working on since the TSP was shut down and although she haven't had a chance to put it to use in a real life senario she was strongly confident that after all the work and tests she have done that it should work fine. She only hoped that was the case.

Pulling it towards her, Teddy opened the case curiously before reading the text, which, in retrospect, she probably should have done first. But nothing bad happened, so she just grinned again and started nodding before a thought made her frown. -They will take my phone?-

-Not sure. If they see your phone as a a security risk they might do something to it or give you a new one to avoid me from finding them. Cameron has allies that knows how to do things like that so be preapred- Yet again she could feel someting familiar coming from her powers. Was it a cell phone? Video surveillance? Something else? Whatever it was she knew it was close and something she should have recognized but what was it. Turning the vibrate on on her phone, Tia closed her eyes as she tried to focus on the source hoping that one less stimuli would help her figure things out.

-Ok, I- Well, losing her phone would not be the biggest trouble she'd have to deal with. It was convenient, but it wasn't the end of the world. Her parents wouldn't appreciate it, but if the Reformers were likely to give her another one or just fiddle with hers... She could live with that.

-I'll try and find them and text you where to meet-

-Ok.-

 

[Rina]

Collab with @Dear Karma (Ryver)

Cal's eyes widened in disbelief, as her light blue eyes bore into Max's darker ones. She was so taken aback by the fact he spoke English to feel insulted by his actions earlier. Her nude, baby pink lips rounded ever so slightly before they spread out and up into her usual bubbly smile. "Oh yes, he's absolutely amazing. One of the very best."

Thankfully, she didn't have to keep exaggerating, because it appeared that the Russian-speaking stranger was very eager to get in touch with Dr. Wilson. However, that brought up one teensy problem. She didn't have a cellphone number or even her personal cellphone.

To Callie's credit though, her smile didn't waiver, as she struggled to improvise. The last thing she wanted was for him to get suspicious again and run off, because she was almost certain this man won't hesitate to call the police. It was a very real possibility considering how unlucky she had been lately. Kidnappings, forced separation from her loved ones and that gang fight back in the alley, yeah, she needed to be a lot less gungho till this streak of bad luck ends.

"I – oh, give me a second. I could have sworn I left my phone in my back pocket." The limber blonde managed to twist her upper torso by a couple of inches in an attempt to feign searching for a nonexistent phone in a pocket that is equally nonexistent. "Weird… I know it's here somewhere." She insisted stubbornly. "I had it in my hand awhile back."

Discreetly, someone offered her their phone. This caused Cal to jerk her bowed head up suddenly and that almost brought the top of her head into Daniel's nose. She felt her face grow warmer, as she apologized profusely. Nice timing, Dan, she thought. I am glad to have back up. His next few words inspired even more confidence in the now wavering woman. They were, in her opinion, a big nudge in the right direction.

"It's okay, dear. I noticed you left your phone in the car, so I drove back to pass it to you." He explained with a winning smile. "By the way it kept buzzing, I could tell you have loads of messages coming in."

"I – thank you!" Callie exclaimed suddenly, throwing herself against Daniel and hugging him. She leaned in closer so that it appeared she was giving him a very affectionate peck on the check so their act appear a lot more legit. "You're a real life-saver. I can't live without it!"

"I know, I know," Daniel said with a mock sigh. "I swear you're married to your job rather than to me."

His facial expression and underlying sarcasm made Cal burst out laughing. Her first genuinely laugh since all the bantering with Garret earlier. "You're such a tease. And oh," she said with a gasp, when her eyes fell on the first few words in the message Daniel typed on the notepad showing on the phone screen. "I have a message from Dr. Wilson."

Daniel pretended to shake his head, while Callie read the instructions he typed for her. "My wife is awfully devote to Dr. Wilson. Knowing her, she was probably coaxing you to go see him. I always tell her she should be his PR manager rather than his secretary." He laughed jovially. "Rest assured, I used to be skeptical, but he really knows his stuff. Cured me of the chronic migraine plaguing me since my teens."

It was Cal's turn to pretend to roll her eyes. "You're going to make him doubt me," she said with a pout. "I mean I don't always understand what Dr. Wilson does, but I know he's a great doctor."

"Right," Daniel replied. "What did he say this time?"

"He asked if we want to join him for lunch tomorrow. Apparently, he won't be going out of town anymore," Cal informed her "husband". "He wished to take a day off though." She shrugged. "I guess he deserves it after how hard he worked."

First part, done. Cal cheered slightly, letting Dan talk for a bit about Dr. Wilson being far too busy for his own good. Apparently, they were supposed to get the new Charlie to believe that the good doctor seldom picked up calls and slip in an impromptu invitation to lunch. It was simple enough, but she still had her doubts.

Finally, Daniel reached the crucial turning point and Cal never felt more ready. He turned round and gave her a sneaky wink before saying, "And he has this bad habit of never picking up his phone. Don't you agree, dear? That's why you have to handle all his calls and schedule his appointments for him."

"Right," she agreed heartily. "Say," Cal turned back to Max again. "Why don't you join us for lunch tomorrow? I don't know if I mentioned it earlier, but Dr. Wilson always prefers patients through word of mouth. He says it makes establishing trust a lot easier since the patient would be like a friend of a friend."

She was positively beaming at this point, though it was more out of relief that she was nearing the end of her act. The whole thing had been nerve-wrecking from start to finish, but by some miracle, the guy was still sitting here in front of them. "I'll put in a good word for you, because I feel you need his help. You looked like you were in so much pain earlier."

"Ah," Dan nodded sympathetically. "Migraine? I used to have that myself. Dr. Wilson helped cure me when most other specialists were at their wits end." He trailed off. "Even if it isn't migraine, I know for a fact that he is one of the most well-read man in this field of medicine. He chose to keep low-key, so he won't be too overwhelmed."

"Shush," Cal cut in. "You're worse than I am. Really… but yes, if you are still interest, please join us tomorrow. We'll be meeting Dr. Wilson at 1.40 pm at Urban Grinds, you know, that café across the street from here." She turned around slightly and pointed to a shop house behind their van. "I can give you my number instead, if it makes you feel any better. No, I think I'd definitely give you my number. That way you can contact us if you ever get lost."

Daniel's knee-jerk reaction was to stop Callie from giving her number to the man. There was a reason he tried to avoid the need for phones and here this woman went, offering her number as if there wasn't a legitimate reason for the avoidance of technology but the deed was already done and it would be suspicious if they suddenly said they couldn't give a number. Tomorrow after they rallied up hopefully all the Charlies they are really going to have to talk about who they are up against because Tia as well as the others are not someone to think lightly of. Without letting his cheerful facade slip up, Daniel gave a slight nod towards the phone Callie was given before reaching over and pressing the button that would take the phone back to the home screen. That phone and number corresponding to it was a new one after yesterday's fiasco and was the safest option to use at this moment especially with the help of a few of Cameron's friends tweaking the phone beforehand. The number would be easy to find with the phone completely void except for three nameless numbers in the address book, a few texts from before to relay information to Wilson and the number of the phone plastered on the home screen of the phone.

 

[IzKripp]

She was deep in thought when the woman's voice made her jump. Her eyes were wide as she whipped her head around to look at her. Was she one of them? Or one of the ones that was taken? She couldn't remember, but something told her that the woman was one of the new 'recruits' just like herself. Maybe she could or would help her.

"I-I need to-- to leave here. I need to go there. Th-th-they aren't h-here and I need to be... need to be with them there."

She rubbed her head with a little more force allowing her wrapped fingers to be surrounded by the strands of her hair. She knew that she was not making any sense, but it was the best that she could do with her mind scrambled, the pain, and being hungry.

"I-I just need to go h-home. No one will feed them, they will di... Die. They can't die. I need them."

She choked back the raw emotion that bubbled up when she thought about her cats dying. She was going to leave no matter what, even if it meant her dying.

 

[Regendorf]

Saturday 4th of May ​

Frid was lightly snoring away in his seat, at the back of the bus. He needed the rest, after all yesterday he put an end to his life in the States. Or at least had put it on hold for a long period of time. He woke to the screeching breaks of the buss and by the time he managed to come to his senses he was about to get put back to sleep. The backrest of the seat in front of him made direct contact with his head...

Before him stood his mother doubled over in crying, beside her, his father attempted to console the woman. This was out of their control now, Frid had chosen his way. He had even established his route, well the route was something all three of them established hypothetically. But both his parents underestimated Frid's thickheaded resolution. Frid tried to reach for his mother, but she seemed to pull back drifting farther. His father attempted to give his son a disapproving look, but in his eyes one could read only proudness. He was proud of Frid and of his choice to stick with the mountains. After all paralysis was one of the most memorable gifts a mountain can bestow upon those that try to climb it. And it had been very giving towards his father.

Come on mom, I know what I'm doing, I ain't my father...​

"I AIN'T MY FATHER!!" He found himself screaming. He was already pulled out of the bus and lied on a stretcher, and his backpack set next to him. He felt his head, the doctors had bandaged it, but it didn't seem to be actually split, as the pain suggested. A doctor noticed he was awake and came to check on him. After the usual checkups for a head injury, the doctor asked a few questions to check his memory. He could answer perfectly to every thing, but when the doctor asked about any family Frid became reluctant. He told the the doctor that his mother had a heart condition and that he would announce them himself.

As there was no open injury h one thing to take a showerWith a sigh of relief Frid jumped into the first cab and asked the driver to take him to the closest pharmacy. The cab driver grumbled initially at the meager fare, but he calmed down fast enough when he was told that he was also hired for a ride up to Park Minnewaska. In the few minutes it took him to arrive at the pharmacy he explained to that driver the buss accident, or better said what he remembered of it. The cab pulled over and the man motioned towards the pharmacy. Feeling his head throbbing he understood that his pain wouldn't subside by the night. So he bought some sleeping pills along with the prescription he got from the doc. With his meds bought he made his back to the cab, took a painkiller and leaned his he'd on the window a few moments later he fell asleep.

The driver struggled to wake him up they had already arrived some minutes ago. Also it was getting late and the man hoped to reach home by midnight. Frid reluctantly woke up took his wallet out, paid the man and got out. Seeing that the pain hadn't stopped, he decided against pitching up his tent today. He walked to the inn that greeted the park visitors with friendly prices for the night.

Fatigued both by the road and the accident he quickly drew into his rented room. With a flick of his wrist he locked the door and dropped his backpack on the floor. Wanting to take a shower he took his clothes off as he walked towards the bathroom.

A few minutes later he strode out drying himself with the towel provided by the inn, took both the sleeping pill and pain medication and went to sleep.

Sunday 5th of May. ​

Around noon he woke up feeling even more tired than last night. His muscles hurt with a dull pain, he had all but forgotten. The sweet pain of overworking one's body, no...this was different, it was simpler more basic. The foolishness of sleeping in the nude...he groaned reaching for the blankets, trying to make himself warmer. Trying to sleep it off...

Some time later someone started rapping on the door, hoping the man would give up he turned on the other stuff side. Not giving up the man knocking on the door started yelling Frid's name. Telling him to either vacate the room or pay up, otherwise the police would be called. Reluctantly Frid got up looking for his pants, pulling his wallet from them he pushed a bill under the door. Before heading back to his bed he warned the manager "Don't dare bother me until tomorrow..."

Monday 6th of May. ​

Waking before noon with a growling stomach Frid realized he was finally better. Got dressed in a hurry with the same clothes he had worn on Saturday and went down to the inn's dinner, catching a late breakfast. Checking out after that, he turned towards the trail he usually took with his family, all those years back. It led to a small clearing, large enough for a tent and a fire. Not surprising the rocks that they last used were not there anymore. They hadn't been here ever since his father had his accident, well they hadn't had any other outings either for that matter.

Setting up camp took priority seeing that the sun had already long passed it's zenith. Putting up the tent, searching for fire wood and rocks to contain the fire, took him the better part of the remaining daylight. With the fire set up and an early dinner cooked he managed to hit the sac early. Tomorrow he aimed to start his training camp. There were only 6 days left until his plane to the UK left.

 

[of Dirt]

(Collab between @Kirra and myself)

With the new identities and the folder with the new assignment inside a sealed envelope Cameron made his way down the street. Things didn't work out exactly as planned this past week but there was till two more vials of the serum left if the Charlies turned out to be a bust but new game pieces involved in this whole mess did have its potential especially with how much things have been stirred up so far. It would only be a matter of time to see how far Pearson is willing to take things now that old wounds were being reopened.

Crossing the road Cameron made his way towards the park. He heard that Daniel and a few of the Charlies were in the area and instead of walking all the way back or getting Josiah to pick him up it seemed easier to hitch a ride with them.

Katsuro was walking down the block and about to turn into the park at the same time Cameron was. He furrowed his brow a little in annoyance as the game of chicken began. They were both going to walk into each other and they both knew it, but neither was about to stop to let the other through. Katsuro quickened his pace so that at least he got into the park first and walked ahead. Their broad shoulders collided. "Tch," Katsuro spat with a grimace. "Watch it, carrot top. I don't want to catch gingervitis," he added before turning away and continuing into the park.

Cameron's blood instantly went to his head. "What?! What did you say?!" he roared as he grabbed Katsuro's shoulder and pulled it toward him. Katsuro's most prevalent memories flooded his mind; namely of those just several hours ago when he panicked at the realization that his body had disappeared and the nightmare prior. Cameron understood the feeling. Nearly all the Charlies had a similar panic when they first realized that something was wrong with them and had no idea why. As he looked at Katsuro, his emotions quickly travelled from anger to confusion before he came to accepting that he was about to get into a fight with a Charlie. "Great," he hissed softly under his breath as they stared at each other with gritted teeth. "You were in that accident not too long ago," he added, with a tone that suggested it was more a statement of fact than a question.

Katsuro saw the man's face change drastically from rage to recognition, as though he had known him personally, but he could swear he had never seen this man before. He would've recognized him for sure. The mentioning of the accident made it even weirder. How could he have possibly known that he was in it? There must've been a dozen people. "Let go of my shoulder," he said calmly.

"Just making sure it's still there," Cameron replied as he let go of him. Katsuro did his best to maintain his composure, but the mysterious man's choice of words left him in a state of confusion. Even if he's just screwing with me, Katsuro thought, he knows things about me that he shouldn't know. "We need to talk."

"You can blame it all on Wilson's incompetence later on if you like. I already had my candidates chosen before that old man screwed everything up so don't think you're the only one having to deal with the mess the accident caused." Purposely skipping all formalities Cameron led the man towards a secluded bench away from the majority of the traffic within the park. "I bet you have questions swirling in that temperamental head of yours. I don't want to hear them until I'm done." Katsuro poorly held back showing his amusement and grinned a little, but he kept quiet, still unsure if he was dealing with a psycho or if he had legitimate information. Taking a seat on the bench, Cameron gave a slight shrug towards the spot next to him before continuing to talk. It didn't concern him if the man sat down or not. As long as he didn't have some sort of idiot that decided to run off, Cameron didn't care what the man did. "I'm not here to try and force things onto you or deceive you or any other shitty tactics the TSP might try and do. I'll give you the run down of things and it's up to you to decide how you want to deal with it but after your eventful night I'd say listen and choose wisely."

"You're not alone when it comes to having powers. Besides myself, we currently have eight other Supers that are from generation Bravo such as myself and two known people who are a part of the original Supers scattered between the TSP, the Reformers or off on their own. Adding in the mess the crash made last week, who knows how many generation Charlies are running around the city." That was one thing that concerned him. Adding to TSP's number was an issue in itself but having untrained individuals running around the city with no understanding of their powers would be problematic as the Charlie's powers grew stronger and potentially driven by their own motives.

"The TSP were once a secret organization within the government in charge of creating super soldiers and looking at myself and your disappearing act last night I think they were quite successful." Cameron said, moving forward in his brief introduction. So he does know, Katsuro thought. And what I saw was real. Although a chill went down his spine, his apathetic face hid his anxiety. People with super powers sounded ridiculous, so he still wasn't going to rule out that maybe his room was bugged and that this was all an elaborate prank.

As he continued to speak, a look of disgust started to creep on Cameron's face as his disapproval of the TSP continued to show. "Honestly if things didn't go the way they did, there would be much we would be able to accomplish. However greedy, power hungry bastards seem to always find a way to ruin things, don't they?"

"That's why we separated from the TSP and the corruption they stand for. It might seem like you are being tossed into a feud between us and honestly speaking, you are. However the alternative is being forced into the TSP and their policies they try to enforce on us in hopes of keeping us under their thumbs. Besides the obvious rule of don't be an idiot and all that encompasses, the only rule, or rather guideline, we have is watching out for each other. Hell, if you change your mind and rather be off on your own or stupidly decided to join the TSP, I won't stop you. I doubt you would get that choice if you started off with the TSP."

"If you rather live in your own ignorance without us or the TSP, you might as well walk away and never use technology again. They have someone with the ability to spy on all of that and it wouldn't be long before they break down your door and nab you. I'm not here to make a choice for you. Come with me and not only will I'll teach you how to use your power but to master it. Supers were made to be extraordinary and I can help you tap into that power."

"Okay, wait a minute. How do I know any of this is true? What's your power and can you demonstrate it?" Katsuro asked, his eyes looking around. "Inconpicuously, of course."

"I already have, you just weren't aware of it. I can retrieve one's memories when I come into physical contact with them. This is how I knew you were one of us in the first place," Cameron paused, seeing that Katsuro wasn't entirely convinced. "But that probably isn't good enough, which is fine, since I just mentioned that the TSP are more than capable of spying on you using your own tech. I also saw you jumping off of something, presumably to your death. I don't know what the hell that was and I don't want to know, but you're still here and you don't strike me as particularly suicidal, but I could be wrong. So, if you still intend on ending your own life, do me a favor and join the TSP."

"No," Katsuro muttered, rubbing his tightly shut eyes in frustration. "That was just a bad dream," he assured him. So, he has something similar to mind reading, he thought. That's dangerous. This guy already knows something about me that nobody else does. He opened his eyes again and thought carefully. He realized his life was about to change forever, but it didn't necessarily need to be in a bad way. I'm a super, he thought. If he mastered whatever his power was, the possibilities could be endless. In the face of the stupefying amount of possibilities, however, he couldn't think of one thing he really wanted to do, but at least he knew where to start.

There was no telling what this man's true intentions are, but he figured that he must've been correct to say that if he didn't make a decision here and now, a decision would be made for him at some point. Katsuro figured that if he was at least telling the truth about helping him master his abilities, that was all he needed for now.

"Well, if a decision will be made for me at some point, I guess I don't have much of a choice and I just don't have enough information right now to make an educated decision," Katsuro said, feeling awkward. Although it wasn't clear, it seemed to him that this man would be the leader of the group and the fact that they met having literally bumped into each other and at each other's throats didn't sit well with him. "So my primary concern at the moment is..., which side has the prettier women?" he asked, grinning and chuckling a little for the first time.

Cameron couldn't help but crack a smile for just a moment. "That'll be with us," he played along.

"Well that settles it. The name's Katsuro, by the way," he said, reflexively wanting to put his hand out for him to shake, but that also meant that he'd learn something else about him. He hesitated. Cameron snatched it like it was prey.

"Cameron."

"Dare I ask what memory you just recieved?"

"You're supposed to have a date with somebody named Ariel tonight. Sorry about that," he replied sarcastically and with a bit of a smirk, understanding that because of their encounter he'd probably never see her again. His smirk faded as they got up to leave, not letting Katsuro's smooth talk get the better of him. He still didn't want their initial dispute to go unaddressed. "And before I forget; you call me carrot top again and we're going to have a problem. Got it?"

Katsuro cracked a little smile for a moment before returning to his default, straight face. He was entering a totally unknown world and knew he would need allies like Cameron, but his natural inclination was not to trust anybody. He was already thinking of how to counter his ability, aside from simply avoiding physical contact. Although he had nothing to hide, the thought that he may someday have something to hide and Cameron could have direct access to it bothered him. He wondered if the memories he retrieved were random or if it had to do with what was on the target's mind. There was no way of knowing. Not yet, anyway. But no matter who it was, a good ally to Katsuro was one you also knew how to defeat. Just in case.

"Understood."

 

[ReganOs]

"I-I just need to go h-home. No one will feed them, they will di... Die. They can't die. I need them." She stuttered and sobbed, clearly showing signs of distress.

Ester tucked back a piece of her strand back.

"Ok, firstly I'm going to need a name," Ester started, gently placing her hand on her forearm for reassurance. "My name is Ester."

Ester knew what she needed to do, this could end up well or end up disastrous. She looked away from the girl then back to her. She wasn't sure who this girl was, but she absolutely knew that she came back to the base with her. Ester should've caught her name sooner, maybe could've gotten to know her more. Who knows, the woman in front of her could be really nice.

"Who are they?" Ester asked "Do you have siblings? Children? Pets?" She inquired her. "Because I'm afraid you can't go home as of yet-"

Suddenly Ester remembered.

"The phone." She thought.

"But, there's another way." Ester explained, slightly cryptic but not trying to be mysterious or secretive in anyway.

 

[Weaver]

Masaru reflected on his choices as he traced his path down one of the dirtier side-streets of the city. He could hear Sensei's voice as he placed each foot.

"You are weak, student! Your mind is distant! Pay attention!"

Then came the bamboo across the soles of his feet. He always remembered to pay attention, whether Sensei admitted it or not. That was the intent of the lesson. The world may never acknowledge your efforts, but as long as you do...that is something no one can take from you. Masaru deliberately placed each foot with that memory in full bloom, and he chanced a half-smile.

He was passing into rough territory. The last report of Sam's and Christian's whereabouts placed them somewhere in the abandoned warehouse districts, and that was well-known ganger territory. He knew the going would be tough. Yet, this was not unexpected. Masaru knew that no adverse condition would befall an Innocent at random. There had to be a cause. In fact, the entire universe was an infinite clockwork of interconnected causes and effects. That Sam and Christian were abducted were no surprise to him. It was only who had taken them that perplexed him.

"The fuck you want, Chink?" a man demanded of him. Masaru did not bother taking in the stereotypical layout of his meager encampment. He already saw a thousand ends to the battle, at least half of which involved burning the man's face with his own barrel. Instead, he shrugged and played stupid.

"Jus' a try too to get-a-by," he offered meekly, in his most exaggerated Chinese accent. He cast a forlorn glance at the barrel, which was admittedly the only source of heat in the local area. The African-American man scowled, but took a step back to allow him room.

"Wha's y'name?" he demanded of his would-be immigrant guest.

"My name-a Lee," Masaru expertly lied. "They say I get work making clothes. I get here...I no get work. I get...something else."

Masaru cast his eyes down; the surest sign of submission. Coupled with rampant stereotyping of Chinese culture, the man who shared his barrel simply assumed it was out of dishonor.

"Lemme guess. You finally get here, an' they won' give you shit. They shove you in the back of a warehouse an' expec' you t'
start pumpin' out miracles."

Masaru simply nodded. The man looked around, then shifted closer to Masaru.

"What if I told you there was another way of gettin' work?"

Masaru made his eyes brighter. Submission was key. He wanted this man to trust him implicitly.

"You get me work?"

"Sheeeeeeeet, man, I can get you work to-night."

Just show me where, Masaru thought. Let me get within ten meters of that labor ring, and I'll find them both.

"Place is just off the docks, corner of East and Shepherd. Tell 'em you're 'lookin' for honest work'. They'll get y'set up."

Masaru wore his most legitimate gratitude as he bowed to the black man. "Thank'a'you, aaahmerrricaaan."

The slave trade was booming in New York. A missing girl, no headlines, and no police actions? He was in precisely the right place. The cops would find Jimmy Hoffa before ever finding the missing Charlies. But Masaru had a chance...

 

[Perry]

Just a moment ago Max was sincerely scared of the stranger sitting next to him on the bank, and now she had put him in quite a predicament, which, compared to what little knowledge he had gathered about life and people, was no less scary than the thought of being abducted by the American and her accomplices. Firstly, Max was right to be scared of the »aid« she could have had, since not long after he had had to blow his cover about not understanding English a guy joined the conversation, bringing her her cellphone. Whether or not he was really her husband was totally beside the point, since there was nothing against married couples committing crime together. Secondly, Max found out that his benchmate worked for this Doctor Wilson who was oh the grand miracle worker; ans according to her husband she was even more dedicated to her work with him than to her marriage. And last, but not even close to least, it was mentioned how this specialist would not take patients over normal appointments, but rather through »word of mouth«, which sounded like 18th​ century rather than the 21st​.

The more the couple talked, the more it sounded like a perfect trap: a private little lunch together, the doctor, his assistant, and her husband, held in a location of course well known to the three and not known by the two invited Russians, one of them in severe pain and practically blind – with the exception of short episodes in which Max regained his sight. Even the conversation between the two sounded more like an agreement rather than a real flirt-and-complain.

On the other hand, though, there had been no definite sign for him to know for sure he was not to trust these people. For all he had known there were enough creepy physicians out there who thought of themselves as blessings wasted on the rested of the humanity, yet good enough in their craft for the patients to put up with all the hassle.
And Max was desperate. He was desperate and was running out of options. There was also the fact that this joined lunch was after the »normal« appointment he had later, so that if things worked out with the doctor they had found through normal means of the medical institutions there would be no need of the meeting with the couple and their creepy doctor.

"Urban Grinds?" was all he asked after the couple sounded to be done chattering, while pretending to end call with his friend - in which he talked Russian once more - before handing over his phone, so that she could type and save her own number. "Your name?" he reminded her then, since one number saved under over a hundred under a name he did not know was of no use. He did not bother look for the café since he still needed to be wearing the blindfold, and would not have been able to tell much without it, either. "Max," he introduced himself then before saying goodbye and parting with the couple. A certain Dr. Wilson and one first name of his assistant. He could only hope there was something available about him and his field of expertise they could find on the net before tomorrow.​

 

[ReganOs]

Collab Between Myself, IzKripp and Kirra

"Okay, and where is she now?" Wilson said setting his coffee cup down as Josiah finished telling him the state Vida was in.

"She was trying to leave the infirmary...here, let me take you there and you can try and sort things out." Josiah said, grabbing the older man's shoulder before the two disappeared.

"Go find them, I just need to grab a few things in case things get out of hand and I will catch up with you." Wilson said before searching through his things.

"Fine." Josiah said, with a slight sigh before walking out the door. Enemies he could deal with, pain he could manage but situations like this was far from his forte. "Vida!!! Ester!!!" Josiah yelled, hoping that the two haven't gottten too far since he last left them.

Ester jumped at Josiah in fright. "Jesus hot sauce Christmas cakes Josiah!" she yelped, looking at him. "What? What do you need?" she asked rather harshly, still holding onto 'Vida's' forearm. "And good grief, never scare me like that again." If there was anything Ester hated more, it was being scared from behind.

"There are no promises." Josiah said with a slight smirk before looking towards Vida with slight uncertainty "Wilson is on his way."

Vida was in the middle of shaking her head when she heard Josiah yell at them. She jumped, almost literally out of her skin at the loud voice. Her eyes widened looking at the man approach them. He was one of the people that was here before them, that she remembered.

'He won't help.'

Vida shook off Ester's hand and back away from them. Her eyes darted around the hall trying to figure out where she was going to run. There had to be a way out.

Ester felt her hand shook off and she graciously complied, retracting her hand towards her chest as she watched Vida slowly backed up, looking scared, almost terrified.

"Vida." Ester said, "Everything will be ok, there's a way to contact other people." she explained calmly. "There's a phone down in the Command Centre." Ester stayed where she was, not wanting to approach and possibly frighten Vida in anyway. She was better off where she was standing. Lowering her arms, Ester retained to a non-threatening posture.

"A phone... No." She shook her head. "No a phone won't work. They do not know how to use a phone. no.. I don't have a phone." She reached down to pat her pocket that was empty. She only had a cell phone with basic service. She did not have enough money to afford to have her land line turned on when she moved into her apartment.

Her hand gripped her empty pocket as she felt her stomach growl. "They are hungry.."

"A phone?" Josiah said looking at Ester with suspicion, remembering now that she was making her way towards the Infirmary when the two first crossed path. Where was she and what was she doing which allowed her to know about the phone downstairs. Garret. It had to be Garret's doing.

"We will have to talk about that later." Josiah said shaking his head before resuming his attention back at the situation at hand. "Who's hungry?" Josiah said as he tried to piece things together. "Is she still going on about her cats?"

"Oh she has cats?" Ester turned to Josiah, finding out what she meant by 'Them' when Ester found her. She turned back to Vida. "Vida, What I meant is that there's a phone you can use to call someone. Like a family member or a close friend to feed your cats for you." She explained. "I don't have my phone either, it's in my loft."

She twitched when she heard him speak so casually about her cats. Her eyes lifted to look at him. The look on her face was either anger or hate. She did not even know which one she wanted to feel. "They are mine! They will die!"

She clinched her fists and looked at Ester. "No one is my friend. My family, I have not spoke to them in.. I don't remember when." As far as she knew if she stopped caring her cats would just sit in her apartment until they starved.

Ester was stumped on ideas. 'No Friends, and she hasn't been in contact with her family...' She thought. Looking over to Josiah, she just remembered the fact that he could teleport. "Josiah, you aren't allergic to animal hair by any chance?" she asked. "I'm not either but I can't teleport and I just got an idea."

"Oh hell no. I think I know what you are thinking about and that's a horrible idea." Josiah said looking at the two. "Does this place look like a zoo to you? I can trasport those cats for you Vida but I'm not bringing them here."

She focused in on Josiah again. "Where would you take them? If not here, where?"

"I'm guessing you are going to say that an animal shelter is out of the option." Josiah said as he looked towards Ester, hoping that she would have another option.

She looked at Josiah "No shelter, definitely not." Ester assured. "I could have them stay at my place and get someone to look after them." She suggested. "Other than that, the only other option is to have them here."

"No, getting others invovled could make things messy." Josiah said with a sigh. "How many cats and what all do I need to grab?" Josiah said asking Vida. "And just so you know, if they piss on my stuff while they are here, I know where a pack of hungry coyotes roam that would love a snack."

"Josiah!" Ester said angrily, looking at him with a 'What the hell man?' look on her face.

Vida listened to the two going back and forth before it all started to sink in. He was going to get her cats for her. He was going to bring them here. All the anxiety melted from her face when she heard the news. "Yay!" She threw her arms up in the air cheering as happily as child would. "Co-co and Baby are going to be here!"

She jumped around in a small circle celebrating. "Wait. Stuff. Stuff, they need it. Money." Vida slipped her hand into her pocket and pulled out her card that still had all her money on it. "Here. I don't need this. Two cats, food, a liter box, liter." She pondered what else they would need but she could not think of anything. "That is all. All they need is that."

"Okay, I'll get all of that. In the meantime the others should be getting back soon so keep an eye out for them... and her Ester." Josiah said before heading towards the infirmary to notify Wilson on what was happening.

 

[Rina]

"Gotcha!" Tia exclaimed a tad bit too loud as she slowly wandered down the street. Although she was talking towards the direction the TSP was in, most of her focus was on the unseen and not on where she was going. Looking around, she saw that she was starting to get weird looks from strangers but seeing that she was previously stumbling down the street with an unfocused look as she mumbled to herself it made sense that people would think that she was crazy. Most of her adult life has been either with the TSP who understood how her powers worked or was on her own so she never had to think about how she was going to blend in.

However that didn't matter to her. She didn't care if she came off as a bit eccentric just as long as she had what it took to get what she needed done. She was finally able to piece together what she missed earlier while talking to the girl and things were aligning up nicely.

-Found them Dearie! 1:40 tomorrow@Urban Grinds-
-Sending pics now of the Reformers that will be there-

Pulling up recent picture she had of Wilson and Daniel, Tia sent them to Teddy as well as her messages. She only hoped things would turn out well tomorrow. For now though, she needed to find a way back into TSP without raising too many questions. She wasn't ready to expose her plans for the girl to the others.

~.~​

The Next Day…

It was finally time.

With Wilson gone to some sort of meeting to scrounge up yet another Charlie, it gave him free reign to get started on preparing for the upcoming job the Time Weaver gave to him the day before. While the Charlies and the Reformers spent their time last night mingling and getting to know each other, Cameron spend his time downstairs studying the information given to him and planning out his strategy both in terms of training as well as for the job. He had plans of telling Wilson and the other Reformers today once he had everything figured out but as usual the nosy old man knew something was up and as Cameron predicted, Wilson wasn't happy about the job given to them.

However there was payment for what all the Time Weaver has done for them up to this point and to a person like the Time Weaver, money was just a worthless amenity.

"There you are Cameron!" A cheerful voice said as Garret entered the empty meeting room downstairs. "You missed lunch and I thought you be hungry since you weren't there for breakfast either." Sliding a few things to the side, Garret placed the plate onto the table before looking at the scattered papers, maps flies of information that was scattered on the table.

"Not hungry." Cameron said as he waved the man away without glancing up from his work. "Are the Charlies here?"

"Besides Callie and the new Charlie they are trying to recruit, yes." Garret said, leaving the plate there in case Cameron decided to eat later. "What is going on Cameron?"

"Good. We need to see what everyone can do so that we know where we need to start in terms of training. Unlike us, they were not previously trained before the serum and chosen for this task. We have a lot of work to do. Get everyone downstairs. We are starting in five minutes."

"They've only had one day to recuperate and even then with everything that has happened yesterday are you sure it's a good idea to start right away? You need to at least tell me what is going on."

"It's not my fault they decided to spend their day fighting gang members and running around town. Five minutes and we are going to start training. I'll get you and the others caught up later."

~.~​

It didn't bother Wilson that the trio arrived a bit early. It gave them time to scout out a seat that would give them a bit of privacy while they discussed matters with the man. This was how things should have been dealt with in the first place. Guns, fighting and everything that happened while the two groups tried to claim the Charlies wasn't the way to fix the issue at hand. He only hoped that there wouldn't be any disturbances that would cause issues to arise.

"Did either of you find out what sort of powers this man has?" Wilson asked the two but got nothing more than a slight shrug from Daniel. "I guess we will find out soon enough."

 

[Weaver]

An Undisclosed Location​

Sam's head swam. She felt displaced; like she was between worlds. There was a distinct sensation of consciousness, but coupled with the absolute inability to act or move...even to speak. It was a terrifying sensation.

Sleep Paralysis.

The words floated through her mind as if casually intersecting with her reality, from another plane. Still...it seemed fitting. This was a problem she'd encountered only as a bystander, during group therapy. Still, that memory did not comfort her. In her transitional state, she could not see where she was, could not get up and flee...she could only wait for what came next.

Muffled voices rose from nearby; presumably an adjoining room. They sounded angry. She did not have time to wonder about the cause before two pops tore through her. The sound was nothing like the movies; it was surreal, terrifying. It was violent and brutal. It was uncaring and unapologetic. There was no preparation for it.

Still unable to move, Sam perceived the sensation of motion. The voices continued, though she could only speculate as to what they were saying. They no longer sounded angry. They sounded...pleased.
​

Hours Later
​

"Just keep an eye on her. I don't pay you to agree with me."

"Yes, sir, Mr. Mantovani. She won't get past me."

"You better make sure she doesn't. You don't want to end up like Jimmy."

Sam stirred, prompting the attention of her gracious hosts. She made two adult males -one in some kind of suit- but that was all she could determine. The sedative was still coursing through her bloodstream, which made it difficult to decipher any specific details. One of them had mentioned a name, but...it all started slipping away. She battled the drugs to stay awake, but there was more to it than that; there was another fight going on, and she couldn't be sure what it was she was struggling against.

There was a brief silence, during which Sam felt sure she was being studied. At the end of it, the taller man bent down over her and grasped her chin. She felt two fingers prying open one of her eyelids. She could feel her eyes rolling about in her head, and couldn't make them focus on anything; brief glimpses were all she managed.

"Your boys used too much. I told them I needed a variable-dosage delivery system."

"Sorry, boss. The place we ripped them off from..."

"I'm not interested. Fix the problem."

He let her go and turned to face his accomplice. It was the tone in his voice that she remembered. It was cold, heartless. It was menacing.

"If she dies, there will be a lot of new openings in my organization. Get me?"

"Y-yes, sir."
​

Meanwhile...
​

Masaru prowled the docks, in search of his connection. A light burned in the window of a trailer, beside a docked freighter. No legitimate business had any claim on this late hour, so he advanced.

There was a line of grubby-looking drifters queued up to the door of this temporary office. Masaru noted at least four wearing gang colors, two with suspicious-looking bulges in their clothing, and a guard who absolutely showed no shame about carrying. This had to be the place.

After a short introduction and a search for weapons, Masaru was admitted entry. He tried not to think about the two men who were caught trying to enter without disarming. A too-well-dressed man sat behind a scavenged desk and eyed him as he sat down.

"What brings you to my office?"

"I looking for honest work." Masaru offered meekly.

The man smiled, but it was for nothing innocent. Masaru gave off the vibe of a fresh mark. One more immigrant who wanted to bring his family over to 'the new world', and could be exploited every step of the way.

"Any skills?"

"Yes," Masaru answered quickly. "I very good at physical job. Can lift many pounds."

"Excellent. Mark will show you to your new assignment after a brief background check."

Masaru knew what that meant. They wanted to know if he had any family; any loved ones who would notice if he went missing. He only hoped that his contacts with the Reformers had managed to properly obfuscate his public record in such a way as he couldn't be identified by these small-time gangers.

People like these worked for someone. The man behind the desk was not in charge; Masaru knew that. He was a glorified door-man, who was allowed the great privilege of believing himself to be important. No...to get to the man in charge would require inside access...which was exactly what he was about to achieve.
​

Some Time Later...
​

Sam finally awoke in a cold, damp room. She could hear practically nothing, which meant isolation from the city or insulation from sound. Odd, that that thought would cross her mind in such a situation, but she buried it for the moment.

A quick look around the room revealed the interior of an abandoned warehouse; same as before. It appeared as though Mantovani's men were not terribly original when it came to hideouts.

"Or," Sam allowed herself to think. "This isn't a hideout at all, but just a place to get rid of people who know too much."

As she acclimated herself to the idea of conscious thought, she became aware of a small point of minor discomfort on her left arm, near the crook of her elbow. She angled her head to take a look and managed to discover the clear signs of a needle. Whether it had been an injection or a blood sample was not clear, but she noted that the person responsible had taken the time to patch it up with some clear, reinforced tape and a gauze swab.

"Not your average dope dealer, then..."

Just at that moment, one of the doors opened. It was a loud, unpleasant sound; cold and industrial. She heard the same heel-toe click of fine Italian leather as Mantovani approached.

"Well, well..." Mantovani breathed. "Look who's finally awake."

Sam's brain tore itself in half over whether to scream at him or keep her mouth shut. Mantovani flashed that asinine, flagrant grin and circled around, taking his time with his words.

"It occurs to me," he offered, as he made his way around the back of her chair, leaving her field of vision. "That we really only have one thing in common."

"Yeah, what's that?" Sam couldn't help but blurt out.

Heel-toe, heel-toe, heel-toe, round to the other side, Mantovani made his way back into her peripheral vision. He was holding something. It looked like a small tube.

"Usually, when somebody has something I want, I just take it. You'll notice I have already done that." Mantovani pointed at her left arm. "But there's a little more at stake than just this." The little tube could be seen more clearly now. It contained a red liquid.

"If you were anyone else, you'd already be dead. I don't like to drag things out. But...I just had to know..."

"He's got my blood." Sam's heart skipped a beat.

"Now you have a choice to make." Mantovani waggled the little tube in front of her. "Now that I have this...I don't really need you anymore, do I?"

"...no." Sam whispered. She knew it was true. Even if all he could gain by her blood sample was confirmation of the serum, that would still give him targets to acquire. If he managed to prove that Supers were real, he would never stop coming after them; Reformers or TSP did not matter.

"It's like this," Mantovani intoned, with a casualness behind that deadly-serious tone that did not sit well at all with Sam. "You get the same deal as they did in The Old Days. Silver or Lead."

"Silver or lead?"

"Yeah." Mantovani beamed. "You work with me, you get the silver. You fuck with me, you get the lead. Got it?"

As if to punctuate his point, he pulled his handgun from his jacket and flicked off the safety. Just past him, Sam could see two men struggling with the obvious corpse of a long-dead man. The door almost obscured them, but she still saw it.

Mantovani waved the gun in a circular motion, as if to indicate impatience. "Sooo..."

"Fine." Sam grated. "Ask your questions."

​

 

[Fox of Hearts]

Location: Urban Grinds
Callie, Daniel, Wilson, Teddy and Max (not yet arrived)


"This is such a lovely place!" Callie squealed, as she picked up a tiny dog-eared menu card off the table and began studying the names printed under the bolded and underlined title "Light Bites". The young woman read each name out and rattled on about "how cute" everything sounded or "yum" when she thought the description sounded particularly appetizing. In short, within a span of 5 minutes after entering the establishment, Daniel and Wilson more or less figured out that Callie enjoyed any dish that was tooth-achingly sweet and hated anything dunked in grease, unless it was a deep fried chocolate smothered mars bar.

She faltered after catching a glimpse of the look currently written on Dr. Wilson's face. Apparently, she assumed, he seemed to think her food choices didn't constitute an ideal diet for anyone, man, woman or children. Thus, her lips puckered into pout. Bully that man, she thought. He is willing to tolerate greasy bacon and eggs, but why can't he love chocolate. They were so, so yummy and sweet and … pretty. Most of them anyway. "Ah, come on, Dan," she clung firmly to her addressee's arm. "Not you too! Desserts and sweet things are simply too fab." She tried making a prolonged eye-contact with the man almost like she was willing him to take sides in this non-debate.

Finally, admitting defeat, Cal tried a different tactic in order to get what she wanted. One that she believed would be much better than cajoling the men into admitting sweets were as tasty as greasy bacon and eggs drowned in bubbling oil. "Oh, oh! Since we're early, would it be okay to order first? Or … do we really, really have to wait to see if he comes?" Cal stared earnestly at Daniel while hovering her finger down at Item 042 "Homemade Pancakes with Berry Compote and Chocolate Sauce". "I mean we didn't have much of a breakfast. Or hardly any at all, because," she lowered her voice conspiratorially. "There was no bacon."

"Did either of you find out what sort of powers this man has?"

Someone cleared his throat before speaking. The sound of Wilson's voice made Cal pulled away from Daniel. Her eyes swiveled towards Dr. Wilson instead and she tilted her head as Daniel shrugged. A slight frown wrinkled her smooth forehead. That super hero talk again? She nibbled the bottom of her lip. What was with their obsession with "powers" anyway? "Um… powers?"

"I guess we will find out soon enough."

"Hey!" Cal rested her hand onto the edge of the table, leaned forward and waved her hand vigorously in front of Wilson. "I have a question --- why are you so," she paused, trying very hard to find a substitute for the word "obsessed". "… always ask about powers?" She dropped back into her seat, having successful gotten Wilson's attention. "I mean it feels like we're in (you know) an episode of Alphas or Heroes." Cal shrugged. "I mean is it like a code word or something? Or something with the Illuminati? I … guess I'm tired of pretending I know what you mean when I really don't."
There! She finally said what had been disturbing her about this whole charade. It had been all fun and games, but now, the joke seemed to have gone a little too far. They've gone out of their way to recruit others too (or so she had been led to believe but he could be involved in this as well).

"And, oh hi!" A smiling blonde waitress approached them after she had mistaken Cal's waving as their group trying to get her attention. "Yes, we'd love to order! I – er – I'll have the pancakes, one hot cocoa, one strawberry tart, one brownie with ice cream and …" her eyes wandered over to Wilson and Daniel. "… maybe you should confirm their orders with them." She said with a polite smile, waving the waitress towards Wilson first. She locked eyes briefly with the man in question, as she worried whether her order was going to be green lighted. Thankfully, it seemed that they were willing to let it pass this time round, despite her outburst just moments ago.

She laughed occasionally in response to the waitress's friendly bantering, but seeing that the woman seemed particularly enamored with Daniel, Callie allowed her attention to slide. She had stared at the door for a bit, hoping the man would show up, but after a few fruitless seconds, she allowed her eyes to rove once more. Today seemed very quiet, she concluded. Only three other tables were occupied.

At the table closest to the window looking into the park, a couple sat opposite a well-dressed man who was appeared to talking very animatedly. He was, without a doubt, some sort of salesman, an insurance salesman perhaps. Slightly in front of them was a group of four teen girls who alternating between chatting and texting. Occasionally, they'd snapped a selfie or two. Only once did they ever take a we-fie.

Cal's eyes soon found those of the single customer sitting two tables down. The young woman, who seemed to straddle between her late teens and early twenties, was currently facing Wilson's back and thus (sort of) looking directly at Callie as the blonde happened to be sitting directly opposite him. Cal tried breaking eye contact, but those warm expressive eyes seemed to bore into hers. Her knee-jerk reaction was to pull backwards slightly, blink slowly and finally turn to her right. This resulted in Callie making renewed eye contact with Daniel.

"Daniel," she pounced on him before he had the chance to look away or pick up the conversation where they had left off earlier. "What did you order? Did you order pancakes too?" She clapped her hands together and her face lit up. "Pancakes with anything sounds so much better than the other things on the menu. Don't you agree?" Despite her trying her very best to ignore the woman, Teddy's brightly colored clothes kept drawing Callie's eyes back towards the table behind Wilson. "How about you, Dr. Wilson?" She asked politely so as to include the elderly man into their current topic. "I'm sure you'd love the break from bac -"

She stopped chatting when she heard the phone in her hand ping. Cal felt her heart racing slightly, as she saw a blue light blinking at the top left hand corner of her loaned Samsung phone indicating that she received a new text message. "Do you think?" She looked at Daniel and then at Wilson. "Yes, I think it's him!" She pressed the long button along the right side of the phone and swiped across the screen towards it. Cal began bobbing excited as soon as she saw who the sender was. "It's him!" She informed the other two.