Unlikely Heroes IC

[Nemaisare]

Location: Urban Grinds

Deep breath.

In and...

She wanted to hold that breath forever, because she knew that once she let it out, she was either going to walk in there and change her life forever (yesterday warranted a few dramatics, so sue her), or she'd be turning around and hiding in her room until someone came to find her. Tia'd said the choice was hers. But it was only hers if she made it, and put in the effort. Wasted opportunity if she didn't, but... Was she even making the right choice? Did it matter? The world had gotten that little bit stranger and maybe her life wasn't ever going to be the same anyways. Maybe she was just dreaming. Though she'd never deliberated this long in front of a cafe door in her dreams before. For that matter, she couldn't remember ever actually visiting a cafe while dreaming. It was usually something far weirder, like getting an oldfashioned hand clock installed in her forehead by autonomous robots ruling over human kind. (She was still very certain they'd been trying to help with the chronic human problem of not keeping track of time and no one had thought to remind them that humans couldn't read their own faces.)

If she was going to go through with this, it had to be now.

Teddy exhaled, grabbed the door and stepped inside. Glancing around, it looked pretty ordinary. Calm, subdued, but friendly. An open atmosphere with far too many empty tables to choose from. The few people already ensconced chatted with each other, mouths moving in a variety of contortions that shifted their expressions. Heated debate at one table, she thought. Animated storytelling at another. Or, whatever that fellow was doing waving his arms about and the two others smiling and nodding as he went. Another quickly filling up with other girls, who were either very good friends with nothing more to say to each other or strangers from the same church group, maybe? They didn't really look like they were there for each other. Anyway, as they all settled into their seats and pulled out their phones. All in all... Pretty ordinary place. Coffee smelled alright. So did the food as she walked past the arguing men. No faces she recognised though.

Good. Smiling to herself, a little nervously, granted, but pleased that she'd at least arrived before anyone else, she took the chance to get herself settled. She picked a table that gave her a relatively good view of most of the cafe, and when the waitress came by, ordered a spicy vegetarian sandwich because why not live a little, and a milkshake, just in case by spicy they meant really fricken hot. The waitress was very obliging about having the order pointed out to her, had a wonderful smile and nice enthusiasm. Teddy liked that, it might put this place on her list of reccomended places.

The lovely wide windows at the front of the building more than made up for the older lighting they employed. The flickering over her head was lost with the height of the ceiling and the natural light streaming in, so, for all her nerves, she was actually sort of enjoying herself. The atmosphere was nice, anyway. Particularly after the avid debaters left to take their gesticulations somewhere else. And the sandwich, when it arrived, was definitely spicier than she'd been expecting, not bad, it just made her blink a lot and definitely cleared her sinuses.

So, she almost missed it when the group came in. She had to do a double take, but yes, possibly, probably. A quick check on her phone, and they matched. There was the grey-haired man with the thin mouth who looked stricter than he wanted to be. Probably his glasses and the way he kept his hair trimmed. And the other guy, Daniel? Yes, Daniel. And a lady. That one wasn't in Tia's texts. But she came in with them, and she stayed with them, sat down at the same table as them, and her mouth never seemed to stop moving. Well, it didn't really change anything in her plans. Just that it felt a little safer to be going up to three strangers when one was a lady. Were they meetings someone else? Or was the talkative woman the one they'd come here for? She hadn't asked Tia about that. Probably should have.

It left her not knowing how much time she had left to dither. She still had to work up the courage to say hi. She could still back out, she didn't have tp do this, but, no, no buts. She didn't have to. She was going to though. She would, and to prove it, Teddy texted Tia.

-Found them. Deleting stuff now.-

There, now she couldn't turn back, or Tia would have to ask why and she'd have to come up with a valid excuse. Then, following her plan, she deleted the whole bunch of messages they'd sent back and forth since the hacker had interrupted her discussion about hummingbirds. Then she deleted Tia from her contacts. If there was any chance that they'd look through her phone, she didn't want any evidence of the other side on it, since Tia had made it pretty clear they weren't on friendly terms, these two groups of people that could do weird things. (Freaks was a little easier to think, but she didn't want to number herself a freak so she figured they wouldn't like her thoughts going that way either)

She'd just have to hope Tia could find her again, because she'd have no way of starting the conversation herself. Especially not if that chip Tia had given her didn't work. Teddy made sure it was still in her pocket before she took another bite of her sandwich, tearing up as she chewed through a jalapeno pepper and trying not to be too obvious about either her discomfort or her staring at the trio. it was an effort to turn her head though, to look somewhere else, act casual, pretend she was interested in some other conversation. Even though she was almost certain the woman had just said something about powers.

She'd been paying particular attention after that bout of handwaving. She wasn't sure what else she'd said, but she looked a little confused. Maybe she was the person they were here to see. It would have been far more useful if she could have seen the men's faces, she realised, but it wasn't as though she could predicted where they'd sit. Well, maybe there was someone out there who might have managed that, given as she'd just met a woman who could read texts with her eyes closed. Frowning at that thought, and thinking that Tia probably would have warned her if one of them could read minds or that sort of thing, she worked on finishing her sandwich while they ordered, guessing that she had a bit of time.

She was just taking a soothing sip, or well, making a forceful extraction attempt, of her milkshake when her staring was noticed. The lady was looking around, letting the others order in peace, presumably, and their eyes met. Blue, she thought. The woman had blue eyes. Or light eyes anyway, they might have been grey, and she held herself still, dropping the straw so she could smile at the other woman while wondering if she'd been caught out or if this was just one of those awkward accidents. Whatever the case, she wanted to make a good first impression, but it seemed it was only an accident as the other swung her gaze away and threw herself right back into conversation.

Okay, almost, she'd held her ground at least, right? She could do this. She'd told Tia she was doing this. She needed to do this. Taking a breath, Teddy put her milkshake down and was just starting to consider her approach as she pushed herself up, when the woman started getting excited over her phone. Alright, not yet. Hopefully they wouldn't rush out the door. She settled back and took another bite of her sandwich, considering her options. Maybe if she said she thought they'd been talking about something she'd been thinking about lately. Because of weird things happening. Was that too much? What if they were just talking about some X-Man movie, or something? Wait and see. She pulled out her phone to try and look distracted, but held it so that she could still see them by looking through it.

She only hoped she wasn't being obvious.

 

[Perry]

Location: proximity of Urban Grinds and inside it


The specialist had not dismissed him, nor had he sounded exactly confident about plausible diagnosis when he prescribed a bunch of tests, Max had lost the count, specially because he had to decide whether or not pay for tests which would in the long run – judging by the doctor's reaction – provide more questions than answers. He tried to see it as a small consolation that Viktor agreed with his impression of the specialist. Maybe now that his sight was taken – there were short episodes in which he could see again, some times vague shapes and sometimes with bright colours and full details – he had already started coping by sharpening his other senses, providing him for instance with better insight about the doctor judging by his tone of voice, without having to depend on facial expressions.

A lunch at a Café was much less expensive than any of the tests, both friends had agreed. They would strictly stay together, and refuse to leave for a more private location, and try to get behind this Wilson's case. Even fortune seemed to smile upon their decision, or they preferred to believe it did, and Max could leave the blindfold in his pocket, braced with ordinary shades against the light piercing through his skull. He could even tell general shades of light intensity, even though not in conventional colours he knew and mostly shades which made little sense compared to what reason dictated they should stand for. Yet alone the fact that he did not have to keep his eyes closed all the time was nothing short of a good omen. Maybe it was excessive stress or some nonsense of the sort and went away given time, without them having to do anything about it.

Entering a random Café with shades on and speaking Russian rose stares in most parts of the world, though. Having shades on and speaking French would have most probably been »fashionable«, speaking British English – not the one real Brits spoke on random streets, though, but rather the one famous actors did - »classy«, speaking something Scandinavian – even though most people had no idea how languages spoken in Scandinavia differed from one another - »eccentric«. Russian was not rare enough to be considered exotic, nor was it chic and romantic by reputation, and did not even have the merit of not being recognized by the majority. But today Max did not want to care about people, today he was fed up and in pain and insecure and needed the sanctuary of his mother tongue while speaking with his life long best friend.

[[About how old were the couple?]], Viktor tried desperately to get a clue of what they would be looking for once they opened the door and entered Urban Grinds. [[Not old, I guess?]] All the confidence Max has built up about the development of his new skills was fading as he realized how little he could tell about the two he had met yesterday without having been able to see their faces. [[And what is old?]], Viktor tried harder. [[Like parents' age?]] It was not the best he could do, Max knew well, and was waiting for Viktor to lash out some form of anger at him any moment. Instead his friend took a deep breath and pulled the door open. [[There must be at least three of them at the table]], Max tried harder to be helpful, [[the couple and their Wilson.]] Slightly pursing his lips Viktor added [[IF none of them is late.]] While Max was trying to persuade his friend about how he does not believe they were the latecomer kind of people, Viktor took Max' cellphone out of his pocket and called the number the woman had saved.

Fortunately there was only one woman who looked at her phone at the right time, and she even looked up and waved at them. Hanging up and putting the cell in Max' hand, Viktor grabbed his arm in order to lead Max to the right table [[Found them]], he said. A rather shy "Hello." from Max and a friendly "Hi, hope we are not too late." from Viktor were all that was said before the two friends stood a bit awkwardly at the table, still uncertain as to whether or not they should just take seats and order, or to wait for a word of invitation from the doctor who had supposedly hoped to spend his day off quietly with his assistant and her husband. Gently Viktor put Max' hand on the back of a chair. From beneath the shades one could see a shadow of disbelief in Max' stare as his fingers realized to which object the bizarre shapes his eyes saw actually belonged.​

 

[Rina]

With Wilson deep in his own thoughts and Callie off on yet another tangent about something she found off the menu, Daniel closed his eyes briefly and did his best to tune the bubbly woman out just enough to have better focus on the situation at hand. His powers were not as automatic as he wished them to be but with the aid of being able to tune out his other senses such as sight or hearing, it gave him the extra edge to get the job done. Focusing first on the group, he struggled to distinguish Callie from the huge surge of power sitting besides the two of them. That was to be expected coming from one of the last remaining Gen Alphas. With enough determination Daniel wondered how much practice it would take before the doctor could surpass the traditional five level rating that the Supers were given but knowing the old man's demeanor Daniel knew it would take much for the man to actually try.

Extending his parameters Daniel could sense another Super not too far from them. The man must have arrived. He was about to open his eyes when he thought he saw someone else further away but before he could confirm it, someone grabbed his arm and in turn broke his concentration.

"Ah, come on, Dan," Callie said to him as the man tried to quickly fill in the gaps he missed "Not you too! Desserts and sweet things are simply too fab." However the one-sided conversation didn't get too far before Wilson spoke up.
The new Charlie wasn't the only one the Reformers didn't know what powers someone had. Sure, they knew that the people they gathered was a Charlie but in terms of powers, they only knew about the ones that has already been seen. He could already imagine training being chaotic with the limited resources they have compared to when he went through his own training with the Bravos.

A shared look of concern crossed between Wilson and Daniel as they listened to Callie's question. Did she really not know or understand what all has been happening? Between Wilson and his own powers there was no way they could quickly prove what they have been saying to be true. How could they convince her? Seeing the old man deep in thought as Daniel presumed to chose his words wisely, Daniel allowed the doctor to take the lead but before he was able to the waitress came to take their orders. Another opportunity missed but Daniel knew that another one would come up later on.

Daniel was a bit surprised how long it took from when he first noticed the presence of another Super from when they joined them but shrugged it off thinking that the gap of time could be due to nerves to wanting to observe what they were getting themselves into. Unless there was actually a second Charlie out there.

"No, not at all." Wilson said with a polite smile. "Please, sit down. The waitress just took our orders but once you know what you want, we can call her back."

A stray questioning glance made its way to Daniel and although as quick and unnoticeable it was to the others. Spending years with Wilson Daniel knew exactly what the old man was trying to say. When he spoke to Wilson the night before Daniel purposely left the information about the probability of the newcomer's friend coming along knowing quite well that Wilson would disapprove of it. But what was done was done and being blind the man needed to find some way to get to the cafe even if it meant involving one more person.

"We have told Wilson a little bit about your situation." Daniel said after things started to settle down. "but I think it would be best if you told us a little more about what has been going on with you."

~.~​

Feigning a headache after lunch, Jenna excused herself to her room under the guise of sleeping it off. After everything that has happened in such a short time she needed some time t herself to sort everything out. With a heavy sigh the woman sat down at the foot of her bed and buried her face in her hands.

Why did it have to be me...

When moving to New York she knew there would be changes and life would be flipped around. Little did she know she would be cursed with absurd powers, wanted by the government and kidnapped by some rouge group hidden away underground. To top it off she was torn away from her closest friend. Alongside Emma Jenna knew she would be able to get though these trials but without her, could she.

I don't think I can do this...

Feeling tears start to well up in her eyes, Jenna quickly brushed them away. She couldn't cry now, not with everything that was happening. She didn't want the attention she might get if someone came in and saw her face raw from crying. Moving towards the mirror in the room, the woman checked her appearance a breathed a sigh of relief to see she stopped herself soon enough.

Emma what would you do...

Hearing a knock at the door Jenna turned around and saw Garret popping his head in. "Hey! Cameron wants us to meet up with the others downstairs. I'm going to get the others first but you should make your way down there."

"What does he want?" Jenna asked a bit confused. Besides bringing in a new person that a few of the Charlies met yesterday she didn't know of any plans they might have today.

"You'll see when you get down there." Garret said he left.

Here I go...I guess...

Walking downstairs Jenna saw a few of the Charlies were already down there and it didn't take long before the remaining members followed her down.

"Do you guys know what's going on?"

 

[IzKripp]

Vida had been stuck in her room since her cats arrived thanks to Josiah. She had spent the time since then trying to get her cats use to their new environment. Her black cat, Co-co, was quick to adjust as he was already curled up on her bed a sleep. She reached up to pet his soft fur and smiled. "We are together." She stroked his fur a couple of more times then slide down to look under her bed where her other cat had been hiding since she arrived. The tri-colored calico, Baby, was more of a scaredy-cat compared to her furry adopted brother. She reached under and gave her a good pet relieved to fell her more coursed fur under her hand. "I missed you."

Wiggling out from under her bed she sat back and looked at the contents of her room. There was a liter box, a bag of liter, and some cat food. Rest of her room was rather empty. "This space will fill with time.." She said letting her eyes rest on the cat food thinking of when Josiah popped back in with her cats and the things she asked for. She had been so excited and overly joyed that she forgot for a moment her anxiety with people and gave Josiah the biggest hug she had given in a long time. She could not thank the man enough for giving her back her life.

Blinking she looked away from the cat food and to the ball of fur sleeping on her bed. "Co-co do you want to come with me?" She asked standing up. She patted his head before picking him up in her arms. There was no protest as the cat leaned against her allowing her to carry him. They had wanted to talk to them about something and she did not want to go alone. She walked to her door and turned to look back towards her bed. "We will be back Baby. Watch the house." She smiled and hugged Co-co as she made her way to the others.

She walked down the steps and stopped short of the clearing to look around gauging how many people were there. Even though she now had her cat, she was still nervous around others, especially groups. Seeing a few people she scanned for a seat quickly. As soon as she found one she darted over to it and sat down placing her cat in her lap as she did. He did not really seem the mind the motion and sat on her lap completely use to her moving where ever she wanted.

 

[of Dirt]

Katsuro tried to soak in as much as possible as he was let into the base and shown his room. He was quiet most of the way, not sure how to feel about the situation he suddenly found himself in. On the bright side, he didn't have much to leave behind. He was kind of a nomad on the streets of New York, living off what little he won off local karate tournaments and the well-off women he managed to woo as he wandered. There were no friends or family to speak of. His not being able to see Ariel again didn't bother him much. They didn't know each other well. It was a lifestyle that didn't require him to anchor anywhere for too long. He grew accustomed to the pattern and saw himself doing it for the rest of his life.

Still not sure what his powers really were, he felt like he needed to learn to walk again. It was possible that all his skills and talents would be totally inapplicable in his new environment. He'd have to learn a new game. The thought was both intimidating and exhilarating. Although he was in an uncomfortable spot at the moment, he knew there was tremendous potential. He had an ability that possibly only he possessed and he was dying to know how it stood up with the others in terms of power level.

He was sitting on his bed when Garret came around to inform him of Cameron's wanting to meet everybody downstairs. Katsuro gave him a nod as he got off the bed and stood up. Everybody I'm going to meet will have some sort of power, he thought, as if to remind himself. He wondered how many were like Cameron and Garret, who had years to perfect their abilities. How many were like Katsuro? He ran his fingers through his short hair and quietly huffed away his apprehension before making his way down to meet the others.

There were two petite women; one with a cat. For all his thinking about how much less powerful his abilities might be, he couldn't have expected to see less intimidating people. Then again, he wasn't sure what to expect. The room was awkwardly quiet, even after Jenna asked if anybody knew what was going on. "I've just been recruited," Katsuro answered, hating to have to demonstrate his ignorance. "I'm Katsuro," he added, forcing a small smile. "How long have you guys been here? With the Reformers, I mean," he inquired, recalling chunks of the load of information Cameron dumped on him not too long ago. If they're Charlies like me, then they were part of that accident as well, Katsuro thought, considering the idea that it technically wasn't the first time he'd seen these strangers.

 

[Weaver]

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

Mantovani grinned and his gun fell to his side. Sam visibly relaxed, but only enough that she could breathe without effort. Her captor took the time to choose his words as he withdrew a small remote from his right breast pocket.

"We'll start with this." A monitor to her right clicked on. From the distances involved, Sam guessed it to be at least 60", which was only another indicator that the man had money to burn. The video's low resolution and timestamp in the lower right corner suggested a security feed. It depicted an unconscious Sam, deep in the throes of auto-drawing. Her arm rapidly swept across an invisible canvas, despite her deep sleep.

"Umm…" Sam worked for the words, but the lies did not come as quickly as they had before.

"I don't need to remind you of the penalty for wasting my time." Mantovani interjected.

Sam shrugged, though the motion was significantly curtailed by her restraints. In truth, she suspected it was important, but had never bothered to actually investigate. From time to time, when Sam was asleep –or even some times when she drifted into a daydream at her desk- she would awake to find strange scrawling in her journals, on her walls; anywhere she could find room. Sam had heard of sleepwalking, but…sleep drawing?

"No clue," Sam offered weakly. "Sometimes I draw in my sleep."

Mantovani huffed, unimpressed. There had to be more to it than that. But he had other ideas on his mind.

"Let's try something else," he said knowingly. "Which processor does my phone use?"

Sam made a face before she could stop herself. The look she gave him was a profane amalgam of incredulous confusion and condescending disdain. Given all that had transpired, and was still unfolding, what had that to do with anything? Mantovani made his eyes hard and tapped the gun on his thigh.

"You're not really going to make me repeat myself, are you?"

"How the hell should I know?" Sam spat back. Mantovani cleared the distance between them with three strides and shoved the barrel of his gun into Sam's chin.

"I don't know!" Sam screamed. She looked like a panicked animal, trying desperately to put some distance between herself and the gun, despite the fact that her restraints made that impossible. She twisted her body in any way she could to make that happen, even though the inches she gained would not have made any difference in the damage a bullet would inflict.

That reaction was what made him believe her. It was irrational; driven by fear. There was no thought of deception. The only thing that mattered to her was getting away from his weapon.

"You don't know." Mantovani repeated. Sam shook her head, trying to choke back tears. "Maybe I'm asking the wrong question." He spent some time pacing before rewording his question. "What kind of processor?"

"I don't-" Sam began, but realized immediately that her intended response was untrue. In the time it took her to speak those words, she saw the chip in her mind. She saw every trace, every component. She saw how the energy was directed, manipulated, stored and released. Though she had no name for any of these things, she did know what they were. Sam had been unconscious when Mantovani finally made her hold that phone. He had gotten his way after all. Sam just hadn't been asked to recall the information she'd gained from it yet.

"I don't know what it's called." Sam tried to deflect the question with clever wording.

"But you do know what it is." Mantovani replied evenly. Sam nodded, looking at the floor.

Mantovani snapped his fingers and one of the doors opened. A man in a suit made rapid progress toward the center of the room, carrying a large notepad under one arm.

"Draw it."

The newcomer released the restraints on her right arm and tried to hand her the notepad. When she refused, he looked at Mantovani, who impatiently gestured toward her. His accomplice shoved the notepad under her arm, into her lap, and made her take the pen.

"You draw that chip," Mantovani ordered, gently placing the barrel of his gun against her temple. "Or I paint this room." This time there was no whimsical gesturing; just a click.

What choice did she have? Sam drew.

 

[dpickle]

As soon as Pat returned to the base after the "shopping adventure", the weight of the whole ordeal finally caught up to him. He had barely landed on his bed when he fell asleep, more exhausted than he'd been in years.

Pat awoke the next day barely less tired than when he had fallen asleep. He could have easily slept for another four hours, but the lights had come on outside his room, shattering the near-perfect darkness he required to sleep. He instinctively reached for the pill bottle he had beside his bed at home before remembering that he was about as far from home as he had ever gotten. Pat spent to morning half asleep in bed going over the past few days events. He wasn't pleased with his situation, but it was probably the best he could hope for all things considered. It wasn't like he could just go back, all the TSP had to look for was the apartment with more drugs in it than your average street gang. Still, Pat wasn't one to let something like this drive him out of a bad mood, so when Garret came to bring him to some meeting, he made sure to put up the appropriate amount of fuss before leaving his room.

As Pat entered the room just as some new guy, "Katsuro" finished introducing himself, saying that he had just been recruited (Pat suspected "abducted" was probably closer to the truth). Was he the reason for this meeting? Some kind of new guy meet n' greet? If that was the case might as well get this thing over with so he could go back to his room.

"Pat Anderson. And we're about as new here as you are." Pat slowly walked to one of the empty chairs before taking a seat. "So would I be safe in assuming your a new Charlie?"

 

[Prince of Seraphs]

Christian felt groggy and unfocused. Of course he didn't have any form of sight to be blurry but the noises all around him came in waves, loud and soft and completely unintelligible. The ground under his body felt strange, hard but loose and uneven like a street corner or an alley, pavement. Something about that didn't seem right in his head but Christian was having trouble concentrating. Finally an image stirred in his mind that caused everything to become clearer. No, not an image, it was more accurate to say that it was a series of sounds, smells and tactile impressions, the ring of a voice, the echo of footfall, the smell of a generic shampoo applied just a little too sparingly. A name came with these impressions: Sam.

It was like an electric bolt struck Christian's brain. Like that moment when you wake up tired and realize that you're an hour late for an appointment and in the next second you are wide awake and running for the shower. Christian shot to his feet. What had happened? he asked himself. Then the memories started to resurface. Chasing Sam through the streets using his ability to guide him, finding the girl diving for cellphones in a deserted part of the city. The mobster that had attacked the two of them. Then of course was the interrogation. Christian remembered snapping the chain on the handcuffs even if it was accidental, prying the link loose to free his hands. He'd been so close to getting them both out of there then at the last second... what had happened?

The fog in Christian's head had begun to subside and as it went he could hear the things around him more clearly. Voices, pedestrians, traffic, a bit of construction in the distance. He was on a street. Or more likely from the feel of the pavement that he'd woken up on and the brick wall he now leaned against he was in an alley. They'd simply dumped him out in public. That was when pieces of what the man in the suit had said had Christian was being sedated came back to him.

"Cut the blind one loose... pathological liar... track him... lead us straight to them... subdermal... ditching... Take the girl to Site B... not finished..."

It was still a bit foggy and disjointed but Christian could remember certain phrases accurately. He scratched absentmindedly at his forearm as he thought about what he could piece together. They'd cut him loose to track him back to the Reformers, that much was obvious even if Christian hadn't heard the conversation. Evidently however they didn't need two pieces of bait and so Sam was somewhere still in trouble. At this Site B. Though Christian didn't know how long he'd been out. He didn't feel hungry yet so it couldn't have been more than thirty two hours but that still left them enough time to have transferred Sam several times. Besides it wasn't like Christian was aware of where they had been in the first place. If he'd been able to focus his power of awareness maybe he could have gotten a better read on the world outside the warehouse but as it was Christian didn't have anything to go on.

The spot on his arm that Christian had begun to scratch suddenly exploded with pain. Christian's muscles froze and he clamped down on it to hopefully stop the pain. In another moment the stinging subsided and Christian made sense of another part of the fragmented conversation he remembered. "subdermal". The man in the suit had implanted him with some sort of tracking device, none to gently either. It stung like a bitch right now and once that subsided the itch returned. It was like the world's worse mosquito bite, except a thousand times more dangerous. For all he knew if he kept scratching at it the device might puncture a vein or an artery. It wasn't like thugs were very exact about fine detail work.

Christian used the rough brick wall to guide himself to the street. As he approached the sound of traffic and people talking grew louder. The man in the suit had dumped Christian in a highly populated area. Presumably so that he would have no trouble finding his "friends" or asking someone for help getting to a payphone. Christian felt mildly insulted that even a mob boss felt the need to give Christian an extra helping hand. He was blind not useless. Of course the feeling was instantly dwarfed by that of worry for Sam. Christian couldn't go back to the Reformers because of the implant in his arm but Sam was in far more danger. She was still a prisoner.

It happened too often, Christian getting away from harmful situations while others around him paid the price. He wasn't going to let it happen this time. Sam had a gift which it seemed the man in the suit was at least partially aware of. That made Sam valuable to him, at least for the moment which meant that Sam was useful enough to him that she would be kept alive. How long she stayed alive was more than likely completely dependent on how she could help him. Since she had yet to fully comprehend her powers that meant that she might die in a moment or spent the rest of her life a prisoner. Christian couldn't let that happen, he'd failed to protect people close to him before, he couldn't let it happen again.

First though Christian had to get himself straightened out, come up with a plan of attack and of course find where exactly Sam was. None of those were exactly easy tasks so Christian decided to start with the simplest. He needed to disappear. If the Reformers found him it could very well start some sort of war between them and the Suit's mob. The TSP would inevitably get involved then all hell would break loose. No Christian needed somewhere to hide, at least for the interim. To get a decent hiding place Christian needed cash. Almost unconsciously he reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out the straight hard square of plastic he'd been given earlier that day, or had that been yesterday? It was the debit card the Reformers had given Christian. What had they said about it, "eight hundred dollars for the essentials"? Christian considered for a moment that using the card might alert the Reformers to his location but then he reasoned that if he withdrew the money all at once at a machine in no way related to where he was or was going and tossed the card afterwards the Reformers would have little enough to go on.

Christian knew a couple of specialty bookstores that would have tactile maps designed for people like him. A couple were limited to New York and Christian wasn't exactly sure how far outside the city they had come but some of the stores were rather popular chains and while the blind community might have been limited they kept a small stock of useful materials just in case.

Christian asked directions to the nearest Black Bond Books and in about an hour had a set of tactile maps for the area under his arm. They were contained loosely in more of a binder type design so that the uneven surfaces would not be compressed in anyway. He found the important things, street maps marked with the braille symbols for bank and bus. It wasn't exactly difficult to get onto the bus without a fare. Christian didn't like playing the sympathy card often but when he told the driver that he was blind and had lost his bus pass the driver gave a grunt and what Christian failed to see, a hand gesture to proceed. There was an awkward moment of silence before the driver realized his mistake and restated his decision in words. Grateful Christian made his way to one of the seats and waited till his stop was spoken by an automated voice.

Christian pulled the cord and left the bus, at this point he was really wishing he had his White Cane. It made traversing unknown places so much easier. Instead Christian was forced to fish an old pair of opaque sunglasses from his jacket pocket. He rarely wore them but always had them on hand just in case. Not everyone recognized the significance of the black glasses but enough did that Christian managed to get to the bank without too many problems though having to ask how much further his destination was was rather embarrassing.

Finally finding it Christian felt his way to the bank machine set into the wall outside the bank. He found the card slot with his fingers before pushing the Reformer's debit card into the slot. The buttons were all marked with braille to ensure that people like him could use the machine and it read each of its directions out loud. Christian requested the full amount be removed from the eight hundred dollar limit and the machine was more than happy to oblige. Christian left the card in the machine for the Reformers to find.

He had capital now, that was the easy part, now came the complicated details. How exactly he could possibly rescue someone from the mob with no sight and limited telekinetic capabilities.

 

[Fox of Hearts]

The words of the text faded when the call came in. A phone icon kept vibrating temptingly on screen while two circles popped up below. A green one that slid to the left to answer the call and a red one that slid to the right to hang up. Cal's finger fought with the stubborn jiggly green circle, but she failed to connect the call twice in a row. "Dan," she pouted. "I can't get the phone to – OH HI!" She broke off, waving enthusiastically to the two newcomers by the door. "Over here!"

The excitement on the woman's face was only a fraction of what she was currently experiencing. She had been very glum earlier when Dan and Wilson were talking about the possibility of Max not showing up at all, so seeing him there was a huge relief. Usually such euphoria translated into action and under normal circumstances, Cal would have chucked the phone at Dan then dash towards their guests to pull the men over, but today she had to be serious. Dan emphasized how important everything was earlier at breakfast and she was still feeling the pressure, so instead of leaping up to greet them, Cal decided to do something more helpful; she began shifting closer to Dan to make room for two additional chairs.

As Wilson was telling the Russians to take a seat, Cal kept trying to get comfortable being so squashed up against her pretend husband. She squirmed around and ended up almost knocking a glass over. "Oooops," she exclaimed loudly, as she batted her hand around in a very flustered manner and somehow ended up knocking the glass further away. The water spilled in a curved arc all over the place while flying off the edge of the table and shattering on the floor between her and Dan. "Oh gosh!" She yelped, completely forgetting their guests. "I'll get it!"

Cal grabbed a wad of napkins from the middle of the table and jerked her head down around the same time Dan did. Both of them saw stars as his chin slammed into the top of her head and the two reconnected when Cal jerked her head up in response to the blinding pain. "Ow," she groaned, clutching her head tightly. She remained there in a semi squat off her seat, as her fingers gripped the side of the table. She hissed loudly as her head throbbed when she tried standing up. Instinctively, she lowered herself again. "Gosh, hope you're alright."

A lot of apology and reassurances (mostly from Cal) were exchanged and Callie found herself being helped up to her seat again. She blushed for real this time, feeling a little self-conscious at the drama she created unintentionally. Things like this always seem to happen for a reason even when she was doing her best to be more careful. That and, well, the tagalong had been really nice. He had helped her and Dan untangle themselves and signaled for the waitress to clean up the mess. "Oh, I'm fine," she reassured him and anyone else who cared. She wasn't sure who was, because she didn't look. "No, really, I'm fine." She repeated.

Her eyes fell back in Teddy's direction unknowingly. She was turning back towards Daniel, when something curious registered. It appeared that the young girl at the next table was also on her feet and craning her neck for a better look. There was no malice in the curious gaze, as far as she could tell at least, only genuine concern. Even now, the girl didn't seem like she wished to have a seat. Cal wondered why. Following Teddy's gaze, Cal found herself looking at Dan. She turned back to Teddy and traced the line of sight back to Daniel for a second time. Her eyes shone with amusement as she jumped to the only possible conclusion – that young woman was interested in him. She was really positive about this, because why else would a total stranger keep staring worriedly after Dan had returned to his seat. "Dan, Dan!" She yelled animatedly, grabbing his arm. "She's totally checking you out." Her pointer finger pointed quaveringly in the so called "admirer's" direction.

Callie regretted saying that as soon as the words registered in her mind. Ooops, she thought for the umpteenth time during that span of less than 15 minutes since Max arrived. She had blown their cover sky high with that little slip. Which wife would be amused to see another woman was admiring their husband? Even if they were, they wouldn't be pointing the rival out so casually. Her mouth opened and closed wordless. She needed a comeback. Something that saved their ass. And, oh! That works! Satisfied with her plan to remove herself before she jeopardized the mission further, Callie reacted by throwing out the first excuse she could think of. A very standard exit line for most awkward situations. "Oh, erm, I need to go to the bathroom. Be back soon? Okay, bye!"

She scrambled up again, kicking the table in the process and sending two more glasses tumbling down. Not caring anymore, the highly embarrassed woman ran passed Teddy's table towards the discreet corner that was aptly labelled as "Rooms of Ease". Hopefully, the two foreigners were equally confused by her actions that they'd forget her little slip earlier. Well, hopefully.

After entering the women's room, she took a deep breath and made a beeline for the sink. Her hands shook continuously, as she twisting the faucet anti-clockwise. She blinked, realizing her mistake and turned it clockwise instead. Cal took a moment to regain some composure then she bent over to wash her face. However, no matter how calm she believed she was, her body was still on edge thanks to the adrenaline from earlier. Her hands continued to shake so badly that, whenever she splashed water on her face, stray flecks dotted her blouse and dampen the strands of hair framing her face. A particularly big splash caused a lot of water to enter her eyes and Cal swore loudly. Gosh, won't this day ever end? She thought, while she groped blindly for something to dry her face with.

After stumbling into something warm and solid, her fingers felt a woolly surface. Cal smiled triumphantly, as she leaned forward to wipe her face dry. As her vision cleared up, she froze. That blurry colorful cloth from earlier was none other than Teddy's jacket. Callie forced a smile. Oh great. The girl had been staying there with some paper towels in hand ready to offer them, but she had used the girl's jacket as a face towel instead. Her eyes fell on the huge damp imprint. Oh ooops…

"Um, hello?" She mouthed awkwardly and very slowly, forcing herself to look Teddy in the eye. "I'm sorry for," her finger pointed towards the dark patch. "I didn't realize you were there."

 

[Nemaisare]

Huh, okay, two more guys. Not quite what Tia had told her, but it wasn't like plans couldn't change. And not everything people said to each other was on a phone. Alright, she could still do this. Was that one guy blind? Or did they both have powers and were just touchy-feely? No, no, okay, he definitely had trouble seeing. Well, a glance around showed her that they were still her best bet. No one else looked half as similar to the pictures Tia had been able to provide, so, even if the party was a little bigger than she'd expected, maybe that would help in it looking like an accident. More people to notice, and all?

Ooooor, the woman could cause a bit of a fuss and knock a glass over and have just about every head in the place turning towards their table. Ouch! That looked painful. Were they ok? Seriously? She'd been there, knocking heads, hurt. And the woman must be feeling pretty embarrassed already.

Teddy hadn't even realised that she'd stood up with an inadvertent squeak when she saw the impending collision a second before everyone else heard the dull thunk. So, she didn't think anything at all of remaining upright when everyone else managed to find their seats as she looked for those telltale signs that they were fine. Dismissive hand gestures and rueful smiles being generally good signals, though not always truthful. But instead of those, she got a pointing finger and more excitement. Frozen by the curved nail drawing her out of what hadn't really been a crowd in the first place, she could feel her cheeks and ears growing warm. Her staring didn't stop though, as her gaze flicked amongst the rest of the group, frantically searching for the reason she'd been singled out while her chin came down and her head shifted nervously back over her shoulders.

She was just starting to sink back towards her seat, wondering if maybe she should hide somewhere instead, no one looked angry at her though, when the woman again broke the tension. Hurrying towards the bathroom, and vanishing behind the door. Teddy blinked, stood up again, looked between the still swinging door and the table of likely disoriented men, and bolted herself. She needed an in with these people. Something, anything that wasn't, hi, so uhh, one of your old friends/not-friends sent me to say hello, can I be in your club?

She didn't know if the spastic lady could get her that in, but right now, any excuse was better than staying at that table. She didn't know what she'd said about her when she'd started pointing. She didn't know what the whole kerfuffle was about either, but well, she didn't know period. One person was way easier to deal with than four, and if things went south, she could always just hide in a stall. Hopefully. She could do this. She could do this. She could do this.

The door swung shut behind her, a quick glance showed no one else around, and the woman at the sink. Washing her face. Hoping to make a good first, well, second, maybe third, impression, and find out what all the fuss was about, she grabbed some paper towels and was just reaching to tap her on the back when the woman turned towards her and, of all things, used her sweater to dry her face. She was too surprised to stop her, and then it was too late and they just sort of stood there being uncomfortable for a bit. Her clothes were not towels!

But... she looked so confused, and, it was just... Teddy's eyes followed down to that big wet splotch, then came back up as the woman gestured and spoke and possibly apologised, but mostly just looked at her. Looked right at her and, she couldn't help it. Brushing springy coils of hair from her face, lips twitching as she tried to stay calm about this, deal with things maturely, like an adult, prove her worth and all that, her self-control finally broke and she wheezed out a stuttering sort of splutter, hands shaking at her belly, up and down in what was her own version of a big belly laugh.

Of all the scenarios going through her mind when she'd left the house this morning, this was definitely not one of them. Never, not in a million years.

Through her laughter, tears squeezing out the corner of her eyes, Teddy made every attempt to let the woman know it was okay. She certainly didn't want her using her clothes as a towel again, but this once, she'd let it slide because she couldn't breathe for wheezing and she needed someone to hold her up. Patting her shoulder and shaking her head while the lady babbled. Or well, she could have been speaking perfectly coherently, but it looked like babbling to Teddy, with her mouth moving quickly enough that the flickering lights was making a strobe effect. She pulled out her phone and quickly typed in a brief message, almost dropping it her hands were shaking from amused relief, and she continued smiling as she braved her worries to bull right through the moment and try making a connection with the opportunity circumstance had tossed her way.

-Buy me milkshake and we call even.- The little robotic voice was just loud enough to be heard above her wheezing, but just in case, she couldn't remember if she'd unmuted it, so she held it up for the woman to read. –I Teddy.-

 

[ReganOs]

Ester felt better knowing that Vida was happy. She watched the cats meow and wonder around near Vida, cuddling up to her as she'd pet them.

Pushing her long curly reddy-brown hair past her face, Ester sighed, beginning to feel rather exhausted and in need of another shower. She wandered away from the rooms, she made her way inside the shower rooms, entering the doorless and curtainless stall she began to strip off her clothes and threw them aside outside of the shadow, turning the knobs and balancing the temperature of the water out as she began to run her hands through her thick curly long hair.

They didn't have the stuff she was used too. Floral Scented stuff that costs $30 bucks, the ones that have a whole range for different styles of hair. Never the less, Ester was fine with the stuff that they had.
---

After drying herself off quickly, Ester changed into the same clothes she had for god knows how long she has been here. She needed new clothes. Maybe she could steal some off of people once they get back. Feeling more clean and walking through the large area, Ester stopped as soon as her eyes caught wind of bookshelves, littered with different novels. She needed time to kill and maybe a little bit of reading couldn't hurt her. Walking over, Ester skimmed the shelves, picking out one or two books that she could read. After taking a few, Ester turned around and walked off, holding them close to her chest. Maybe she won't die of boredom here.

 

[Perry]

Urban Grinds

Max had not realized what he might have signed up for as he had earlier decided to go for this Wilson fellow as a blind – pun intended or not – shot... and that not because of the obvious reasons.
As soon as the both of them had taken seats and Max was about to talk orders with Viktor all hell broke loose. First there were noises of things being knocked around all over the table. Nervously Max looked in the direction where most probably Wilson's assistant sat, and realized he could make out bigger and smaller shapes moving. Then the woman in charge of all the noises started making noises of her own, crying out loud and trying to put her mess back together. Viktor almost shouted something about water in Russian, in order to be heard among all the other noises. Then there was another bigger shape moving, which judged by its size and how Max believed to recognize its movement – taken that the first one was actually the woman – must have been another person, pretty much bumping into her.

For an instant Max could swear he saw the impact before it happened, or whatever it was that he could see. But before he had the time to think about what his brain was trying to tell him, Viktor tried explaining the situation to him once again. He was closer this time. He had gotten up from his chair and was trying to get between Max' chair and the table. Hearing the worry in Viktor's voice, emphasizing how Max had to calm down and how nothing more than some typical clumsy accident at a table had happened, he realized how one of his hands was clutched around his other arm, while the fingers of the other seemed to be trying to drill through the chair seat. Viktor then put a hand on his shoulder, while explaining further in Russian how the couple has had contact of the undesirable kind with each other, and how he was simply dropping napkins close the table edge in front of Max, so that he should not get wet by "wandering" water. Max wondered why water would be wandering off.

It was all too much, all too fast, and even Viktor seemed unable to match up the speed of all that had been happening. Sometime in between glasses have been falling down and breaking, Max was too caught up trying to make sense of the vague shapes he saw and the noises he heard, that the amount of information he was processing had overwhelmed him, and all the unknown factors he had to deal with had confused him. Finally he closed his eyes as Viktor helped him push his chair slightly back, away from the table, in order to make room for probable cleaning up and make sure he was not getting wet on top of all this. "Do you want water... to drink?" Viktor asked. It was in Viktor's own way cute, to add the purpose of the water he would be getting Max, as though after all the commotion Max might suddenly feel like splashing around, or he might misunderstand Viktor's intentions from asking the question. It was a simple joke, though, and made Max relax a bit, realizing how his body had been tensing up. It was like the chant to bring Max back from the crazy Armageddon to a simple café where they were meeting strangers. There was a faint smile rather relaxing than stretching his lips as he jerked his head "Yes".

Browsing the café for a waiter who could be asked for an unbroken glass of water, Viktor asked the doctor's assistant if she was alright, raising the question for Max if anyone was really injured. "Is someone hurt?" he asked, feeling almost nauseated by the whole circus of flying waters and flowing glasses. Dealing with mundane tasks in most well-known situation had proven hard enough with splitting headaches and eyes useless, now Max was ashamed to admit that a couple of glasses knocked over imposed stress comparable to some of the most devastating instants of their escape from »home« on him. This was ridiculous, he decided.

Viktor was just back in his chair and Max turned slightly towards his friend to ask if it was already okay to move his chair back to the table when Callie jubilantly announced that some girl at another table has been checking out her husband, right before she took a rain check and probably darted for the bathroom, judging by the amount of noise and possibly further destruction that followed. Either Max was right about his initial suspicion of the couple, or they were one of those weird couples who tried to compete in sex appeal and most probably had other sexual partners. His face went pink as he had to stop his further embarrassing thoughts on a stranger couple's sex life. [[Something is not right.]] he told Viktor in Russian. [[Remember, we don't judge, not until we know enough to have the right to.]] The sarcasm in Viktor's voice was hung like a huge load over him, ready to drop and smash his head... or was it the pain starting again? [[What if I do not want to know anymore?]] Max pressed, almost like a child trying to get away with mischief turned dangerous. [[Tell the good doctor about your problem and we'll get out of here sooner, bicker with me about it and we'll be stuck here till Flag Day.]] Standing up, Viktor then continued in English "I'll go to see about your water", and left the table, leaving Max to speak up for himself.

"Not that I think there is a connection..." Max started, pausing to reconsider, "...well, there maybe. It's just that there is nothing else I can think of... You see, there was this accident a few days ago... more than a week. It was a bus accident... I mean, I was in the bus. And then I was a little sick, nothing unusual." There was another pause before he jumped to the conclusion himself "Has there been some virus going around? I mean something serious, not just simple flu. I know flue can't do this." Waiting on an answer he then realized he had not described his actual problem, yet. "I have headaches I have never known before, and then I either can not see anything or see everything in a bizarre way... strange, everything looks so strange. Like most of the times I can't even tell what colour things are... Is there a new virus, is that it? Have you heard of similar cases?" The despair in his voice rose with every new sentence. He could hear his heart beating fast in his ears. ​

 

[Rina]

"Jenna."The woman said interjecting her name in as introductions went around. "We also have Cal but I don't think she will be joining us. It sounds like she has something planned with Daniel."

"And Ester." Garret said slightly puzzled as he looked around the room to take count who all was there. "I was sure I told her to come down here but maybe she didn't hear me. She was reading a book."

"Do we really have another bookworm? Daniel and his ability to tune out the world while reading was bad enough" Teleporting moments before, Josiah was able to hear the brunt end of the conversation before taking an empty seat at the wooden conference table. The papers that covered the table earlier while Cameron was there was cleaned up although there was a few lingering pieces in the garbage can by the door alongside the meal Garret brought down.

"He wasn't that bad. While on t-"

"That bad!? I wouldn't call what happened in Egypt a non eventful day." Josiah said with a sharp laugh. "The only safe teleportation point I have left to get into that country is in the woman's restroom in a police station. A fucking police station."
"He wasn't the only reason things went south." Garret said, dismissing the story with a shrug. "Why don't you go find her. I'll stick around for whatever Cameron has planned."

"Fine." Josiah said before vanishing.

"Hmm, I guess to finish up the introductions, the two of us are a part of the generation of Supers that came before you, Gen Bravo. The teleporter was Josiah and I'm Garret or as Pat mentioned before Mr. Stretch." A slight smile crept on th man's face as he tested out the new name again before Josiah returned, with Ester in tow. "We should figure out code names for you all too. What powers do you guys have?"

"I already told you, no code names." A man with red hair said as he entered from a room to the side. This room was the was the Command Center and the same room that Ester and Garret snuck into the day before to make a phone call.
"Come on Cameron. It'll be fun and it would be a good way to keep out identity safe."

"We are not some childish comic book character. No code names, no costumes and don't even think about capes. Do you even know how impractical they are?" Taking a seat, the man took a brief second to look at each person and size them up. "Before we get started, these are for you all." Cameron said as he tossed a pile of files towards the center of the table. "You're lucky I was able to get in contact with on of my sources last night Katsuro. I was able to get one done for each of you but it does seem like we have a few extra files now after yesterday's incident." Pausing just long enough for each person to grab a file with their name labeled on the outside, the man continued as each person looked though the file. "Each of you were given two new identities with IDs, social security numbers and an extensive history of each. Who you once were is no more. No credit history, medical records and even your facebook accounts are gone. Supers such as you and I are very powerful people and with a dangerous person having the ability to get into technology as if it was her own personal playground we cannot risk them finding you, or your loved ones."

"Her finding you is only the start of your problems. As a few of you already know from the unfortunate meeting you've had with the TSP, they are a dangerous group with both Supers and non-Supers alike who are keen on finding you. I admit that we have made some mistakes recently but it was all in your best interest. I and the others have seen firsthand what the TSP are able to do and we couldn't let them do the same to you as well. Even with the best equipment and skills you might have right now, alone you are no match against their small army. Even without the danger they might possess, learning to master your powers is hard, if not dangerous. We are here to give you safety and the training you need and only hope that one day that you might be able to put your newfound abilities to good use." Pausing to let the information sink in, the man grabbed the last few remaining files and set them besides him in a small pile. "It will be challenging and I warn you now some of you might feel like giving up along the way but as long as you stick together and help each other out, we will make quite a bit of progress. Training will start today. We will start in ten minutes outside this room with all the equipment. We have comfortable training clothes in both the male and female shower rooms and unless you are comfortable with what you are wearing now, I'd advise you change. I will be here if you have any questions and Josiah will be in the infirmary if any of you might need anything there before starting. Wilson keeps the room stocked well so if you need anything, more likely than not we will have it. Your ten minutes starts now."

~.~​

Wasting no time, Jenna made her way to the women's room. "I wonder what he has planned for us?" Jenna said as she tried to strike up conversation with whomever might have gone in the changing room as well. "I'm decent at running but was horrible with everything else in gym class."

~.~​

Urban Grinds

Curious on why the girl might be staring at the group, Daniel observed the girl. Curiosity turned into suspicion as the girl trailed after Cal towards the restroom which led him to focus his power on her. "I think your assistant is becoming a bit forgetful. She's another patient of ours." Daniel said giving a slight nod towards the restroom as the last of the water was cleaned up. "We will have to make sure to connect with her before she leave."

Listening patiently with his fingers laced together the older man listened to Max's story carefully before speaking, already pushing aside Callie's blunder with ease. As long as her powers someone don't become activated nor she let's her mouth run too rampant he didn't think she could cause too much trouble in the restroom, although he felt that the latter would be a more likely cause of trouble for the young woman.

Knowing where the conversation was going to lead, Daniel knew he would have to keep Viktor busy for a bit. "I'm going to go chat up Mr. Flag Day." Daniel said with a slight smirk as he got up. "I think we have an extensive patient form for him to keep busy." Getting up, the man caught up to Viktor after he spoke to a waitress and urged him to a table just outside of earshot but somewhere both could keep an eye on the doctor and Max as the two worked on paperwork that Wilson created that morning.
"You are not the only one with more than one language under their belt." Wilson said as he watched the two take a seat. "Do not worry, they are sitting down at the other side of the cafe. Your friend is keeping a careful eye out on you which I have to say that I admire but the information I have to share is confidential and for the sake of your friend's safety it is for the best that he stays in the dark."

"What has been going on is not flu but you are correct about the connection between the crash and your recent symptoms. It would be a lie to say that I am just a simple concierge doctor giving out simple medical advise here and there. My work is solely focused on people such as you who were affected in the crash and other similar incidences. You are not the first to display odd symptoms nor do I doubt that you will be the last."

"A serum was being transported and the vial was shattered during the crash. It was an unfortunate event that led you to come in contact with this serum. This serum has characteristics that can change the sequence of your DNA which can make drastic changes in a person. You probably have seen how certain genetic anomalies can cause a mutation such as something simple as an eye color changes or even something more serious that requires medical attention. Think what a person could do if they could control such a genetic change? A certain sequence in the DNA when altered would give people abilities beyond what is physically possible?"

 

[of Dirt]

"Yes, that's right," Katsuro answered the older gentleman, Pat, surprised to hear that they were all just about as new as he was. Although he couldn't remember how long ago the accident had occurred, it felt like a while. Jenna dropped a couple of names that he forgot nearly a moment after they were uttered. It was always difficult for him to remember a name without a face attached. Garret and Josiah were more than comfortable with each other, demonstrating a playfulness that he wasn't prepared for. They were Bravos, so they've had plenty of time to settle into their new lives as supers, he thought. He, on the other hand, still wasn't entirely sure what his power was. All he could manage was a small, forced smile before Cameron came in and shut down their idea of having code names.

Katsuro grabbed his file and took a seat, looking through his new identities briefly. "Who you once were is no more," Cameron said, which made Katsuro feel a little uneasy. I didn't know my identity would be erased, he thought, feeling like he should have seen it coming. They were, after all, no longer a part of the normal population. They were weapons that many would love to use for their own agendas, just as every Charlie in the room was going to be used by Cameron at some point.

Joseph Kenji and Kiichi Tatsuya; he read his two new names as he looked through their respective information. Kiichi was a gambler and Joseph had an affinity for eating everything in sight (and got paid for it). He furrowed his brow and wondered both about Joseph's plausibility and why he never thought of the idea himself. If I ever return to my old life, he thought, making a mental note to look into such an occupation.

With the details aside, it was time to begin training and he couldn't have been more eager to do so. In his mind, learning the use his powers came before anything, even if Cameron's intentions were as sinister as they came. He'll worry about the bigger powers at play once he had some power himself. He left for the shower rooms, running into Jenna along the way, who seemed apprehensive about what was to come next.

"I was never big on comics. I suppose that knowledge would be useful here," He replied. "But don't count yourself out. Your stamina could be exactly what you need," he speculated, before entering the men's shower room.

 

[dpickle]

Pat quickly flipped through his file. His new names were "Gerald Flinder" and "Anthony Rogers", both retired. One worked construction while the other was a manager for general store. Pat already knew he was going to have trouble keeping them straight. Maybe the codenames wouldn't have been such a bad idea, at least he could have remembered them.

Pat closed his file and started making his way to the men's washroom. He found this whole "new identity" thing a bit surreal. Not so much the fact that his old identity was deleted but the fact that he now worked for an organization with the power to erase his identity. These reformers were a lot more than just a dozen people with super powers hanging out in an abandoned building, that was for sure.

Pat got to the shower room and started changing into the provided clothes. Pat was still a bit confused about how this whole training thing was going to work for the people who didn't know their power. Did the Reformer's have some sort of gadget for determining someone's power? If they did Pat figured they would have used it earlier. Maybe the plan was to just watch them and wait for someone to accidently conjure a fireball or start levitating. "Guess I'll just have to wait and see," Pat thought to himself as he finished changing and started heading towards the training area.

 

[Rina]

Watching the clock on the wall of the training room for when the five minutes were up, Cameron promptly started without any hesitation of who all might or might not be present. Heeding Cameron's time limit, Jenna made sure not to delay but made sure to spend just enough extra time after changing to tie her hair up in a pony tail before heading back.

"Before we can start any form of training both in terms of your powers as well as keeping you all physically in shape and with the abilities to defend yourself against any attack the TSP might throw at you, I need a baseline to see where we are starting. Josiah here like the more traditional methods of being a slave to a stopwatch and pointless drills due to his militaristic background but that's not realistic. A mile run is going to be quite different here on a flat gym floor compared to some rugged terrain where adrenaline will be pushing you to exceed your normal pace in a similar situation. Normally we move to one of the two off site locations dedicated to this but seeing that we are missing a few of our people we will keep things small and stick to the indoor location."

Walking towards the cabinets against the wall, Cameron opened up the one on the left. Digging around for a few seconds, the man pulled out a black case and set it on top of a small table that separated him from the Charlies. "I'm guessing most of you have played Capture the Flag at some point in gym class as a kid. If not, it's a simple game with two teams. Each team has a flag that they must guard from the other side while trying to steal the other team's flag and bringing it back to their side. It's simple enough even with our revamped version. First off, the tag rule you all are used to as kids is not in effect. Anything goes in this game short of any lasting damage. Combat and powers is acceptable and highly encouraged in this game if you want to win. As an added bonus we also have training weapons which will be located near your flags. Garret and Josiah will have the other one and will be the ones you all are against."

"Are you sure this would be okay with this for the Charlie's first day of training? I doubt Wilson would approve." Garret said with slight concern. "With no combat or weapon experience, they could hurt themselves. Shouldn't we first-"

"Fine." Cameron said cutting the man off with frustration and pulled out a rifle from the same cabinet and placed it on the table before reaching for a magazine. "These are rubber bullets. It will be more painful than an airsoft but nowhere close to being lethal." Cameron said in quick succession as he showed each part of the gun he was talking about before hastily moving forwards. "Stick the magazine in the hole and you are set. Make sure the safety is off. When you push it over, you will see the red indicator. Just remember, "red is dead" and you will be set. All that is left is to point and shoot." Cameron said before aiming the gun at Garret and firing a round. "Happy?" Cameron said sarcastically before continuing. "There are a few hand to hand combat weapons as well. Hit the person with the object and you are at least somewhat close. Remember, this is all just to get a baseline and see where you all might have potential."

"Normally we are a bit stricter on what would constitute you as dead but we will give some leeway room today. Three head shots or chest shots and you are dead. I will keep track so don't think you can cheat the system. If you get into combat, if you become unconscious, you are dead. Hurt to the point you wimp out, dead. If you become incapacitated or pinned down, dead. Dead people don't come back to life so there is no jail system where you can get back into the game as you can in the kid's version. If you die, you will join me in the room off to the side where everyone can watch the progression of the game."

"I think that nearly sums up everything but the flags." Cameron said as he placed the gun down and open up the case a picked up a cylinder the size of a chips canister. "This is the flag. It's not pretty but is quite durable especially due to the anti-super technology a few of you might have already faced during your meeting with the TSP. This flag has a radius of about fifteen feet where powers are useless. Take that as a blessing or stopping Josiah would be a pain."

"Once you arrive you will be given five minutes to prepare and plan a strategy. I highly advise you don't waste this time with idle talk and figure out a game plan since teamwork is another facet that is vital for survival. Even in the most direst situation out in the field, a good strategy and reliable people can be what makes the difference between death and life. Weapons, a map and a mic system will be there for each of you so that you all can stay in contact with each other."

"It's going to take a few rounds to move you all." Josiah said stepping forward. "But the five minutes will start once we all are there." Reaching for the first two closest people, the man disappeared along with the two before reappearing a few seconds later.

~.~​

Jenna face paled as she listened to what Cameron had planned. The ideas of keeping things simple and going along with Josiah would rather do seemed to be a better choice. Even with everyone together against the two she wondered how even things would be. These men were experienced with their powers and who knew what else. Did they even stand a chance?

Teleporting to a large warehouse, Jenna walked to the table set against the wall. There were rifles for each person and two magazines for each, a handful of smoke grenades a few other weapons scattered around the table and the mic system as Cameron promised. However one thing the man didn't mention was the tactile gear composing of a helmet and vest as Jenna has seen actors in action shows wear. Reaching for the earpiece she placed it in her ear as the rest of the Charlies appeared. Looking at the wall she saw a large map of the warehouse showing that things have been set up in a maze-like fashion with the two sides where the flags were placed on opposite ends and the door leading to the observation room near the middle.

"Everyone is here now." Cameron said over the sound system that was heard throughout the room. "Your five minutes start now. Good luck."

"Are they really serious about this? How are we ever going to win?"

 

[Jack Skidder (?)]

Slender. Smooth. Sensual.

Jack was sure he could find several other complimentary "s" words to describe the AK phallus he'd trained with and come to know as his only real "buddy" in the foxholes and other quaint grunt grade hostels he'd enjoyed during his tour. In fact, in the field the only buddy anyone ever had was their weapon. It didn't pay to get too close with anyone. If you turned around at the wrong time, your backup would be dead by the time you turned back.

It had been a long time since then. A long time since he'd had to hand off his friend Al. But he trusted Charlie.

He'd been "activated". That was right. Wasn't it? There was so often an image in his subconscious that suggested his life was a dream. Or that he was wandering through it in a state of being barely semiconscious. And this blonde…it had been a warm caring hug…who was this—

Jack turned the knob on his room door and stepped through.

Waffles. He smelled waffles. No time to eat, though. He noted and logged the complaint his stomach was making about that. But a glass of water would help in the short term.

He slipped out the back way from the co-op so nobody would start a long conversation that he had no desire to join. Not that they were unfriendly, but he just didn't care for it this morning.

About a block away, he sat down on the bus bench and began to concentrate, closing his eyes and blocking out extraneous input.

He plucked again at the tendrils of the web his mind formed and listened for the note.

Inhale. Listen. Hear.

After a few moments, the bus arrived. He opened his eyes, boarded, and paid.

Today would take him to an obscure warehouse downtown.

 

[IzKripp]

Vida vaguely listened to what they were saying as only looked up from her cat long enough to take the folder with her name on it. She stroked his fur admiring how shiny it was under the lights of their prison.. um home. He laid there quietly as she flipped open the file to see who she was now. She read the name, but it did not stick. It figured that it did not matter, no one ever got her name right anyway. She could go around calling herself whatever she wanted now. If she had been listening closer she might have given a quiet giggle at the thought of them using her 'loved ones' against her. He kept in contact with one of her brothers, but only the minimum was every talked about. She did not have anyone that she was close with either. If someone had came in telling her that one of her family members had been taken she did not think she would do anything about it. The only lives she cared about were with her or at least in her room.

When they were dismissed she stood up letting her furry companion hop to the floor. "Come, come" She beckoned him with her hand to follow her. With a small meow he agreed and followed close behind her only darting in front of her a little before stopping to let her pass. "Training... I don't want to use this though.." She looked down at her hands that were healthy now, but she still remembered the nubs they were when they had brought her back from the town visit.

She looked up at Jenna when she heard her ask a question, but she really had no answer so she kept to herself changing into more suitable clothes. She had never been the best at sports, but she was fast and agile. Her only problem was the fact that she sometimes got a head of herself and tripped over her own feet and other times she would space out during activities. None of that really mattered though, it wasn't like any one actually played with her while growing up. After putting on her shoes she stood there looking at her wind break pants and tee shirt. Normally she would be find with what she was wearing, but now she grimaced as she grabbed her jacket and put it on zipping it all the way up and then putting her hood on. Vida put her hands in her pockets and followed Jenna not wanting to be left behind because she had no been listening.

Once they got to the place they were suppose to be training she finally started to feel awkward again since she had to leave her cat behind. She fidgeted with the ends of her jacket as she listened to them explain the rules of the 'training'. Capture the flag? She had no played that game since she was in elementary school and all she remember about that was standing off to the side because the other girls refused to let her help. She looked at the weapons that were on the table and recoiled. "No.. no way.." She looked to everyone else to see what they were going to do before she moved. Slowly she picked up an ear piece and put it on. There was no way. They were going to have them actually fight. She put her hands deep in her pockets. "There isn't.. isn't a-any way that I c-c-can shoot someone or or anything." She looked at the floor avoiding eye contact. "T-this is silly. Like one of those funny shows were they say 'Surprise' and then it is all over."

 

[Jack Skidder (?)]

Stepping off the bus, Jack felt more like a shell casing that had just been ejected. The doors closed behind him and the transport groaned away amid a cloud of noxious black smoke. And that was the BEST smelling thing about it.

But that had been a dozen blocks ago. This section of town was much quieter and easier to navigate.

Some divine agency had essentially heaved a balloon full of unbaked fruitcake on some blank sheet of the city, and where each grainy bit landed was where a warehouse popped into existence. The batter simply ended up drying into streets and trash heaps that did little more nowadays than bake in the sun, like the raisin Langston Hughes described in his poem "Harlem 2".

Seeing literally nobody around, Jack stopped next to a fire hydrant and flavored it with his own nitrogen stream. Some dog would be by soon enough, he was certain, to check this message and leave one in reply.

Resting one foot atop the hydrant and stretching his other leg, he looked—around. "Where to go? Which way and how far?" he asked himself.

He resisted the urge to comment that all warehouses looked alike to him, but he couldn't help thinking it. There was an orange one here, a greenish one there, some white, some tan….

"Color. Black and white. I never see color. It's all shades of…."

Grey.

There was a gray warehouse half a block away.

Jack unconsciously shrugged then headed toward it.

He was close to laughter when he saw a dime-sized spider showing off a web, full of gnats, which was anchored to the upper bend of one of the building's downspouts. "I guess I got the right place, old friend." He licked his lips and swallowed. "I just hope you don't look like me."

A cursory glance showed that doors were locked, but that meant very little. The locks were rusty, and clearly nobody had been here for a long time.

With a pop can and a pair of tinsnips he could have picked the lock on the front door, but he had neither of those, and breaking out one of the windows was simpler.

He found one that was already well damaged.

"OK, breaking out the REST of the window will be simple." Looking around he found a convenient two by four and went to work. He wished it had been more of a challenge, but there was no point complaining about a gift…sawhorse.

The window gave after three cracks.

Jack climbed inside and made a circuit of the big rectangle that the building enclosed. A drill press here, ball bearings on the floor, bits of wood on top of bits of plastic and styrofoam, and enough dust to make a comet. "Luxurious. Lived in."

He continued his search, looking through offices, the janitor's closet, and even the trash. Naturally, none of the lights worked, but he hardly expected anything else.

Finding nothing of immediate interest and feeling baffled if not outright confused, Jack headed toward the back door to let himself out.

 

[of Dirt]

Capture the flag with guns and rubber bullets. When Cameron said training, Katsuro thought he meant trying to figure out how to start using their powers, training their stamina or strength training. He didn't understand the idea behind shooting each other at all. It just seemed like an unnecessary danger to everybody involved. Not to mention he looked incredibly silly coming out of the shower room in a pair of athletic shorts and shirt. It seemed he might've been better off in his jeans where at least there was less skin exposed.

He saw everybody's face drop instantly and he didn't blame them. Nobody on their team knew how to use a gun and they were about to get bombarded with rubber bullets by two experts. This isn't training, this is target practice, Katsuro thought bitterly as he struggled to remain stoic. The two women were paralyzed by shock and fear. Somebody needed to take the initiative or they'd be sitting ducks in no time.

"Okay, so Cameron is a complete psycho, which means none of us will be holding back, I hope?" Katsuro asked as he looked through the weaponry and armor. "Rubber bullets might sound harmless, but they can be…," he began, cutting himself off as he re-thought what he was about to say. They already looked scared to the core. Telling them that they could be lethal at close range probably wasn't the best idea. "…they can hurt a lot," he continued. "So, please don't forget your vest and helmet," he said as he put on his own pair.

"Can I assume that none of us know how to fire these weapons?" he asked as he quickly studied the map of the area. "If so, the northern and southern sectors should be out of the question. There's too much space in those areas. We'll need as much cover as possible. The top and bottom of the central sector looks like our best bet. If each of us takes a flash grenade and a smoke grenade and we split into two groups, we can quickly go through the central sector and meet at the other end. We could use firecrackers to signal the other group that they've engaged either Cameron or Josiah or both, so the other group can come to help," he said as he examined all the weapons, trying to come up with ideas as he went along.

He caught sight of the short staff and grabbed it, recognizing it from some dojos he has been to. Though he recalled seeing people using it, he never considered learning how to use the weapon himself. There was no money in it, but that was no longer a factor. Maybe this could be useful now, he thought. "Those are my ideas," he said once he ran out of ideas off the top of his head. Their five minutes were going fast. "Does anybody object or have anything to add?"

"We'll be okay. Cameron's powers aren't combat based and we can handle somebody teleporting around if we stick together. All they have is their guns, so if we use our grenades wisely they lose their advantage," he concluded, trying to sound optimistic in hopes that their morale won't be too low once they get started. "Speaking of powers, what can you guys do? I don't know what mine are, so I can't be that helpful in that regard."