Archive: Chapter One

[Maxx]

The Man of Steel Ballroom  - The Hyperion Hotel, Metropolis, July 21st, 11:51 AM � Cricket

He'd been in the middle of his second kick when Subject Alpha's power froze him.  Momentum kept him moving but the orange jar was no longer there to stop him.  When he came to he was on his face and his nose was bleeding.  He'd been briefly aware of an overwhelming power turning off his ability to act but now he was only aware of his pain and the disarray that had once been an impromptu danger room.

"Okay, what just happened?" he asked.

[CrowsEye]

The Man of Steel Ballroom  - The Hyperion Hotel, Metropolis, July 21st, 11:52 AM – Reflux

The feeling of being made to stop suddenly did not sit well with Reflux. One, he'd never been a fan of anything dealing with mind control. Two, he'd never, EVER been a fan of anything dealing with mind control. The lack of free ability was stressing Reflux out, yet he couldn't reach for his antacids. Sweat began to roll down his face and neck, and his face began to go slowly red, contrasting against the tan of his casual khaki jacket. His mind was racing, and his fear of psychics began to work on his psyche.

 Am I gonna hurl? Oh god, I'm gonna hurl. Can I even do that right now? I swear to god, and I know you can hear me buddy, when I find out who did this...oh man oh man this is worse than that time in or-

And then the little girl flopped to the ground, and Reflux began to vomit.

Bright, glowing red magma poured from his mouth in a torrent onto the floor, and poured over his shoes. He clutched his knees and sighed, breathing heavily through his mouth while glowing ooze dripping from his lower lip. Thinking he was okay, he stood up, but on the way up, another surge hit him, and he caught it in time to clap a hand over it, and to have the next wave spray through the small gaps in his fingers. He sighed again, this time not holding onto his knees, and he coughed a couple of times, then finally hawked one final glowing, red loogie into the puddle on the floor. Reflux rested on one knee, raising the other hand in the air, and saying in a gristly voice, "Sorry. Sorry, had a flashback. Sorry everyone." He coughed a few more times weakly, and made sure not to make eye contact with anyone else in the room lest he feel more embarrassed than he already felt.

He waved an arm around his head in a circle with a whistle, then pointed at the puddle of lava hot expulsion. "Yo, Architect, y'think you could do somethin' about this so as it doesn't burn through the floor? It's startin' ta sizzle." Sure enough, smoke was rising from the floor where his upheaval had hit the floor and spread.

[Lady_Cynara]

The Man of Steel Ballroom  - The Hyperion Hotel, Metropolis, July 21st, 11:55 AM � Dryad

   When the command was given, she, like the others, had no choice but to stop. The construct infront of her, disappeared, and when it was gone, her plants and vines tumbled down around her. It took her a moment to come to herself and look around to see who had done it. The feel of the power in the command still echoed in her bones.  When Nevermore said that it was Alpha who had made it happen, she nodded in understanding.
   It was when Alpha dropped to the floor, acting for the first time like the child she appeared to be, that Dryad finally moved. She rushed over to the girl, putting her arms around her and pulling her into her lap to cuddle her close to her chest.
  "It's ok Alpha, no one is mad at you. You aren't in trouble."

[Maxx]

The Man of Steel Ballroom  - The Hyperion Hotel, Metropolis, July 21st, 11:55 AM  Cricket

"Is anybody hurt?" Cricket asked, making sure to avoid the steaming pool of flaming vomitus.  "Alex?  Prophetess?"  The words sounded funny because he was squeezing his nose closed to staunch the bleeding.

[CrowsEye]

The Man of Steel Ballroom  - The Hyperion Hotel, Metropolis, July 21st, 11:55 AM - The Architect

After wiping the blood out of his eyes sufficiently enough to see and standing, The Architect nodded towards Cricket in agreement, as a box formed around the smoking area of the floor around Reflux, and lifted the flaming mass off of the ground. Once that was finished, he looked at Cricket again, and noticed his bleeding nose. "I didn't do that to you, did I? I wasn't actively trying to hurt anyone, so if I did, I'm sorry." He then turned and looked at the rest of the group to make sure he hadn't ACTUALLY hurt anyone with a sorry look on his face.

[Trellin]

The Man of Steel Ballroom  - The Hyperion Hotel, Metropolis, July 21st, 11:55 AM - Alex

Alex blinked and slowly stood, his thoughts beginning to move normally like a river where a beaver dam had been suddenly removed.  He wasn't sure how long his mind had been in a zen-like state focused on the thought of not moving. He had seen the child rush off after her doll and he had resolved to free himself as quickly as possible since he was of no use to anyone while locked in place. He had heard her yell stop and although he knew he should be doing exactly the opposite, he couldn't help himself. He would have felt panic if it weren't held at a distance along with all his other emotions. It was like he were separated from them by an enormous gulf and it was difficult to feel them, like they were frozen inside a glacier where he could see their shape but not the details.

He reacted instinctively when the command came and his body made its own interpretation. As if he were in his forest and a group of humans had surprised him, he had frozen in place and faded invisibly into the background. The one feeling that was close to the surface was relief that the chaos had ended and how content he was to simply be still. It was something that came naturally and it was peaceful.

As his mind began processing the information around him it slammed into him what had happened. Cricket saw him fade into the foreground when Alex directed his actions towards him, nodding to him with a small smile to indicate that he was uninjured.

He saw that everyone else seemed to be relatively unharmed save for Architect, who was being tended to by Nevermore. He looked around for the two who had been flying on the surfboard with a sail hoping they had escaped serious injury. Smiling at Dryad and the child, he asked, "Is she OK?", as reached out his long arm, extended a finger and indicated the doll the Alpha was holding.

[Cassie]

The Man of Steel Ballroom  - The Hyperion Hotel, Metropolis, July 21st, 11:55 AM - Zeth

Zeth had not taken the time to douse the burning for when he figured he could, it seemed to be taken care of. He dusted himself off and looked around the room. "This could have been handled better. I mean... One would think that they would have had a more tactful way of choosing their members. After all, until we are enlisted, we are merely civilians. Some of use had wanted to leave and one of us was a child with no idea what this was about to begin with. Those wanting to leave should have been allowed to. The child, in spite her power, should have been considered. You threw a powerful kid, with little understanding of such situations, into a very dangerous situation. Her reaction could have been far worse then it was." He sighed and looked around the room. "There could have been a more structured way of doing things. Though, I understand that danger can be random, one would think that that sort of training would come in time. Examine people. Learn who they are and their powers. Decide if their sort of power is what you need. Set of training for those selected and weed them out a bit more after the enlisting. After a couple more are removed, go in to combatant training and then something like the danger room once it is truly clear on whom will be apart of the team. Danger room comes when you have learned how they work as individuals and as a goal of working as a team. Make sure it is people that work have potential to work as a team. This method was reckless and careless. It was a foolish and desperate choice." He was not sure if he was heard and it did not seem he spoke as to address anyone in particular. It seemed more like, as he began to calm, he was expressing his thoughts and concerns in order to sort through them. However, he also felt it needed to be heard.

[Maxx]

The Man of Steel Ballroom  - The Hyperion Hotel, Metropolis, July 21st, 11:55 AM - Cricket

"No, this came from my face meeting the floor when everything including me but excluding gravity stopped when I was in the middle of trying to kick my way out of your capture jar," the Cricket chirped.  "Good joke, by the way.  I have to agree with everything he just said, though.  Trial by fire is no way to pick a team.  I think I'm going to head down to the coffee shop to grab a coffee and I'm going to take a long hard think about whether I'm going to be coming back up here for round two of the auditions.  Anyone who wants to join me is welcome."

[LadyJallyn]

The Man of Steel Ballroom  - The Hyperion Hotel, Metropolis, July 21st, 11:56 AM - The Dark Prophet

Kassandra offered the teen that had saved her bacon a shaky thanks when the wind board eventually hit the ground. Underneath her mask she was white as a ghost and the excess amounts of adrenaline had her body trembling from overload. Thankful the first round of try outs were done she did her best to walk out of the room on shaky legs.

She cleared the meeting hall but stopped several paces outside the room. She closed her eyes as she pulled her mask up high enough to gulp in air as she tried to calm her jittery nerves.

It seemed a wasted effort however as she realized too late she was going to be sick. With no trash can in sight she grabbed the vase of purple orcids on the stand beside he, pulled them out onto the floor, and let nature take its course.

[CrowsEye]

The Man of Steel Ballroom  - The Hyperion Hotel, Metropolis, July 21st, 11:56 AM - Reflux

Reflux stepped forward and in front of the small kid that was talking to Campbell with his hands held up in front of him. "Wait wait wait wait. Are you tryin' to tell me that a little bit of shakin' and unsteadiness got you so frazzled that you think that this kind of training is stupid? We're trying out to be superheroes, not gardeners." He turned to Dryad and nodded in her direction. "No offense."
He scoffed, and leered at the boy after looking around incredulously, a look of honest surprise slapped across his face. The sneer then disappeared from his face and he stepped forward putting an index finger out at the boy. "Do you really think that Glowboy over there would really have let ANY of you get hurt? We were never IN any real danger. They even TOLD us what was goin' down and why it's going down before they started the whole thing!"
He pointed a finger at Cricket, on his way to the ballroom door. "He may agree with you, but he still managed to step up and figure it out!" He then waved an arm at the other applicants. "Everybody else made the effort." He nodded to Doll. "Hell, even the KID managed to stop the whole thing with nothin' more than a WORD! Are you even listening to yourself?" Reflux was full-on shouting at Zeth now, the tips of their noses almost touching. "Do you think that I got a warning when a galactic battle cruiser crashed through the roof of my apartment complex and my powers manifested and I started puking fire I was so fuckin' scared? Do you think that I ever had the security of knowing that I wasn't going to be hurt when I was being chased through the goddamn jungle by a fucking space-dog and it's masters with high-powered laser rifles tearing through trees as thick as as elephants? Have you EVER -"

A hand fell on his shoulder. During his tirade, Campbell had walked over and stopped him from saying anything more. He shook his head.

One could practically see the steam leave Reflux's body. He mumbled an apology of some sort and said, "Bein' a veteran and all, this is kinda all I got."

[Cassie]

The Man of Steel Ballroom  - The Hyperion Hotel, Metropolis, July 21st, 11:56 AM - Zeth

Zeth was angered by Reflux's reaction to what he was said. Whether he agreed or not, there was no reason to shout about it. Zeth was not shouting. Hell e was not even displaying emotion. However, being yelled at like that. He was ready to drawn the man. Zeth had to say something. However, he tried to be as tranquil and calm as he could be. "Yes, we all tried to formulate a plan or just act in attempt to try and stop the man. Even I tried to do something. I never said I do not get his attempt I just felt there was a better way of handling it." He took a deep breath and continued as calmly as he could. "And in regard to Alpha... No one ever took the time to think that she reacted because she panicked. Whether it was over the doll she now holds or over the quaking room, she panicked. Her power reacted to her panic. Even I can see that much. There was also the fact that there were some that realized this was not for them and wanted to leave but they were stopped and made to stay. That also should have at least been handled better. It was chaotic and reckless and just because the battles in real life will be random and unpredictable does not mean you jump civilians into such a situation without at least allowing those that wanted to leave to leave. There is a way to handle things and, in my opinion, that was not the way. If you do not agree that is fine but that is no reason to get into my face and try to pick a fight."

Zeth was raged at the manner in which Reflux spoke to him. He even seemed to suggest that Zeth did nothing but cower when he did not. Grant it, his plans failed but he did not run; not once. However, the only indication that he had any real emotion towards the argument was that fact that ice formed around his feet, Reflux feet and even Campbell's. It had even begun to trail up the wall. It was thick and it was obvious that he was not fully aware of what was happening. "It is, as I stated, just an opinion. Perhaps I have a lot to learn or perhaps I am right. If I am wrong then rather then scream at me, prove me wrong." Zeth rubbed his head a little. He looked tired but he refused to let himself fall to his own exhaustion. He put forth effort in trying to protect those that were panicked and failed to. That was his main frustration.

[Tinker]

The Man of Steel Ballroom  - The Hyperion Hotel, Metropolis, July 21st, 11:56 AM - Nevermore

Anger was something that was almost an alien emotion to Nevermore.  After being brought back by the archaic mumblings of her brother, after witnessing the violent death of her mother, after her own violent and sudden death, there were certain things that never made it out of the grave she had struggled her way out of. Anger was one of the things that was left  behind in that silk lined casket.

Frustration, on the other hand seemed to follow her with the persistence of her own shadow. With the unfolding events before her, that conniving shadow was again, rearing it's mocking head. Anyone who she had let close to her would have recognized the tell tale sign of frustration taking hold of her fresh mint form. A solitary latex clad hand grasped the bridge of her delicate nose between thumb and fore finger, gently massaging as if the action could ease the frustration away physically.

Her role as a hero was thrust upon her, as much was her resurrection was. And the events that had unfolded today, in a room full of people who had responded to her call for more heroes was becoming increasingly futile. Her sulfuric gaze settled on the pale youth who was now choosing an awkward battle of words with a seasoned soldier as they returned from the black clad form making a hasty retreat from the room. She took a slow step forward and cunningly positioned her combat toned form between the quarreling men and laid a hand on the orange and black shoulder of her only team mate as she spoke, "We are living in a time of great uncertainty. We were lucky to have survived the war that ended five years ago, in fact we were close to not surviving at all. Some of us fought to preserve the safety of this planet for others, some of us were hidden away from the atrocities that were occurring across of the globe, some of us are too young to remember exactly what happened and some of us ran away to try and ignore what was happening. The destruction, the death, the pain, the sorrow, the utter annihilation that was caused in those years has ended, but there are new forces at work that are a far greater threat than those that came before could ever have been."

She paused for a moment and allowed her spectral gaze to settle on each individual that remained in the room in turn and as she came full circle to return to the water weaver before her, her fingers affectionately squeezed The Architect's shoulder once her voice picked up, "I don't believe there is a single person in this room who asked for the abilities that set them apart from the rest of the world. I know I certainly didn't.  But it is what you chose to do with those abilities that will shape you and possibly even your environment.  If you want to continue to hide away, be singled out for your differences, be ashamed of your differences, hide your light under a bushel or try to live as something you are not, then by all means, leave. The door is right there and no one is going to stop you from leaving."

Nevermore cocked her head slightly, her odd eyes took on an almost cold quality as she spoke, "There is something far worse than the invaders and it's us...others that are different, with unique abilities;super powers. If history has taught us anything, then it's that there is no greater threat to human survival than humans themselves. There will be no warning. There will be no time to make focus groups and go for coffee. There will be no time to slowly ease into training and 'doing things the right way'. There will only be time to fight...or die."

She stood tall and removed her hand from The Architect's shoulder, looking every inch the hero, "And it is your choice as to which side you fall on."

[Cody]

The Man of Steel Ballroom - The Hyperion Hotel - Metropolis - July 21st, 11:50-11:56 a.m. - Tanner

If Tanner had been able to shout, a stream of obscenities would have flowed from his mouth when his ability to control his power, and his own body was taken from him.  Still standing at the back, he was able to see that he was not the only one, and quickly realized who had done it as well.

As he regained control, he could feel the threat of a storm in the air in the room, fueled by the adrenaline still pumping in his veins.  He closed his eyes, missing most of the pissing match going on in the room, as he attempted to calm down, bring his body back under control before the weather began to respond to his feelings.  Breathing slowly, he felt his heart gradually begin to slow and his body relax.  He opened his eyes as Nevermore began to speak, though Tanner only registered every other word as the exhaustion from calming a storm that morning to get to the meeting on time and the 'audition' hit him hard.  He took a step back, leaning against the wall, heard something about fighting or dieing and then slowly slid down the wall.

[Cassie]

The Man of Steel Ballroom - The Hyperion Hotel - Metropolis - July 21st, 11:50-11:56 a.m. - Zeth

He surprised to see Nevermore walk over but he had expect her to spew argument over him having his opinion. It was ridiculous to see how people got fired up over such trivial things. That was the thing that angered him. He had an opinion and a simple perception that at least one other person felt they had to get overly defensive over. From what he knew, it was the veterans that were spouting the acidic words over one damned opinion. Thus was the reason he usually did not bother with conversation. of course, he did have poor social skills and he figured there may have been a more acceptable way of conversation.

When she began to speak, he realized that his power escaped him. As he listed to her, the solid ice began to break down into it's liquid form and seemed to absorb into his finger tips. He had been one of the ones that was hidden away by his family. Zeth was seventeen then and sheltered by his mother. He gazed downward as she continued to speak. Yes, they could leave but they did not seem to get that option before the entire thing started. From her words, he gathered that the veterans were strong believers in their cause and how they chose to approach things. He saw they believed it enough to fuel passion in what they say and that was why they got angry. It still did not seem logical. She was rushing people into a situation on an 'if' What if there was a force coming? What if someone wanted to use their power for evil? We have to rush our joining and training on what if? He had so many questions. He knew it was possible and very likely but was it necessary to entice fear and for recklessness?

He still wanted to ask but a timid side of him was starting to show through. He did not fear them but he did not bring himself to argue further. However, he did let something slip though it was in a softer tone. "We know it can happen but we do not know when or if it actually will. The military does not rush their applicants because their could be a war. Al that does in incite chaos and destruction. The danger of such actions will force you blight to become reality a lot sooner.... I.. j-just..." He sighed. Most of what he wanted to say was lost. It was likely that most of what he had already said would go in the way of his last couple of statement. He had a feeling if they push for things to happen the way they were, they were going to create the enemies that they fear rather then the allies they desire. He took a deep breath and gazed over at Nevermore. He chose, if they would still welcome him, to stick it out in hopes to make sure that people do not fall in the way he feared they would. "I am sorry. Forget what I had said." His concern was written on his face but he chose to speak no more on the subject.

[Darkflame]

The Man of Steel Ballroom  - The Hyperion Hotel, Metropolis, July 21st, 11:56 AM � Doll

The girl heard the words but they didn't make sense.  She had used her power without being told, and that was always a bad thing.  Even when she had escaped, it had been because she had been told to show someone her power, so she did.  She showed them, and showed them, until she was finally outside, clutching thier hand as she showed them first hand how she could make person after person do what she wanted.  She shouldn't have used her power here, no one told her to..

But she wasn't shaking or crying.  She had merely curled up to wait.

[Trellin]

The Man of Steel Ballroom  - The Hyperion Hotel, Metropolis, July 21st, 11:57 AM - Alex

Alex looked up at the conversation from where he crouched next to the child and spoke. His voice was low, rumbling and sonorous, volume just loud enough to be heard easily in the rafters, "I have read many things, many of which I do not understand. We have all come here in search of something and I am a simple being. Tell us what you want to accomplish and why you need us."

He glanced down with a smile at the child, curled inward on herself and gently placed a hand on her back, although given it's size it almost engulfed her from behind. He spoke in a much lower tone of voice, "You have done no wrong."

He turned to Nevermore with a gaze that was strangely earnest.