Monochromatic Stains [PG+15]

[Tuxedo Clank]

Discussion

Name: Matthew Roberts
Location: Paige's Apartment, New York
Date: 18/09/2010
Time: Early Morning

Matt felt the elbow slide into his stomach. This was one of the advantages of phasing. The disadvantage was that this kind of thing made him feel ill for about a second. He took a step back and fought the urge to be sick. He winced and then blinked. 'That's better' Matt thought. He stopped phasing.

"I am Matt. Thief by Government tag." He said. "I have three things I want to discuss. Firstly, I have something you might want." He reached into his cloak and pulled out a small disc. He concentrated and teleported the disc to shoulder-height a foot away from her. Matt grinned and pulled something else out of his cloak.

"The second part concerns a piece of news. Something about an asylum." Matt said, opening the paper he had stored there. This time he didn't teleport it over. He walked over and handed her the page of the paper containing the full story about the New Zealand Mental Hospital. "What do you know of other people with abilities?"

"The third part concerns you. I would rather like to know more about you. I know nothing about you other than your name and your ability." Matt said. He pulled the hood off his head.

Name: Ghost
Location: Train heading towards New York City
Date: 18/09/2010, Saturday
Time: 10:30

A man was reading a paper on the train. His hair was covered by a dark green hat and he wore a pair of sunglasses. He was heavily built and wore a waistcoat over an England t-shirt. He wore a pair of faded and torn jeans. He closed the paper and folded it up. Then he stood up and turned into the hallway. The man walked to the edge of the carriage. He was ignoring the broadcast. The news in America had never bothered him before, why should it bother him now.

At the end of the carriage the man saw through a window in the compartment something that amazed him. There was a kid making things in the air float. His mouth dropped open and he turned to run away. A blow to the back of the head and the man slumped. Ghost appeared and shook his head. He pulled out a phone. On quickdial #6 was his target.

He typed in a message and watched the kid through the window. Then he pressed send and vanished from sight. Ghost pulled out a knife and began unscrewing the door from the carriage side. The message wrote:
Careful where you use your powers. A man saw you. I am giving you some warning because you are still recovering from the school's destruction. You have the rest of this train ride to prepare. I am an assassin. If you can figure out my name then I will cancel the contract. That is the escape clause. I have given you a clue.
Memr, Ghost

 

[MancerNecro]

Fear

Name: Jade Tyler
Location: Train heading towards New York City
Date: 18/09/2010, Saturday
Time: 1030

"Careful where you use your powers. A man saw you. I am giving you some warning because you are still recovering from the school's destruction. You have the rest of this train ride to prepare. I am an assassin. If you can figure out my name then I will cancel the contract. That is the escape clause. I have given you a clue.
Memr, Ghost"

That was the message that Jade saw typed into his handphone. Horror spread across and Jade let his Psychokinesis power relax. Then, after rereading the message twice, Jade reinforced his powers on the door and windows, willing them all shut with as much force he could put into it as possible.

His name? What could it be? Is it Ghost Memr? It can't be. He is an assassin, he has given me a clue. Does the escape clause have anything to do with it? It cannot be Ghost Memr, it is most probably a job name or something. Also, why would an assassin want to kill me? Unless, does he work for the government or something? Oh man! What to do?

Jade was flustered and spent 5 minutes trying to think about what the clue could have been, wondering whether the assassin was testing him. Jade turned to look at the door and saw no one outside. If the assassin was here, he was not outside his door now, but he had said that a man had seen his powers, which meant that he must be nearby.

Jade released the hold of his mind and let it flow outwards, trying to sense where his would-be-assassinator could be. He felt a small presence near the door, but it was so faint, it could hardly have been him. Or could it be that this man had some powers to disguise himself with as well? Then what did he want with him?

 

[Swolligator]

A Morning Like No Other

Name: Paige Alicia Marrow
Location: Her Apartment, New York
Date: September 18th
Time: Early Morning

Paige watched as the man recovered from her attack, yet it seemed as if she had not hit him. Once he had reverted back to an upright positing, he began to talk.

"I am Matt, thief by Government tag." He said. "I have three things I want to discuss. Firstly, I have something you might want."

Paige focussed on him as he reached into his coat pocket, tightening her muscles in case he was to fire a gun at her. But he did not. What he did pull out though was a small disc yet as soon as he pulled it out, it disappeared then reappeared a foot in front of her, shoulder height. Any normal person would have been spooked, but Paige was used to occurrences like this, so reached out and grabbed it from midair.

She kept focus on him, storing the disc in the pocket of her jeans, as he grinned and pulled something else from out of his cloak.

"The second part concerns a piece of news; something about an asylum."

This time Matt did not teleport it over, rather he walked over to Paige, handing it to her himself. On the front page she noticed a variety of stories yet it was the main, central article that caught her attention.

"What do you know of other people with abilities?"

Paige barely heard this statement as she looked in shock at the story, it was straight from New Zealand, more specifically, it was about a breakout at Lake Alice Mental Hospital. She had not heard of this event and yet it was already several days late.

"Sh*t!" Paige exclaimed to herself, "If this is true, then He will be coming. I have to prepare"

"The third part concerns you. I would rather like to know more about you. I know nothing about you other than your name and your ability." Matt said. He pulled the hood off his head.

Paige had a good look at him, and then something clicked, she had a sudden urge to do something. He was now only a foot or two away from her but Paige was quick, she quickly walked over to him, placing her hands on his temples, closing her eyes and whispered, "Teleport".

_____

Location: Rural New Zealand
Time: Early Morning, EST/Dusk NZST

Paige felt the same tingling occur that she had felt many years ago. The darkness of her apartment was replaced with the light of a setting sun. The stale air of the apartment replaced with the fresh air of the countryside. They had appeared on a spur in the countryside of New Zealand, a place Paige had visited only once as a child yet still kept clear in her memory as a reminder of her birth place.

"Just like her," Paige said "You have the power of teleportation." Paige settled herself down on the soft grass. "Get comfortable, there is a lot of information I am going to give you, it may take a while." Paige waited for Matt to get settled before starting.

"Firstly, you can tell me about what is on the disk later. I will introduce myself before telling you of my story; my name is Paige Alicia Marrow, born and raised here in New Zealand, I moved to New York a few years back when I got a job at a big company. I met my husband there and I am now a house wife, taking care of our daughter, Alicia."

Clearing her throat, Paige readied herself for the story telling.

"Six years ago, my brother Dante and I found out about each other's powers and he decided that we should team up, help save the world and all that crap. We met many others like us, with different powers of course, and many of them were older. We got along and made a three man group with a girl from Canada, she had the power of teleportation like you.

We were going alright until Dante had a change of heart, and in the middle of battle, and killed her. There were very few of us back then so this was a huge blow, there were already many others like us out there killing us off. Dante managed to convince us that he had mistaken her for an opponent, so we quickly forgave him. It was later when he began killing the others that things began to get out of hand, he was killing both good and bad superhumans until there was only him and I left.

Again, we were an underground group, there were only a handful, and nothing we ever did got a mention in the paper.

Four years ago we agreed to settle down, get jobs, and become normal human beings. However he was not over what had happened and was out to get one last person, me. Two years ago he lured me home with a family reunion; I was heavily pregnant with Alicia at the time, yet managed to beat him barely, on the verge of exhaustion and possibly loosing Alicia. In the fray he had killed our parents but once trapped, he was helpless. Somehow I managed to suppress his powers in the process and he agreed to visit a Mental Hospital; the Mental Hospital in the paper.

It's been two years since I have talked to him or seen him; I suspect he is out to get me, to finish the job he started six years ago. I don't think I can beat him this time." Alicia gazed off into the distance, watching for a brief moment as the sun set.

"In the way of powers, we did not talk to any of the older superhumans; we had come to a truce of ignoring each other. Dante, he has the power to manipulate his own bone structure as well as those of others. The Canadian girl, she was like you, she could teleport and phase, and she looked much like you too. I myself can manipulate the wind."

"So Matt," Paige started, "what is on this mysterious disc you have given me?" bringing it out from her pocket and turning it over and over as it reflected the dying sun.

 

[MancerNecro]

The Riddle

Name: Jade Tyler
Location: Train heading towards New York City
Date: 18/09/2010, Saturday
Time: 1035

Jade tried to think about how the assassin could have hidden the message sent to his handphone.

"Careful where you use your powers. A man saw you. I am giving you some warning because you are still recovering from the school's destruction. You have the rest of this train ride to prepare. I am an assassin. If you can figure out my name then I will cancel the contract. That is the escape clause. I have given you a clue.
Memr, Ghost"

Hmm... Normally, assassins wouldn't be so talkative, after all, information is power. So any sentences that seem to be extra might be related to the code. For now, lets try looking for those sentences.

"Careful where you use your powers. A man saw you. I am giving you some warning because you are still recovering from the school's destruction. You have the rest of this train ride to prepare. I am an assassin. If you can figure out my name then I will cancel the contract. That is the escape clause. I have given you a clue.
Memr, Ghost"

Hmm... Those two sentences look as if they might not belong here. Let's try focusing on those two sentences.

Jade took out a piece of paper and used it to write down the parts of the message that might have been part of the clue.
"Careful where you use your powers. A man saw you. That is the escape clause. I have given you a clue."

Remove all puntuation.

"Careful where you use your powers A man saw you That is the escape clause I have given you a clue"

Could it be a letter shift?

"Dbsfgvk xifsf znv vtf znvs qpxfst B nbo tbx znv Uibu jt uif ftdbqf bmbvtf J ibwf hjwfo znv b dmvf"

Hmm... What if the c and the e are clues?

"Cctghwn yjgtg aqw wug aqvt rqygtu C ocp ucy aqw Vjcv ku vjg guecrg encwug K jcxg ikxgp aqw c enwg"

"Gevijyp alivi csy ywi csyv tsaivw E qer wea csy Xlex mw xli iwgeti gpeywi M lezi kmzir csy e gpye"

Doesn't really make sense. What if each sentence are supposed to be coded separately? Or what if some of these sentences aren't even part of the code?"

"Careful where you use your powers"
"A man saw you"
"That is the escape clause"
"I have given you a clue"

Using the first letters of each word as the clue...

"Cctghwn yjgtg aqw wug aqvt rqygtu"
"A man saw you"
"Tatm bl max xlvtix vetnlx"
"I pidm oqdmv gwc i ktcm"

Or the last letters... If this doesn't work then letter shifting might not be what he had used.

"Usjwxm ozwjw qgm mkw qgmj hgowjs"
"U guh muq siu"
"Xlex mw xli iwgeti gpeywe"
"M lezi kmzir csy e gpye"

No... Hmm... Think... What else could he have used?

 

[Swolligator]

Heaven

Name: Dante James Marrow
Location: California, America
Time: Midday

Dante's bone protracted from his palm for the second time today, but this time he intended to kill with it. His target was someone from the old days, one of the few he had not managed to kill.

"Damn interfering sister." He thought to himself.

Nether less, he intended to finish off what he had started, beginning with this one person. It was autumn, the leaves just beginning to fall off the trees and the days were still hot and drawn out. As Dante approached the house however, the insects happily chirping around him stopped, the sense of foreboding danger approaching.

The man he sought out was one Col. Hannibal Stockley, a not so famous man with a not so famous ability. At seventy he was one of the oldest during Dante's superhero days and spent most of his time ordering everybody else around. He was pretty powerful yet in his old days his power waned to the point that combat was only in his dreams.

Dante walked slowly up the steps to the front door, tapping on the open door with the side of his bone.

"Anybody home?" he called out.

A young lady came to the door, most likely his targets daughter or granddaughter. "Hello, I'm sorry but who are you?"

"Sorry," said Dante, "My name is Dante, I am a… fairly old friend of Hannibal's, and may I see him please?"

"He doesn't get many visitors these days. You are fairly young, when did you meet him? If you don't mind me asking."

"Certainly not. We met some four or five years ago, we… worked together, he was something like my tutor. I thought I might pay him a visit since I am in the country."

"Oh, where are you from?"

"A little place called New Zealand. If you would be so kind as to tell him Marrow is here, he will recognise my last name."

"It sounds like a nice place. Follow me." She smiled at me before turning around and leading me to a lounge. The old man sat still in an old, worn rocking chair, he didn't even seem alive.

"hey, granddad, er, Mr. Marrow is here to see you."

The old man turned his head in Dante's direction and he smiled at him from beneath the hood, an evil, twisted smile. Hannibal's eyes lit up with recognition, not with surprise but rather with fear.

"Hello Hannibal, miss me" Dante said before grasping the granddaughter by her hair. He brought the bone up and held it against her head. "Do what I say, or your granddaughter will not live to see another day!"

The old man could do nothing to stop him; he could do nothing, period.

"These coordinates, I want you to bring a meteor shower down upon it." Dante handed the old man a crumbled piece of paper. When he looked at it his breath caught. "Yes, that's right, do it or your precious granddaughter will not live another day."

Hannibal could do nothing but obey. He looked out into the sky, the blue sky he had been dreading so much. A single tear streamed down the side of his face and a hoarse whisper left his parched lips. "Die you demon."

Two occurrences occurred that day, ones that would only happen in a single instance in the whole universe. Meteor from the Asteroid Belt began progressing towards the earth, one definitive group and a single Meteor started on their path. For some reason the lone meteorite was faster than the others, drawn to the earth by an unknown and mysterious force. It fell to earth, burning through the atmosphere, heading towards Carolina.

The last wisps of life left the old man's lips as left this world. Dante laughed, the amount of energy required finally killed the old fool. The granddaughter was now crying pathetically, and he quickly slit her throat. Dante had only seconds before the lone meteor crashed into the house, a last ditch effort by Hannibal to kill the demon Dante.

 

[Legend]

Conflict and Resolution
Name: Neil and Lyle Murphy
Location: Central Park
Date: 9/18/2010

Light began to fill the young man's eyes as he regain consciousness. Grasping dirt as he struggled to rise, Lyle's head was still throbbing. "Man, I didn't expect my powers to react like that. It's been awhile since I panicked I suppose. Usually I am in control of the situation," Lyle complained as he groaned in pain due to the headache. He grasped his head and began to reach down to his pockets. Not memorizing where his pockets began, Lyle looked down only to not see his pants. Or his arms. Or anything. "WHAT THE HELL?" He roared. "WHERE THE HELL DID MY BODY GO? AM I GHOST? DID I DIE?"

His cries echoed. And fell onto the ears of his brother, Neil whose powers allowed to assume the identity of a generic New York police officer.

"That voice….it's Lyle! I knew he was here," he said confidently to himself. Lyle's cries were quite penetrating and it was easy to detect. Neil dashed over into the clearing where Lyle's voice seemed to originate from. However, Lyle was nowhere to be seen. "Lyle! Where are you?" Neil called, throughly scanning the area.

"Over here!" Lyle responded waving.

"I can't see you! But….I can hear you…." Neil yelled in frustration with a hint of curiosity. Lyle sighed and telepathically lifted a rock so it would hover around his vicinity. "Hey I can see the rock! Be right there!" Neil said excited and reassured his brother was safe. Neil sprinted over and stopped right before the rock. "You are there right? What happened? How come you are invisible?" Neil demanded, as if in an interview.

"I don't know," Lyle mumbled. "I woke up and couldn't see myself. I wanted to take some Advil for this killer headache I got. Why are you in a cop uniform?"

Neil brought his hand to his chin and went into thought attempting to piece together the small amounts of evidence he had gathered. "The headache definitely adds up with your powers. Likely the earthquake put quite the strain on your mind, but the invisibility….the only thing I can think of is that a person in the area can either turn others invisible with a touch or they can manipulate the light spectrum. Possibly bend it so no color can be seen by the human eye. Oh, and I knocked out a cop in order to get here. Wouldn't let civilians in," Neil attempted to lie.

"No wonder you always get your stories," Lyle commented, accepting Neil's questionable behavior. "Doesn't explain Hercules over there by the flaming rocks."

"Ah, yes I was going to ask about the fire and the older man over there. Any ideas?" Neil asked his invisible brother realizing he probably looked crazy talking to thin air.

"I'll tell you about it later. First I want you to grab the gun he dropped and make sure he doesn't move."

"Why?"

"I have unfinished business with the fire. Now hurry! Before he picks it up again."

Neil nodded and ran over to the older man who stood before the fire. Nabbing his gun while sprinting, Neil placed the gun on the man's head: "Freeze and put your hands on your head." Neil coldly ordered, confident in his disguise.

Lyle, meanwhile, used his invisibility to his advantage and walked over to the rocks. Focusing on the rocks, Lyle caused the formation to crumble before him with little effort. He then manipulated any remains of dirt and dust around him in order to smother the final sparks of the fire.

"Fire's gone," Lyle said proudly. "Now where's the boy?" Lyle began telepathically turning over every rock and examining every square foot of the rock formation he tore apart. A few moments later, Lyle found the body. It was a broken, battered mess. It was apparent that side effects of the earthquake had caused collateral damage.

But there was life. If only a spark. The boy coughed. Red liquid was within the contents.

"Hold on! Help is on the way!" Lyle urged.

"Who….said that?" the boy said weakly. Lyle face-plamed himself, forgetting he was far from visible.

"It's me. The guy who tried to stop you. I seem to be invisible."

"In….visible? Is that another one of your powers?"

"No. I can only move the earth around us," Lyle said, kneeling before the boy. "But I guess that means there are more like us."

The boy smirked and looked around. "You stopped the fires, eh? Good. I didn't want to hurt anyone, but I couldn't stop myself. No matter how hard I tried," he coughed again. This time there was more blood.

"Stop talking. Save your energy. I am sure there will be he--"

"I don't deserve any help. I am weak compared to you. Tell me, what's your name?"

"Lyle. You?" He gulped, curious at what the boy was getting at it.

"I'm Mike. Now, Lyle…I want you to do something for a fellow dying freak," Lyle simply nodded. "Show the world that we are people. Show them we are more than monsters. I couldn't do it, so you are going to have to do it for me. I know that if anyone can do it it can be you Lyle." Tears filled up in Mike's eyes. "Promise me!"

"I promise."

"Thanks…." Mike's eyes had lost the spark. There were lifeless. Devoid of the magic that kept humans alive. He was dead.

Lyle rose to feet and caused the surrounding to earth to collapse, sucking Mike within them. In a sense, he built Mike a grave. Lyle then turned back and returned to his brother: "Neil, the reason for the fire is gone."

"Reason? What do you mean?"

"It was a boy. He was capable of controlling fire. I tried to stop him. Make him control his powers. But he couldn't control himself completely. I fought him, started to lose and panicked. He got caught in the earthquake and the rocks crushed him. He just died of his injuries."

"Lyle…" Neil said weakly.

 

[GrifSpark]

Gun Point
Name: Sgt. Collin Murdoch
Location: Central Park
Date: 18/09/2010

Murdoch felt the cold touch of his pistol's barrel against his head. He had felt it time and time again, and now it gave him a feeling of nostalgia. Either way, he doubted whoever was holding it had any chance of killing him. A quick blow to the gut would knock him backwards and make him lose balance, giving Murdoch enough time to react. But humouring him could be fun.

"You're not giving the best first impression" Murdoch joked, although the man didn't seem to take any notice of it.

At this, he grinned, and then raised his hands above his head. Toying with the ordinary could be rather fun. After a minute or so, he heard a faint voice which slowly sounded as if it were coming closer.

"Neil, the reason for the fire is gone" said the voice, who Murdoch assumed was talking to the man holding him at gun-point.

"Reason? What do you mean?" replied the other.

"It was a boy. He was completely capable of controlling fire"

'Yeah, right' Murdoch joked to himself mentally.

"I tried to stop him" it continued "Make him control his powers, but he couldn't control himself completely. I fought him, started to lose and panicked. He got caught in the earthquake and the rocks crushed him. He just died of his injuries"

"Lyle…" said the man with the gun.

Murdoch simply stood there silently, listening into the conversation. He took a moment to relax, and then began to speak.

"So…" he muttered, "We gunna stay here, or what?"

XXX​

Name: Thale Edwards
Location: Central Park
Date: 18/09/2010

Thale still sat, poking through the bush, trying to work out what they were saying. One man, placed a pistol against the others head. From what Thale had seen from the second man, pointing a gun at him was a big mistake. However, he simply stood there, as if it were all a game...

'What now?' Thale questioned himself, wondering how this was all going to turn out.

 

[Tuxedo Clank]

A bit of History

Name: Matt
Location: Paige's Apartment
Date: 18th September
Time: Early Morning

Matt watched her looking at the paper. "You look worried. Who was it that escaped?" He asked. He pulled out the small clink-free bag and opened it. He extracted the ring of lock-picks and searched through them. He found the right one and slowly removed it from the key-ring. He replaced the rest in the bag before slipping the other one in his pocket. That one may well be important later on.

Matt looked up at Paige. He was surprised when she walked up to him quickly. He opened his mouth to say something but she was too quick. She placed her hands on his temples and said "Teleport." Matt felt himself obeying and the two of them vanished.

* * * *

Location: Rural New Zealand
Time: Early Morning

Matt felt himself reappear in the middle of nowhere. "Ah man." He said, stumbling and falling over. He felt weak. "That kind of thing really takes it out of you." He muttered. He rolled onto his back and sat up slowly. His head ached.

"Tell me all you like. I have about 30 minutes before I can make a trip like that again." Matt said. "I would quite like to know where we are. I haven't been here before so you must have." His mind shifted through the passage he had taken to get here. Even whilst teleporting he could retain a slight bit of conciousness. Instantanious matter transportation was all very good but you had to move between the intervening space.

"New Zealand?" Matt asked as he heard her. "No wonder I feel drained." He stopped and decided to listen. The story interested him. He would have to look into it. The thing about events was that someone always witnessed them. The witness often sent that event to other people through stories. Every now and again a local newspaper would get hold of it. Rarely were they in the main papers.

"That was a nice backstory. How many of your group is left?" He asked. "Also, would your brother be after anyone or just your old group?" Matt said. He was impressed. Someone who could beat a psychopath whilst in a fragile state had to be tough.

"That disk contains my entire database on people with abilities. It contains one of the only two remaining copies of your activities in the shop. The other is on my computer. It also contains information about a specific assassin." Matt explained. "Have you ever met someone who can cloak themself?"

Name: Ghost
Location: Train to NYC
Date: 18th September
Time: 10:30

Ghost let the side of his mouth twitch up as the last screw fell into his palm. The door was still floating slightly abot the ground. A noise made him turn. He had stowed the unconcious witness earlier. Behind him a security guard was walking along the train. Ghost moved silently out of the way. He watched the security guard walk up to the door. The man hadn't noticed anything yet. Ghost cursed silently. The guard would want to get in. Already he could work out the following scene in his mind. The guard would walk to the door and try to open it. It would stick and the guard would tug it until the door fell over.

The following scene played out just as Ghost expected. The guard knocked the door over onto himself. Ghost slipped behind the man and back down the carriage. Invisibility had its' advantages. He pulled out his sniper and aimed down the sight. He sighted on the guard, ready to intervene. His target was his target. He waited to see how the kid would play it out. The guard was only just reacting to what had happened. Ghost returned his knife to its' holder on his belt.

This brought back memories of his history. A small flash of it. He was aiming down the sniper rifle again, but this time he had no control over his body. He watched the scope move until it reached the head of the person. He felt himself breathe in for a moment. His breathe seemed to congeal in his body, he felt the finger pull on the trigger and a small phutt sound as the bullet fired. The man fell, blue uniform stained by the expanding pool of blood. Ghost returned to his body and heard something that would make most people freeze. It was a cold and pitiless voice. "You have no pity, no mercy, no kindness. You have a code to create appearances. That code has nothing to do with your emotions, it has to do with employment. You will burn for a thousand years for your sins." The voice was familiar but frozen. Ghost remembered very little about his past before the prison. He left that place knowing only his name and ability.

 

[Castiel]

Location: Seattle, Washington


Final Decision

Name: Ellie Parker
Time: approx 11:00AM

Aaron had given her the keys to his car so she could drive home. She was having second thoughts about going to New York, and she wasn't indecisive, but she just met this guy. He did claim to have powers, although he didn't show her... She thought she could take him on if she had to. But he was right, news might travel fast and she wouldn't be able to have much of a life in Seattle. Ellie thought her family wouldn't turn their backs on her, however.

Keyword: thought.

When she arrived at her house, no one was home. Someone was always home. Feeling slightly betrayed, Ellie trudged up to her room to pack. Don't pack too much, Aaron had told her, we can always buy stuff when we get there. She sighed, putting things into a small suitcase and a bag. She did want this, Ellie told herself. She wanted change. She didn't need this to make a decision for her.

The Joys of Manipulating
Name: Aaron Bishop
Time: approx 11:00AM

Aaron leaned up against the window, watching as Ellie climbed into his car. He turned away from the window, smirking, and picked up the phone. He dialed Ellie's house phone, using his energy to transform the Caller ID into Seattle Police. It didn't take much, he's manipulated larger and more complex things; once to the point he passed out.

When someone answered, Aaron changed his voice ever so slightly, and told them that they weren't safe in the house, that someone was after them and they had to leave. Anywhere but there. They had already heard about Ellie, and they were visited by the authorities today-- all the more easier to manipulate; all the more susceptible to believe.

And then he ordered two first class tickets to New York.
--
Ellie came back to Aaron's, in a colder mood than she had been before, and with packed bags. His plan must've worked. He'd bought the earliest flight, which they had forty five minutes to get to, and fortunately had gotten the seats. Must be my lucky day, he thought, pleased.

"We should arrive at seven or eight tonight," Aaron told her. They were in the airport, waiting to board, standing near a vending machine.

Ellie nodded. A few moments of silence fell before she spoke up. "You know, you never even proved your powers to me."

"And you still came. Guess I'm that charming." Ellie rolled her eyes at him. "Well, then I suppose now's the time to show you." He placed his hand on the machine, "telekinetically" telling it to give him a Snickers bar. Ellie watched in awe as the machine's parts moved, the candy dropping down. He picked it up, smiling smugly. Ellie only nodded at him, as if she accepted his proof, turning away.

Ten minutes later, they boarded their flight, and soon after that they were in the air; headed to New York.

 

[MichaelaTheUchiha]

Name: Miharu Marakot Mizushima
Location: Central Park

Miharu winced as she heard the screaming.

By those panicked screams, that must mean that the one who made the stone structure isn't able to see himself. How is that? Although I've never tried this one anyone else, as this is my first time using the light manipulation on someone else, I can see myself perfectly fine. Perhaps it's just because it's my power that I was able to see others and myself in bended light? Though, shouldn't the person invisible see themselves? Perhaps not, I guess, by the screams. I should probably stop bending the light, I guess...

By that time, the one who made the rock formation had already calmed down and was starting to talk to a person who was holding another one at gunpoint. Miharu loosen the hold on the light manipulation on that person, and the one who made the stone structure turned visible again. Miharu overheard a little bit of their conversation and winced when he heard that the boy had died.

Was that my fault, his fault, or both of ours...?

Miharu walked up to the group and started talking, not really caring that she was still invisible.

"What are we going to do now?"

 

[Watts]

A Call to Action
Location: Apartment building
Date: September 18, 2010
Time: 11:00 AM

For one of the very first times in his life, Chris was bored. He was really and truly clueless about what to do. This was an entirely new experience for him. So, when in doubt, watch television.

Sketch flipped through the channels endlessly. Really, was there NOTHING worth watching nowadays? "Aha!" he exclaimed. He had gotten to the news. Staring at the headline, he froze. It said, "Crisis in Central Park" in large, bold, urgent red letters. Oh, no. This couldn't be good. Then, Chris suddenly remembered earlier that day. Hadn't that man said he was going there? Even worse. Hastily putting on his sneakers, Christopher rushed out of the main lobby with his hair strewn about messily and still in his pajamas.

After skating his way to the park (using his ability, of course), the young boy turned to see said park in disastrous ruins; the once bright-green grass that had littered the park were now burn to black cinders, and the ground was cracked to the verge of splitting. Looking around, Chris saw a group of people standing around a rather large boulder, too large to occur there naturally. One man seemed to be a police officer, and he seemed to be talking to thin-air. Another person was a boy who seemed to be in extreme disrepair; his entire body was covered in burns, scratches, bruises, and cuts. Finally, there was another boy who seemed to be a bit older than Chris himself. Glancing behind a bush, Sketch saw the man (whose name he now remembered as Thale). "Hey!" he shouted over to the bush, "what happened here?"

 

[Swolligator]

Explaination

Name: Paige Alicia Marrow
Location: Rural New Zealand
Time: Well into the night

"That disk contains my entire database on people with abilities. It contains one of the only two remaining copies of your activities in the shop. The other is on my computer. It also contains information about a specific assassin." Matt explained. "Have you ever met someone who can cloak themselves?"

Paige broke the disc in two, just like that and for no apparent reason. "Now it is unusable," she said, "You have to be careful in how many copies you distribute and who you give them to. Everybody has a price, for that price anybody would be willing to hand over a disc with info on it. Plus, I don't want too much evidence about me floating around. As far as I am concerned, that never happened." Paige continued to break it until only bits remained littered on the ground. She scooped them up, placing them in her pockets.

"No, I don't believe I have ever met someone like that."

"That was a nice back-story. How many of your group is left?" Matt asked.

"Like I said, we didn't associate with them much so I don't honestly know how many are left." Paige replied.

"Also, would your brother be after anyone or just your old group?"

"Again, I'm no telepath so I don't know what he is thinking, most likely he will be after me, which does scare me. But if this news is him, if he is escaped then he will definitely be coming after me, and most likely, he is already in America. If there were still members around, he would be the one to know, he kept tracks on many of them when he went psycho. I would think, and this is me trying to get into his brain here, that he would go after them first. They would be old now; he hasn't used his powers in ages so he needs the practice."

Paige stared up at the clear night sky, the stars twinkling peacefully far above. She let out a slow shaky breath.

"Shall we go home then? I'll let you be in charge this time. Just go to my apartment, I can explain everything."

 

[GrifSpark]

#7 - Still Fire

Name: Thale Edwards
Location: Central Park
Date: 18/09/2010

"Hey, what happened here!?" yelled the boy.
Thale flinched at the sound. He flung his finger to his mouth.

"Sssh, get down here" Thale hissed back, trying to stay quiet enough, and motioning to Sketch.

Thale turned back to the bush, and pushed back some of the undergrowth, trying to get a better view. He leant forward too, although this didn't help much. He did spot one person appear from nothingness, as if he were invisible.

"You're Sketch right?" Thale asked to the boy, hoping that what he said was right. "This is big, really, really big." He continued, completely oblivious to anything the boy had said.

XXX​

Name: Sgt. Collin Murdoch
Location: Central Park
Date: 18/09/2010

Murdoch still stood in the same position, with the same gun pointed at the very same head. At this, the voice from no-where appeared, and formed into a human being, as shards of light evaporated from his body.

"What are we going to do now?"

Another voice, clearly different from the first missing voice, which meant that the first voice couldn't make themselves invisible, but someone else could.

"I'm going home, as soon as this kid stops pointing my gun at me" Murdoch replied, as he scratched his head slightly, his hands still glued to his head.

 

[Legend]

The Proposition
Name: Neil and Lyle Murphy
Location: Central Park
Date: 9/18/2010

As much as Neil and Lyle wanted the fires to burn out, the fires were still strong in another form. Neil still had a gun pointed an the older man and Lyle had drama in the fact he was invisible.

The older man demanded to know what was going to happen now, unable to move due to the fact that Neil could easily blow his head off. Just as Neil was going to answer, a miracle occurred: Lyle became visible. The visibility revealed that Lyle had received more than a fair share of damage. Cuts, scrapes, bruises, and plenty of blood covered Lyle's body. At the point, it was hard to believe Lyle was conscious and able to function normal.

"Lyle! Look at you….you are hurt," Neil said with a more than a fair share of concern on his face.

"Don't worry. I am fine. I rather be able to see myself and be hurt than be invisible forever," Lyle responded, overjoyed. "It's great to see my hands again." Lyle kissed his hands awkwardly and began padding himself down. Reaching into his pockets, Lyle gulped a few pills.

"What are we going to do now?" A voice asked. Neither brother could find the voice as they looked around.

"Confirms my theory," Neil muttered under his breath.

"I'm going home, as soon as this kid stops pointing my gun at me" the older man bluntly said as he began moving around, clearly bored but obedient.

Lyle walked around to Neil and whispered into his brother's ear: "What are we going to do? Can't exactly let ourselves get caught by the cops. Never know what they do if they discovered us." Neil nodded and smirked in agreement. Then, he winked to his brother which was a signal. It always meant: follow my lead.

"Sorry to disappoint you old man, but you are aren't going anywhere. Same with you Miss invisible. Both of you are coming with me to my apartment. Not only do I have a few questions, but because of what happened here all our lives have radically changed. Call it a gut feeling, but I believe we just got caught up in something that will affect us and the entire world." Neil's speech was spoken clearly and seriously. "Unfortunately, I am not giving you the option of leaving. Choose to leave and I'll have my brother trap you in stone," Neil added with Lyle smashed his fists together. Neil lowered the gun from the man's head and removed his police outfit, revealing his more casual outfit. "My name is Neil Murphy and that's my brother Lyle Murphy. Trust me when I say, you'll need our help if you wanna survive."

 

[MichaelaTheUchiha]

Name: Miharu Marakot Mizushima
Location: Central Park

Miharu smirked and rolled her eyes at the same time, knowing that they couldn't see it.

"And how exactly would you incase me in stone?" asked Miharu as she allowed a shadow from a tree harden and made her float in the air. It was invisible to anyone else. "You wouldn't be able to tell where I am..."

Miharu smiled, fully aware that they couldn't see it. Which was the only reason she actually showed emotion. "But don't worry, I'm coming with you. After all I'm curious myself. If you guys don't want to be seen by the police, I can make you invisible again. Try not to have a panic attack though. The police may be idiots, but they would be able to hear you."

"And no, I'm not going to make myself visible," she added. "Just in case you guys would be able to see me when I'm in this city. Also, the people in the bushes...mind getting out of your hiding spot?"

She used the shadows that were near the bushes to become flexible and wrap around the two people from behind the bush. She made sure that they couldn't move, but they could still talk and breathe easily and that the shadows were visible, as she didn't want them to panic at being grabbed by something invisible. The shadows that held the two people captive moved towards the group. slithering like two serpents. When the shadows reached the group, Miharu smiled and petted the shadows like you would a puppy.

"So, why were you hiding behind the bushes?" she asked to the two people behind the bushes.

 

[Watts]

Location: Central Park

Suddenly feeling something grasp loosely around him, Sketch cheered gleefully as he was quickly twisted and turned towards the group of strange people. "Wheeeeeee!" he shouted. "Faster! Faster!" He was disappointed when the joyride was over. Then he felt someone's gaze upon him. He looked up and realized that there was someone in front of him. A feminine voice inquired something about why he was in the bushes.

"Whoa! How'd you do that, Miss?" Sketch stared in awe at the invisible woman in front of him (or so he assumed). "Anyways, I'm here with him." a floating, gloved hand materialized and pointed at Thale. "I saw that there was trouble, so I wanted to save him." The imprisoned boy stopped and stared innocently. "I also saw that you guys have cool powers too! So I wanted to come and say hi!" He shifted uncomfortably and slowly asked, "Hey, could you let me go now? This is a bit uncomfterble (yes, I meant to spell it like that, 'cause that's how he said it)."

 

[MichaelaTheUchiha]

Name: Miharu Marakot Mizushima
Location: Central Park

Miharu sighed inwardly, making sure that she didn't make much noise.

"I'll let you out as long as you don't try to run," Miharu said, wondering about the hand that suddenly appeared.

Perhaps his power was that he could allow something that had already exist to come near him? Although in the brief moment I saw it, it didn't seem to be anything like a regular glove. Perhaps his power is that he makes things with his mind, giving things a real shape in the world. Plus, that thing didn't have a shadow, and all things from this world has a shadow...

The shadow dropped the boy who wasn't much younger than Miharu down. She made sure that the shadows were keeping a close watch on him, in case he tried to run.

Miharu looked at the other boy, fully aware that he couldn't see her. "And what about you?"

 

[GrifSpark]

#8 - The Proposition Joke

Name: Sgt. Collin Murdoch
Location: Central Park, New York
Date: 18/09/2010

Murdoch snickered at this.

"Trust me kid, I've gone to hell and back, and then brought Satan's head back as a trophy. I think I can take care of myself. And casin' me in stone ain't gunna do much either. I can wait"

After a short second speech, the gun was lowered from Murdoch's head. He continued talking for a while, mainly between the invisible person, and the one who still held the gun.

"Also, the people in the bushes… Mind getting out of your hiding spot?"

XXX​

Name: Thale Edwards
Location: Central Park, New York
Date: 18/09/2010

The boy didn't even give an answer, as the two of them were engulfed in a wisp-like shadow. Thale felt the shadows closing in on him, which began to raise his heartbeat. But they were just shadows, right? Roland actually felt the shadows push him further into the park, acting just like a solid object.

"But…" Thale muttered, wondering how this was even possible.

Sketch didn't even seem too care, as he let out a childish 'Wheee!' It was just a few seconds between Thale hiding behind the bushes, and being thrown into the group of other people. Thale froze, but Sketch seemed to be just as insane as he had been.

"So, why were you hiding behind the bushes?" said a quiet voice, which appeared from mid-air.

"Whoa! How'd you do that, miss?" Sketch exclaimed, staring at where he assumed the voice had come from, "Anyways, I'm here with him!"

At this, a large, cartoon-like glove appeared from no-where, and pointed directly at Thale.

'So he's one too…'

After this, Sketch babbled on a little longer, before eventually asking to be released from the shadows. There was a faint sigh, before the voice spoke again.

"I'll let you out, as long as you don't try to run" it said.
And at this, the shadows were released from Sketch, allowing him to more freely.

"And what about you?" asked the voice, and Thale assumed it was talking to him.

"The same reason you are, all of you" Thale muttered, "I'm not exactly normal either" he continued uncomfortably. "I was going to come out when all the fighting was over"

"Good to see you again, kid" called the voice of the old man.

And then it struck Thale. It was the very same man who had nearly attacked him early this morning.

 

[MichaelaTheUchiha]

Name: Miharu Marakot Mizushima
Location: Central Park

Miharu's eyes narrowed. "You guys know each other?"

And that other person has a power too, but of what? I guess I'll just have to wait and see, though I hate mysteries. Especially when the answer might hurt my health. Ma and Bong Lene may get mad at me when they find out that I left. Too late to think about that now. Now...., Miharu glanced at the two brothers, Where does this lead us now?

 

[Akita]

Speechless/Wake-up Call
Name; Billie Carolina
Location; NYC
Date; 18/09/2010
Time; Approximately 10AM

"I still think Green Day is better." Billie insisted. Micheal rolled his eyes. His adopted brother was stubborn as hell. A warning flashed across the television's screen.Both of the brothers turned their attention towards the TV. This had better be good.

[Urgent television and radio broadcast taking over all channels]

This urgent message goes out to all those people in the east coast of America, specifically those living in New York City and the surrounding areas.

If you happen to witness anything out of the ordinary around this area, evacuate from the scene immediately. Do not approach. Do not make contact. Do not do anything else except to get away from the disturbance.

We are sorry for this interruption and now conclude this special broadcast. You may now return to your television and radio programs.

[Message Ends]

"Sh**!" Billie cried out in sheer excitement. I'm not the only one! Micheal stared at his brother. He hadn't expected excitement. Billie realized that he'd have to cover his tracks.
"This hasn't happened since, like, 9/11!"
Micheal wasn't buying it. Not at all. Billie tried to salvage it with one last comment.
"I don't understan-"
The power flickered out and the earth shifted slightly. Billie lost his balance and ended up eating floor. Seconds later, the power came back on. He was still a bit dazed. I wonder if this counts as "out of the ordinary"? Another televised warning flickered across the screen:

[Warning]While we cannot explain the recent earthquake, our local traffic helicopter has picked up these disturbing images from Central Park. As you can see here, there appears to a strange rock formation and rubble at the heart of our city's legendary park. While we cannot confirm the cause or reason for this, the NYPD and NYFD are currently evacuating all local residents from the immediate vicinity and will began investigations shortly. Stay tuned for more updates.[End Message]

Central Park? The drive isn't long... The only problem was Micheal. He would ask questions. He would be able to tell that Billie was hiding something. Ugh. It seems like family always has to make life difficult. He spun around to face his brother. "You up for a drive?" he asked with a grin. When in doubt, manipulate.
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Billie sat in the drivers seat, only to find that the car was meant for taller people to drive it. He was a bit embarassed by the fact that he couldn't reach the gas pedal. Once he'd settled that by adjusting the seat, he put the key into the ignition. He found himself grinning again when the Lexus hummed to life. Micheal asked him how he had learned to drive, as he was under the legal driving age.
"Dad- my dad- taught Jack and I how to drive when I was nine. He wanted us to be prepared in case we ever needed to escape, I guess."
Micheal shrugged at the response. He knew very little about Billie, which was fine with him. He didn't pry any further.
Billie navigated the parking garage skillfully, and the two boys were soon driving about beautiful New York. Micheal noticed that Billie drove with more ease and skill than he did. He was sixteen, and just learning.
"What if we get pulled over?"
Billie grinned, "Oh, we won't."
Micheal left it at that. Billie had him turn on the radio in case they broadcasted any more updates about the "situation" in Central Park.
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((Oh, oh, see;
This post is just to get caught up to where you guys are. I'll post again later.))[/Warning][Warning][/warning][Warning][/warning]