• Our software update is now concluded. You will need to reset your password to log in. In order to do this, you will have to click "Log in" in the top right corner and then "Forgot your password?".
  • Forum moderator applications are now open! Click here for details.
  • Welcome to PokéCommunity! Register now and join one of the best fan communities on the 'net to talk Pokémon and more! We are not affiliated with The Pokémon Company or Nintendo.

[Other FULL] Λtlantis Λwakening [IC] [M]

Swolligator

Butcher of the Sands
1,955
Posts
14
Years

Antonia Costa – New York, America

Antonia felt her heart skip a beat as Austin practically said that he would join them; for her first mission this had turned out pretty well and inwardly congratulated herself. Although she had to gently remind herself that this was far from over and that Austin still had his question for her to answer.

"Your parents will be fine, Jerry only knew of you as an Atlantean. Marilyn has already contacted your parents, and they'll be waiting for us at the airport. You'll be able to contact them while you train with us, but you might want to talk to your parents first before you say yes to us." Antonia still remembered the conversation she had with her parents; her father had wanted her to stay in Florence and study at art school, whilst her mother took the opposite foot and urged her to go and discover her abilities. That had been near the start of the year and yet it was still fresh in her mind.
"We'll be touching down at JKF in about 5 minutes," Marilyn's static voice echoed in their headsets.

JFK Airport, New York, America

Antonia watched from afar as Austin met his parents amongst the bustling bodies that inhabited JFK airport for the time being. Beside her, Marilyn huffed, leaning against the wall while their pilot and teammate, Nix, stood staunch behind them. Between them, the three were one of the many teams of Atlanteans that the Royal Family had put together in order to foster a closer bond between the students, and also rivalry between groups. Nix had been one of River's relatives back in China, and even she did not fully grasp his rather strange power. Marilyn on the other hand, came from Hungary, but adopted the name from some famous metal singer. They were somewhat of a multi-cultural team, but so were most of the other students' groups.

"You think, his parents let him join?" Nix commented in his rather broken English as he handed the two of them their tickets back to England while holding onto the fourth with Austin's name on it.

"I don't know," Marilyn responded, "but the Oracle spoke his name for a reason."​
 

Legend

Kingslayer
1,308
Posts
15
Years

Nathaniel Calaway- ???


The Librarian's joy with everyone complying was understandable. But that was the last thing that was easy to understand. Nathaniel from there on would enter a state of bewilderment. Everything the Librarian was too hard (especially for a Nathaniel at his wit's end) to comprehend or rationalize. The tight fitting car suddenly expanded as if his will commanded it. Now the taxi was an SUV. Nathaniel reasoned that perhaps he had the ability to manipulate the size of objects, but then he remembered that the Librarian brought the taxi from another country. So maybe the Librarian could teleport. This would be the only reasonable explanation for the next series of events.

"Alright, this will only take a second," the Librarian said before grasping the wheel of the car and seemingly "driving" them to a new location. Nathaniel felt himself instinctively holding onto the car door as they suddenly arriving in a new location. It was too dark to tell where they had arrived at. This did no favors for Nathaniel who was still trying to reason with his decisions to trust the Librarian. Now he was slowly regretting it. No theories or thoughts had emerged as to the identity or motives of the crackpot driving this little gang. The Librarian had stepped out of the car, and with a clap of his hands the room lit up. Nathaniel felt himself go blind until his eyes slowly readjusted to the wave of light sweeping through the room. As Nathaniel stepped out, following the others, the room was not so much a room. It was a garage, pulling vehicles from every time period and location. Cars, boats, planes. This garage had everything. Truth be told, Nathaniel felt as if he stepped into a collection of Hollywood's greatest props. Then again, that is what the Librarian was. A collector.

"I wonder if my bike is here," Nathaniel commented aloud. "If it wasn't, it wouldn't be hard to get it…brought here."

Otto led the way down a hallway, with Nathaniel keeping himself at the end of the pack. The hallway continued to display the vast collection that the Librarian had gathered, once again proving the man to be far older and more powerful than his appearance would even begin to suggest. The art that had covered the walls were a variety of pieces, many of them Nathaniel had recognized. A few pieces seemed to be from the Renaissance. The scariest part was that they looked to be legitimate. Not poor copies. As they walked, Nathaniel felt his apprehension grow as the mystery grew ever more convoluted.

They were led to what appeared to be the dining room and kitchen, decorated in a far more simple style than Nathaniel had expected. He offered hospitality in the form of pastries, which Nathaniel picked at. Preparing a small plate for himself and taking a seat in which the Librarian and Otto were in his sights, Nathaniel dined on the food, minding his manners. Nathaniel listened as the Librarian promised to be less mysterious, more informative and as welcoming as he had been so far. It was a kind gesture, but Nathaniel had his reservations. He opened the floor for questions.

James jumped right in: "Alright," he began. "You can start by telling me who exactly you're with. I heard of the Atlantean Royal Family on the news. Are you with them? If not, who exactly are you with? Actually, might as well tell me everyone who's involved, since I get the feeling there's more than one group associated with the Atlanteans. You sure as hell weren't with those other guys back at the building in London."

Nathaniel nodded and finished swallowing the cookie he nibbled on: "It seems to me you sought both James and myself out for some reason. So how about you finally answer my question as well: What do you want from us? What are you going to gain by training us and then sending us out to help you out when the time comes?" Nathaniel tried his best to sound calm, not trying to accuse the Librarian of anything, but instead learn what he can. If anyone could teach him what it meant to be an Atlantean, it was this man. "I'd also ask for your life story, but something tells me that story is a very long one."
 
Last edited:

Nakuzami

[img]https://i.imgur.com/iwlpePA.png[/img]
6,896
Posts
13
Years
Atlantis Awakening
Avian Morphology
William Lyle Nelson :: Atlantean Relief Center, Albany, New York, USA
October 30th, 2012

"Yes Will, please don't be so hostile. It's not like I want to kidnap or kill you or anything. I think I would have been far more forward and direct if I wanted to do that," Imogen said as she flicked her hair once more and batted her eyelashes. "If I wanted to kidnap or kill you, I would have done so already."

Not all psychopaths are forward and direct, Will thought bitterly as Brad pushed him forward.

"We'd better scoot before someone suspects something. We have a few options. We can go back to my car or you boys can show me a nice place here where we can have a private chat," Imogen started walking casually back towards the city. "Which do you want? My car's pretty big, but it might really feel I'm kidnapping you." She giggled, adjusting her glasses again.

"We don't really know any places around here, and I'd rather not get in your car," Will stated.

"So, her car it is," Brad said as he directed Will to follow the woman. Leaning in towards Will as they walked, Brad whispered in his ear so that Imogen couldn't hear. "Stop being such a sourpuss, Lyley," he said, using a mock-up of Will's middle name that always annoyed the younger man. "We could actually learn a thing or to from this, at the very least. Who knows? It could be fun."

"Fine, whatever," Will grumbled. "That doesn't make it any less awkward or uncomfortable. Or normal. Or sane. Or—"

"Yeah, I get the point," Brad interrupted. "Now move it."
 

Lt. Col. Fantastic

The Arianator
698
Posts
11
Years

Austin Tseng -- New York, United States of America


"Your parents will be fine, Jerry only knew of you as an Atlantean. Marilyn has already contacted your parents, and they'll be waiting for us at the airport. You'll be able to contact them while you train with us, but you might want to talk to your parents first before you say yes to us," Antonia told Austin, to his relief. He thought about how his parents would react to him leaving to become part of some Atlantean Training Camp. He sighed, not looking forward to the upcoming conversation with his mother.

"We'll be touching down at JKF in about 5 minutes," said Marilyn's static voice in Austin's headset. Austin groaned, and looked outside the chopper as they soared over buildings that he never thought he would see the tops of.​

JFK Airport



"I don't want to hear it, Austin," started Mrs. Tseng in Korean, "I don't care if people think that you're 'just so rad that you had to call your parents every night,' you're going to be checking in with us daily, if not hourly. Uh-uh-uh!" she snapped as Austin began to complain, "If you don't, I'm going to call this Royal Family and have the royally embarrass the sh*t out of you in front of your royal friends by telling you to call us." Austin wondered if his mother could do that, or even if the Royal Family would do that. Or even how, really. But the treat was real, it could takes months to recover from that kind of public humiliation.

It was Mr. Tseng's turn now. He had more of a, "Let 'em go and see if they fly," kinda philosophy when it came to parenting.

"A word of advice, Austin," he said, "If anybody tries to offer you drugs, or alcohol, or whatever, beat the living hell out of them. That 'just say no' crap works maybe two percent of the time. A few fractured ribs will get the point across much more effectively."

"I'm not sure if that's such a good idea, Dad. What if the dude with the drugs has like…super strength or fire shooting powers? I don't want to get my ass handed to me on a bowl full of expensive ice," Austin retorted. Sometimes his dad's blunt and strong personality gave excellent advice. But Austin had to admit that was probably one of the worst things he could do. But his dad came back just as fast.

"Then you kick their ass faster." He could be extremely stubborn when he wanted to be… which is all the time. Austin was about to facepalm, but stopped short when his mother spoke again.

"And don't think you're getting off the hook for sneaking off to some registration center. If your dad wanted you to get registered, he would have taken you himself." Again, Austin didn't agree with Mrs. Tseng. But he decided against arguing, remembering how that went last time. Best to drop it and hope they forget. Awkward silence followed for a few minutes.

"Welp…" Austin murmured, "….I guess I'll just go then. Thanks for the advice Dad. And Sorry Mom. I'll call you tonight I guess." Mrs. Tseng gave Austin a hug. Releasing him, she said, "You better. I'll see you soon, kiddo." Austin's father reached out for a handshake, nearly crushing Austin's hand as they did so.

"Seeya, boy," he said in his best Southern accent. It was something they did everytime Austin left for extended periods of time.

"Later, pop," replied Austin, a little too mechanically for the usual effect to take place. After an affectionate pat on the back from his dad, and a goodbye kiss from his mom, Austin took his bag from his dad's hands and walked back to the trio waiting for him. He shot Antonia an excited smile before turning back to wave one last time at his parents. It looked like Austin's dad was trying to drag his mother out of the airport. Not like it surprised Austin at all.

Upon reaching his recruiters, Austin announced that his parents said yes, and that he was ready to leave whenever they were.​
 
5,114
Posts
17
Years
  • Age 30
  • AU
  • Seen Feb 18, 2023

Frederick Salusbury & Atticus Forsberg - Atlantean Relief Centre, Stockholm, Sweden


October 31st, 2012

"Oh. Do they? Whoops," Atticus scratched his nose. He didn't like Sweden or its Swedish... things and tried to stay as far away from it as possible. Of course, it really didn't help that his dad was Swedish.

"Anyways, I'm in! Haha, of course I'm in. These royalties sound a bit dull anyways, making people stand in line and register and all. Oh, unless you guys want me to go back and register as well? I don't know how you do it, have you registered already? Or are you, like, undercover?" Agnes sure did talk a lot.

"Oh good," he said, relieved this had gone a lot smoother than he had thought it would. Some candidates were like 'why this' and 'why that' and it sure did take a long time before they were satisfied they weren't being abducted by aliens. Atticus smiled at himself, glancing at Freddie for a moment and remembering his grand story. "Uh, no. I haven't registered. That's uh... not a smart thing to do because then they have tabs on you. Just... yeah. Don't."

"What about the Santa girl? Or guy, I don't really know what was going on there. But... Should we just let them take her and brainwash her to become a loyal soldier or whatever it is you're saying they do? Shouldn't we try to gather as many as possible if it's unification you're after?"

Atticus turned to Freddie. "Santa girl?"

"She was with Ms. Lukyanenko. There was a... uh, girl? I don't know, sh-she was wearing a Santa outfit and then she was a boy and... Atticus this is all happening so f-fast!" Freddie used one of his free hands to bury his face. He hadn't been at this long at all, so you really couldn't blame the guy. Especially since someone upstairs had been kind enough to replace the bottom half of his body with hairy goat legs.

"Okay, uh," he checked the hallway again. Surely someone had to be getting suspicious soon? Someone didn't just go to the toilet for 10 minutes. "As much as I hate leaving a man... or a woman behind, it's too late for her. I would love to take her with us and I'm sorry if you were friends but... well, honestly, we came for you and I'd hate to jepordize that. I can get Annie to keep tabs on her if you like?"

There were some voices approaching them down the hallway and Atticus put a hand on Agnes' shoulder. Now was probably the time to move. If Lukyanenko caught them... well, it wouldn't be pretty. Probably a lot of yelling and maybe a fight and some handcuffs. Atticus was experienced when it came to hand to hand combat, but he was sure that an entire building's worth of people could probably take him down easily. Besides, he hated fighting. Too much effort.

"Alright, let's go. I got a car down the road," Atticus put Freddie's arm around his shoulder and fast-walked his way to the exit, beckoning Agnes with his other hand.​



Misha Vedernikov - The Roads of Warsaw, Poland


October 31st, 2012

"Plane, helicopter, it iz all same sing," he chuckled, pulling into gear and out onto the road. The roads were nice and relatively empty, making for a very easy and quick ride. He wasn't going to the airport; no, the Royal Family seemed to have guards and lapdogs at possible way to leave a country. No, Misha would leave the same way he arrived; by his trusty helicopter, parked very suspiciously in a large, vacant lot near some undeveloped town houses. It was probably a half an hour drive, but Misha occupied himself with bad music and some more odd questions and conversations (he began to speak about his love of romantic novels, gesturing to his awful but horribly popular vampire novel sitting on the back seat). It was obvious Delta wasn't extremely interested in any of it, but he spoke anyways.

"And here iz my prekrasnyy chariot," they turned a corner to see the obvious helicopter. Some people out walking their dogs had come over to inspect the strange spectacle but scurried off when they saw the rather large, Russian man approach them and his helicopter. Like he did with the car, he opened the door like a gentleman to let dear Delta into the helicopter first. "After you, please."​



Imogen Green - Atlantean Relief Centre, New York, United States of America

October 30th, 2012
"Great! I'm so glad we could agree on something, finally," Imogen led the way, her car parked only just around the corner. It was a wonder how she had gotten such a great car park. Talent, on her part, she could say, though in actual fact it was just luck. She opened the back door of the car, letting the boys hop in before she herself stepped in. There were two lots of back seats but with a bit of pushing and pulling, Imogen arranged them so she could sit and face the two boys. When they were comfortable, she leaned forward, her signature smile appearing again.

"Alright boys, my name, like I said, is Imogen Green. I'm part of a super secret organisation known as the Atlantean Unification Project. Like our name suggests, we focus on the unification of Atlanteans and just peace on Earth and stuff. You know the X-men?" she winked at the boys. "We're like that."

She reached back into the glove compartment and pulled out a few sodas, handing one each to the boys and cracking her own open and taking a sip. She sipped with precision, careful not to let the condensation or the soda itself ruin her lipstick. She let the boys take a swig too before continuing with her pitch.

"We've been watching you Will, and we think that you're suitable enough to join our ranks. We'll train you to use your ability and help you achieve whatever you need to achieve. See, if you registered yourself with those bumbling idiots of a Royal Family, you'd basically be turned into slaves and forced to do what they want. Fight a war, kill some people. Something like that. We're after peace. We have goal. We're not just smashing cities and yelling 'revolution' like that last fool Callibro or Cabrllo or whatever his name is. Did you boys see the news?" she took another careful sip. "Oh, and Brad? Don't feel left out. If you want it, I'm sure I can find you a place in our organisation. I know of a few humans We're not racist like the Royal Family."

"So, boys," she crossed her legs, sat back in her seat and tilted her head ever so slightly. Nobody could ever doubt this face was not beautiful and Imogen was happy enough to act like it, "what do you say? Wanna come save the world?"​



Oakley North - Atlantean Relief Centre, London, England

October 31st, 2012
Oakley had no questions, and kept to herself as the boys came forward with their own. She felt a little unintelligent at the moment, but she literally had nothing to ask. If this meant that she could control how her arm worked, she was happy to do whatever this man asked. She stared at her arm for a second, feeling the slight twinge of the armour on the top of her palm reappearing. It seemed the Librarian's spell didn't last forever.

"Alright," James spoke first, "you can start by telling me who exactly you're with. I heard of the Atlantean Royal Family on the news. Are you with them? If not, who exactly are you with? Actually, might as well tell me everyone who's involved, since I get the feeling there's more than one group associated with the Atlanteans. You sure as hell weren't with those other guys back at the building in London."

"Sure," the Librarian answered pleasantly. The bombardment of questions didn't seem to phase him at all. "I am the individual party in this political war. I have ties to a few of the groups that are at large, but I have sworn no allegiance. At the moment, there's the Royal Family, like you said. They're actually direct bloodline from the original Royal Family, back before Atlantis fell," he tapped his chin and began to cross names off his fingers. "There's also this group called the Atlantean Unification Project. They are focused on bringing unity to Atlanteans. It's all rather hazy, because they say one thing and do another but," he shrugged, "who can blame them? It's all been rather confusing of late," he crossed his next finger. "Last of the larger organisations is called the Syndicate. They've been extremely secretive and I actually have no information on them except that their leader calls himself the 'Blind Prophet'. The little devils."

The Librarian's face turned sour for the first time, as he moved his weight to his other leg and put his hands on his hips. Was he... was that disappointment? His face only lasted for a little while, before he shook his head and his smile returned. He turned to Nathaniel, who had started to ask his own questions.

"It seems to me you sought both James and myself out for some reason. So how about you finally answer my question as well: What do you want from us? What are you going to gain by training us and then sending us out to help you out when the time comes? I'd also ask for your life story, but something tells me that story is a very long one."

"What do I want from you? Well, honestly, when the time comes, I want you to help me infiltrate these organisations. All three of them. Originally, I only wanted the two of you," he gestured to James and Nathaniel, "but Oakley, dear girl, you really have potential. But don't worry, you won't have to play spy for a little while. We'll all get to know eachother. Find out what each one of us wants out of life. Hone our abilities. When the time comes, we'll find out exactly why these three groups are acting like they do," he laughed at the last statement, but instead of talking, beckoned them to follow him. Oakley obliged, leaving her half eaten pastry and followed the man. She noticed that Otto stayed put at the end of the table.

He led them down the hallway, away from the garage, to a large set of double doors. He swung them open to reveal to them an enormous room, probably betterly described as a library. There were hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of books lining the shelves on the four levels, with cute spiral staircases and warm lights leading the way. Oakley stood and took it all in for a moment, wondering what on earth all these books meant. Her questions were quickly answered.

"I've been on this Earth a very long time. I don't think I've told you; my ability is to absorb the ability of another through their blood. Each and everyone of these books either outlines an ability I have collected, a story I want to tell or anything in my life I have found even a little bit interesting. Of course, there are some other books in here too, like Charles Dickens if you want a read. But yes, if you want to know my life story, you can start here," he smiled, the mystery surrounding him only growing deeper. How... how old was he exactly?

"Was there anything else?"​
 

Nakuzami

[img]https://i.imgur.com/iwlpePA.png[/img]
6,896
Posts
13
Years
Atlantis Awakening
Avian Morphology
William Lyle Nelson :: Atlantean Relief Center, Albany, New York, USA
October 30th, 2012


"Great! I'm so glad we could agree on something, finally," Imogen led the way, Brad and Will following her around the corner. She opened the back door of the car, allowing Brad and Will to get in before she herself got in and closed the door. Imogen sat in the front, twisting herself to face the two men, smiling once they'd all gotten comfortable.

"Alright boys, my name, like I said, is Imogen Green. I'm part of a super secret organisation known as the Atlantean Unification Project. Like our name suggests, we focus on the unification of Atlanteans and just peace on Earth and stuff. You know the X-men?" she winked. "We're like that."

The X-Men? Will thought, I suppose that's an interesting comparison. Not too far off, when you think about it. Spot on, actually. He blinked. God damned comic books, predicting the future a little too well.

Imogen reached back into the glove compartment and pulled out a few sodas, handing one each to Will and Brad, opening hers and taking a sip. She seemed to drink it a bit too carefully, making sure not to smear her makeup. Brad opened his soda and took a sip, whereas Will held it in his hands and stared at it for a moment.

It's poisoned. Or radioactive. Maybe it has some serum to brainwash us, or knock us out, or—

Brad elbowed Will slightly, a movement that would be imperceptible to Imogen. Will frowned and opened his soda, taking a small sip.

After Will was finished with his sip, Imogen spoke up once more. "We've been watching you, Will, and we think that you're suitable enough to join our ranks. We'll train you to use your ability and help you achieve whatever you need to achieve. See, if you registered yourself with those bumbling idiots of a Royal Family, you'd basically be turned into slaves and forced to do what they want. Fight a war, kill some people. Something like that. We're after peace. We have a goal. We're not just smashing cities and yelling 'revolution' like that last fool Callibro or Cabrllo or whatever his name is. Did you boys see the news?" she took another careful sip. "Oh, and Brad? Don't feel left out. If you want it, I'm sure I can find you a place in our organisation. I know of a few humans. We're not racist like the Royal Family."

"Cabrillo," Will supplied. He wasn't sure why he remembered that. "You've been watching us?" Yes, because that totally instilled trust in a person. Next thing he knew Charles Xavier would be wheeling his way up to them and telling them of their incredible destiny, or something stupid.

"So, boys," Imogen crossed her legs, sat back in her seat and tilted her head ever so slightly. "What do you say? Wanna come save the world?"

Will glanced at Brad, who took another sip of his soda and gave Will a look that meant that it was time for him to talk. "Save the world . . . from what?" Will asked, genuinely interested but still wary of the woman that sat before him. He looked around, his mind racing through many different stories and scenarios. "Obviously saving the world sounds like a fun goal, but it depends on what we have to save it from."

Will reached back and felt the base of his wings. "There's plenty other Atlanteans in the world, and so many more of them have far greater abilities than me. So many more of them have far greater potential. Why would a boy with color-changing wings be able to help you? I don't even know how to fly! I can't really fight, and I have no experience with any type of weapon. I am completely useless. Even if I did learn how to master my flight capabilities, I'm not Hawkman nor Hawkgirl. I'm not powerful; I'm ordinary. I can't swing a mace and wipe out an entire army. It just doesn't work like that."

Brad leaned forward, placing his hand on the cap of his soda and placing his chin on his hand. "I'm with feather boy here. However, if Will decides to go with you, I would certainly be interested."
 
5,114
Posts
17
Years
  • Age 30
  • AU
  • Seen Feb 18, 2023

Imogen Green - Atlantean Relief Centre, New York, United States of America

October 30th, 2012
"From what's to come," Imogen said, leaning her head on her hand. "It's not hard to see that someone's gonna start a war with super powers. We're here to make sure that doesn't happen."

"There's plenty other Atlanteans in the world, and so many more of them have far greater abilities than me. So many more of them have far greater potential. Why would a boy with color-changing wings be able to help you? I don't even know how to fly! I can't really fight, and I have no experience with any type of weapon. I am completely useless. Even if I did learn how to master my flight capabilities, I'm not Hawkman nor Hawkgirl. I'm not powerful; I'm ordinary. I can't swing a mace and wipe out an entire army. It just doesn't work like that."

"I'm with feather boy here. However, if Will decides to go with you, I would certainly be interested."

Imogen started to giggle as he ended his low-self-esteem whine. What ridiculous boys. Obviously, the AUP was all about sending untrained recruits into the field armed with nothing but a spoon. Of course. Man, what do these people teach kids in school? Algebra?

"Of course you don't know how to use your power, silly. Of course you can't fight to save yourself. You think the AUP is going to throw you into the deep end just to see how you go?" she giggled a little more, exhaling and wiping a miniscule tear from her eye. "William, we teach you everything. When the AUP found me, I barely knew how to hold a pencil, let alone a gun. Now I can shoot a man in the kneecap from five miles away with a handgun," and with a great deal of skill, Imogen quick-drawed her hand-gun from the holster on her hip and aimed it right at Will's head before he even had a chance to flinch. With a giggle, she pulled it back and shoved it back into the holster.

"We teach you how to defend yourself. How to control yourself. How your ability works. We can probably teach you crochet if you're into that kind of thing. It's not an overnight process, but it happens. And trust me, you get to learn some of the coolest things."​
 
1,176
Posts
15
Years
  • Seen Jul 18, 2016
Delta Mayor -
- Warsaw, Poland

"Plane, helicopter, it iz all same sing," he chuckled.

"Uh, okay…" Delta didn't like the sound of that, a plane was one thing but a small helicopter was another thing. She hoped that the Atlantean United Project had supplied Misha with a personal pilot for this so-called helicopter. The passenger seat was now comfortable enough that Delta was able to relax, but not so much that it showed she completely trusted the large man next to her. She had been to Warsaw many times before and she knew the way they were going wasn't toward any official airport, uneasiness started to settle in as they kept driving. Misha musical taste was almost as bad as his choices in books, he yammered on about some shade of grey books and the ever so famous Twilight Saga. She was far from interested in these topics; books bored her and this music made her want to go deaf as soon as possible.

"And here iz my prekrasnyy chariot," Misha stated, he seemed in awe as if this thing was the love of his life. Once again Delta didn't like the sound of this and the way he said "my" made it seemed like there wasn't a pilot. She watched as curious people that stopped to check out the aircraft left as they saw the duo, more so Misha, approaching it.

"After you, please," Misha said before he ushered Delta into the helicopter where there was no pilot sitting in the pilot's seat.

"Why isn't there a pilot? Please tell me you've had your license for more than a month!" Delta voice teemed with worry, she tightly closed her eyes and gripped the seat hoping the ride would be over soon.​
 

Nakuzami

[img]https://i.imgur.com/iwlpePA.png[/img]
6,896
Posts
13
Years
Atlantis Awakening
Avian Morphology
William Lyle Nelson :: Atlantean Relief Center, Albany, New York, USA
October 30th, 2012


"From what's to come," Imogen said, leaning her head on her hand. "It's not hard to see that someone's gonna start a war with super powers. We're here to make sure that doesn't happen."

Imogen started to giggle. "Of course you don't know how to use your power, silly. Of course you can't fight to save yourself. You think the AUP is going to throw you into the deep end just to see how you go?" she giggled a little more, wiping below her eye with one finger. "William, we teach you everything. When the AUP found me, I barely knew how to hold a pencil, let alone a gun. Now I can shoot a man in the kneecap from five miles away with a handgun," in an instant, Imogen had a pistol in her hand and was aiming it straight at Will's forehead. Will stared at it, slightly cross-eyed. He didn't flinch, but that may have also been partly because he never got the opportunity to. Imogen giggled and replaced it in her holster.

"We teach you how to defend yourself. How to control yourself. How your ability works. We can probably teach you crochet if you're into that kind of thing. It's not an overnight process, but it happens. And trust me, you get to learn some of the coolest things."

"Uh, I was speaking about my overall potential, not just my current skill set, but whatever you say." Will grumbled. "Also, don't point guns in my face. It might annoy me."

Brad sat next to Will, glancing between Imogen, the pistol and Will. The tension in his body was plain to see as he had shifted into a more protective mindset.

"Anyways, back to the matter at hand," Will stated, leaning shifting in his seat to make himself more comfortable. "A war, you say? If we're already anticipating war, I would normally say that someone has their head buried a little too deep in the comic books." Will tilted his head, leaning it against his head as he unconsciously bit a nail. "But," he continued, shifting back to a regular sitting position, "considering the events of the past week, it's not all that hard to believe."

"So," he said, folding his hands across his knees, "I guess I can say at this point that the offer intrigues me. I may as well give it a shot." After a short pause, he added, "I at least know how to hold a pencil."
 
37,467
Posts
16
Years
  • Age 34
  • Seen Jan 2, 2024

Agnes Johansson - Atlantean Relief Centre, Stockholm, Sweden


October 31st, 2012

Agnes only looked back once, towards the room she had left the other option in. A royal family of some kind, the Atlantean kind obviously. They sounded important and mighty and maybe also wealthy? It was alluring.

But she only looked back once. Walking towards the other direction were two men who wanted her to come. They didn't poke a needle in her and they didn't ask her questions of the difficult kind. They just wanted her. A smile played on her lips as it dawned on her that she was needed and even wanted.

Plus, these guys were kind of funny, too. At least the poor goat man.

That's why she followed them outside the Atlantean Centre without any qualms. Santa girl... or boy, he would be fine. She couldn't really believe that the royal family would be mean towards anyone. People weren't mean without reason. Not in Agnes' world.

The day was fresh and still windy when they exited the building. Agnes' teeth shone in the sun that gleamed through the yellowish layer of clouds high above. Clouds she one day wanted to touch. With the help of the AUP, maybe it could become reality.

Now they just needed to get away from the library building without attracting attention and looking like they were sneaking away. Because Agnes had a feeling that the guards that confronted her before wouldn't really let people change their mind once they had entered...​
 
5,114
Posts
17
Years
  • Age 30
  • AU
  • Seen Feb 18, 2023

Imogen Green - The Roads of Albany, New York, United States of America

October 30th, 2012
"So, I guess I can say at this point that the offer intrigues me. I may as well give it a shot. I at least know how to hold a pencil."

"You'll be able to do a lot more than that when the AUP have let you into their world," Imogen winked, pushing her glasses up her nose. "But, I am taking your hesitant answer as a yes. It's a yes right? Good!" she clapped her hands together, and with a graceful swing of her legs, she slid over the seat behind her and into the driver's seat.

With a last smile, she pulled into gear and onto the Albany streets, letting the boys handle themselves with seatbelts and such. She touched a few buttons on her GPS, allowing it to direct her to the Albany Airport.

"We gotta go to the airport, boys. The AUP headquarters is situated in France. I hope you like snails and frogs legs," she giggled again, taking a left down Central Avenue. The trip to the airport wasn't an extremely long one, probably 15 minutes or so, but she filled the 15 minutes with either a) asking the boys useless questions about their lives for conversation's sake or b) making them feel uncomfortable by giggling at them for their sometimes ridiculous or awkward answers.

When they had reached the airport, Imogen took a strange left than what anyone else who had been to this airport was used to, taking her into a private sector labelled "Authorized Personnel Only". It was fenced off and kind of spooky at night time, with the lack of cars and only the very loud sound of arriving and departing planes every few minutes to scare the beejesus out of you.

She pulled the car onto the private strip to reveal a fancy-looking (to Will and Brad anyway) jet awaiting them. Imogen parked the car a safe distance away, jumped out of her seat and opened the door for Will and Brad.

"Your chariot awaits, ladies," she giggled with a bow.​



Frederick Salusbury & Atticus Forsberg - Atlantean Relief Centre, Stockholm, Sweden


October 31st, 2012

Atticus was glad that Agnes had tagged along. She seemed like a good soul at least, caring for an almost stranger and being able to quickly make a (what Atticus thought was a) hard decision. Atticus had been in a similar situation. Not necessarily between the ARF and the AUP, but deciding between what he was told had been right and what he thought had been right. Geez, did that bring back some awful memories.

Freddie on the other hand was just glad to be getting out of here and glad that he hadn't failed his first mission as part of the AUP. He didn't have the experience that Atticus had. or the ability to walk. He really needed physical therapy or something. Or at least a day or two by himself to work out how goat hooves worked.

"Where'd you park your car?" Atticus started poking into Freddie's pockets, looking for keys. Freddie would have pushed him away because it was uncomfortable and an invasion of personal space but that meant he had to walk by himself and that was bad. "Wait, don't worry, I see it."

"Y-yeah," Freddie pointed a feeble finger at the van. "That one." It was a wonder how he had driven here in the first place.

When they reached the van, Atticus almost shoved Freddie into the passenger seat and opened the back door for Agnes to jump in.

"After you," he said kindly.​
 

Nakuzami

[img]https://i.imgur.com/iwlpePA.png[/img]
6,896
Posts
13
Years
Atlantis Awakening
Avian Morphology
William Lyle Nelson :: The Roads of Albany, New York, USA
October 30th, 2012


"You'll be able to do a lot more than that when the AUP have let you into their world," Imogen winked, pushing her glasses up her nose. "But, I am taking your hesitant answer as a yes. It's a yes right? Good!" she clapped her hands together, swung her legs over the seat and settled into the driver's seat.

Will and Brad fastened their seat belts as Imogen fiddled with her GPS.

"We gotta go to the airport, boys. The AUP headquarters is situated in France. I hope you like snails and frogs' legs," she giggled again, taking a left as she pulled the car onto the streets.

"France?" Will questioned. It certainly wasn't around the corner, that was for sure.

The ride to the airport took about fifteen minutes, during which Imogen asked Will and Brad various questions about their personal lives, occasionally giggling at their answers. When they finally arrived at the airport, Imogen turned into what seemed to be a restricted area. That was confirmed when Will read an "Authorized Personnel Only" sign.

She pulled the car onto the private strip to reveal a jet awaiting them. Imogen parked the car a safe distance away, jumped out of her seat and opened the door for Will and Brad.

"Your chariot awaits, ladies," she giggled with a bow.

Will stepped out of the car first, mumbling something about "ladies" and "punching someone in the neck." Brad stepped out after him, placing his hands on the smaller man's shoulders as he brought himself into step next to him.

"Look, we get our own jet to take us to France. How exciting! Maybe you can write a story about it later," Brad said, teasing Will.

"Yes, wonderful. A spontaneous trip to France without any luggage or personal belongings, and without letting anyone know that we decided to leave the country for some odd reason. Not to mention you left the car parked in some random place in Boston, but, oh well." Will shrugged and left Brad to hesitate for a moment.

"Well, there's that, but . . . hey, free trip!" Brad said, for lack of any better comeback.

Will stared at the jet as they approached. He would have made a comment about not wanting to fly in a jet, having never actually done so in his lifetime, but he decided against it. He didn't have too much choice, and he also reckoned that he would have to get used to flying, considering the giant wings on his back.

Will sighed. "Let's get on with the show, then." With that, the two men followed Imogen onto the jet.
 

Swolligator

Butcher of the Sands
1,955
Posts
14
Years

Wyatt Cale – Syndicate HQ, Birmingham, England


The bow felt awkward in his hands, much less the quiver now half full of arrows that remained strapped over his shoulder as he dodged and rolled around the training room. Blunted arrows, rubber bullets and a variety of other ammunition came flying from all directions until Wyatt could shut it off. So far, he had hit one target out of twenty but could never get enough time to target one before taking it out.

"Concentrate, Wyatt, don't over think it, act on it!" Doctor Meier's voice boomed out.

Cursing beneath his breath, Wyatt began firing arrows wildly until he was down to but a few with none of them hitting anywhere remotely near a target. Sprinting from one pop-up wall to another, he managed to claim back a handful more arrows before another volley of ammunition came firing his way. Many of the turrets were manned by the skeleton crew of scientists while only a couple ran on their own, randomly-seeming path which made it hard for Wyatt to even begin predicting their trajectory. Standing up abruptly, he ran a quick scan of the surrounding area, hiding back down before another volley of attacks headed his way. Memorising the location of the targets, he notched an arrow before rising again and, without stopping to aim, let loose the arrow before letting another two fly. Crouching back down, he heard the familiar powering down of the turrets as the bullets slowed to a stop.

"Good, Wyatt, sixteen more to go," Doctor Meier's voice again boomed overhead, "time to up the difficulty."

Moaning, Wyatt could only guess what the mad doctor meant. From either side, a strange, mechanical clicking began to resonate within his ears and he had a strange fear that he knew exactly what was happening. Peaking over the top of the wall, he caught a final glimpse of one of the turrets, peel away from its mounted position on the wall into something resembling GlaDOS on wheels. The rolling turret was obviously manned by one or more of the scientists, but its targeting system seemed entirely computer like. Regardless, he had no time to contemplate the inner workings of these new robots as they knew of his immediate location and were both making a beeline for him. Sprinting for the next set of pop-up walls, he felt the unmistakeable burn as several rubber bullets fired into his back. With the targets now moving and pushing him out of hiding, he needed to move more quickly and there was no telling how many more tricks these people had up their sleeves.

Focussing his attention on the wall while he had a moment of rest, he brought to mind an image of the wall fading away, and after a couple of seconds, the edges of the wall began to fade, moving ever so slowly towards the middle until it was as if the wall wasn't there. Revelling in his success, he took note of the only moving target swivelling around in front of him and a couple of others mounted on the wall. Before he could even draw an arrow from his quiver, he froze as the robot in front of him did a final swivel before locking on him. Cockily, he knew he was still behind the wall, so he continued to slowly notch his arrow until a bullet punched into his chest. Winded, he recovered quickly, not knowing if the wall was really there or if it has subsided while he was seeing through it.

"The hell was that?" Wyatt yelled up at the control room.

"You can't always rely on your abilities, Wyatt." The Doctor's condescending voice reverberated from the walls.

"a**hole," Wyatt swore under his breath, continuing his escape from the wandering sentinel. He had almost lost the sentinel until he face-planted into the hard ground. Cursing, he scanned his environment for anything that could have caused him to trip, and eventually a small platform shimmered into view. He continued to curse, this time at his "useless" affliction that was considered an Atlantean ability. To make things worse, the two sentinels now loomed over him, guns only a metre away from his face.

Before they could fire, the whole simulation shut down, turrets retreating to the wall while the platforms and walls returned to their places in the floor. Climbing into the elevator, he rode it back up to the lab. He was beaten, bruised and at the end of his energy levels, he wasn't ready for the infamous 'analysis' the doctor said he was going to do after his rather brief training session.

"I'm not in the mood to deal with anything you have to say, doc," his tone drenched in anger and frustration.

"Good, well get yourself in a better mood, the Boss wants to see you."

Wyatt was taken aback, this company, this Syndicate had a lot more facets to it than Wyatt had initially figured. There must have been many secrets that the Syndicate had buried beneath their paper weights or hidden in secret drawers that many people would want to get their hands on. Still, for now he had to play his cool, get what he needed from these people. He had little time to reconsider his stance as the Directive stepped through the elevator doors.

"Cale, with me," Was all he spoke and grudgingly, Wyatt followed him into the elevator.

The elevator ride was silent as Wyatt tried to work out the bumps and bruises left behind from his altercation with the sentinels. He didn't realise it until now, but the quiver was still strapped to his back and the bow firmly gripped in his hands. It seemed that the Directive had little words of advice to give Wyatt on how to deal with this 'Boss' of theirs, and something made him believe that Mr Cain here was perhaps a bit scared. The elevator opened and Wyatt was buffeted by the immense scent of roses as he followed the Directive up to the receptionist's desk.

"Danny, how are you?" The red head behind the desk cheerfully greeted him, "Oh, and you brought the second-favourite, good for you!"

"Enough of your crap, Rose, let the Boss know he's here to see him." His voice was rough and stern; obviously the two didn't have a very good relationship.

"Sure thing, Danny," she pressed on, the nickname seeming to strike a bad string within the Directive, "Darren, there's a boy here to see you," she spoke into the phone that no doubt went direct to the office. "The Boss'll see him now, but not you, Danny." She smiled a wicked smile.

Once through the double doors, Wyatt sat down in one of the two chairs on the opposite side of the desk. "You wanted to see me?" He asked sarcastically.

"Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit," the man replied, swivelling his chair around. With penetrating blue eyes, dark blonde hair and a face that reminded Wyatt of the actor who played Lucifer in Supernatural, he now understood the fear behind the Directive. "But let's cut to the chase here, mister Cale, or should I say, mister North," Wyatt froze, next to no one knew about his name change, and very few of those who did, did not know both lives.

"So you've been stalking me, great."

"Like I said, mister North, lowest form of wit. We're here to offer you a chance to make something out of yourself, something more than a simple university student. The world is reaching a major turning point in time, and we need you to play your part in tipping it towards our favour. Turn it in our favour, and we'll compensate you greatly."

Wyatt could be nothing but shocked, somehow he was meant to help this company of crazies to push the world in their favour at some point. The idea behind it was pure ludicrous, but somehow it resonated within Wyatt as if the idea was something he was meant to do, destined to do even. "Sure, so I agree to this thing, what kind of 'compensation' do I get?"

"You do what we want, without question, and you will have access to some of our funds and a degree of leniency to do your own thing."

"So you're telling me, all I have to do is be your little lap dog, and you'll give me treats? I'm sorry, but I'm just not buying it Darren."

The Boss firmly planted his hand on the desk, "It's Mr. Stagg, to you, Wyatt and if you don't want our offer, then fine, I'm sure your university will be thrilled to find out their star Archer uses his ability to cheat through tournaments. Good luck with that. Come back when you want to stop being a child and finally grow up to be a man." He swivelled his chair back around, Wyatt taking the cue that it was his time to leave.

"You win, Darren, I'll be your little lap dog, just don't treat me like one." He slammed the door behind him, furious at the way he had been treated. He joined the Directive in the elevator, hitting the button to the living quarters angrily.​


Darren Stagg – Syndicate HQ, Birmingham, England


"He's a little hot headed, but he'll come around eventually. Trust me, I've seen it." The blind, wizened old man stepped out from the shadows that had enveloped him previously.

"He's a little brat that needs a solid hand," The Boss replied to the blind figure, "why couldn't we have taken the other one, the one who'll actually amount to something." His face, height and weight all changed until, sitting in the chair, was a harmless looking girl with curled blonde hair.

"All in due time, my friend," for as scary a man as Darren Stagg was, the blind man's voice certainly sent chills up his spine, "everyone has their place in the grand scheme of things; some are just more important than others. Be nice to the boy, and he'll be nice to you in the future."

"Whatever you say, old man." The girl's high pitched voice weirdly contrasted to the deep voice he had before.

"Why must you always taunt me with that perception? It hurts my feelings." The man's face drooped, "I am the Blind Prophet after all." He smiled wickedly.​
 
37,467
Posts
16
Years
  • Age 34
  • Seen Jan 2, 2024

Agnes Johansson - Freddie's car, Stockholm, Sweden


October 31st, 2012

Atticus politely motioned for Agnes to get into the backseat of the van, which made her smile and happily jump in. Normally, she would have been hesitating both once and twice before getting into a car with strangers. Her father had at least taught her to be wise and wary, even though he always thought you should see the best in people.

But this was not normal.

They started driving and Agnes could see the Atlantean Relief Centre... The library, disappear behind them. She had left the Royal Family. Some thought suddenly stung her. What if this really was a bit illegal? What if the ARF was the real way to do this and the AUP were really snatching her away now.

She glanced at Freddie in the passenger seat. From behind, his silhouette looked a bit frightening. So odd. So non-human. But then he turned and said something to Atticus, and his kind and somewhat worried face showed. Agnes thoughts changed immediately and she almost chuckled a little at herself. There was pretty much no way he was a bad guy. As for Atticus...

Yeah, he didn't seem bad either. She smiled and leaned forward with one arm on each of the back of their seats, straining her seatbelt some.

"So where are we going, then? Some secret base? You guys realize that I didn't bring any chance of clothing or... Or anything really? Because I sure didn't think I was going away, I thought I would just walk to the Centre - no, fly I mean, haha - and register and then begone. So, are we stopping by my home, maybe telling my bro what's up and leaving a note for my mum or something... Or maybe I'll just let my bro handle her because honestly I don't know if she'd care, hah."

She fell silent for a moment, realizing that she was babbling. And that she might have gone a bit too personal in her ramblings. Instead of letting them answer, she rather quickly continued though, to brush it over.

"Anyways, yeah. Where are we going? And, will I need to pack something?"​
 

Legend

Kingslayer
1,308
Posts
15
Years

Nathaniel Calaway and James Hazen- ???


James closed his eyes for a few seconds, trying to grasp everything that the Librarian was saying. About his intentions, about himself, about everything. It was quite a lot of information to take in all at once, especially given his prior location and intake of 'important' information. But soon after in his mind, James concluded that while this was a bit interesting, it wasn't necessarily important to him for the moment. It was merely something he would have to keep in mind for later. When the Librarian asked if there was anything else, James did have more questions, but lacked the patience or the interest to continue asking them. There was a part of him that didn't want to know every detail that was to come. It made it a bit more exciting that way. Besides, he felt he wouldn't be getting a lot out of the Librarian, even if he said he would.

"Yea…I could use a drink."

"Certainly!" the Librarian nodded. "I have a small bar if you would like something to take the edge off."

"If you don't mind, I think we will take our chances somewhere outside," Nate popped in. "I like the atmosphere, you know?"

*****​
The two walked into the bar. It was a quaint little place, considering where they were. Well, Nathaniel didn't know where they were to be completely fair. Nathaniel was okay with this. It had some character to it, but it didn't overwhelm him. Rather it helped the otherwise plain feel to it. They were a couple of pool tables, dart boards and plenty of small tables and stools scattered about, populated by a mix of men and women of all ages and backgrounds. Most of the patrons stared at Nathaniel and James as they walked in. Not necessarily welcoming, but if worse came to worse, Nathaniel and James would be more than enough to take them down. After all, they had a few tricks that they didn't have. Nathaniel moved quickly to the bar itself, grabbing one of the many open stools near the center of the bar, scanning the hard liquor. James took a seat beside him, also gazing over the multitude of drinks.

"What'll it be?" The bartender asked. At least he didn't bother asking for ID off the bat. It was probably inevitable.  

"Whisky and Coke. No ice," Nathaniel requested, sliding out his credit card and driver's license. "Also whatever he wants," Nathaniel continued, gesturing to James. "And start a tab. I think we'll be here a while. We got a lot on our minds, to say the least."

"Make that two," James told the bartender, gesturing 'two' with his fingers as he did so. "But make mine on the rocks." The bartender nodded, and went over to prepare the drinks. James held his gaze at the bartender for a few more moments, before turning around in his stool and observing the bar itself. "Not bad," He said out loud nodding his head in acceptance of the place. There were few like it where he had come from, the serene Hawaiian environment instead electing for open, peaceful-looking drink stations on huts by the beach. This was different, and for James, different was better. He let a smirk make its way on his face for a moment, before turning back to the bartender, who had prepared their drinks. James grabbed his eagerly.

"Ah, f*ckin' whiskey," James said, looking over the beverage in his hands with relish, savoring the drink even before he hand begun to drink it. "God you have no idea what you're lucky enough to get every day." He said aloud, to no one in particular but turning now to Nate as he continued. "Back where I come from, it's always margarita-this, or f*ckin' pacific-papaya-fruity-delight that. There's few chances to enjoy a real man's drink. At least, a good one."

Nathaniel grabbed his drink with smile, taking James' enjoyment off the drink as a sign that it wasn't half bad. As he grasped it, the glass itself froze ever so slightly, icing the drink for him as took a small sip. "Mhm. No ice, more alcohol," he said with a nod and a smile. "So I take it you are from…Hawaii, if everyone gets those kind of drinks," Nathaniel continued. "People don't got for those in New York. Unless they are women. They like those fruity drinks and stuff. Guys I work with were always about rum, vodka or whiskey. I slowly developed a taste for it."

"Good guess," James said, taking a large swig of his drink, letting it sit in his mouth for a few moments before gulping down the contents. The aftertaste was quite to follow, and he closed his eyes for a moment to let it sink in. "And kudos to you and your people. Maybe there's hope for this world yet, eh?" He said, as he raised his glass towards Nate, and took another large gulp of the drink. "Ah…" He let slip from his mouth. After everything he had gone through today at the store, this was exactly what he needed. But it was only touching the surface of the real reason he came.

"So," James said, placing down his drink on the counter and gazing at Nate with a look that gave off a sense of seriousness unlike moments earlier. "I don't know about the girl," He said, closing his eyes for a second as he recounted the name in his head. "Err…Oakley, but please tell me at least you're not buying any of the sh*t that this Henry guy is selling. Because there's no way he's on the level. At least not completely."

Nathaniel paused for a bit, before taking a gulp of his drink. So he wasn't the only one with…thoughts concerning the Librarian. "Well, to put it lightly…I don't trust him. He was almost too upfront about everything. I want to trust him. I really do, but I have…these theories about what he is really after." Nate finished his drink. "Bartender. Another round, please!"

"He was almost too upfront because he wanted to make it look like he told us everything, while really telling us nothing." James replied, downing the remains of his drink, while also slipping in an ice cube into his mouth, beginning to crunch on it while he awaited the next round of drinks. James loved to chew on ice from his downed drinks. It was a bit of a habit of his, and a reason he always liked to order ice with each drink. "My guess is, he's probably lookin' to use us for something. And judging by how old he is, or at least claims to be, he's no doubt done it before. Remember that library he had with all the books? Let's pretend for a moment what he said in there was true. So each one of those was a detail of an ability he had, or some story or whatever. Point is, we're clearly way in over our heads. He's a big player, and though he might prance about with his stupid grin thinking we're buddies, we're probably close to nothing to him. I'm thinking in his eyes, he's the Shepard, and we're the sheep." As James explained his own thoughts to Nate, the second round of drinks arrive, which was grabbed by James without giving a glance to the bartender. He handed Nate's to him, while taking his own in his hand and taking another swig.

"I don't know about you, but I'm not in the mood to be bossed around by anyone, no matter who they are. I'm here for his training, then I'm bailing the first chance I get, before he gets his chance to do whatever the f*ck he wants." He looked over to Nate, realizing he had been ranting a bit, but shrugged it off as simple bar talk. It had been a while since he was able to open up to anyone on that level in quite a while. In fact, he can't recall a time when he could. "At least, that's my thoughts."

"Heh," Nathaniel snickered a bit, once again freezing his drink as it came. It was good practice. James' theory was interesting and hand some truth in it, at least that is what Nathaniel thought. The fact James wanted to bail as soon as he could was understandable and really, Nathaniel couldn't blame him. After all, Nathaniel has and still is flirting with the idea himself, but he wanted to learn everything he could from the Librarian before that idea even seriously crossed his mind. And who knew how long mastering his abilities could take? Only the Librarian probably. Nathaniel took a small swig of his drink, gulping down the alcohol. The big man was finally beginning to feel something other than anxiety. Maybe it helped that with James, Nathaniel could actually have decent conversation with someone.

"It is an interesting thought. The Librarian being a "Shepard." But if you are going to be a conspiracy theorist, you have to provide more evidence than a simple hunch and a first impression. I have a friend back in New York. He rides bike like I do, but works at a different shop. A real big smoker too. Anyway, he loved conspiracy theories. He knew a lot about them and explained a few of them to me. Like the uh…the JFK one about how the government killed him or something. The Kurt Cobain story of how he was murdered. Hell, even if the idea of 9/11 being an inside job. Point is, because of him, I learned how these guys think." Nathaniel took another sip, cleared his throat and collected his thoughts. "Let me present my own theory on the Librarian: He is telling us only half the truth. Like you said, he is going to use for something and maybe this whole infiltrating the different organizations really is part of his plan, but only a small part of a greater plan." Nathaniel took a drink and paused, making sure everything went down. "Tell me, what does a Librarian do?"

James listened to Nate give his own explanation on his views, giving the man his full attention while quickly gulping down his second drink. He had begun to crunch ice in between his teeth as he was finishing. He held the ice cube between his teeth on the left side, closing down and letting the cold infiltrate his mouth, before resuming crunching up the smaller bits. He smirked a bit when Nate described his friend in New York. He never gave much credit to most conspiracy theories in general, though he always loved hearing about them. Even if they were mostly fabricated in his mind, the thought of such global theories being true fueled his imagination countless times before. When Nate asked James the question at the end of his own thoughts, James thought in his head for a moment, before answering. "I guess…a standard librarian keeps knowledge. He's a caretaker so others can use it."

"Ah, he keeps knowledge, but how does he obtain it? You see, James, you are thinking too much inside your little box. To get this knowledge, he has to collect it. The Librarian has all our heritage. Our abilities. Now, at first, I didn't think much of it. But…but after seeing his place, full of those cars, paintings…that collection…a thought popped into my head. What if the Librarian is using us to expand his collection?"

James grinned when Nate mentioned his thinking being wrapped only inside of 'his little box'. It was an interesting turn of events, as it was usually James who would think that of others he would converse with. The degree of intellectually stimulating conversation he was having was exciting for him. As Nate continued to speak, James motioned at the bartender to bring them another round without saying a word, thus not interrupting Nate's thoughts. The bartender replied with a nod, quickly fetching the drinks for them. Nate posed another question to end his speaking turn, and James was quick to interject. "Hmm…that might be true," He said, as the bartender brought their drinks one more. "But that only brings me back to my point that he's still using us. For his collection. For his dirty work. For whatever reason it is. Even if it's not all that detrimental to me in the process. I'm not one to do others' dirty work. It's just not in my system." As he said this, he took another gulp of the drink, feeling the hard liquor beginning to work its magic ever so slightly on himself. That might have been a reason he was saying so much. That and Nate had made the conversation worth the chatter. His thoughts traveled back to earlier in the day, where he likely killed another man, his boss at the convenience store because of a similar thought process.

"I didn't disagree with you, now did I? I am simply providing a motive as to why he needs us. He doesn't want to get his hands dirty, or reveal that he is alive to these other organizations. Especially the Royal Family. Undoubtedly, he has connections to them. Syndicate doesn't seem to be his style. But, I am not sure about the AUP though. It's difficult to figure out what he really thinks of them. I don't think he is lying when he says he is an outside party. At least in this century," Nathaniel paused for a moment, stirring his drink in his hand, chuckling at his own little joke. "Now, I will work for him, for a time. Till I get what I want. And then, we'll see. Maybe I will stick around. Maybe I will run away. But something tells me running away isn't an option anymore," Nathaniel said as he stared at his drink, before downing the rest of it. James ordered a third round and Nathaniel subconsciously took the drink and began the vicious cycle again.

"Heh…" James chuckled, finishing his third drink in record time. He felt himself begin to get a tad dizzy, and concluded if he were to stand right now, he would have a bit of trouble walking. He shrugged it off though, as he signaled to the bartender for one more right, who complied again, though he started at the two men a bit as he did so. "Ain't that the truth." James replied towards Nate. "We sealed our fates in this life the minute we stepped into that cab. And you know what? I'm not complaining one ****in' bit. We were plucked out of out boring ass life and put into a completely new ones. Better ones. One where we can choose our own course. And we have power to go along with it!" James' voice was slowly picking up in volume as the alcohol took affect, and his quick drinking of the fourth one furthered this. "I saw what you did to that guy in that center. And that was with no training. I think whatever we do end up doing, you and I are meant for big things."

"I can toast to that. What do you say? To great things?" Nathaniel picked up his last drink (someone needed to be responsible) motioning for a toast.

James grinned, raising his glass to meet Nate's. "To great things."
 
5,114
Posts
17
Years
  • Age 30
  • AU
  • Seen Feb 18, 2023

Atticus Forsberg, Frederick Salusbury, Imogen Green and Misha Vedernikov - Atlantean Unification Project Headquarters, Toulouse, France


1st November, 2012

Their trips were hardly eventful, perhaps a little scary. Especially with Misha, who loved to "show off" to Delta by pretending several times the helicopter had malfunctioned and they were spiralling to their doom. Imogen, Atticus and Frederick, however, were very polite to their guests and talked the small talk again, trying to keep the silence away. It was very hypnotic, the repetitive 'fwip, fwip, fwip" of the helicopter or the hum of the plane. So much so that with Atticus at the wheel, Frederick fell asleep for a bit and left the other two to awkwardly step through a conversation about Sweden (despite how much Atticus despised it).

They all arrived around the same time, early (like 3am early) on the 1st of November in the airport of the AUP HQ.

"Sorry boys," Imogen giggled when she told them the time and date. "You missed out on Halloween."

They all kind of met up together in the hanger, the official AUP members greeting eachother like old friends while the unofficial ones kind of stared at their feet and took in their surroundings. Their moment together was interrupted by a scattering feet of a nervous man in a lab coat approaching them, looking straight at Imogen.

"Ah!" she said, waving at the man. The other three ignored him. "Right, Brad? Remember how I said I could find a place with you within the AUP? Well, you'll be with this guy here. His name is Brendan, and because you're not Atlantean, there's just a few procedures he'll run you through. Don't worry," Imogen winked at Will when he looked like he was going to say something negative, "you'll see him at breakfast in the morning!"

With a nod, 'Brendan' led Brad away with a gentle smile on his face and a caring hand on his back, leading the way. When the two had disappeared behind a door, another one opened soon after, this time a man, probably in his thirties, an older man, probably in his late fifties, and a boy, probably about fifteen or sixteen, came towards the new arrivals. The thirty year old man especially had the biggest smile on his face, like he had just been handed the keys to a chocolate factory.

"Welcome, my friends!" he clapped his hands together and tilted his head, his smile still beaming. His accent was French, or French and English thrown together in a healthy dialect that wasn't difficult to understand. He was wearing a nicely fitted suit and his hair and facial hair (a goatee) was neatly groomed, like any business-suit-wearing man should. He had a slim but round face, with small blue eyes and brown-ish hair. He was shorter than the older man and standing on par with the teenager. By the way he introduced himself, he seemed like he was in charge. And he was. "I apologise about the lateness of our meeting but I thought that I may meet you first before you made yourselves at home here.

"I am Emilio Bernot, leader of the Atlantean Unification Project. You may call me Emilio or Emil if you like. This is my son, Devon," he gestured to the sulky looking teenager, with his hands in his jeans pockets, his hoody zipped all the way to the top and his mess of curly, dark hair. The boy had a small amoutd of facial hair, the kind that a sixteen year old has when he's been taught how to shave once and didn't really want to do it again. Devon obviously looked like he didn't want to be there at all, "and this is my advisor and second-in-command, John Cooper!" Cooper looked tired, but wiser than his years. He nodded politely, his hands stiff by his nicely pressed suit. He had a kind looking face, like someone else's grandfather, was bald and had white stubble visible, like he was close to needing to shave again. Cooper handed a walking stick to Frederick, who accepted it graciously.

"It's Evo," Devon mumbled under his breath, but was ignored by his father. His accent was far less French than his father's.

"You may call me Cooper," the older man said tiredly, his accent also British.

"I welcome you all to the AUP and I hope that we can all help eachother to reach our own goals. Like the others may have mentioned, our goal is to unify Atlanteans as a race, to erase any suffering done to our people and to avoid and counter any wars that may be in our future. Now, did you have a safe flight?"

"Yeah, it went pretty well," Atticus nodded, Freddie nodding double time at his side. "We had a little spat with the Royal Family but other than that, we got out ok. This is Agnes, by the way."

"Ve flew beautiful!" Misha boomed loudly, too loud for three in the morning. "Ve had good lunch and safe flight, da? Alzo, sis iz Delta."

"The plane was excellent. Our winged friend here is William," Imogen winked at Will.

"You got a plane?" Atticus frowned. "Why didn't we get a plane?"

"Do you know how to fly a plane?"

"... No."

"Then shut up, please."

"Stupid bit--"

"Now, now," Emilio interjected, his face frowning with disapproval. "Please get along. Now," he continued, occasionally shooting looks at Imogen and Atticus, "I would like to give you the grand tour of the facility, but I suppose you are all tired. In any case, I will let you know that while you are staying with us, you will have access to the majority of our facilities and we will assign you another AUP member to help and train you. But for tonight, one of these fine gentlemen of lady will escort you to your dorms, and I'll personally brief you and answer any of your questions tomorrow."

"Is Annie awake?" Atticus interrupted.

"Of course," Cooper sighed. "She's where she always is."

"Well, I'm sorry we had such a brief first encounter but I promise to make it up over breakfast. Have a good night," he said with a smile and took his cue to leave. "Come on, Devon."

"It's Evo," the boy repeated.

"Yes, yes."

The three made their way back to the door they came out of, leaving Imogen, Misha, Atticus and Freddie and the new recruits to talk amongst themselves.

"Well, shot not!" Imogen said with a cocky smile, striding over to the door Brendan the 'Scientist' had came from before. "Have a good night, William. I'll see you tomorrow!"

"Ugh, I hate her," Atticus muttered under his breath, though it was loud enough for everyone to hear.

"I think everybody does," Freddie pulled himself out of Atticus' grip and leant on the walking stick for support. Misha laughed.

"She is not very kind lady, but she is still lady. We should respect her," Misha boomed, his loud voice still echoing around the hanger. Thank god he had stayed quiet while Emilio was here.

"Yeah, no," Atticus made a face and turned to the new recruits. "Alright, let's go, kiddies."​
 

Swolligator

Butcher of the Sands
1,955
Posts
14
Years

November 1st, 2012

Justin Evans – En Route to Atlantean Royal Mansion, Boston, England


Justin and Charlie were discharged from the emergency medic station early on in the morning. He was relieved to see Charlie doing better than yesterday, but vowed to himself he would not let her get into that sort of situation again. Her parents soon met them after being discharged with a luggage bag full of clothes for Charlie to take with her. With goodbyes said and done, the two of them boarded a train at the nearby Kings Cross Station and headed northwards bound for Boston.

The train trip took several hours to make, Justin keeping the time by manipulating a piece of wood stored in his pocket from the exploding desk into many different shapes. He felt bad, taking Charlie away from her family like this, but her name had been called, and she needed training. He only hoped that she wouldn't find living at the Mansion too difficult; quite often the kids assimilated pretty well into the place, but everyone was different.

Once the train pulled into Boston, Justin escorted Charlie to a black BMW with tinted windows: the car Justin had rung ahead to get dropped off for them. Leo had scolded Justin for losing his vehicle in London, not that it was really his fault, but it would still cost several thousand pounds to replace it. Once on the road, Justin started telling Charlie about the mansion, most notably the amount of space they had that he liked to fill with trees.

They were the first to arrive, pulling up around the gravel driveway and into the underground garage. Justin took Charlie to her room first, letting her drop off her bags of clothes and personal belongings before guiding her downstairs and into the dining room where they were beginning to serve lunch. River was the next to arrive nearly an hour after they had, looking rather weary after having come all the way from Latvia.​


River Beleren – En Route to Atlantean Royal Mansion, Boston, England


River's conversation with the worried Minerva continued as the panicked Latvian bundled clothes and personal belongings into any bag she could take with her. River tried calming the woman, the police wouldn't know where to start, but she figured by her erratic thoughts that she was more concerned that she had killed someone than being caught. Once she had her bags packed though, they were quickly out the door and into the car. River was actually glad that she merely had to confirm that she would be happy to take her with. For the most of it though, River wanted Minerva to gain the control that she herself had, but she was also cautious of the safety of other students.

Luckily for the both of them, the flight to Heathrow and onto Boston was largely uneventful and neither of them had need to use their abilities. River however, had fun mentally running through the minds of the people crowded together on the plane without leaving a trace of her presence.

Pulling into the mansion outside of Boston, River ran Minerva through the same spiel she gave almost every new student she brought to the place; she would take them to the dining room where they would meet up with the other new recruits and promptly go on a tour around the mansion while River took her bags up to her room before heading to take care of some of her duties. Minerva seemed fine by this, but River decided to omit what would follow after, she didn't want to scare the girl before she could get there.

In the dining room, she found Justin and his new recruit eating lunch, with Justin promptly greeting Minerva before racing over to grab her some generic food for lunch. As she left with Minerva's bags in tow, she passed Katerina, smiling at Katerina's sour look and the frightened looking boy she had following her.​


Katerina Lukyanenko – En Route to Atlantean Royal Mansion, Boston, England


After Katerina had managed to convince Kim to leave the building for starters, she tried to get his home address out of him, however this was akin to drawing blood from a stone. It took a while, but soon they were on their way to Kim's house and while he went to pack a bag, Katerina began explaining everything to his parents in hope that they would happily allow him to travel to England to undergo training. To her surprise, they were more than happy that their introverted son had a reason to get out of the house. After even more deliberation, Kim grudgingly said good bye to his parents and joined Katerina in the car before speeding off to the airport.

It took then long enough to get from Stockholm to Boston, Katerina quite tired by the flight, but as soon as they pulled into the garage, she became more relaxed that she was finally home. Taking Kim up to the dining room, she saw that she wasn't the last to arrive, but still a little later than the others. Justin brought Kim a plate of food for lunch while Katerina took his bags up to his room; one he would find out about soon.

Once the bags had been dropped off, she walked back down, turning left to head towards their quarters. Collapsing onto her bed, she relaxed in the militarily tucked sheets before dozing off, happy she was finally back in her own bed.​


Antonia Costa – En Route to Atlantean Royal Mansion, Boston, England


It had been a long, tedious and arduous journey from the bustling streets of New York to the rolling hills and familiar grey skies of the English countryside. The flight that had taken them from JFK was by far the longest, and being stuck in an aircraft with hundreds of other people flying over the wide open ocean was not Antonia's idea of fun. It was no secret that she had somewhat of a fear of flying, but with Nix and Marilyn by her side, she felt a lot calmer. Marilyn even went to the point of exclaiming that, in the emergency situation of a crash, she would hold the plane in the air long enough for it to reach Heathrow. While Antonia knew this was leagues out of Marilyn's abilities, she appreciated the attempted to console her. Nix was his usual stone-faced self; the boy seldom saying anything unless it was of absolute important while Austin seemed somewhat taken aback by the sudden upheaval.

From Heathrow, they had taken a connecting flight to Birmingham; the closest bustling city to Boston. Exhausted from the international flight, the three only wished to be within the grounds of the Atlantean Mansion, while Antonia hazard a guess that Austin was probably excited by all the international travel and the prospect of learning to become a fully-fledged Atlantean. She had no doubt in her mind that he would enjoy the Atlantean Mansion with its outside swimming pool, recreation room and indoor basketball court. It felt just like being at boarding school and there were many students she couldn't wait to see again.

From Birmingham they took a plane that was even smaller, yet were somewhat refreshed by the hotel rooms they had booked while there. Jet-lagged and exhausted, Antonia usually would have freaked out at the sight of the tiny plane taking her through the air, but gripping onto Marilyn tight, she boarded the short flight to Boston that would take them even closer to home.

Once they had finally arrived in Boston, Antonia relished in close proximity they were to the mansion now. In the car park of the airport, sat Nix's deep blue 1995 Mazda Astina with a couple of tickets sitting beneath the windshield wipers; their final leg home. Antonia hopped into the back seat with Austin while Marilyn and Nix took the front and driver's seat respectively. As soon as the engine roared into gear, Marilyn hit play on the stereo as Daft Punk blasted out through the car. As their go-to guy, Nix was the one who knew how to drive, pilot and commandeer any type of vehicle with major sufficiency; something both Marilyn and Antonia would pull him up on with regards to his heritage.

"Well Austin, welcome to the Atlantean Royal Mansion," Marilyn tossed over her shoulder as the Mansion drew into view; a haven in the rolling countryside. Crunching along the gravel driveway, the three of them eagerly waved at other students relaxing on the lawns, fighting or studying. A couple of students who possessed some abilities that gave them flight raced around the spires of the Mansion while Antonia was sure many more were relaxing around back.

Nix pulled into the garage, taking the car down the deceptive ramp that should have been a flat garage into the large, underground room that house many vehicles belonging to various members of the house. Checking his phone, Nix relayed his message to the others, "Guys, Marilyn and I will check in with River upstairs, Antonia, you need to take Austin to the Dining Room."

"But we had McDonalds back in town, though."

"Everyone else is there. Justin wants you there too." Nix simply spoke.

"C'mon Austin," Antonia grabbed him by the hand, less hurriedly that she had when they were to escape the fake centre. Up the flight of stairs and past the front conservatory, she could hear a couple of voices from the dining room up ahead.

"Antonia, Austin, how nice of you two to join us," Justin Evans spoke looking a little worse for wear, "please take a seat."​


Justin Evans – Atlantean Royal Mansion, Boston, England


Once Austin and Antonia had seated themselves, Justin continued his small introduction of the mansion. "Welcome, for you all, we are all happy you have chosen to join us here at the mansion. The Atlantean Royal Family has been around since the Atlantean Golden Era many thousands of years ago, as the longest surviving lineage, we have always been around to help those who have come into possession of their Atlantean Heritage to gain control over their abilities. Currently, we have little under a hundred students here at the mansion, all of varying ages and backgrounds and all here studying to become Atlantean. I'll take you through a quick tour of the mansion before convening back here for questions. Now, if you would all follow me."

From the dining room, Justin showed the students a brief view of the classrooms where they would study similar subjects to those taught at schools before descending to the open area recreation room and indoor basketball court. Upstairs again, and Justin took them through the two upper floors of rooms, making sure to pass each of the new students' rooms with their nameplates on them. Each student had a room to themselves with the bathrooms at either end of the halls. Back downstairs, and Justin introduced the outside area with its fountain and foliage, Olympic sized pool and wide expansive field before re-convening in the dining room.

"So, any questions about anything? I bet you are all dying to relax from your trips and meet some new people." Justin smiled at the group; he would let them enjoy themselves now before he would take them to the Oracle this evening.​
 

Lt. Col. Fantastic

The Arianator
698
Posts
11
Years

Austin Tseng - En Route to the Atlantian Royal Mansion
November 1st, 2012


The flight from JFK airport went by quickly for Austin. Still a bit beaten up and weary from his earlier fight, he dozed off to sleep about half an hour into the flight, the last he remembered was hearing Marilyn try to calm Antonia, who apparently had a phobia of flight, by saying that she would suspend the plane from here to England. Austin didn't know if she could do that, as the idea seemed a bit ludicrous, but didn't have time to reflect upon it much as he was soon asleep. When he woke, he found himself in an unfamiliar English airport.

Heathrow, the name reminded him of Wuthering Heights' Heathcliff. From that airport, the party boarded another plane to somewhere called Birmingham. Austin wasn't exactly familiar with cities in the UK, so his initial reaction was a flight to Alabama, but he realized his mistake before he was foolish enough to comment on it. From Birmingham, a smaller plane to Boston, which again fooled Austin. Apparently many cities in America are named after English ones, which makes sense given the circumstances of the country's beginnings.

Outside of the Boston airport sat a '95 Mazda Astina, deep blue. It was alike many of the different colored rides decked out with 400 watt subs and neon green rims the bros at Austin's school drove. Austin and Antonia sat in the backseat with Nix driving and Marilyn riding shotgun. As soon as they got moving, Marilyn had Daft Punk cranking through the speakers. Austin didn't mind, daft punk was cool any day.

As they road, a huge mansion came into view over the rolling hills. It wasn't exactly Austin's first massive building, but it still took his breath away. This place was sweet.

"Well Austin, welcome to the Atlantean Royal Mansion," Marilyn tossed over her shoulder to Austin. Speechless, Austin just continued to stare at the building. Kids, teens, and some young adults walked and mingled about in front of the giant. A few lucky flying students raced in and out between the tall spirals of the mansion. It looked like some sort of movie seen, everyone going about their day with crazy superpowers. The three recruiters waved to their friends and acquaintances as the car rolled slowly over the gravel pathway.

Nix took them down into the garage, a huge underground parking lot full of cars of various colors, makes and models. Turning the Astina off and checking his phone, Nix said, "Guys, Marilyn and I will check in with River upstairs, Antonia, you need to take Austin to the Dining Room."

"But we had McDonalds back in town, though."

"Everyone else is there. Justin wants you there too." Nix reassured.

"C'mon Austin," Antonia said as she took Austin's hand again. She led him inside, up a flight of stairs and past a conservatory, into the dining room.

"Antonia, Austin, how nice of you two to join us," a man said as they entered. He seemed extremely weary, a little from recent struggles as well as a long term effect of being very important, very responsible and very busy.

He must be that Justin guy.

"Please take a seat," said the Justin guy. Austin and Antonia obliged, sitting next to each other. There were many others in the room, most looked like new recruits like Austin, and it became apparent that they were so when Justin spoke again, "Welcome, for you all, we are all happy you have chosen to join us here at the mansion. The Atlantean Royal Family has been around since the Atlantean Golden Era many thousands of years ago, as the longest surviving lineage, we have always been around to help those who have come into possession of their Atlantean Heritage to gain control over their abilities. Currently, we have little under a hundred students here at the mansion, all of varying ages and backgrounds and all here studying to become Atlantean. I'll take you through a quick tour of the mansion before convening back here for questions. Now, if you would all follow me."

Everyone stood up to follow Justin through the building. He led them to the various classrooms, which he explained to be used for teaching standard things like mathematics and history. He then took the group to the recreational room and basketball court. Austin was pleased to see a ball court, maybe he could impress Antonia with his moves later on. The tour took them upstairs again, to the dorm rooms that each student would be staying in. Austin saw his own room, with his name engraved on a hanging plaque type material. They then went downstairs and outside, where an Olympic sized pool was located, surrounded by greenery and lush fields. Maybe they could get a pick up game of soccer (or football as Austin would probably have to get used to saying) going. After that, Justin took the band back to the dining room.

"So, any questions about anything? I bet you are all dying to relax from your trips and meet some new people,"  said the party's guide once they were all settled back in the dining room. Austin himself didn't have any questions really, he was too excited to think about what was happening next. Although...

"I only have question," he said loud enough for only Antonia to hear, "When are you going to give me that kiss?" He smiled devilishly and returned the wink from yesterday.
 
Last edited:

Lokiepie

ooh...Cake!
316
Posts
11
Years
Charlotte (Charlie) Hunter – Atlantean Royal Mansion, Boston, England

Charlie's goodbye to her parents had been short and stone faced, which from the outside looked rather callus. Yet as they hugged briefly, a few fleeting farewells being exchanged, Charlie knew that their blank expressions were only a façade. An odd tactic often used by her parents to ensure that their daughter remained happy with her choice and though this was often effective, the illusion of detachment was broken in the final moments of departure when Charlie had turned to wave, only to see her mother's silver lined eyes.

The remainder of the journey north was then spent day dreaming and staring out the window, passing the time by musing over different fantastical images, all trying to predict what the academy would be like. At first it had been simple, starting with a school then a university followed by mansion and finally concluding with Hogwarts.

However, every now and then Charlie would break from her daydreams and flash furtive glances towards Justin, training her eyes on his facial expressions as to try and catch any signs of pain. The wound now concealed under his shirt, though hidden from the eye was probably still very much there and probably very much painful which bugged Charlie. She did not like the idea of her travelling companion being in pain and so as a result she had taken to these half hourly check-ups, just in case she needed to step in. Yet as more time passed and with little more than a flinch to go off Charlie began to relax. The young man seemed well enough, not showing any signs of paling from blood loss at least.

As the final train came to stop, Charlie found herself in Boston and herded into a familiar looking black BMW. With a smooth purring as the key was turned in the ignition , the car slid out of the station began their trip back towards Charlie's new home, the time passed quickly with Justin filling her in with details about the grounds and the species of trees he had used to populate them with. Yet regardless of these details, nothing could have prepared her for the real thing.

Pulling onto the gravelled drive, Charlie's lips formed a perfect 'O' as she leaned forward onto the dashboard to take in the building's grandeur. Her eyes widening ever so slightly as to soak in the rolling hills and wooded groves of the grounds, to the tall squared off mansion. Though admittedly a little part of her was let down by the lack of a lake and spiralling towers.

Her awe was quelled quickly however, as the car stopped and she was ushered out and into the house, the following events happening quickly. Justin had led her to the upper most floor of the mansion and shown to her room, marked by a small plaque with her name engraved into the mental. Here she dumped her belongings and was allowed a quick inspection of her room. It was small, but big enough to allow for the basics which Charlie was glad to see. Anything fancy and she would have been afraid to even go in the room for fear of breaking something.

Following that, Justin then showed her to the dining room, Charlie ceasing this opportunity to grab some food and rather large cup of coffee before their hour long wait began, only ending with the appearance of the other students, each in turn arriving two by two. The first was River and Minerva, a pretty blond girl. Charlie learning their names from a mixture of eaves dropping, polite smiles and a somewhat awkward wave on her part. The next to arrive was Katerina, following in her wake a rather anxious looking boy called Kim. Both of the women whom had lead their students in however, did not stay and left soon after their company had been seated.

The last to arrive were Antonia and Austin, Justin announcing their arrival with a cool, calm tone, though his facial expressions now showed his fatigue. Charlie nodded towards the pair in greeting, though she strongly doubted her small actions would have been noticed by any, as when she did this Justin began to speak, beginning an introductory speech and tour.

When at last Charlie found herself back in the dining room, Justin inquiring as to if there were any questions, Charlie simply shook her head and slid back down into one of the seats. She was tired and though she knew she should have been excited, she wasn't. A long swim in the swimming pool and then an early night was all that Charlie truly wanted. So withholding her tongue, she left her questions for whenever she could ask Jason directly without company. Her queries on how the academy actually trained its students and their powers could wait a little while longer.​
 

Swolligator

Butcher of the Sands
1,955
Posts
14
Years

To Hell We Ride – November 8th, 2012

Champ de Mars, Paris, France


1349104111.jpg


The cool Parisian air hung low around the peak of the Eiffel Tower as morning soon gave way to midday. Below, humans moved on unaware, like tiny little ants of the figure that now cast his arms out wide amidst the fog more than a thousand feet above the grass below. It was right now, in this moment that he felt most powerful, that he finally realised what he was striving for. It had been a momentous two weeks following the reveal of the Atlanteans within the general human populous and already the growing concern and anger between the two races slowly cemented. Religions preached against the god-like nature of the Atlanteans, cursing them as demons and devils here for Judgement Day. Corporations and business became weary as their clientele and even workers were ousted as Atlantean, even schools began the slow process of banning Atlantean children from attending. This was perfect, they were now lost amongst a sea of chance in which the world could swing either way.

And he was here to push it one way.

"With you it's never good enough,"

Far below him, a ruckus began to garner attention from the early morning passer-by's as an amateur band plugged in their amps to begin the soundtrack to his day. They were, of course, a part of his plan, as well as being Atlantean like himself. They were friends, idealists, people that firmly believed in the lies he spun their way in order to get them to follow like mindless sheep.

"Because you want the stuff,
that could change your future,"


He was here to change the future, mold it into the one woven before his eyes.

"And now the more you dance,
just gets you sinking deeper,"


Laughing a maniacal laugh, he cast his head up to the sky, calling out to the heavens above. From a single glint in his eye, he could see the first of his toys come crashing to the earth, responding to the unimaginable pull of his ability. Today would be the day that goes down in history, today would be the day the world realises just what kind of people the Atlanteans are. Today, it was their time to inherit the earth from the cancerous human population.

The first of the meteorites streaked past his left plank, pummelling into the ground a few feet from the Eiffel Tower, grinding up several citizens below. Screams of horror from below filled the air as sirens shrieked from around the city. Above them all, many more meteorites began to burn into existence as they tore through the outer layer of the earth's atmosphere. From on high, he could see a young, almost late teen girl standing under the shade of one of the trees that lined the paths. If she was here, then it only solidified his belief in the dawning day.

Justin Evans – Atlantean Royal Mansion, Boston, England


Justin was not the first to hear the screams echo from the Oracle's room, startling the students that were enjoying their period of free time before classes started for the day. A figure came sprinting towards him, long sleeves flapping wildly around his arms as he made a beeline for the crouching Justin.

"Sir," Kieran spoke through abated breath, "She had a vision… she spoke names… it's pretty big…"

Justin knew that any vision of the Oracle's was dire, she could see all that has been, all that is, all that will be and every other possibility under the sun. She spent much of her long life in a coma, but would speak at times to give them important information. If she screamed, this new vision that was coming into effect was most likely something big.

"Okay, Kieran, gather those who she spoke of, meet us on the Helipad, I'll get River."

***

Five minutes later, and Justin, now flanked with River, began addressing the recruits, some looking dishevelled as if they'd dressed themselves in a hurry, others worried about what was happening.

"I'm sorry your first mission will be like this, but this is important. You have all been seen by The Oracle as a part of the event that will take place soon if it hasn't already started. You've all been here a week, and have definitely got a better hold on your abilities, so now it's time to put that into practice. Austin, Minerva and Kim, you will all work under River as the offensive team, you will be the ones to face the threat front on. Charlotte, Kieran and I will be the supplementary team, helping those who we can to safety. Another of our teams which has already been despatched to France will meet us there." He ran them through the outline before hopping into the helicopter and gesturing the recruits to enter as well.

With everyone in, River fired up the controls, speaking over the headset, "Good luck guys, I have faith in all of you."

***

The chaos and destruction around chaos was nothing compared to the sight of meteorites falling through the sky and crashing into anything that lay below. River had years of piloting experience, but even she found it difficult to swerve and manoeuvre through the smoke that covered the sky line. The helicopter even rocked a couple of times as meteorites rocketed past the metal contraption. Suffice to say, they landed safely (as safe as you could get in a meteorite stricken Paris) on the outside of the Champ de Mars. They took no time in piling out of the helicopter, surveying the destruction and havoc around them.

"Team, with me!" River called at the three motioning forward as she moved herself further into the smoky battleground, heading towards the Eiffel Tower; the only part in the city which had hardly been affected.

"Keep an eye out for the others, in case they get hurt," Justin ordered, "send as many people as you can to the metro below ground, but don't get killed!"​

Daniel Cain – Syndicate HQ, Birmingham, England


"Alright… okay… I'll send them asap." The phone clicked as the other end hung up. It was still early in the morning, but the others should have been up by now, getting ready for another day of training. As per the Boss' request, he kept an eye out for Wyatt, taking particular attention at the boy's progression towards amplifying his ability. He was still confused at why such a low ranking Atlantean could be of use to the boss, but already the kid was proving his worth in combat situations with his bow, slowly adapting his multivisional ability to better suit fighting with a bow.

The elevator soon opened up to the living quarters of the younger Atlanteans. Fletcher brought his legs up closer to his body as he sat on the couch, his blue 'halo' hovering just over his body as flares of blue struck into existence every now and again as cartoons flickered across the television screen. He always ignored Daniel when he entered the room, mainly because his child's mind understood that the others were the ones he was after. October was flirting with the others whilst still hanging onto one of Adrian's many arms while he shovelled protein rich food into his mouth. Jeremy bounced back and forth, chatting like a child with Fletcher whilst conversing with the older kids at the table on whatever issues they had while Wyatt sat uncomfortably beside October.

"October, Adrian, Jeremy, Wyatt, follow me," he addressed the older children; Jeremy paused at the table, "Fletcher, get ready for training and head down to the lab. Doctor Meier will work your training with you."

Several floors down, and the five of them emerged from the elevator into a hallway full of conference rooms, none in use at this time of day, leaving Fletcher alone to travel down to the research centre. Picking the first on their left, and motioning for the four of them to sit, Daniel began the rundown.

"My source has confirmed that the Atlantean Royal Family is moving towards Paris, France. Apparently there is something big going down, and we need to make an appearance. Jeremy will teleport the three of you just south of the Champ de Mars, from there you'll find what's causing the ruckus, minimalize it, and bring any survivors back. If casualties occur, so be it. Try to keep out of the way of the AUP or ARF, we don't want to be drawn into their feud. Now go."

"Hold on tight," Jeremy warned to the others, appearing in the middle of the table and grasping the others hands. In a small 'pop', he was gone, leaving the Directive by himself in an empty conference room. Finally, everything was coming together, all the big players in this game were going to be in Paris, and everything was going to come from the decisions they made.

"You know it's not enough."

Paris_destroyed.jpg
 
Last edited:
Back
Top