Reality
Name: Lyle Dunne Murphy
Date: 9/18/10
Location: Central Park
Time: 9:45 AM-10AM
"Man, that class sucked. Why did I sign up for that one again?" Lyle's speech was muffled due to the half done cigarette in his mouth. Not that he cared, he was too busy complaining. On any normal day, Lyle would be too lazy to walk home and would take the subway a few blocks north, to the stop near his home on Park Avenue (for those of you unfamiliar with New York, Park avenue is two streets away from Central Park in one of the rick neighborhoods. Neil, being the shrewd he is, got his apartment for cheap ;)) However, the fresh air felt great entering Lyle's lungs, so in the spur of the moment, he decided to take his chances. Despite his poor sense of direction, Lyle had lived in the area long enough to at least know the most direct way home. Navigating through the crowds and avoid rebellious cars was the true challenge in surviving New York, but Lyle knew he always cheat and cause a loose rock or brick to fall and make people disperse. Evil? Maybe. Fun? Definitely. He held himself back though. The crowds were moving well and traffic wasn't as bad as it could have been. As he approached his apartment, Lyle decided to take a little detour and head to Central Park. He had one cigarette left and figured he may as well finish it before heading home. Neil hated when Lyle smoked anyway.
Central Park: New York's largest hub of wildlife. Beautiful trees, small ponds and the occasional hippie. Parking himself on a bench, Lyle lit his final cigarette and closed his eyes for a moment. The light breeze blew threw his long hair. It was truly relaxing. The sounds of nature began to engulf him. The various birds chirped, the various rodents squeaked, the various pets barked, the people screamed. Wait…that's not normal. Lyle forced himself awake. What's going on?, he thought to himself. Screaming isn't that normal, at least in this neighborhood. Lyle rose from the comfort of the bench and took a tour into the depths of Central park. Clearly whatever was occurring in the central of the park was out of the ordinary. Waves of people flooded the walkways, retreating from…something. It had to be something truly terrifying if this large of panic. Walking in the opposite direction, Lyle had to weave through the crowds. He was doing that a lot lately. First the market, now this. But this time, he wasn't missing the fun. It was caught in the heart of it. In the centermost region, he saw a sight he'd never imagine.
A young man, probably a high school or college student, was on fire. Not the kind of fire you would expect in that he was physically on fire and dying. No, this man was the fire. It was jetting out from his physical being. Lyle was a relative safe distance away, but the flames were causing the surrounding areas to be set aflame. This posed a large problem. If Central Park were to catch on fire completely, many people could be hurt and send the city into a large state of chaos than it already was. Rashful thinking took over. In the long fun, Lyle was likely to regret his decision. However, he didn't want anyone getting hurt or any of the worst case scenarios that played out in his head to actually occur. Lyle focused his attention on the ground and began to cause minor quakes to occur. The ground shifted and the surrounding areas began to move. Then around the young man and Lyle, 9 foot stone walls that were a few inches thick came from the ground. A small arena was created, housing two fighters.
"This will at least prevent you and your little fire show from causing any more trouble," Lyle smirked, wiping the minor nosebleed that followed the strenuous use of powers. He was rusty, having been docile for some time.
'What the---" the boy said. "What's going on?! What are you?!" He was clearly in shock and out of control.
"Calm down, kid. I am like you. I just control the earth instead of fire."
"How can I be calm? Can't you see what I am doing? Can't you see what I have become?"
"I was like you once, but I learned to control it. Now, just stop burning this world to a crisp and let me help you."
"Control? What does controlling this...manifestation do? You think you and I can be accepted? We're freaks! Outcasts! Monsters!" The boy's words stung with the truth. Lyle knew the boy was right, at least for the most part. He knew it was hard to adjust to the fact you were so greatly different from everyone else.
"But…maybe there is a chance to start over. Be normal. I've been trying and its worked out fine so far."
"You don't get it do you?! Those guys in the government will try to capture us, discover what makes us what we are and try to create more of us. Create an army of freaks like you and me to take over the world! We can never be accepted! We can never be normal!" In that instant, the boy directed the flames at Lyle. A torrent of fire came crashing down on Lyle, but a last minute effort to create a small rock wall to block the surge of flames proved to be enough, save a few burns on Lyle's arms. It was obvious that the only way Lyle could help the kid was to knock him down a few pegs and take it from there. Taking the stone shield he created, Lyle telekinetically lifted it and charged the boy. Once he felt the impact of the charge, Lyle launched the rock and the boy into one of the surrounding rock walls.
"That should calm you do-….what?" The rock began to rumble and an explosion followed. It was clear the flame powered man, had used to his powers in a more defensive manner and minimized the impact. Angrier than before, the boy prepared a series of fireballs and began to pitch them one another after another at Lyle. Lyle, however, was more than ready. Molding another stone shield, Lyle started to sprint towards the boy, blocking each pitch with little problem. Closing in, he transformed the shield into stone boxing gloves and delivered a series of punches ending in a a thunderous right hook in the face, knocking the boy to the ground hard. Thank god for those boxing lessons, he thought. "Now kid, how about you calm down now before I have to knock you out?" Lyle paused and slowly made his way to the boy. "Even though we may be nothing more than beasts, don't we have the right to live? Let's work together and help this world accept us."
The boy mustered enough strength to stand and uttered a few choice words: "You can't help me. You are no better than I am. We are freaks. We don't belong here. The only we can do to help this world is to die!" The fragile mind of the boy crumbled further and he began tossing more fireballs in random directions. Flames began to incircle them both. The stone walls that Lyle created in an attempt to control the flames were slowly being destroyed. A cave in was all but guaranteed.
"Kid, you gotta stop! You'll kill us both!" The boy's grip on reality was no more. It was apparent than the boy settled on burning them both to a crisp. Lyle was in a panic. He had lost control of the situation long ago and he didn't know how to get it back. I don't wanna die. I don't wanna die. I can't die! Hell, I didn't even turn thirty!
With a cry, Lyle unleashed his powers.
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Ruins
Name: Neil Patrick Murphy
Location: A bar in New York City
Time: 10:15AM
"Here's the file you wanted. It's mostly incomplete. Barely any witnesses. Or at the very least, most of them aren't conscious."
"Thanks John. Where did this take place again?"
"Milestiare. It's near Washington D.C. From what my friends down there gathered, the local school was nearly destroyed. Like "poof". Caved in or something. No one could explain what occurred. But once I heard, I figured it is up your alley. You like supernatural stuff after all," continued John.
Neil shuffled through the file and found little information that proved to be useful. It was more than likely that Neil would have to travel down and investigate himself, possibly interviewing any survivors. That would assume they were any left to begin with. If a super was responsible for this, he or she would likely be alive. I highly suspect the culprit would be a student. I doubt any evil super would target a small high school. They would go for a larger target. "Hey John, this happened-"
"Hold on Neil. Look at the TV."
-This urgent message goes out to all those people in the east coast of America, specifically those living in New York City and the surrounding areas.
If you happen to witness anything out of the ordinary around this area, evacuate from the scene immediately. Do not approach. Do not make contact. Do not do anything else except to get away from the disturbance.
We are sorry for this interruption and now conclude this special broadcast. You may now return to your television and radio programs.-
"What's that about? Terrorists? That's the last thing New York needs," John commented. It was the expected response for anyone normal. Neil wasn't normal. He would likely be considered crazy for his theory, but considering he can change his appearance and his brother can make rock sculptures with his mind, Neil has more than enough reason to be crazy.
"Could be," Neil responded, obviously trying to sound like a normal concerned citizen. Truthfully, Neil suspected it was a super and the government wanted to cover up. All the more reason for Neil to travel down to Milestiare and find out the truth. It was the best place to start. Neil rose to his feet. "Thanks for the scoop, John. I'll see you later. I got a flight to book."
"No problem, Neil. Take it easy," John waved before calling over the barkeep for another beer. Alcoholic.
As Neil left the bar the ground beneath shook. It may have been sudden and brief, but jarring and shocking to say the least. Neil rushed back into the bar. Surely the news must have had something on it, even if it only happened a few seconds ago. "John! You alright?!"
"Yeah, I'm fine," the drunken man howled from the floor, picking himself up with the stool's assistance.
"Hey guys. The news got something," the barkeep pointed at the small TV hanging from the ceiling.
-While we cannot explain the recent earthquake, our local traffic helicopter has picked up these disturbing images from Central Park. As you can see here, there appears to a strange rock formation and rubble at the heart of our city's legendary park. While we cannot confirm the cause or reason for this, the NYPD and NYFD are currently evacuating all local residents from the immediate vicinity and will began investigations shortly. Stay tuned for more updates.-
"Lyle," he mumbled. Neil did not hesitate and immediately left the vicinity and blended in with the crowds of panic. Luckily for him, the bar he chose to go to was fairly close which would explain the tremor being actually felt. Likely, Lyle unleashed a minor earthquake with Central Park being the focal point. The following tremors were side effects that would cause minor, if any damage. Cautiously, he approached Central Park and saw little more than a dust cloud where the park used to be. Knowing entering the area would be nigh impossible, Neil used his power to assume the identity of a Police officer and took his fortunates into the borders of Central park.
