Thriller The Reckoning

Laura Changte
House of the Talbott's, D.C.

Laura nodded at Chaz report and looked around. "Get into the chopper the moment it lands!" She yelled over to Anna and Kawin. Then she looked at Chaz. Nodding she gave the two dead bodies a last look.

"Explain the police the situation and take the car back. I got this one. Make sure your old colleagues work fast. I need to know what is going on here!" She yelled her words over the chopper sounds and then turned to enter the chopper last.

Tag: @HanSolo29, @Mitth_Fisto, @RachelTyrell

 

IC: Kawin Muthurangu
Talbot's House, Get to the Chopper!

Letting the actual 'specialist' Laura handle things at the moment left him somewhat as a sidecar in the situation. Taking the offered arm of the young woman he was here to help, and letting her act somewhat as his impromptu crutch as he hobble stepped it to the chopper.

If not for the dead bodies no one would of realized that this was a frenzied retreat, not at the pace he was able to muster even with Miss Talbots arm helping him along. Although at the pace she wanted to go he felt slightly dragged in the helping hand department. He had wanted to say something to calm her down, help her relax, but with the furious noise that that beast of a helicopter was putting out he could hardly hear his own thoughts.

Once there he smiled and nodded as the young woman tossed her bag aboard, jumped up ahead of him and then reached back to help him. Nodding he simply passed her his cane as he did a well practiced maneuver. Letting her pull on the cane to feel helpful he got one good hand on the floor of the chopper and did one hand stand, spin and sit. Letting go of the cane he scooted himself back until he had a good spot to get grip on a seat, reaching out he retook his cane and planted it on the opposite side to aid in hefting him up and leverage a push into the seat. Where he then was able to sort out his legs.

Reaching up he grabbed a headset and motioned for the girl to do the same as Laura came aboard. "Much better." he simply smiled and sighed for a contented moment before trying to get his seat restraints on. "It's a four clip buckle, see how I do? One, two, three, and click four. Cinch straps. There we go, now your turn."

TAG: @RachelTyrell , @SirakRomar , @HanSolo29

 

Matt Andrews
Office in the The White House, Washington D.C. and beyond ...

Matt did not show any satisfaction when Gates was asked out, but he felt quite a bit satisfied. The President wasn't the strongest man, but he had just shown he also was not a complete fool.

He sat down on the couch he had sat on so often and sighed. He waited for Professor Cale and the President to do the same and then began to talk.

"Sebastian Stein is an idealist. Which means he will do whatever he considers right. Actually he is a man with high moral standards and political education. He is also one of the worlds most famous street artists. But we wouldn't be sitting here if that was all. I became aware of him, when he appeared in this office. I never saw him, neither did any Secret Service guard, camera or staff. He stopped time, walked in here and talked to the President. He can do that. Stop time. He seems also to have the ability to teleport and he was killed at least once and appeared in Alaska half an hour later. He is intelligent, highly intelligent actually and has the ability to plan and execute complex schemes. He is probably ... no ... he is the most dangerous person alive. And he has also killed before. Only when considering it necessary, but he has executed the Gifted codenamed Gamma. Also because of his abilities conventional security is absolutely ineffective against him. I mean ..." Matt sighed. "When he considered Kurt Roland a threat he told him to back off or he would ... I quote him here as good as I can ... blow up all nuclear reactors on the eastern seaboard in alphabetic order. He could do that in a second. Freeze us and do whatever he wants without us ever having the ability to react to it." Matt folded his hands. "He got one weakness though. Other Gifted are immune to his powers. Also he is a man of flesh and blood and can be killed by normal means." He shrugged. "Yet, he returns from the dead eventually."

Matt leaned forward. "I will be absolute honest with you. A bomb is actually not his style. He could do whatever he wanted to do to this building in Berlin without us being able to stop him. If there is the slightest, tiniest chance though he has turned against us, I'd say it is necessary that TARC get's involved with your personal security. You need Gifted bodyguards or you won't have a chance. That is what we have created TARC for, right? To have the ability to react to threats of the Gifted." He leaned back. "I do not care about my political career that much and hell, I don't want your job for sure. But I have spend my last years to prepare us for this scenario. If it is LEGO or another Gifted, Secret Service might not be up to the job this time."

He had said enough. He had thanked the President for his trust by telling him the absolute truth. Now it was up to the most powerful man in the world how to deal with the situation, he was probably only number two on the list.

Tag: @HanSolo29

 

Laura Changte
Leaving House of the Talbott's

Laura nodded at Chaz report which was hard to get over the sound of the helicopter and looked around. "Get into the chopper!" She yelled over to Anna and Kawin. They probably did not her, but climbed in anyway. Then she looked at Chaz. Nodding she gave the two dead bodies a last look.

"Explain the police the situation and take the car back. I got this one. Make sure your old colleagues work fast. I need to know what is going on here!" She yelled her words over the chopper sounds and then turned to enter the chopper last. "I got this one." She said, but not loud enough to be heard over the sound of the rotors whirling. Ducking she signaled Chaz to proceed and climbed the chopper last. She padded the pilots shoulder to signal they were good to go and fastened her belt. Finally she took her headphones on and put them to mute. She left talking to Kawin now.

The adrenaline slowly went out of her system and she began to feel the bitter and hollow feel of having taken a life.

They had a car. They had watched. Why? If they were after Anna, why watch? Were they probably not there to kill her, but to recruit her? Had they tried to abduct her when they realized they had rivals?

Laura felt almost ashamed what she was about to do to Anna. The Gifted were not soldiers. No. But to the overloads of TARC they were assets. Tools. She knew a bit how close Matt Andrews had been involved in the Antville affair. He had seen their worst side. Why had he put all his political weight into having his own group of Gifted? It was an easy enough to answer question. He prepared for a war. And ordinary soldiers would not do. Anna was a nice girl with a nice life. Laura hoped she would never realize they took it away from her, knowing she would never have it back.

Tag: @HanSolo29, @Mitth_Fisto, @RachelTyrell

 

IC: Jane
Underground facility, Black Rock Desert, Nevada

As she entered she did not remove hat or cover as her Uncle would have called it. It was generally the practice that military personnel removed any head covering when they entered a building. Despite her outward appearance Jane was no soldier, sailor or marine. She did remove her sunglasses once she was out the sun blasted desert, letting her eyes adjust to the darkened interior. Hooking the glasses around the back of her neck she followed Malcolm deeper and deeper into the darkness lit only by the weak lights along the bottom of the wall. The stale air weighed heavier and heavier on her as the path slanted downward. Her boots thudding against the bare stone floor tapped out a steady rhythm. The sound echoed all around her making the walls feel uncomfortably close.

Soon it opened up into a wider room lit with harsh fluorescent lights causing her to close her eyes tight waiting for them to adjust again to a change in the light. When they finally did she took in the scene before her. Bare stone walls carved out of the mountain, exposed pipes running this way and that, fluorescent lights hanging from the roof of the man made cavern. It looked like a military installation all right. Just what a person needs to get around and see...and that is about it.

"We have some business to take care of first, but you’ll have time to clean yourself up," Malcolm said turning to her after remaining silent. "It’s not the Ritz, but we have all the amenities." That was the second time he'd told her that. Was he trying to assure her or just bragging? He should know from the confrontation in the desert that she wasn't some delicate flower. "If you’re lucky, maybe you’ll even have hot water in the showers...that tends to be hit or miss. But in the middle of the desert, sometimes that’s a Godsend."

"Hot water at all is a luxury," she said following along behind Malcolm. They entered another hallway this one with dimmer lighting, a little less harsh on the eyes. It was a quiet as a tomb, and as empty as one. There were doors either side but, no sounds came from them. It was clear from the layout that this was some sort of barracks, even if her guide didn't say anything about it.

The pair came to a door close to the end of the hall. With a casual push the door opened.

"This is it," Malcolm started. "Get yourself situated, stow your gear, wash up...whatever you need. Just be sure you’re ready to go in 10 minutes." He quieted a moment and grinned that off putting grin. "The guys in the Ward don't like to be kept waiting."

"I'll be quick." she said entering the space as he backed off slumping against the near wall.

"I’ll wait out here."

She rolled her eyes a little once she was out of sight. Yes she felt so comforted by his presence right outside her door. He wasn't as shall we say forward as Davis but, something about him was just not right. Though who was she to judge, she killed people and destabilized countries for a living.

Inside the space was spartan, a simple bed in the corner, a footlocker at the foot of the bed, a metal cabinet for hanging clothes, and a door connecting to a small simple bathroom. She closed the door with a boot and dropped her duffle bag on the floor. The space was efficient just enough to move around in but, not so much that you felt comfortable. Unzipping the bag she pulled out her M4, and the stolen weapon from Davis. She cleared and safed the weapon before storing it under her bed. The M4 she stored in the 'wardrobe' that might have once held a soldiers Class Bs or Class As for the times when a dress uniform was required underneath a mountain.

She had no fancy clothes to wear, never really came up in her line of work. She was a mercenary, not a spy, had no reason to go to glittering galas, or embassy openings. Her meetings took place in dark alleys, abandoned warehouses, or decommissioned military facilities. What once held a freshly pressed uniform, now only contained her weapon and bullets.

Her clothes she stuffed into the footlocker wondering if these amenities included a clothes washer. Not that she was above wearing her clothes twice or more. She was use to making do with what she had, though she couldn't deny some simple comforts every now and again.

Taking up a change of clothes she moved to the cramped bathroom, again with necessities and nothing else, mirror, sink, toilet, and shower. As she took off her shirt she caught sight of her back. The field of scars gained over years of fighting someone else's fights. Her eye was drawn to one that ran down the center of her back, right between the shoulder blades. It could have been worse but, the slightly jagged nature of the mark showed some back alley doctoring. Well in this case it was more like front seat of her uncles mustang doctoring.

She could still recall that night three years ago, when she learned she had powers, when she faced down a murder that could teleport from place to place, the night she left a man that had done nothing wrong paralyzed on the floor of a low rent hotel.

She shook her head putting the past where it belonged, behind her. In the shower the water was at best lukewarm, looked like this was a miss on the hot water. It was cooling and slightly refreshing it.However she didn't linger quickly cleaning up, washing all the sand, dust, sweat, and Davis off her. She poked at another scar on her right shoulder, a parting gift from Simmons as she put him down. Anger still burned in her, and shame, she wasn't fast enough, she could have saved him.

The water turned ice cold snapping her out of her reminiscing. Taking it as a sign she jumped out and quickly got dressed, in the exact same thing she'd wore when she came in. Tan shirt, military desert camo pants and a baseball cap. She took her holstered glock off the sink and attached it to her belt. While she was here she wasn't going to let this weapon out of her reach.

She walked out hair still noticeably damp, her room smelling slightly of soap. She didn't use scented products, too much of a risk that they could give away her position.

"And now, my dear, are ready to witness the evolution of mankind?" She opened her mouth to respond, to tell him that she wasn't here for his New World Order but, he cut her off. "Your talents were the dawn of something truly special, Jane...the future begins right here."

She lowered her brow nodding her head. She didn't buy into his creating the future, she was just here for a paycheck and maybe a little destabilizing of the most powerful democracy in the world. Though it seemed that it was capable of doing that itself. However she held back. Shutting him down now would be a little foolish.

"Well, we'll see if it is a bright, profitable future." She said walking alongside him, making her goals clear but, not completely denying his vision of the path ahead. He had to know that hiring her. She was only in this for the money or the chance at profit.

If he didn't he was more idealistic that she gave him credit for.

TAG: @HanSolo29

 

Laura Changte
TARC

Laura was the first to jump out of the helicopter and ducked to avoid the rotors as she made her way to Paul. She waited for him to make his greetings and then followed him away from platform. There had been more attacks. She inhaled sharply when he revealed this. So Anna wasn't the target, she was. "Do we have any idea who is behind it? The two who were after us were pros. Nothing fancy, but trained well. Chaz is working on identifying them and I want Maria on it." Following Paul she sighed. "Anna is a pretty innocent girl. Not sure if she is the right material for the rough stuff. Her powers haven't manifested yet." Laura had lowered her voice so neither Kawin nor Anna could hear her.

Tag: @HanSolo29, @Mitth_Fisto, @RachelTyrell

 

Maria Liang
Battlefront D.C.

Maria knew explosions and what they did to you from countless videos. It was a whole different thing to experience it. She never felt the shockwave, but only the impact on the pavement and how her body ached as a wave of pain went through it. She managed to hold on to her gun and was proud of that, her hearing vanished in a single long beeeeeeeep that robbed her of any audio perception.

She turned and saw the attacker. Like a demon he stepped out of the smoke and fire. Unharmed, unshocked, ready to finish his job. It was now about speed. She knew this. Rolling towards cover she held her arms straight and fired two double tabs into his direction. Maybe she hit him, maybe she missed and forced him to take cover. Anyway, she would buy herself hopefully another two or three seconds ... that was a lot in these kind of situations.

Tag: @HanSolo29

 

Deklan Casey
Skid Row - Los Angeles, California

Journal entry by Deklan Casey
I don’t know how long I was trapped, paralyzed somewhere in a past I longed to forget. That’s the thing though; I’ve heard it once said that nothing embeds something in the memory so deeply as the desire to forget it. I can’t remember for the life of me what eloquent genius came up with that one; all I know is I have never heard a statement so painfully true.

The air was hot; still. I could taste blood in my mouth and I was pretty sure I had bitten my tongue when I went down. My hearing felt off and everything was fuzzy and surreal as I came back to my senses. I could hear Static barking and I knew she was close; probably barking at the guy I had jumped. Her bark sounded like it was underwater. Muffled. I could see the guy standing over me and I remember thinking, “Don’t you dare hurt my dog.” He looked like one of those possessed sickos you see in a thriller. It takes a lot to unsettle me, but he definitely creeped me the hell out.

He looked funny; like really spooked. And I’m thinking, “You’re spooked? You rabid nut job! You scared a whole block of homeless people and now you’re the one looking like you’ve seen a ghost?” I couldn’t say it though. For some reason, my mind was not connecting with the rest of me to cause me to convert my thoughts into words. I watched the guy suddenly drop like a sack of manure on the pavement. I knew without touching him that he was dead. War will sharpen that eye for detail whether you want it to or not.

I heard Bill approach and he looked scared as hell. Can’t say I blame him after being chased by a flipping lunatic for no reason at all. But then I realized he was no longer afraid of the guy who was now lying dead within arm’s reach beside me. He was afraid of me. I heard myself ask him what was wrong, but it sounded like someone else had said it. I felt myself reach up and touch my face, but my hands were numb, so it felt like someone else’s hands were touching me. I found myself thinking the same question Bill had asked: What the hell happened?

Tag: @HanSolo29

 

Anna Talbott
TARC central

Anna was too nervous and distracted to enjoy the ride. Actually it was a relief when they finally touched down at the almost too classical Government building. She had no idea where she was, but the presence of the building alone gave her a feel of security.

She took her bag and jumped out of the helicopter after Laura. A pretty handsome man was there, greeting her. He referred to her as the package and she wondered if she should feel offended.

“It’s...Anna, right?” he asked, his face screwing up slightly as he tried to recall her name. He shook it off and slowly extended his hand. Anna shook it with a friendly smile. “Welcome to TARC, Anna. I’m Paul...I guess you could say I’m in charge. I know this must all be strange to you, but I promise it’ll get easier.” Strange? Strange was a too soft word for this. Paul nodded to Kawin. “I see you already found a friend in Kawin. Stick with him, listen to what he says...he’s a good guy. He won’t steer you wrong.”

"Thank you." Anna only replied. She was to afraid to say something stupid.

She was to respectful she knew that. Then another man joined them and talked to Kawin. Kawin was obviously important. Anna again was too busy to looking around. She barely recognized the man's smile and answered it with her own smile. Short and polite. Guys. They were probably the same everywhere. One thing she was pretty sure would never change was guys liking her for all the wrong reasons. Silently she followed the others and did not intervene with any of their talking. She felt like an outsider, also she realized she was probably entering her new home.

Tag: @SirakRomar, @Mitth_Fisto, @HanSolo29

 

IC: Kawin Muthurangu
Leaving the Chopper, Arriving at TARC central

The flight had been a rather silent affair as he watched the young woman deal with the situation. Perhaps it was the new generational thing, but as a kid there had been no end to the wonderment of flying and getting to actually do so now in a chopper was the best thing to make him forget about his pain and situation. For the Talbot girl it looked like it was closer to the most likely way to induce sickness. Well, that or seeing a couple dead bodies and having her life upended were too much for her.

Personally he wished he had flown instead of taking that miserable bus, it would of been so much more enjoyable. He felt he would of still enjoyed it all things considered.

Getting out he hobble stepped it as the boss came up and did his routine. Paul was a. . .well he was a bittersweet memory and relationship. Nodding to the man he voiced his thanks for the warm words of praise, "Thank you sir." It was kind of an odd echo between his words and the girls, funny how some things had the same answer and same timing to give it in. He almost wanted to say Jinx, but this was not the place, nor the time. . .not yet again anyway. The man had been one of the second on the scene as he had been abandoned on the floor of the hotel, arriving just as he was being loaded into the back of an ambulance. If ever there was a time to talk with HR about timing that would be it. Still it had been good and if not for Paul he wouldn't be standing here today.

. . .Speaking of which, what was Dr. Dunning doing here? The gentlemen had kept his tongue and place, seeming to stand like a waiting for visage for Kawain to catch up to them before talking to him and in turn the young woman. He really should use those extra crutches more often. "Yes, not too bad." he simply winced slightly at the question of pain. It was never a question of if he was in pain, only ever was it manageable. If he hadn't killed the man that had done this to him he was not sure what he would do to cope. Probably not the healthy answer, but there it was. "Some excitement but nothing too bad. Only died once today and that was on purpose." he stated with a wink as he leaned heavily on his cane. Had to be careful or they would order more walking death visits, aka physical therapy than he already was doing. Those people were sadists, he was pretty sure it was in their job description.

Looking over at the young girl he noted that she was gawking a little and he had to be sorry for her, his talk about his health with the doctor was like diving off the deep end of a crazy train. "Miss Talbot here is new, and hasn't sparked her first power use yet. Once she gets a little settled might you have some time Doctor?" Might as well reel it in and let the poor girl have some idea what was coming.

TAG: @HanSolo29 , @RachelTyrell , @SirakRomar

 

Matt Andrews
Office in the The White House, Washington D.C. and beyond ...

Matt smiled as the President misspelled the name. "Kawin. Yes, of course. He was TARC's first recruit. He resets time when killed. Something very useful probably. Also he knows LEGO. They actually met. He is not very mobile, but also one of the few Gifted who ever was involved with another Gifted. Indeed he would be a good choice." Matt nodded. "Especially if we face an unknown Gifted. As much as Prof. Cale tries to convince you Sebastian is the problem ..." Matt gave Cale a sidelook hinting he had recognized the pattern by now. "... we should work under the premise we face someone new. Which presents the problem we do not know his or hers abilities. Kawin is our recruiter, he has more experience in identifying Gifted than anybody else." Matt nodded.

"Also absolute secrecy is essential. Our advantage is a whole system to provide false information and leads, while any Gifted is limited in his access to information." Ayshe. He had to think of her. The only thing they could do was pray no Gifted would ever gain her power.

"I arrange accordingly to have him transferred to your security detail for the trip." This had certainly not gone the way expected. Maybe everybody including Matt and Gates underestimated the President.

"I also believe we should try to regain some initiative. I want to send Maria Liang to Europe to look into the assault there. She is experienced in the hunt of Gifted. Actually she killed LEGO in New York. Also he reappeared later in Alaska." He sighed. "If the Europeans try to keep us out, we should make this a black ops." He sighed. "It is much easier to act against the Gifted in the offense and not the defense."

Tag: @HanSolo29, @Mitth_Fisto (referenced)

 

IC: Mira Morton-Kai
Black Star nightclub, Las Vegas

Mira had begun to shake, little tremors raking her hand as she lifted it back to her mouth for another extended drag of her cigarette. This wasn’t born solely of fear, but a combination of that and her body desperately craving something to mask it. Regardless, she continued to glare at the man, having watched him snatch the can cleanly from the air before taking a single sip of the energy drink and discarding the rest.

***hole, she fumed to herself, the fingers of her other hand still resting upon the hilt of her gun. She glanced down once to where the weapon was hiding out of sight, knowing she was being completely obvious, but so what? This creeper needed to be aware that she was prepared to defend herself. Of course, what he didn’t need to know was that she had only ever shot the damn thing twice and wasn’t entirely sure how to load it…

"Have a fantastic day," came his parting words as he finally made for the door, his increasingly infuriating brashness causing Mira to stamp out her cigarette with enough force that the cheap ashtray she was using tipped on one edge and spilled its contents upon the freshly cleaned bar top. The severely addled teen was wound so tight in that moment that she opened her mouth to scream - one of those ridiculous tantrum screams that spoiled little brats used when they didn’t get their way. She had lost her cool at last, but the man spun back around and cut her off.

"Tell your Boss in there the Man from Black Rock was here and we need to talk." Her mouth clamped shut and she remained silent, an instinctual reaction to anyone who made it known they were ‘associates’ of Damian’s. So, she had been wrong about the stranger’s purpose here and outwardly cringed at what would happen if her husband knew of her behavior. He would… disapprove.

Swallowing, her throat suddenly dry, the man shot her a grin before continuing. "See you tonight, little Lady." Then he simply turned and left.

“**** **** ****!” Mira swore wildly as she threw her bag over her shoulder the instant he disappeared and made a beeline for the door. Just as it swung shut, she latched and locked it securely, almost as if she were worried he would come traipsing back through to demand another random beverage. Once she was sure no more intrusions would take place, she took a breath and leaned against the cold steel, only then noticing her skin had become clammy and warm. She felt queasy, but the coolness was a brief relief.

“Turn off. The damn. Sign,” she absently told Rhonda while she pressed her cheek to the cool surface, her coworker throwing up her hands and offering a barely coherent ‘goodnight’ before leaving through the kitchen. Slowly, reluctantly, turning to face the club, Mira’s green eyes swept over the space and she was somewhat satisfied, mostly uncaring, with what she saw. In truth, she just wanted to leave before Damian concluded whatever the hell he had been working on the past several hours. And then the man, claiming to be coming back tonight? The Man from Black Rock – what did that mean, and should she even want to know? The fleeting urge to take Ava Jean and run hit her suddenly, then disappeared just as fast.

Ava.

Stepping out of her obnoxious heels, she scooped them up and rushed across the dancefloor, making her way down the back hallway. She slinked quickly by the cracked door where her husband was, nondescript voices reaching her ears as she passed, though she wouldn’t dare linger to try and figure out just what was going on. Reaching the end of the corridor, the waitress faced a black door with a keypad, her fingers quickly entering the 6-digit code that unlocked it with a loud click. Climbing the stairs beyond a tad too quickly, Mira nearly stumbled once she reached the 3rd floor, only one set of double doors at the landing which she unlocked with haste.

Throwing her belongings down as soon as she was inside her home, she eagerly called for her child. “Ava Jay! Where are you, monkey?” It was quiet, and Ava was most likely still asleep but Mira didn’t care. Her longing for the little girl was intense this morning, the encounter downstairs only now just beginning to truly unsettle her.

She heard movement and began to progress down the main hall but stopped when Gloria popped into view. She was a sweet woman, one she wholly trusted with her daughter and they had become very close in a short time. It was how she was able to easily tell there was something about her expression that seemed… off. Mira’s stomach dropped.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ava Jean...she sick.”

“Sick? How?” She didn’t wait for an answer, brushing by her housekeeper and moving to Ava’s tiny bedroom a few steps away. The room was dark save for a little, rotating nightlight in the corner that projected traveling images of stars onto the ceiling and walls.

The little girl was propped up on her pillow, strands of her long black hair matted to her forehead and neck, her skin a little damp with sweat. Mira was kneeling at her bedside a second later.

“Mommy,” the child said, her voice so small, as her mother tenderly brushed the locks from her face. She felt warm to the touch.

“Yes, baby. I’m here.” Whether a little cut or a cold, it always pained her to see her child hurt. It made her feel helpless.

“I don’t feel so good.”

TAGS: @HanSolo29 @DarkLordoftheFins

 

IC: Jane
Underground facility, Black Rock Desert, Nevada

Before turning to follow Malcolm, Jane moved quickly back into her room grabbing her knife off the sink where she'd set her pistol. She slipped knife onto her belt letting it sit horizontal across the small of her back, good for a quick draw. If she needed it, she would need it quickly. She followed along as the space shifted around, the austere military surroundings slowly became austere scientific surroundings. This new information did cause her brow to rise. This was more than just a simple paramilitary, they don't often put funds towards R&D. However the way Malcolm spoke this was already far more than what she expected.

People in white lab coats, sitting in meetings looking over complicated schematics that Jane could not make heads or tails of. Clearly this was something far above her knowledge, then again, you don't hire a mercenary to double check your math. She was content to just let the scientists pass her by, running around with charts and papers that look more Greek than English. Then they came to a large iron gate, once again Malcolm put his hand on a scanner. A large door opened with heavy thud. They both enter and the door closed behind them. In that moment it was just her and Malcolm. It was only a moment but, she felt a weight on her. The doors on the other side opened.

"Welcome to the birthplace of the future." Her escort remarked crossing his arms. The room on the other side was filled with screens and people. Soon they were intercepted by an older man with a white beard matching his white coat.

"Visitors must be registered, Malcolm," The man said glaring over his glasses.

"She is one of the naturals and approved by above."

She kept the surprise off her face but, it was...the way Davis had treated Malcolm she had thought he was the leader of this outfit. Though looking around this operation seemed a bit much for one person to oversee. The question arises, what was Malcolm's place in all this. He was high level given that he had access to seemingly all parts of the facility at least the Military and Scientific sides but, not high enough to not be questioned by others. The size and scope of this operation grew by the moment.

"A natural? Welcome then, Ma'am. I am Doctor Stinson." No offer of a handshake was given, not that Jane would have accepted it. "Please don't stand in the way." She nodded her head and kept close to Malcolm, it seemed he knew what he was doing. With that Doctor Stinson turned on his heel and began to call out orders, and to get numbers back. It was a flurry of numbers and scientific words that Jane had only the vaguest of understandings of from her high school science classes.

Then Malcolm turned on a television appearing on it was a man strapped to a stretcher with a robotic arm injecting him with something. It was clear it was unpleasant, his white knuckles, his clenched jaw biting down on a gag in his mouth.

Was this science or torture? She asked herself that was until the session was over.

"Mr. Smith, the cycle is completed. Show us what you are made of." the Doctor addressed the Patient.

Malcolm didn't flinch, Jane crossed her arms watching the screen. It flickered for a moment then 'Mr. Smith' was standing in the middle of the room, free from his bonds. She pressed her back against the wall feeling the subtle pressure of her knife against her.

It was PTSD she was feeling it was just a bitter taste from the last 'teleporter' she'd faced. The scar down the middle of her back seemed to itch with psychosomatic irritation.

"That one will be useful." Malcolm spoke a smile on his face. "Tell him to take it easy, I don't want the side-effects to kill him." He turned to her, gaze falling upon her shoulders like boulder. "You understand what we are doing here?" He smiled again. "A minute ago this was an ordinary soldier."

"Now he's a super soldier." She replied cooly, "What's the failure rate on this 'Cycle' I heard the eggheads talking about?" She doubted it was very low. The stress Mr. Smith was under could clearly kill someone not fit.

"And how many do you already have?" she looked up to Malcolm her face not showing much emotion, "If I'm going to be working with...Gifted...again, I'd like to know how many I'll have to deal with." She cocked her head to the side, "I've had bad experiences."

TAG: @HanSolo29

 

Steven Alden
TARC HQ, OPS

The morning. It was the morning he had somehow known would come. It was the morning he had seen. It was morning he had waited for. It was this morning. The morning he would meet Anna Talbott.

Steven had closed his eyes and waited in Ops, enjoying every breath as he felt the emptiness and calmness of the moment. As expected (or should he say foreseen?) the Doc addressed him and introduced him to the Anna. Anna Talbott.

His eyes snapped open before he turned and he gave the young woman a smile, probably not fully successful at hiding the sadness that he had carried with him to work today.

"Hello Anna. I am Steve. I am also one of the special ones. They call us Gifted. Also the whole thing if it is a gift might be disputable. Anyway, shall we start with the heart of this organisation? The coffee kitchen?" He offered her his hand now. "You had quite a morning, with the assassins and all that, did you? You might need a good coffee." He smiled at her in sympathy.

He felt like an actor reciting his lines. Steven Alden as Steve Alden, TARC Agent. He checked his clock. It weren't even thirty minutes left. Surprising how well he played his part.

Tag: @RachelTyrell

 

Laura Changte
TARC Building

Laura's head snapped up as he mentioned Maria Liang. Maria, too? "We should send out teams and inform the NSA and FBI to screen for suspicious activity." She said and shook her head. "Going up against a Government organisation? Who is so stupid? Or insane? What are the chances we don't know who they are by the end of the week? What are the chances they are not dead by the end of the months, actually?"

This made little sense. Whoever did this, they were confident. But the killers had not been so impressive. "Is someone probably trying to distract us?" She asked Paul and kept on walking next to him. "I mean those guys at Anna's house were ordinary hitmen. Those who lost you in traffic? Without knowing the details, it sounds like a really sloppy job to me."

Tag: @HanSolo29

 

Matt Andrews
Oval Office

Matt stepped next to the President. "Going after super-powered individuals on foreign soil is an international incident, Sir. But obviously we will ask nicely and if they deny ... we will have this as a CIA Operation. Counter-terrorism is a different thing. A black ops would more be a minor hick up. We do them all the time. So I will ask Roberts to host this operation." He nodded. "If that is everything, I go to work and you probably have a very confused and angry chief-of-staff out there."

Matt folded his hands behind his back and waited for the President to allow him to leave. He had never been that formal with Kurt. He missed him these days.

Tag: @HanSolo29

 

Maria Liang
Battlefront D.C.

A Gifted!

Maria knew immediately she had lost the battle. Bullets came her way. There was nothing she could do against the man. Jumping behind the next car to at least making killing her harder she catched breath.

In hand-to-hand he might be unable to use his power, but she was a petite Chinese woman with rudimentary self-defense training and he was a bulked-up professional killer. Shooting did not work and neither did explosions. Running was never good, but probably her best chance. Maria just did not feel it was what Adrian would have done. What had he always said, after hurling her through the Dojo? Not the better fighter, but the one more dedicated, would win.

How many bullets can you stop? All of them? Really? Because she needed only one to go through.

"Oh dammit." She hissed and began firing as she left the cover. She fired all that was left in her mag, hoping for this one bullets to come through. She knew she would probably die but at least she would go out fighting. Her second shot she shifted the gun to the stomach then to the head, the knee, trying as many angles as possible to make it harder for him to stop them ...

Tag: @HanSolo29

 

Anna Talbott
TARC central

Anna tensed as Steven approached her and she gave Kawin a "see you later" smile. Then she turned her attention fully to the next TARC agent she had been introduced to. There seemed to be a few. A whole building full of them.

"Hello Anna. I am Steve. I am also one of the special ones. They call us Gifted. Also the whole thing if it is a gift might be disputable. Anyway, shall we start with the heart of this organisation? The coffee kitchen?" He offered her his hand now. She took it and shook it.

"I could use a coffee. Really." She replied and instantly liked the young man. He had the right attitude for her. Not at all like a Government agent. Actually he was kinda cute and in a way very sad. She had a weakness for dark and thoughtful guys, also she usually ended up with the bad boys.

"You had quite a morning, with the assassins and all that, did you?" He smiled at her and she looked at him. How could he know about this?

"How do you know? I mean, we just arrived . This happened half an hour ago." She already kinda knew the answer. He was a special one. Looked like suicide-repeat functions were not the only thing they could do.

What would she be able to do? Anna could not deny having secretly tried to "activate" her power. But so far she had not got any reaction.

Tag: @Iteration, @HanSolo29

ooc: Nice to see you around, It!

 

IC: Kawin Muthurangu
Arriving at TARC central

The good doctor showed his sense of tact rather quickly, and in a way that had Kawin turning redder than his nations maple leaf. "Let's leave it a shallow one." he commented back to encourage the good doctors sense to stop talking along these lines.

Luckily it seemed the notion was accepted by all parties as the elevator ride was wonderfully silent. It wasn't until they were leaving that another notion was set forward by the Dr. “Welcome to TARC,” the doctor smiled. He looked at Kawin and coughed. “Actually now would be good. There is something we need to discuss.” Turning to Anna he looked around and then waved a young man standing nearby to them. “Steven? Paul will be with Anna in a moment, but would you be so nice to show her around a bit?”

"Of course, lead the way." he took the hint that the doctor wanted to talk about this in private, and with how some gifts worked, simply talking somewhere someone might of could of been to overhear meant they would or might possibly despite not being there. Time, it still gave him a headache despite trying to study it since all of this started. Whenever he thought he understood he would be corrected and back to square one. Hopefully whatever they needed to talk about would be simpler than time.

TAG: @HanSolo29

 

Deklan Casey
Skid Row - Los Angeles, California



Deklan stares at his reflection in the surface of the hubcap. He cannot speak. All he can do is touch his own face as though there might be some way to deny that this is real. Shortly thereafter, his hand holding the hubcap begins to shake and he drops it altogether, clutching his hand to his chest as he tries to still the trembling. He looks to Bill, eyes wide with fear and confusion.

“What is this?” he asks in barely a whisper, “Some sort of curse?” He grabs for the hubcap again and inspects the circles under his eyes, then looks at the body of the dead man nearby. The same dark circles frame his glazed and lifeless eyes. He looks to Bill again. “You better keep your distance, Bill. I don’t know how this happened, but if it’s something that can be contracted through human contact, I need to stay away from everybody.”

He staggers to his feet and picks up his rucksack, zipping its zippers and tying its lacing before shouldering it roughly on his back. “Keep Static safe. I need to get out of here and find out what this is. If it’s contagious, I don’t want anybody here to get it. It’ll wipe us all out and you know it as well as I do.”

He pauses; looks back at his friend and the small dog standing by staring at him with the same puzzled expression. “Stay,” he commands Static with a gesture of his hand. The dog whines and lies down beside Bill’s feet, head resting on the ground between her paws. “Take care of her, Bill. I promise I’ll come back once I get to the bottom of this.”

Tag: @HanSolo29

 

Laura Changte
TARC

Laura looked at Paul and realized he was right. "We have a traitor among us." She whispered to him and inhaled sharply. It was obvious. They could not have found half of TARC's leading circle without an inside source. But who ...?

"Who? We handpicked our people?" She realized that wasn't true. They had the Gifted. Basically untrained strangers who were taken in whenever they showed powers. Actually TARC was easy to infiltrate on that level. "One of our guests?"

Tag: @HanSolo29

 

Simon
The Streets of Vegas

Simon watched the convoy enter the city. He counted thirty vehicles before stopping to count. CDC. Military. Soldiers. It felt almost too familiar.

"It is the Black Doctor. I tell ya." A man in a suit said and stepped next to him. He was probably in his late twenties. "Read it in the internet, they try to cover up how bad it is. Three towns in Nevada have been closed down. Hermetically sealed. Anything on the news? Zero." He smirked. "Man, this Government. They keep secrets!"

Simon looked at him and smiled. "Really? No kidding?" He laughed out and as the final car passed them, a Humvee with a machine gun on top and a driver in full ABC gear, he turned to leave.

"We need to do something, man!" The young man shouted.

Simon smiled as he left for his cheap motel near the strip. All they could do now was run or die and running would only spread the virus. A little late the American people realized they had a problem.



He sat on his bed and skipped through the news on his laptop. There were reports of EU discussing state of emergency in seventeen cities because of the virus outbreak, but not a word about the US. Indeed the Gov was hiding the problem. That would not work for long. Forums were already full of it. L.A., SF, NYC even ... everywhere people had neighbors and friends who had become infected and wondered why they heard nothing in the news.

Before closing his eyes he send a message to Black Rock. FOUND YOR MESS. CLEANING IT UP.

The man he send it to would understand he was not pleased. That was the point.

Closing his eyes he leaned back fully clothed and sleep came immediately to him. As always it was an uneasy sleep and as always he dreamt of the dying.

Tag: @QueenSabe7, @HanSolo29