Flight 265 [IC] - Issue 1 - Awakenings

[The_New_Guy]

First, a few ground-rules. I'm not particularly fussy from what voice you write - I try to use 3rd person past-tense, but that's just me. Feel free to use whatever voice you please. I would, however, appreciate it if everyone would pick a colour for their speech. NPC's will also have their own distinct colours, though minor ones may see their colours reused in time.

I would also appreciate it if you would put a brief header at the top of every one of your posts, just so I know what character I'm reading. Bold is nice, but again, unnecessary.

And finally, please begin the your first post with a brief description of your character. You don't have to go into a whole lot of detail, just what they look like.

And now...

Flight 265 - Awakenings
November 6th, 2007. It'd been a cool, dry autumn in the north-east, the kind that cuts through every layer of clothing one wore and chilled a body to the bone and shakes every leaf from the trees. No brilliant displays of crimson on the trees - this year every drop of colour lay on the ground, as if someone had stabbed the forests and left them to bleed out. But none of that mattered to you. You were heading - for vacation, or for work, or to get away, or to go home - to the sunny side of the world. The west coast. Los Angeles. California. Where temperatures stay well on the happy side of freezing. Of course, the flying was no fun - it was a long flight, and it was delayed, and there was at least one fussy baby on the flight - you heard he/she/it while sitting at the gate. You didn't bother to look for the source too hard - you couldn't do anything about the seating arrangements anyways. You just prayed fervently that you wouldn't have to listen to the screaming for an entire trip.

There were too many people to keep track of anyways. A young woman with a garment bag - it was white, which meant it probably contained a wedding dress; a well dressed suit; a young man with the young woman with the wedding dress; a fellow who looked like he had just stepped out of a garage; a pregnant woman. All sitting. Waiting. And the plane was late. Naturally.

It finally arrived 15 minutes after you were supposed to board, and after another 25 minutes to let arriving passengers off and the crew clean the beast, you finally boarded. First class and people with small children first (thankfully the husband and wife with the screaming child took advantage of the early boarding - granting you a moment's respite) then the rest of the plane back to front. You handed your ticket to the gate agent, had it scanned, handed over your ID and...

...darkness.

Not the "whacked on the back of the head with something heavy and hard" darkness. Not the "oh my god I'm suddenly blind" darkness. Not even the "damn it - a power outage. Now I'll never get to LA" darkness. Just darkness. Emptiness. A void. Images flickered at the edges of your perception, so brief and distant that you weren't even sure they were there. The pregnant woman. The married couple. Your family (how'd they get on the plane). A man almost wrapped in shadow, in a black trench coat. It lasted for a second. It lasted for an eternity. And then...

...cold.

The first thought that echoed through your mind was that it was freezing. Like you were lying on a sheet of ice in the middle of the arctic. Not a sheet of ice. Metal. It was metallic. You were sure of it. Well, planes had never been comfortable. You must have dozed off. A shot of curiosity shot through you as you wondered how much more of this torture you would have to endure. You opened your eyes.

Big mistake. It was bright - bright like staring into the sun at noon with a telescope bright. Your eyes shut not of your will, but of their own accord, and screamed in protest at you for subjecting them to such a painful experience. The first thought through your mind - well, the first thought through your mind that didn't include epithets directed squarely at the source of your pain, was 'why is it so bright in here'? Because the flight had been an evening flight. And it shouldn't have been so bright. Unless the yahoo next to you had turned on the overhead light. Well - turned on the overhead light and amplified by a few million orders of magnitude.

It was around then that you realized you were no longer seated in your uncomfortable airplane reclining chair. You were lying on some kind of steel bed. Not quite as uncomfortable as the airplane you mused, but certainly something to be concerned about. How did you wind up here? Did something happen on the flight? Were you sick? Did you get drunk and get arrested? Kidnapped? By aliens? A thousand different possibilities flashed before your mind's eye, and in the end you decided to sit up and try and get a handle on where you were.

Sitting up, sadly, was a lot more trouble than you expected. Every muscle in your back and arms and stomach groaned with the exertion. Like they were lifting a two ton barrel of bricks. Not that you had ever lifted such a barrel. Come to think of it, you weren't even sure such a thing existed. But if it did, then you figured that must've been what it felt like. After you rested a moment from the effort of sitting up, you raised a hand to shield your eyes and tried to open them again. It worked. The pain was only excruciating this time. And after you blinked away the water, you could see your dimly-lit surroundings (you realized, with a bit of a start, that as bright as it seemed the room was *not* as bright as seven suns).

A nondescript medical room. Devices, monitors on either wall, blinking and beeping occasionally. Read-outs you didn't quite understand. And a corporate symbol you didn't recognize. X-Corp, or some such. You didn't like that. The facility was top notch, but the name - while catchy - didn't ring a bell. That seemed bad. But there was a door, and it seemed to be equipped the the standard door handle (somehow it eased your mind - perhaps you figured any alien space craft or secret government science agency would use flashier automatic doors). And so you poked your head out, at the same time as six other people. Each in a rather revealing hospital gown (that you realized you were also wearing).

Two of the people you recognized - the short, blonde-ish girl with the blue eyes that had been carrying her wedding dress at the gate. Her face was filled with concern - mixed with the squinting one easily recognized as that of a person without their glasses - but the concern lifted slightly when she saw (and finally recognized after a few moments of trying to bring him into focus) the young man with dark hair and blue eyes that were almost a shade of grey - the man she had been sitting with waiting for the plane.

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

"F*ck..."

Daniel groaned as he sat up on the steel table he found himself lying upon. He leaned foreward over his legs and wrapped an arm around his stomach, feeling like he'd just been hit by the entire Nebraska defensive line. He hadn't ached this bad since his old football days, and even then it was usually a good ache like the ones you got when you ran an extra mile during your workout. This time he just felt stiff and sore and confused. Some kind of hospital?

Daniel swung his legs slowly over the side of the bed and hissed when his bare feet came into contact with the cold floor. He hopped in place for a moment, feeling his body still protesting the movement. What had happened to the plane? The last thing he remembered he was handing his ticket to the guy at the gate and was thinking about his ex-wife Jessie...then...nothing. He remembered feeling cold, so cold and dark but it was all fuzzy. It was just a big, black blank from the airport to...whatever "X-Corp" was.

What the hell was going on? Had he gotten drunk on the plane? He winced at the thought... No, he'd told himself he wasn't going to do that anymore, but he'd been so nervous...he might have...but he couldn't remember. It occurred to him that the plane had gone down, but what were the chances that he'd survived something like that? They told you all about the safety precautions and the flotation device under your seat and all of that crap but if the plane crashed you knew deep down that not even the stupid little oxygen mask was going to help you. He wasn't injured...just aching like he'd been on a bench press for five days straight without breaks. Was he the only survivor?

Daniel had to get out of that room. All the medical odds and ends were making him nervous. Ever since he'd had his appendix out hospitals gave him the heeby-jeebies. He tried the door to find it mercifully unlocked. He hadn't gotten drunk and arrested at least, or else they might have handcuffed him to the bed or locked him in or something...at least put a guard on him. So, he poked his head out to find himself staring at six others wearing similarly surprised expressions.

It was then that Daniel noticed that he, along with the others, were wearing nothing but hospital gowns. You know, the kind that makes your butt stick out and wave at everyone? Daniel was a good-looking guy for his early thirties, with the broad-shouldered, muscular build of someone who went to the gym religiously. His ex-wife used to love his six-pack so he'd done every kind of extreme sport a formerly wealthy stockbroker could afford to try. Boxing, SCUBA, rock climbing, he'd done it all and benefited. His eyes were startlingly light green in comparison to his otherwise dark, handsome features and stood out as the first thing one would notice about his face. He had dark brown hair, cut close to his scalp in a conservative business look and no facial hair. He had a strong jaw and well-shaped cheekbones as well. All in all, someone you tended to trust when he smiled and sold you something. One of those young, strong businessmen out for their place on the corporate ladder. Still, in an assless hospital gown he was a little out of his element and hid himself behind the door as much as he could while keeping his head in the hallway.

"Uh...does anyone know if we made it to LA?" he offered awkwardly.

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan moaned wordlessly as he tried to sit up. He moved his arms around behind him, trying to support himself, but immediately regretted it as they screamed in protest. Slowly and painfully, he managed to slowly sit up and look around.

It looked like a hospital of some sort, but it looked wrong somehow. Why was there a corporate logo all over the machines? For that matter, what were all the machines taking readings from with nothing hooked up?

Nathan furrowed his brow as he tried to remember what happened to him. Last thing he remembered, he'd been getting in line to get on the plane with that kid screaming right behind him. Had the plane crashed? No. He was totally unharmed, aside from the terrible cramps. He remembered the gate, and how nervous he was sure he looked, because he kept eyeing... the briefcase!

Desperately, Nathan looked around the room for his missing luggage, ignoring the residual pain from his eyes. He slumped slightly when he saw no sign of it, but comforted himself with the idea of talking to the management. Surely they knew where it was.

With this in mind, he staggered across the room, noticing as he did so that his business suit had been replaced with a slightly immodest hospital gown. He'd have to chat with the administrator, to see if he couldn't track down his old possessions.

As he looked down, he noticed how little he had changed from the wait at the flight's gate. His body displayed no particular signs scars or injuries. It looked as it always did, with few muscles, but little fat; the stomach of a man with a high metabolism, but little time to exercise. He examined himself in the mirror to make sure his face had been similarly untouched. He quickly confirmed that it was all there, from the dark brown hair in a conservative cut designed to look unoffensive, to his greyish-blue eyes and moderate chin.

Noticing that from the back, he was a little exposed, he stuck his head out the door. He heard a man ask a question.

"I...don't think so. I guess something happened enroute. Does anyone remember anything?"

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric opened his eyes, then closed them again. Thinking was easier without the blinding, painful light. He thought back, trying to remember where he was. This wasn't the first time in his life he had come to somewhere and had no idea how he got there - a brain tumor several years before had played games with his memory - but the tumor was long gone and his memory had improved.

Thinking of the tumor, he put his hand to his head, feeling for bandages. None, just his short hair. Gathering his courage, he opened his eyes again and sat up.

OK, I'm in a hospital room. X-Corp? he mumbled. Never heard of them, he said, rubbing his goatee as he always did when was nervous or thinking. Not surprising, I guess. He stood and walked over to one of the machines. Huh... Wonder what this is... It doesn't look like anything I've seen before.

At that moment, he noticed the door. Good, someone out there can probably tell me what is going on. Plane probably went down - though I don't remember taking off - and they took me to a hospital. Hospital... Amie! He reached for his cell phone to call his wife and tell her he was alive, but it was missing from it's normal position on his belt.

In fact, he wasn't wearing a belt, either. He opened the door and saw all the others, wearing hospital gowns. He looked down and realized that the reason he didn't have his phone.

He heard a man asked if they were in LA. Good question, he said, looking around for a nurse's station.

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

Having followed suit with the waking up in agony and making his way to the door, Robert suddenly returned to reality (if this was indeed reality). He grabbed at his shaggy dark brown hair as he started to panic.

"Frak. Oh frak! Where are we? What the happened to the gorram plane? I...I need to call my mom!"

He leaned his back to the cold wall so as not to reveal his thin frame too much.

"And where is my swag?"

[ilovefire]

Jackson Ford

Jackson Ford groaned as he tried to get off of this bed, this damned cold steel bed that he found himself on. He lacked grace in his exit from the cursed flat, as he merely rolled off. It wasn't long before he stumbled to the door and opened it, looking at the six others, as they looked at the others and at him. He wasn't the best looker, but certainly he wasn't the worst either--Only a small pudge from to much pizza and red bull while working late nights or staying up programming, a slight squint from to much time spent starying at a screen, blonde hair kept in a buzz cut, with nonexistant facial hair unless he had forgotten to shave... had he forgotten to shave? He reached up to feel his jaw, realized he had--five o'lock shadow, yep. He then reached that hand up to his forhead to rub it, because he found himself with a headache. He reached for the pocket where he usually kept his cellphone, and realized it wasn't there--oh, a hospital gown. Well, that was a kick in the pants, he thought. No way to call his sister or his pen pal. Or his boss, for that matter. Groaning under his breath, he stated the first thing that came to his mind.

"What the hell happened?"

[The_New_Guy]

The "nursing station" (for lack of a better term) actually did not resembling a nursing station at all. It was a room, large enough to accommodate everyone (though not much larger than just enough) and rather non-descript. It lacked the monitors and readouts of the private rooms, but the decor was otherwise the same - slightly off-white walls and a rather clean, hospital like feel to the room.

"I remember boarding the plane...." said the young man as he screwed up his face in a moment of intense concentration, before shaking his head "...and that's it. You hon?"

The young woman shook her head, hiding herself a little more behind the door after seeing the five other male faces in the room. "Nothing." she said meekly "I... I think I'll wait in my room for now - it's nothing personal, just these go-"

She was interrupted by a voice, a rather soothing (if somewhat rushed) one, over an invisible loudspeaker. "Just a moment... we'll send someone down in just a moment."

It was just a moment before another doorway opened and a thirty-something, bespectacled brunette wearing a lab-coat entered the room. She smiled at the seven figures each hiding (more or less) behind their doors. "Someone will be around with your personal effects shortly - I know those gowns can be a pain. There's a sitting room in the room beyond this one when you are ready -you don't have to sit and wait of course, but we have some questions, and I'd imagine you do too. Hopefully we can work together and get them answered." She paused, a bit of frazzle showing from behind her rather well-practiced and pleasant demeanor. "We're sorry not to have someone here to greet you right away - but it seems everyone awoke at the same time, and five hours ahead of schedule no less."

True to the lab-coat wearing woman's word, another man (dressed in a lab-coat) arrived about two minutes later with bundles of clothing - specifically, what you were wearing when you boarded the plane. You could tell it'd been recently laundered - it still bore the sickly sweet smell of fabric softener - but there was little else with it. No wallets, cell-phones, pieces of loose change or receipts from the awful restaurant in the airport to be found. Just clothing.

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric gave a small sigh of relief as he put on his well-worn jeans and rugby jersey. He debated leaving his hiking boots and socks off, but decided it would be best to put them on, not knowing if he would have to walk any distance after the upcoming "chat."

He still wished he could call his wife, but figured he would have a chance later. With a sigh and a wry grin, he walked into the sitting room.

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan quickly dressed in his business suit and walked into the sitting room. He was glad to be out of the embarrassing hospital gowns, but he still needed the rest of his possessions back, especially his luggage. Of course, knowing exactly why he was here and why no one seemed to remember what happened would be great too.

[ilovefire]

Jackson Ford

Jackson sighed as he ducked back into his room to dress. Khaki cargo pants, old tennis shoes, a T-shirt with the phrase "There's 10 kinds of people in this world: Those that understand binary and those that don't" embroidered on it, and a simple baseball cap. He started walking sitting room, digging through his many pockets. Cellphone: Nope. PDA: Not there. MP3 Player: Not there. None of his electronics were in his pockets. He shook his head, sighing sadly as he sat down.

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

Daniel retreated back into his room to fight his way into the khakis and navy blue polo shirt he'd worn onto the plane. It wasn't a small accomplishment considering the aches and pains that continued to linger. When he returned to the ventured into the sitting room he was feeling a lot better, save for the fact that all of his valuables were missing. He put his hands in his pockets, then removed them a few times as he tried to get a grip on the situation, but nothing was making sense to him at all. The lights still hurt his eyes a bit, his whole body ached, and there had to be something wrong with his head or his memory because he had no idea how he'd gotten to where he was. He was worried about Jessica and his two daughters. Had they heard about the plane? Did they know if he was okay?

"Excuse me, uh...Miss, but where is my phone, my wallet? I need to call my wife- ah, ex-wife and let her know that I'm okay. I don't even know how long I've been here. Jessie's a worrier and if she thinks something's happened..." he trailed off in a pleading tone. He still didn't feel like a prisoner, but if they didn't return his things it was a step in the wrong direction. He was already scared and verging on panicked, but anger was only a short skip away on his already fragile emotional scale.

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

Robert was relieved to see his "Jesus Saves...and Takes Half Damage" shirt intact. He couldn't help but giggle a little at it as he did every time he came upon it, only this time there was the pain from...whatever it was that happened, that brought him back to the present.

He sat in the waiting room, his hands fidgeting. Waiting without something to do was never his strong suit. He craved for his Nintendo DS now more than ever. His hands needed something to do. Robert curled up in his chair, examining his surroundings.

[The_New_Guy]

By the time everyone had dressed and made their way to the sitting room, the 'welcome back to the world of the waking' lady had already taken a seat at a small desk near the centre of the room. Like every other room you had been in so far, this room had a bland, hospital-like feel to it. Like the central room you just left its walls were mostly unadorned, but there were a few monitors that were, for the moment, blank. And upon the greeting lady's desk sat a small computer terminal.

"Come in, come in. Sit down. Get comfortable. This may take a little while..." she said, typing while she spoke. "...actually, it will take a little while. First off - an introduction is in order. I am Doctor Natasha Westford, a junior research associate here at X-Corp. I want to stress that you are not a prisoner, nor are you being held here against your will. You may leave at any time you please. But, in the end, you will probably want our help."

Hearing Daniel's question about his missing gear, Natasha took a deep breath and let out a small sigh, as if she had expected this kind of trouble from the start, but maybe didn't want to be answering that question so quickly. "Your ex-wife, Mr. Horton...." she paused, and struggled with her words for a moment. "...it's a little more complicated then you imagine. There is, unfortunately, no easy way to prepare you for this, so I may as well be blunt. You - all of you - have been in a coma-like state for the past two years at this facility. It is now the spring of 2010."

[Kesnit]

Eric felt his stomach hit his feet. 2010, he muttered. 2010. I've been asleep for over two years and it is 2010.

2010. No matter how hard he tried, he could not get that phrase out of his mind.

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan's jaw dropped.

"Two and a half years? What exactly happened on that flight?"

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

Two and a half years...

It hit Daniel like a freight train, repeating over and over again in his mind until it almost outdid the physical pain he was still trying to get over. He didn't hear anything the others said, just that simple phrase. "Two years..." he repeated slowly, his eyes out of focus, and made to sit down on the nearest solid object: a coffee table. "Oh my god, Jessie must think...and my kids...two years...all my job interviews...I..." he gripped the edge of the table, his head hanging towards his knees. "I think I'm going to be sick."

Daniel held his face in his hands, thinking about the worst possible outcomes of two years out of the world. Had Jessie met someone after he'd disappeared, remarried? Was she even alive? How were his kids? God, Mary was ten now? Jane was six? How much had he missed? Would he be able to get back in the job market now that two years had passed by, new technologies and strategies had come out, college kids snapping up the new jobs?

Daniel stood up. "No, before I answer any questions you have to let me call my wife and talk to my kids. After that I'll let you poke me with sticks if you want, but first I'm calling my wife." he said, walking towards any door that didn't lead back where he'd come from. "Now where's the phone?"

[The_New_Guy]

Natasha smiled sympathetically at Nathan, but shook her head. "Quite frankly, I don't know - I don't rate the security clearance to know. There will be an NSA agent arriving shortly to discuss such matters."

Turning to Daniel, she continued speaking in sympathetic yet firm tones. "As I said, Mr. Horton, it is slightly more complex than that." She paused, taking time to consider her words before continuing. "But believe me when I say that you will want to hear what we have to say - well, what the NSA agent has to say anyways, before you attempt to call your family. The truth be told I'm just here to talk to you until he arrives. He was supposed to be here when you woke up - but as I mentioned you are about five hours too earl-"

The doctor was interrupted by what felt, for a moment at least, a small explosion. It took a second to realize that the sound was actually a human voice - a human voice capable of shaking the walls. One that had just screamed 'baby'.

"What was that?" asked the wedding dress woman quickly, her eyes darting frantically to the walls that moments, ago, had vibrated with raw acoustic force.

The doctor replied with something of a concerned look herself, although she lacked any sign of panic. "One of the others - there were about three hundred passengers on that plane. Most likely one that didn't react well to the news."

"Pretty loud..." replied the wedding dress woman's companion, not really asking a question but implying one anyways.

"A trick of acoustics most likely. This place was designed to monitor our patients, and the internal acoustics were never really considered. In any case, Mr. Horton, please try to make yourself comfortable and relax. I know it's not ideal, but it will be better for you, and for your family, if we do this the proper way."

"And we can begin now..." came a new voice from behind a quickly opening, then quickly closing door. It belonged to a suited young man - looking something in between a federal agent and one of the Men in Black from the movies. "...Special Agent Arthur Andrews, NSA. Sorry I'm late, but it's four in the morning dammit! You told us nothing until eight for sure."

"Well, we were wrong - their behavior didn't match our predictive models. But since when have they ever..."

"Yes, yes - all terribly strange. I know. I've read the reports. Anyways, gentlemen..." Andrews paused, his frantic energy subsiding for a moment or two "...and lady. Let me see here..." He stopped, sat down and pulled out a large pad of paper. "Horton, James, Harrison, McMahon, Ford, Walsh and Reynolds..." he said, pointing to each of the 'names 'in turn (pointing to the young man as he said Walsh, and the young woman as he said Reynolds) "...ewww. Reynolds and Walsh are Canadian nationals. That's going to be fun for diplomats. And speaking of diplomats... Mr. James. Interesting as well. Okay - let's begin."

He paused, again, allowing his natural energy to subside for a moment. "Let's see - where to start. You are all dead. Not literally, of course - this is the U.S., not heaven by anyones definition. In fact, this is Maryland - if you're wondering, or if it makes a difference. However, three months after Flight 265 went missing the government declared the plane missing and presumed lost with all aboard. A bad presumption I'm afraid, but what can you do? It's the government."

"Which is why, Mr. Horton, we want you to delay talking to your ex-wife and daughters. It may be somewhat... traumatic."


"Er... yes. When you were discovered some three months after being declared dead, the choice was made to leave you as officially deceased, until your status could be... decided upon. A choice which not everyone involved in the event agreed with, but again - government. So yes, Mr. Horton, calling your ex-wife at this point would be a mistake. She would likely not believe you, for one thing. We do, however, have protocols that have been activated, and your family will know soon."

Another breath. "Now, we have a few questions for you, before we begin to process you back into the 'world of the living' for lack of a better term. Trust me - bringing people back to life is harder then standing in front of a cave and shouting 'come out Lazarus'. A lot harder. But onto the questions. Namely - Flight 265 - what happened?"


[OOC]
Sorry to be so verbose, but I want to keep the plot moving.

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

You're asking us what happened? Don't you know? Doesn't the NSA know everything that goes on? His last question came out rather sarcasticly. What what do you mean we were found three months after the plane disappeared? Where were we found? How were we found?

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

To say the least, Nathan was shocked at the news that he was officially dead. But at the same time, it was almost freeing. It meant the end of his previous...situation at his old job. He now had a chance to start over. Of course, he felt badly for what his parents and his close friends went through, but now he could start over, avoid his previous mistakes. Surely those men would have given up on him by now...

Nathan focused back on the present.

"I'm sorry, Agent Andrews, but I can't tell you about the flight. I don't remember anything past the gate, and I gather the rest of the passengers don't either."

[ilovefire]

Jackson Ford

"What happened? Damned if I can remember. I got on the plane, started to get some sleep, and next thing I know I wake up on one of those damned beds," Jackson said calmly, though his thoughts were going a hundred miles an hour and moving nowhere. Dead? Legally dead? But, his sister. His penpal. His boss and co-workers. All of them. "Legally dead..." He muttered quietly to himself, barely audiable. He seemed to sink deeper into the chair he was in.

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

"Well aren't you just Mr. Sensitivity. Look, *sshole, none of us know what the hell is going on! We thought you were coming in here to explain! Despite what you may think, my family will very much want to know that I'm ALIVE. If I were them, I'd be pissed off that no one told me my husband or father or son or brother didn't die in a plane crash!" Daniel said, feeling his face flush with anger and his hands curl into fists. "What the hell is wrong with you people anyway? Just who do you think you are lying to people like that? What's more traumatic?! Knowing the people you love are in a coma with the hope of coming out of it or f*cking toe-tagged?! Jesus tapdancing Christ, you're all braindead!" he yelled, punctuating his last word with a punch to the wall. "Though I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. This is the government we're talking about."

He turned away from the wall he'd just punched and let out a slow breath, trying to calm himself. He'd had anger issues since he was little and this wasn't exactly a situation where he could be expected to remain calm. Still, he knew flying into a rage wasn't going to do him any good, no matter how incompetent these morons were or all the things he needed to tell his family. He closed his eyes, trying to keep it cool, detached...just answer their questions and go on your way, the easier he made it on them the faster they could finish. "Look, I'm sorry, just...it's not every day you find out you've missed two years of your daughters' childhood." he sighed, shaking his head as if to clear it. "Can we just get this overwith?"

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

Robert sat in his chair dazed. Two and a half years? In a coma?
This was all a shock. He remained in his chair, the burden of so much time lost keeping him momentarily mute.

[The_New_Guy]

The wall shattered.

Well, not the wall. And not really shattered. But the drywall nearly exploded on contact, leaving a gaping hole into inky blackness for about two feet on either side of Daniel's fist. Andrews merely arched an eyebrow. "He the one that broke someone's hand during the reflex tests?"

"I believe so, yes."

"Ah. Well then, Mr. Horton - your reputation for violence precedes you. But - well, first let me apologize to you if you think we are handling this poorly. However, we are treading new ground here, so you'll have to forgive us a few missteps. You weren't exactly alive when we found you. But I guess I should fill you in with what we know before you decide to turn your rather impressive strength on me."

He paused, flipped through a few pages of his notepad, and began. "November 6, 2007. Flight 265 from Boston to Los Angeles departs without incident from Logan. The flight is uneventful, until somewhere over Montana it vanishes. Completely. No transponder. No radar. We even have people on the ground who report watching it vanish into a cloudless sky - although quite frankly those claims are somewhat spurious as it was overcast in most of Montana that day. Reaction from the government is what you'd expect - widespread panic that certain religious entities are about to strike at us again. Granted, what they'd hit in Montana I haven't the foggiest - mountains maybe?"

"Anyways - the government reaction is as follows. President and Vice-President are transported under operation 'Remember' to various secure locations. Fighter covered is provided for all major cities and military installations. Fighter Squadrons from Malmstrom scramble with orders to seek and destroy 265."

'But 265 is never found. No radar nor visual contact is made, nor is anything received from its transponder. There's no debris. There's nothing to suggest 265 even existed. After 3 months of searching the FAA provides some made up story about a catastrophic storms that disintegrated the airplane and all aboard, and the case is declared closed. Meanwhile certain elements within certain government agencies - including the NSA - continue to seek answers."

"Three months after that 265 is discovered at a remote military airport in Alaska, hidden in a hanger no one remembered existing. There's a couple notable things here - the runway was not long enough for 265 to land, nor did 265 possess enough fuel to make the trip. For that matter, 265 had spent approximately the amount of fuel need to reach where it vanished over Montana. But hey, by now it's clear that we've crossed a line in weirdness."

"What really gets government officials when they arrive, is the passengers. All are lying there, as if not a day had passed. What's worse - they're all dead. No heartbeat. Not breath. Dead. 300 body bags are ordered. Then someone realizes that maybe the passengers are not dead. After all - they are all maintaining a body temperature of exactly 99.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Which is tough for dead people to do."

"We load all the bodies - for lack of a better term - up into a number of military, long-haul aircraft and transport them to Bethesda for monitoring. Eventually we move them here - to X-Corp, a government funded research company - to do more focused research into their condition. We don't really know what's going on, but we do know some things - they don't breathe, their hearts don't beat, their EEG's are flat lines, and they are somehow still alive. Or dead. There's also freaky and unusual things happening to the body chemistry, and you all seem to possess an odd electro-magnetic field - it's not going to blow up electronics, but it does cause a deflection on the guass meter. But there's the point of debate right there and why we didn't notify families. It wasn't a choice between toe-tag and coma, it was between toe-tag and whatever the hell you were."

"Anyways, X-Corp continues to study, and observe. And learn. Four days ago your brain comes back online. EEG readings are suddenly normal for a coma patient. Three days ago your heart begins to beat, your lungs to breathe. The last two days your brain activity has been ramping up, which brings us to the here and now."

"Here you are. A medical mystery. Something that belongs on an episode of the 'X-Files'. I know this is a bit hard to accept. Hell - I'd probably be upset about it all too. But we're not the big bad NSA. We're not looking to ruin your life or control you or anything of that sort. We're just trying to work through this. And we were looking for your help."

"You called the NSA all-knowing, Mr. McMahon. We're not. But we'd like to be. That's what we do. That's why I'm here talking to you. Because we want to puzzle out what happened to you, so that it doesn't happen again. We're asking for your help because, really, we know nothing but what i just told you. Well - maybe a little more detail than that, but nothing more of note."

"If you really know nothing then we'll process you out shortly. Obviously you're pretty much out of luck. No money - your bank accounts and visa cards were closed and canceled upon your death. Your cellphones will work to call 911, but nothing else - they were deactivated as well. We will provide each of you with a Visa Card, a government ID and a furnished apartment - you will have to learn to enjoy the company of those you are with right now though - they will be staying in the same suite as you until more normalized accommodations can be arranged."

"You will also be able to call your family, if you wish. We advise against it however - it will be better for all involved to allow us to do the communicating right now, and bring them to you."

"Now that all the cards are on the table - one last time, I will ask you, do you remember anything - anything at all from the flight?"

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

Well, this day had officially reached an eleven on the weird sh*t-o-meter. Daniel hadn't even noticed the hole in the wall until the others began staring at him. The two government agents, on the other hand, seemed to take it all in stride, just another day at the office. Daniel looked from the NSA Agent, to the Doc, to the others, and then to the hole in the wall about four or five times in rapid-fire motion before looking down at his own hands in shock. He'd punched holes in walls before when his temper got the better of him, but never in a single blow...and the wall had just crumpled like tissue paper. He had hardly felt it give.

Daniel sat down on the coffee table in the middle of the room again, his eyes wide as Andrews went into an explanation of the details. He listened silently until the agent had finished.


"Now that all the cards are on the table - one last time, I will ask you, do you remember anything - anything at all from the flight?"

In response, Daniel could only shake his head dumbly. He could remember nothing, nothing but cold darkness and then the room. Just what the hell had happened to them? Were they abducted by aliens or something? What was going on with him? Had he really broken someone's hand by accident before he'd woken up?

...Was he still the same person he'd been when he'd gotten on that plane?

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan jumped as the man's fist hit the wall, but his surprise turned to shock and confusion at the effect it had on the wall. However, he turned his attention away from the gaping hole in the wall to listen to the agent describe what exactly went on.

"I'm sorry, agent, but I've told you all I can remember."

Nathan glanced for a moment at the drywall, or what was left of it. Keeping his tone almost pleasant, if a little ragged, he continued.

"But I don't think that you're telling us everything. That isn't normal, but you seem totally fine with it. I don't know, maybe you just have a theory or something, but I'd still like to hear it."

[Kesnit]

Eric jumped up at the crash. Seeing the wall, he caught himself whispering That isn't possible. How did he do that?

When Daniel sat down, Eric tried to quietly move his chair away from the man. This is too weird... he muttered.

Turning back to the agent, Eric said All I remember is darkness. Some weird flashes in my peripherial vision, but nothing I can describe. Then something else the agent said caught his attention. What do you mean we have an electro-magnetic field? And what other "little details" did you neglect to tell us?

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

Robert was still stuck in his own thoughts to respond to the new decoration that Daniel was able to provide.

"This...this can't be happening. I've been Punk'd, right? Right? Ashton Kutcher is about to pop out of that door, right? Oh frak me."

His eyes go wide as the entire situation falls upon him.

[The_New_Guy]

Agent Andrews shook his head at Robert's question. "I'm afraid not. This is the real thing Mr. Harrison - as bizarre as it seems." To Nathan: "There are a number of bizarre things about what Mr. Horton just did - for instance, after two and a half years you guys shouldn't be able to stand, much less punch a hole in the wall due to muscular atrophy. But punch a hole in drywall? Mr. Horton proved very early on in his testing that he was a strong man. Add to that a bit of rage and a lucky shot hitting a weak-spot in the drywall. It's not normal, but it's certainly not extraordinary."

"I can fill in some of those details if you'd like Mr. McMahon..." added Natasha as Agent Andrews wound down "...but there mostly things that are insignificant to you. Details about the changes to your body chemistry. Research into why everyone's core body temperature - all 300 of you - seems to be fixed at 99.7 Fahrenheit. The EM field - well, I'm a biologist, not a physicist, so I don't understand much of that they say, but I believe the report suggested exposure to a high power EMP may have imparted a mild EM field on your body - it's very faint, mind you, just barely there."

"There's a huge glut of data - two years of medical research yields and enormous amount of paperwork. I've read most it under, understood less than half of it, and trust me - you've got the important details. Anything else requires a PhD in Biochemistry to understand - and even then most of those guys are baffled. Any more questions"

[ilovefire]

Jackson Ford

Jackson thought about this. He had a background in medicine, maybe he could figure something out from what he knew... and thinking about how his body could have changed like this--99.7 degree internal temp? Having an electromagnetic field? "I'd like those details, Doctor Natasha. I may not have a PhD in Biochemistry, but I've got a Masters in it, so maybe I'll understand enough to know just how screwed up we've become."

((Medicine: [roll0]))
((Knowlege (Physical Sciences): [roll1]))

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan decided to accept the explanation for now. Regardless of whether or not he believed it, he was more or less at the government agent's mercy right now; he held the keys to his future.

"Just one more thing, agent. How isolated is this apartment going to be? I've apparently been out of it for two years, and I'd like to find out what's changed. Will we have access to newspapers, Internet, that sort of thing?"

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

Daniel rested his elbows on his knees, trying hard to just sit still despite all the thoughts and worries about home and family speeding around inside of his skull. He listened while the others spoke, wondering if it would ever be possible to get back to the life he'd led before now that he was technically deceased. All of the jobs he'd been looking at in LA had probably long since been filled. The markett was two years ahead of anything he'd known or expected. Hey, at least he didn't have to pay taxes...

"I just want to see my family." he muttered to no one in particular. "This is just too weird."

[The_New_Guy]

The NSA agent smiled a bit. "I hope you appreciate, Mr. Ford..." he said, his voice a bit lighter than it was a moment ago "...that neither Dr. Westford or I walked into the room with two years of research data. I do not know how much can be released to you without compromising the privacy of the other survivors, but I will work with my superiors to get you access to some of your personal details."

He paused, and turned to Nathan. "The suite is equipped with the basic amenities - telephone and television. You will not be purposefully isolated from the real world, although we encourage you to keep your status and existence quiet for the time being. Allow us to notify your next of kin, bring them to Maryland, give yourselves a chance to adjust to having missed two years."

He paused, and turned to Daniel, who seemed lost in his own thoughts. "I agree. This is beyond bizarre Mr. Horton. But it is also reality. Your family - we will contact them, bring them to Bethesda. Actually - I wanted to have a word with you about them, before you went off to your suite. Alone - if the others don't mind."

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan nodded in agreement at the agent's words. He had followed US politics closely since high school, when he realized his ambitions. Now he had to catch up with two and a half years of change. Heck, they would have changed presidents by now! Nathan definitely saw the need to ease himself back into the world.

"That seems to be everything for now, though I'm sure I'll have more questions once this has had a chance to sink in. I think I'm ready to head for the suite."

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Since you expected us to wake up today, have our families already been notified? Eric stared at the hole in the wall. Amie... he whispered.

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton



He paused, and turned to Daniel, who seemed lost in his own thoughts. "I agree. This is beyond bizarre Mr. Horton. But it is also reality. Your family - we will contact them, bring them to Bethesda. Actually - I wanted to have a word with you about them, before you went off to your suite. Alone - if the others don't mind."

And there it was. "A word in private" about his family could only be bad. Had something happened? Had Jessie...found someone else? Were they dead, injured, in a coma, overseas, had a cold, sprained their ankles, etc...it all ran through his mind and his trepidation showed clear on his face. Still, he'd rather know than remain ignorant. It was like a band-aid, do it quick and it'll hurt less. ...Yeah...right.

"Uh..." Daniel muttered, looking around at the others for a moment, "Yeah, sure." What else was he supposed to say?

[The_New_Guy]

"Mr. McMahon..." replied Andrews, shaking his head "...we honestly had no idea if you'd be waking up - it was just a guess really - and in what condition you'd be waking up in. The choice to contact your family rests with me upon completion of this interview - obviously you're whole and of sound mind, so I don't have any concerns that would stop the process. Even then it will take time. I'd expect it'll be a day or two before you can call your wife safely. Contact by phone this morning to set up a meeting, a brief one on one at one of our offices where we can explain that you've been found alive. Then group briefing with the rest of the next of kin from the area - tonight if we're lucky, but probably tomorrow afternoon - where we give them the jist of what we know, without reference to biological changes we've noted. That's a privacy issue and will remain in your hands. Then, after that we'll give them your phone number at the suite and begin arranging contact."

"Now, if the rest of you can wait until I'm done with Mr. Horton..." he said, gesturing towards the door that he entered thought "...don't wander too far, as this place can be a bit of a maze if you're not familiar with it. Once I'm done I'll get you on your way to your suites where you can - well, you can begin living again."

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan quietly stood up and exited the room, thoughts whirling at the overall implications of what had happened to him. He leaned heavily against the wall in the hallway, deep in thought.

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Much as he wanted to, Eric couldn't argue with the agent's reasoning. With a sigh, he stood and left the room, returning to the lounge.

[ilovefire]

Jackson Ford

Jackson nodded at Agent Andrews after he replied to his request for data. Of course, he should've known. But at least he'd be able to get it later... he followed Eric out of the room.

[The_New_Guy]

It wasn't very long before the agent, the doctor and Daniel had reemerged from their 'closed door' conversation, each wearing a sombre face. "It's just a short car ride from here - no more than five minutes..." said Arthur, filling the void of silence as he led the small crowd through the winding facility. "...we have a van ready for you, but you might be a while waiting for it - we didn't have enough vans to move 300 people at one time I'm afraid. You can walk if you want to. The sun is up, the joggers are out and this is a rather quiet area of town. You're free to go where you want, do what you want - within the bounds of the law, of course. Agents will be keeping an eye on you - the transition back to the world will be hard, and we do not want an incident to occur due to that stress. Other than that, the only thing I can do is ask that, if you think of anything, if you remember anything from the flight, please contact me."

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

"What about our stuff from the plane? Luggage and carry ons and the like?"

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

"Actually, I was wondering about the same thing. I packed light, but there was still some pretty important stuff in my bags."

[The_New_Guy]

"All your luggage will be waiting for you at the suite..." replied Arthur "...including all your cellphones, Blackberry's, IPod's and what have you."

"The electronics might not work..." added Natasha "...as we mentioned, there is evidence that you were exposed to a powerful magnetic field, and the few devices we tested when you were brought in were non-functional."

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

"Thank you. In any case, I think I'll just wait for the van. I don't think my limbs are fully recovered yet."

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric nodded. I'll wait for the van. After 2 years of not moving, I don't know how my legs will hold up.

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

"None.....none functional?" His eyes wided.
"My...my Nintendo DS was in my carry on bag and not on me at the time. Did...is it working? What about my iPod next to it? Everything was affected?"

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

Daniel had his hands stuffed in his pockets, eyes cast down towards the ground when he came back in. He seemed lost in thought, but when Robert began asking about all of his electronic devices he piped up. "Don't worry about those, kid. Just think, they've probably got a whole new generation of gaming stuff out after two years. You're in Disneyland." he said as he passed. "I think I'll walk if you just give me the general direction and an address. I need to get outside, stretch my legs...and well...think about...everything." he said, his eyes returning to the ground with that unfocused look. His shoulders looked tightened under the material of his shirt, and he looked pretty stressed out, even amongst present company.

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric gave Daniel a look of pity. Hey, man, is everything OK? Then he laughed humorlessly. Well, OK, other than the fact we've been asleep for two years and you can punch holes in walls?

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

He couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation, a short bark of laughter before he covered his face with one hand. Drawing his palm down over his forehead, closing his eyes and then pulling it off over his mouth, he looked as if he'd wiped the laughter away and flicked it at the ground. Still, he gave Eric a small smile in response. "My ex-wife is getting married in two days." he said, looking back at the wall he'd managed to punch a hole through. "I want her back."

Daniel started to chuckle again. "Heh...God must be one vindictive son of a b*tch. I swear, He hates me." he chuckled again, running a hand through his hair. "I just need to walk it off. I'll see you guys at the apartment building."

[The_New_Guy]

"We'll walk too..." added Lawrence, who had been mostly silent and contemplative during the interview. Ann shot him a glance that could probably kill.

"You can walk, but I don't know where you're getting this we business." she replied, her voice holding more than a touch of sarcasm. "I'm stiff and sore from all this sleeping on metal beds. The last thing I want to do is walk."

Lawrence waved her off. "I've been asleep for two years. I'm not waiting for a van. I'll live with the pain. And Agent Andrews said it was close.."

Both of the couple stared at each other for a moment, and for second it looked as though a shouting match might break out in the lobby. But then it faded, the anger dissipated, and the pair shrugged almost in unison. "I'll see you there then?"

"Unless Mr. Horton decides to punch a hole in me..." he said with a chuckle "...at least we don't have to worry about muggers."

Arthur frowned at the jokes, but did not comment. "It's just out this door, turn right, and go until you hit the 'Robson Arms', a wholly owned subsidiary of the NSA. You're in suite 12, so take the elevator to the 12th floor - you'll need your key-card for that - and pick out your rooms. You might even beat the van there."

[OOC]
Damn parties and their urgent need to split up! ChronicLunacy and I will continue on foot via PM, while the rest of us wait around the lobby for the van to show up.

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison
Robert sat in his seat, waiting for the van and pondering on the possible technological advances he could gain.

{{OOC: Quick question...can we see the two year difference on us physically or do we seem to have not aged? Just wondering}}

[The_New_Guy]

You haven't had a chance to look closely at a mirror, but, from the reflections off glass and other odd surfaces, you don't seem to have aged all that much. It's hard to tell though

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan leaned back in his seat, idly thinking about what could have changed in two years. A though occurred, and he looked over at the agent.

"Apropos of nothing Agent Andrews, who won the upcoming..err...last election anyway?"

[The_New_Guy]

"President Giuliani and Vice President Rice won the presidential race, though it was one of the closest in recent history..." replied Andrews as he glanced out the window "...the Democrats now possess a majority in the House and Senate, although it is a slight one - I believe 51 seats in the senate, and 219 seats in the house." He paused, and smiled half-heartedly. "Politics has never really been my thing - I prefer to make things happen then speak about them, but the democrats must have had their heads on backwards. They would've run, but they ran Hillary and Obama. That was too tough a sell in some parts of the country. Even I knew that."

[Green Bean]

"Huh. I guess my old boss went on to bigger and better things. Glad to hear she's broken a couple of political boundaries."

[ilovefire]

Jackson Ford

Jackson sat, and waited. As he waited, he thought. "Hmm... I wonder if there's been any new commonly accepted programming languages... probably have been by now."

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric turned to Nathan. You worked for the State Department? I knew a few people over there. Probably no one you knew - the place is huge - but interesting.

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

"Yeah, I work there. Well, worked there, I guess. Always a dream of mine to be a diplomat. How about you? Did you work for Uncle Sam?"

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Very nice. I started out in the Navy, then went to the EPA. I'm a chemical engineer, specializing in environmental work.

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

"Oh, the EPA? What sort of environmental chemistry did you work on?"

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Testing and cleanup of Superfund sites. I was on my way to a site when the, er, incident happened. Eric gave a wry grin. I guess I could get my old job back. I doubt all the sites have been cleaned up in just two years.

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

"That's true. I doubt people outgrew making messes while we were out of it."

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

Robert looked to someone else not talking about complicated sciencey things and pretended to fall asleep, making a quiet snore-like sound.

[The_New_Guy]

Andrews looked at the 'pretend snoring' young man for a second, before attempting to inject life in to the conversation. "You may as well do some kind of introduction to each other - you're going to be spending the next few days - at least - in the same suite." He glanced out the window, looking for the van. "Not to mention the next few minutes here waiting for the van."

[[OOC]]
Sorry to slow it down so much - I have to wait for the walkers to get to the apartment before the fun can begin. But hey - time for some shameless character development and XP grabbing-at.

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric looked at the agent and laughed. Well, why not? As I said, I'm an engineer with the EPA. Until all of this happened, I had a rather boring life. Wife, no kids. 2 dogs. A job I enjoyed, which is a good thing since I can probably go back to it. He chuckled, then gave the agent a wry grin. Unless, of course, I get abducted by aliens again and become another 'guest' of the NSA.

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

"Might as well get to know each other. Name's Nathan James, and I used to work for the State Department. Kept me pretty busy, so no wife or kids. I don't know if I'll be going back. I was seriously considering getting out before the flight; I wanted to live a little, you know?"

[Kesnit]

Eric chuckled. I thought all diplomats did was live. Cocktail parties. Building openings. Making an appearance every time the host nation's government opened. That kind of thing. He winked to show he was teasing.

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan grinned.

"Me too. Of course, we always thought you EPA guys were all young idealists who save the world from the evils of pollution."

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric laughed heartily. Who says we aren't?

[ilovefire]

Jackson Ford

"My name's Jackson Ford. I'm a biochemist by trade--BS in Biology from the University of Georgia, then a Masters of Biochemistry from MIT. I worked at the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, but I'm a bit of a gamer and programmer, and wrote a couple of freeware games on the side. No family to speak of--had a Pen Pal in Boston, and my sister in LA, but that's about it. Was on vacation when the Incident happened."

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

"Uh...name's Robert. I'm a...was a senior in high school. I was flying back to LA after attending a convention in Boston.

Aaaand this whole thing just hit me. F**k. I'm 19...20? What month is it?"

[The_New_Guy]

"Hi, my name is Ann..." replied the young woman, who had remained silent for most of this "...I was working on my PhD in Math before the - incident? Is that what we're calling it? Anyway - I'm actually from Canada, I was on my way to LA to get married. Though I guess we've lost our deposit by now. Lawrence - the one who left to walk who didn't put a hole in the wall - is my fiancee." She let her voice trail off after that, not really sure what else to say.

Agent Andrews filled in after a moment's silence. "There's the van..." he said as he pulled the blinds from the window once more to look out. "...it's one of the big eight-seaters, so it will take all of you. I'd ride along, but I've got a few more groups who are waiting to be interviewed. There's an agent in the van though, and I'll be in close contact. Your suite will have my cellphone number in it if you need anything."

[Kesnit]

Eric gave Ann a look of envy. She still has her love with her, he thought. I don't.

With a sigh, he left and got in the van.

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan stood and shook the agent's hand.

"You'll forgive me for not being entirely happy with the events that brought us to you, but thank you for being honest with us."

He entered the van and buckled his seatbelt.

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison
"Any chance i can get internet access? I have two years of forum threads to catch up on. I'll do it as a Guest instead of trying to sign in unless you think it would be ok."

[The_New_Guy]

The agent shook his head at Robert's request. "I can ask if you want, but frankly I don't think we'd have it installed before we'll be sending you back to your homes. If you really need to, there's always the internet cafes and what have you. Might not be suitable for catching up on two years of forum activity though."

"To all of you - go to the suite, sit back and relax. Get some breakfast. Watch some television. Read a book or a newspaper. Try to get your bearings. But don't push yourselves too hard. Let things take their course, and everything will go smoothly. I'll be in touch."

With that he nodded to the van driver, and closed the door shut. In another moment the van was on it's way, then - after maybe thirty seconds, if that - it arrived at the stately Robson Arms. Well, stately wasn't the right word for it. It actually was just another faceless building amongst many, with only the sign that hung above the entry way to give any idea that it was the intended destination.

The timing was perfect - Lawrence and Daniel were about three steps behind the Van, and by the time everyone had unbuckled and exited the vehicle - well, all could mill about as a group again. Entering the hotel, it was just as blank and faceless as the outside. There was a receptionist behind a desk, but she didn't even look up. "Just step in the elevators and swipe your cards. It will take you to your suite."

Doing so, it took the group to an (unsurprisingly) blank hallway, with a single door - one which presumably would lead to the suite. Another swipe of the card, and the door opened.

The room itself was well appointed, especially in comparison to the rest of the rather spartan building. The door opened into a common area, with two couches, a love-seat and two recliners - all of rich, dark leather - and accompanying coffee and side tables. The floor was a dark hardwood of some type, kept well and free of scratches. On the north wall was a big picture window. Beyond that, a small, apartment-sized kitchen/dining room, a hallway and two large bathrooms, each connected to a one of the bedrooms.

The bedrooms - now there was the thing. Eight identical rooms - although only seven needed occupying. A double bed, a vanity, a night stand, a television (there was none in the common room, but it's better this way, since everyone will probably want to watch somethig different anyways) and - finally - the rest of your things.

[[OOC]] Moving things along. Feel free to muss about your room for awhile before I start making with the intrigue.

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan entered his new room, happy that the quality of his accommodations didn't match the severe appearance of the building's outside. He turned the TV to CNN, more out of a desire for background noise than information. He glanced around the room and noticed his overnight bag sitting in the corner. His heart froze as he noticed that his carry-on briefcase was missing. He quickly searched the rest of his room, hoping that it had merely been accidentally kicked to the side, to no avail. He calmed himself long enough to stick his head out the bedroom door. He'd worked for Uncle Sam long enough to know that errors were part of any large government operation. Perhaps there had been a mistake in delivery.

"Did anyone end up with extra bag? I can't find my carry-on."

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric looked around his room. It appeared all of his luggage had arrived. This is getting weirder, he said to himself. Flipping on CNN Headline News, he laid down on the bed to get caught up on events. I still can't believe the Democrats lost the election, he said as VP Rice appeared on the screen. Everything was set up perfectly for them to win. He thought for a moment. I wonder who's running the EPA now...

Headline News switched back to the top of their 30-minute broadcast, bringing back stories Eric had already seen. As if on cue, his stomach growled. Well, the agent did say something about breakfast...

He strolled to the kitchen. Hmm... Sausage, eggs, milk, cheese, bread... I feel like making Christmas Morning breakfast. And that would feed all of us. For as long as he could remember, his family had eaten a casserole every Christmas Morning. Since he was in college, he had helped his father make it. Let's see if I remember the reciepe.

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

Robert lay down on his bed, absorbing the moment. A few minutes passed and he turned on the tv to the Sci-Fi channel, eagerly taking in the new bad movie of the day.

When the smell of cooked goods reached him, his stomach growled in frustration. Robert got out of the bed and made his way to the kitchen.

"What chya making?"

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

Daniel seemed to be in better spirits after his walk, giving the others a friendly smile as they met in front of the hotel. Once in his room he made use of the opportunity to run to the bathroom for some much needed showering, shaving, and other concerns of personal hygiene. When he returned to his room, he locked the door, dumped his towel on a chair, and put on some jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt he had in his luggage. Afterwards, he met Eric and Robert in the common area as the food started cooking. Curiously, the smell made him queasy...he wasn't ready to eat quite yet. So he flopped down on the couch, taking a moment to relax and let everything that had happened since they woke up sink in.

[ilovefire]

Jackson Ford

Jackson settled into his new room, testing the bed and turning his TV to the Science Channel. Wathcing whatever program was on for a few minutes, he eventually shook his head and looked for anything he could write on and with--pencil, paper, pen, napkins... He made a ntoe to pick up a journal--maybe he could turn this into a game idea.

[The_New_Guy]

On the Television
It's mostly a smattering of standard early-morning television - news programs, children's show and re-runs of re-runs. Not very exciting fare, but what do you expect? It's no later than 6:30 yet.

In the Apartment
The group lounges around the suite, doing their own thing, trying in their own way to get comfortable in a very uncomfortable situation. Only Lawrence and Ann seem to respond to Nathan's question about a missing carry-on, both in the negative.

Then, after about ten minutes, a knock echoes through the suite, followed by the opening of the main door. Three men, dressed in a colour you might as well call 'NSA Black' enter, and look around the suite for a moment. "Mr. Nathan James..." says one of them (obviously the leader) in a booming, military-like voice, before laying his eyes upon the man whose name he just spoke. "We need to have a word with you..." he continued "...alone." He gestured to the lone unoccupied bedroom and guided the young ex-diplomat away from the others.

[[OOC]]
h_v and I will continue in PM's, the rest of you have fun making breakfast!!

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric rolled his eyes as the agents led Nathan away. They all think they're so cool, with their black suits and sunglasses.

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

"Could it have something to do with that missing bag? Do...do you think he might have been a terrorist?" Robert looked a little shocked at the idea. He was scared enough of flying in planes, even more so with the current situation, but adding on a possibility of a terrorist attack blew his mind.

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

I doubt it. If he had been, they would never have let him out of the hospital where we woke up.

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

Robert calmed down a bit, but he still was a little shaken up from the initial adrenaline rush of the idea.

Robert stood there, the awkward silence creeping in.

"So........how bout them Yankee's?"

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

"Good question." Daniel replied from the couch with a small grin. He'd missed two years of football, baseball, and any other sport one cared to follow. He knew it was just a way to fill the silence, but it struck him as humorous for some reason. "Hey, maybe that bag was government property?" Daniel said, focusing once again on the situation at hand. He lounged on the couch for about five seconds more, tapping his fingers on his thigh before bouncing up again. "I'm going to see if I can hear anything."

Daniel crept carefully to the bedroom where the three agents had led Nathan. He leaned against the wall adjacent to the door and leaned his ear in. Not quite pressing it to the door but close enough where he might be able to catch something. If they came out, he'd just lean against the wall and smile. What were they going to do? Arrest him? Boredom was a great influence on the desire to do stupid things it seemed.

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric gave Robert a sympathetic smile and shoved a plate with breakfast casserole in his hands. Have some food. Everything looks better with food in you. He watched Daniel walk down the hall towards the bedroom. I have to admit, I'm tempted to join him, but it would look rather strange to have both of us standing there.

[The_New_Guy]

Daniel's attempt to listen at the door did not result in him hearing anything. This is because seconds after arriving at the door-side, the door swung open and two men emerged. The first man through the door was a hulk of a man, powerful enough that his 'opening the door' amounted to nearly knocking it off its hinges. He rolled outwards from the door for quite some distance, staying low to the ground, and was followed by a second, similar man (although not nearly as large). A third man appeared in the doorway, with no sign of Nathan.

It took a moment to notice exactly what was going on. The surprise of the men appearing from the doorway was enough to attract people's attention, but it drew everyone's mind away from what was really going on. The room was exploding in a hail of gunfire. The first two gentlemen who appeared produced a pair of small, automatic weapons (likely uzi's - although none among you are versed enough in weaponry to know exactly what they are) and were unloading large amounts of rounds into the room. The third man, still upon the threshold of the bedroom, had a small pistol weapon, and was taking precise, targeted shots.

Almost no one had time to react. Daniel, so close to the action, was hit by several rounds. A few more rounds flew towards the kitchen. That's where the weirdness began. Bullets flew towards Robert and Eric in the kitchen. Robert, being the closer of the two, reacted first, bringing his arms up in front of his face. The bullets, destined for some part of his body, stopped, brought to a halt by a blinding flash to brilliant yellow flame, and fell to the floor - twisted and deformed by the heat.

Then, behind Daniel, Ann - caught by surprise by the noise and the hail of gunfire - stood like a deer in headlights. Lawrence - just rounding the corner - caught sight of the whole scene, and reacted much more quickly. "No..." he screamed before vanishing, and reappearing in front of Ann - just in time to catch the bullet that was destined for her.

He fell to the floor in a heap.

[[OOC]]
Just when you all thought you were never going to get to use your super powers! Combat time for everyone but Jackson (he's in his room writing stuff, but he can join in the second round).

Some of you will be recieving notes about other things you noticed happening, so please check your PM's before posting!

Order is:
1: Nathan
2: Agent #3
3: Daniel
4: Eric
5: Agent #1
6: Robert
7: Ann
8: Agent #2

Down: Lawrence

Battle Map (or why it took so long for me to post this!):
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f250/alaffin/suite.jpg
Key:
Red Lines: Wall
White Lines: Doors
Yellow Line: Large Picture Window
Dots:
Black = Nathan
Red = Agent #1
Dark Grey = Agent #2
Orange = Agent #3
Yellow = Daniel
Green = Jackson
Blue = Robert
Purple = Eric
Grey Blocks: Furniture

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

As the men burst out of the room and started shooting innocent people, Nathan's fear disappeared, replaced almost instantly by shock. Then, very quickly, it transformed again into fury.

"Like hell I'm going to sit back and watch this!"

Nathan rose up from his seat and bore down on the leader, attempting to wrestle the gun from his hands.

((Disarm attempt against Agent #1))

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric's eyes pop out as the bullets start flying. With a wordless cry, he runs towards Agent #3 to tackle him.

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

Daniel was caught completely by surprise when the big man rolled through the door and all three "agents" began peppering the room with bullets. He was so close he couldn't hope to move out of the way in time, but what seemed like years passed and despite them firing in his direction he hadn't felt much. By some miracle they must have missed him, or at least that's what his frazzled mind had him thinking. Either that or his body was in shock or high on adrenaline and he just couldn't feel the wounds yet. He decided it didn't matter. As long as he had some strength in his limbs he was going to do something to stop these madmen.

Lawrence went down after...well...Daniel wasn't quite sure what just happened but Lawrence, the only guy here he even half knew, crumpled to the floor...maybe dead. That was what had Daniel running full tilt at Agent #2 right there in front of him, screaming in wordless rage. He didn't do anything fancy when he got there, he just balled up his fist and hit the man as hard as he could, putting his body and all of his strength behind the blow just like they taught him in boxing class.

[The_New_Guy]

Nathan streamed forward from the room, trying to knock the pistol from the first agents hand. Perhaps it was a miscalculation on the part of Nathan - the man was a trained killer (or at least, seemed very good at it), and Nathan, though in good shape, was most certainly not. The agent brushed him aside with ease, and growled in his general direction.

"I told you to stay put Mr. James. Consider it a demonstration of our seriousness in this matter. Things will be much worse for you if you misbehave."

The third agent stopped for a moment as his bullets fell harmlessly away from Robert, deflected by some form of shield. However his distraction was only momentary before he unloaded another burst in the general direction of the youngster - this time the youngster raised his arm, and noted that there was a giant, flaming shield upon his arm, which again, deflected the bullets. It was also around then that he noticed the giant, flaming wings that had sprouted from his back.

While much strangeness was going on unseen behind him, Daniel stepped forward towards the second agent and released some of that pent up rage upon the man. The agent tried to block the attack, but failed. Instead, his head snapped back quickly. It was a solid punch to be sure, but not enough to fell the man.

Back in the kitchen Eric McMahon displayed a reckless sense of honour usually reserved for infantry types as he charged forward into the oncoming fire. He moved quickly, and delivered a solid, swift punch, but it was not enough to catch the gunman, who quickly ducked out of the way.

The first agent, seeing Daniel's display of boxing prowess, took aim at the former businessman at point blank range and fired...

Combat
Round 1
Nathan - Failed to disarm agent #1
Agent #3 - Fired a spray of bullets at Robert, all of which were deflected by his shield of flame.
Daniel - Walked forward and punched agent #2. Succeeded in hurting the man.
Eric - Charged agent #3 and missed with a punch.
Agent #1 - Shot Daniel at point blank range.
Robert
Ann
Agent #2

I will update the map at the end of the round, unless there is a request for it.

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

With the miracle of the flames, Robert gains confidence he didn't know he had. He dashes forward at full charge against the third agent firing at him, his sword of fire positioned to..."disarm" the agent, so to speak.

[The_New_Guy]

Robert, now with a flaming sword to go along with the flaming wings and flaming shield he has previously displayed, steadily advances on his attacker. Seeing this monster of brilliant flame approach, the agent panics, but he is not fast enough to get away. Robert's heavy blow lands true, knocking away the agent's weapon.

Ann, now cognizant of what is going on, rushes to Lawrence's side - her mind much to concerned about his condition to think about trifles like "how the hell did he do that"?

The second agent, his jaw still sore from the solid blow delivered by Daniel, decides to return the favor and drives his shoulder squarely into Daniel's chest with a heavy blow - one that doesn't even make Daniel flinch.

[[OOC]]
New Map
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f250/alaffin/suite-2.jpg

As you can see Jackson is about to join the commotion (if he wishes) - he'll be able to act at the end of the round.

Round One
Nathan - Failed to disarm agent #1
Agent #3 - Fired a spray of bullets at Robert, all of which were deflected by his shield of flame.
Daniel - Walked forward and punched agent #2. Succeeded in hurting the man.
Eric - Charged agent #3 and missed with a punch.
Agent #1 - Shot Daniel at point blank range.
Robert - Stalked towards a gun-toting agent menacingly and swung his new, flamey sword, disarming Agent #3.
Ann - Ran to Lawrence's Side
Agent #2 - Delivered a heavy, ineffective blow to Robert's chest.

Round 2
Nathan -
Agent #3 -
Daniel -
Eric -
Agent #1 -
Robert -
Ann -
Agent #2 -
Jackson -

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan inexpertly recovered from his failed attempt at disarming the leader. Realizing that his opponent was clearly more skilled, he decided to switch to a different tactic.

"Even if you do capture me, do you honestly believe they'll buy that I did this? I'm a diplomat, not a soldier. They'll find out about you, and take you down!"

Hoping his opponent was paying more attention to what he was saying than what he was doing, he once again tried to take the gun from him.

((Move action to demoralize with intimidate at a -5 penaly, Standard action to disarm)

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric frowned, annoyed with himself that his punch had missed. Then his eyes bulged out at the sight of Robert with the flaming sword and shield.

Shaking his head to clear the shock, he wracked his brain to come up with something else to do to immobilize Agent #3. In despariation, he dropped to the ground and wrapped his arms around the agent's legs. Rugby skills, don't fail me now! he thought.

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

Daniel once again shrugged off a blow from the much bigger man, surprising himself as much if not more than his opponent. Still, he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. He seemed to have enough strength to easily punch a hole in the wall...So, he wondered... Maybe he could put the agent through as easily as his fist?

So, with that in mind, Daniel grabbed the agent by the nearest arm while the guy was in close. Then, whipping him around and lifting the man off his feet if he had the strength, he attempted to throw him through the nearest wall. (South on the map from their position, directly in front of Daniel.)

[The_New_Guy]

The first agent just smiled at Nathan's attempt at intimidation. "My dear Mr. James..." he replied, quite smoothly despite the obvious chaos of the situation "...do you really think that I would be allowed to do this if there were concerns about my discovery? I'm merely following my orders - as you should have. The rest? I let my superiors handle that." The attempt to disarm him a second time (along with his inability to hit Daniel at close range) seemed to break that level of cool, but he - again - easily avoided the diplomats clumsy attempt to disarm his opponent.

Meanwhile, Agent #3, no without a weapon and faced with something he would have called an impossibility two minutes before, began to panic. Deciding the non-flaming opponent was the easiest target (and the one less likely to be a phantasm caused by some NSA mind-altering drug), he dropped back into a standard fighting stance and delivered a swift blow to Eric's jaw. The blow didn't land clean, but it was hard enough that it hurt the former navy man.

Daniel, emboldened by his recent displays of strength, reached out to grab the second agent. The attempt was clumsy, but effective none-the-less. As Daniel's hands caught the intruder by the collar the agent managed to knock one hand away - but one hand was all the businessman needed, and in a moment the agent was flying across the room, and out the large picture window, across the street and into the building adjacent.

Eric McMahon, still a little bit sore from the rather hard punch from the rather large man, ducked and tackled his attacker. For a second it looked as if the big man might brush off his attack as easily as the first attacker brushed off Nathan's attempt to disarm. But Eric was ex-navy, and knew a thing or two about hand-to-hand combat. Although his jaw ached from the punch, he dropped his center of gravity and managed to take the agent to the floor with him

Determined to end the fight left in this amazingly lucky (and surprisingly strong) young man, the first agent reloaded his firearm, stepped out around the door, and emptied it into Daniel's head and chest. One bullet in particular, caught the business man square in the forehead - obvious to all as Daniel's neck snapped back from the sheer momentum of the impact. But that was the extent of it. His head snapped back as if he had caught an uppercut to the jaw, not a bullet to the forehead, and then returned to it's normal position -complete with a crumpled bullet embedded against his forehead.

Round 2
Nathan - Attempts to intimidate and disarm Agent #1, both with no success
Agent #3 - Catches Eric with an uppercut
Daniel - Throws Agent #2 out the window. And across the street. And through the next buildings windows.
Eric -Tackles Agent #3
Agent #1 -Unloads a full clip into Daniel (okay, probably not kosher w/the rules, but done for drama), including one putting one square on the mans forehead.
Robert -
Ann -
Agent #2 - Across the street and out of action.
Jackson -

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

Robert ran over to the now tackled Agent and pointed the tip of the flaming blade at his throat.

"If you know what is good for you, stop."

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

Daniel stared out the shattered window and the hole in the building on the opposite side of the street, wondering if he'd killed the man and speechless at the amount of strength he'd just displayed. He'd tossed the guy across the street and through two walls or windows just as easily as if he'd thrown a baseball. He was still in shock when he turned to hear footsteps coming out of Nathan's room.

This time he felt the impact of each bullet, his mind slowly coming to terms with the fact that they were simply slapping harmlessly against him. He just raised an eyebrow as the agent unloaded the rest of his pistol's clip from less than ten feet away, even putting one round dead center in the middle of Daniel's forehead. His head snapped back from the blow, but his ears weren't even ringing when he slowly brought it back up. The flattened bullet slid off of his forehead and into his hand and he lifted it up to the light for a moment just to see for himself. "Yeah...okay."

Daniel's eyes focused past the flattened pistol round and focused on the last agent standing, a small smirk alighting upon his features as he started walking towards the guy. Reaching out, he grabbed the barrel of the agent's pointed pistol and with a quick squeeze of his hand, twisted the weapon into uselessness. "I think it's about time you guys told us who you are and what you want...or else I might just decide my throwing arm needs more of a workout." he threatened, nodding his head backwards at the shattered window.

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan watched in shock as the bullet barely scratched Daniel. Deciding to use the opportunity it presented, he aimed a blow to the leader's gut. Keeping his expression under control as best he could, he abruptly switched directions, aiming for the man's face instead. He was banking on the man not harming him; he knew the blow had left him wide open.

((Bluff to Feint as a move action, and a standard attack. I'll use Aggressive Stance to decrease my Defence by 4, and increase attack by 2))

[The_New_Guy]

The third agent didn't particularly believe in the image of the avenging angel that appeared above him. To his mind it just couldn't be real, and so he chose to believe it was something - anything - else. Just an illusion, a trick of his mind. He pushed himself up in an attempt to disengage himself from Eric McMahon, but stopped as he felt the blade press against his throat. Illusions and tricks of the mind shouldn't press so against his windpipe. And yet he could've sworn he felt a trickle of blood run down the side of his neck. He froze, and gave up resisting, surrendering to whatever monster it was that he faced.

The first agent wasn't so easily convinced. Of course, he hadn't yet retreated into the realm of "this is all just an illusion". He just convinced himself that all his bullets had missed Daniel, that his aim was off. It was very hard, however, to keep up that pretense when the bullet slid off Daniel's forehead, and he held it out for all to see. Daniel taking the gun and bending it was the breaking point. His mind just couldn't handle what he was seeing. No one was so strong as to bend a gun barrel so effortlessly. No one could stop bullets with their forehead and not wind up in intensive care. It was a trick. It was a magician's trick. Somehow he was being fooled.

Deciding to take matters, quite literally, into his own hand, he stepped forward to hit Daniel with an open-palm blow. If it landed - which by all rights it should have - it would've severely incapacitated any foe. He threw his entire weight and will into the blow, hoping somehow to end the madness...

...and was stopped as Nathan finally landed a blow, coming across and blindsiding the agent as he moved forward. It wasn't heavy, but the agent was off-balance and it managed to knock him from his feet and to his back.

Then, a noise at the door. It sounded like someone was beating on the door. Not beating on it. Beating it down.

...THUD...


...THUD...

...THUD...

The door crashed open, and yet another agent - dressed in the default 'agent black' suit fell inwards upon it. Followed by two more agents (still standing) and the more familiar Agent Andrews. All with pistols drawn, pointing to all corners of the room.

"What the [expletive deleted] is going on here?" Arthur's voice was full of stress as his eyes surveyed the scene in front of him.

"Uhh... Agent Andrews...." said one of the still standing, accompanying agents, his voice somewhat unsteady "...his...uh... his... err... wings are... um... on fire."

"I can see that Mr. Richards...."

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

Daniel nodded to Nathan with a small smile, a look of respect for handling himself well. He was glaring down at the lead agent as Andrews and Co. busted into the room with pistols drawn. Pretty sure that if pistols hadn't hurt him before, they wouldn't again, Daniel reached down and grabbed the lead agent by his collar and lifted him bodily up into the air. Again, no man should have been able to do this without at least straining, but when Daniel shifted him to one hand, holding him straight-armed and easily, Andrews would be sure to notice.

"You want to explain this, Andrews? The two here and the one I threw out the window all came in here in government standard uniform and started shooting at us. Lawrence- OH GOD!" Daniel suddenly remembered that Lawrence had been shot. He tossed the lead agent down at Andrew's feet and rushed over to where Anne was kneeling by her husband. "Someone call an ambulance! Jesus Christ, he's been shot!" he yelled to the room. "Anne, is he..." he trailed off, the question obvious.

[ilovefire]

Jackson Ford

It was at this point that Jackson, who had been in a sort of stupor at seeing all these things happening, finally shook himself out of it and ran to Lawrence. "Oh hell oh hell don't be dead come on come on don't be dead..." he muttered to himself as he tried to do some form of first aid on Lawrence's prone form.

(([roll0] : Medicine))

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan's line of sight had been blocked by the lead agent before, but now his mouth hung open at the sight of some sort of fiery angel of death. He was forcibly brought back to reality when the agents burst in.

While he was happy that what were hopefully real NSA agents had shown up, he realized that he wasn't out of the woods yet. He would have to talkwith Agent Andrews privately before anything else like this happened. Nathan resolved to keep quiet, and do so at the first opportunity.

[The_New_Guy]

Andrews was rather unimpressed by Daniel's display of strength, or at least it seemed so, the way his face failed to even shift a fraction of an inch when Daniel lifted the man off the ground. However, before he or the other men had a chance to react (admittedly they were a bit slow on the trigger - what with the flaming angel-like figure in the back of the room) Daniel had dropped the man and bounded - almost flew even - across the room to the place where Lawrence had fallen.

The prognosis wasn't good. An was too busy weeping to hear the question, but even a basic knowledge of medicine would tell one that the bullet had caught Lawrence in some vital area, and he had thus lost a tremendous amount of blood even in just a few seconds. His pulse was weak, and his breathing was somewhere between shallow and non-existent, learning to the non-existent end of the spectrum.

Andrews moved into action as Daniel spoke, bounding across the room with a great deal of grace - but far slower than Daniel had. "Call a bus..." he shouted as he moved, not bothering to look back to see that his orders had been followed. "...tell them we have a man d-".

...CRACK...

The report of a gunshot echoed in the room. It was odd in that it was a single, solitary gunshot - moments earlier all one could hear was the scream of bullets. A single gunshot was much more - attention getting. Andrews spun around quickly, almost losing balance as he changed direction suddenly.

"He reached for the gun..." said the agent who moments ago had been awed by Robert's wings rather sheepishly, nodding towards the first "agent" who now lay silenced, a bullet hole in the base of his skull.

"Damn..." replied Andrews, shaking his head and turning again to the place where Lawrence was downed, swiftly checking vital signs. "Just get the bus. And watch the other guy."

"I think the... err... Angel... has him under control sir."

"Just do it."

"Yes sir." The agent flipped out a phone and began talking into it in hushed tones.

Andrews continued, staring grimly at Lawrence and his pool of blood. "It's not good. I don't think the ambulance will get here in time. He's fading fast." He paused, shook his head. "And they weren't - aren't - NSA Mr. Horton. Unless they were rogues, in which case they're not NSA anyways. If the NSA wanted to kill you we could've done it a year ago. Or we could have done it without killing a fellow agent. They may have dressed the part, but any idiot can buy a black suit. Did you check their ID? Did they even carry ID?" He grumbled, stood tall, glancing back at the remaining "agent", and the remains of the first agent. "And where in the name of Christ did that kid get flaming wings? I mean that's rather neat - a trick like that can distract an entire room - but risky as all hell. How'd you do it?"

...

Ann wept as the life slowly slipped away from her finances body, aware that she was unable to do anything but watch. Tentatively she laid a hand upon his blood stained shoulder, trying in her way to at least comfort him in his last moments. For a moment it seemed as if Lawrence had drawn his last breath, and then sighed lightly, but a moment later a warm glow began to surround him. To describe it perfectly would be impossible, but it seemed to those watching closely his body was now glowing with a gentle light, like that of a candle. Then it faded, and with a sharp, deep cough he sat up - or more properly slouched up against the chair, and began to breath again.

[ChronicLunacy]

Andrews continued, staring grimly at Lawrence and his pool of blood. "It's not good. I don't think the ambulance will get here in time. He's fading fast." He paused, shook his head. "And they weren't - aren't - NSA Mr. Horton. Unless they were rogues, in which case they're not NSA anyways. If the NSA wanted to kill you we could've done it a year ago. Or we could have done it without killing a fellow agent. They may have dressed the part, but any idiot can buy a black suit. Did you check their ID? Did they even carry ID?" He grumbled, stood tall, glancing back at the remaining "agent", and the remains of the first agent. "And where in the name of Christ did that kid get flaming wings? I mean that's rather neat - a trick like that can distract an entire room - but risky as all hell. How'd you do it?"


Daniel felt his teeth grinding together. He almost socked in the jaw for being so flippant about the situation, about Lawrence dying while they watched. He refrained from hurting the man, but couldn't keep the words from flying. "No, I didn't check their damn ID's. I was under the impression that we were safe with you people! And golly gee willakers, Mr. Andrews, all the neat tricks in the f*cking world didn't save Lawrence from taking a bullet when they shot at his wife! He's dying and you can't do a damn thing...to..."



Ann wept as the life slowly slipped away from her finances body, aware that she was unable to do anything but watch. Tentatively she laid a hand upon his blood stained shoulder, trying in her way to at least comfort him in his last moments. For a moment it seemed as if Lawrence had drawn his last breath, and then sighed lightly, but a moment later a warm glow began to surround him. To describe it perfectly would be impossible, but it seemed to those watching closely his body was now glowing with a gentle light, like that of a candle. Then it faded, and with a sharp, deep cough he sat up - or more properly slouched up against the chair, and began to breath again.

"Holy sh*t!" Daniel stared wide eyed as Lawrence shot straight up, breathing and alive. "What did you do?" he asked Anne, his jaw hanging open. "On a related note, I think I'm going to throw up. Excuse me."

Daniel ran to the nearest bathroom as the adrenaline and shock wore off and the reality of the whole situation hit him like a freight train. He'd been shot!! Lawrence had been shot! Lawrence had come back from the dead! People were trying to kill him! Robert had flaming wings! He might have killed someone! He'd seen two men die (and one come back)! He reacted like any normal man who had never been around violence outside of a boxing match would have reacted. The contents of his stomach were violently deposited in the nearest toilet bowl and then he leaned against it groaning. "What the hell is going on? He wiped his mouth with some toilet paper and sat on his haunches.

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric released the agent he was holding after seeing Robert had the man under control. However, the sight of Robert in "angel mode" had him stunned and he remained on the floor.

The final gunshot made him jump, and he rolled and half-rose. Seeing the situation under control, he dropped prone again. A distracted corner of his mind heard Daniel being sick in the bathroom. The rest of his mind was too confused to be able to come up with a coherent thought.

Slowly, he stood and looked around the room. Then he fainted.

[ilovefire]

Jackson Ford

Jackson stares in awe at Ann's miraculous healing of Lawrence. That's all he's doing right now--staring, slack-jawed.

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

There was no time to think about what was happening. Robert was focused on keeping the renegade agent subdued.

It was starting to be too much for him

"Can...can someone keep an eye on this guy? I think I'm ready to pass out."

[The_New_Guy]

Agent Andrews' reaction was one of somewhat silent disbelief. For a long time he stared, his mind considering the impossible possibility that he had just seen Ann bring a man back from the brink of death. Ann too was confused, but relief overwhelmed much of the confusion, and buried it deep between something that bordered on tears of joy.

The reactions around the room distracted Arthur from his thoughts considerations. With a gesture a second agent moved across the room and stood menacingly over the large assailant. With a fast, almost unconscious movement he kicked the assailants machine gun far across the room, to the doorway, where one of the other agents (in particular, the one Daniel had man-handled) picked it up.

"Alright..." said Arthur eventually, his eyes never leaving the newly resuscitated Lawrence "...there's some weird things happening here. I think maybe we made a mistake letting you guys go without testing. Or maybe I need to see a psych. At this point I don't know which. I take it by Ms. Reynold's miraculous healing powers, and Mr. Harrison's flaming wings - which I assume are real now and not just some kind of crazy special effects illusion - that you've all been noticing something odd about yourselves?" He didn't wait for a collective nod. Something about the situation told him not to stop talking. "We'll - I guess we'll reinterview you. Try and figure out what's happening. I'm... ah... not sure I believe it all just yet, but my mind is just spinning its tires trying to figure it all out. Maybe some of the good folks at the centre will know more. But that's for... a little bit later. Right now my concern is for your immediate safety. I need to know who these guys are and what they want. And how they found you? I can interrogate this guy, but answers will come more quickly from you if you know anything - and that will in turn assure your safety."

"Not that I'm so sure you need protection any more. But that's another issue...."

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Realizing that keeping quiet wasn't going to be an option with so many people in potential danger, Nathan sighed and spoke up.

"Look, I think I know some things about this, but it would be best if we discussed it in private."

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

Daniel came back into the living room with a glass of water, wiping sweat from his brow. Like any strong hurling session, Daniel felt gross and sweaty afterwards, but with the water he was starting to feel better. "Ugh..." he groaned, leaning against a wall. "I'd love to hear anything you'd like to contribute, Mr. James...though I agree we should get our would-be assassin out of the room before you say anything.

If Nathan had meant that he was only going to speak to Agent Andrews, he had another thing coming. There was absolutely no way Daniel was going to sit out while something might be explained. If they had a problem with it, well he'd already tossed one man out a window tonight...

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

"I'm not sure I want to know. It might ruin the magic of having a gorram fire shield popping out of my wrist."

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

"Hey, it's not like I'm complaining. I feel like I could bench press a Toyota." Daniel swallowed another gulp of water, closing his eyes at the remaining taste of bile in his mouth. "I mean...I took a bullet to the forehead for god's sake! I don't even have a headache!" he couldn't help but grin. "I'm like Superman or something. This is amazing! I mean, what next? Can I fly too?"

"Still..." he sobered suddenly, the grin disappearing. "I'd like to know why I'm the way I am now...if it's harmful somehow or if it's going to suddenly go away I think that's something I'm going to have to be aware of." He walked into the room, giving the assassin a glare as he leaned one hip against the couch. "I mean, we haven't been awake a day and look at what's happened already. Something's definitely going on here and I don't think it's all just 'neat look at my super powers'."

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

"Fly?" Robert stretched out his flaming wings. "You think I...oh sweet. I cannot wait to try that."

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric gave a soft groan as he regained consciousness. (OOC: He heard Daniel and Robert's comments.) Hearing Robert's comment about flying, he looked up to see the young man still had his wings. It wasn't a hallucination, then?

He managed to sit up, then looked at Agent Andrews. Yes, please, tell us what is going on. He turned to Nathan. Or you, if you think you know. I've been told I've been asleep for 2 years, realized fire treats my hands like iron to a magnet, seen a man thrown through a wall, and seen someone else turn into an angel. Please, someone, tell me this is just a dream!

[ilovefire]

Jackson Ford

Jackson shook his head, clearing it, before roughly slumping into the nearest cushioned chair. "This is... One of us is super strong, one of us can bring people back from the dead, one of us has freaking wings made out of fire... What the hell happened to us?" He seemed to be talking to himself, mostly, muttering just loud enough to be heard.

[The_New_Guy]

Agent Andrews shook his head. "I've got no idea what's going on with your new..." he paused, shook his head "...talents, shall we say. Quite frankly, I'm not too sure I haven't suffered a brain aneurysm on the way up the stairs, and this is all just my imagination."

Arthur shook his head again, trying to get things straightened up. "But I don't earn my paycheck by pondering if I'm a man dreaming that I'm a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming I'm a man, so we'll try and do this as by the book as possible. Hawkins, Wilson, Potter, can you escort this gentleman here out and downstairs and to the van. Take him back for questioning." There was a moment there, when the anger became palpable on Arthur's face. "Remember he's responsible for the death of a fellow agent, so don't spare the kid gloves, -k?"

The Agents placed a pair of handcuffs - roughly -on the last remaining attacker, and then - equally roughly - hoisted him from the ground and escorted him from the room.

"Now Mr. James - do you mind sharing with the others?"

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

As everyone readied themselves to hear the explanation, Robert decided to see if he could turn the new wings on and off.

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan knew at this point, the only thing that could save him would be honesty. He took a moment to marshal his thoughts, then began to speak.

"Two and a half years ago, some men just like the ones who attacked you approached me with a job. I had to fly to Boston, pick up a briefcase, and deliver it to Los Angeles. I don't know what was inside it, but it was obviously important to them. For some reason, it didn't make it off the plane when you guys unloaded it, so they figured I got scared and dumped it. So they tried to set me up for murder, so they could...ask me more about it in jail."

Nathan blew out a sigh. This confession was almost cathartic.

[The_New_Guy]

Arthur's face suddenly became very grim and serious as Nathan confessed to him - to all the survivors in this little group really. He took a deep breath, and then let it out as a long cool stream of air before speaking again. It was a lot to take in, really. He was dealing well with the presence of gifted individuals - and by gifted he meant people who seemed for the most part, to have abilities that were more or less impossible. But this just compounded matters. It made things more difficult.

"Mr. James..." he finally said "...I am going to act as though I didn't hear what you just confessed to - for the time being. Right now, for your safety, and the safety of the others, I'm going to have to move you. And everyone here. There is a hotel about a half an hour from here that we sometimes use for this kind of thing. We can - will, post an armed guard at the front desk. Three armed guards in fact. I don't want a repeat of what happened downstairs. Do not doubt that there will be a reckoning for what you have done - if I take your meaning correctly, and I'm sure I do, then you may find yourself in fairly deep trouble."

For the first time he glanced at the hole in the window. He had heard just about everyone repeat the story of Daniel throwing someone through it, but it was the first time he had bothered to look - out the window, and to the broken window across the street. "As for your new..." he paused, struggling for a word "...abilities - I do not know. And we'll leave it at that. I do not know. If I were you I would keep them hidden for now - god only knows what it means, but you certainly don't want that much attention unless you want people shooting at you again."

He nodded as the flaming "feathers" of Robert's wings started to moult, vanishing before they hit the ground and leaving nothing behind. The sword and shield faded too - consumed by gouts of that same flame. "Hiding those... err... appendages is a good idea Mr. Harrison. I believe I could explain away Mr. Horton's strength or Ms. Reynold's healing. But flaming wings - that'd be tough. No one is going to know where you are going - not even any other agents. Just myself. It's unorthodox, but if there's a leak somewhere, I'm the only person I can trust. Even your guards will be in the dark. I'll get a van brought by. You get your things - quickly."

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric sighed softly. He'd been hoping things could settle down. Then he laughed to himself. Settle down? he thought. Not likely!

He went to his room to gather his things.

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

"Whatever you say, Andrews, just as long as this little incident doesn't keep me from seeing my wife -er...ex-wife when she gets here..." Daniel said as he went to go get his things from his room. He hadn't unpacked so it was as simple as just wheeling it all back out. He really hoped they wouldn't try to keep them underground and run a million tests and keep him from his family now that they knew that there was something...odd about the passengers. Nothing but nothing was going to keep him from seeing Rachel. Afterward they could run all the tests they wanted but he needed to see her...especially after all this.

Well, he was definitely a stronger man than he'd been before, he chuckled to himself. Now if he could just keep from sweeping her off her feet the minute she walked in, that would be something. God, he hoped she didn't bring her fiancee with her... It was strange how being shot at paled in comparison to the issues of his wife. He could beat assassins around all day long if it meant going home to see Rachel at the end of the day. Still...would she even want him now? He was so scatterbrained about all of it he just didn't know where to keep his thoughts. One thing at a time, Daniel...one thing at a time.

[Green Bean]

Despite his despair Nathan almost chuckled at the agent's threat.

"There'll be a reckoning? Is it the kind of reckoning where you shoot a bunch of people to frame me for murder? Because that's what it would take to faze me at this point. I'll go get my things."

Nathan walks into his room, and grabs his overnight bag.

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

After gathering his things, Robert stands off to the side and practices activating and deactivating his new ability. If he was going to have to conceal it, he was going to have to learn how it worked.

"Oh man, if only Katie could see this."

[The_New_Guy]

Agent Andrews shook his head in reply to Nathan's joke. "It's not a joking matter Mr. James. What you've done could be construed as treasonous. Consequently, ignoring your confession is also an act of treason. Fortunately for both of us, the NSA allows its agents some leeway in terms of such things, so I am able to act towards what I believe to be right."

"As to your ex-wife, Mr. Horton..." he said, turning his head to address the businessman "...I promise you I will do what I can."

---

The group got their things assembled quickly, as Robert practiced bringing his wings, sword and shield to life, and then dismissing them. The sword and shield seemed to be simple enough -they just appeared and disappeared in the blink of an eye. Only the wings seemed to behave differently - when he summoned them they flared to light in a gout of flame, and when he dismissed them they faded away by moulting flaming feathers.

"I wish you'd stop doing that..." said Andrews as the young man was surrounded in flame for the umpteenth time.

---

The car ride, for the most part, was pretty boring. Arthur Andrews drove, pistol in his lap the entire trip. He didn't allow music to be played - he needed to concentrate on the road. Just in case.

The Van didn't have standard seats - it was certainly not like the van the survivors had rode together to the Robson Arms in. Only the pilot and co-pilot seats remained - the rest of the seats had been torn out, to make room for more passengers. There was a seatbelt for everyone (and then some), but comfort was an option that wasn't included here. Lawrence and Ann sat together in a corner, Ann cuddled up close to her fiancee and still very teary eyed. Lawrence, for his part, tried to comfort her, but part of him was still in shock from having taken the bullet.

Arthur Andrews invited Eric to take the co-pilots seat. Though the agent didn't say much once they left the building, he did explain this - Eric was ex-Navy, and knew how to use firearms. If it came to it, Arthur had a shotgun across his lap along with the pistol, that would become Eric's arms if there was trouble.

Things went surprisingly smooth (given how the day was already beginning to turn out), until they hit morning traffic. It was a fact of life, but it didn't make Arthur any less agitated. Each of the cars could be carrying an attack. After ten minutes of stop and go, the cause of the traffic became clear - a massive accident, about seven cars ahead of the van. There were three - no five cars involved. And it looked pretty bad.

"Keep your eyes peeled..." said Arthur, his first words in about five minutes

[Green Bean]

Nathan kept his eyes peeled for anyone who looked suspicious. While he knew it was unlikely, there was a chance they'd use one of the men who had contacted him the first time.

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric did everything he could to keep his heart rate under control. He knew from experience that he was a much better shot when calm and controlled. He kept turning his head, watching the cars. He knew traffic on the Beltway was always a nightmare during rush hour. Accidents happen all the time. It doesn't mean anything, he kept telling himself. It could be a normal, rush-hour crash. Despite constant reminders, he keep looking back at the crash, hoping he spotted anything suspicious while he could still act. Maryland State Police... They would be at a crash this bad, and could help if a gunfight breaks out. I'd rather not get involved with the police, but it would beat getting killed! He looked around to find where the cop cars were located.

I'm assuming we are still in MD. If not, change Eric's thoughts to "Virginia State Police."

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

Daniel made his way up towards the front so he could put his head in between the shoulders of the Agent and Eric in their seats. He felt a little silly saying it, but he had to say something about it just to clear the air. He made sure to raise his voice enough so that the others in the back could hear him as well. "If there's an accident, maybe we can help." Daniel said, raising an eyebrow at Andrews. "I mean, we've got these powers for a reason, right? I could probably lift those cars off of each other if I had to, and now that we know about Anne she might be able to save someone's life out there. They could be dying for all we know. Shouldn't we at least go and see?" He shrugged, uncomfortable inside the cramped van. "I realize it could be a trap, but what if we could have done something and didn't? I don't think I'd feel right..."

[Green Bean]

Nathan looked away from the window, toward Daniel.

"Look, even if it wasn't a trap, helping would cause more problems than it solves. If you go and toss around some cars, or Ann goes out there and pulls another Lazarus, the NSA would have to stick everyone in this town in custody to keep them from talking, because the alternative would be to let the world find out. And trust me when I say that it would not be a good thing. I mean, bringing people back to life? That's something countries would fight wars over."

((Incidentally, CL, is that a typo, or am I secretly possessing you? :smalltongue:)

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

Whoops, typo sorry. :smallredface: My last M&M character was named Nathan. Typed it without thinking.

"Hey, that's an easy thing to say but if you were faced with revealing your powers and letting someone die what would you do? I'd hope you were a good enough person to do something about it instead of sitting all safe in the van and taking care of your own skin." Daniel frowned. "I'm sure the fire department has everything under control, but what damage could it do to just have a look? Keeping all this to myself to save the NSA some paperwork just doesn't seem right to me. I mean, has anyone wondered why we are the way we are now? Couldn't it be for some higher purpose? Don't tell me you never read comic books when you were a kid." Daniel smiled. "Besides...it might be fun."

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

"Or maybe you could...oh I don't know, fake it?" He shrugged as he spoke. "I mean, adrenaline can give people a small boost of strength, right? Just act like your having a difficult time with it. And you..." He looked to Ann. "...just do what you can before someone official sees."

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric turns and grins at Robert. And how are you going to hide the wings, sword, and shield?

[The_New_Guy]

Lights flash up ahead - there are several service cars at the accident, including two Maryland State Troopers, a fire truck and a couple ambulances. As you inch closer the scene comes more into focus. Suffice it to say that traffic is barely moving.

Andrews grimaced at the suggestion that the survivors go to the victims of the car accident. "I won't tell you what to do and what not to do. Given everything that has happened, I'd think you'd want to be more careful. But there's people in those cars too - real people. If you can help - well, let your own moral compasses guide you. I'll keep an eye out from here."

"I..." added Ann, her voice taut - nerves and emotions still keeping her on the edge "...I think we should help. I don't know how I did what I did back there in the suite, but...." Her voice trailed off.

Lawrence nodded "If Ann's in, then I'm in."

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

"I'm going to try my best not to 'Flame on'. If we're attacked though, no promises. Other than that, I'm just another guy."

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

"Alright," Daniel grinned at the others who had said they were going to help. "Let's go see if there's anything we can do then. The rest of you can stay here if you want. Keep your eyes peeled for more people trying to kill us." Then he reached over and pulled open the van's side door.

Hopping out, Daniel tried to get a handle on the situation by jumping up onto the roof of another car. There was some smoke, but if he could identify where they were needed most he might be able to get things done quickly. He looked for cars with people trapped in them, cars the emergency services couldn't get to due to fire or other cars in the way, anywhere they might be of more use than a firefighter.

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric sighed, but felt guilty staying in the van while the others went to help. He hopped out after Ann, Daniel, and Robert.

[The_New_Guy]

OOC: Eric didn't have a pistol. He was riding shotgun. And Arthur kept the shotgun - Eric was just going to have to take it if there was a gunfight.

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan just leaned back in his seat. Stupid acts of heroism aside, sticking his head out in the open at this point would just get people killed. He continued looking for recognizable faces, or anything suspicious. Hopefully, if anything happened, he'd be able to shout a warning.

[The_New_Guy]

Daniel, Robert, Eric, Ann and Lawrence file out of the fan rather quickly, while Nathan and Jackson elected to remain behind....

Outside the Van
Swiftly exiting the car, Daniel leaped from the ground to the trunk, and from the trunk to the top of a nearby car in two swift, fluid - almost effortless - leaps. The extra height afforded him a better view of the crash scene up ahead, but it didn't do much to lower his profile.

"Hey..." came a voice from the driver's window below "...get the hell off the top of my car!"

Inside the Car
"At least you two are more pragmatic..." added Arthur as the others left "...there's a time and place for heroism, but not when your life is in danger" He kept a tight grip on his pistol, and a watchful eye on the road - literally groaning when he saw Daniel leap to the top of a nearby car. "So much for being inconspicuous."

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric pauses once he is out of the car and looks around in an attempt to figure out something he can do to help. He jogs to the front of the pile-up, keeping an eye out for anything strange.

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

"It looks pretty bad." he told the others from the car roof, ignoring the protests of the driver. "Could any of you do something about the fire?" he asked, wondering whether or not fire shields and such were a clue to other fire-type powers.

Daniel hopped off the car and jogged towards the wreck with Eric. He'd seen one car on fire, someone trapped inside. It looked to be the most immediate danger so he figured he'd start there. Sidestepping the firefighters and other rescue workers, he attempted to make his way around to the other side of the car without being detected. He wondered how his new body would hold up to fire. If he could get close enough to open the car door he could pull the guy out to safety. He tested his resilience by reaching out and attempting to grab the frame of the shattered window where he could get the best grip on it. If it burned him, he obviously wasn't going to just sit there and let his hand fry, however.

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric followed Daniel to the burning car, thinking that if the other man pulled a Superman-stunt, his presence could act as a cover to observers. (OOC: In other words, it would look like Eric and Daniel worked together in the act of super-human strength.)

Remembering the way the flame on the stove had acted, Eric reached out his hand towards the flames, thinking he could pull them away from the car's occupant.

[The_New_Guy]

Both Daniel and Eric managed to escape the immediate notice of any of the emergency workers - the fire fighters were too busy fighting fires, the paramedics too busy with their injured parties and the state trooper too busy directing traffic to notice that two people of dubious mental health (well - in the minds of the anyone who lacked the knowledge of their super-powers anyways) had quickly covered the distance between their black van and the car wrecks.

Ann and Lawrence held back - not quite as daring as Daniel and Eric, yet ready to jump in if there was a need. Not that they were sure exactly what they would do.

Daniel easily pulled away the door, his apparent resilience to harm protecting him from the intense heat of the flames, and his physical strength more than enough to rip a badly damaged car door away. It was about then that the firemen noticed the pair, and one of the team took off to get to the state trooper.

Those left behind in the car heard a string of curses come from the mouth of their guardian agent.

However, Eric was perhaps the more interesting case of the two. Focusing his mind on the fire, he easily pulled it away from the unconscious victim - if one could consider what he did pulling (it was more like directing). However as he pulled it the flames made a beeline to Eric himself. It all happened quickly - even Daniel didn't have time to get out of the way (not that he actually needed to get out of the way). Suddenly the flames touched Eric, and he exploded - upwards thankfully, and not outwards, but about 100 meters into the air - to the simultaneous gasp of everyone who could see (except perhaps the survivors and the agents, who might in fact be bored with such weirdness by now). When the conflagration died down about two seconds later, Eric was no longer standing as he had been before. Instead, burning slightly above the ground, was a being wrapped in fire, his very flesh dancing embers of fire.

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

"Uh...sh*t!" Daniel said as he watched Eric start with the fireworks. "Dude, you're on fire! Stop it!" he tried weakly, actually waving his hands a bit as if to shoo the flames that wrapped around Eric away. "Okay..we're going to get caught..." he sighed as he went back to the rescue.

"Hello, sir. You okay?" he added with his best professional smile at the guy trapped inside the no longer burning (?) car. He noticed that part of his shirt was on fire and hurriedly slapped it out before having the grace to look sheepish. "If you can move, I can get you out of there." he reassured the man as he took another look at the way the victim was situated. He was pretty sure he could push the dash back and just let the guy climb out.

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

"Whoa." Robert had paused at the awesome sight of this real life 'Human Torch'. When he final realized that he was just wasting time, he turned to the crowds. "Stop staring and start helping the wounded!" He yelled. "These people are need our help NOW! You can ask for autographs and pictures later!" He turned around and continued to 'Ground Zero' to see what he could do to help.

[The_New_Guy]

(OOC: Sorry for the delay - was waiting for Kesnit to post a reply)

On the Street
The newly flaming Eric McMahon stood stock still, stunned by his sudden transformation into - well, what appeared to be living fire. Most of the crowds were stunned too, though a few had grabbed their cell-phones and started viedo taping the spectacle. Even the state trooper looked on slack-jawed, and the firemen ignored the fact that, for the most part, the fire in the car had gone out.

Of course for the survivors, having seen angel wings, miraculous healing and a bullet deflected by Daniel's forehead, this was all mundane. Daniel, in the cap helping the trapped victim, found the man non-responsive to his questions. He was not, as others were, in awe of the mighty display of strength, nor flaming man outside the door, but merely unconscious, knocked out by a stiff blow to the forehead by the steering column of his now wrecked vehicle. He was also pinned down pretty firmly by said steering column, not that it would be hard for Daniel to move it away.

However, all this provided a pretty good distraction - and so Ann took Lawrence's hand, and both vanished from where they were standing...

Inside the Car
Agent Andrews was apoplectic. It was one thing for Daniel to play hero, to rip a car door from its hinges. That could explained away. But Eric's fire trick was not mundane. It was not even logical. It made about as much sense as Robert's flaming wings.

The worst of it was the lack of an exit. Even if they managed to get back to the car without questions, it would be a few minutes before traffic started moving. More probably, given the fact that everyone would probably be busy trying to find the guy who had burst into flames. Things were spiraling out of control at an alarming rate.

Then Lawrence and Ann vanished. That was the last straw. Holstering his pistol and laying the shotgun on the floor of the Van beside him he jumped out of the car and strode quickly to where the State Trooper was standing. He passed close enough to the car, to call out to Daniel, Eric and Robert as he passed. "As soon as you're done, get in the van. No mugging for the crowd. We have to move." He didn't wait for a reply.

The State Trooper snapped out of his slack-jawed trance as Arthur approached, and his hand went to his gun rather quickly. Arthur was ready for him though, and had his own pistol out much more quickly, along with his NSA badge. "Put the gun away. Now..." he said, his voice carrying a steely authority. The state trooper hesitated, then caught the look in the Agent's eyes and quickly relented. In response Arthur put his own gun away, and finished closing the distance between him and the trooper, speaking to him in a significantly more calm and quiet voice.

[Kesnit]

(OOC: Sorry about not posting. I was trying to figure out how to react. Was going to post this morning...)

Eric froze in shock as his body caught fire. Realizing he was making a specticle of himself, he dropped to the ground and rolled as if trying to put out the flames.

He heard Arthur's order and tried to think how to respond. If he got up, it would be obvious that he was not in fact burning alive. In a desperate attempt to maintain their cover, Eric gave an inhuman scream and kept rolling.

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

Daniel laid his hand against the dashboard and gave it a sharp push. The steering column and everything attached to it promptly wrenched back into more or less its normal position, the plastic and metal warping and cracking. Then he pulled the man out of the car and laid him down on the pavement. He hoped the man didn't have any neck injuries that might have been aggravated from moving him, but he figured out of the car was better than in at this point. The situation under control as far as he could make it, and everyone's eyes turned to the spectacle of the amazing human bonfire, Daniel moved to the next victim.

He went to one of the two cars that was flipped over, figuring the firemen with the jaws of life could handle the panicked middle-aged woman while he checked on the occupants of the one with its back turned towards him. He needed to take a few minutes to make sure no one was in dire need of help with this vehicle before he ripped the woman's car apart. He figured she could wait since her car wasn't on fire or anything.

So, Daniel went to his knees and checked underneath the car where any passengers might be, bracing himself for a scene of crushed bodies and gruesome death and praying that someone was left alive.

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric realized that he had to at least look like his rolling was putting out the fire. With a force of will, he imagined the fire burning around him being damped down.

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

With no idea what to do, he grabbed the first blanket he found from an ambulance, without permission, and went over to beat the flames off of Eric.

"Turn it off, turn it off." He whispered to him.

[The_New_Guy]

Daniel moved quickly across the crash scene to the lone car that he could not see into - one that had flipped, and was now perpendicular to the road, with its underside towards the rest of the crash scene.

Meanwhile Eric dropped to the "ground" (although he was actually hovering a few inches above it) and tried to dim the flames that consumed him. He managed to dim the light that was coming from the flames, from that of a roaring fire to something closer to smoldering embers, but as he did he realized, more than being on fire, he was the fire itself.

Robert's attempts to beat out the flames were mostly ineffective. The blanket just passed through Eric as if he were - well, the flames of a fire.

[OOC: ChronicLunacy, check your PM's for a description of what's beneath the car.]

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric smiled at Robert. I'm trying to turn it off, he whispered back. In the meanwhile, could you hold that blanket over me to cover what is going on? With another force of will, Eric tried to imagine his body as being made of flesh and bone rather than living fire.

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

Robert leaned over, trying to hold the blanket in a position to where it looked like it was lying on a body.

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

Daniel almost retched at the sight of what was under the car, covering his hand with his mouth and taking several deep breaths to try to calm his nerves before he gave it another look. There had been two people in the car, maybe a couple. The woman hadn't been wearing her seatbelt and had flown through the windshield onto the pavement outside. Her neck had that odd angle to it that made it clear she wasn't going to be getting back up. The driver, however, had been pinned underneath the car but as far as Daniel could tell was still alive for the moment. There was blood everywhere, so he needed to act fast.

"ANNE!! HELP!!" he yelled back at the scene where he thought Lawrence and Anne had been standing a minute before. Hopefully she'd be able to help one or both of these people once Daniel had freed them.

Daniel bent his knees and took the car's frame in both hands as if he was going to do a dead lift. Then, he slowly began to apply pressure to raise the several ton vehicle over his head and flip it onto its wheels. He gritted his teeth and tried not to think about just how much weight he was actually trying to move and how a normal person would have an stroke trying to accomplish the same feat.

[The_New_Guy]

Eric & Robert
Any attempts to "lay" the blanket over Eric fail miserably - it's really as if he isn't there, like he has no substance other than flame and fire. However, after a moment or two of intense concentration the flaming form of Eric McMahon returns to flesh and blood as the fire completely dies.

Daniel
Daniel easily lifted the car from the ground. Righting it was another matter of course - it was one thing to possess the strength to lift a small car, it was another thing to manipulate it. Still, after a couple of careful movements the car was righted, and returned to the ground - wheels down.

The driver, still held fast by his seatbelt, remained in the car for the ordeal, and was jostled quite roughly through it all. He didn't seem to care much one way or the other though - he had long ago slipped into unconsciousness. Seconds later Ann and Lawrence appeared, behind Daniel, answering his summons.

"Sorry..." said Ann softly "...we were using Eric's distraction to look after the people in the ambulance."

Moving quickly to the car she reached her hand inside and laid it upon the mans shoulder. It only took a moment or two, before the man took in a deep breath, and began coughing.

"We should get out of here. He'll come too directly, and then there'll be questions." Lawrence spoke cautiously. "If you want to wait here I'll pop back for you once Ann's back in the Van."

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric gave a sigh of relief as his body returned to normal. Thinking quickly, he grabbed the blanket from Robert and draped it over himself, hiding the fact that he wasn't burned. Get back to the van, he whispered. I'm going to play dead for a bit in the hopes that, with all the confusion, people just assume I burned to death.

He rolled himself - still under the blanket - as close to an upright car as he could.

Eric is going to slip under the car, then roll out from the other side and try to pass himself off as a concerned citizen.

[ChronicLunacy]

Moving quickly to the car she reached her hand inside and laid it upon the mans shoulder. It only took a moment or two, before the man took in a deep breath, and began coughing.

"We should get out of here. He'll come too directly, and then there'll be questions." Lawrence spoke cautiously. "If you want to wait here I'll pop back for you once Ann's back in the Van."

"No, wait!" Daniel caught Lawrence's sleeve before he could teleport away again, as if he could hold him there. "There's still one more..." he said sadly, nodding to the woman on the ground with the broken neck. "Anne...can you do anything about her or is she..." Daniel averted his eyes and turned his head away, leaving the rest unspoken. Was she truly dead?

"Besides, there's one more car I need to help with." Daniel said, straightening up and looking over at the last car, where the middle-aged woman was trapped while firefighters attempted to cut her out. "Once I help her we can go. I'll find a way to duck behind that ambulance there and you teleport me to the van so no one sees which car we went to." he instructed, already making his way towards the final car.

Trying to move things along a bit. Tell me if I'm doing too much at once here.

At the car, Daniel ignored the firefighters' protests about keeping back or staying with the crowd and firmly, but politely, pushed past them to the car. He took the crumpled door in his hands, smiling at the woman within. "Just hold on a moment, ma'am." he said reassuringly. Then, he bore down, digging his fingers into the metal, and yanked the car door, and much of the driver's side chassis away from the vehicle. He set the junk down beside him carefully, giving the firefighters a little mock salute as they gaped in astonishment, and started jogging quickly towards the ambulance he told Lawrence to meet him at before anyone thought to stop him.

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

With the crisis averted, Robert tried to casually make his way back to the van without seeming too suspicious...or obvious.

[The_New_Guy]

Daniel
Ann looked at the dead woman and shook her head. "I... I don't think so. With all the others I could feel..." she stumbled, her words laced with doubt "...something. But I don't feel it from her."

Lawrence put his hand on her shoulder, and then nodded to Daniel. "I'll meet you behind the ambulance. Hurry."

~~~~~

Daniel easily brushed past the fireman, despite their protests, on his way to the car. After witnessing what they had seen however, one could probably forgive them if they didn't put their best effort into stopping him. Ripping the car door away and saving the last victim, he ran towards the designated meeting place behind the ambulance, almost running over Agent Andrews in the process. Seconds later Lawrence flashed into existence only three feet from them, and then escorted them back to the van.

The Van (reunited and it feels so good!)
The accident scene was a mess for some time, but the commotion and the vanishing act performed by some people were enough to keep the general populace confused. As traffic finally started getting through, local law enforcement made quite sure that it was the unmarked NSA van that got through as quickly as possibly.

The rest of the trip was as uneventful as the start of the trip, arrival was smooth, and although the suite you were assigned was not as and spacious as the first (essentially consisting of three smaller suites connected by interior doors) it was certainly livable. "I can't stay here for too long - if there's a leak and people are looking for Mr. James, then they'll know to look for me. These suites are surprisingly secure, so if you don't let anyone other than myself in, they probably won't get in. Of course, you can use your judgment too. Now - try and get comfortable. I've got a ton of paper work to file!"

With that, he closed the door behind him, and was gone.

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

Daniel was obviously in a better mood after ripping a few car doors apart and saving some people. That and attempting not to think about what he was going to say to his ex-wife when she got there made him restless. "Can you believe that?" he asked the others. "I mean...Eric turned into FIRE! Can you do that any time or do you have to pull the fire from somewhere like you did with the car?" Daniel asked curiously. "I wonder if they'll let us test our limits with some of these powers. There have been a few things I've been meaning to try." he wondered, looking up at the ceiling. He'd jumped really high back at the bridge, really easily. Was it limited to jumping...or...He thought about what it could mean and shivered with the thrill. Whatever had happened to them at least came with somewhat of a good side along with the big, heaping amounts of bad it had dumped on them. Now how was he going to tell his ex-wife about it? Would they let him? Could he tell his kids their daddy was Superman now?

Wow.

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

"You just had to muscle in on my Fire territory, didn't ya?" Robert joked with Eric.

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan was obviously still very stressed from the car ride. His companions' heroic antics, combined with having to watch the entire trip for the men trying to capture or kill him meant he was only just now relaxing in the secure cell. He hears Eric, Robert, and Daniel chatting about the crash, he joins them.

"Yeah, you guys saved quite a few lives, and that's wonderful, really. But I'm thinking that maybe you should be a little more concerned about the public seeing your little stunt."

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric looked at Nathan and rolled his eyes. I went out there with the intention of covering for Daniel's super-human strength. How was I supposed to know I was going to turn into a walking torch?

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan's tone became more conciliatory as he realized he had spoken too harshly. The stress was obviously getting to him, but that was no reason to anger the people he would be living with for the next while.

"I know you didn't do it on purpose, but the fact is that no one really understands why or how you guys can do these things. Until we know what's happening, how to control it, you can't just rushing into situations. I mean, you exploded into flames about a foot away from a tankful of gasoline. Who knows who'll be in the blast range the next time it happens?"

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

"He's right." Daniel grinned sheepishly. "We have to figure out the limits and specifics of what we can do as soon as possible. The next time we do that I'd like to resemble someone who knows what he's doing." He got up. "Eric, I want to try something. You want to come to the roof with me and practice your fire thing?"

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan figured that now would be as good of a time as any to start mending fences.

"Mind if I join you guys? I don't actually have any abilities to practise with, but it would probably be for the best if I didn't almost have a panic attack every time you pop those wings out. Though you might want to look for a basement first. Call me crazy, but pillars of flames on the roof might be a little conspicuous, eh?"

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

"Well, see the thing is what I have in mind can't be done with a roof over my head. If it doesn't work we'll go down to the basement, okay? And hey, maybe if we get you running around or something your powers will show up, too." Daniel replied, heading towards the door.

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric grinned sheepishly at Nathan. I'm sorry I snapped at you. You are right; we do need to tone ourselves down. He turned to Daniel. Lead on, Superman, he said with a wink.

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

"Let's head for the roof, then, but please, promise me that you'll try to avoid anything too conspicious."

Nathan follows the two upstairs.

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

On the roof, Daniel went right over to the edge and looked down at the street below. Then, walking the area, he intermittently shielded his eyes with one hand and looked upward at the sky and then seemed to test the roof underneath his feet. After a few minutes he came back to stand at the center of the roof looking pretty excited. He slapped his hands together and rubbed them together, looking at the other two anxiously.

"Okay, so here's my idea. See, I figure the jumping really high and easily that I did earlier might be a sign that I should try for...well...loftier heights, you know? Maybe I can..." he let the words trail off and settled for just pointing up at the sky emphatically. "Even if I can't...you know, fly....then at least I can see how far my vertical leap is, right? Michael Jordan, eat your heart out?" he grinned. "So, yeah...here it goes."

He waved the other two away a few feet and looked down at his feet, then up at the air, unsure exactly of how to proceed. He tried to visualize himself flying through the air, the wind whipping at his hair and clothing and not how stupid he might look when he failed to pull it off. Then, with nothing better to do, he bent his knees and then jumped UP as high as he possibly could, repeating the word "FLY" in his mind over and over again.

[The_New_Guy]

Daniel's leap didn't seem that extraordinary. His added physical strength added a little to the vertical, but it was not something unheard of among NBA stars. The difference being that NBA stars practiced for years to get just the right jumping technique, and Daniel seemed to be able to do it by pure brute force.

The thoughts of 'fly' didn't seem to do much either, judging by how well it went. When he reached the peak of his jump he seemed to tumble forwards, and downwards, as if someone had tripped him.

It was the landing that was the most interesting. Because he didn't land. He wound up floating about an inch above the ground. As if he were riding on a cushion of air.

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Way to go, Shaq, Eric said with a laugh, then began miming dribbling a basketball over Daniel's back.

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan grinned as he heard Daniel try to talk himself into flying. And watched as his jump reached its peak and began to head for the ground.

"Guess maybe you ain't Super-. Huh. I guess I'm wrong."

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

Daniel covered his head with his arms as he neared impact with the roof, but when it didn't occur he slowly brought his head up again. He stared at the ground, then moved his head around, making sure his entire body was indeed out of contact with the roof. "Well, holy sh*t..." he mumbled to himself. He tried to flap his arms a little, trying to gain some height, wondering just how this crap worked.

"I guess it's kind of an instinctual thing. I thought I was going to hurt myself so I stopped before I hit the ground. Maybe I should just throw myself off the roof." Daniel said to the others, only half-joking. "Hey, someone push me up."

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

I would say you threw yourself at the ground and missed. Eric leaned down and attempted to lift Daniel. You're the strong one, remember?

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

"Ha comma ha comma ha, oh Windsor of witticisms." Daniel replied sarcastically, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I just don't want to touch the ground or I might lose it."

[The_New_Guy]

'Lifting' Daniel is not as easy as it might seem. Bending down Nathan tried to lift, but succeeded only in flipping the businessman over - it seems that, although he is hovering here, gravity is functioning just the same in his vicinity - it's just not bringing him all the way to the ground for some reason.

However, under his own influence, Daniel managed to right himself, and propel himself upwards - tentatively at first, measured in inches, but then with more competency and speed.

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

"Oh sweet! My turn!" Robert concentrated on his wings, thinking about them extending from his back. Then, he envisioned them flapping gently, enough to lift him a few inches off the ground.

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

Daniel stayed quiet with concentration for the first minute or so, but then he broke into excited laughter as he started to get the hang of it, swooping over the others heads in the stereotypical "Superman pose" with both arms outstretched. "Holy sh*t! This is the best feeling! You guys gotta try this!" he laughed, feeling for the first time as high and happy as his altitude since waking up. With the sheer, unbridled joy of flight he was able to almost forget his earthly problems and worries, even for just a moment.

Suddenly, Daniel pulled his head back and he climbed straight up towards heaven, wondering just how high he could take himself and how fast.

[The_New_Guy]

Robert
You flap your wings to fly, and within moments your are hovering quite steadily about a foot or two above the ground. Once you 'take off' - as it were - flying doesn't seem so hard. You don't even have to think about flapping your wings - they just keep you up in the air. They beat slowly - quite frankly you're not sure how they're keeping you aloft - but in perfect time, almost four seconds per 'flap'.

Daniel
It quite surprising how quickly you climb into the air. When you devote your mind to it - when you decide to push yourself - and you have, it seems - the world becomes a blur around you, and within a few seconds you are quite high - higher, you think, than you've ever been, except for in a plane. It's dizzying how quickly you got here, but what's even more dizzying is that you're still climbing at an amazing speed.

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan stares up at the flying duo, shielding his eyes from the sun.

"Call me crazy here, but maybe this isn't the best idea. We're sort of out in the open here, and we don't want to make the neighbours think they're hallucinating."

[The_New_Guy]

On the Roof
A 'pop' announces the arrival of Lawrence behind Nathan, Eric and the slightly airborne Robert. "I think..." he says, rather sharply "...that the neighbors are the least of our problems. You guys better come downstairs. And where's Daniel?"

Somewhere well above the roof
You're well beyond earshot of what's going on on the roof....

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan points up in the general direction of the distant, airborne Daniel.

"He's way up there. Hang on a sec."

Nathan cups his hands over his mouth, and yells to the receding figure.

"We have a problem! Get down here, fast!"

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric frowns, wondering how to ensure Daniel gets the message. Then an idea strikes him. Concentrating, he imagines himself becoming a human torch again. If this works, it should get his attention. I hope...

[The_New_Guy]

On the Roof
((OOC: He's actually about 1000 meters up by now. I don't know how effective shouting is going to be))

Eric transforms into "living fire Eric" (for lack of a better term) but even the giant plume that accompanies such a transformation doesn't reach as high as the rapidly vanishing Daniel.

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

Daniel tucked his arms to his sides as he rose, holding his forearms out, fists clenched as he fought for every inch of altitude. His sane mind screamed at him about just how high he could fall if things went out, but at the same time an increasingly bigger part of him was telling him that he could push it HIGHER. His face broke into a wide, fierce grin as he reveled in every minute of it. He could FLY! He was flying so goddamn high! He could put himself into orbit at this rate!

Daniel's going to keep climbing as fast as he can until he can't breathe or starts freezing, then he'll reluctantly head back to Earth.

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan stared up at the flying figure, by now little more than a speck. He tore his eyes away from the sight and focused back on Lawrence.

"I, uh, don't think Daniel's going to be back anytime soon. What exactly is going on?"

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric damped down his flames and turned to Lawrence

[The_New_Guy]

"I turned on the television..." Lawrence said, half-excited, half-nervous "...flipped through a couple of stations. It must be a local station but... well - we're all on TV."

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

Immediately, Robert killed the wings. "What?"

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric frowned, then nodded. I'm not surprised. We did make more of a spectical of ourselves than any of us thought we would. Especially me.

[The_New_Guy]

Robert dropped about three feet to the roof as he 'dismissed' his wings. His question, however was quickly answered. "I didn't stay long enough to find out what exactly, but it's the accident. I caught a glimpse of Daniel lifting the car over his head thing. It's... well... come see."

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan nodded. "Let's go."

[The_New_Guy]

Lawrence nodded and headed down to the door, and then down the stairs, as quickly as possible.

((OOC: I'm assuming everyone follows him. If not, just post what you're doing on the roof))

Ann sat in the room, her face half-buried in her hands, watching the television. Watching the news. A quick glance at the television told the entire story. A grainy video of Daniel ripping a car door off its hinges. Daniel lifting a car over his head to flip it over. Eric exploding in a giant plume of flame and fire.

"Again - we must stress that, as far as we know these images are not doctored. One of our camera men was on the scene and took a lot of these videos with his cell phone. But we have half a dozen other videos from other commuters who were also stuck. And moment ago we received footage from our traffic copter..."

The screen went blank for a minute, then flashed up a new video. From directly over head. It's tough to see much in it really - the angle makes it impossible to see fine detail. But it sure looks like someone literally flipped a car with his bare hands. And Eric's explosion is clear as day.

"You know Dina..." a male voice this time "...if - if there weren't so many sources confirming the same damn thing. If it weren't for Dave, and Chuck covering from the traffic. If it weren't for all that I'd swear we were being put on."

"I still think we're being put on Kevin. But... how do we dispute what we're seeing? For the folks just waking up - this - this amazing scene is what confronted commuters this morning on the way into work. A five car pileup, turned into... into an unbelievable tale. It's hard to see all of it. It's all been taken on cell-phone cameras. But it looks - it looks like one young man just lift a car above his head and flipped it in an attempt to rescue its passengers. And another man just... exploded."

"There's more Dina. Watch this." The screen goes blank, and then displays a freeze frame of the five "heroes standing near the first car. It's proceeds forward in slow motion. Daniel, Nathan and Robert make a bee-line to the car, and in another second Lawrence and Ann just vanish from the frame. "Two people just... they just vanish from view. And according to eye-witness reports they reappeared somewhere else a few minutes later."

Lawrence picked up the remote and muted it. "Wanna guess how pissed off the agent is going to be?"

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan sat down heavily on the sofa.

"From government secret to public knowledge in less than an hour. That's gotta be some kind of record."

He looked up at the others.

"This is bad, very bad. All it takes is one witness who saw the van we were in and they could trace us back here. And you'd better hope that no one you know sees this and wonders why you aren't dead. What were you thinking!?!"

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric's engineering mind raced into gear. Humans are capable of amazing feats of strength when on an adriniline high. And while lifting cars might be a bit much, the angle we can see doesn't show the far side. Someone could have been helping him. As for my...explosion, well, I was leaning into a burning car. It could look like I caught fire. OK, yeah, you can't see my body, but you wouldn't be able to if I was completely on fire. That's the reason I rolled under the car - an attempt to hide the fact I wasn't burning alive. And that would explain why no body was found - I burned up. He turned to Lawrence and grinned sheepishly. Though I have to admit I'm not sure how we can explain your disappearing act.

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

Daniel is miles away...literally...and has yet to return to the suite the group shares, though he means to some time soon.

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

Robert stared blankly at the scene. "Pardon my French. But, f***."

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric gave Robert a calming look. Don't panic. The NSA are professionals at covering up things. I've already given explanations of most of the events.

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

"I'm not worried about the NSA and the general public. What I'm worried about is that the guys who tried to kill us will know that their attempt failed. And if they find us here..."

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric nodded. Yeah, you're right. Didn't think of that. Eric kicked himself mentally for playing the hero. He could have gotten them all killed. We just have to hope this place is as secure as Agent Andrews said it is.

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton
The Upper Atmosphere...

Daniel wasn't sure what he was feeling at that moment as the air around him dropped into the negative triple digits and there wasn't enough oxygen left to sustain human life, yet he continued onwards and upwards. The blue sky around him was darkening with every second, fading to the black starfield of space. Was he scared? Yes, completely and utterly terrified...yet, he was exhilarated. No one in the history of the world had been this high without a rocket strapped to their ass.

He could see nearly the full curvature of the earth stretched out below him, cities stretched into countries and countries into continents. He didn't know what would happen when he broke into what was generally accepted as outer space, but he couldn't stop himself from finding out. Would he fly too close to the sun and burn his wings like Icarus? Would he fall screaming to the Earth when the universe reminded him that man was not meant to fly?

More importantly, he was struck with a sudden loss of identity. Who was he that he could do these things? Was he the same man that had boarded that plane and disappeared? Was he still Daniel Horton, unemployed stock broker? Was he instead some kind of E.T. made up to look like that man, filled with copied thoughts and feelings? Was he some sort of construct put on this earth for some alien purpose? Was he a god made flesh? For surely only gods could touch the heavens.

He would have gone out of his mind had the one thought not held him fast like a lifeline. The picture of Jessie and his girls that he always kept in his wallet, the thing that tied him to the sparkling blue jewel so far below his feet, drawing him inexorably back to it. Whatever he was, whatever he did, was for them and for what they would think of him. They were the Lois Lane to his Superman, the thing that reduced him to mere human that he wouldn't trade for all the powers and all the worlds in the universe. Ultimately it was that thought that made him turn back from the black void of space back into the atmosphere to begin his reentry.

[The_New_Guy]

Back in the suite
Images from the crash scene earlier played silently as everyone discussed the situation. "I'm not so worried about our previous altercation..." said Lawrence, trying to steady his somewhat strained voice "...I'm more worried about something you said earlier Nathan. Ann can heal almost any wound with a touch. Robert looks like something out of the bible when he turns on those wings and sword. Eric can turn into living flame. I can close my eyes, think of a place, an appear right there. And Daniel..." He paused for a second "...well, wherever he's off to, he's bullet proof, and strong enough to lift cars over his head. Nathan and Victor are the only ones that can't do anything - yet. But there are going to be people interested in what we can do. And what we can do for them. I'm not sure I like that idea."

[ChronicLunacy]

Bump!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

"I'm not so sure some of our 'excuses' are going to hold. Sure, some people are capable of amazing feats of strength through adrenaline...but consider Daniel's physical build. No one of his build, even with the adrenaline, could do what he is doing there." Robert pointed at the television as the video played once more.

"And with this impending doom from no where...I think we need to start learning more about or powers as soon as possible. We seem to be too much of a handful for Agent Andrews. He won't be able to protect us all at once, if at all. We need to train. How do we contact Andrews?

...also, how does Archangel sound as a cool super hero name? I mean, I know its copyrighted and all but come on."

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan looks gravely at Lawrence.

"Even worse, if some countries think that the US has exclusive access and control over people with, er, your abilities, they might strike first to prevent their use in military applications."

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Eric stopped smiling at Nathan's last comment. You're right. He shook his head. You're all right. There is no way Daniel could have done that. And me rolling under a car would have just made it explode. He dropped his head to his hands, rubbing them against his face. Then he looked up at Robert. So how do you propose going about this training?

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

"Flaming Avenger? Nah, too gay."

[The_New_Guy]

Lawrence shook his head. "Damn..." he said, all of a sudden even more glum "...I didn't even think of that. Ann and I are Canadians. How likely is it that your government is going to let us go home?"

And with that a new image flashed upon the still muted screen. The woman anchor, sitting behind her news desk, and an image in the top-right corner of the screen. One of an airplane and the words 'Flight 265' under it.

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

"Crap."

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Wait. Hold on here.. How did they find out about that?!

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

"Guardian of Ede-ooooh. That can't be good at all. Turn it up."

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

"Could have been anyone. A plane going down on American soil? Every major network would have some pretty extensive coverage on it. Our names and pictures would certainly be shown. Reporters, Search and Rescue guys, family members, or even just someone who follows the news closely could have ID'd us."

[The_New_Guy]

Lawrence hits the volume button as the anchor woman continued talking.

"...most two and a half years ago, has finally turned up."

"As many of you will remember..." continued Kevin "...one of our reporters - Frank Ferralio - was aboard that plane. We mourned his loss, but this morning we received a call from someone claiming to be Frank. Our producer was skeptical at first, but Frank... well, let's just say that this Frank knew somethings that only our Frank would know. Now we haven't seen Frank - apparently all the 'survivors' of Flight 265 are in NSA 'protective custody'. We haven't verified he is who he claims he is. But he certainly sounded and acted like Frank. And like I said, he knew things. Enough to make us announce this on the air."

"Now Frank said the NSA are quietly contacting friends and family, so we want to offer our services. If there's anyone - anyone - from Flight 265 out there listening, let us know and we'll try to track down your family for you, and arrange a reunion. If you're a friend or the family of one of these missing people, call your local representative and put pressure on them to get the NSA to release everyone and release the story."

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

Robert stared at the screen. All this time, he hadn't thought too much of his family. His friends. He was too caught up in the moment. It isn't every day that you gain super powers.

"We need Andrews here now."

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

Daniel touched down on the roof as the news broadcast came to a close and made his way down to the suite in a state of shock and awe over what he'd just done. He didn't know whether to assume the fetal position and rock back and forth or jump for joy, because parts of him felt like doing both. All he knew was that he was liking it more and more with each passing minute. He was all-smiles by the time he crossed into the room where everyone had gathered in front of the TV.

"You guys would not believe the day I'm having." he beamed, just before noticing that everyone was looking particularly glum. "Okay, what'd I miss? All of you look like someone just kicked your puppy." he asked.

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Daniel's cheeriness grated on Nathan's already stretched nerves. Nathan found himself resorting to sarcasm.

"Oh, nothing that bad. Just that that the news station's top story is you ripping off the top of a car. Oh, and they've discovered that there are survivors from our flight. But exposed government secrets aside, we're just peachy."

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

Daniel glanced at the TV, just in time for the announcement that there would be a repeat of the story during primetime. Add to that Nathan's tone of voice and he was suitably chastened out of a good mood. He winced as if he'd been hit when a quick highlight reel came on showing clips from the accident scene. Just awesome...even the traffic copter had gotten some good shots of it. He just hoped they'd already called Jessica or she was going to have a fit...

"Um...oops?" he offered with a shrug at Nathan.

Well, it wasn't like they could have kept Flight 265 a secret forever. There must have been three hundred plus passengers on that plane. If all of them had been similarly affected there could be some wild, flashy superpowers popping up. Unless the government locked everyone up, people were going to know. Even then, between super strength, fire powers, and teleportation, could a cell even hold most of them? It had just happened sooner rather than later. Maybe it was time to think of a career outside of the stock market, Daniel thought dryly...He'd never be able to go back to a normal job after his name was leaked to the public.

"If I couldn't shrug off a bullet, I think I'd be running and hiding right now. Andrews is going to be pissed..." he said, glancing back at the door, expecting the agent to come in breathing fire any minute.

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

"Well, luckily for us, it doesn't seem they've made the connection between the flight and those stunts at the traffic accident yet. Actually, come to think of it, how did the news find out about flight? I don't remember any phones in those apartments we were in, and I'm pretty sure that the NSA wouldn't just let the missing reporter ring up the local media."

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

"There was a reporter on our flight? Is that how they found out?" Daniel asked, trying to catch up with everyone on the story. "Well, he could have called from one of the phones in our rooms once we got out of the facility. You know, the ones we were supposed to only use to call family from?" He wondered if the NSA had been monitoring their phone lines...Come to think of it, every room probably had some kind of surveillance. They were probably being watched even now. "Or he could have called from a payphone while the NSA wasn't listening. With all these crazy powers showing up who knows how he might have done it."

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

"Seriously, guys. We need to Andrews here now to settle this. I mean...these powers are cool and all and yeah, I wanna train...but have you forgotten that we've been missing for 3 years!? I wanna talk to my mom. I want to see my family and friends."

[The_New_Guy]

"555-271-8281" said Ann softly "It's Agent Andrew's cell phone number. I saw it in the old suite before..." her voice trailed off.

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Is someone going to answer it? If not, I will.

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan shrugged. "Go ahead and call. I'd rather not be the bearer of more bad news."

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

Robert grabbed the phone, and upon asking Ann to to repeat the number, dialed it. Immediately, he put it on speaker phone.

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

Daniel took a single step to make it from the hallway into the living room where everyone else stood. He didn't walk so much as lift from the floor and glide from one place to the other. He was obviously enjoying what had quickly become his favorite power. If the others noticed at all he would grin sheepishly and shrug.

"Andrews said that they were bringing family members to us. Aren't they still doing that or has something changed?" he asked in a measured tone, concern leaking into his happy demeanor. He still wanted to see his ex-wife and daughters above all else. If they weren't going to bring them to see him while he stayed put like a good little soldier then he would be out the window and flying in the time it took Andrews to say "Top Secret". He crossed his arms over his chest and calmed himself a little by hovering about a foot off of the ground while he listened to the phone ring.

[The_New_Guy]

For a moment there was the familiar ringing of a telephone - the first time, some of you realize, that you've heard that familiar, forgettable sound, in almost three years. Then it rings again. And a third time. Then finally it picks up.

"Leave a message..."

It's Agent Andrews' voice, but its obviously not him - just a voice-mail recording.

[[OOC: Sorry for being inactive on the weekend - I was kept away from the computer for most of it. However we should be back on track now]]

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

"Hmph...you'd think at his pay grade he could afford a cell phone. Good thing we don't, y'know, need him for anything." Daniel grinned, floating across the room back towards the TV. "I've got this strange need to wear a cape when I do this." he joked in Robert's direction since he seemed like the one who would appreciate that kind of humor the most. He let his feet touch the ground as he neared the television and let his arms uncross. He hooked his thumbs into his pants pockets and switched the channel to another news network to watch a replay of the Flight 265 story.

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan waits for the voicemail to start recording, then says, "Agent Andrews, this is Nathan. I'm sure that by now you've heard what happened on the news. What do you need us to do?"

Nathan looks at the others questioningly. If any of them have anything to add to the message, he waits until they're done, then hands up. If no one does, he'll just hang up.

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

"Our families know we are alive, Andrews. And those of us with powers seem to have them under control right now. I don't see any reason why we can't be allowed to visit our families before you conduct further tests and what not."

[The_New_Guy]

The agents voice-mail continued recording the messages left by those in the room, as Daniel changed the to another channel. The next one, sadly, had children's cartoons. The next was a sports recap, and the third was a music station. The fourth, however, was another local morning station, although it didn't seem to have anything on either the activities at the accident earlier in the morning, or Flight 265.

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel

"Hmph...we're only on one channel. Maybe the government's doing it's job after all." Daniel commented to the others. He flipped the remote control onto the couch and rejoined the others near the phone. "So, think we should call him again?"

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan hung up the phone and responded, "I don't think so. He has our message, and we don't really have anything new to say. Right now, we should probably just lay low."

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel

"Lay low..." Daniel sighed in frustration. "Am I the only one who can't stand 'laying low'? I've been in a coma for three years. I want to soak up some sunlight, stretch my legs...maybe race a few jets..." he said with a cough to cover the last part. He flopped down on the couch. "Until they bring our loved ones by to see us we're just stuck here. Don't you want to figure out what you can do, Nathan?"

[drawingfreak]

Robert Hudson

"I'm no fan of sitting around either, but this is a really delicate situation."

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan raises his eyebrows slightly at the jet comment before replying. "Believe me, it has crossed my mind that I'm probably due for some superpowers right around now. But frankly, I wouldn't know where to begin."

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

"Then let's head down to the basement and see if we can't figure out what you've got. Can't lay any lower than underground, right?" Daniel said suddenly. "Come on, it's not like you've got anything better to do, right?"

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

That's a pretty good idea, Eric said thoughtfully. It would get us away from doors and windows in case we get, er, company, and it would give you a safe place to experiment. Assuming you don't grow astronomically in size, of course...

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan smiled in spite of himself at the two's earnestness. "Fine. But if I got the power to command sea creatures, we're going to be down there a long time."

[ChronicLunacy]

Daniel Horton

"We'll bring the goldfish, Aquaman." Daniel joked as he walked towards the door. On the way out, he dropped the useless watch he'd been wearing out of habit on the table. Not only didn't it work, but it was cracked as if by some great pressure. Strangely, it also looked as if it had been exposed to insanely cold temperatures as well as there were flakes of frost underneath the glass...

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan follows Daniel down to the basement.

In the basement

Nathan faces Daniel and Eric. "So, how are we going to do this."

[Kesnit]

Eric McMahon

Has anything... he paused for a moment. I almost said 'has anything strange happened to you since waking,' but I realized everything has has happened is strange. Has anything abnormal happened right around you? He paused, thinking again. I ask because the first hint I had was when the flame on the stove seemed to be attracted to me when I was fixing breakfast.

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

Nathan thinks back to the events of the day before responding, "Not really. Well, maybe with that fake agent earlier. It's kind of weird that I'd be able to knock him out in one punch."

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

"Super strength?"

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

"I don't think so. I didn't feel any stronger. Plus, he didn't go flying through walls."

[drawingfreak]

Robert Harrison

"Life force drain? Did you feel anything after touching him? Feel more alive? Extra memories that you don't recall doing?...basically, are you Rogue?"

[Green Bean]

Nathan James

"Not really. I mean, my hand hurt, but that was from the punch."