The Hecatomb

[Blackest Night]

(OOC/Signup thread is here)

The RP now begins.
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"Applesauce"

Her brow furrowed with thought, blue eyes hidden behind lids closed in concentration. Another pair of sapphire eyes, older, deeper, watched with amused patience. The small, high voice contnued, that of a little girl.

"A-p-p-l-e-s-a-u-c-e. Applesauce."

Silence, a moment of hushed anticipation. Then, a deeper voice, masculine, approving.

"You got it."

The little girl erupted in a giddy sqeual, smiling as if she had won a triathlon, a boxing match, the Nobel Prize, an Emmy, completed her senior thesis on particle physics with an aside to nuclear chemistry, and had done so all in time for breakfast. Such was the life of this seven-year-old. Simple accomplishments brought the greatest pleasure. If only such happiness could withstand the sustained assault of "why."

"Daddy, why do I have to do this? I don't go to school anymore."

David Verre sighed, amazed at just how many times his daughter had asked this particular question. It was true that he had unenrolled Annelise from school for her own protection, but he saw it as no reason she couldn't continue her studies at home. Placing a vivid green plastic bowl in front of his daughter, David took a seat across the table from her. The morning sun streamed into the small kitchen, illuminating the table of well-polished wood, through impeccably clean windows. The windows were kept in their immaculate state by David himself, who had always had a talent for glass. He provided an explanation to Annelise's question in between the pouring of cereal into his own bowl.

"Because eventually you're going back to school and all the other kids are going to be amazed at everything you know."

"Ok."

And that was the end of that. David reached over to pour cereal into his daughter's bowl, only to be stopped mid-pour. His daughter had playfully wrenched the cereal box from his hand and had begun tp empty its contents into her own bowl. She wore a smile on her face and, giggling, told her father that she was a big girl now and could pour her own cereal, thank you very much.

Breakfast proceeded as per usual, with Annelise recounting everything that had occurred in the previous 24 hours, most of which was not nearly as dramatic in reality as it was in her world. David laughed, smiled, and offered commentary when Annelise deemed it acceptable. His daughter could be extremely imaginative. Just last night she claimed to have been visited by the Tooth Fairy, who looked remarkably like David, and had stolen the magic wand that all fairies must carry on their person at all times. Annelise immediately held forth her spoon, a small Cheerio landing on the tip of David's nose, and professed that, in order to protect it self from the theiving anti-fairies, it had changed into the very spoon she now held in her hand. When alone, the spoon would of course revert to it's more magical state. David had no choice but to believe every word.

Thus concluded another segment of "Mysteries of Life", a common part of breakfast at the Verre's.

 

[Ulti]

6:30. Wake up. 6:45. Actually get out of bed. 7:15. Fix breakfast. 7:17. Eat breakfast. 7:30 Finish getting ready for work. 7:45. Leave for work. 7:45:05. Arrive at work. Day in. Day out. Same old. Same old. It was too risky to change one's routine. Once you found something you do that does not make you appear weird, it is best to keep it that way. It is not fun to have the creepy men visit you. You just finished painting the outside of your shop. Do you really want to have a big M on it? Rubbish!

At least, this was Zo believed. It had been years since Zo disappeared and Dier came into existence. No one had discovered this mystery yet. All she had to do was keep playing little old innocent Dier the pet shop keeper. No changes, no problem. Besides, Zo (Dier) was happy with her life. A good job, her own house, and no creepy men breathing down her neck! A mutant's dream life.

Then again, as Zo believed, what kind of mutant was she? All she could do was become one with animals. How was that dangerous? She was basically useless in battle. She couldn't harm anyone else. Well, maybe herself, but not others! The meanies! But, the reason why would have to wait. There are animals to attend!

As smelly, dirty, degrading as the job was, Zo loved it. Her ability to connect to the soon-to-be pets helped her a lot. Need a puppy looking for some love? Zo knows just who you want! Buying a late birthday present for your kid brother? Zo can show you the creepiest of the crawlies! From A to Z, from canine to feline, Zo has it. She always wondered why can't they call the store Zo's Pet Store. Terrance already showed at all. He didn't even work! All he did was count the money and tell poor Zo what to do. Yet, the girl didn't complain. Poor thing couldn't tell when she was being abused.

7:45. Zo quietly placed the Open sign on the only window of the pet store. The puppies began to wake up, yipping as others nipped at their tails. The cats pounced around in their surroundings, seeing if there was a new area to explore. The bugs began chirping, the rats scurrying, and a certain ferret getting into some trouble. it was not unnatural for Zo to find Slink already about nibbling away at the food sacks. Picking up the rascal, Zo brought him face to face.

"You must stop your food fetish! I can't afford more of them on my savings. Which is none. So you see why we only have a few. Hm. I do need to ask Terrance for more bags. And maybe a new cage for the rats."

Slink found his natural spot around Zo's neck, he rubbed his fur in a fuzzy apology. Thanking the critter for apologizing, Zo took her natural spot behind the counter, waiting for the first customer to arrive. With how their business is going, this would take many hours. Poor little Zo.

 

[Lord of Chaos]

Now is the Winter of Our Discontent.


Those were the words that Isaac spoke. At least, they were the words he would have spoke if it was possible. That was something he could only dream of though, nowadays. Every day he'd try and speak, to see if, for some reason, his voice had returned. It never failed though -- or, in this case, it did. His voice never returned... for it was always to be gone. Isaac missed it terribly, but had found new traits that were undiscovered before hand. For instance, did you know that by not speaking you could actually listen to people? It was a statement that most people would initially say "duh" to, but the fact was, not so many people actually did it. Quite ironic... or was that coincidental? He could never remember really. Anyway, that wasn't the point.

Isaac put down his copy of Richard III. It was such a lovely play by Shakespeare. He could almost quote it by memory really -- as he could with most books he read. Isaac possessed a photographic memory, which enabled him to retain all things within each frame of memory as a "photograph" -- exactly every bit of it, which is where it got its name from in the first place. It wasn't quite as fool-proof as stereotypes had set it though. Some bits here and there were forgotten, that was inevitable with anyone. Alas, he still regrettably remembered certain events as clear as day though, because of this -- like that wreck he had been through when he was younger. Thankfully though he had been the one on the passenger side, if it had been his mom, she would have had to have dealt with this, and he hated to put extra strain on his parents. At least... he did.

He lived by himself now. Isaac lived outside of the city, in a small cabin with all the needed (and a few extra) utilities. It was a cabin that a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend had lent to his family, specifically for him to use. He had ran when they were tagging those with powers, and his parents wouldn't let him stay as it were. So he lived here now. Thankfully, he had graduated high school when he was seventeen, so there was no need for extra school... at least, not that he had a choice anymore. He had planned to attend college, but that was impossible now. Sure, when he'd go into the edge of town now and then to get things he could get away with a fake identity, but that was pretty much the extent of his resources. Well, there was also the 2010 Camaro sitting out back with a full tank of gas. Yeah... that was a very well appreciated resource.

Isaac stood up slowly, stretching out his limbs and body. He slowly made his way over to the computer, and turned off the music that had been playing. He always enjoyed some of the "new" classics as they'd be considered -- Ugly Cassanova had been the one he was listening to at that time. The singer of the group was the singer for another one of his favorite groups -- Modest Mouse. They both had interesting musical concepts behind them that he found enjoyable far more than most other music that he had listened to over the years. He hummed the song in his head as he made his way into the kitchen and grabbed a cold soda out of the fridge.

He popped the tab with that familiar suction-like sound. He guzzled down some of it as he thought of the plans for the day ahead -- namely, making his way to town to pick up some more supplies. He had it all mapped out -- the areas he could enter on certain days without getting any attention, the ones to avoid. He had all the roads mapped and planned just in case something went wrong. Then again, that was where his mind came into play again -- a device that was, in itself, a weapon. That, and his powers. They were the reason he was in this mess in the first place. They had their uses though, that was for sure.

Almost jokingly though, he wished he had the ability to teleport. What he wouldn't give just to pop and be at that store and then do it again to be home. He sighed a moment as he got his shoes on and walked out the door...

 

[Prophet]

He had never been good at this...

"Come on, its definitely worth more then that," the young man said weakly, his voice obviously revealing a bit of a desperation as it carried lightly in the small shop. Small jewels and trinkets lined the walls, and his voice seem to reverberate within every small shining baubel. In the reflection of a particularly large gemstone, one could see the face of the male in question, his short brown hair spiked slightly on the ends, bearing the telltale signs of a recent haircut. His eyes were a light hazel, almost as shiny as the gold surrounding him, and his face radiated a youthful, rough, handsome nature that would draw as many female eyes as the beautiful stones. However, right now, those eyes were distorted in worry, as they stared at the shining gold ring, held in the grasp of a grunting old man. A small magnifying lense was held in one wrinkled hand, while the other grasped the ring tentatively, staring at it with skeptical eyes.

"Well, it seems authentic," the man said gruffly, laying down the ring on the table and looking back at the young man standing there, "But since you can't authenticate where it came from, I can't give you a higher price."

"I told you it was a family heirloom," said Daniel tiredly, for that was his name... Daniel Ore... This man did not know his name however, nor anything about him. For all the shopkeeper was concerned, a naive young man had simply strode into his pawn shop with a gold ring he knew nothing about. And unfortunately, the old man intended to take full advantage of that naivity.

"I'll give you $200 dollars for it," he said, coughing lightly into his hand, bending over to reach underneath the counter, the knobly bones in his spine sticking upwards like he was a fleshless skeleton, "But no more if you can't authenticate it. You're lucky I even give you anything without any markings or certification."

"Please, its got to be worth more," tried Daniel again, and the shopkeeper just grinned from beneath the counter, where he rummaged around for the 200. From the looks of it, that gold ring was worth several times more then he was offering. But the kid was inexperienced in haggling. He wouldn't last five seconds in the open market.

"200," he grunted, straightening back up, and stacking a single pile of twenty dollar bills upon the counter, "Its that or nothing. You choose." The stress was evident on the man's face as he struggled with his options, and as soon as that light entered the man's mind, the owner knew he had won.

"Fine," replied Daniel, halfheartedly, picking up the pile of twenties, folding them up, and sliding them deep within his jeans pocket. He nodded to the pawn shop owner, and slowly turned to the door, his feet heavier then the gold he had just sold as he opened the door with a ding, and walked out into the open world... He was hanging low, which is why he couldn't give much information away... Bribery only went so far... they had to hang low, and survive below the line of sight... And in order to do that, they needed cash... What he would give to be able to make a few green sheets of paper instead of the precious metal exploding from his fingertips... It was so much easier...

He strode down the street, his head tucked, slightly, bowed against the blowing wind. He wasn't sure how long his last little 'donation' had bought them against this government, but their descriptions hadn't been circled around yet. He didn't have to hide totally yet... Just keep his name of any records. Yeah... He could do that...

He just had to meet Dana at the rendez-vous point now... Corner of the street, by the small hot dog vendor. The tall city buildings dwarfed such a small stand, but its savory aromas only served to heighten its splendor. He was supposed to get money... She was to get supplies. But $200? Even he wasn't sure if that was enough to get by for a long enough time... He couldn't go to the same dealer twice with another gold ring, or he'd get suspicious... Ugh, money problems... Another problem that started with M...

 

[Endgame]

Gotta get the Kid something for his birthday. God knows the parents arn't gonna. Mum's all depressed over that Breast Cancer she still hasn't told us about, and Dad's a bit worried, seeing as he got AIDS from his Mistress. Guess it's up to me then.

A young, long-haired man strode down the early-morning deserted street, wracking his brains for something to get his little brother. As he walked, he closed his eyes, letting the faint silver outlines around him swim across his vision, people in the surrounding houses. His sight was getting worse. When his eyes were open, his vision seemed darker then it used to, and with them closed, all these shapes kept moving around under the lids. He still didn't know why... and didn't particularly want to ask one of the state-sanctioned doctor-priests. He was perfectly normal, as far as they were going to ever know. Not like he was one of those mutants, but still, they'd lock him up or something, all the same.

A particular clump of silver caught his attention, and he opened his eyes, squinting to make out the blurry sign. It was a pet shop. Perfect, he'd get the kid a pet.

A lit cigarette in his mouth, he pushed the door open and walked in, taking a look around. It wasn't exactly a high-class kinda shop, a little run down, but still, it's not like their dogs only had three legs or anything. Exhaling a cloud of smoke in the small shop, he walked up to the counter, looking around for a bell or something to get someone's attention who worked here. He checked his watch... it was only 8 AM...they'd have only just opened. Maybe there was someone in back.

"Hey... anyone home?" he called out, wandering over to a litter of puppies who seemed to be sleeping, and watching one open it's eye lazilly. He turned his head and coughed away from the animals, before taking another long draw on his smoke, seemingly oblivious to the small trickle of blood now running down his chin.

 

[Ulti]

THUNK! That what Luke would hear from the pet store area. Zo was in the back room, looking for some dog chow in a shelf when the familiar sound of a human voice startled her. Her head went straight up and, well, you can guess the rest. Tears in her eyes, Zo glanced toward the door that lead into the pet shop. She motioned a simple command to Slink. The ferret gave what looked liked a tiny salute before exiting out of his own little ferret hole.

Slink skittered across the floor, taking a fleeting glance at the customer. He climbed up a chair and jumped onto the counter. There, he took watch over the human male. Slink was never very trustworthy of other humans. There was never a day when a cur would try to sneak some money out of the petty little money box ( supposed to be a temporary cashier ). Slink, if he caught them, could keep up a good fight until Zo took notice. Giving Luke a warning with a low growl, he sat up and gave a good impression of a security guard. He stayed like this until Zo returned to the room.

Not paying any attention to the customer whatsoever, Zo dropped the bag of dog food she was looking for onto the floor near cages that housed adult canines. As soon as she opened the bag, the dogs started to bark wildly. Feeding time always made Zo giggle to herself. The animals were nuts about food. Still, she did not pay any attention to Luke. It wasn't until she placed a neat little pile of chow for the dogs in the cages did she began knowledgeable of Luke's existence. Coughing from the man's cigarette, she placed herself behind the counter, patting the ferret's little head.

"Sorry about that. Couldn't find that silly little bag of chow. Now, can I help you find the perfect pet for you, friend, family, or lover?"

Zo treated her introduction like the opening to a carnival show. She even gave her little hands a shake. She was not embarrassed by anything she did. Happy, innocent, and gullible, Zo lives every day like a birthday party. Just without the cake. Zo would love it if there was cake.

 

[Endgame]

"Yeah..." He muttered, looking around: "I'm after a pet for my little bro. Nothing too big... we don't have room for anything big... but something cute?"

A drop of blood fell from his chin onto his arm, and he suddenly realized there was a trickle of the red liquid down his chin. Wiping it off with an apologetic look, he muttered: "Cut myself shaving..." to Zo, despite the fact this was obviously a lie, as he had stubble all over his face. Sighing at the poor quality of his own excuse, he closed his eyes for a second... then opened them again, looking strangely intrigued.

"Um... are you sick or something?" he asked Zo oddly, then shook his head, closing his eyes again... "Nevermind..."

The second his eyes shut again, it flooded his vision. She had the silvery outline, just like everyone else, but a weird glow filled this outline up, a warm, pink aura that filled her body. It wasn't like the things he usually saw... hard, spiky, vibrant red and green shapes within people. This was different. In fact, come to think of it... he glanced down at his own hand, noaticing the same pink glow behind the lines of red and green that ran up and down his arm. Maybe she had a cold or something.

"Um... you got any little dogs?" he asked, realizing how weird he must look to her right now, looking around her shop with his eyes closed. His cheeks flushed red as he mentally begun cursing at himself for tripping out in front of someone.

 

[Ulti]

"Little brother? Hm. I have a lot of cute and small things around here."

Puppies, kittens, hamsters, gerbils, so many cute creatures. Zo couldn't honestly decide what a little boy would want. Other little boys would beg for lizards, snakes, or anything that had more than four legs. Finding something cute to a boy would be a tough job for her. She scanned her stock for anything cute yet fit for a boy. If she hadn't put ribbons and ties on the little ones. I really have my work cut out for me this time..

Apparently, Zo did not hear Luke when he started to speak again. Yet, she could feel something pierce her. It was strange yet familiar. The same feeling she got when the creepy men came to her house that fateful day. The feeling of being found out. Zo wished she did not have to feel that sensation again. Luke's voice tore her away from her thoughts.

"Little dogs? I guess I can get you a puppy. But you have to tell me more about your little brother. I find pets by their owners personality. I like to give my customers the perfect pet."

Kneeling near the puppy cage, Zo began to search for good first time puppies. They were easy to pick out. The ones that were jumping around like maniacs, kicking up food everywhere, obviously were not suitable for first time owners. She kept an ear open to hear her customer's description of the boy. Closing her eyes, Zo prepared to enter her special state.

If Zo had any time she would give this state a name. For now, she just called it Sensory. Soon, she would mentally leave her body and enter another. Today's destination would be a puppy. This method would allow Zo to find a puppy best suited to the boy's personality. It was quite simple really. Well, not really. Inside a being, she would be able not only to have the being's senses, but also understand the being more. This would be taking the saying "walking in someone else's shoes" too literally.

 

[Zabazu]

The Stone.

It called to him in his sleep, giving him dreams of shaping it without mere tools. The stone was calling to him. He had talked to a Psyc about it, and they said that he was getting overworked by himself, since he was selling so much of his art. It was somewhat true, but this was different. So, very different. It was always nearly the same dream, him standing in his home and studio, a slab of marble as large as himself infront of him. He would just raise his hand, and the stone melted and changed shape, creating near impossible feats of stonework, so easily. But the only difference about each dream was the end product, once it had been a flock of birds taking off around a fountain, another had been of a great commander of armies, he believed it was Alexander the Great he was making. This time though, it was himself, with a hand up, palm flat, like telling the other; intangible person, to merely stop. This time, it was longer. A scream erupted from a unseeable woman, and soon the rock was closing in. It surrounded him, crushed him. In Peters dreams this night, he died, by the hands of the vary thing he loved.

He awoke, sluggish, and sore. He had spent all of the last night finishing a peice of art for a patron of his, it had been of a sleek panther sitting on its behind. Proud and sleek , it had been made of a obsidian and smoot stone, and he knew the patron would like it. He pulled himself out of bed, and then tripped on his own feet, almost falling flat on his face, but catching himself before doing so. He got up, more awake now, and stomped off to the kitchen of his studio apartment. He pulled some food out of the fridge, yawning, and then cooking it, making a simple breakfast of scrambled eggs. It was actually quite good, and it was gone rather quickly,on purpose.It was all so he could check on his latest project and see if it was in need of adjustment. He yawned again as he walked over to it, and then kneeled down next to it, but gasped. THe statue had fallen over to its side, and he had made one of the legs rather thin, and it had falled off. He gingerly lifted the leg up and growled in frustation, he knew he had made it too thin, but this?

He tried to see the extense of the damage and put it against the rest of the statue, to see if it would be easily fixed, so he wouldnt have to do the entire damned project again. He put it in place, where it would have gone if it didnt break, and it was too chipped, the missing piece no where in sight. He groaned, and then stared at it... What if.... THen his eyes bulged open in shock as the leg seemed to regenerate itself, the stone repairing the damage and even polishing the stone moreso. Peter stood back and backed away. What was this....No...he knew...He always suspected this in a weird way. It certainly explained how he was so skilled with shaping stone, it was like a extention to himself sometimes. It...made sense.He was Mutant...He had seen what the did to mutants over the television, no way was he gonna let himself get caught. If they came to his house with that 'M'...by god...He'd never get a customer again! Christ...This was gonna be a long day.

"Oh shit...."

(Sorry, this was a bit rushed)

 

[Lord of Chaos]

Isaac imaginatively hummed a song as he drove down the road. Music was playing on the radio pretty much twenty-four-seven, but nowadays it was all... gospel, or Christian "Rock". He didn't like that kind of crap -- he preferred real Rock, real Metal. For now though he didn't feel like listening to any of it, he was just enjoying the silence that so many people seemed to forget about these days. It was like they just had to live with sound, but why?? Did it make them feel more complete, more human? Perhaps it was because when there was sound they didn't feel so alone... he could never tell. Then again, he had never exactly been a "people" person, particularly since most "people" he met just tried to kill him or turn him in to the local government Mutant office...

Soon he saw it: Destination Supermarket. He parked his car and got out, making sure to lock the doors behind him. His feet fell kind of flat from the small bit of nervousness that shrouded his mind. He didn't want to have to worry anymore but that wouldn't happen until the Church was finally separate again from State. Isaac didn't understand though; the last time church mixed with state people experienced the "Crusades", and everyone knew how those turned out. Even in study of politics, the argument that the Constitution was founded on religion, as the Priests and such would often make, was wrong. The Bible just happened to be the most sane moral code around, so the Framers used it instead of say... the Torah.

He sighed silently. Oh well, that was the mistake that people made. They'd eventually learn the... "evil" (ironic) of their ways. He passed through the sliding doors with a nod to the nearest cashier, seeing as how they were always in front of the store. He didn't even pass a cursory glance to the bulletin board nearby that had the faces of the "runaways" that were still on the loose. They always made them out to be so evil, and his face was never there, so it was all very funny in a way. He stopped in the meat market section, and grabbed some steaks and ground chuck, then picked up some chicken and last, some fresh salmon. He loved to cook, it was a great way to pass the time these days. He then proceeded to get the "necessaries" like bread and such, and a few cans of soup and what not, then proceeded to the frozen food section.

This was often his favorite part of the market, for some more-or-less "childish" reasons. He, of course, picked up some frozen pizzas and what-not. Those were standard for him almost always. He particularly loved the gourmet kinds that they would carry. Sure, they were a little more expensive, but they were just so good. He smiled as he then found his way over to his favorite part of the section (and what made it his favorite section in the first place) to get some ice cream. It was the best part of life, or so he figured. He picked his favorite -- Ben & Jerry's Phish Food. It was always so... delightfully succulent in flavor and the fudge fish provided a nice little hard texture to it. He smiled and made his way to the register, happy with the days groceries.

 

[Blackest Night]

Annelise came running, or tumbling depending upon who you were, down the stairs, extremely excited for what was to come. You see, most days, Annelise would sit at home all day with a nanny from down the street, while David hunted for a second job. He had been fired from his previous one for his "status", and spent several hours each day applying to various locations in hopes of landing another. Fortunately for Annelise, the nanny down the street was patient, kind, and incredibly sleepy. She would often doze off and unwillingly grant Annelise full run of the house. When the poor elderly woman would wake, she often found the house filled with odd plastic figurines and would be forced to use her own powers, the ability to mold all inorganic solid matter as if it were clay in her hands, to put the figurines back with whatever they came from. However, no such thing would happen today, for David had promised his daughter that she could come with him. He was planning on applying to a small pet store today, and Annelise had always had a fondness for anything remotely cute.

Satisfied with whatever mundane informationhe had put on the application, David turned to his daughter, smiling pleasantly at the sight of her perpetual grin. She was bouncing up and down, asking what time they would leave with every little jump. David often wondered when she'd learn to be subtle. He laughed quietly, and bent town towards her in his chair.

"You ready to go?"

"Duh!"

Fair enough. David quickly grabbed his jacket, plain black leather, and draped it over himself. He wore simple clothes today, a respectablly blank dark grey t-shirt and dark blue pants, his only noticeable pieces of jewelry being his golden wedding band and a silver dog tag necklace. Nothing extravagant, but suitable enough if he were to be brought into a job interview on the spot. His daughter wore equally simple clothing, jeans and a light blue shirt underneath a denim jacket. Around her neck hung a string of tiny glass spheres, made for her by her father. In her hand was a soft, satin doll, created by her mother. Elizabeth Verre, David's wife and Annelise's mother, possessed the ability to manipulate fabric, from coarse rugs to fine silk. As a successful seamstress and fashion consultant, she had made use of this ability quite often. That was how she was identified. Before she left, Elizabeth had created the satin doll for her daughter, relatively featureless but made with affection that could hardly be matched.

As they left their modest house, David turned and locked the door, hoping that no one would come and steal whatever they had left. Annelise had already diverted her attention to everything around her, curious as to what people caused which sounds, where they came from, why, and wether or not she would be able to get a puppy by the end of the day. She also wondered why the sky was blue, how squirrels could climb trees so easily, and if she would accept grilled cheese as a suitable lunch when she returned. She was a fan of grilled cheese. But then again, she was in the mood for something spicy. Questions, questions.

Trying to keep up with David's long strides, Annelise skipped down the steps and walked quickly along side him, every 2 or so steps matching one by her father. Though her father was rigorously studying the application one more time, for good luck, Annelise was watching clouds drift overhead. David had gently, yet firmly, taken her hand in his. Annelise wouldn't go anywhere unless he knew of it. Of course, the girl herself was mostly unaware of this. She had busied herself with another question, concocted when she saw some old women cooing over a baby in a carriage.

"Dad, where do babies come from?"

Ah crap. David buried his reddening face in his application, curious as to how he would manage to explain the reproductive system to a 7-year old. He smiled slightly, entertained by his daughter's innocent question and naively curious eyes.

"The stork."

"Oh."

Satisfied, Annelise changed her pace from hurried steps to a much more enjoyable series of skips. Every so often, David would swing his arm and, in sync with his daughter's hops, lift the little girl off the ground for a moment. This ushered forth a fit of giggles everytime as Annelise realized that birds flew because their daddies lifted them off the ground when they skipped. Perfect logic.

The pet store grew closer and, setting his daughter down after a particularly high leap, opened the door. It was made of glass, as were most doors. David was careful around such things. One never could be cautious enough. Within the store was a man smoking vigorously upon a cigarette and a woman bending down in front of a crate of puppies.

"Puppies!"

Annelise wrenched her hand free of David's grip and ran with considerable speed towards the crate of small, furry creatures. Immediately, she plopped down and extended her tiny hand through the bars, allowing the dogs to lick it and do whatever it was puppies did to small children. One of them sneezed on her, which only solicited more giggles. David's voice, calm and deep compared to the high-pitched shriek of joy his daugher had let loose, became mixed with the cries of various animals.

"Hi, I'm David Verre. I'm here to drop off an application."

One obstacle down. David rarely enjoyed saying such things aloud, lest the judgemental eyes of non-mutants fix their gaze upon him. He was not a fan of undue attention.

Unfortunately, Annelise was an expert at granting just that. In the midst of playing with the puppies, Annelise froze, stood up and whipped around at her father. She was not angry, merely curious...again.

"Wait! How does a stork carry a baby?"

Wonderful first impression.

 

[The Big Lovin']

No. This is wrong…

“I didn’t do anything wrong! Let me out!”

The large, dark haired man struggled in his restraints to no avail only to plead to the arresting officers of his innocence once again. With the loud clanking of metal and violent sounds coming within the holding cell, one couldn’t help but think otherwise. Even believe that a psychopath was being held inside. But for Julius, it was probably truth. He continued to yank at the chains welded on to the wall, only to aggravate the security even more. One of them approached the small, clear, plastic window banging on the door. “Quiet down or we’ll make you quiet down!” He dragged his small, lanky frame back to his chair, kicking his legs up onto the small desk and pushing his cap down over his eyes. The other officer, a younger man, probably the youngest of the squad, sat nervously on the edge of his seat, his hand on the butt of his gun, his face anxious and impatient. “When is the county transport getting here? This guy is creeping me out”

The older, lanky gentlemen responded without looking up from under his hat. “Hey, as long as he is in there and we got our guns, there are no worries. Even as big as he is, one of these puppies will bring him down.” The man patted his side, holding a .45 caliber desert eagle. The young man, unconvinced, stood up from his seat, walking out of the room, his hand still in contact with his firearm. Inside the cell, Julius finally stopped; his head slouched down in defeat. This was all wrong. All wrong. He did absolutely nothing. Hell, he was trying to help. If it weren’t for him, the lady would have been crushed for sure. But of course, this was probably the fate of anyone like him who happened to be in a situation that involved the police. Suddenly, Julius’s head snapped up to the sound of a phone ringing. He listened intently as the man lifted the phone of its base and answered. “Hello? It’s here? All right. Preparations have already been made and are being carried out. Ok. Right away sir.”

With that, the orders were received and carried out. A transportation truck came and Julius was placed on it along with 4 other people, their destination being the crowded, brutal county jail.

This is all wrong…

 

[Ulti]

Another surprise. More than two people in the store? A new record for Zo. She was just about to get ready to enter Sensory when out of nowhere a small girl started to coo over the puppy cage. The girl's giggles and laughs startled the other pets, starting a symphony of barks, hisses, and every animal noise imaginable. Despite loving the dears, Zo disliked it when they got this riled up. Then there where other people to attend to first. She twisted in place for a few moments, confused on what to do first. Clutching her head in frustration, Zo decided to attend to the little girl.

"Storks?..I believe they carry the babies in wooden baskets. Or at least that is what the cartoons claim."

Zo gave a silent command to Slink. He rose up, gave his little salute, and ran to where she wanted him to go.Today's ferret mission was to watch over the girl. She didn't know if the girl would accidentally harm the puppies, but she did not want to have any child-fearing puppies. Slink stood up on his hind legs, trying to look as cute as possible, to avert her attention to himself. A suicide mission. Lucky him. One down, three to go. Attention went back to Luke.

"Sorry about this, but I need to get this guy settled. You can pick the pup that you like best. Prices are on the front. Don't pick up the shaking ones.And..uh..ya. That's it."

Zo then rushed over to the startled animals, whispering softly. She hummed a little, knowing this usually calmed the beasts down. Eventually, they settled down, going about their daily lives of eating, sleeping, peeing, and staring out the window at other humans bounding along. With only a breath to spare, she traveled back across the store to help David.

"Sorry for the wait. I believe now I remember my boss saying something about someone wanting a job. Or was it taking my job? Hm. I have to ask him when he comes by. When is he coming by? It has been weeks..Ah! I am getting off topic. Introductions! My name is Dier. I am the current employee at Terrance's. The only employee. About time he found someone...And I am getting off topic again. So sorry! How can I help you?"

 

[Ashes Remnant]

Here he was. Running. Not very fast, but running. Behind him, two police cars with police hanging out the window shooting. At him naturally. time almost slowed down as he looked behind him and a bullet almost took off one side of his face. His eyes met the police man's. He looked scared. Good.

Lain turned around completely. He was still running, but this time at them. The cops froze up. Good. Lain ran straight at one car. He remembered. In that split second, he remembered something he'd seen on television once. He ran at the police vehicle. He frontflipped onto the hood, then frontflipped once more over the car. This took the police by surprise, one drove into the other. The two flipped into the air, flying into some pet shop.

All this for one little thing? Lain was in his house glaring at the officers who had come to mark him. What they didn't expect was how much memory could help. The man that was supposed to be watching him was susceptible to hypnosis. Hypnosis from a book even. He sneaked to the door. Unlocked. He looked out. There were two men. He watched them ever so carefully. A special paint. They walked to his door which was so slightly open. He watched as they painted a red 'M' on his door. What they didn't know, is he took what was left of the paint. Now, what he did to get in trouble.

He had taken this stolen paint with his last paint brush. He drove to the home of our god-forsaken 'leader' at night. Of course, he got past the guards easily. He didn't know about the cameras though. He got to the door. He painted an 'M' exactly the same as his on our 'leader's' door. Next morning, he was asleep naturally. He woke with the sound of police knocking on his door. He knew what to do. He ran.

And now there were two smoking police cars in some pet shop. Looks like they'll get in trouble with him. Great... He turned to run further, but stopped. He looked down. He had been shot. With a dart? He took it out, and looked at the side. 'Highly Concentrated Ketamine' His mind wasn't working. He couldn't remember? Then, he fell face first.

 

[Lord of Chaos]

Isaac blinked as he got into his car. Today there had been a discount for being a "normal" person, and so he had gotten about ten-percent off the bill. No one knew he was a mutant because of all the secrecy he had been through to hide it. He smiled slightly as he started the vehicle up and took out a candy bar. He unwrapped it first before attempting to drive and do the same thing. It was a delicious Snickers bar, one of his favorites ever since he was a small child. It made him sigh and think of the old days... back before this religious nut came into power. Those were great ones...particularly when one of the old leaders finally stopped having a war which was driving America into debt. Many people figured that the take over into Theocracy would not have happened if America hadn't been in such debt and desperate for a scapegoat to blame it all on.

He put in an old CD. It was Puscifer's "V is for Vagina", from 2007. He smiled, loving the industrial-funk-freestyle mix that it provided. He backed up and drove out of the parking lot, hitting onto Main Street. It was here that he noticed something. He slowed down some and watched as a boy ran by, trying to evade the police. He managed to out-maneuver them, but what happened next as Isaac got out of the vehicle to watch would cause him to act. He stood there as two police units hit each other and both were flipping in mid-air, headed for a pet shop. His eyes gazed into the pet shop to see a total of four people and a lot of innocent animals. He brought up his hands and focused everything he could, every ounce of energy into one go.

Suddenly, a torrential wind like no other picked up, and slammed one of the police vehicles into the other, knocking them out of the way of the pet shop, instead smashing into some alleyway. Isaac blinked in surprise; he didn't know he could focus that much. It was then though that he noticed his nose was bleeding... he had used that much effort apparently. He felt dizzy and weak, his skin growing even more pale than it usually was, as the sun seemed to pick up a new intensity to it. He managed to crawl back into his car, panting heavily. It wouldn't have been as bad if he had time to focus first, instead of rushing everything he could into one hit. He watched the police shoot the man with a tranquilizer. Isaac ate more of his candy bar that he had left in the seat next to his, hoping to regain some energy, as he shakily through the car into drive.

As he was about to take off though, ambulances and fire trucks rushed to the area. Even if the cars hadn't hit the pet shop, they were still flaming heaps of metal, which posed a threat. Great, now he couldn't leave until they were done. Oh well, he laid back in his seat and closed his eyes, hoping that no one had saw him, and just trying to wait it all out...

 

[Prophet]

Daniel Ore sighed as he walked down the long, and apparently empty sidewalk. His feet seemed to drag along along the dull grey pavement, creating a dull swishing scrape that met his ears with a mocking dullness. He felt stupid now. He should have kept going for more... There was no way they could survive on this without going back... Last time, his sister had gone with him, and she had managed to squeeze over five times that much. But she was always the cunning one, as usual. He had never managed to argue like that... Not very useful when running from the law...

His light hazel eyes were glazed over in thought, but they sharpened up as he came closer to another set of stores... There were a few people milling about these stores, going travelling in and out with methodical rigorousness, like ants running in and out of their small caverns into the bright light of the outside world. Some of them laughed lightly as they scanned the windows with bright little eyes. A few teenagers talked loudly as they slunk around the alleyways, there dark eyes flitting around, as they searched for the law that might pick them out of the crowd... They think they had it bad... thought Daniel, looking at them a bit sadly, Enjoy your freedom my friends... Enjoy it... His head turned again, looking ahead this time, looking at the block ahead, his eyes picking out the stores stretching into the horizon. There were a few non-descript stores abroad... A pet store, a few convenient stores... But then his nostrils twitched, and the smell of freshly roasted hot dogs lapped at his senses like a friendly puppy, its warmth caressing him as his eyes lit upon the small hot dog cart, slightly tucked into an alleyway. There he would meet with his sister... Feelings of turmoil twisted around in his stomach... He wasn't looking forward to the reprimanding he would undoubtedly recieve...

But a screeching sound reached his ears. His eyes left the hotdog cart to see a suddenly flurry of action on the horizon. A figure, darting forward like a thief from a broken museum case, leapt along the sidewalk, followed by a familiar screeching that made Daniel tense almost automatically... As naive as he was, being a... yeah... meant that he had come to recognize the sounds of screeching police tires...

But there was a loud crashing noise that he was not accustomed to. One second, the figure was running swiftly down the sidewalk, and the next, there was the sound of a smashing metal meteor of flames shrieking through the air, and Daniel's eyes widened as the twisted remnants of two police cars smashed into the alleyway. Directly into the hotdog stand...

"Dana," he whispered, and his light walk instantly sped up into a sprint, racing forward on the sidewalk as he approached the remnants of the hotdog stand... meat was flung burning all over the sidewalk , and it seemed the owner had run instantly, for Daniel did not see any signs of a body... A body... Daniel felt nausea rising in his mouth, and he had to turn away for a moment to compose himself, feeling the heat from the burning flames heat his back... There was so much destruction... So much death...

"Get back you idiot," shouted a familiar voice, and Daniel looked up only to suddenly feel a strong hand grip his shoulder.

"Hey," he tried to say, pulling his shoulder out of his sister's grip, but she hung on pulling him away from the burning cars.

"Those cars are going to explode soon, smart one," she said exasperatedly, a hint of urgency in her voice, "We gotta go... now!" Oh right... Daniel couldn't believe he had been so obliviously stupid... She pulled him, and Daniel only had a second to get a glimpse of her long black hair, her beautifully tan face, and the rugged backpack slung over her back, before she had yanked deep into the alleyway, Her grip was as strong as her mind, as Daniel felt himself being pulled along into the alleway, turning a corner sharply, there was a sudden explosion. A rocketing fireball jettisoned into the air behind them, and Daniel's eyes widened in fear as he turned around to try and peer around the corner. But Dana's grip was too fierce, and she pulled on him hard, swinging him around as they turned another corner, coming into view of a small back lot, its only occupants being a faded green dumpster, and a few scattered rats. If Daniel had to guess, he would have said it was the back of one of the shops, possibly the Pet Store by the... er... smell of the garbage.

"Cat food," he said, wrinkling his nose, and turning to face Dana, "You couldn't pick a better spot?"

"Excuse me, but there weren't a lot of options when our meeting place is now a pile of fiery rubble," she said, somewhat smartly, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at him expectantly, "Do you have the money?"

"Yes," he said, somewhat reluctantly, and one hand dove into his pocket, feeling around for a moment before pulling out a small wad of bills. Dana took them from his hand lightly, and ruffled through them, her small, slender hands flipping through the bills like she was shuffling a deck of cards.

"Only $200?" she said, looking at him with an exasperated look in her eye, "That ring was definitely worth more then that!"

"I'm sorry," Daniel moaned, putting his hands in his jeans pocket and kicking the ground uncomfortably, and Dana groaned shoving the bills in her pocket and running her hands through her beautiful long hair. Even when frustrated and angry, she radiated a sense of cunning smartness that Daniel just envied sometimes... She could survive in this place... He couldn't...

"We'll have to make the best of it," she replied smartly, folding up the bills and sliding them within the bottom of her shoe with practiced ease. Daniel knew she was just trying to make it easier for him, but he still hung his head in shame, knowing that his incompetance in practical situations such as this was hurting them both... It seemed like Dana could read his thoughts, for suddenly he felt his hand in hers, her once harsh grip now holding it with a sisterly tenderness. He looked up sadly into her eyes, but found that they were only filled with warmth...

"We'll do this Dan," she said warmly, the warmth from her head spreading into his, "We'll live through this..."

 

[Endgame]

Great. A new guy shows up, and Luke had to pick out a present for his little brother all by himself. Well, the kid seemed to soak up everything Luke did, like some kind of sponge... he dressed like him, he liked the same music... hell, the only thing Luke did that he hadn't copied was start smoking. Nathan had a great moral compass, fortunatly, which was more then he could say for himself. In many ways, Nathan was like a softer, kinder, friendlier version of him.
He'd probably end up sleeping with Luke's future wife someday.

Sighing in exasparation, he closed his eyes for a second... then opened them again. His vision... it was really getting time to go see a doctor about. Now all four of them in the shop had the pink glow. Way too weird. Kneeling down, he began looking through the puppies, passing quickly over the ones that wet themselves at the sight of him. He threw a sidelong glance at the little girl beside him. She was a few years younger then his brother, but still.

"Hey, kid..." He asked softly, giving her a smile that was probably meant to be reassuring: "Which of these puppies do you think my little brother would like better? He's kinda like me, but about your age, see?" he said, holding up a hand to indicate he was about the same height as her. Oh yeah. There was another difference between them. If he told Nathan that a girl had helped pick out his present, the kid would probably fake throwing up and then say stuff about girls being disgusting.

Suddenly, a crashing noise could be heard from outside.

"Great. And I wanted a quiet day..."

 

[Blackest Night]

David extended his hand to Dier, smiling pleasantly. He had taught himself that someone in his particular situation must be extremely courteous and polite, even to those who seemed to be rather...unbalanced. This "Dier" woman was certainly a tad eccentric, apparently scatterbrained and less than professional. Such things were odd, yes, but allowed. Frankly, David was ready for any interruption in his otherwise monotonous life.

Annelise had now preoccupied herself with the monumental task of picking out a puppy for this stranger's brother. She stared very intently at Luke, under the impression that his entire life history was able to be determined simply by looking at him. Satisfied with her analyzation of his character through sight, Annelise turned to the puppies and thought very hard. Moments later, she happily pointed towards a particularly quiet, yet equally adorable, puppy sitting calmly in the corner. Overjoyed with her apparent success at a very difficult moment in life, Annelise let out a giggle.

"That one!"

Her answer was met with blaring sirens and loud crashes. They sounded just outside, sending the animals into a loud frenzy of panic. Annelise turned around in sudden fear, and Davids heart stopped for a moment. Instinctively, David dove for Annelise, nearly tackling the poor girl as he flew past crates and cages of animals. He formed a protective cocoon around her, shutting his eyes tightly and placing one of his hands over her eyes, while his other held her firmly.

He did not see what went around around him. He could only hear it. He heard sirens, screams, and crashed, loud roars of twisting metal and burning iron. Yet beneath it all was a light, yet constant tinkling, like the cracking of crystals. Had he been able to look around hi, he would have seen a mesmerising whirling of glass. Every bit of glass in the building hat shattered and were hastily making their way towards David, swering around all obstacles in their way. THough he could only hear them, the glass had come together around David and Annelise, forming an array of tall spikes that stood several feet taller than the crouching family.

Through it all, David could only mutter "please."

ooc: Shitty post. Oh well.

 

[Ulti]

"Oh would you look at that. Cars can fly now."

How does one react to seeing a flaming car flying past a window? Zo wasn't the one to freak out nor to be scared of something so trivial. She just casually watched the wreckage zoom past as if watching clouds go by. Shards of glass pierced her face, but she did not move. It appeared she did not take any notice to the blood dripping down from her face. The animals, the sirens, all were too noisy. She walked over to the cages, still as casual as ever, and tried to hush them down, but to no avail. She turned to David and gave him a look of annoyance. Not at him of course, but most likely all the ruckus.

"Do you mind staying in here for a bit? I'll go check out what happened. Just watch over the customer. No stealing and crap. Come on Slink."

Like Zo, Slink was not as terrified as the others were. Through his experience with Zo, nothing phased him anymore. Taking his place upon her shoulders, he went along with the girl outside. A large crowd had gathered around the police car. Still calm Zo walked over to the police man that somehow managed to get out of the car before it crashed.

"Excuse me. Can you get this car off my property? Its ruining business. Look at my windows! My poor animals! You need to go back to driving school before you set your car aflame and crash it."

 

[Tyler Durden]

I recall going madly in love with you and I remember this-how could I forget?

Craig's hand whizzed through the air, eventually slamming into his friend's face. He watched as she reeled, but he couldn't allow himself to feel bad for her. After all, she was just like him; stronger than the rest, and she could hit just as hard as she could.

Regret is a needle in my neck, it's slowly fillin' me with poison-spreading through my chest

As she tried to recover, Craig kicked her feet out from under her and watched as she slammed into the ground. He heard a crunch, and hoped that he hadn't managed to really hurt her this time. She was the only one that had stuck with him, the only one that hadn't cast him out for who-what- he was. His parents, his family, his friends...all of them had cast him out when they reaized that he was one of them

"You alright Ash?" That was it. Her name wasn't Ashley, or anything like that. Just simple 'Ash'. And come to think of it, that name suited her. She often wandered around with a slightly weird look on her face, and seemed so sad all the time. That was to be understood, but... lately she seemed to be slipping into actual depression.

Take my pain and numb me from this

Without answering, she managed to launch herself into the air and landed on her feet. As soon as she landed back on her feet, she slammed into him and knocked him to the ground. There they grappled, and Craig eventually came out victorous. That was how their sparring matches always ended; they just couldn't resist the contact, apparently.

As he rose laughing, Craig turned off the stereo that was blaring hard rock from its speakers. That was their kind of music; or at least half the time. Other times they liked to listen to pop punk or pink rock. For some reason, the music just seemed to make light of everything, which was something that Craig needed to do.

Grabbing his long jacket, Craig threw it into the air and thrust his arms through their respective holes, striking a pose after doing so. He loved doing that; for some reason, it made him feel like he was a macho. Normally he didn't care, but he always felt this urge to show off in front of Ash. Could it be...?

No. Those were thoughts that Craig banished to the back of his mind. Surviving was the most important thing. And in order to survive, they needed food. Turning over his shoulder, Craig told Ash as such while he was holstering his weapons. The pistols were great, but the revolver...he loved the revolver. The sound of the hammer flying forward, the slight click of the barrel as it turned... it was otherworldly.

Getting into town was easy for them. They lived in the forest on the outsirts of the city, and only had to run to make it into the metropolitan area. So long as they weren't caught running that fast, they would be fine. They would often play games with each other along the way, like jumping up and grabbing branches then flipping, and other acts of daring that they found so fun.


As they were running, they saw a car whiz past along the road. Hidden as they were by foilage, Craig wasn't too worried. He kept on running, and then stopped and walked slowly when they had reached a wide open area. He walked silently, all the way into the city. On his way to the store, he saw a flaming car suddenly flying through the air. On instinct his hand flew to his pistol's barrel, but he stifled the urge to draw it.

When he saw the car land and some girl come out of a pet shop scolding the owner, he couldn't help but laugh to himself. He placed his hands back into his pockets, and walked up to the scene of the accident.

"Need some help, kid?"