Parahumans: the First Dawn

[Nisteth]

|Esaias|
|Restaurant|

"Heh... I suppose that would probably be the best way to do it, considering I have no idea how the notes go together on paper..." A small blush becomes apparent on her face and she smiles warmly. By now, it was more waiting for the waiter to return, but she still wondered exactly how far this relationship would go. Not long ago, they were still in the hospital and she had just barely finished his exo leg... now they were out on a romantic dinner. It all seemed to be going by so fast.

Almost a bit too fast. Though, she didn't want it to stop - no, that was far from what she wanted to happen. There were a lot of times when she read books or her mind managed to wander into the correct territory that she would silently wish that she had relationships like all the people in those fantasy books. Of course, that never happens - they're often too good to be true. So many people in the real world are out for looks rather than sole personality. To her, looks are more of a bonus. That's why she likes him - he's both.

"So while we're waiting for the waiter to arrive with our food, what really inspired you to be much of a musician?" She tilts her head slightly in a curious, playful fashion.

 

[RJS]

[Police Station]

As I enter the Homicide department, the familiar buzz of conversation trickles to a halt, and every face turns to stare a me. I catch a few mutters being passed around.

"She was one of them, wasn't she?"
"That chaos at the hospital was because of them."
"What about that incident at the docks?"

Their reaction hurt. I'd spent years working with these guys, they'd become my family in an odd way. I was saved from the dilemna of how to react by the arrival of Richard.

"Hi Lorna, nice to see you back on your feet after yesterday. Can I grab you for a brief chat in my office? And," he looked over his shoulder, "I know you guys are pleased to see Lorna back, but these cases don't solve themselves you know. Get on with it."

In the office, Richard became serious.

"So, I guess part of why you're here is to find out just what the hell is going to happen with regard to your...uhh...circumstances. Well, it's not looking great right now. The higher ups have never been keen on you, mostly because they know what you think of them. It doesn't help that as result of yesterday's attack, we have a murder that got a lot harder to solve. Plus, you left your radio behind, in a serious breach of protocol.

From what we can ascertain, the attacks yesterday were perpetrated by people like you against people like you. Keeping you in a front line role is going to put the...other officers in extra danger. The top brass wanted you suspended without pay until we decide how to resolve this, but I've managed to cut a deal with an old friend of mine in Missing Persons. You'll be on secondment there for the time being. You have tomorrow marked in as medical leave, so take your time to get yourself adjusted.

I know it's not much, but it's all I could do. I'm sorry."

The words hit hard. My home for the past few years was trying to reject me as a result of...well, of what I had become. I managed to smile and thank Richard, before going to clear my desk, somehow keeping the tears off my face. On my way home, I called into the local off-license.

 

[xTordX]

|Tyler|
|Old Lab|

Upon cleaning up the place i found an old photo of me and my friends. Well... the ones who remained my friends after a weird incident.
Anyways i looked at it for a while and figured out i shouldn't stay all alone god-knows-where and instead help the ones i have something in common with.
I decided to head towards the hospital to find out what happened there.
|Streets|
(Ughh i can't belive none of us thought about sharing our numbers... And i'm talking to myself again. Great. I really need to meet one of them or i'll get mad.)
|Hospital|
I arrived at the hospital to see a quarter of it collapsed. I went to the reception.
"Good afternoon. We're really sorry for the incident. Is all the personnel ok?"
"Yes, some of us got some really bad scratches but nothing serious. May i help you?"
"I'd like to know where the attacker came from."
"I don't really know much about it. I came here an hour ago."
"Hmm... Do you know where any of my friends went?"
"Ah yes! Mr. Watson recently left with a girl."
(Huh, of course he did.)
"Mind to tell me where they went?"
"I heard them talking about going to the restaurant not far from here."
"That would do. Thank you."
I went to the restaurant to find the two doves having fun. I sat down at a table close enough to hear them. The waiter came to take my order.
"Good afternoon sir, may i help you?"
"A coffee please. No sugar."
(Pfuuuu i haven't slept for a while...)
I took the menu, listening carefully to Watson and Esaias.

 

[Kal.]

| Soren Ruka |
| Rusty Keys Used Bookstore |

Having cleaned up after her ritual, scattering the used powder to the four corners of her room, Soren got herself ready for work. She moved unhurriedly, but with a sense of purpose. From her closet she chose a pair of fitting dark pants, made of synthetic material. It was the last time she would use them, being that she switched to keeping and buying clothing made of organic material. She picked a white tanktop, a black print of a rose bursting into more roses, and wore a black hooded sweater atop it. The print on it was a white book, open and small implied wisps coming out.

The book-design on her hoodie happened to be representing the Necronomicon. But it was subtle, no-one would notice unless they inspected it closely. It was her version of subtle. Checking herself once in the mirror, she ran a brush once through her hair, and then grabbed her crystal necklace off the top of the dresser before leaving her room, keeping the door just a crack ajar. Energy had to circulate...

There's no way to calculate when it'll reach downstairs... The energy anyone else brings in will affect the ebb and flow. Perhaps the constant flow of different people is what Soren liked about this place... or grown to like, in any case. She felt distracted by her thoughts, but managed to get down the stairs and to the cash register she would be working at.

"Soren, good morning," Mrs. Keys greeted her with a bright smile. She was usually very energetic in the mornings, and this morning was no different.

"Good morning," Soren mumbled. To herself, she thought she'd articulated herself quite well. She liked Mrs. Keys, and liked the good energy that came from her. Of course she'd want to return it back just so.

Mrs. Keys was used to Soren's way of speaking by now, and easily picked up on what Soren said. She gently rubbed the girl's back as she made it behind the register. "Thanks dear. I'll go make us some tea," she said, and then pittered off to the back area. Soren softly thanked Mrs. Keys while looking directly at the shelf in front of her. The store was empty, Soren could tell from the lack of noise. Lack of regular noise, anyway. The house was old and had a voice of its own.

She could hear Mrs. Keys pouring the water into the water-heater, and smell the sweet scent of the used books coming off the shelves. So many books... How many would leave their shelves today and find new homes? Soren wondered this, it distracted her.

 

[LivingAngryCheese]

| Brock Blackwood |
| Hospital |

"Mum! Mum! I finished counting all the money!" I shouted. I paused and gasped for breath. "It took me forever! I've been counting all week!"
"That's nice honey." My mum said. "Wait. What?"
"I was booooored."
"But; how did you get in?"
"You left the vault open," I said, confused. Then a man came running past carrying a bag of our money, I screamed as there was a large bang and my mum fell, dead.

He gasped as he woke up and sat bolt upright in the hospital bed. He groaned. That rabbit sure was real. But there was enough for that later, first, he needed to get away from society, it was bringing back the nightmares. He walked up to the door quietly and checked to see no one was looking before he left. He needed his bow, arrows and daggers back if he wanted food. He needed to find where they kept them, steal them back, and go home. His years of stealth experience would help with this.

 

[the_j485]

|Simon's doorway|
Shout as he might, Glade's fist connected perfectly with the face of the poor guy. It was a hard hit, too, so the explosion that ravaged his face was more powerful than most, and caused him to fly back an hit Simon, toppling him. The boy's motionless body lay upon him, blood coming out of his face profusely, nose blasted off, eyes destroyed, mouth ripped permanently open, cuts all over, even one ear heavily damaged. The poor guy didn't even have time to scream, before he stopped breathing, his heart ceased to beat - the brain damage had been too much. Glade had literally killed him in a single punch.
"Someone needs to learn some self-restraint, don't they?" The other boy said, before the black faded from his eyes, and he gazed, open-mouthed, at the dead body of his friend lying upon the other.

 

[GPuzzle]

|Simon|
"No! Glade, get out of here! Quick! I'll talk to you soon."

Shit.

Martin was dead. Gone, forever.

And there was no way getting around that. No powers could help him. Nothing.

Unless somehow we found someone with the ability to cure people. That'd be a start.

But as far as I knew, we wouldn't.

Eric just kept crying and muttering "what the fuck" under his breath. It was painful for all of us, but somehow I only broke down on stressing situations after they happened.

"Eric? I want you to get as far as you can from me right now. I know you're my friend, but in the end if you stick around you'll probably end like Martin."
"Why? I'm not leaving yo-"
"I don't know why, I just want you safe. Me and that girl, Glade - we have somehow developed powers. And there's other people with powers searching for us, hunting us down, wrecking fucking everything. We might be able to survive because it seems we have a reason to - but you don't. You'll be just another person they'll probably use as a pawn or wreck like you're a bug. And you're my friend. I want you to live. If you can, try to contact me every once in a while. But keep yourself down low."
"What about Martin? He was our friend, and this girl killed him for no reason whatsoever. What will we say? What will we do?"
"We'll say this robber broke in and killed him. He looks like someone blew his head off with a shotgun. We'll stay for next few days, and then we're leaving this house, alright?"
"Alright."
"Now, do we leave Martin's stuff here or do we take them with us?"
"We'll give it to his family."
"Sounds good. At least we can honor the guy."

We silently weeped for our friend as we packed our stuff. Eric found a place to live in after we left it, an apartment a few blocks away from where we lived. As for me, I was going to Glade's apartment. If we reduced the number of places they could attack, the less damage they'd do.

Reduce casualties.

Reduce damage.

Try to keep as many people in good conditions.

That was what my cousin told me they did in the army.

And seemingly, this was now our battlefield.

 

[RJS]

[London, Streets]

I walked numbly down the road, staring into space, the rhythmic chinking of my carrier bag accompanying me along the street. My mind, still dwelling on the suspicions of my colleagues and the events of yesterday, was elsewhere. People parted in front of me, presumably not wanting to get close to the crazed druggie with the bag of whiskey.

I don't know how long I'd have kept walking for if it weren't for the inviting scent of an old bookstore catching me in its grasp. I'd always loved books, even as a child, and there was something about the style of a proper old bookshop that sang to me. I hadn't been in one since before I left...

I looked at the name: 'Rusty Keys'. It seemed right somehow, a name that fitted the store, as reassuringly quaint as the interior. I opened the door and eased into the shop, wandering over to the nearest shelf of books. As I walked along, my hand absent-mindedly rose to the books and skimmed along their spines, feeling the texture of the covers as I breathed in the slightly musty smell that signified all good bookshops. Unlike most things from my youth, it seemed books still held nothing but good memories.

 

[Strikingwolf]

|Simon|
"No! Glade, get out of here! Quick! I'll talk to you soon."

Shit.

Martin was dead. Gone, forever.

And there was no way getting around that. No powers could help him. Nothing.

Unless somehow we found someone with the ability to cure people. That'd be a start.

But as far as I knew, we wouldn't.

"Eric? I want you to get as far as you can from me right now. I know you're my friend, but in the end if you stick around you'll probably end like Martin."
"Why? I'm not leaving yo-"
"I don't know why, I just want you safe. Me and that girl, Glade - we have somehow developed powers. And there's other people with powers searching for us, hunting us down, wrecking fucking everything. We might be able to survive because it seems we have a reason to - but you don't. You'll be just another person they'll probably use as a pawn or wreck like you're a bug. And you're my friend. I want you to live. If you can, try to contact me every once in a while. But keep yourself down low."
"What about Martin?"
"We'll say this robber broke in and killed him. He looks like someone blew his head off with a shotgun. We'll stay for next few days, and then we're leaving this house, alright?"
"Alright."
"Now, do we leave Martin's stuff here or do we take them with us?"
"We'll give it to his family."
"Sounds good."

We silently weeped for our friend as we packed our stuff. Eric found a place to live in after we left it, an apartment a few blocks away from where we lived. As for me, I was going to Glade's apartment. If we reduced the number of places they could attack, the less damage they'd do.

Reduce casualties.

Reduce damage.

Try to keep as many people in good conditions.

That was what my cousin told me they did in the army.

And seemingly, this was now our battlefield.

|Glade|

I watch Martin go down...I watch his face starting to bleed...and time seems to go in slow-motion. I watch Simon take action as I think about what just happened. Did I just kill a man...I look down at my hands and see the blood...Have I stepped over the line I almost crossed two years ago. What will happen to me...what about his family. I start to sob and collapse to the floor. I watched Simon talking to Eric, calm and collected. How can he do this; why isn't he attacking me or weeping like I am. When will this day be over. When can I find peace again...with Simon. If I could cause this day to never have happened...would I? What do I do now? I watch Simon get up with Eric and I go and wash my hands in a dazed state. I walk behind Simon and once Eric has left I say..."I can't hurt people anymore." I run from Simon turning into alleyways and taking the long route out of the city. I don't know what I am planning to do, but whatever it is...I will keep myself from being around people because when I am I hurt them...if they are my loved ones I hurt them...if they are people I hurt them...I hurt them. Someone else didn't hurt them...I did, and I can never do it again

 

[GPuzzle]

|Simon|

"Glade! Wait!"

I felt like an emotional trainwreck.

Martin had just been killed by Glade, yet I wanted to calm down her.

It might have been the whole "calm stuff down, you have time to weep later" instinct I have speaking, but the only way I could think of at the moment of reducing potential future casualties involving Glade was chasing her.

That said, it wasn't really a natural instinct from what most would've considered.

It was more of a modus operanti, something I've developed after... No, why am I talking to myself? I have to find Glade.

"Glade! Look, I have a plan! Wait for me!"

If stuff was going in roughly the same direction I was expecting it to go, I didn't want to be the last to leave.

"Wait for me!"

I kept her image stuck in my mind. I'm not nearly as fit as her. I don't know how, but I kept chasing her.

I could not let her go. This wasn't about me. This was about someone I knew had been through more shit in her life than most had. And without help, it could reach genocide levels of deaths. From the looks of it, she needed help.

And frankly, no one would be willing to provide it. Someone had to make a move.

I finally reached her. Completely out of breath.

"Glade, look... I know you didn't mean to kill Martin. I know you need to control yourself. I'm not weeping right now, because tomorrow I can lay in my bed and cry myself to sleep, I'll have time to mourn him - but right now, we need to fix a lot of things, and as much as honoring the dead is a big priority, trying to reduce the number of future dead people is a bigger one. I was going to leave the apartment. Eric's probably already left by now. I have no place to go, and the best way to reduce the numbers these things can attack in the future is to concentrate ourselves. So... can I go to your apartment? It's a big "go here" mark for those things, but it makes it so people don't die like Martin, or end up paraphlegic like your sister."

 

[Strikingwolf]

|Glade|

I stand still with my back toward Simon as he tells me this...This person is genuinely trying to protect me and the people around me...I have to go with him. I start to turn to go with Simon. Then I freeze. NO! I can't go with him, the only way this can end is him getting hurt, and I can't let that happen. I start running again and I don't look behind me because I know if I do I'll go back, and I will end up hurting him.

Can I ever be rid of this curse. Will I ever be able to love and care...I cannot love...I cannot care...I can only hurt. My power can't help people. It can only hurt them. Just like me...it is a cruel joke isn't it. Whatever I do now I can't hurt people. I have to get away....and Simon isn't going to stop me

 

[GPuzzle]

|Simon|

"Glade! Wait!"

She's leaving again, isn't she? I think I screwed up everything. I have nowhere to go. No one to be near to.

I don't wanna be the last to leave.

I sit down on the alley, and start crying. I brought this on myself. But it's happened, and all I can do is mourn.

Great job there.

Lost your friends. Lost your house. Lost a girl who was in need.

Now all you've got left to lose is yourself.

C'mon, pick yourself up, and go to somewhere. If you keep squatting people will think you are a Slav.

 

[Strikingwolf]

|Glade|

Where will I go...what will I do. These things are going to keep hurting people. I can't let that happen, but I can't hurt Simon either. What do I do? Is the fate of the general public more important? Or the fate of a person I love. It doesn't matter does it? If I run I lose Simon because I can't be with him and the general public suffers. If I go back I will eventually hurt Simon and then I will not be able to help anyone again. I run into a street and pause at the entrance to the alley. Either choice will hurt me and others. If I'm going to choose...I have to choose the option that gives me a chance at being with Simon

I run back to where Simon was and see him sitting and crying. I sit down next to him and lay my head on his shoulder and say "When will we ever be normal?"

 

[GPuzzle]

|Simon|

Glade came back. At least I didn't screw up completely.

She sat down near me and placed her head on my shoulder. It is nice to have someone comforting you for once.

"I don't think we'll be normal, so let's not pretend we are. Thanks for coming back, I don't wanna be alone..." - I tried to say, mixed in with all the sobbing. I was stroking her hair, to see if it'd calm her down.

"So, will you help me move to your house?"

 

[Strikingwolf]

|Glade|

"I think you will be helping me stay 'ok' while you move to my house, but sure...better than trying to think about...what has happened." I get up and pull Simon up. "Well lets get going, it seems like we got pretty far from my house." I start walking back to my Simon's house with Simon's hand in mine.

 

[GPuzzle]

|Simon|

OOC: Uhm, most of Simon's stuff is still in his apartment.

"Thanks." I wiped my face and dried up my tears.

She was willing to help me. That was enough for me. I lowered my head a bit and gave her a soft kiss in the cheek.

"Don't you leave me again."

 

[Strikingwolf]

|Glade|
|OOC: Fixed|

I feel Simon's lips touch my cheek and my pulse races. For a moment I freeze in disbelief.

Can he help me? Can I keep myself from hurting him? No it doesn't matter if I can, I will.

I turn back to Simon and say "I wouldn't dream of it"

 

[ThomazM]

|Esaias|
|Restaurant|

"Heh... I suppose that would probably be the best way to do it, considering I have no idea how the notes go together on paper..." A small blush becomes apparent on her face and she smiles warmly. By now, it was more waiting for the waiter to return, but she still wondered exactly how far this relationship would go. Not long ago, they were still in the hospital and she had just barely finished his exo leg... now they were out on a romantic dinner. It all seemed to be going by so fast.

Almost a bit too fast. Though, she didn't want it to stop - no, that was far from what she wanted to happen. There were a lot of times when she read books or her mind managed to wander into the correct territory that she would silently wish that she had relationships like all the people in those fantasy books. Of course, that never happens - they're often too good to be true. So many people in the real world are out for looks rather than sole personality. To her, looks are more of a bonus. That's why she likes him - he's both.

"So while we're waiting for the waiter to arrive with our food, what really inspired you to be much of a musician?" She tilts her head slightly in a curious, playful fashion.

|Christopher Watson|
|Restaurant|

I chuckled -- "what inspired me", I kept myself pondering for a few seconds, I want to find a gentle way of phrasing it. Of all things that ever happened in my life, this, surprisingly enough, didn't affect me much, I was way too young I suppose. I looked upwards slightly, with a somewhat "here we go" expression.

-"What inspired me, uh." -I shook my head, chuckling faintly- "I was around six - I believe - when my parents died. Freaky robbery slash murder case, apparently. I was at my room when the robber busted in, anyways. So, I didn't get to see much -- I just know it was a robbery from my grandparents, in fact."
​

I started to tap on the table, arrhythmically, I just wanted an excuse to avoid the constant eye-contact, to be entirely honest -- I think this is the first time I tell this story to anyone not family related. It feels odd.

-"Anyhow, that's not the point. After the incident, I moved in to my granddad's house, which, for some unknown reason, really wanted me home-schooled. Consequently, I spent pretty much all day inside the house, with literally nothing to do, except read, from his library, and or play the beautiful grand piano he owned. Both activities grew a lot on me. After a while, I grew to be better than my granddad, which tough me pretty much everything I knew. He really was proud of me." -I smiled faintly- "He was stubborn, but for pretty much my entire life, he was -- well, pretty much the only friend I ever had." -I paused for a few seconds, - "After he died, a few years ago, I almost felt as if I needed to continue on playing, composing, whatever. It was a way to keep him alive, somehow. It kept me going, as well. I did quite a few concerts around town, and even a few others throughout the country, as I said, it kept me going. I didn't even need the money, in fact. After he passed away, he left me pretty much everything he had, it kept me set for life, pretty much."
​

I sighed. Realizing I was talking pretty much nonstop for the last few minutes, I shook my head, chuckling slightly after.

-"Woah, shut up, Watson, you're boring the girl" -I said to myself, in a playful manner- "But yeah, that's pretty much it." -I looked back to her, with a silly, awkward smile on my face.​

 

[Nisteth]

|Esaias|
|Restaurant|

At first, there was a soft smile on her face as he started out, but as his story went on, it just sort of started... fading away. It was less because she was trying to hide her emotion as per usual, but more that the more he continued with the story, the more she realized that there was no point hiding anything from him in the first place. They didn't just have similarities in personality, but they also did in backstory to boot. Before, it would've been an impossible thought to her - people could be similar to her personality, of course. There were a lot of things that caused psychological trauma like that. Though, the fact that somebody had a story so similar to hers - impossible. Even with 7 billion living people and growing, it would pretty much take a miracle.

And yet here he was, sitting in front of her, smiling a silly smile as if he expected her to react negatively. A miracle, smiling at her.

"I see... not too different from mine, I suppose. And you already know that one..." Esaias sighs before leaning over the table and giving him a kiss right on the lips, just for a moment, before sitting back down with a blushing smile. "Heh. Who'd have thought that a random girl like me would end up getting superpowers, creating an entirely new piece of medical equipment, and meet what could pretty much be classified as a soulmate all in the same 48 hours?" She readjusts her hood and gives a soft chuckle. "Definitely not me, that's for sure..."

 

[ThomazM]

|Esaias|
|Restaurant|

At first, there was a soft smile on her face as he started out, but as his story went on, it just sort of started... fading away. It was less because she was trying to hide her emotion as per usual, but more that the more he continued with the story, the more she realized that there was no point hiding anything from him in the first place. They didn't just have similarities in personality, but they also did in backstory to boot. Before, it would've been an impossible thought to her - people could be similar to her personality, of course. There were a lot of things that caused psychological trauma like that. Though, the fact that somebody had a story so similar to hers - impossible. Even with 7 billion living people and growing, it would pretty much take a miracle.

And yet here he was, sitting in front of her, smiling a silly smile as if he expected her to react negatively. A miracle, smiling at her.

"I see... not too different from mine, I suppose. And you already know that one..." Esaias sighs before leaning over the table and giving him a kiss right on the lips, just for a moment, before sitting back down with a blushing smile. "Heh. Who'd have thought that a random girl like me would end up getting superpowers, creating an entirely new piece of medical equipment, and meet what could pretty much be classified as a soulmate all in the same 48 hours?" She readjusts her hood and gives a soft chuckle. "Definitely not me, that's for sure..."

|Christopher Watson|
|Restaurant|

I smiled softly to her kiss. "Soulmate", my silly smile grew even more to the sound of that word. It felt odd, still -- there's still a feeling of uneasiness to all of this, luckily, it seems to be fading away with every kiss. I never believed in fate - you know, like, a predetermined path the universe, or whatever sets for you. I never believed in that, until around now. How can I try to convince myself that this is all just a huge, colossal coincidence? I lay my cheek on my wrist, looking at her with the same silly, playful look as always, angling my head towards my hand, I chucked. I feel like I could wake up at any given moment. The saying "this is too good to be true" started echoing in my head, not negatively, much the contrary, it just emphasized how lucky I am. I sighed, examining every single inch of her face. "Christ, she's gorgeous".

-"And who'd have thought that an antisocial loser like myself would not only: develop superpowers, but in the same 48 hours time spam, find the most beautiful, sweet, incredible girl he ever met to be in love with him? Definitely not me, that's for sure"- I said, in a playful tone, still smiling -"What are the odds, uh?"​