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| Esper; The events after the Red Dawn | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 5 2016, 11:42 AM (21 Views) | |
| Myth Archangel | Jul 5 2016, 11:42 AM Post #1 |
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Big Boss Man
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You know, in retrospect, the day was just like any other when it started. I had absolutely no reason to expect anything, good or bad, from the day when I first woke up. I remember rubbing my bleary eyes, trying with all my might to get them to focus, and yet the stupid orbs refused to do as their owner commanded. I stood, letting my body stretch to its utmost. It is in this moment that I made a little noise that Gerard always called my 'pixie noise', a little squeak that he says is too adorable to be human. My long auburn ringlets bounce and sway behind me as I finish, staggering in the general direction of the kitchen. As I do, the house phone rings. Yes, I'm one of those people who still has a phone in their house rather than just a cell phone. Don't judge me. "You got your skinny white butt out of bed yet, girlfriend?" I rolled my eyes even as I made it into my kitchen, then immediately jumped back. Every single morning it got me; the cold marble tile. In all fairness, it had been my choice, but the tile was much easier to clean than the hard wood that covered the majority of the small house. One foot came up to rub the calf of the other, as if in consolation of what the extremity connected to it had endured. A little pouty look crossed my face, even as I spoke, my soft alto harsher than necessary but in all fairness, I hadn't had my coffee yet. "Shut it, Janice. You grew up in Beverly Hills. I have white neighbors blacker than you; regardless of skin color." Janice, absolutely unphased, carried on as she usually did. "Mmmmhmm. Don't you come at me swingin' just cuz you didn't get none last night." I glance back at my very large, very comfortable bed with feather pillows and a huge fluffy down comforter and doesn't it look inviting! With a sigh and very quick feet I ford past my trepidations and hop out into the tile, going to the automatic coffee machine, one of man's greatest inventions. It makes coffee for you every morning so you don't have to. Less time on that spiteful tile, and more curled back up in bed. Or at least, it would be, if it weren't for... "Crap! The presentation's today!" Mug of happiness-granting liquid in hand I hop-skip-and-jump my way back to the hardwood, quick-stepping back towards the bathroom. "Why didn't you remind me?" "Wanted to see how long it'd take you to remember it's quite possibly the biggest and most important day of your career." I could hear the smirk on the other end of the phone, even as I stepped in and kicked on the shower to get the water--and, consequently, the bathroom itself via the steam--heated up. "You know, if you weren't such a good friend, I'd personally kick you back to Africa for that one." Janice tittered. "You got a mouth on you girl...you're lucky I like that in my best friends, otherwise I'd have to chide you for mocking me, my people, and our homeland." I snorted at that one, even as I set the phone to speaker, dropping the clothes I was only half wore so early in the morning, slipping into the warm water, immediately letting it soak into my skin. It warmed me, refreshed me, and revitalized me for the day, so I took an extra moment just to revel in the streams. "Please, you're homeland is anywhere that accepts Visa and MasterCard, which I can guarantee you the majority of Africa does not." "Did 'Gerry' tell you that?" she asked, saying the word 'Gerry' with a sickly sweet sing-songy tone. "Still makes me sick, you an' him. I mean who gets the gentleman doctor who works for Doctors Without Borders? That doesn't even exist! Not for women like us!" I scoffed. "Speak for yourself. And you know he hates to be called Gerry. Besides, it's not even very serious," I fired back in retort, already scrubbing down my body with shower gel and my body poof. "Please, did you have to strip off one of his shirts before getting in the shower?" I remained guiltily silent. "Thought so. Then it's a whole lot farther than you think." "Shut it. I'll be in in about a half an hour. Now go away. I'm primping." "Fine. Just don't forget to keep on my birthday present. It's a good luck charm, and you need all the luck you can get today. See you, girlfriend." The telltale click told me she hung up. I had cleaned my body, but I avoided getting my hair wet; it'd take forever to dry, and I'd washed it the day before anyway...and good luck getting wet stringy hair to have the kind of silky curls I was lucky enough to wake up in. Then again, Gerard had been gone on this most recent trip for two weeks. I would have taken messy bedraggled hair if it meant a chance to spend some time with him. No time for wishful thinking though, I had to get going. Pulling myself from the shower I dried my compact form, only giving my body a cursory glance in the mirror as I took a healthy drink of my now-cooled coffee. My frame was smaller, but I was lithe. Years of dance and martial arts classes saw to that, and I worked hard to maintain the dancer's body. Compacted and toned without being too muscled; streamlined and healthy without being too layered in cushion. As a result I had a good, moderately hardened body, but as is usually the case with women, I paid the price in cup size. My friends insist if I let go I might be able to get out of my B-cup, but I just can't bring myself to be so lazy; I always have to be doing something. My mother always told me it was the nature of my fiery red hair. Fifteen minutes later--much of that spent in the bathroom with my makeup kit which Gerard affectionately nicknamed my 'warpaint' and finding himself quite hilarious--and dressed in a smart black pantsuit with a stylish purple blouse underneath and a single gold chain for elegance without my neckline looking too busy, I took off out of the house. A few steps landed me in my little Kia, and I was on my way into work. It wasn't until I felt the repeated thunk and saw warning lights flashing on my dash that I new something was wrong. It was a sound I knew all too well. My car rolled to a stop, still five minutes away from the office building, and I sighed, opening the door and crouching behind the bulk of the car, even as the loud report and repeated metal tings told me my car was being shot at. "Seriously?!" I cried, rolling my eyes. I reached behind me and pulled out Janice's present, checking the magazine before securing the clip and flicking off the safety, pulling back the action to get a round into the chamber. The gift, jokingly named Luck, was a Colt forty-five semi-automatic pistol with ivory grip, extended magazine, and a laser sight. I thought it a bit extravagant, but Janice insisted. That's when I noticed the gunfire had died down, if only for a moment, to be replaced by a strong voice I knew only too well. "Maggie Kane, by the power invested in my by the Integrated North American Treaty, I command you to step out with your hands up and prepare to be arrested and processed." I sighed. Didn't this asshead know how much it took to create an entirely new cover identity? This would be the fourth cover he's blown in as many years. What was his obsession with me, anyway? "You can go suck a lemon Marcus, because I"m not coming with you, you know that. I never do. Here's how this is going to go," I call back, playing it out in my head as it had panned out every other time, "You'll shoot a ton of bullets at me. I'll not get hit, because you and your men attended the Stormtrooper School of Accuracy Training, and I'll either school you soundly or escape narrowly, but either way you'll be forced to go back to Toronto with your tail between your legs like the dog you are and explaining to your INAT masters that you failed to catch me, yet again, and it'll take yet another year of tireless searching, overtime, and bickering with your ex-wife on how you would still be together if I just had the temerity to get caught, before we do this dance all over again. So, how about we save time, manpower, headache, and bullets, and you can just go straight to hell while I walk out of here?" I heard an angry sputter and knew I'd struck a nerve. Good. Let the jerk chew on that for a moment. "Maggie...you're a Level 8 Esper. I can't let you walk free. The INAT registration clause says I need to bring you in to be tested, calculated, and assessed. All Espers are required to by law you know that. The public knows that. Even moreso since you're a Level 8, classified as a potential threat to a large body of humans at any given time." I growled loudly at the implications. "Listen, you dummy. I have full control over my powers, always have, you know that. I'm not going to hurt anyone unless they start crap with me, like you guys, and I'm forced to put a stop to it, because God forgive me, I will. I'm not one of your pimply-faced teenagers that's lost and confused because they have no clue what they're dealing with. I mastered my abilities before puberty." "Which allowed you to stay hidden until four years ago, I know. But you're twenty-eight now. When are you going to grow tired of always watching over your shoulder? Eventually you will. You'll slip up. You'll fail. And when you do, I'll be there." "Marcus Brightly, if you think you're going to be able to touch one amazingly red hair on my head, you're sorely overestimating your abilities...or underestimating mine. I'm not sure which, nor am I sure which would be more offensive." "Enough stalling, Maggie. Come out and surrender." I was caught. He knew I was stalling. Ah well. It might not be enough, but might as well use up the power I'd had time to store while distracting him with words. Not all abilities took so long, but this one did, because of how potent it was. As I released the power, the compressed energy within my body was released, and for a moment time seemed to slow as I became hyper-aware of everything around me, as though I were manipulating time. Truth of it was, though, that I was just manipulating my own body's ability to perceive and react. They weren't slower, I was faster, but because it was my own comparative perspective, for me time seemed to almost stand still. Like all Esper powers they've magnified with age. At first I could only speed myself up to half again my normal speed, giving me the mildest of edge, but as time has gone on and I've gotten better at wielding it and gained the ability to store and release more energy in a controlled manner, I've now developed the ability to speed myself up to almost twenty times. The higher the factor the more energy buildup it took and the shorter the effects lasted, though, so I had to be quick. Bolting from my cover I ran full-sprint towards my opponent, and as I jumped up and over him I aimed carefully and released a round above his head, angled to strike his foot. It wouldn't kill him, just make pursuit almost impossible. As soon as the bullet left contact with me it entered normal time, and I then turned and ran off. Honestly, it was almost too easy. The only power I've ever had to use on Marcus and his goons is this one. Maybe someday He'll force me to expose others, but for now, the only power publicly known is my ability to engage in spurts of increased speed and awareness. As time sped back up for me I continued full-sprint even as I heard him howl in pain. Janice knew what was going on with me, but no one else. With all the covers I've burned, I've learned not to get close where possible, or else when this happens, I lose people and it hurts. I've learned how to minimize the hurt. Eventually I'll have to stop running. Today isn't that day. ~*~ "It's been twenty years since the event that people refer to as the Red Dawn. Ever since the near miss by the extinction-level supercomet designated X-82344, but known unofficially as Big Red due to it's scarlet coloration, the Kaiber Radiation has had a lingering effect on our planet. Doctor Romani, can you explain more about Kaiber Radiation for our viewers?" "Certainly. Kaiber Radiation is a recently discovered type of rare radiation. Discovered by Stanislaus Kaiber, it was discovered that whenever significant levels of Kaiber Radiation had prolonged exposure to a double-helix genome, it metamorphs that genome into a triple-helix. This third helix grants the being normally unheard-of powers that can be difficult to control, at least initially, though with time and training a measure of control over the powers have been confirmed. We call beings effected by this power 'Espers', the 'ESP' being short for 'Extra-Sensory Perception'. It's been noted that Espers can not only produce strange levels of powers, but can also sense things that are beyond the human band of perception, a sort of strange foresight or heightened sense. This ability was actually the manifesting sign of an Esper, hence the name." "So there are not only human Espers, but animal ones too?" "Absolutely, theoretically even plant Espers, though their abilities usually remain dormant due to a lack of focused intent of use. It's believed that it requires a brain to activate the power, be it focused intent or instinct, though instinctual use is much harder to control and usually ends in the Esper dying early on due to a lack of higher brain function necessary to control it. As such most animal Espers die at birth or very close to it." "So there have been Espers born since Red Dawn despite the lack of Kaiber Radiation?" "Actually yes. During the Red Dawn Espers randomly manifested, but since then Espers very often give birth to other Espers. In addition, though not all people became Espers, everyone was exposed to at least some level of Kaiber Radiation, and that Radiation lingers in the body. It has been proven that it can be passed down to children easily during conception, which can still result in the manifestation of the third helix, though it's far more rare among non-Esper parents." "Then what can produce Kaiber Radiation, Doctor?" "There is no earthly substance that can naturally or synthetically reproduce Kaiber Radiation or its effects. Only Big Red has ever produced noticeable, measurable quantities of Kaiber Radiation, and we only know that it was the effects of Kaiber Radiation that caused the appearance of Espers because there is microscopic traces of the radioactivity on the third helix of all Espers." I clicked off the TV, sighing quietly as I finished packing. I'd watched the special on the Red Dawn about fifty times since it first aired about six months ago, so nothing there was new. Marcus was knew where I was, but he wasn't stupid. He wouldn't charge into my den. He'd wait for me to leave, if he'd even caught up yet. I wanted to make sure I had everything ready to my satisfaction. As I finished packing I turned, pulling away a specific floorboard, and pulled up the small lockbox. Money, a new ID, and a few other goodies rest within, and I couldn't forget it, as it was my key to survival for another year, most likely. As I had my needs packed up, I gazed out the window at the sky, sighing quietly. In 2015, when the Red Dawn hit, no one knew what to do. Everyone thought for sure Big Red was going to clean the Earth's clock. Somehow we narrowly avoided it, and ever since, people like Marcus had made the lives of people like me a living hell. When Espers came to be, five years later it was clear that they were dangerous by almost pushing society to collapse. Forced to regroup, Most of Central America, the United States, and Canada all came together to form a single cohesive alliance of free states known as the Integrated North American Treaty. The central government for the unified people had been placed in Toronto, with Washington D.C. and the White House now just a museum on U.S. History more than anything else. INAT had very quickly pinned down the threat of Espers; so much so that in their very charter protection against such threats were specifically named. Ever since then, INAT's enforcement arm, known affectionately as the Hounds, has served them loyally, including by hunting down Espers for summary examination and evaluation and in the case of the truly dangerous ones, detention. Marcus Brightly was one such Hound. He was known very well for his track record as such, until he met me. I destroyed that little streak, and he's been obsessed with me ever since, to the point of concern. Like hell he could touch me. I still had all kinds of tricks he'd never even seen. Slinging the duffle over my shoulder, dressed in bellbottom jeans, a green halter, and attitude a mile long, I strutted back out and turned on my heel. He might come after me...then again, he might bide his time, heal up, and come again later. Either way, the struggle had only just begun. Where they went from here would be interesting indeed. Time for a game of cat and mouse. ~*~ It had been a longstanding rumor that there were Espers serving among the Hounds. Similar theories were used throughout history, the idea being 'use a freak to catch a freak', in this instance. Truth be told, the last my contact had told me, it had been a concept being worked on from behind the screens, and I'd never heard anything about it actually making it to trials. When I received a communique on what I had teasingly nicknamed her 'batphone'--a throwaway cell phone used for keeping in contact with her government source--I was surprised by what I heard. "Can you talk?" "Sure thing, what's up?" I answered, having just gotten out of the shower of the seedy motel room I'd rented for the night. "I have three pieces of urgent news for you. The first is that Brightly is being pulled from your case. The one they're putting on it doesn't even have a file, just a big red classified rubberstamp. That means Whist." I cursed loudly. Whist was my worst nightmare. If Brightly had been just a bit dumber, it would have never come to this, because I wouldn't have been flagged as a repeat threat. If Whist was on the case, I'd need to be a ton craftier. Whist were heartless killers. They were the boogeymen to Espers, secret assassins deployed for the sole purpose of neutralizing non-compliant Espers deemed a threat. They were the founding reason that Espers and their sympathizers began to work together to stay undercover. The Esper Information Network, known by the obvious acronym of EIN--yes like the German word for 'one'--was something that had organized after it was noticed that Espers were not just being captured, but were flat-out disappearing. Some had unlikely or inexplicable deaths, others convenient accidents, and still others just vanished without a trace. It was EIN's goal to help track and hinder Hound operatives while keeping hunted members informed of of their movements...especially Whist. Though many key members of EIN were actually part of the INAT government, there were other in important positions to help like churches offering asylum or a warm place to sleep and get a meal off-grid, to corporate moguls able to fund operations and technology that helped track them and helped supply cover identities to hunted Espers. My contact was a member of EIN, passing off information to me as the newly hunted Esper. "Thanks for brightening my day. What's number two?" I asked in exasperation, taking a swig from my beer. You could always rely on good old Pabst Blue Ribbon to get you through a day, even if it did taste like old man ass. "Number Two is only rumor...but I've heard the classified rubberstamp they put on your case is one of the best. Not only does he have an almost unheard-of kill rate, but I hear he's an Esper himself." "He?" "That's conjecture too, don't read too much into it. I just wanted you warned of what was going on." I sighed. Things really couldn't get much worse than that. "And lastly?" There was a long pause on the other end of the line, as though he didn't want to say the last detail. "I'm told that they're on to you." I frowned, my voice turning frosty instantly. "What?" "I mean that in both senses. They not only have this guy on your ass right away with you on the docket for termination, but they also know...about your powers." My tone turned frostier still. "What about my powers?" "They know that what you've shown isn't all you have, though they don't know what else you have in store. I don't know how they know, but they know." "Fluffernutter." "...Excuse me?" "Shut up, I'm trying to break my bad swearing habit. That's the closest to an expletive I can get without crossing that line." There was a slight snort on the other end, then back to business. "Fair enough. I have to go. I'll pass word if I find out more. You know where to find the new phone for our next conversation." I snapped the phone shut, opened up the back, and removed the battery before putting it back into the ziploc I'd fished it out of. I'd be disposing the various parts on the walk I was about to go out on. Well. This was a load of crap. If the rumors were true, Whist had this irritating habit to hunt long-range. That meant sniper fire. My ability to enhance my own perception and reflexes meant nothing if I didn't have ample time to activate it. That also meant I'd need to use some of my other gifts. Shame, I was rather enjoying only needing to tap one, but I made sure the others were honed to their finest just to be safe...good thing, by the sound of it. Luckily, my foresight was usually pretty spot on too. What had happened today was more a lapse in attention from getting too comfortable. Now that I knew that I was being pursued again--and that Whist was on the case, no less--I'd be upping her game. They wanted to make this a hunt? Fine. Let it be one. I'd be the most aggravating and frustrating mark ever pursued. Whist were like bloodhounds. I didn't doubt I'd have to face them down at least once or twice...but I planned to make him work for it. They'd classified me as a Level 8...but that was based on the power they knew about. When combined with my others, no doubt I'd be considered at least a Level 9. And one of my powers...one of them even I feared. It was probably a Level 10 power, but I didn't trust myself enough to use it, not unless I had absolutely no other choice. It had gone out of control once, and that had been enough. It had scared me so much that I left it untouched ever since. I dressed in a spaghetti strap top and jean shorts, flip-flops and pigtails. I looked very generic; very unassuming. I didn't draw attention, and that was the point. I had been used to not being pursued, that was far different from not having the ability to survive such. I packed up my duffle, readying myself. If there was an Esper Whist on my tail, his abilities could be literally anything. Sniper or combat enhancement, a tracking ability, the ability to make holographic duplicates of oneself...hey, don't judge. I saw a Level 7 get their ass handed to them by someone with this lower-level power. Powers don't mean a thing if you don't know the right place to point them or from where you'll have to defend, much less when. I hated stringy hair, but pigtails are very forgiving. For now I'd assume he had a combat-related ability, and do my best to slip away via normal means. As I left the hotel, I made my way to the nearby bus terminal. It was a run-down little place, hardly worth noticing. Dirty, low security...hell, I even saw a cockroach skitter across the floor. Disgusting, but discreet. Which was why I was here. Using a credit card I bought three different tickets to three different destinations and cash to buy a forth one, and turning on my heel I stepped outside, looking to the four red-headed women standing about looking dubious and confused. They ranged from hippie to casual entry-level businesswoman, and I handed each of them the ticket they had originally come to buy. "I don't blame you for being mistrusting, but here you go. No strings," I grinned, a congenial look in my eye, "I honestly just want to do a good deed in Jesus' name. Please, accept it, and enjoy your trips." I then walked away, smirking. Every minute they spent on false leads was time I got to actually get away. I walked over to the storage rental unit and entered the code. I'd had a seedy underworld friend purchase the unit for me, paid up through next year in full. It was mob-protected, so no cameras. People knew not to mess with this facility. No proof I had any interaction with the place whatsoever aside from the friend who set it up for me, and he was an Esper sympathizer, and wouldn't talk. I went in, opened up my unit. A fine layer of dust had been gathering on the few things I had stored in here. Any intelligent person on the run, be they an undercover spy, a fugitive, or just a paranoid person had what was known as a 'bug-out bag' or 'go bag'. I'd already grabbed mine to get me here. It was packed with the contingency I wouldn't be able to reach here in a pinch, but was designed to work in concert with the storage unit. This was the storage unit version of a go bag, what Espers on the run had actually nicknamed their 'summer homes'. It was undetectable in passing conversation, and was a place they used to 'get away'. Clever, huh? My summer home was always sparse, usually because I could never stay in a place for very long without that assbandit Marcus getting on my case. Regardless I learned to keep it stocked lightly on moderate-or-larger sized items. I opened the safe within and pulled out several stacks of cash, bearers bonds, and traveler's checks. I may have had a lot of money, but living an extravagant lifestyle does not keep one from getting looked at too closely, and that's what all fleeing Espers wanted to avoid. Besides, running away and covering your trails can get expensive, so having a healthy reserve of liquid assets was always a good idea, especially smaller bills. It looks less suspicious. As I finished packing the backpack in question along with my saddlebags--mostly with funds, as a thick wad of twenties could buy me a new wardrobe and took way less space and weight--I put on my underarm holster, while changing into my leather riding gear, strapped on the bags, and opened my unit for departure. Five minutes later I was pulling out of the storage unit on my Ducati, completely unidentifiable, and fleeing the city at high speeds. The best way to lose a tail was to go somewhere big where you could get lost in a crowd. I'd avoided most of the major cities up until now in case of a drawn-out fight, but I needed the anonymity right now, but somewhere out of the way still; somewhere unlikely. Most importantly, though, somewhere I could find some support. Somewhere that if I needed to stand up and fight, I had a chance at recruiting some backup. Portland Oregon, here I come. Edited by Myth Archangel, Jul 6 2016, 11:49 AM.
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2:33 AM Jul 11