Aberrant: Children of Quantum Fire - Nature's Path [5.9]

[Quantum Fire]

Location: Atlantic Ocean, several miles off the east coast of North America.

Time Period: One Week After Jungle Storms

Over the next few days, Allen had moved to the east coast of canada, but along the way he'd attracted a small degree then a greater degree of attention, the young nova's presence did cause a bit of change in his environment, several trees growing to the size of redwoods or baby bears growing to full size one in days, he left a trail. A trail that first had a few interested folks taking a closer look at him, then had a team of mother hunters on his trail, the shaman had managed to fight off the first group, but had to flee into the ocean as he drew the storm around them in order to escape.. so here he was, trying to decide where to go from here... at least he could adapt the ability to breath underwater.

[Adrian Moss]

Normally when one thinks of Good Shepard one doesn't think of of a pod of killer whales. For Allen, they were a natural choice. They need to breath air and he wanted to stay close to the surface. They would protect him and their sonar could keep him abreast of what was on, and below, the water. He could feed them both and it didn't take long for the lead matriarch to figure out this - newcomer - was somehow connected to their exceptionally good hunting. The price of this seemed to be his desire to travel ... east.

From Allen's perspective, if someone was going to figure out were he was headed, they wouldn't expect him to take to crossing the Pacific, then the Indian Ocean, to get to his final goal. His wounds healed, his quantum recharged, and his will sustained him in the long periods between breaths of life. He had the company of a dozen intelligent minds to commune with. They each had their own personalities and quirks. They each regarded him with a variety of emotions: distrust, amusement, curiosity, and something akin to worship. He was something else, something beyond their expectation of experiences. He wasn't the frail, land-bound creature they expected. He could talk to them and listen to their own life stories. He was ... new.

As vast as the ocean flows, the quantum runs deeper. Every step he took Eastward left a ripple in the flow of existence. Try as hard as he might, he couldn't hide from a force he barely understood. In a way, it was his greatest mistake, and his Road to Salvation.

[Karren Gaunt]

Meanwhile, somewhere between the Mesosphere and the Stratosphere, a human-sized blot of quantum-shaped light buzzed north-east from it's point of origin in Congo's capital city. Coraline was quite confident her morning run was nearly undetectable, nearly invisible due to her speed, absolutely silent due to the fact that she had less mass in her current state than a mote of dust, and quantum signature blurred against all but the most acute of oracles.

Her daily hour of family time kept her human.

Her daily hour of this kept her *sane*. She loved this, spiraling along at pace she felt she could keep up for hours, senses wide open to the world whizzing by around her. She noticed a boy riding a breaching killer whale from the corner of one eye far below as she flew over. He looked young, in his late teens at most, and without any obvious gear... Coraline flipped a u-turn and dived for the surface, circling the pod at about a half-mile up and confirming that she was indeed dealing with a Nova. Possibly even a 2nd Gen by his age and lack of taint. Well. One way to find to out. Norman always was saying she should meet more Novas...

The next time Allen's whale breached, he'd find a vaguely-humanoid angel of light flitting alongside his mount, beautiful and graceful in flight, it's eery chorus of voices calling out, "Hello. Got time to talk?"

Quantum Attunement, Flight, Hyperflight, Enhanced movement in use

[Adrian Moss]

The first thing that occurred to Allen was 'What the?" which was soon followed by "WHAT THE!!!!!!?'

"A-w-gah - huh, whadda ... aaahhh ...", was all Allen could get out to the most perfect, fantastic thing he had EVER seen. Somewhere deep in the recesses of his adolescent mind, another voice spook against the enormous tide of male hormones.

'Great move, ya dumbee. She's trying to talk with you and here you are, blathering. TRY HARDER!'

Spends a Willpower so he talk with some kind of sense ... for a sixteen year old boy seeing a Goddess

'And try not to look at her boobies!'

'What boobies? She's a freaking ball of light!'

'Well, you know were they would be on a real girl right?'

'Yeah, so stop staring there!'

'I have REALLY got to stop talking to myself.'

Allen looked decidedly uncomfortable and though he kept turning his head slightly away, his gaze kept wandering back toward Caroline ... and her assets - EYES!! Really. Anyway, he tried to imagine were her eyes might be so as to NOT be looking at her ... other ...

'OH MY GOD! She's naked!!!!'

'Chill man. She's probably got one of those eufiber suits on.'

'God, I hope so, because my Morning Wood is making this Orca somewhat uncomfortable.'

'Note to Me: STOP TALKING TO MYSELF.'

"Ah ... I'm Al ... well, I had another name, but now I go by Shaman. Please to meet you. What can I do to you (!), I mean for you - for you!"

'Oh, this is going well.'

"So, aahhh ... what brings you out to the Central Pacific this fine afternoon - evening! Yes ... it's definitely evening."

'That's it. Use your powers. Have the lead female bite your head off. You can do it.'

"Let me try this again - Hi. My name is Shaman, and I would love to talk to you."

'Love? You are such a dork.'

[Quantum Fire]

OCC: Interjection, ROFL + 2 Standard XP to Shaman for Making me laugh, and for the perfect portrayal of a male (nova or not) reaction to this degree of Mega-Appearance.. on another note, please continue.. nothing for me to add at the moment.

[Karren Gaunt]

"Pleased to meet you, 'Shaman'. I... Oh," paused the glowing form, waves of color flashing down her as she picked up on his discomfort, "I'm sorry. I'm freaking you out a little, aren't I? Let me fix that."

And then Coraline suddenly had 'boobies' and an 'ass' and a 'pretty face' and everything in between that had her image starting to pop up in media across the planet, clad in a rippling blue-and-grey eufiber sundress and tights that left fairly little to the imagination. She was dark-skinned and red-haired, blue-on-black eyes amused and an innocent smile dancing on her lips as she suddenly spiraled over Allen's mount and to the other side to avoid an oncoming wave. It was really hard to get the young metamorph down or overly focused on anything during her morning run.

"That's better I hope. I'm out here getting a little exercise. You don't seem like a natural swimmer though, so maybe your story is more interesting," she invited with a friendly wave.

Deactivates Bodymorph Light.

[Adrian Moss]

'Woah ... this is better, right?"

Allen shook his head.

"I want you to know that I'm really not some babbling idiot most of the time. You're ... well, the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, and I've seen a sunrise gittering off a glacier at first light. That was impressive, but ... wow."

He blushes.

"I imagine you get this quite a lot."

Slowly, Shaman's demeanor changes from awe-struck to sad.

"My story? Yeah ..."

'How much do I say? I mean, she's got her own life and her own problems and shouldn't need my sob story.'

"A week ago, some people murdered my parents while I was out back-packing in the woods. I think someone was looking for me, and now they're dead."

'In for a penny ... '

"Except my parents weren't my parents. They were novas and ... and I think they were Elites at some time. We never got a chance to talk about it, adult to adult. Anyway (sigh), they were murdered. The sheriff wouldn't let me see their remains. He says my Mother died quick, but they took their time with Dad. I imagine they wanted to get something from him ... "

The boy is glad the splashing waves constantly sting his face. That way, if any water on his face wouldn't be mistaken for any tears.

"I left town that day. Took what I could from my parent's accounts and hit the road. See, I have this picture, with my parents and two other people, a man and a woman, in it. The woman - my parents said my mother was dead. The other man is still alive. I think he's my father. I'm going to the Congo to find out. I really haven't thought about much beyond that."

He looks away and rubs his face on his shoulder.

"Yeah, I know it seems pretty simple, but ... its really the last thing I have of my 'normal' life. Once I know the answer to were I've come from, I can finally let go and move onto ... who I am. Does that make sense? Like knowing that the life all around you is just a shell and inside there is this power - this magnificent wonderful power, trying to break out. All it really take is courage."

Shaman leans into the next wave, taking a deep breath of the salt air, before continuing.

"So far, things aren't going do good. I tried to head East, but these people jumped me outside of Calgary. They seemed to know too much about me. They hurt me pretty bad. I lost most of my possessions there, but I pulled the Shroud down and made my escape. After that, I knew I needed a new plan. I coaxed the winds to take me west, to Vancouver. I met this pod off the coast, cut a deal with them - fish for passage and security - and ... here I am."

Pregnant pause.

"So, what's a nice girl like you doing on this dark and stormy night?"

'You did NOT just say that! Why don't you ask her what her favorite MMO is and get it over with?'

[Karren Gaunt]

Coraline's expression lost all it's mirthful amusement at Allen's story, dropping into brief flashes of acute anger at yet another 2nd Generation Nova victimized by the Powers That Be for the crime of existing. Her wave dodging became more utilitarian if no less graceful by the time he wound down, not one drop touching the young metamorph.

"You can call me Coraline, Shaman, and... thank you for sharing," she answered back, sincerely sympathetic but not pitying, "That kind of sharing isn't always easy for people like us, raised the way I was and I imagine you were. Second Generation Novas, I mean. As for what I *was* doing..."

She pulled a brief loop-de-loop, trying in vain to recapture her previous emotional high before coming back alongside, "I was getting in a morning flight around the world to clear my head for some training my mentor is putting me through. Now? I'm thinking about offering you a ride back to Congo if you want one, shave a few days or so off your trip. Interested?"

[Adrian Moss]

'Interested? Hang out with a bunch of blubber-lined predators, who, while excellent guards and conversationalists, lack a certain grasp of my life and my situation - versus- holding on to the most beautiful person, creature, nova I've ever seen. Let me think on this for a second - (advance on milisecond) -'

"Yes. I would like that a lot. I mean, I would be SO interested."

Allen blinked up at her, absorbing in the moment while examining her, what she said, and figuring out what it meant. He looked around him at the angry ocean and seeing the first time the metaphor it held for his life, and perhaps the lives over everyone like him.

"We are all the Ocean," he called out to no one in particular, "with unexplored Deeps, a Terror to behold when angry, and so misunderstood even by those who rely on us for their very lives."

He turned to the radiant nova floating effortlessly in front of him, "By we, I mean us novas. Do you think being feared is part of who we are? Will they always be jealous and fearful?"

"One thing before I go. I've already asked a lot of this pod. Let me release them and point them in the right direction home. I should summon them up some dinner as well. Having bent them to my will, It is my responsibility to see them back onto Nature's Path."

With that, he felt the quantum flow through him. A school of Pacific Cod was close by, and he brought them toward his Orcas.

"Good feeding my friends. I can go on without you, so I think you for your help and release you from our bond. Fair hunting."

The Orcas changed the rhythm of their activities and began angling north. Shaman stood upon his particular Orca's back and reached up to Coraline. He looked and felt so cool and majestic then, a nova in perfect harmony with nature, balanced upon the back of one of nature's deadliest predators without fear - serene in his power.

"So, were do I grab you?"

'Crap!'

"I mean, what are you going to let me get hold of?"

"AAaahhhh!!"

" - how about you grab me where ever you like and ... "

'Just shoot me.'

Deep Sigh.

"You lover your arm down and I'll grab hold of it. No funny stuff. I promise."

'LOVER!! Is it too late to get one of the Orcas to turn me into chum?'

Allen lowered his head to his chest. He felt like crying he was so frustrated. Finally, he just raised up one armed and waited to see what happened next.

'You know, if you do touch something ... soft and warm, you are going to explode, right?'

The young male nova was ready to explode in more ways than one.

[Karren Gaunt]

Coraline chuckled good-naturedly at his tongue twisting, grinning down at him in amusement at his antics and pleasure at his recovery, "I'd make things a little easier on you by making myself less overwhelming, but my big sister is even more impressive if you ever meet her, so some tolerance would do you some good. And as for baselines being stupid... I don't know. I hope not. Doesn't say a lot for us if true since we come from them, so hopefully they can be taught otherwise."

She took his hand and commented wryly, "Now I'm not actually normally strong enough to carry you for long, so I'm going to cheat a little until my brother gets my call. Anywhere in Congo you specifically needed to go?"

Her flesh rippled under his touch for a moment, and then she hefted upward, quantum powering her muscles to make the normally very difficult task easy, her grip strong and sure. 'Warren, I have a new Second Gen Nova who was riding a pack of killer whales west off of... Canada, I think. Think you can open a warp for us to drop him off in Congo?' the young metamorph blurted through the link, hanging about 10 meters above the waves and adding a quick photographic impression of her surroundings including the younger Nova gripping her hand below her.

Bodyshift into Lifter which I'll activate for a five times lifting load increase. Cora won't be doing any acrobatics, but it should do for a little bit.

[Adrian Moss]

"Go? Any large city were I can exchange currency. I'm not sure my Canadian Dollars will be accepted as legal tender in the commercial sector."

He looks down at himself: Tennis shoes, no socks, jeans (no underwear), and white t-shirt. Not much to call his own. Beyond that, maybe a $1000 Can in his pockets (now wet), a wrist watch, and ... nope, that was it.

Any thoughts of possessions were rapidly lost in the appreciation of Coraline's closeness. He hadn't been this close to someone since ...

"OH Crap!" he howled. "Put me down! Put me down!"

Coraline looked down at him and saw the fear in his eyes.

'Was this guy crazy?' she thought ..; and then it hit her. Moreso, it creeped into her. Her nerves came alive, her heart rate sped up, and her eyes dilated ever so slightly, and every breath deepened.

'What the?'

"I'm so sorry," Allen said quietly. "Its been so long since I've touched anyone. I forgot."

Shaman's aberration is kicking in, causing anyone he comes into physical contact with to become aggressive, excited, and sexually aware.

[Karren Gaunt]

Coraline certainly felt suddenly hot and excited, all sorts of disordered butterflies of emotion going through her head. Anger at the Motherhunters. Concern for this victim. Affection and more for Norman... That last one had her blushing and shaking her head. But she didn't let go of Allen. Flesh was her medium, and she certainly wasn't going to allow someone's accidental energies to take control of hers. Not after all her training.

"I... I'm good, Shaman. Nothing I can't... handle," her chorus hummed, once she's beaten off the worst of it, still breathing heavy and hot blooded, "Not going to let you fall. None of us. Not to Proteus or the Directive or anyone who thinks killing parents and children is okay. I won't."

There was a promise in those words, an oath between her and Allen and the world they were hanging above.

[Adrian Moss]

He suddenly felt safer for no reason his logical mind could grasp. Maybe it was just the way she spoke those words. It didn't seem that she was talking to him exactly, but more something she was laying down as a challenge to the world. Shaman struggled to remember when was the last time he had felt in another's embrace.

'Near embrace, anyway.'

His logical mind came creeping back to the fore, setting aside the instinctual sense of safety and comfort. He absorbed and regurgitated her words. Something didn't ...

"Coraline, who's Proteus? I've heard of the Directive. Is Proteus a group, or someone like us - who doesn't like us?"

'Added to that were the unasked questions were - was this group behind the death of my parents, and my real mother? - did this have anything to do with the people that tried to kill me in Calgary? - was Coraline and the others like her in the same boat as him, hunted separated from the one's you love?'

'One question at a time', but he would ask them soon enough.

[Karren Gaunt]

"Director Thetis' Project Proteus, a subdivision of Max Mercer's Aeon Society finger-puppet group Project Utopia," recited Coraline darkly, Shaman's aberation making her state each name like an item on a hit list written on behalf of un-numbered of dead nova children and parents, "They've sterilized every Nova they can get their hands on with some kind of custom virus and set into motion the entire notion of Motherhunting to get rid of any they've missed, using lies and tricks and half truths to get even the most innocent to help them directly and indirectly."

"It's complicated, but whoever killed your family probably had something to do with them," she concluded with a downward glance, sympathetic and having been in exactly the same boat as the younger nova, as she waited for a reply from Warren.

[Adrian Moss]

"Oh," was his simple reply for a very complex bit of information. It was one thing to grapple with the fact that someone had tried to kill him, and quite another to think there were a whole host of people out their bent on his destruction for no other reason that he dared exist. First came anger - anger for his biological mother, dead before he even knew her. Anger for his 'parents', the ones who raised him and taught him the best way they knew how. Anger for ... all those who weren't lucky enough, strong enough, or powerful enough to get away. Allen had never felt much of a kinship for humanity in general, or nova kind in particular. Now, suddenly there was a sense of a greater ... whole? ... purpose? ... a sense of something beyond his power and reach.

Slowly inside him came a sense of pity.

They were afraid if him and his kind. They were filled with hate - reason unknown. They would never feel a wind brought into existence by your own mind. Never feel an animal die in your mind, or a plant come to grips with it's fate as the fire consumed it. Flesh would never reweave itself under your touch and they would never stand upon a mountain top and not feel the cold. They were small. They were ants. Ants could pull down all kinds of animals given time. Their problem, and the problem the ants couldn't seem to see was that Nature had an answer for the ants. Nature bread ant-eaters. If you stood against nature, nature would always win. Life would find a way.

Shaman's problem then became, how do you get them, with their limited scope of experience, understand?

"Coraline, how can they be stopped? I mean, how can I help stop them?"

[Courier]

Her flesh rippled under his touch for a moment, and then she hefted upward, quantum powering her muscles to make the normally very difficult task easy, her grip strong and sure. 'Warren, I have a new Second Gen Nova who was riding a pack of killer whales west off of... Canada, I think. Think you can open a warp for us to drop him off in Congo?' the young metamorph blurted through the link, hanging about 10 meters above the waves and adding a quick photographic impression of her surroundings including the younger Nova gripping her hand below her.

Warren sent back, No problem. Lucky gal... and so is he. Ocean type? I wonder how many of us survived by hiding in the ocean.

The image Cora received back was a bird's eye view of clouds and a cityscape which rapidly changed to the ground. A gate opened apparently in a back alley with Warren floating on a surfboard off to one side.

[Karren Gaunt]

"I don't know yet," came the sad reply as the rift opened in front of them, mirror reflective and impossible as anything, before a smile came back, "Let's introduce you to some of us who are trying to figure that out if you have the time."

And with as little ceremony as that, Coraline flew herself and Allen through the rift and into the alley where Warren waited. She put him down and touched down herself a few feet away, shaking off the effects of his touch. "Shaman, Warren. Warren, Shaman."

[Adrian Moss]

Allen landed gently on the ground and tried to get a good sense of his surrounds - try, because a guy sitting on a floating surfboard wasn't something he saw everyday, or any day for that matter. His benign manner bespoke an ease with which he used his abilities. Over the Ocean was one thing, but this was clearly civilization. Hell, it was the largest gathering of life forms he had ever imagined outside an ant colony.

"Ah, hi."

Shaman didn't offer his had, though he waved his hello.

"Thanks for the lift, Warren. What city are we in? I'm trying to make my way to Kinshasha ... if I said that right - the capital of Congo. There is this one thing I need to take care of before ... "

He looked at Coraline with something akin to awe, " ... I can start ... help you out? Paying you back, maybe."

Morning. The shadows indicated morning. The smells were varied, but the strongest scent was unexpected in. This place smelled ... clean. Not at all what he would have expected from what sounded like a very large town. Maybe it was even a city. Allen had never been in anything like this.

"Are we safe here?"

[Karren Gaunt]

Coraline looked up and confirmed they were indeed somewhere in Congo by the stars visible beyond the blue of the sky, if not sure exactly where. "Should be. The King has a zero tolerance policy for Motherhunters."

She smiled dazzilingly at the younger 2nd Generation Nova, "And you can help if you want to. We even have a safe place you can stay if you need one and Uncle Shen agrees. I'd be glad to have you anyway."

[Adrian Moss]

"I'd love to have you anyway"

Shaman's heart suddenly felt like it would bust out of his chest.

'Does she know what she's saying?'

'Do YOU know what you're hearing?'

Allen tried to beat some uncomfortable thought from his mind - not an easy thing for a sixteen year old boy. He could have thought about cold showers, or arctic waters, except he didn't feel the cold anymore. He didn't have images of disapproving nuns, manly-men blowing shit up (in a totally heterosexual way, of course), or his nuts being slammed into a drawer. Nope. None of these things that might have helped him adjust.

"Yeah ... ah ... yes, that would be great. Going with you ... anywhere."

'Dude, are you forgetting something?'

"Coraline, whose Uncle Shen?"

"And how do I go about not upsetting him?"

'Like ogling his ward/niece/student, thinking bad thoughts, and walking around with a perpetual hard-on. On the bright side, no one can be as beautiful as Cora. If I can wrap my mind around her (bad thoughts!), the rest should be a piece of cake.'

[LydaLynn]

Epiphany had been busying herself with working on a new quantum based language for far too long. Mostly she had been keeping herself busy so she wouldn't dwell on the realities of her family and their decisions. Finally she just needed a break. Not having been out much since they arrived in the Congo, she, somewhat shyly, had asked Warren if he wanted to go shopping.

When the request came from Cora, Pip was mid-purchase and she encouraged him to go on without her. Now, bag in hand, she rounds the corner of the alley, careful to keep her wings tucked closely to her body since she isn't paying much attention to where she's going, instead busy pulling a small box of chocolates out of the shopping bag.

Not looking up, "Hey Cora, have you tried the Raspberry Chocolate Truffles yet? I can't begin to tell you how . . ." Stopping as she notices there is a stranger with the other two she rather brilliantly says, "Oh . . . uh, Hi?"

[Adrian Moss]

Shaman turned to look at the newcomer keeping the vision of Coraline in the corner of his eye.

... and then the world collapsed. Here was the most important figure he had EVER seen. At this moment, he was sure she was the greatest ... everything in existence. She didn't exude confidence and power, She PERSONIFIED it. The smoldering core of his 'baseline' mind could hardly take in such a presence. Her aura reached out like a physical force, dominating all his senses. His first innermost thought was to fall down on his knees. Somehow, that felt wrong - and doing something wrong around her was ... well ... he couldn't really comprehend what she might do. She might smite him down (though he really couldn't remember just what smiting entailed), she might blast him with her angelic fire (somehow, he could feel her heat), or ... she might ... leave.

'Don't get her angry!'

'Do what she wants!'

'Don't let her get away! ... what? were the hell did that come from? Get her? Your plan is to "Get Her"? Man, I'm losing it.'

Through the haze of his focussed little universe (just the two of them) he felt her NEED ... her DESIRE for HIM!!! She wanted him, him, him ... she wanted ...

'Wait ... I think she's talking to us. SHE WANTS TO COMMUNICATE WITH ME!!! (I want to take her home and keep her! - Shut up.)'

'Calm down now. Let's get that heart rate down below 200. Pulse is racing, but she's worth it.'

'Now ... what did she ACTUALLY say?'

.....

'Go with the generic greeting. I can't go wrong with that.'

'Besides, if she is displeased I can always go back to surfing on the backs of Orcas ... for the rest of my life.'

"Hi ... I'm ... (yours, all yours) ... um ... Al, um, Shaman. I ..."

'(the sound of Shaman mentally slapping his forehead with his palm) Who the Hell is she!!'

"I have no idea who you are, but I would really like that to change."

'If she frowns at me and I run away crying like a little girl, will I ever live this down?'

[LydaLynn]

Epiphany stopped, blinked twice, "Ah, yeah. I'm Epiphany, Pip to my friends." She looks to Cora and Warren, then realizes she's being overwhelming again and pulls back on the charisma. "Oh, ah, sorry about that. It slips out sometimes. I know I had that in hand when I was shopping. Anyway. . . good to meet you Al Shaman." Smiling in as friendly a manner as she knows how, she tried very hard not to look as sheepish as she felt.

As she spoke, Pip sent along the network to Cora and Warren, 'Sorry guys, I was distracted. For all that I don't need to eat, there is nothing in the world worth saving more than chocolate, except maybe kittens. Well, and children and . . . okay, there's lots worth saving. Feel free to ignore me over here botching things. But I wasn't expecting company. Too distracted by the chocolate. Anything I should know?'

Tactful

[Quantum Fire]

When Epiphany damped the effect down, it was like he went from being in front of a raging wildfire to being in front of a warming fire, he still wanted to keep her pleased and happy, but he didn't feel like it was the most important thing in the world, he felt a bit more like himself. The winged tiger girl was beautiful, stunning even, though not quite at Coraline's level, and now that the force of her presence and personality was turned down, there was a gentleness about her, a sense that this was a girl who wouldn't even want to hurt a fly, but then, who would want to her hurt someone as marvelous as her?

Warren looked the most normal, he didn't have the awesome beauty of Coraline, or the incredible presence of Epiphany, but he was the one sitting on a surfboard floating in midair, and he was the one who appeared to have opened the portal that brought him here to to this city, so he must be the one Coraline had called to ask to bring them here, and there was a sense of power from all three of them, like he was in the presence of some of the greatest, most powerful nova's on the planet.. which was true.

[Adrian Moss]

'Whoa ... now that's not something the Opnet does justice to. Holy Cow.'

'Okay, I can get it together now (don't look them in the chest - nope,not going to). Maybe I should have actually asked my parents about talking to a real girl before this.'

'Wow ... ya think? '

"Yeah ... so it's Epiphany/Pip, Warren, and Coraline ... I take it you know each other."

'That's right, sound SLOW and STUPID.'

"So, were do we go from here?"

With a little more confidence, he plows ahead.

"Maybe we can talk about Manifestations? Figure were we mesh? Maybe I have a talent the group of you could use. I don't want to be a burden. I've always been taught to pull your own weight and I have a debt, or two, to repay."

'And now I sound like a hay-seed farmer. Brilliant.'

With a blush to his cheeks,'

"And the name's Shaman. I ... stuttered."

[Karren Gaunt]

'Yes. There is a lot worth saving, Pip. Among them 2nd Generation Novas fleeing Motherhunters off the coast of Canada,' she blurted briefly over the link with a melodic chuckle.

Aloud, she responded warmly, "Slow down, Shaman. Assuming Warren ever gets over his being tongue-tied to tell us where we are, we can get you to the capital of Congo to do your business, introduce you to our teacher Uncle Shen, and see what you want to do with the gifts you have, with or without us. Pay it forward the way my family in every way that matters is trying to pay it forward without destroying everything around us in the process."

"That's the I don't know I mentioned. Plenty of innocents to try and separate from the evil," Coraline added, partially for Pip's benefit.

[LydaLynn]

Epiphany smiled at the fumbling young man. He was cute, in a young sort of way, but he was likable. Then she heard Cora, on both levels, and turned her smile to her sister. 'Thank you. I know we don't always see things the same way, but I appreciate the effort you go to for my sake. And I'm glad you found him, I just wish there was a better way to find and save others besides stumbling into them or getting there almost too late.'

Pip nodded in agreement with Envoy. "It doesn't seem like you get out much. You're lucky Cora found you, we try really hard to be the good guys, but there are alot of groups out there who would use your easy trust to manipulate your perceptions and use your talents to do questionable things. It's generally a good idea to really get to know who you're dealing with before trusting them with what you can do. But it's nice to meet someone as open and willing as you are. Like Cora said, we're working to make things better and it's nice to meet someone else who is eager to help out."

To Cora and Warren, 'He's really green isn't he? I hate that it makes me worry he might be a plant, I want to believe we stopped those monsters before anyone was twisted like Demon was trying to do to those girls. But I can't seem to help but look at everyone I don't know twice, waiting for one of them to be twisted into something evil. I hate having that taint with me all the time, hearing Demon's voice in my head laughing that I'll never know who I can trust again.' Pip closed her eyes and shuddered. 'Sorry, I'm still dealing with Demon, I've never pulled a full personality before, well, not since before I was born. It's still twisting the way I see things. I'll work it out.' She sighs and gives her friends a wan smile. Pip is so used to the network that she doesn't realize Shaman might be confused by her unexplained change in mood.

[Courier]

And with as little ceremony as that, Coraline flew herself and Allen through the rift and into the alley where Warren waited. She put him down and touched down herself a few feet away, shaking off the effects of his touch. "Shaman, Warren. Warren, Shaman."

Warren nodded and gave a formal half bow with ‘I’m-pleased-to-meet-you-but-not-normally-this-serious’ expression on his face.

"Thanks for the lift, Warren. What city are we in? I'm trying to make my way to Kinshasha ... if I said that right - the capital of Congo. … "Are we safe here?"

That was a good question. Were they safe? Warren looked around then progressively expanded his senses. Weapons? Disguised baselines? Was it reasonable for the fruit merchant to have a firearm hidden away like that? Was that an old piece or something more advanced?

Warren observed and processed… everything.

As she spoke, Pip sent along the network to Cora and Warren, 'Sorry guys, I was distracted. For all that I don't need to eat, there is nothing in the world worth saving more than chocolate, except maybe kittens. Well, and children and . . . okay, there's lots worth saving. Feel free to ignore me over here botching things. But I wasn't expecting company. Too distracted by the chocolate. Anything I should know?'

Warren sent back with a smile and wink, Know that you’re beautiful and not botching anything.

'Yes. There is a lot worth saving, Pip. Among them 2nd Generation Novas fleeing Motherhunters off the coast of Canada,' she blurted briefly over the link with a melodic chuckle.

Interested, Warren sent back, Really? Do we know exactly where and when?

Aloud, she responded warmly, "Slow down, Shaman. Assuming Warren ever gets over his being tongue-tied to tell us where we are, we can get you to the capital of Congo to do your business, introduce you to our teacher Uncle Shen, and see what you want to do with the gifts you have, with or without us. Pay it forward the way my family in every way that matters is trying to pay it forward without destroying everything around us in the process."

Warren startled and said, “Where are we? Huh? Oh, this is Kinshasha.” It wasn’t just he’d spaced and was distracted, Warren was never sure how seriously to take ‘where am I’ questions. It was like standing in the rain and asking if it would rain.

Epiphany smiled at the fumbling young man. He was cute, in a young sort of way, but he was likable. Then she heard Cora, on both levels, and turned her smile to her sister. 'Thank you. I know we don't always see things the same way, but I appreciate the effort you go to for my sake. And I'm glad you found him, I just wish there was a better way to find and save others besides stumbling into them or getting there almost too late.'

Warren sent back, 'Agreed. We need to change things.'

To Cora and Warren, 'He's really green isn't he? I hate that it makes me worry he might be a plant, I want to believe we stopped those monsters before anyone was twisted like Demon was trying to do to those girls. But I can't seem to help but look at everyone I don't know twice, waiting for one of them to be twisted into something evil. I hate having that taint with me all the time, hearing Demon's voice in my head laughing that I'll never know who I can trust again.' Pip closed her eyes and shuddered. 'Sorry, I'm still dealing with Demon, I've never pulled a full personality before, well, not since before I was born. It's still twisting the way I see things. I'll work it out.' She sighs and gives her friends a wan smile. Pip is so used to the network that she doesn't realize Shaman might be confused by her unexplained change in mood.

Warren suppressed a frown. Pip was still dealing with Demon. That wasn’t good news but it did explain a lot. He'd have to think about that.

Warren found himself liking the young man. That he could and would be hunted wasn’t a shock. Warren said, “You’d be the one hunted by mother hunters in Canada I’d imagine, can you expand on that?”

[Karren Gaunt]

While Warren asked his question of Allen, Cora's smile turned wry and gentle, sympathetic in case of Pip. "Outdoor voices, guys. We have new company who can't quite read thoughts and we don't want to be rude."

She tapped one temple for the benefit of the younger Nova, "We have a trick to make comunication easier in a dangerous world, Shaman. We're still getting used to that and using it around other people. But the good news is that we're where you wanted to go."

[Adrian Moss]

Shaman flinched away from Cora's touch. He tried to catch himself from doing it so obviously, but failed.

"Oh, yeah ... "

'... mental communication dude.'

'What?'

'Everyone around you is using telepathy.'

'...'

'Ah ... ask to be invited in? You know ... understanding the conversation going on around you ... about you.'

'...'

'Yes?'

'No. It's not a good idea. We don't know these people after all. Cora saved me, and that's important, but letting someone inside your head may not be the smartest idea.'

'Good point. Glad I thought of it.'

"Thanks Warren. The more I think about it, the more I don't believe the people who murdered my ... the people who raised me, the more I don't believe they were Motherhunters. From the brief description I've picked up from talking to you guys, they would have stuck around to finish the job. My Old Man was tortured before he died. My parents, I mean the people that raised me - sorry still getting used to all this, were novas, by the way."

"The team in Calgary was different, though. I got away and made a bit of a mess - I'm a weather controller - but they kept coming. They managed to chase me for several days. That's why I broke to the west. I was hoping that getting out on the open ocean would restrict their ability to hunt me. I guess I was proven right. I'm not sure. I was only out there two days when Cora found me. That's why I chose Orcas, they run fast and run deep. That comes in handy."

"The things that impressed me the most about their hunt was their team work, and their equipment. I don't get out much. This is my first trip outside of Alberta, but from the Opnet I could tell they were a well trained crew of novas and baselines. Their 'expressions' were more on the subtle side; no exploding buildings or ten foot tall behemoths. It was all flechette guns - poisoned maybe - and one of them tried to mess with my equilibrium. Almost pulled me out of the sky. Another one shot spikes at me, also poisoned, but I could handle it. Those were the only novas that I recognized - for what they were. There may have been others."

"My folks place was blasted all to hell - house and barn burned down, both cars tossed around and wrecked. They even killed two of our horses. The others ran off. I didn't have time to find them. Anyway, it was a totally different MO."

'Yeah. Sorry. I was running for my life at the time.'

'Shove it. They are trying to help.'

Shaman looked to Cora," You're right, I need to see a man about a picture. Can you point me toward the palace. I promise, I won't be long," he grinned. "One day, maybe two ... one month at the most."

"First things first. I need to get a bite to eat. I haven't eaten in six days and I'm famished. If I'm going to be standing in line for a long time, I had better do it on a full stomach."

'Face it, you still want to bag the winged-cat girl.'

Cora's cuter.'

'Cora's taken.'

'Yeah, there is that.'

[LydaLynn]

Epiphany blinks and blushes under her fur, the air around her warming another degree, "Oh . . . sorry. I'm just so used to speaking in network."

As she listens to Shaman, "Wait, who are you wanting to meet at the palace?" Sending to Cora and Warren, 'Yeah, I know, outside voices, but, is he looking to meet Einherjar? Cause that might just be one coincidence too many.'

Shaking her head, "But let's get you something to eat first, there's a great little bistro down the street here. If you havn't eaten in six days that's something we should see to before letting you run off to wait in line."

[Courier]

As she listens to Shaman, "Wait, who are you wanting to meet at the palace?" Sending to Cora and Warren, 'Yeah, I know, outside voices, but, is he looking to meet Einherjar? Cause that might just be one coincidence too many.'

Warren sent back, The world is smaller than it seems. Einherjar is on the short list of friends of the 2nd gen, he's also got the power to do something about it. I wouldn't be shocked if most surviving 2nd gens have Einherjar's, Traveler's, Sophia's, or Anna's fingerprints on them.

Warren said, "Agreed about the bistro. As for those teams... the first group should have come after you, but apparently disappeared instead. You managed to break contact with the second and after that you don't know what happened to them. They might have disappeared too."

"Well... food first, but I'd very much like to know exactly where and when these things happened."

[Karren Gaunt]

Coraline rolled her eyes good-naturedly at Warren's 'innocent' question after Pip's paranoia. Sometime things just happened though, went right, and accepting that they *were* right an act of faith in one's node. That said... She blinked and looked a little deeper, scanning for tracers and other motherhunter cleverness the younger nova might be innocently carrying.

"Prepare to be in Kinsasha's gossip section then, Shaman," the young metamorph cautioned with a wry expression as she digested what she had seen, "And I don't have too much longer free before I have to meet Uncle for my training, so I'll tell him about you, and we'll go from there."

envoy] 7:44 am: hey, hey QF people. witness a roll for me, okay?

[Adrian Moss] 7:45 am: shoot

[envoy] 7:46 am: Belatedly scanning Shaman for bugs with EM Vision, last 7 mega.

envoy *rolls* 20d10: 9+7+7+10+4+4+1+1+8+10+8+1+9+3+2+4+8+8+3+3: 110

[envoy] 7:47 am: so 10 plus five auto successes should see if krul's mucking around with us.

Wait, 12 succeses plus the result of three more dice, but that probably doesn't matter for purposes of this, lol.

[Adrian Moss]

"Warren, not much else for me to say. I wasn't there when my home was attacked. All I know about that was what my senses told me days after the fact and what I was able to piece together from what the Constable told me when I showed up in town."

'Had I stayed in town ... or at home.'

'I'd be dead too, and my parents' lives would have been lived and lost for nothing.'

'Still a shitty way to look at things.'

Looking back to Pip (which wasn't hard) he went on, his emotions still strong in voice. He was sad, anxious, and conflicted all at the same time.

"Let's go get something to eat."

'Look at Warren when you talk to him ... come on now ... turn away ... I'm waiting.'

'Damn it'

'Okay, that's better. Now the question is, why don't they trust me?'

'How about the Motherhunters. Hows about the novas that tried to kill me - twice now?'

'Yeah, but how do I convince them that I'm on the level.'

'I can't.'

'...'

'Try anyway. There isn't too much else I can say that would make this situation better ... '

'... or worse.'

'Always the optimist.'

"Warren, I'm not hiding anything. I don't know who any of you are. Hell, half the people whose names I knew a month ago are dead. Someone, somewhere along the line, decided that I was safer off isolated. It wasn't my call to make and I'm doing the best I can with the options open to me."

[Courier]

Warren frowned slightly and said apologetically, "My bad. That didn't come out the way I meant. Let's try this again, it's not that I don't believe your story, it's that I do believe you."

Warren paused to let that sink in then explained, "Someone or someones showed up too late to stop the murders, trashed the first team, then hauled them off to justice. The team's masters pushed the up button and dropped a dime on you to the other group. Then either you got away or at the very end the same people who did the first team showed up and did the second."

Warren said seriously, "It happens. I recognize the handy-work and that's why knowing exactly when and where is so important."

Edit: {OOC: Lie Detector On. I keep forgetting that.}

[LydaLynn]

Eyes suddenly wide, Epiphany points at Warren, "No! No you don't! Not again." Her eyes flash with determination as she stares him right in the eyes. "It's not all you, not every time and this time it wasn't! We're going to eat now with the nice young man and you're going to behave yourself and not do anything more to make me worry so much I want to rip your lungs out, got it?" With that, and a bit of a huff, Pip turns and marches back towards the street and the bistro. In her agitation she rather forgets to keep her 'awesome' under control. But given her apparent mood, she doesn't seem to have any problems making her way down the street with everyone rather quickly stepping out of her way.

[Adrian Moss]

'I hate to see you go, but I love to watch you leave.'

That's what Shaman would have been thinking if he had been capable of rational reasoned thought.

'Someone hit the record button!'

'Waha ...'

'SOMEONE HIT THE GOD DAMN RECORD BUTTON!!!'

'... '

'That's better. If my optical centers fail, I swear I'm going to learn Possession.'

' ... (lusting beyond the capacity for rational thought) ... '

'Oh dude, you are so going to have to rub one out, and soon.'

' ... ' And around the corner she goes ...

'Rub one? ... oh damn ... too late.'

'I wanna die.'

'I wanna kill you.'

"B .. b .. bye," Shaman whispered to her retreating rear end.

[Courier]

Warren winced at the weight of Pip's disapproval and he held up his hands placatingly and said, "Hey... love..."

It wasn't that she was wrong (she wasn't and couldn't be)... but he might not have a choice. The past had already happened.

Or... maybe she was literally right. Maybe this time it wasn't him.

Pip stormed off and Warren turned from watching her. Her disapproval was almost painful. He said aside to Cora, "That could have gone better."

[Karren Gaunt]

"Yes. It could have. Now go after her if you're as serious about wanting to make her happy as family rumor says you are," Coraline responded, waving in the general direction of their winged sibling's wake, on nether Pip or Warren's side in this, her emotions shielded against the worst of the superhuman charisma on display, "It'll give me the chance to give Shaman a more subdued meal before we get to leaving him at the palace for his business."

On that last sentence, the pretenatural beauty of the young metamorph snuffed out like a candle, sublime curves and proportions softening to average, the black of her sclera bleaching to white, and chorus merely becoming a single human voice. Still nova, still agile as a dream, but no longer spellbinding in apperance.

Ms. Nobody

[Adrian Moss]

-blink-

"Ah, I need to ... use the facilites, um, bathroom, whatever it is you call it here," Shaman said meekly.

For just a second, he wasn't sure were Cora had gone. Had she light-sped away? Then he noticed this young woman standing next to him and she was oddly familiar. For a moment he had to check himself for Peril-Sensitive Sunglasses. His had caressed the side of his face. No, he was clean.

"Cora?"

"Is this what you look like without make-up?"

-Blink-

'Oh, you did not just say that!'

"Excuse me," Shaman said then he slams the palm of his hand to his forehead.

"Well, now that we've got that out of the way ... ah ... why don't you show me around ... starting with that bathroom."