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Psions Unite! : Chapter 1 - Activate


Rorx

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Though she felt so childish doing so, Tempest let herself stay curled up on her mother's lap, taking comfort in her loving embrace. Zoe wiped a tear from her daughter's face with a thumb but made no other acknowledgment to it, knowing Tempest didn't like anyone see her cry. It took a while, but finally Tempest's inexplicable trembling almost stilled, her rapid breathing slowing to something closer to normal.

 

"It's not going to be okay," Tempest whispered, giving her mother a tremulous smile and a hug, "but we'll make it through this. Thanks, Mom."

 

Tempest slid off her mother's lap and slunk back to her own seat. The petite girl-woman tried to distract herself with a video game, then working on a YouTube video, but her heart just wasn't into it. Not wanting to look or listen at the news, afraid it would just exacerbate her panic once more, Tempest packed away her laptop and curled up in her seat, trying not to listen to the whispers and mutters about asteroids and cocoons in the first class cabin.

 

Unaware she was softly humming a haunting melody she had never heard before, Tempest pulled out her smartphone, and sent a text, an email, and left a vioce mail to all of the Diego Irregulars, to call her back as soon as they got the messages. While a part of her fully believed she would see them again, she just wanted to see their faces, hear their voices again. Just that would give her the strength to get through whatever change was affecting the world.

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Rebecca squirmed in her seat for a moment, before pulling out her smart phone from a pocket on her skirt. She switched it from it's airplane mode for a moment to look up her Facebook postings. "Yeah, yeah, people pods, internet's freaking out... as usual" she muttered, taking a breath to clear her mind she started to think... then she started to post a message on her timeline.

 

"Yeah, I wager by what's on the news everyone is wondering if I'm okay. I am right now, but I'm flyin' right into the heart of this. Am I scared? Not as much as some of the people I'm seeing online, but yeah this is... unique. See you guys on the other side of this. I just hope lizard people don't hatch from these cocoons. :P "

 

Rebecca giggled. "Lizard people... that would be the biggest exclamation point on today's weirdness, eh, James?"

 

James just shrugged in his seat, going back to his nap. "I personally would just like to get home. I'm going to have to calm down the board of directors. I'f they're still alive."

 

Rebecca quirked an eyebrow. "Just focus on getting some rest, James. I think we're gonna need it."

 

James was already snoozing.

 

Yeah... I just wanna see what happens on the other side of this. Rebecca thought as she got comfortable. She'd better get a nap. Everything about this plane ride was about to get interesting.

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Having an alarm set for 2 hours before landing so he could catch up on the news, without worrying about it the whole flight. Since he wasn't up to date with the news, he didn't know that this was just under half an hour after the "podding" was due to hit the UK.
 
In the meantime, he kept himself busy with his "problem" from Viktor. After using every means in the book to check on the sites (and possibly inventing a few new ways), he started building a toolkit of programmes to help him with his job. Anything to keep himself busy.
 
By 4:30gmt, he had a sweet of scripts monitoring every site, and a large but growing collection tools to help trouble shoot every problem he could think of. The list of tools grew more and more bizarre as Philip desperately tried to keep busy.
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Philip spent his time working on the task set him by Viktor, backing up all the systems he could access and improving the firewalls at the facilities. One ambiguity he did briefly not was that all normal personal seemed to leave evry OBI  facility across the world starting at 2100 EST, while security was increased as evidenced by the few external security cams and webcams that he could access. However since it did not directly impact his task he passed it by and got on with his work.
 
Soon after the 0330 address by the PM those in First class may have noticed one of the Cabin crew taking a tablet into the cockpit of the plane.
 
After the Prime Ministers address the News channels switched to covering the various preparations being made across Europe. Military and reservist forces moving into to support emergency services in clearing roads and airports, medical staff setting up emergency rooms and triage centres in case of casualties. Things move surprisingly smoothly, perhaps helped by it being the early hours of the morning and most people sleeping blissfully unaware of what is coming.
 
At 0415 a video is shown live of the last British forces in Afghanistan in full kit on parade as the effect hits them. From the time that one of the soldiers raises his hand at first feeling an itch begin to the time they are rolling on the ground frantically itching is about a minute. After that it is less than a minute before they are unconscious, stiff straight and completely covered in a cocoon.
 
From that disturbing footage they switch immediately to a camera that has been mounted on the inside of a plane cockpit looking over the pilots shoulder out the windscreen as they descend into an airport in Turkey some 10 minutes after the country had succumbed to the effect. The pilot explains for the camera that they have assumed that whatever is causing this is in the air somehow, and since it hadn't affected them as they flew in from Pakistan it must be closer to the ground than they were cruising. Since it is in the air they have shut down the external ventilation intakes in order to try to slow its effect. With a quick prayer to Allah, the pilot begins his descent for a landing. The landing goes smoothly but while he is throttling back the engines you can see the beginning of the itch getting to him, however the pilot does manage to slow the craft to little more than a walking speed and with his last act turn it off the runway on a slow drift towards the perimeter fence before succumbing completely. The video is returned to the anchor in the studio at that point.
 
0430 The News channels are reporting the end of the preparations with airports and motorways cleared of vehicles barring the odd lone emergency or military vehicle doing last minute checks.
 
0445 The Prime Minister and the Queen give a joint address thanking everyone for their efforts in the preparations and their hope to see us all on the other side. The Queen closes with a somber and heartfelt "God bless us all."
 
As the clock ticks down towards 0500 and the time the affect is expected to hit the UK the staff of BBC News 24 in London come together, the anchors, journalists, crew, production staff and runners, all join together sitting on the floor live on camera waiting for their turn. And soon after 5am it comes, hitting them in the now familiar way. The video is left running live with no one to switch it away, the clock on the wall continuing to tick round and a digital counter counting the minutes since it first hit them, triggered by one of the crew when the itching began.
 
At 0510 those in First class may hear a cheer from the cockpit, shortly followed by the Captain making an announcement,
"Ladies and Gentlemen, as you may be aware the UK has now been hit by whatever is causing people to go into these pods. However they have made what preparations they can for us to continue on and to land as normal at Heathrow. I am pleased to announce that we have confirmed that a flight from Hong Kong has just successfully landed at Heathrow terminal 3 and managed to taxing almost the whole way to the terminal building before succumbing to the effect, leaving the runway clear for us to follow them in. There are only 3 other aircraft due to land at this terminal before us, the majority of other craft either going to terminals 2 or 5 or being flights within Europe which were canceled under the circumstances. Therefore I see no reason that we will not be able to land safely at Heathrow at our scheduled time. I suggest you watch a movie, or try to sleep until that time. Good Night."
 
Across the plane people tried to cope as best they could, some found comfort in prayer, others quickly cleared the plane of alcohol, some continued scanning the internet and others managed to find sleep.
 
At 0700 the Cabin crew moved through the plane and asked those awake if they wanted to have breakfast, which was then cleared away by 0730.
 
At 0745 the Captain made a final announcement
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we will be starting our landing descent in a few minutes. Thank you for flying with us and I hope to see you all safely after the cocoons. In the meantime please put your trays into the upright position and observe the seat belt sign."
 
The plane descends and land in the usual fashion despite the tension on board, but once you are taxing towards the terminal, at what you feel is faster than usual, a slight glimmering can sometimes be spotted in the air and before you reach the terminal the itching begins. At first it is faint and only on your head and hands, but is soon spreads to the rest of your body and becomes more insistent until you can't resist starting to scratch it. Then the intensity continues to increase until it is like a prickly heat getting hotter across your body until painful and it is a blessing when you fall unconscious.
 
After an indefinite time you all feel a slow awakening or activation of abilities previously hidden from you and in the blackness of your pod you can sense others like you like pinpoints of light against the darkness, although you still that you are seeing them through a veil.
 
Zoe, Sakura and Rebecca
You can see about a dozen or so of these lights close to you with more scattered around further away from you.
 
Philip, Marco, Millie and Desmond
You can see about a dozen or so of these lights close to you, some more scattered a little further away and a bigger number covering an arc off to one side.
 
Evo
You can see about a dozen or so of these lights close to you, some more scattered a little further away. Further out you can feel a large area with a large scattering of these lights to one side of you with more compact areas of lower numbers of lights in all other directions.
 
Amanda and Temp
You can see/feel about a dozen of these lights immediately around you, and some more scattered close to you. To one side there is like a small sun made up of a large number of these lights, with other similar, but generally smaller, suns scattered all around you into the distance while a lone pinprick of light moves by overhead.
 
You wake up feeling a little confused and dizzy, but refreshed and invigorated. However, apart from some odd visual and sensory effects going on it is still dark inside you pod. You can feel the black fabric like material that you saw in the videos against your hands and face, but it quickly falls apart as you brush at it. Pushing against the crystalline pod it easily bends and cracks open around your hands and you soon have a big enough opening to sit up, but after an indeterminate time in the dark all you can see is a bright light.

 

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Groggy, confused, the headache gone replaced by...what she couldn't say. Around her lights Pinpoints of Essence of Something seen, felt known. She opened her eyes and bushed at the gauze like material covering her eyes the lights were still there she looked around she was inside something . A pod a brief flash of fear then calmness took her. She touched it and it felt pliable she began to push harder and harder then panic started and  she began to scream but no sound came her scream was in her head and then she stopped she could hear singing....she pushed harder and the pod cracked and split. she was Free.

 

Amanda sat up pushing the fragments away from her not knowing what she expected to see.

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Whatever she was expecting to see, it was not the pseudo-familiar surroundings of a First Class Lounge done out in the British Airways colours. Her cocoon lies in an area normally filled with sofas and chairs but these have been pushed to one side and nine other pods lie in there place. She can here cracking sounds coming from them as a man in a green paramedic jumpsuit steps past some towards her. As he does so she gets an odd feeling, and suddenly she can feel the people moving within their pods, the wall a few feet behind her, the ceiling above here and the ventilation duct running inside the false ceiling to an out let on the roof several metres above her. She is distracted from this odd sensory flash by a woman clawing her way through the top of her pod and calling out for someone.

 

The paramedic who was passing only a pod away from the woman turns to her and replies with "Over here!"

 

Rebecca turns to the voice, but in her confused state doesn't immediately realise it is not James who has answered.

 

"Over here Miss, we'll soon have you out of there."

 

So saying the paramedic helps first Rebecca then Amanda from there pods and helps them over to where the sofas have been moved as they are still a little wobbly on their feet. 

 

As they pass the pods Rebecca gets a feeling of the life beating within each of them.

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"W... where's James... I heard him over there..."

 

Everything was starting to come to in her brain. "Wait, what's going on, have you found James?"

 

The sense of the heartbeats in the pods was a... disconcerting one. "Although you got your hands full with the others still not out their pods..."

 

She looked around hurriedly, seeing if she could see James out of his pod...

 

In between the times she craned her head, she whispered to Amanda. "Hey... were you seeing odd... lights... before we got out?"

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She'd been asleep. She always slept well on long flights, the hum of the engines and the warmth of the airline pj's and blanket lulling her into pleasant dreams. Even the excitement of getting published hadn't been enough to keep her awake. She'd fallen asleep pretty much right after dinner was cleared away and stayed in slumber through the news reports, captain's announcements, even breakfast. In her dreams she was a little girl again, wandering with her mother in the fields outside of Kyoto which were also in California. There were plum trees and pumpkin vines and grapes and everything smelled green. Then there were little thorns and a buzzing of insects. They were crawling over her and itching; spiders followed the insects, crawling over her to eat them all up, but leaving sticky, hot webbing in their wake. Soon only the lightening bugs were left, but the spiders has stopped eating and were now just busily building her shroud. She couldn't move, could barely breath, and when she finally clawed her way back awake it was still dark and close....she clawed at the cocoon, panicking. Finally she managed to knock a crack into whatever was surrounding her.

 

She pushed frantically until a section finally broke loose and she awkwardly crawled her way out into the First Class lounge. Blinking in the light and frowning deeply at the unfamiliar setting, she frowned as she saw the other pods and her mind tried to put too many strange things together into a coherent whole. Somewhere in the back of her senses, the fireflies were still blinking softly in and out of her awareness. "Wha..?"

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As another pod starts cracking open the paramedic turns in that direction but glances back at overhearing Rebecca whispering to Amanda, "Seeing lights Miss? Yeah, that's why I'm here. If you'll just hang on a minute."

 

Quickly stepping over a pod or two he comes to the cracking open one and helps the young Asian woman out of it.

 

"Heathrow, Miss. British Airways First Class Lounge. I thought it best to check up on you and let you know a little about what was going on here before you rejoin the rest of your flight."

 

So saying he guides the woman over to Amanda and Rebecca, but Sakura is distracted from what he is saying by a brief overlay, for want of a better term, appearing over the women showing the blood moving within their veins and arteries and the beating of their hearts, and then a few seconds later its gone again.

 

 

 

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"So everyone in First Class is here..." She scratched her head. "I wager our personal effects are being moved to the proper places for storage for us to claim?"

 

She sighed, waiting to see if she can see James get out of his pod. "Dammit James! You're starting to scare me!"

 

She shook a little, her pulse starting to race a bit. "He was right next to me on the plane, did he get out already and is he where everyone else is?"

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"No Miss, this is not for the First Class passengers in this case. Your pods were moved here as it was determined by me that you would have a more difficult time adjusting to your emergence from your cocoon."

 

He takes a tablet from a thigh pocket and briefly consults it.

 

"You brother Miss Baines is still aboard the plane with the majority of the other passengers, there are other personnel to assist them if they should need it and you will be reunited as soon as we've a chance to discuss somethings with you all."

 

He looks around but for now the other pods seem quiet.

 

"Ok, just to pass the time. You mentioned lights inside the pod Miss Baines? I assume you saw them as well Miss Kantner, Miss Augustine?"

 

He looks briefly at each of you as he says this then continues without waiting for an answer.

 

"Miss Baines and Miss Augustine could try this, I'm not sure if you should so soon Miss Kantner, it might be a little overwhelming for you. If you ladies want to close your eyes and try to concentrate on the idea of 'people like me' you might see the lights or get the same feeling again."

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Rebecca's eyes went wide... People like us? She thought... more mentally exclaimed, as she thought of what the technician said.

 

Suddenly the "lights" was overlaid on her normal vision... all from her momentary thought. "I... I... I see it!"

 

Suddenly the thought of wearing a cape and tights made her blush profusely. "If only Mum and Dad were here, I'd call 'em and say "Hi uh... I got superpowers now. It's sort of a thing." ...What would they say."

 

"What's James gonna say..."

 

The concept started to hit her... her sensing the heart beats... her seeing the lights. "Wait... I heard people's heartbeats... I could feel their pulse practically.. is that a different... for lack of a better term... super power? In fact... you seem to know something about this, what's up?"

 

She looks at her watch...

 

OOC
Okay, what's the GMT Time and Date?
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Sakura arched a brow at Miss Baines, subconsciously leaning away from the woman. She still wasn't really sure what was going on, but being weirdly cocooned and then having some sort of group awareness of other people that had been through the same thing thrust on her was hardly what she'd term a 'superpower'. Weird, disturbing, and not particularly welcome at this exact strange moment. "What happened to us?" she asked the paramedic with as much outward calm as she could muster. "Was it something on the plane? Some sort of biological attack or experiment?"

 

She didn't try the mental exercise - the fireflies were still there, hovering in the background of her senses, and she wasn't quite ready to admit that they were anything other than hangover dredges of a bad dream just yet.

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Tempest remembered the itching, scratching feeling, vaguely similar to when she was craving a caffeine hit, but she didn't remember when or how she lost consciousness. Awareness returned in lapping waves, and with each wave, so did awareness of a more and more points of light, like stars against the darkness of space.

 

She experienced the stars in a way she had never experienced anything before, not even in dreams. Tempest couldn't say with certainty if she saw them or felt them, but more than either, she could hear them! A million, tens of millions - more? - individual orchestras playing an equal number of musical movements, all blending into one harmonious, glorious symphony that she had no words to describe. In that moment, the young girl-woman felt an overwhelming sense of belonging, stronger, deeper, wider, than anything she could imagine, even when she felt like an outsider beyond her tight circle of friends.

 

Tempest felt an ineffable longing and could do nothing else but add her voice, her personal symphony to the greater harmonious consonance around her. It was a song she had never heard before, but had known all her life. She wanted to stay wrapped in the cocoon and sing with the stars, but the cocoon muffled her voice. She brushed aside the enshrouding gauze, then pushed against the crystalline structure that was fracturing her song.

 

The pod gave, then cracked and Tempest sat up with a gasp, the first sound her throat had made though she knew the song she had been singing had been sung. She winced against the sharpness of the light, her eyes still sensitive from being immersed in the blackness of the pod. Though feeling oddly invigorated, she was still disoriented and getting up was proving difficult, spots still dancing across her vision as she looked around.

 

"Mom? Mom!" Tempest called out in a rasp, her throat feeling odd, dry and pinched, not hearing a new richness to her tone under the scratchiness. "Are you here? Where are you?"

 

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As soon as the word "superpower" crosses Rebecca's lips a definite change comes over the paramedic, his eyes harden, his stance stiffens into a military at ease position and he can be heard murmuring, "Another effing superpower one, trust a flyer, always think there one step short of God."

 

When he responds Rebecca remembers the last time she heard the same tone of precisely polite disdain, any number of times during those hellish days of boot camp from her drill Sergeant.

"No, Miss. They are NOT superpowers, as can be attested by a number of people in America who thought it would be a good idea to test the theory by jumping off large buildings. Those who survived have been committed, should I save us all some time and commit you now Miss. The powers that have been activated in some people by the pods are limited in nature and those who have pushed there use have quickly run out of steam, and whatever energy powers them seems to return in random amounts of the course of hours."

 

When she looks at her watch it is 0814 the day after they were due to arrive, so they have been in the cocoons for roughly 24 hours.

 

He turns to Sakura, regaining his smile as he does so. "You missed the news on the plane Miss? Yes, I suppose you could call it a biological attack of a sort Miss, but not by any earthly power. We have pretty conclusive proof that it was the result of the meteor shower that hit us on the 19th and 20th of March. Everyone on Earth, and indeed on the ISS as well was affected by it and had a cocoon like this form around them. For most people little seems to have happened about from some health enhancements, I've yet to meet anyone who still needs to wear glasses or contact lenses. However, some people didn't survive the changes, and there cocoons are empty and fall in on themselves. Others, a smaller minority, that includes all of us in this room seem to have had some kind of psychic powers switched on or activated within us. Generally these differ to some degree from person to person, and this is why you may be feeling or sensing odd things at the moment. Over the next couple of hours this should settle down, and you may even start getting some conscious control of your abilities."

 

He spins around, and starts making his way through the pods, with a "Sorry ladies, another customer." thrown back over his shoulder.

 

Temp emerges from her pod in a minor shower of crystalline fragments, but more importantly to her she gets an instant reply to her call for her Mom. Unfortunately the reply is inside her head *Temp? I'm here honey, but its still dark, I can't see you*

 

[Rebecca, Sakura and Amanda, see/feel a glow of similarity from the teenager sitting up from the pod, quickly followed by a small burst of energy given off by her.]

 

Helping Temp up from the pod with a cheery "Up you come Miss. You'll be looking for you Mum I guess? She's just here in the pod next to yours." He then turns to face Amanda's question while he helps Temp pry away at the surface of the cocoon her mother is in.

"My cocoon Miss Kantner? Like the rest of us here in the UK at the time I emerged about 3 hours ago, and have been on duty here for the last 2 and a half hours. Nothing much else to do while waiting for you to come around than to practise and check on any progress with the investigations."

 

 

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So many lights..... shimmering out through the dark. There was something more to it, but Donald couldn't describe it. How does one communicate of sound to the eternally deaf? But he could reach it if he just pushed....

 

Words filtered in, as if from a distance, yet Donald could hear them well enough. The information of the past days worked through his mind.....

 

Cracks in the pod formed, smack, whack, before it snapped open into a spray. Bits fell over people nearby as Donald broke out. Brushing bits of pod-stuff from his hands, Donald looked at the paramedic. "Where's my mom?"

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For a moment there was silence...and then she could hear noise and moved towards it, trying to get free.

 

Millie emerged from her pod.  She looks dazed and confused as she catches her breath.

 

For a moment she looks at the people assembled trying to find the correct words to say.

 

"Um....Did anyone else see a bunch of lights while in...whatever these things are supposed to be?"

 

She thinks for a moment.  And then tries to find her phone.

 

 

 

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Desmond had a dream.  A dream that he was floating in space, the luminous motes all around him must have been stars, and as he soared through the airless void, he came close to a few of them.  It was only when he tried to reach out and touch one of them, feeling a strange warm.electrical current as he did so, that he realized he was dreaming.  Knowledge that he was dreaming of course shattered the dream, and he immediately started awake.

 

Coming to within the darkness, he realizes that he has been enveloped in the same alien cocoon that has encased numerous people all over the media.  All this time he'd been thinking they were sealed in what looked to be crystalline shells, doomed to suffocate to death if not instantly calcify...  The very thought terrified him into flailing in a frantic attempt to get out, shredding his own cocoon in the process.  For some time he sat there stunned, noticing only that he was still breathing and trying to concentrate on that.  He could feel...a strange sensation, like a tangible buzz that came from everything around him.  It was faint, but it was there, and if he didn't deliberately concentrate on something else it would be right at the forefront of his perception yet again.  Then he looked around to find that there were others all around him breaking their way out of their own shells and a team of paramedics on the site trying to attend to them all.

 

"Okay...  So I'm not dead." he mutters to himself thinking aloud. 

 

"Um....Did anyone else see a bunch of lights while in...whatever these things are supposed to be?"  the voice came from ahead of him, and he looked up.

 

"Lights?  Lights like motes or stars you mean?"

 

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The lone paramedic looks up from helping Temp Taylor try to open her mothers cocoon, brushing some of the fragments from Donald's burst open pod off his shoulders.

"Ah, Mr Wallace has joined us. Your mother was still aboard the plane in her cocoon the last time I checked."

So saying he pulls a tablet from a thigh pocket and briefly consults it.

"Yes the latest report doe not show her as emerged yet, but it shouldn't be too much longer. You'll be able to join her at baggage retrieval later."

Turning to Millie, he says,

"Miss Daniels, your father phoned for you, he is fine, but has been called into his work so you may have difficulty reaching him immediately. As for seeing lights, I would be surprised if you didn't all have a similar experience."

As he says this there is a frantic scrabbling and bashing from one of the remaining cocoons. He quickly dashes over calling out, "It's ok Dr Barnes, you're out now." Kneeling beside the shaken man he continues, " Lights like motes or stars, yes thats as good a description as any

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As soon as the word "superpower" crosses Rebecca's lips a definite change comes over the paramedic, his eyes harden, his stance stiffens into a military at ease position and he can be heard murmuring, "Another effing superpower one, trust a flyer, always think there one step short of God."

 

When he responds Rebecca remembers the last time she heard the same tone of precisely polite disdain, any number of times during those hellish days of boot camp from her drill Sergeant.

"No, Miss. They are NOT superpowers, as can be attested by a number of people in America who thought it would be a good idea to test the theory by jumping off large buildings. Those who survived have been committed, should I save us all some time and commit you now Miss. The powers that have been activated in some people by the pods are limited in nature and those who have pushed there use have quickly run out of steam, and whatever energy powers them seems to return in random amounts of the course of hours."

 

When she looks at her watch it is 0814 the day after they were due to arrive, so they have been in the cocoons for roughly 24 hours.

 

Rebecca glared at the medic, but before she could say anything he had already started looking at the new hatchlings.

 

She leaned back in her seat shaking her head, pulling out her smart phone to look at the news while paying attention to everyone around her. She noticed some of the paper-like material from her cocoon had slipped into the pocket she pulled her phone out of... she quietly puts it away, hoping it might last long enough until she could get it into a bag. Meanwhile she looked over the others.

 

"So we won't be seeing our loved ones until everyone is in the baggage area? I'm just wondering why the segregation? I mean... I'm out of my cocoon. I really need to know the current condition of my parent's remains and secure them, as well as see my Brother."

 

She sighed. "I mean... are we being detained? To be honest we got no idea what we are able to do other than see who else is "on" and listen to each other's heartbeats... well some of us... not sure what's common and what's not. I highly doubt that is a threat."

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Another wave of dizzyness hits Rebecca as she looks back towards the cocoon she emerged from, only to see that ut had already collapsed in on itself and seemed to be sublimating away. The other empty cocoons were in various stages of the same disappearing act.

Looking back to the paramedic as he looks up to reply she realises that she can no longer sense the life presense of those around her, but that paramedic has a series of auras around him, but they disappear again as he starts talking.

"We'll get you all back to your friends and family as soon as we are sure that you are no longer a risk to yourself or others. At the moment you are still going through a stage of random activation of any new sensory powers you may have, and you may also experience random use of other powers as well. This has caused a number of accidents which hope to minimse by keeping you from the others until things settle down. So far that seems to take between 30 and 60 minutes. So make yourself comfortable. "

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"I.... I see what you mean... whoo..."

 

She sighed, realizing the piece of cocoon that she had secreted into her pocket was about to do the same thing... There was a mix of disappointment to not having a souvenir and the sheer weirdness coming over her that this was going on. She laid down on the sofa when another bit of the dizziness hit her. "Ugh...feels like I'm skirting a red-out."

 

Yeah, it sort of did feel like a high-G maneuver, without the gut-churning physics involved. "Half hour to an hour, huh..." She said, more as a statement of acceptance than a question.

 

She takes out her smart phone and starts catching up, looking for news articles. She was going to wait with Facebook posts until she was beside her Brother, and at her penthouse. The warmth of the heated pool she had exclusive access to at the hotel she was at was something to look forward to. "So... anyone interested in the news of the world while we wait for our bodies to catch up to our heads?"

 

She might as well play news reporter while she waited. Wait... "In fact... is there anyone who wants to catch up with relatives? My smart phone has a decent charge, if anyone here has anyone back in the states I'm willing to let people make phonecalls. I wager if the US was hit first with this weirdness, they got out first, so..." She wiggles the smart phone in her hand when she lifts it up in the air. "I'm offering."

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Sakura found a clear space of floor and gracefully lowered herself down into a lotus position. When in doubt, be calm, be clear, and be quiet, her mother had taught her as a child. Not that she'd been so great at following her own advice, but that was Mom. Didn't mean it wasn't good advice, anyways. She cleared her mind, slipping into the meditative mode with only a little difficulty - she actually had to use the quiet chant she'd been taught as a child when learning how to meditate. The fireflies were there, winking dimmer and brighter in their own heartbeat patterns behind her eyes. 

 

She could feel the rhythm of her own body as her mind settled, the various chemical reactions and steady movements of organs and muscles playing through her mind as something between a unheard beat of drums and soft swell of soundless music. She could feel the others around her more clearly now - constellations of blood and sinew and organs and faint glimmerings of thought and emotions. Her mind buzzed with the knowingness of them and for a time she lost herself in that new awareness.

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"Speaking of phone calls", the paramedic says has he turns to Amanda,

"Your mother called to say that she has been delayed at the US Embassy and doesn't know when she will get away but is sending someone to give you a lift to her house. Unfortunately I also need to tell you that your father has arranged for a minder for you. He is currently delayed elsewhere in the airport. We can always find a way for him to miss you here if you'd rather dodge him and get to your mothers without his 'assistance'?"

 

He seems to be looking forward to pulling one over on the minder [combined driver and bodyguard].

 

When Rebecca flops across the sofa he gets up patting Temp on the shoulder and murmurs to her, "We'll just have to wait until the cocoon starts to degrade for now. Let me know if she gets too desperate and I can try another way of getting her out if we have to."

 

He walks over to Rebecca, glancing at the few remaining occupied cocoons on the way.

"You ok Miss, what do you think you are experiencing at the moment? If it's the News you want there is a big screen with more seating just around that corner to the right."

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"No, no, just a dizzy spell... honest." She said, before looking at the troubled cocoon... "That one's having trouble?" Rebecca said, sitting back up to alleviate the medic's concern. "I can assist if need-be."

 

She scratched her head. "Speaking of news, what sort of... ahem... abilities have appeared so far?"

 

"Speaking of which I can try to get my brain to focus on that cocoon's life signs to see if there is any trouble if you'd like."

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"No need to move Miss, although I thank you for the offer I've got it covered. Part of the reason I'm here is that I can sense objects around me regardless of intervening walls etc so I can sense the people inside the cocoons and when they start trying to get out. Once out I can also see some kind of life or health aura around a person so that helps diagnose any problems. And if this lady continues to hide away in there much longer you'll get to see me teleport her out of it to be on the safe side."

 

He looks around to check who is paying attention or lost in their own world then with a shrug he continues.

 

"As for what abilities have been noted so far its a pretty mixed bunch. I mentioned some of what I can do just now, but in addition to that I can also teleport objects and to a lesser distance myself. I can heal up bruising and minor cuts and scrapes and give some pain relief to more serious injuries and lastly I can give you the distance and direction to a couple of different landmarks I know that at inside whatever range that particular ability has. Miss Baines you mentioned sensing peoples life force or heartbeats or something, that has been noted before. Some kind of life force radar, some people have even reported feeling where plants are around them. Like my object sensing these tend to be pretty short range, less than 20ft in most cases.

 

Actually that life sense thing has been linked to people who can breathe underwater and shift there appearance a bit, pretty odd stuff. What else....Well Temp over there is a telepath and she is currently talking mentally to her mum, not sure what else they can do, but with your superpowers comment earlier you've probably read stuff that might come close. Telekinesis has been seen, and some of those can also throw superheated or supercold air around as well. I've heard some places in the US have had problems with some kind of psionic hackers as well. 

 

Psychic healing, has been seen as well. Although with the hospitals emptying out that's mainly been used in A&E with psychics who have injured themselves or others by accident. Different story in the States, they've had some trouble with people attacking others with their powers. Probably due to the gun culture I guess. Well that's all that comes to mind right now, and gives you a few things to try out as well. Just make sure your not pointing anything at someone if you're hoping for something dangerous."

 

He turns and starts heading back over towards the teenager, then turns back and says

"Oh, the light thing? We don't have a name for it but we can all do that, it shows up all the others like us in our range, although some are fainter and harder to spot than others. It can also sometimes show when someone uses an ability, but the weaker or easier abilities are hard to spot."

 

He then continues on to squat next to Temp.

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This is too much, too fucking much. Amanda tries to blot everything out the voices in her head the lights these people. Daddy, no, Mother no FUCK. Cher Cher where are you ....

 

Cheryl sitting in the Plane still trying to wrap her had around everything they are being told Suddenly she hears Amanda calling her name. She looks around but no they said they took her for special care She hears her best friends voice again  its almost panics. Cheryl starts to panic too.  "Hey Help me I'm hearing things!"

 

"Miss Kantner? What did you want me to do Miss Kantner?"

 

Amanda's concentration is broken and she glares at the paramedic.

 

"Miss Kantner you recieved some..."

 

 

"I heard you just...just take me to the driver, please"

 

"Alright I'll let the driver know to wait.."

 

"No I want to go now." Her anger is starting to show.

 

Amanda sees him and pushes with all her will. "I said take me to my driver, now!"

 

Both of them stare at each other with some surprise. the Paramedic just shakes his head. "I'm sorry Miss Kantner, we have to follow the rules on this, but I will let him know. Ok?"

"Yeah Sure"  Amandas confusion returns even worse than before. Something had just happened. she didn't know what but something had.

 

"I'm sorry but you can't leave until you have stabilized and been evaluated. How about I get you a soft drin..."

 

 

 

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Widespread paranormal abilities?  And this had been going on for at least 24 hours?  Desmond began to look for his tablet, there had to be some kind of news along the scientific circles regarding this, there's no way people were not researching every application of these abilities that emerged, and Desmond intended to be at the forefront of it!

He finally found his tablet just as the girl called Amanda started to have problems, in the middle of reaching down to grab it, he turned to see what might be the problem and if he could help (basic medical training may not be much but one never knew).  He was surprised when the tablet smacked him in the face.

 

"Ow!  Wait...Ow?" he looked down at the tablet which had apparently thrown itself at him from the space on the floor between the seats.  "Huh..." he said to himself as he placed the tablet on a seat across the aisle from him.  From his seat he reached out to it from well out of reach and willed it to his hand, only to have it jerkily fling itself at him.  At it reached is hands (for he was ready to catch it this time) he noticed a momentary spark of electricity play over it.  Immediately he dropped it, afraid that whatever he'd just done might fry the internal circuitry.  He spent a few awkward minutes trying to turn the device on without touching it before just giving up and turning it on normally, only to find that it was perfectly fine, and had 98% charge.

 

"Anyone else having problems with their I-devices?"  he said to no one in particular.

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Millie feels a sharp pain in er head and can make out the signals coming from people's phones

 

"Ugh now that you mention it...I keep seeing these weird waves coming from people's phones "

 

She puts her hand on her head.

 

"It's gone.  Weird."

 

rolls
Abyss Phantasia *rolls* 6d10: 5+6+4+10+7+3: 35
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The Roll, witnessed by Rorx
Rebecca OOC *rolls* 4d10e7: 6,8,5,1.  Successes = 1

 

Rebecca sighed. Looking over her smartphone, looking over the news before loading up a forum she frequented that anime and video game fans grouped around. She was a regular in the simulators board, and she had been following the Ace Combat anime through it's first few episodes. Her thoughts drifted seeing one of the prototype aircraft in the series that will be released in the "Infinity II" game being planned for the dying days of the PS4, remembering she had seen something similar somewhere... when she looks up and sees a translucent blue light... more like a very light blue dot superimposed on her vision for a moment. A number was changing underneath with a consistent "WSW".

 

Sometimes it said 15 next to the WSW, sometimes 10... She tried to focus and it actually said what it was. The London Science Museum...

 

"I think I got a new talent... not very accurate though. We're about 10 to 15 clicks from the Science Museum aren't we? I... think if I have a landmark in my head I can know where I am based on how far I am from it and which direction I am from it..."

 

The sense soon disappears as quick as it happened... "And it's gone."

 

She sighed... that ability was sort of cool...

 

Wishing she could continue with that, she looked back on her Smart phone and saw a posting on the same forum she was on prior to her discovery. Right before people started posting their WTFs in regards to what just happened to all of humankind.

 

"Something to be desired? Come on... Ace Combat is the type of series that builds up." Rebecca said, shaking her head and posting that opinion in a direct reply to the poster. "At least Crossbone stays good early on." She said to herself...

 

She smiled. "I think I'll marathon once I get to the penthouse." She said.

 

Her internal monologue she whispered, not wanting to bother Sakura meditating on the floor, but Millie could hear her.

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"Lemmie guess... never played Ace Combat?" Rebecca said, quirking an eyebrow at Millie with a sarcastic tone at first before grinning. "I admit though it is a slow series so far... didn't think they'd have the protags in the flight academy at the start... I guess they're trying to build the characters over time."

 

She smirked. "Name's Rebecca. Or "Trickster" on the forum... or "Fish", but that was my real callsign. Lieutenant Commander, Royal Navy. Discharged."

 

She sighed. The feel of losing her career hitting her again, but.. "Anyways... what brings you to England?" She said, massaging her back. Sitting on the sofa was a bit harsh on her still sensitive back from her last ejection. She stood up to carefully stretch her legs and her back, to get limber and to keep things from compacting.

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Vaguely aware she was intermittently sensing the pulse of life and thought all around her, Tempest entirely focused on the pod below her, the pod she was trying to pry open, the pod that held her mother. Starting to grow frantic, sensing her mother's unique star-song inside the pod, the young girl-woman could hear her mother's reassuring voice... in her head. Literally.

 

Pixie, honey, it's okay, I'll be out soon, Zoe thought-spoke to her daughter as she breathed deep and steady, just as she did when working out, basking in the thoughts and emotions of those around here. Very soon...

 

Come out now! Tempest thought-spoke back fiercely, clawing at the pod now. I know, I just know, its bad if you don't come out of the pod!

 

If not fully aware of what mother and daughter were saying to each other, the paramedic could tell the teen was getting very agitated. Her fingers skittered across the hardened shell of the cocoon with a sound similar to metal on metal. Looking closer, he noticed Tempest's fingers were unusually long, her nails extended into hard, pointed talons.

 

"Young miss, please, relax and take a moment," the paramedic began, concerned the sight of her fingers might frighten or agitate the teen even more, but stopped when her claws found purchase in the pod.

 

Honey, it think it's time, Zoe informed her daughter.

 

Yes! Yes it is! Tempest shouted back in her head as she ripped the pod to pieces, shredding it in long swathes. Very soon, Zoe was free of the pod, its remains scattered all about her as she sat up. Her daughter crashed into her, wrapping her in tight hug, which Zoe returned just as fiercely. Though she felt an odd prickling on her shoulders where Tempest's hands rested.

 

"Mom, the world has gone weeeiiiirrrd," Tempest said, sitting back. "Like, really insane. Half the time, I can see these... I dunno, stars, and they are singing, and the songs, they are all blending together, like, they're supposed to go together, but there are parts missing and..." Tempest looked over at the paramedic, her bright, cyan eyes very wide. "What happens to those who are too long in the pods?"

 

To hedge his immediate answer, the paramedic made a show of glancing down at Tempest's hands. "Before I answer, Miss, perhaps you should look at your hands."

 

Tempest's mouth dropped open as she glanced down, then raised her hands up in front of her face between her and her mother. Her fingers looked almost twice as long as they should, her nails grown into vicious, two inch talons.

 

"What the fucking hell happened to my hands?!" Tempest shouted in rising panic.

 

"Tempest Arya Taylor! Language!" Zoe scolded, though her expression was hardly any less shocked than her daughter's, not helped by the eerie sight of Tempest's hands transformation back to their usual appearance in moments, right before their eyes.

 

"Oh my god! That was fu - freaking gross!" Tempest stared at her hands, wriggling her fingers, making sure they were still working right.

 

Zoe looked over at the paramedic. "Sir, what is going on with my daughter?"

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The paramedic was just turning to reply to Miss Baines about her new ability when he noticed Dr Barnes moving his tablet with telekinesis.

"Well done Dr Barnes, that's good control considering how recently you got out of your cocoon. Keep practising. The electric burst may be related to incidents I've heard of with people firing taser like electric shocks, although I'd appreciate it if you didn't practise that here at the moment. "

He had barely finished his sentence to Dr Barnes when Temp let rip into her mother's cocoon. It must have been time now thiugh as the material had degraded enough for her to rip long strips of it away with her hands. With a second look he revised that to claws.

As they finished speaking he pulled them to their feet and started to guide them over to the sofas.

"Lets move out of the debris and I'll try to explain."

When the mother and daughter moved ahead of him he could see the small rips in the mothers tops caught by Temp's claws during the initial hug, a quick glance with his health aura sight confirmed that the scratches were minor so he healed them with a touch concealed as a pat on the shoulder as Zoe Taylor sat on the edge of the sofa.

"I assume you know abiut the US going into cocoons a couple of hours after you left New York?"

At their joint nods the continues.

"Well it was caused in some way by the meteor shower and ended up affecting everyone in the world. Most people came out with their health improved, weight under control, conditions cured, eyes and hearing fixed, even comas cured. About 10% it seems were not so lucky and didn't survive whatever the process was, but you're wrong Temp stayjng in the cocoon had nothing to do with it. On the contrary the cocoons of those who died have been found empty and half decayed away by the time others around them emerged. Z smaller minority of abiut 1-2% of people seem to have gotten all the health benefits and also the activation of what appears to be psychic abilities, that includes everyone here."

The paramedic glances around to check on what everyone was doing, but no one seemed to need him urgently.

"Miss Taylor, it seems that your daughter is telepathic, and with those claws a shifter as well. Now most people seem to have three sets of abilities, so we'll just have to wait and see what her other abilities might be. You will have some abilities as well, which may or may not be similar to what your daughter can do, I guess it depends if there is a genetic link to the powers or something. Some of these abilities have a sensory effect as well, like being able to feel the presence of living beings around you like a kind of radar, or seeing an aura around people showing how healthy or injured they are. Because these aabioities are not under yiur conscious control intially you coukd be distracted or confused and cause an accident, injuring yiurself or others. Hence I had your cocoons moved out of the plane so I could keep an eye on you until thkgs settle down. It normally seems to take between half an hour to an hour, so it shouldn't inconvenience you too much give what baggage reclaim is normally like."

"Now, do yiu have any more specific questions?"

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"Yeah I'm Millie, or as you probably know me better as 'BestHimeMidori'.  Never played Ace combat, so maybe that's why I'm not feeling it so far.   Though Crossbone Gundam is amazing"

 

She giggled.

 

"Oh right, I'm here on a college touring trip.   I'm going to visit both Cambridge and Oxford before making my choice on where to transfer to."

 

She raises a hand.

 

"By Sensory Powers, does this extend beyond organic stuff?  Because I think a few minutes ago I was seeing phones signals."

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"Yes Miss Daniels, there are a number of effects beyond biological sensing. I mentioned earlier that I can sense or feel the location size and shape of all objects within about 20ft of myself. The accuracy varies, but the range doesn't seems to. As for sensing phone signals I believe they are in the microwave range of the electromagnetic spectrum so you may have other abilities along the lines of bioelectric manipulation and sensing, abilities to do with light or perhaps with technology. Have you had any indications of other abilities, except the sensing of other psychics which we all seem to share?"

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<Cher, can you hear me?>

 

Cheryl's head snapped up and and she looked around searching for her best friend thing my god am i going crazy.

 

<No hun, your not going crazy, but the world just did. you know all that sci fi crap your always telling me about, well we are living it now>

 

Amanda relays everything she is picking up from the asshole paramedic and the others he is talking to. Cheryl who seems to be speaking to herself to out side observers is flabbergasted to say the least.

 

<...and that's the long and short of it for now. if you have your laptop find some place for us to go. My Dad sent a driver I'll convince him to take us to where ever you find so we can figure this shit out>

 

Info
< this is telepathy> blue italicized letters between lesser than/greater than signs denote telepathic speech.
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Rebecca paged through her messages. "Cambridge or Oxford eh? That's some pretty high caliber schools there. Big price tag too."

 

"Of course my schooling came from the academy once I got through basic." She said sighing again... her back was starting to feel strangely... better. Her over the counter pain meds should have wore off a while ago... she did remember her back was starting to disagree before the seatbelts light went on.

 

"Excuse me, Medic... has the cocoons repaired injuries? I had some back damage and a potentially herniated disc from my last ejection... I'm not feeling the effect as my pain medications should have wore off a while ago, and my back was starting to twinge slightly before the seatbelt lights came on."

 

She smiled... although there was still the matter of flight regs and the fact the Americans in the Pentagon wanted to blame her for losing a F-35, not a mechanical flaw. "Still won't get me back in the air though." She sighed.

 

She kept paging through her phone waiting for the Medic to be able to respond when she saw something she thought Millie would like to see. A customized model of the Crossbone Gundam with some interesting concepts for weapons. "Oh hey, look at this gunpla, Millie." She said, as she went to hand over the phone it slipped from her hands. Rebecca didn't have it's usual cushion on it, and it was about to become a $300 dollar paperweight as it's corner was about to hit the ground... then it stopped and started to lift.

 

"U... Uh... I think I'm doing that... I... Think I can levitate stuff too!" She said, pulling the phone up and bringing it over to Millie.

 

Roll
Rebecca OOC *rolls* 4d10e7: 8,2,5,4.  Successes = 1

   [Rebecca OOC] 5:56 pm: Heh.
   [Rebecca OOC] 5:56 pm: I use the force.    

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