Aberrant: Weirder Stuff - Chapter I Homecoming

[Abel Cross]

Abel focused his mind to scanning the area, establishing that Alec was indeed correct.   He swept actively within five hundred meters of his location, looking for any more of the Alien minds.   Coming up empty,  he sent over the link.  There is nothing save the 4 bugs and the wolf that we have left in the area.   We'll have a decision to make after that, on what we should do next.

[Sara Hutchins]

As if born to fly Sara zooms over past Sean and monster Kia her eyes flashing sending twin lances of fire one, twice. each time spearing a bug creature and literal cooking it where it stood.

[Kia Mizuki]

Realizing that just stepping on the weird critters is harder than it looks, Kia switches it up to her hands...if those things can be called hands. She lashes out at one, then the other in quick succession! Her form's arms are long, and it's much easier to see the target when she's not looming directly over them. The first bug is smashed under fist...the other is impaled on the bony spikes jutting out between her fingers!

The creature that was Kia made a weird face as it wiped its hands off on the foliage of a tree nearby, snapping a few branches in the process.

"Yuck. Is everyone okay?"

Somewhere inside she felt the clarity and brittle courage of adrenaline starting to fade. She was pretty sure she was going to freak out in a minute or two, but she had no idea of how exactly that was going to go.

[Lilly Pryor]

Lilly did not exactly watch her friends take care of the rest of the bugs, as much as she knew knew it, through the mental link. She was still dealing with the beast in her arms, feeling it struggle in futility as it's strength rapidly waned. 

It was an odd feeling for Lilly, to feel something large die in her arms, crushed by her own grasp. Throwing the table leg was easy, she was detached from them, but this was different.

They were gonna kidnap and kill or eat us. They did not come here in peace and try to talk.. they came here hunting for prey. They chose this, not me, she had to tell herself as the last snaps and gurgling of blood came from the creature, it's feet pawing at the ground finally falling still. Lilly held the creature for a moment and dropped it to the muddy ground with a sigh., looking at it's lifeless body for a moment.

<How is everybody? Anybody hurt? How are the others! Are the portals still there?> she asked mentally in rapid succession as she ran over to the cocooned students and looked around, taking in the surroundings a bit more calmly.

<Hey Sara. When you flame out, hope you like Invader Zim...> she said as she pulled off her t-shirt (featuring Gir from Invader Zim). and held up in the air, looking up to Sara's hovering form and giving the shirt a shake, making it clear she was offering it before setting it aside where Sara might have some degree of privacy to get it on.

With her short off, other changes were somewhat apparent in Lilly. Her physique, which was already impressive for her age, was now a nearly flawless picture of physical fitness and conditioning. Her body was toned, with abs so well defined that anybody, male or female, would be jealous of. Her breasts, though certainly never impressive due to her physique and low body fat, also seemed enhanced, straining a bit more than they should against the black, lacy bra she had on. Her chest was still not what one would call large, by any means, but gave her much more pleasing proportions, along with the rest of her toned, athletic, yet still very feminine body.

Lilly didn't seem all that phased to be in her bra now in front of the others, her track attire was quite revealing as it was, so this was not much of bother to her, and besides, there were more important things to deal with.

<What do we do? Call the cops? Fire Department?> she asked.

[Kia Mizuki]

"I...I don't know..." Those scared words didn't have any place coming out of a behemoth like Kia. "The army maybe? Oh! We could call the base!"

For a second, Kia felt a spike of panic when she realized that, absent the urgent need of emergency, she wasn't sure how to change back. But then she realized it was taking effort to stay changed. There was a weird sense of weight to it, like keeping a muscle slightly flexed. She was overriding her natural state of being. Somehow her body remembered what it was 'supposed' to be.

She looked over across the lake to where the lights of the base were...absent?

Uh oh.

With heavy plodding footsteps, she stepped into the lake, trying to get a better look. As she did, she relaxed that 'muscle.' Immediately the next generation of cells turned on the previous. Her body indulged in a self-cannibalistic frenzy as the mutated cells died and were broken back down again, replaced with ones that reflected the older genetic expressions. She began shrinking down, and the armored plates dropped off of her, one by one, making splashes in the water.

What was only ankle deep to her before swiftly became waist deep, which was a mercy for modesty because it was right about then that Kia realized that her clothes were all ripped up on the cracked floor of the cabin she'd exploded out of.

She crouched down a bit, dropping down to her neck into the lake.

"Uh...anyone else have a shirt they can spare?" Kia asked with a slightly embarrassed smile. "...and pants, maybe?"

[Sara Hutchins]

Sara looped around the compound once and saw nothing except dead...things then for the firs time since waking up she touched the ground and the flames went out.

She stood there looking up as Kia (how the fuck did I know that was Kia), headed toward the lake, then noticed Sean staring at her, his...her, oh so beautiful mouth opened in a sexy little O of shock.

<Ahem, Shirt> Came Lilly's thought again and looking down at herself she realized what Lilly had been trying to tell.

She scooped up Lilly's shirt and pulled it on very quickly. At least Lilly was tall enough that the shit hung almost to Sara's mid thigh.

“Thanks” she whispered as she looked around the adrenaline fleeing her system.

“Ohmy god did this really just happen?”

 

In The Cabin

 

Talena was kneeling by Felix who was still unconscious.

“Abel, Felix is still asleep I cant wake him up'” she sounded very worried, considering everything else, “And so is Sandy.”

 

[Abel Cross]

There's a spare t-shirt in my duffel in my Jeep if someone wants to get it for Kia.  Given that it's sized for me, it should be good enough for now, unless someone else has something for her to wear.

 It was not easy to push away the mental images some of the others were letting through, and he sighed.  Still Taleena's words turned his attention once again.   While they are not injured in the strictest sense, Felix and Sandy are like the others, they are in a deep sleep.

He went to kneel down next to Felix, checking for a pulse, and he could feel his breath.  He focused his mind, reaching into Felix's, from behind his shield, and met a shield there as well, which repelled his attempt easily.   This of course wasn't something he normally dealt with.  "Curious."  At that moment Felix's eyes began to flutter and he seemed to stir.

[Sean Cassidy]

"Looks like," Sean commented in dry understatement in a silken, mellifluous voice, closing her full-lipped mouth with a snap as she looked around in a pretext of giving Sara a slight bit of privacy to put on Lilly's shirt. "We just got hit by cosmic radiation and became the Fantastic Four. Or the Spectacular Six, as it were."

Now that there weren't alien creatures trying to eat, the sheer insanity of the situation was starting to get to Sean, beginning to fracture the crystal clear insight and focus she had felt with action. As she strode over to Sara's side - which looked more like a confident swagger to others - Sean could help but feel how different movement, every... thing felt, despite the fact it didn't actually feel unnatural or even uncomfortable to her.

Standing next to Sara, it felt distinctly odd to realize she now had a bigger height advantage over her than she used to have over him, somehow weirder than noting she had the most substantial chest among the girls at the disastrous After-party. Using a small multitool she kept handy in her pocket, Sean cut off the split legs of her cargo pants, leaving her in what amounted to a pair of ragged short-shorts and a very tight crop-top that looked in real danger of bursting with each breath she took.

"So, I hope this isn't a deal breaker," Sean teased Sara, looking down at her with a playful light in her entrancing turquoise eyes as she gestured at herself. Sara couldn't help but notice the remarkable self-assurance and confidence Sean seemed to be unconsciously affecting. "Because this is gonna be tough enough to explain. Unlike the rest of you - except Kia, sometimes anyway - my superpowers came with one hell of a transformation."

Which was an understatement. While anyone who had known the old Sean would recognize her as this woman, she now looked like a spectacularly attractive supermodel, albeit a well-endowed and curvaceous one. And if she wasn't as buff as Lilly, either before or after her own transformation, she wasn't a stick-thin waif, but had the sleek, form tone of a professional dancer or yoga practitioner. Even more remarkable, especially for someone who's looks had always caused him trouble, Sean seemed surprisingly unselfconscious about her new appearance.

<I'll get it> Sean replied to Abel over what she thought of as Guildchat and sauntered over to his Jeep. She pulled out the spare shirt and sweat pants, looked for extras for her or Lilly, skipped over the gym shoes as being too big, then walked over to the lake. With her back turned, Sean held out the shirt and pants behind her, keeping herself between Kia and everyone else.

"Bulwark going dark is a concern," Sean agreed with Kia's earlier comment, "but we can't just rush in there, regardless of what we may be capable of. If they are suffering their own troubles, we might just end up putting ourselves into danger. Insane, freaky shit and firearms aren't the safest mix." After it sounded like Kia had slipped into the clothes and started adjusting their fit as much as she could, Sean began moving towards the nearest cocoon. "Anyone who has a number, call who you know at the Fort. Meanwhile, let's check on the cocoon victims. At least, get them out of it, make sure everyone is still breathing."

[Lilly Pryor]

"Well.. My dad is a Lt. Col. and head of Base Security. I have his office number and cell. I'll try him." Lilly said as she fished her phone from her pocket 

Lilly scrolled through the phone book in her phone, which was bathing her face in light. She pulled up her dad's cell number and looked at it for a moment, biting her lip. How would she explain this to him? 'Hey dad, our after party with underage drinking was crashed by dozens of monster bugs from Dimension X. Yeah, we're okay. We killed them with our new superpowers. Oh yeah, we have superpowers.' ?

"It we're lucky, security saw the fire and blasts and stuff and are on their way. I mean, we are off base, but they still might check it out and sometimes the base fence is well past the property line. We could be on what is now government property for all we know." she explained with a shrug.

Lilly pressed the 'call' button and waited for in indication of the call going through. 

<Is Sandy okay though? Just, like, tranquilized like the others, yeah?> she asked mentally with obvious concern, walking back toward the cabin to check on him for herself.

[Alexander Cordeaux]

Immediate threat over, Alec took a moment to just breathe, the sharpened focus of the adrenaline steadily fading. He took the last few second of clarity to quickly observe himself, much as he could feel the others doing through the link. While not as significant as some of the group, there were enough changes to be distinctly noticeable. He had always known that he was attractive, being blessed on both sides of the family, it was now like someone had turned the dial all the way up, moving from eye catching to jaw dropping. Gone the awkward lankiness of someone who had grown a lot in a short time period. Instead, if he were to judge by the sudden tightness and length in his clothes, he'd have to say he was topping six feet by a couple of inches in addition to the widening of his shoulders. He couldnt see his face, not having any reflective surfaces nearby, but from the feel of it, it too had filled out, jawline more chiseled and features sharpened.

He turns to the rest of the group in the cabin and starts to walk over when his legs nearly go out from under him. He stumbles almost drunkenly, before leaning heavily against one wall. Holding one hand up, he can see it quivering, not being able to hold it still. That.... probably wasn't good. He takes a deep breath, clenching his hand into a fist and forcing it still. Just gotta hold it together for a bit longer, Alec. You can freak out later, when everyone is properly safe. He pushes himself off the wall carefully picking his way back to the rest.

Taleena seemed to be mostly ok, at least. Thank god for that. He swept her up into a hug which was quickly returned, each clinging to the other. He gives a wan smile at Seans self deprecating comment. The humour helping to stabilise him somewhat. He lets out a deep gusting breath before straightening and reluctantly letting go of Taleena.

"Stay with Abel and the others here. I'll go help Sean with the others."

He gives her a small smile as she nods in agreement and moves to help.

<Should we call ambulances or something? If they've been injected with some weird shit, they may need proper Medical attention, and I don't think we have enough cars to get everyone there safely....... Shit. Mums going to kill me.> Cause how the hell was he going to explain why he was here and what he was doing?

[WS ST]

INTERLUDE

BULWARK AFB

5 MINUTES AGO

 

Sanchez hesitated but fuck it was a talking dog, he made a snap decision and pulled his key from it's lanyard, “Fuck I'm probably gonna get sent to Leavenworth for this but come on pooch.” He opens the door and they rush out.

“Don't worry Sanchez, I'll speak for you at your trial if it come to that, and don't call me pooch, my name is Blitz.”

As the ran up the hallways they could hear the sound of gunfire. Sanchez could identify the 9mm Beretta sidearms most of the LE personnel carried and the sound of a couple of M4 carbines but there were other rapid fire weapons whose sounds he had never heard.

“That sounds bad Blitz.”

“Worse than you think buddy.”

They came to a intersection where the Human security forces had erected a fast barricade of desks taken from nearby offices. They were firing over the defenses into the main receiving room. In that room several humanoid thing with 4 our arms were returning fire with large bulky strange looking guns.

Lying to the side and in the Hallway were several wounded soldiers a couple critically. The desks and chairs were offering little real protection.

 

Lt Col Pryor looked up from his firing position and saw the airman tasked with watching the dog skid to a stop and pull his side arm then he saw the dog was there too.

“Sanchez what the fuck are you doing here with that dog?” he shouted as he squeezed of three rounds and took one of the alien soldiers out with a head shot.

Unfortunately another took it's place immediately and raked the hallway with a new weapon that more than triple the rate of fire of the guns the damned things had been using. Two more of Pryor's team went down one of them dead.

Sanchez joins his fire with that of the other LE troops. “Sorry sir he says he knows how to deal with these things Sir!”

Pryor shoots a look at the dog who is craning to see over the barricade into the room beyond. After a few seconds he slides up next to the Officer.

“The Aneesh are attempting a bridge head Col. These shock troops are buying their technicians time to erect a shield. If that shield goes up that gate becomes permanent for all intents and purposes. We need to close it now.”

Pryor was out of his depth he was talking with a dog no taking advice from a dog. It was all so surreal.

“And how are we supposed to do that?”

“Col. I will need a nuclear device.”

 

Scout Camp Lake Aloe

Five minutes later after the Battle of Lake Aloe

Lilly frowned and stopped, she pushed the call button a few more times. The phone wasn't doing anything. “Guys my phone isn't working are yours?”

The kids checked their phones and while the all seemed to operate none of them did anything but light up.

Sara, whose phone was ash somewhere, waved at her friend. “Look I can fly over there and see whats going on it will only take a minute then we can figure out what to do.”

Abel shook his head. “Not too sure its a good idea for a flaming girl to fly over there if anything is going on they are liable to shoot first ask questions later.”

Sara smiled, “I don't have to light up to fly,” she lifts a foot off the ground as an example, “I'll be right back.” Then she zooms off into the darkness.

 

Felix who had woken up and was now sitting up watched as Sara flew. He looked paler than usual. “Those things, I drew them. This is my fault, all my fault.” he whispered.

 

Sandy moaned and shifted, “Lilly...?”

[Kia Mizuki]

Kia, on digging her phone out of the ruins of her clothes in the cabin, was just in time to see Sara starting to fly away. By that time she was really freaking out. The weird shit HERE was bad enough...what was happening at the base?! If it had been an operator or even just an automatic response that would have been one thing. But nothing? Nothing?! Kia didn't really understand the infrastructure of cellphone connections very well, but she was aware that blanket loss of service was a really bad sign.

"I'm going too!" she declared.

That weird roiling sensation was at work under her skin again, making her grimace and roll her shoulders. Abruptly thin, pointed limbs poked out of the back of the shirt she'd been given. They grew swiftly outward, and a membrane of skin extruded, tearing the shirt still further. Other than having long thin rips in the back of it though, the garment was fine.

Other changes were at work as well, subtler. The muscles in her upper body were altering, thickening, growing more blood vessels as her heart enlarged to supply the needed energy. Her nervous system branched and branched, providing her brain with the necessary points of control to deal with entirely new limbs...optimizing as they went. It was dark, and she'd need to see, so the retinas of her eyes sprouted new cells, ultra-sensitive to low light conditions...giving her eyes an eerie sheen like a cat's.

She looked at her friends, her face torn with conflicting desires. She wanted to help them, but...her mom and dad were out there.

"I'll be back soon, okay? I promise."

Her brand new wings arched up over her head and with inhuman strength beat down as she jumped into the air. It took a couple of wingbeats for her to find a good balance...wobbling precariously as she did...but then she was off!

Shapeshift!: 9D10 = [4, 8, 6, 5, 4, 4, 10, 8, 8] = 57

[Lilly Pryor]

Lilly stuffed her phone back in her pocket and knelt next to Sandy. She was dripping wet, her jeans soaked, long, loose hair dripping and bare upper body, clad only in a lacy black bra that was clearly too tight of her now, covered in a sheen of wetness, making her bared flesh nearly glisten in the faint light.

"Shhhh. It's okay.  I'm here and we're all okay. You were drugged or poisoned or something. Just take it easy, your strength should come back." she said, taking his hand into both of her's. 

 

<Lt. Col. William Pryor. That's my dad.> Lilly made sure to let the girls know as they headed for the base.

[WS ST]

Sandy looked up at Lilly his brain was fuzzy but she was beautiful, staring into her eyes... wait, "Poisoned? Why are you wet? your shirt...?

Goddamed Chet poisoned us!"

He tried to sit up but his head spun he grabbed at Lilly's arms as he feel back flat.

Sean came back inside. "I checked under that mess out there those silver ... gates are gone. also checked ou the big cabin theres some kids in there who wern't wrapped up they seem to be coming round.

Hows Sandy and Felix?"

"I'm fine." came a surly reply from Felix who sat with his knees drawn up to his chest his open stare at Sean one of disbelief.

[Lilly Pryor]

Lilly easily caught and supported Sandy, slowly lowering him back down.

"Don't you listens Caldwell? I said take it easy." she half teased/half scolded. "Relax. Chet didn't do anything, Courtney either. It was these... bug things. Everybody's safe now though. Just relax." 

Lilly thought for a moment as, despite what was going on around her, a small grin came to her face.

"My shirt? I loaned to Sara, because she and Kia are.. or were.. naked." she explained, showing her age by teasing him a little.

[Sara Hutchins]

With a thought Sara zoomed into the sky. Such freedom and the speed! It was like in the superman movies, the flying she had done before in the fight had been nothing compared to this.

She could fly!

In seconds she had passed over the lake zig zagging around just to get the feel of it down, then she was over the base and past it before she knew it.

Laughing she looped back and slowed flying in over the fences and across the spread out base she relayed via guild chat what she was seeing.

<It's dark down there I'm at about 50 feet off the ground, the only lights i see are some flashlights but i can make out a loot of soldiers along the fences and at the gates. Power seems out every where. But there are some moving vehicles. Crap two Humvee's are leaving the base and cutting across below he lake they may be coming your way.>

Sara starts to fly off after the Humvee's, but stops when she crosses the center of the base. She whistles to herself and raises her altitude to about a hundred feet.

<I'm at the center of the base of a building with a bunch of antennas and satellite dishes. It's dark too but there are a whole lot of soldiers there and they look ready to fight a war They have tanks for gods sake. What should I do guys?>

Back at Camp

"Wha... naked...wha, what did I miss?" Sandy couldn't help but look at Lilly's chest, after all he had been dreaming about them for quite a while now

[Abel Cross]

You need to quietly get out of there Sara, before you're spotted and some very uncomfortable questions begin to get asked.  None of you should go anywhere near a military base.   I know you're worried, and that nothing really makes sense, but come back to the rest of us.   The base is not safe."

He looked to Alec who was with Taleena and for her benefit he actually spoke.  "She did great, helping kill one of the bugs and helping me keep you all safe."

Looking over to Sandy and Lily, he smiled.  "Sandy you missed a great deal, but for now, let's just say we're safe.  You don't by chance keep spare clothes in your vehicle too for an emergency?"   His tone suggested that he knew exactly what Sandy was thinking.   "Lilly could use some dry clothes and they've already used my extras."  While not calling him out on it, he was trying to give Sandy an out there to not get caught staring, and get him to not ask too much about what happened.

[Kia Mizuki]

Flying, thought Kia as she flapped doggedly across the lake, [/i]...is a lot harder than it looks.[/i]

In contrast to the effortless ease that Sara flew with, Kia had to deal with air resistance and muscles and endurance. Those muscles and wings might be functioning in violation of what a normal body could do, but they didn't violate conservation of momentum, or physical forces, or aerodynamics. Fortunately Kia was much stronger now than before, and seemed to have a nearly bottomless well of physical endurance, as if her body was nourished by more than just food.

Even so, it wasn't easy. The euphoria of flying was dulled by having to concentrate on keeping a steady rhythm to her wingbeats, and on paying attention to the wind, and on trying to keep her body from falling out of the best position. It occurred to her more than once that the human form was really bad for this...and that led to a dawning realization that she might not be limited to that form anymore. But she wasn't ready to go down that road right now. It was a weirdness too far.

By the starlight and moonlight, her altered eyes could see nearly as well as daylight though, and she saw Sara zoom up to loiter over the base. Even without the big floodlights on poles on, she could see the activity in the base. It was at first a relief (they're not all dead!) and then a dawning apprehension (why are they all on alert?). It didn't take much imagination to think of what must be going on.

With effort that got her breathing harder, Kia started gaining altitude to intercept the spot Sara was hovering.

God, if she'd thought climbing was hard, hovering was a BITCH. She had to keep wobbling in place, twisting her wings around in weird ways to have them flap DOWN instead of BACK. She wouldn't be able to keep it up long.

"Sara," she gasped, "Bug things. Here too. Must be it!"

[Sara Hutchins]

Sara twists and her eyes bug out, "Kia! You have wings!"

After a second she shakes off the astonishment and looks back down into the dark, "I didn't see any of those things and I don't here and gunfire. If there were some here we would hear gunfire wouldn't we?"

 

[WS ST]

"You can't let them find you, catch you, they will lock you,cut you up, experiment on you," Felix mumbles and then locks eyes with Abel, "I know Abel I drew it."

[Abel Cross]

Abel looked to Felix, and scowled.  Okay ladies, get out of there, and come back here.   I think we all need to have a talk with Felix.

Turning to Felix, he holds his gaze.  "Tell me what you know, Felix, or if you prefer... Show me.  Felix was in the link, though he'd not noticed him before as part of it.

[Lilly Pryor]

Lilly raised a eyebrow at Sandy, noting the focus of his gaze.

"Dude, seriously?" she said, jabbing him in the ribs.

"My eyes are up her." she reminded him, pointing at her eyes with two fingers of one hand. 

Her head turned to look at Felix and his muttering, giving Sandy a few moments more to stare.

"Ohgoddamnit." she cursed.

"Then Sara and Kia better get some new clothes quick, or stay out of sight."

[WS ST]

Bulwark AFB

A few minutes ago

The dog sat next to the Lt Col, watching the soldiers clear the room and tend to the wounded. "...so once we had the device on the other side I knew the detonation would disrupt any bridges they had opened, an dthey did have quite a few.  Didn't they Julio?"

Airman Sanchez looked up from where he was sitting on the floor a cold can of coke in his hand, his uniform and weapons torn and battered from the fight on the otherside of the universe. He silently raised it acknowledging the dog who had nuked the aliens, and not for the first time questioned his sanity.

Bill Pryor for his part was wondering just how this was goign to change the world. Then he saw Dr. Mizuki and some of the other scientists entering the room they paused and studied the dead aliens.

An airman came in behind the scientist and rushed to the commanding officer. "Sir Lt. Davis compliments sir, The base is secure and the colonel has been notified. Lt  Davis said that an explosion was seen across the lake and he has sent a patrol to check it out."

"Thank you airman tell Davis I'll be topside shortly." Pryor walks over to Mizuki. "Well?"

Mizuki drags his eyes from the alien at his feet. "The pulse from the collapsing portal burned out the breakers but the reactor did not scramble. We should have power back in an hour or so. None of the phones or anything else that was in a hardened shelter is like wise out. Those will have to all be replaced so we don't know for sure what has happened at the alpha site other than that they were under attack as well."

The dog, Bltze barked, "I told you  the staging area is slag, the Aneesh are not very tactical and they are not imaginative. They had to hijack your portals to even get here that means they don't really know where you are or they would have opened a lot more bridges. even if they did get information from here back to there it got burned by the nuke."

Will Pryor sighed heavily "And when are you going to start telling us how you know all of this hell how you can even talk?"

"As soon as I talk to Abel, then I'll tell you everything."

 

[Alexander Cordeaux]

Alec steps away from Taleena for a moment, practically peeling his shirt off. It was just as well he preferred to wear clothes on the baggy side. The poor shirt probably wouldn't have survived the transition otherwise. He holds it out to Lilly. Trying not to flush as Taleena gave him what she probably thought was a subtle glance and giving him an appreciative once over. The removal of his shirt unveiling the changes he'd undergone to easier scrutiny.

"It might help his brain reboot a bit. I certainly can't blame him."

And then he did flush crimson as he realised just what he said, letting out a small eep as he tried to salvage the situation.

"I mean, in general. Not specifically you. Er. Not that they're not nice and all. Um. Not that I've looked at them or anything, you know, though not like I wouldn't want to, if that were a thing, but I'm going out with Taleena and God I'm just making it worse."

He sits down in mortified embarrassment, his girlfriend moving to embrace him from behind, practically convulsing in her attempts to not laugh at his mortification.

"Just send more bugs or something. Anything so I can forget this just happened."

Regaining control of himself as the flush steadily subsided, he sighs, projecting along the Chat as well as speaking for the benefit of those without.

<"We need to get the people here to a hospital. God only knows what they've been dosed with.">

 

~Alec's Shirt:~

Spoiler

 

[Abel Cross]

They weren't "dosed" with anything that I can tell there are no wounds, no effects other than the comatose state.  Those not in cocoons are already waking up abit confused and all, but beyond that they seem fine.   He chuckled softly at Alec's predicament, and nodded.   "Alec, it's okay, really.  We are all friends here, and given that you literally gave her the shirt off your back, I imagine Lily can forgive you for acting like a red-blooded American teenage male for a few seconds."   It was the first time they'd heard him joke since dinner.  "Besides, you might get your wish on the more bugs part.   For me though I'd rather not, at least until we can get a better handle on things."

[Sean Cassidy]

Before heading back into the cabin, Sean had smiled as Sara flew off towards Fort Bulwark then gathered up the dozen cocooned victims and settled them on the wraparound veranda of the large cabin. While much taller than she used to, Sean wasn't as muscular as Lilly was, nor possessed her mathematically impossible strength. Still, she was deceptively strong - she estimated in the top 0.1 percentile in the world - and was able to carry two students at once, one over each shoulder, without much difficulty.

Using her multitool, Sean was able to cut them free from the tough, silk-like cocoons, though it took her new strength to power through them efficiently. She rubbed the material with her fingers, curious about what it was actually made of, how it was structured. Checking to make sure the freed students were no in immediate danger - some were even beginning to stir - Sean stuffed the neatest slit open cocoon with as many of the other cocoons as she could, then slinked off back to the cabin the rest of the Irregulars were at as unobtrusively as she could after checking on the status of the portals.

In the cabin, Sean slipped surreptitiously around the edge, letting Lilly and her tight bra distract Sandy from noticing her changes for the moment. While Sean certainly appreciated the sight as well, she didn't reveal any undo interest, or really feel any need to be distracted, idly musing that from now own, she'd need to wear a bra herself.

Considerably more aware of body language now, Sean could read the stress and almost guilt in Felix and moved over to his side, not missing his obvious disbelief at her new appearance. She grinned wryly and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. The simple contact and cool confidence in Sean's more mature looking face made a difference.

"Felix, I promise you, this isn't your fault," Sean said in a firm, smooth tone. "There's lots of impossibilities going on at the moment, but you either creating or summoning an alien ecology isn't one. I suspect it is more that you are instead more... sensitive to the radiation of wherever they came from, unconsciously. Maybe vibrations from probably future occurrences, if you see danger in us letting the military apprehend us. There could be provisions for such in M-Theory, String Theory, the Many-worlds Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, or other theories. Our only error was not recognizing the warning in your dreams and drawings. And that's on no one."

Sean's scientific hypotheses and reassurance helped to cut through Felix's self-recrimination and the worry in the room. She nodded at Felix, "As Abel said, any more details you can... see, will help in deciding what we should do."

<If necessary, Sara and Kia can fly out of here, but we will have to boot it if we don't want to be apprehended by the military. The rest of the students might still need medical attention or study to make sure nothing is lingering, and we can leave that to the military> Sean suggested over Guildchat, amused by Alec's awkwardness. Sean had a sense that she would hardly ever feel awkward herself ever again, and if that was one of her superpowers, she thought it an amazing one.

<Unless we take some extreme measures, we won't be able to hide our presence at this scene or the changes we have undergone, that's clearly impossible for some of us, not forever. But to be on the safe side, we could vamoose - take our vehicles and muddy the tracks as we can - and find or make ourselves some leverage so we can deal on a more equal footing when we are tracked down>

Sean stood up and nodded towards Lilly as she glided towards the door, watching for the approach of anyone from the Fort. <Of course, we might have another option available to us. While not a complete impossibility, but from what Sara and Kia have seen, I suspect Fort Bulwark has some inkling of what is going on. Lilly and Kia both have fathers in positions of authority there, and likely know more than they have - or could - reveal to their families. They'll be more alert to any changes in you two, and likely in your friends, but we can trade on the familial bond for a better deal. Because while I certainly want to know what the hell has happened to us and how, I won't accept being imprisoned or experimented upon unwillingly>

The cold promise in that was statement was surprising coming from Sean, but no one could doubt the resolve. Sean would do whatever she needed to do to keep that promise for her and her friends and she could do a lot now, a plethora of options open to her,

[Lilly Pryor]

Lilly could not help but laugh.

"Dude. They're just bewbs." she said as she looked down at her chest and noticed the change finally, and how she was starting to spill out of the bra, causing her to blush.

Her chest was still not big, due to her diet and training, it had never been, but now things seemed better proportioned, even with her body now being exquisitely athletic. She snatched the shirt from Alec and slipped it on quickly, still blushing slightly.

Lilly 'listened' to everything being said... er.. thought.. and chimed in,

<I am not so sure we can hide our involvement. I mean.. Look at Sean. There is no way that one gets explained that I can think of. And I can;t imagine him -not- going home. Otherwise his parents will worry and think something horrible happened to him or he ran away or something, and I cannot see any of us wanting to put our parents through anything that.>

<Myself and Alec look like we got the benefit of a year's worth of hardcore crossfit and conditioning overnight. Our parents are -bound- to notice.>

<Something like this, especially if he lie/hide, is going bring one hell of an investigation. It's clear that -somebody- fought and killed those things, not to mention there are giant footprints out there and probably our fingerprints all over stuff. Sara and Kia's clothes are gone.. ashes or tatters. Hell, they will probably see that our phones were here, based on the cell tower pings. So sooner or later, they will probably come knocking at our doors.>

<If we come forward about it now, it might stay at a relatively local level, at least for a while. My dad is a Lt. Col. and head of base security, Kia's is a bigwig on some project on base, Sara's dad is the Sheriff, Alec's sister is a deputy, Abel, Alec and myself have parents at the hospital or in medicine. I can't see any of them locking us up to be experimented on.>

[Kia Mizuki]

Kia tried to shrug at Sara's question, but it was hard when her muscles were busy flapping.

"Maybe. They could be...under it? I just...want to make sure Dad and Mom are okay!"

She did notice the humvees starting out on the road that circumnavigated the lake, and she brightened.

"They must have seen something over where we were! Or maybe...maybe they can detect those things the creatures came in through... Lets go back to the camp. They'll pick us up. They'll know if me and Lilly's family is okay."

With a quick nod at Sara, she added, "That's good right? I'm kind of afraid if we just dive into the base they might shoot us before they see who we are!"

[Sara Hutchins]

Nodding, not even sure if Kia could see or not cause she could barely see the wing girl herself she sent a thought into guild chat.

<Okay Abel we are heading back, hope you guys have a plan.>

then the two flying girls turned and flew back to the camp, Sara keeping pace with the slower harder working Kia just in case.

[WS ST]

Spoiler

Ok I have a consensus on how to proceed so I am officially closing this scene. I will be posting a fairly long post soon wrapping things up and setting the stage for the next one.

I ask that y'all refrain from posting until further notice. I will also be issuing XP soon both general and bonus. Do Not Spend any XP until I give the go ahead as your next spend point will have special rules attached.

This is the official end of Chapter one.

good job everyone I am pleased with how well you have all embraced this game. I hope we can keep it going.

Thank you all

 

[WS ST]

Aftermath

The girls landed a few minutes later and after a quick discussion made their decision to trust the authorities. It took some convincing but they managed to get Sandy and Talena to go along with pretending to not remember stuff and so that by the time the Soldiers arrived it was just the seven enhanced teens there to meet the troops.

 

***********

“Sir, we have a pretty grave situation her sir. We have multiple dead ETs and 34 kids most of whom are disoriented and have no memory of what happened here. The scout camp looks like a war zone. And Sir The Col.'s Daughter is here sir.”

 

***********

 

“Col. We have the pictures of the Seven kids who weren't effected by the ETs. Sir you're daughter and Dr. Mizuki's are among those seven we don't have Ids on the others yet.”

 

Soldiers were rushing in and out the nearest hospital was in Shelly they had been alerted and ambulances were in route. Malmstrom AFB had been notified and reinforcements and Air cover would be arriving within hours. Contact with the Alpha site at Groom Lake had been reestablished and it was confirmed that all the portals had collapsed when the bomb had gone off on the other side.

And now this. Local kids having a party had been attacked by the aliens. Most of them had been subdued and drugged but seven of the kids, his and Dr. Mizuki's among them, had apparently fought off the aliens. How had yet to be explained.

 

Lt Col Pryor and Mazuki were looking over the pictures of the seven kids that had been sent over the sat phones. The kids who were on their way to the base right now.

“This needs to be contained.” said Mizuki almost to himself.

“You Think?”

“Wait, this boy. This is Kia's boyfriend. His name is Abel.”

 

**************

 

The dogs tail was wagging furiously, uncontrollably as he looked at the picture.

“That's Him! That's Him! That's Him!”

“Your sure?”

“Well he is older than I remember but yes I'm sure.”

 

****************

 

The majority of the teens were in route to the hospital where they would be checked out and held for at least 24 hours. Medical personnel from Malmstrom were on the way and security at the hospital was being handled by the Air Force. National Security issues had been declared and Shelly for all intents and purposes was under quarantine. So far nothing had gotten out news wise. The Hospital staff and local law enforcement were being told that the kids had been mass electrocuted at the lake and while no one had been seriously injured they're memories of the incident had been effected. It was flimsy but it was all they had on short notice. The camp ground was being sanitized.

The seven other teens had been brought to the base. Where they had been given dry fatigues and hot chocolate.

 

BULWARK AFB

PROJECT STEPPING STONE BETA SITE

12:30AM

The military fatigues were not very comfortable, but at least they were dry. They had been treated ok and since being brought to the base no one had questioned them or treated them as anything but kids who had been through and ordeal. The soldiers had gone out of their way to assure them that their friends were ok and that their parents would be notified as soon as possible.

Now Alec, Abel, Lilly, Kia, Sean, Sara, and Felix found themselves in a room sitting in somewhat comfortable office chairs with cups of hot cocoa and plates of cookies on a conference table. There were no phones or any other electronic devices in the room and none of the gang had their phone. Everything had been going so fast but because of their link the had been able to stay focused and communicate without anyone making them keep quiet.

They had been in the room only a minute or two when the door opened and Lt. Col Pryor and Dr. Mizuki came into the room they were accompanied by another man who was thin balding and probably in his late fifties. He walked up to the table and sat down Mizuki and Pryor stayed back by the door letting everyone know who was in charge with their silence.

“Well, this has been a very interesting night I think we can all agree. My name is Farrell Lang I am a Physicist working for the Department of Energy. Dr. Mizuki , Kia's dad,” he smiles at Kia even though she has never seen this man before ever, “works for me on a top secret classified project for the government. A project that you kids have just become part of.

Ok so who wants to tell me what happened over at the camp site?”

Spoiler

Decided to do this differently than planned you may post now

 

[Alexander Cordeaux]

Alec had to blink at that, raising an eyebrow at the man in front of them.

"Mmmm. Correct me if I'm wrong, but in the case of Minors, don't you need written consent of a Parent or Guardian before we become a part of anything? Meaning no disrespect, but given the stuff that's happened already, you'll have to excuse me if I'm a bit wary."

The question was mostly just to buy some time to actually think to the others.

<We going full disclosure here, or we gonna make some shit up and hope we can sell it? Gotta admit, don't like the presumption that we're going to be made a part of anything if we don't want to.>

[Lilly Pryor]

Lilly immediately got up and nearly ran to her father, almost tackling him. She hugged him tight, resting her head against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her, hugging his baby tight. It had been a stressful for night, full of stuff that Lilly did not fully understand, and right now, she just wanted a hug from her dad.

<I think.. I think we tell the truth, but just bits at a time for now, and let them as questions. And dude, we just fought off those things. If they were doing the same here and had difficulty, then it is essentially our duty to help.>

"We.. we were having a Homecoming after party, at the scout camp, across the lake. Then this big storm came outta nowhere, so we went in the cabins to wait it own and then these... things.. These big, dog-sized., scorpion, bug.. things.. just showed up and started grabbing people. There were, like a dozen or more of them. Really ugly with, like, stinger tails. They would wrap people up in a silk or something, like a spider does, and tried to drag them away..." Lilly recounted with her cheek still resting on her dad's chest, arms wrapped around him.

 

[Sean Cassidy]

Sean arched a brow at Lilly as she hugged her father but didn't refute her assertion of their duty in thought or action without actually agreeing with the sentiment. <Truth for now> Sean agreed, her thoughts coming across as almost clinical in her assessment. <But not the whole truth. We keep Guildchat secret for now and if you have any other powers you didn't reveal, that they may have witnessed or can conjecture about from the site, keep them concealed for now too. Just in case, it's better to have an ace in the hole and not need it than to need it and not have it.>

Sean had been assessing and cataloguing everything she saw and noticed since they'd been brought to Bulwark, corridors, doors, signs, labels, and personnel, how they were armed and how they reacted to them and the situation in general. The Irregulars were being treated relatively well, but Sean could pick up it wasn't just for decency's sake. There was a tightness to their postures, a look in their eyes, hands twitching instinctively towards weapons. They were anxious. Possibly a bit scared.

Of them.

Sean also experienced how people who didn't know her now saw her. Men stared, most trying to be covert about it, some not even bothering, a few seemingly feeling guilt about their sexual thoughts directed at someone they believed might be underage. The women looked too, if in a different way. Sean smiled faintly, noticing not just instinctive reaction to a stunningly attractive woman in their, but also the unconscious cues most people had to people taller than they were, a slight sense of deference or grant of authority. Sean wasn't a giant by any means, but she was now taller than a majority men, if not by much, and nearly every woman.

She rather liked it. She unconsciously noted the those who reacted most strongly to her presence for later exploitation if things went sideways, not restricting her natural exudation of subtle pheromones for the moment. A distant part of her was vaguely disquieted by the way she was looking at everything and everyone to consider how to hack, manipulate, or disable it to her advantage for any number of contingency plans, but she didn't regret it. This would be her life from now on.

The fatigues were bit short in the leg and somewhat tight across the bust, but they were a lot better than what she'd been wearing - she had had to cut her shirt a bit to actually get it off and the remains of her cargo pants had nearly split up to the waist band and at least she had shoes now. The bra was a poor fit, small in the cup and large in the band, but was better than nothing. Glancing at herself in the mirror of the bathroom where they had changed, noticing the vibrant, sunset hues of her hair and even she'd been struck by just how statuesque and gorgeous she now was, if anything, even more striking fully clothed than not, judging by how she was ogled on the way to the conference room.

As Lilly spoke, Sean tucked the hair hanging down the right side of her face behind an ear, crossed her legs, then took a sip of the hot chocolate. The motions were so casual and feminine that no one would believe Sean was anything other than what she appeared to be - an implausibly attractive and charming young woman with sex appeal to spare. She laced her fingers with Sara sitting beside her.

"There were three species of exotic origin we encountered," Sean added in smooth, controlled tones, her large, piercing turquoise eyes watching Lang, Mizuki, and Pryor closely. "The bugs Lilly described, that seemed to function as some manner of worker. A larger breed with a pseudo-lamprey-meets-Predator facial structure that howled and seemed to be a warrior type. And one that was about the size of a dragonfly - admittedly of the largest species - with a singular ocular organ comprising nearly its entire forward segment that I believe were a type of organic drone. From our limited contact, I would conjecture they operated with some manner of Hive Mind or with a central Intelligence that could link or communicate directly with subsidiary units."

She paused to take a sip of her hot chocolate, purposefully making the men wait on her words. As supermodel-eque as Sean may have appeared, no one would doubt the intelligence she possessed in her insightful and precise account. "They appear to have come from some manner of... portal is the only word I feel comfortable using without more study or measurements on the phenomena, though I suppose I could make several hypotheses. They had the appearance of silver disks and after a drone unit was destroyed, the other drones tried to retreat through them, but were destroyed before hand."

Sean cocked her head slightly to the side, pursing her lips. She didn't seem cowed by the authority figures at all, meeting their eyes directly, as an equal. "At this point, Mr. Lang, perhaps you would like to tell us the name of this classified Project that you claim we have joined, for our own good, I'm sure," She nodded at Alec, acknowledging his earlier comment, "without the consent of our parents or guardians, as we are all minors. As this Project seems to have directly impacted our lives in implausible and irrevocable ways, knowing the function and goals of the Project would be greatly appreciated. It would also encourage us to be more cooperative in this... debriefing, should we call it?"

[Kia Mizuki]

Kia went to her father as well, but compared to Lilly she was unexpectedly reserved. She reached out to him as she got close, and Dr Mizuki hunkered down a little so they were face to face. Kia pressed her forehead to his, with the tips of their noses just touching, and closed her eyes for a moment. Her father took her head between his hands and closed his eyes as well...but just for that moment. Then he stood up and took on a more formal expression and body posture. Kia went back to the others and sat back down, looking a little lost.

She hadn't seen most of what had happened...had woken up a bit later than most of the others. She remembered the weird bug things, but it was all a big confusing mess in her head now. She found herself slouching down in her seat a little, like she did in school when she was hoping not to get called on to give an answer.

[Sara Hutchins]

Sara had been quiet through everything relying on Sean to lead her along as they were taken to the base. Sean was very sure of himself and while she could see him in the girl holding her hand she couldn't help but feel that a dynamic had changed.

She wasn't sure it was a good change.

They took their cloths and gave them fatigues. Then asked their names. They said that it was so they're parents could be contacted. So they ended up telling them who they were. Afterall they already knew who Kia and Lilly were so they would find out who the rest were soon anyway.

But there was a problem with Sean. When asked he just told them his name, Sara was shocked. She knew that they would check on who they were and they would find out... but then they were going to find out anyway weren't they.

She said nothing when they took the too a room gave them chocolate like they were little kids. then Kia and Lilly's dads came in with another guy and the new one Dr. Lang started questioning them. Alec Started with us being minors but Sara knew that wouldn't fly. Then there was the hug fest and even Sara could see the concern on Lilly's dads face as he hugged her.

The Sean started talking. She was so....so clinical in everything she was saying and something else. Ever sense the fight Sean had shown a confidence that had been, not absent, but reserved.

But here now Sara wasn't hearing confidence, she was hearing something ugly. Sean was acting cocky.

 

 

 

[WS ST]

Dr. Lang was about to respond to Alec's question, when the two girls jumped up from the and rushed to their fathers. He waited in annoyance while Mizuki's daughter returned to the table, but when it became apparent that the Lt. Colonel's wasn't leaving his side, he scowled but turned back to the kids at the table.

<They don't know about us bu they are aware of super-powered people, I think, Lang keeps thinking of something called Quantum Enhanced Persons or Humans, but I don't think they are sure of us. > came Abel's thought across the link.

Before Lang could return to his answer Lilly then Sean both entered with they're statements.

It was Sean's challenging statement which Irked the usually mellow scientist.

“Yes Mr. Cordeaux, you are minors, however circumstances being what they are the usual niceties will have to wait.”

“Dr Lang...” Mizuki starts to interrupt.

Lang holds up a finger without turning around, silencing Dr. Mizuki. Lt. Col Pryor glowers at the back of Lang's head.

<Lilly your dad is getting Angry>

“And Ms. Cassidy, while your cataloging and description of what you saw is appreciated, your avoidance of the question is also noted. But,” he pulls a small remote out of his pocket and points it at the wall,”I think we all pretty much have an idea of what happened over there. Those are the details I want.”

 

A section of the wall slides open revealing a large TV monitor. The monitor flickers to life with a grainy picture its hard to make out the details. There is no sound but the kids can see a small flickering in the center of the screen, suddenly it flares into a very bright ball of what looks like fire. The images freezes as the ball of fire dissipates leaving the flickering object motionless on the screen.

With a click of the button the images zooms in still grainy but another flick and the image sharpens and reveals an obvious flaming person floating in the air. In the lower corner the shoulder and back of something head can also be seen.

“This was taken by the bases perimeter surveillance a little after midnight it has been digitally enhanced. At the same time this base and another facility were under attack by what are believed to be... non terrestrial entities. You and your friends and a bunch of other kids were also attack. All of the other kids except you seven were subdued and have no memory of anything. But you seven, well you managed fight off or witnessed a large number of entities being destroyed. While we have knowledge of enhanced persons we have never experienced anything of this magnitude. Now I'm pretty sure from this video, that at least two of you, maybe more, maybe all of you, are enhanced. So let's start again.

Ms. Cassidy why don't you tell me what really happened over there.” There was an edge to Lang's voice, an almost hysterical note.

<this guy is way stressed and scared> came Abel's warning

“Dr Lang!” Col Pryor's voice cut everyone off forcefully. “That's enough. These kids have been through just as much as anyone on this base. Hell of a lot more it seems. This isn't some kind of witchhunt. We will get our answers, but right now it's time we keep our promise to our visitor.”

Dr. Lang turns to protest.

“Now Dr.Lang!” It wasn't a request, Will Pryor was angry, confused, a little scared and way overwhelmed but by god he wasn't going to let some asshole egghead badger his daughter or her friends no matter the circumstances. Not when they had answers just waiting to be revealed.

“Honey,” Pryor hugged Lilly again, “you wait in here with your friends we have to go out side for a little bit. I don't know what all happened or what is going to happen but don't you worry. No one is going to hurt you, I won't let them. I promise.”

Abel goes silent a somewhat confused look on his face as the two scientist and the soldier leave the room.

Spoiler

Ok there will be about five minutes between their exit and someone coming into the room. you may post what you are doing saying during this time.

 

[Alexander Cordeaux]

Alec subsides, glaring mutinously at the Doctor, though it soothes somewhat as the Colonel chastises the man. Still, his dissatisfaction is fairly obvious to all. His anger a dull rumble through the mental links before he realises he's broadcasting so heavily and silences himself.

<Duty to help is one thing, but thinking that laws can be set aside when it might inconvenience those in charge bugs me. Though I'll give credit to your dad, he seems to be as dissatisfied with the situation as we are. Regardless, great power/great responsibility and everything, yeah, we should help, but it doesn't mean that it can't be done right. I'm just. I dunno. Anxious? Paranoid? Terrified? Take your pick.>

He lets out a sigh, one hand running through his hair.

<And Sean..... you're worrying me, man, er, Woman? That's gonna take some getting used to. But like, of all of us, you don't seem like you anymore. And I'm not talking about the.... additions you're rocking at the moment. Just, you know. You're my friend. I'm worried.> The link was practically thrumming with the concern he had for his friend and an almost nauseous sensation as he worried that his concern might be misconstrued as more agressive than he had hoped.

[Sara Hutchins]

Sara squeezes Sean's hand reassuringly.

<I don't know if this is the time, but I had a vision>

Instantly everyone saw Sara's vision as she shared what the teddy bear had shown her.

<That's not the first time I dreamed of the Bear, the night we played D&D I dreamed of all of you and that same Bear. I didn't remember that dream until just now>

As her thoughts transmit the dream memory, all of the kids suddenly remember the dream that they had had that night.

And the Bear.

<What's happening to us?>

[Kia Mizuki]

Kia looked away. She didn't know the answer to that...and the bear was really weird. But it hadn't been...mean or anything.

"They're only trying to help," she said aloud, looking back at the other six kids. "The government, the military...they're not the bad guys here. Whatever came through those things in the air, those were the bad guys. If we can help our side figure out what's going on, I think we should do that."

<The bear and dreams and stuff...that can wait. Maybe the scientists can figure that stuff out too, you know?>