WEIRDER STUFF - Rainbow Connection

[WS ST]

MOMENTUM = 11

RAINBOW CONNECTION

The cause is hidden; the effect is visible to all. -Ovid

The more hidden the venom, the more dangerous it is.- Margaret of Valois
 

I

  The night of the party was a conflux of events with the afore mentioned party the unlikely nexus. It had begun long before that day, that week, that year, decade, century, or age. Before secret activities cracked the walls of emotion and stability and let in madness, and it began at the fair with a song, but it didn't end there.

Touch creates ripples.

A tired trucker listening to the only radio stationed he could pick up on his return from a delivery across the border into Canada. The radios station broadcasting from the 4 county Fair, the songs of hurt and longing so full of emotion, one in particular touched the driver, reminded him of his own life his own loss, His weary mind and tired body felt the sorrow and tears began to flow from his eyes. He lost control of his big rig in the strong winds of the flat highway and swerved into oncoming traffic. The accident would make the national news and everyone in the country would at least have heard of Shelly Montana until the next day and the next crisis struck somewhere else.

A guard at the prison in Shelly had been listening to the same radio station. Days before he had witnessed the savage murder of an inmate at the hands of other inmates. His dreams had become haunted, his sleep restless, his days listless. Hate bubbled in that place, wanted freedom. The guard had had enough, these were not men they were animals and rabid ones at that. He went to the control room and shot a fellow guard in the back of the head. He then opened all the doors to the cells while locking all the others. As if in a trance he went into the closest cell block and to the first cell. The two inmates were sleeping he shot both of them. Those gunshots awoke the rest of the inmates. The riot had begun. This did not make the news, at least not at first.

 

The Fellowship, despite Sean's protestations that is what they would be known as in those early days, had all left the party and made their way to their homes. Despite the late hour none of them were caught sneaking in and none of them found themselves in trouble.

In the days that followed their paths became set. The trailer, at first a mystery, became a sanctum of sorts, a place where they could go individually or in small gatherings where, after Sean and Jase uncovered the truth of it's weird power, an Atomic generator buried underneath the mobile home, they could feel safe from the madness. But that would come later as well.

The Files they had moved to the Bannon Farm was the intense focus of the fellowship for a few days but despite some hopeful progress kept their secrets then life intruded.

School would be starting an a few weeks and all of them had things to do. Foot ball, Band, Dance, Drama, family obligations. The mystery took a back seat becoming for most of them just a topic when they met for their game.

Then, Summer was over, and had been a very interesting summer to say the least. They had formed an unlikely fellowship made up of nerds, freaks, outcasts, and (former?) bullies, all brought together by a series of mishaps and growing mysteries coalescing around them. Shelly Montana had never been a normal country town, and these kids were just finding out how true that statement was.

At Shelly high school, like virtually every other high school in the country, the hour or so before classes begin for the day are the times when the kids who make up the student body meet and carouse with their friend sharing what they did over the evening before, or like today over the last two and a half months, or for making their out of class plans for the day ahead,.

They arrive at the modern campus in a variety of ways some drive their own cars or trucks, others are dropped off by their parents, some ride the school bus, and others walk. The school itself seems out of place in a town which looks much like it did in the middle of the last century. It boasts an ultra modern facility and a comprehensive and some what advanced curriculum for it's rural placement. The kids who go here and want to excel can do so and be well prepared for the world after graduation. Some kids just go there to mark time.

 

Lilly Pryor, in her old pickup, pulled into the parking lot behind Chet Walker in his brand new Red Camaro. Chet was the son of a local business man, the owner of the only car dealership in Shelly, who was not well liked but was good at spreading the wealth. He had Political ambitions.

Chet was a lot like his dad, arrogant and narcissistic, but not quite as smart. He was the kind of kid who thought he was the best but in reality was at best average. He played football but wasn't the star of the team that role went to Lilly, a girl the first ever to play football in Shelly but not the last. After her debut the previous season and her astonishing athletic ability helped to lead the team to a winning season, no less than six other girls had tried out for this years team, and it was almost a given that at least two maybe three of them would get on the team. Chet resented Lilly, and not just for that, but also because of her friends in the nerd herd, and the fact that for some reason the Jauntson's now associated with those misfits instead of the cool crowd that he belonged to, and that surprisingly, he knew was only cool because of them. Also he was intimidated by her.

Chet and his troll buddies crawled out of the sports scar and leered at Lilly as she got out of the truck. Lilly ignored them, but not before noticing that Cody Sikes was not among them, and started toward the Building where she planned to meet with her friends, Jase had texted them all this morning with a 'We need to talk' message. As Lilly walked away Chet and his buddies followed a few yards behind yammering and laughing. Then Chet spotted something more interesting. Grabbing his thug buddies he veered off toward one of the secondary entrances to the West halls of the school.

Across the lot Cade backed into his usually parking spot and he, Cora and his sister climbed out of his jeep. Haruka, waved goodbye to her older brother and headed off to join some of her friends just getting off the bus. Cade watched his little sister a few moments before Cora bumped his shoulder with hers affectionately, then throwing his backpack over one shoulder he and Coraline headed off toward the lunchroom where they planned to meet with the others and have breakfast, along the way he greeted friends and classmates. He saw Lilly a little ways ahead of them and called out for her to wait. After greeting Lilly the three continued on into the Lunchroom.

The expansive Lunchroom/Assembly hall was full of kids and teachers many who were taking advantage of the breakfast program. Also since it was the first day of school there would be an assembly before everyone went off to classes when school began at 8:45. As the three gamers made their way toward their usual table another of their friends that they hadn't seen since the first day at Bannon's farm was just coming out of the breakfast line.

Sara stopped short when she turned from the cashier to go find a seat when she saw Lilly, Cade, and Cora. A wave of emotion made her blink rapidly as she tried to handle the thoughts suddenly going through her mind.

Lilly had tried to call Sara the day she ranaway from Bannon's hose and several times after but Sara had never answered and so Lilly had actually gone over to where she lived with her mother in the trailer park. Sara's mom was a mess, Lilly found out. It had been about ten in the morning when she had answered the door and she was wearing a short short skirt and a very tight cropped top which left nothing to the imagination. She woman was drunk and actually offered Lilly a beer. It took some talking to get the information out of the woman but apperently Sara had gone to spend the rest of the Summer with her dad in South Dakota or North maybe. Sara's mom wasn't sure and it was Lilly's assessment that the woman probably hadn't cared.

Sara turned away from them and stared toward a table with some leather jacketed metal-heads and a few goths were seated at. Just then Charlie called to Cade, Cora and Lilly from their table. He was seated with a half dozen musical scripts in front of him his breakfast tray push to the side. He was taking the added responsibility very seriously.

Cassandra from her own table where she had been sitting for years watched it all, always looking for the story that hadn't happened yet. After that weekend she hadn't had much contact with any of the Fellowship, she had just been too busy, yet her eye had been drawn to them the moment they had walked into the lunchroom.

Outside in the parking lot. Chet and his goons had seen the Cassidy's being dropped off and what better way to start the school year than tormenting the biggest freak of them all. They had cut their pursuit of Lilly and made a B line toward Titboy.

Sean was preoccupied with wondering what Jase had discovered and didn't notice the impending shark attack. Luckily he wasn't alone. Laurie had been adjusting her shoulder strap on her backpack when she saw Chet heading toward her brother and her. “Shit, “ she muttered, “Sean keep going i'll take care of this.”

Sean broken out of his thoughts looked around and saw Lauri had turned away and was standing between him and Chet.

Across the lot Devin had just parked his bike and with a casual air surveyed his kingdom. It was a flash of red that drew his attention. Lauri Cassidy and Chet Walker facing off a dozen yards away.

Nearby Clara and Avalon had just gotten out of their cars and were seeing the same thing.

Spoiler

It is the first day back at school. after the weekend when you moved the files and started investigating the mystery, life got busy with school starting in a few weeks, family stuff and all that none of you had a lot of time for the mystery. most of you just had other things to do.  you characters have still been having weird things happen around them as you psi potentials have been trying o break free.

this places you all at the scene.  have at it

Bannon you may bring yourself in as you see fit.

 

 

[Sean Cassidy]

"Oh, hell no, Laurie," Sean scowled at his sister's back as he hustled up to stand next to her. "I'm your older brother, I'm not hiding behind my younger sister."

"You're taller sister," Laurie hissed back. "You aren't like other brothers."

"I'm not," Sean agreed stubbornly. "And I'm getting tired about being embarrassed about it and harassed about it. I might not be able to do something about the latter, but I can about the former." Sean nodded around the student parking lot. "Besides, what are they really going to do, call me Titboy? Pfft, it's hardly inaccurate. It's broad daylight with plenty of witnesses. If they want to pummel me or go for some sexual assault, I'll take the lumps and gropes to get Fucking Chet expelled at the beginning of the school year."

"What's gotten into you, bro?" Laurie wondered, glancing at her brother without taking her eyes off Chet and his goons. She knew things were odd since the party and the weeks after - she'd pried some of the details out of him - but she hadn't know it had effected him so much.

Sean gave her a nonchalant shrug as he stood up straight as Chet and Co. approached them. "I'm may be a freak of nature, Laurie, but there's weirder stuff out there than me. It's giving me some perspective, that my issues might not be as bad as I make them out to be."

The Chet squad continued their menacing saunter towards the Cassidy's, one tall and slim, the other shorter and considerably more curvaceous, and if anything, the familial resemblance was stronger than it had been last year. Other than the lack of make-up or knowing Sean, nobody would mistake Sean for anything other than a particularly attractive high school girl.

He hadn't really changed his style, but everything seemed to fit him better, his faded olive jeans were snug over his strong red sneakers, his yellowish shirt with a galactic purple ring on it fitted, his unzipped hoodie nipping in at the waist. He was still wearing layers, but he wasn't trying - poorly - to hide his figure. Even his haircut, shaved short on the sides and left long and brushed over to the side in a fall of red-gold was more feminine than not.

New bravado or not, Chet was still rather tall and quite broad across the shoulders, and he could never be called friendly. Sean's finger surreptitiously slid inside his satchel - his friends could call it his purse, or murse, but it was clearly a satchel or messenger bag - and felt around for the can of bear mace, as he tried to force an unconcerned smirk on his face.

"Hey, Chet, miss me?" Sean cooed in the sultry tone he used for slutty barmaids and predatory noblewomen at gaming sessions, and his guts tightening, he kept that grin and blew the asshole a kiss. "You seem in such a rush to see me."

I so hope regretting this won't be too painful.

Spoiler

Sean's shirt, patterned like this.

Sean's Haircut - more or less like this, but still red with gold highlights,  but shorter on the sides and longer on top

 

[WS ST]

Chet stopped a few feet and away and with a gesture made his backup stop behind him. he studied the Cassidy sisters, which is how he normally thought of them when he thought of them at all. "Not at all Sean, but I am glad your here. I really came because of your sister.

Lauri, I just wanted to say good luck, out of all the other girls that tried out for the team after Lilly made her splash, you were the best one out there. I'd be happy to have you one the team."

Chet blinked several times and licked his lips took a deep breath, his friends exchanging quizzical glances. "Sean, after the the fight and the fair I had a lot of time to think about stuff. to ... reflect. I didn't like what I saw in the mirror anymore. I want to say that I'm sorry for all the hell I heaped on you over the years and that I'm done with that stuff."

Chet's friends jaws fell open as Chet extended his hand toward Sean.

 

[Sean Cassidy]

Not only Chet's friends' jaws fell open, so did the Cassidy's. Sean almost fumbled the can of bear mace out of his satchel in his haste to withdraw his hand. Hesitant for a moment, his brows furrowing at the completely unexpected admission from Chet, Sean cautiously extended his own hand, waiting for a trick, a flash of malevolence or triumph in Chet's eyes. But there was nothing, just a calm earnestness. They shook, Chet's handshake firm, but not trying to break the smaller hand in his grasp.

"I, uh... thanks, Chet, I really appreciate the apology," Sean stammered, looking from Chet to his friends, to  Laurie, and back as he reclaimed his hand. Everyone else looked as bewildered as he felt. "Very... evolved of you. Few bullies regret how they acted, even fewer still in school when they might say they're sorry to those they bullied. "I hope this new you Chet sticks around."

"It will," Chet replied with a firm certainty, giving Sean a nod. Then he headed off through the parking lot to the school, his friends following in his wake sharing disbelieving murmurs.

The Cassidy's turned to watch them go.

"Did that really just happen?" Laurie said softly.

"I know, right." Sean was going to say something about pod people or intellect devourers crawling inside people's heads, but glancing askance up at his sister, a teasing grin on his face, Sean said, "When were you going to tell me you were trying out for football?"

"Right after if I found out I made the team," Laurie admitted. She looked at her bother, returned his grin. "Hey, bro, I made the football team."

[Jaunt]

Devin was already approaching when Sean started taking his stand.  For a moment Devin was proud of the kid.  Everything he said to Sean a couple weeks the guy seemed to be taking to heart.  Then he facepalmed.  Everything was going so well until he decided to... flirt with Chet?  With a sigh continued to move forward until he paused as Chet made his declaration to Laurie and Sean.

With a smirk he just shook his head.  Chet was either lying or it was just his luck that the moment that he withdrew his protection from the school, everyone would stop being bullied.  With no reason to White Knight the Cassidy sisters, Devin veered off and made his way into the school.  He and Marissa swapped a few texts and decided that whatever was going on in the school, wasn't their problem anymore.  With an emphasis on 'not even for the people we have crushes on'.  Damn.  He hated having a sister that knew everything about him.

He made it to his locker assignment and fished for a lock from his things.  The last couple weeks had been so weird that he'd barely even had a school, or anything else, on his mind.  THe 'research' was coming along so slow and there was no sign of the cephalogina or it's victim, Captain Cooper, at the scene where he and Cass were attacked.  Lona never took him up on his offer to go to Great Falls, so he considered that olive branch burned and pretty much everything else was about as strange as things could get.

He closed his locker and Tawny was hiding behind it as it rattled shut.  "Boo!"  She laughed softly.

"Oh, no." Devin shook his hands mockingly, feigning fear.  She made a dismissive face at him to 'block the mock'.  "S'up, hotness?"

"Nadda."  She said flatly, tucking the palms of her hands into her back pockets.  "Been texting a lot, but haven't seen you.  Everything okay?"

"Yeah, just, occupied with a few things lately," Devin shrugged.  "We still up for movie night?  Red Box flips tomorrow."

"Yeah, sure," she smiled happily, then rolled her eyes with a touch of sarcasm.  "I mean, if you can tear yourself away from trying to get Laurie to notice you."

"Point the first," he chuckled at her.  "She hates me.  Can't hate me if she hasn't noticed me in some capacity."

Tawny just laughed.  "You're optimism is just, wooow."

"Point the second," he pressed on between laughs of his own.  "What's it matter?  Jealous or something?"

Tawny snorted while still laughing.  "Nooo," she replied in a tone that said she was totally jealous.  "Why would I be?"

"I dunno," he shrugged, knowing damn well she was jealous.  He liked her, hell, he loved her, but Devin just didn't want to date her.  He was scared relationships mess things up in friendships and what he had with her he never wanted that to change.  "Movie night.  My place.  Mari may or not be there so clothing is optional until I have further details."

"Oh, no," she chuckled.  "You had your chance, Deej.  No crying about it now.  I'll be there.  In five layers of sweats and denim.  Ugliest thrift shop ones I can find too."

"Ugh, you wound."  He gripped his heart.  "I'm cranking the heat to ninety.  I will not be out done!"

She laughed as she walked away, raising a hand to wave goodbye to him but she didn't turn around.  Why were all the good ones either crazy or your best friend and on the no kiss list?  The thought stuck with him as his head gently tapped down on the locker.  "God I hate this place."

[Clara Lys Wright]

Clara caught sight of the tail end of the exchange with Chet, blinking as she realized he and Sean were shaking hands. "Well, that's a new weirdness to put on the list," she said to Lona, motioning over in their direction. 
 
Lona let out a huff. "Sean should get tested for rabies."
 
Clara grinned, "Yeah, probably." Her stomach growled. “Breakfast, Lona?”
 
“Sure.” Lona shifted her backpack and leaned close to Clara. “So are going to talk about the weirdness we’ve been noticing in ourselves? ‘Cause I don’t know that I wanna wave my freak flag in front of Marissa. Lately, she’s been staring at me weird when we’re at the barn.”
 
“You shaved the rest of your head and put on make-up. Maybe Marissa’s trying to figure out who you are,” she stage-whispered back. She shrugged in actual answer to Lona’s question. “I mean, what are really going to say at this point? You’re seeing halos and I keep having weird feelings? They’ll just tell us to go to a doctor and we’ve already done that.” 
 
They hadn’t mentioned anything when they’d gone out the barn several times over the past few weeks and nothing in the papers had spelled out ‘weird feelings and visual halos are a side effect of smilodons, cephaloginas, or spooky trailers’. Would have been nice.
 
The two headed into the cafeteria, jostling through the crowd to grab breakfast and find a seat. Clara glanced at Lona, tray in hand. “Where do you want to sit?” 

She would usually have set up shop with the other club-kids, books already out to study for the competitions that would be starting up in just a few weeks, but it didn’t seem as important now and she wasn’t ready for the confrontation with members of the three clubs she’d decided to drop this year. 
 
“There’s Charlie, and Cadaline, and Lilly,” Lona said. She’d managed to mostly shake the crush she’d had on Cade after he’d hooked up with Coraline, but she still felt a jealous sting at the sight of them together. 
 
“You sure?” Clara asked, then headed that way after Lona’s firm nod. “Hey guys. Mind if we sit?”

[Cade]

The weeks since the party had been full, hectic and quite fun for Cade.   Of course the biggest thing to happen was he and Cora starting to date "officially."  It angered his dad to be ignored, but for once his stepmother intervened, saying simply that Coraline wasn't her father, and his issues were with him, not her.   Surprised by Miyako taking that stand, Ian threw up his hands and said no more about the couple, knowing it wasn't worth the trouble.  He silently hoped Coraline's father wouldn't affect Cade too much.

Cade was a happier person, now that this was in the open, and couldn't believe he'd not really noticed it any sooner.   Still he had his work to do, had to have money for various reasons, and he often worked mornings.   He made arrangements with Mr. Bannister to do more work on weekends and after school during the week, the older man happy to accommodate the baseball and track star, and he had just smiled when he finally got the reason from Cade for his more pleasant demeanor.  "A woman can change a man, for the better or worse.  She seems to be leaning to the former."  

The approval actually had made Cade smile, since Mr. Bannister had far more experience, and in Cade's experience was a very fair-minded, if mostly private man.
As he sat down with Cora at the table, looking at all the musical scripts.  It wasn't his thing really but he knew the Theater was important to Charlie and to Cora too, so he did his best to try.

"How's it going Charlie?  What's on the docket this morning?"

Not too long after that , Clara and Lona showed up.   Cade smiled back at the two and shook his head.  "Not at all, join us."  He seemed totally oblivious to Lona's feelings, indeed, her last gift to him, the Bag of Horrors was deep in his closet at home, where it would stay until he had a workable solution to deal with it.  He'd originally planned to destroy it, to remove all evidence of it, but he'd stopped.  It had been a well-intentioned gift from a misinformed friend, and he couldn't bring himself to do so.  One day he'd correct that misconception, and then see if she wanted it back, or what was the best way to be rid of it.

[Bannon]

The sound cut across the bustle of the parking lot, reverberated on the large cafeteria windows, and caused hackles to rise.  It was a deep, throaty snarl that harkened back to primal instincts from the mists of automotive history, the rumble of triple-carburetor V8 awesome.  A growl that caused hemlines to raise, necklines to lower, testicles to drop and hair to grow on chests - hopefully not all at once in the same person, though it was the Current Year, so anything was possible.

"Oh, cool!"  Sean said as he glanced around, grinning.  "He got it done in time."

"Got what done-? Oohh."  Laurie finished as she spotted what Sean was looking at.

Snarling sullenly as though  resentful at being forced to roll at under five miles per hour, the sleek black shape of a 1970 Dodge Charger glided past with windows rolled down, speakers throbbing to ZZ Top's "Sharp Dressed Man".  Pulling into a space, the engine's thunderous growl rose once more before dying off, the music cutting off with it.  A pause, and the lean silhouette of Jason Bannon unfolded from the driver's seat, face expressionless under eyes hidden by circular mirrored shades as he took in his surroundings, lifting a hand to wave at Sean and Laurie.

Tanned a nut-brown colour that could only really be achieved by working one's ass off outdoors, Jase's hair had grown out over the summer, in addition to having been introduced to a comb at some point.  Not styled, exactly, simply untangled and left alone, it was still a large improvement over the 'dragged-ass-backwards-through-a-briar-patch' effect he usually wore.  His clothes were still large on his lean frame, made for someone roughly the same 6'1" height but a chest size or two larger, but it was still a very different Jason that strode rather than slouched through the crowds towards the cafeteria, book bag dangling from one hand as he fell into step with Sean and Laurie.

"When did you get the car?"  Laurie asked, wide-eyed as she glanced back at the gleaming predatory shape of the Charger.

"Bought it cheap, restored it with some help."  Jase said with a smile under his shades.  Sean nodded approvingly.

"What's under the hood?" he asked.  "About 300 bHP?"

"410."  Jase shrugged.  "I went for turbocharging rather than supercharging, at least for now.  I need some more expertise in my corner to twin-charge her and the turbo is better for efficiency."  His lips twitched in another smile.  "Besides, I need to be a better driver to handle that much power."  Laurie gave both boys a narrow look, then discreetly pulled Sean a little way away from Jase as the three of them moved through the crowd.

"Sean, what the fuck is going on?"  hissed Laurie.  "Devin and you are buddies, you're standing up to Chet, who is being nice to you now, and Jason has combed his hair, walks with some swagger and actually looks... presentable.  I mean, if you're into that sort of thing." she finished with a sniff.  She still hadn't forgiven Jase for making a 'Pot Roast' joke about Rascal at the start of the summer break.  "Is this something to do with the trailer?"  she murmured more quietly.

As Sean tried to figure out a way to evade Laurelei's line of questioning, Jase drew abreast of Todd Asper and a couple of others, lurking sulkily on the steps discussing how Chet had gone soft.  The football player and his friends stiffened as they spotted the lanky shape and the mirror-covered eyes that turned their way.  His face was expressionless under the shades but Todd could imagine the pale eyes, glittering with what could only be termed eagerness, that had haunted him since the incident at the fair.  He didn't return Jason's gaze, falling silent until he passed safely into the school halls, heading for the cafeteria along with the two Cassidys.

[Lilly Pryor]

The last few weeks of Lilly's summer had been eventful. Between her usual training, football practice, volunteering at the medical center she had also managed to go to the range with her father a few times, figuring it might be a good idea to brush up a bit just in case more entries from the Monster Manual decided to show up, and and even squeeze in a short weekend hunting trip with both parents. She loved spending time outdoors and it was not often that as a family they all managed to get away together.

She had also dome some unobtrusive snooping around the base (it didn't hurt to be Lt. Col. Pryor's daughter) and caught up with Sergeant Torres. She liked the woman and they usually had to go through her, or at least leave messages, when trying to get a hold of her dad, so they had become familiar and friendly with her. Even on a small base like Bulwark, there was always some scuttlebutt. Lilly was careful with her own inquires, making sure they were nothing that would raise flags or draw attention. She did not want to risk pushing more unless it was deemed necessary. Still, she had learned a few things of interest along the way.

 

Lilly stepped forward, moving closer to Sara.

"I tried to catch you and called you several times, but I eventually figured you were out of town or something when nobody had seen you for days, and then weeks." she explained to Sara, leaving out the fact that she had gone over to Sara's place and met her mother, which she figured would only embarrass her more.

""You know you can sit with us, if you want. You're always welcome, even if they might have made you feel it that day. And I'm sorry of they, or even I, seemed ungrateful or upset you or anything. Personally, I liked your idea and still do." Lilly offered

"We've learned some more stuff too, so if you are interested, and feel you can give them, me or us a second chance or whatever, we'll be here." she said, leaving it open and not wanting to pressure Sara 

"I hope you do though. You were here in the beginning, so kinda missed you being around." Lilly added with a soft smile.

[Sara Hutchins]

In the lunch room Sara Hutchins slowed in her saunter toward the table and turned back to face Lilly Pryor. She kept her expression neutral has she regarded the schools athletic sweetheart, then she laughed, "Man you really don't give up do you?" She took a step closer to Lilly and lowered her voice, "I got nothing against you Pryor, but we aren't friends," she cut her eyes over to where Cora, Cade and the others were gathering, "they aren't my friends and whatever that was in July was a mistake, it is history, and it is forgotten." Sara dig into the back pocket and pulls out a key, "But I'm glad you came by so I could give you this," she holds the key out for Lilly to take.

Lilly looks at the key a second and frowns then takes it from Sara.

"Be careful Pryor, you can't rely on any of them to have your back." She turns away and heads back toward the table to have her breakfast.

[Charlie Cole]

"Trying to weigh the pros and cons of these options." Charlie muttered distractedly. The Mystery of Edwin Drood was something not generally seen in high school theaters, so it had the advantage of being novel, but would the cast be able to handle practicing the multiple endings? Not to mention the fiddly part of having audience participation, if only by the voting. The Lion King was a straightforward classic, but possibly too over-saturated from the many Broadway productions. They'd done Les Miserables last year.

Gilbert and Sullivan? Too many good options there. "So many possibilities, yet so deceptively hard to narrow down the right one." But he was not so far gone as to forget consideration. "You guys?"

[Lilly Pryor]

14 hours ago, Sara Hutchins said:

In the lunch room Sara Hutchins slowed in her saunter toward the table and turned back to face Lilly Pryor. She kept her expression neutral has she regarded the schools athletic sweetheart, then she laughed, "Man you really don't give up do you?" She took a step closer to Lilly and lowered her voice, "I got nothing against you Pryor, but we aren't friends," she cut her eyes over to where Cora, Cade and the others were gathering, "they aren't my friends and whatever that was in July was a mistake, it is history, and it is forgotten." Sara dig into the back pocket and pulls out a key, "But I'm glad you came by so I could give you this," she holds the key out for Lilly to take.

Lilly looks at the key a second and frowns then takes it from Sara.

"Be careful Pryor, you can't rely on any of them to have your back." She turns away and heads back toward the table to have her breakfast.

"I think you're misjudging them You do not know them like I do, but you could." Lilly said as Sara turned and began to walk away..

This had not gone anything like she had thought they would, having hoped that Sara would have cooled off the last few weeks away. At the same time though, she could not blame her for wanting nothing to do with all the weirdness. If it weren't for her friends' interest (or obsession) with it, Lilly probably would have written it off as a weird night and never bothered with any of it again herself.

"The offer still stands." Lilly said, ever hopeful, raising her voice just a little bit to cut through the noise so Sara could hear as she walked away.

 

Spoiler

Edited so Sara could respond.

 

[Sara Hutchins]

Sara slowed, then stopped she turned to face Lilly again and stepped back to her, "It wasn't the weirdness Lilly, she humiliated me." Lilly could see the tears in the larger girls eyes again. "She didn't just disagree and point out the flaws in my suggestion, she made it personal and humiliated me in front of all of you, and no one said a damn thing." Sara pauses and looks down at her tray.  "Not even Bannon."

She raises her eyes back up to meet Lilly's. "Your right I don't know them like you do, I have never been friends with any of them before. But I thought...I thought that was changing. But I was wrong. I was wrong."

[Bannon]

Courtney slammed her locker door after checking her makeup in the mirror she kept in there, two of her 'friends' - at least, they called themselves that: she called them 'minions' - gossiping about the party a couple of weeks ago.  She had tried to talk to Chet a few days back about some plans for social dominance in the coming Junior year, but the football player had blown her off muttering something about 'better things to do'.  Not only that, but Todd Asper and Cody Sikes had been completely useless since the fair incident when that nutjob Bannon had threatened them.  She'd tried to sting them into getting some payback, only to find them less than enthusiastic at the prospect.  Not only that, Cody hadn't been seen yet today - he should have been with the others, but even Todd had no idea where the admittedly-useful creep was.  There was nothing for it - she was going to have to get new muscle if she was going to assert the proper social order in these parts.  This year would see the overthrow of the old monarchy and the installment of herself as the queen, and the proper oppression of the weak and nerdy.

Courtney had many flaws - lack of confidence in her ability was not one of them.  Though perhaps it should have been.  Like most teenage proto-sociopaths, she was not as smart as she thought she was.

She smirked her coral-red lips as she saw Laurie and that little freak Sean walking down the hall, doubtless heading to the cafeteria like the others.  She glanced at her tagalongs.

"Oh look.  It's the Cassidy sisters." she purred like a lioness unsheathing her claws before a kill.  "Let's go say 'hi'."  She turned towards her prey-

And came face to face with Jason Bannon, looking actually presentable (except for the clothes as usual).  His ear-length hair was combed, his skin was tanned dark.  And 'face-to-face' meant just that - he was right there inches from her, peering down at her over the tugged-down rims of his mirrored shades as he moved past like a shark gliding past a diver, the pale copper-green of his eyes standing out vividly from his sun-dark face.  A whiff of tobacco and some sort of cologne, just on the cusp of conscious senses, accompanied the visual impact as the world slowed for Courtney...

His eyes were cold.  Not mean, not hostile, not wary: cold.  It was a glittering predators gaze with no pity, malice or human connection behind it, merely faint curiousity as though she were an exhibit under glass.  An object, rather than a person.  Something to be considered in the same way one considered a tree or wall or door.  She felt her breath catch as she realised what she was looking at and felt a thrill that was equal parts fear and lust sweep through her.  And worse, he saw her reaction, one eyebrow quirking in amusement as he turned, still moving in the same direction but facing her, holding her eyes with his like a snake hypnotising a bird.  A shadow of a smile curved his lips at one corner before a finger pushed the shades back over his eyes, and he completed the turn with almost dance-like grace to resume his original heading, leaving Courtney feeling a chill in her veins and heat in her face.

"...Never mind..."  she said, recovering after a moment as she handed off her books to Minion A to carry.   "Who wants to ruin the morning with a freakshow anyway?"

Laurie, meanwhile, was getting a muttered account of things from Sean, who eventually promised to tell her more later, when there weren't so many ears around.  She nodded, accepting that promise. She knew the trailer had something to do with all the strangeness.  She knew that Jase was smart, but had considered him as being on the spectrum and shy rather than deliberately hiding his smarts as part of some calculation.

Jase fell back into step with the pair of them as they entered the cafeteria, Laurie hugging her brother before bouncing over to her friends and leaving the mismatched duo of the short, stacked Sean and the tall rake-thin Jase to head over to the table where Clara, Lona, Cadaline and Charlie were chilling out.  Bannon spotted Lilly talking to Sara nearby, but left them to the conversation.  He'd dropped by Sara's once or twice asking after her, and had asked her mother to pass on his regards, but had not heard from her all summer since she'd walked out.  Being him, he assumed she wanted nothing to do with him or any of them and had dropped her from his immediate bubble of concern without any real hesitation.

"What's up, peoples?"  Sean asked as he took a seat.  Jase removed his shades, hooking them into the top of his shirt as he also sat, nodding companionably to the others as he relaxed.  His gaze swept them as he smiled faintly.

[Lilly Pryor]

 

Lilly looked around and stepped to the side, guiding Sara along with her to stand more out of the way of foot traffic in the cafeteria as they spoke, not in hushed tones, but certainly not trying to allow others to easily overhear. She was sensitive to Sara's feeling and did not need to broadcast things even more.

"If you felt like she humiliated you, then she did. It is that simple and nobody should have to feel that way. But I can tell you this... you were not humiliated in any of our eyes because none of us give her jibes and comments like that any weight at all. I never really did, and some of the others maybe used to, but not anymore. With us, she's been de-fanged, at least to us.

Looking back on it, I guess that's why nobody really said or did anything in the moment. We thought nothing of it because we were seeing you as one of us. The most her insults like that would get from us is an eye roll. She called me 'roid rager who knows how many times, and had names like that for pretty much everybody else, but it was just water off a duck's back because none of us gave a shit what she said or thought." Lilly tried to explain as she lifted a hand and lightly grasped Sara's large bicep as she did her best to keep eye contact, not matter how much Sara tried to avoid it.

"And I am sorry I didn't say anything or stick up for you, I really am. But things actually were changing. We were thinking of you as one of us, and with that came assuming that what she said would have no real effect on you too. But you were just getting to know us, and us you, so I or any of us should've stepped in and checked Marissa, and I'm sorry for that. By the time any of us realized what had happened, you were already hurt, and nobody could blame you for it, and on your bike and down the road.

I said a few choice words to them as I went out the door to chase after you, reminding them that you were new. My truck cannot keep up with that bike when you don't want to be caught though. So I tried to get a hold of you all summer. I figured you were hurt or mad, probably both, and needed some time. But in our mind, at least most of ours, you were and are still one of us and becoming our friend.

And so you know, both she and her brother are getting better. We've all been spending more time together doing research and stuff, and she actually is improving, however slowly."

Lilly moved her hand down to took Sara's hand, opening it.

"You contributed just as much, if not more, as any of us." she said as she placed the key back in Sara's hand. "And this is, and will always be, yours." she said as she closed Sara's hand around the key. "You are one of us." she added with a small smile.

[Sara Hutchins]

Sara listened and held Lilly's eyes with hers. She could feel the truth of the sports star's words. Sara swallowed, she had been hurt, the tough girl with muscles of steel and skin of stone, at least in her mind, had let the poisonous words break her. In the past she would have lashed out violently at her tormentor but things were different now, and instead of beating Marissa to a pulp, she had run. Now she felt shame, but that she could deal with.

Lilly spoke from the heart as she was held by Sara's eyes. she had never noticed before the warm hazel color, yellow green with a circle of fiery brown surrounding the pupil. as she said her piece and Sara listen and heard the colors literally changed fading to pale grey all the green and brown washing away and as she finished the eyes she was looking into had become bluish green. It was fascinating. Neither had blinked for the longest time.

Sara reached out and took the key back. "Okay."

 

Spoiler

sara's eye color from start to finish of Lilly's last talk....      

 

[Coraline Hess]

Coraline would have probably written down that portmanteau name for later use if she had had heard Lona's little crack. Her lips quirked happily, looking over the spread of Charlie's options and leaning into Cade's shoulder as she thought how to answer Charlie's question.

The remainder of her summer had been... Strange. Strange but good, a literal pink haze of happiness coloring everything that happened after he said 'yes' that night. Yes, just seeing Chett and his cronies made the hair stand up on the back of her neck. Yes, Bannon's bunker of mystery ordained a whole world of bad juju the few times she'd been able to head up to see it. Yes, that bad juju seemed to have followed her home with inexplicable accidents and moments where the whole world went grey except for her own body.

But..! 

Cade had said 'yes' and her parents had said okay and throwing herself into her kickboxing classes made the fear retreat a little and Dance Club had it's first meeting this afternoon and she had started to narrow down her list of possible pieces for her audition video and Cade had said 'yes' and in less than six month's she'd be in New York for a whole two weeks for her in person auditions and it was all going to happen and Cade had said 'yes'!

Coraline Hess laughed warmly, finally coming out of her inner monologue, happy glow having never left her cheeks, "Busy. Very busy and very good. New club members to make welcome this afternoon with any luck. I've got fliers to hand out at lunch, so I'll have to eat and run today. You?"  

[z-Avalon Wilson]

“We’re good, Charlie,” Lona said as they sat down at the table. “Why don’t you walk us through your pros and cons and choices. We can’t -- or at least I’m shit for these kinds of things, but if you hear them aloud, it might help.” Clara silently preened at Lona taking her advice on problem solving.

Watching Cora lean into Cade brought another surge of jealousy and Lona sucked on her lip ring with enough force to hurt. The sting helped her reaction to be nothing more than a dropped gaze to her breakfast tray and a lack of a smile. The prettier girl won, that’s always the story. I don’t know why you expected different, Wilson.

With effort, she turned to Bannon. “I see Marissa got a comb through that hair,” she teased with no sign of her inner thoughts. Reaching out, she ruffled it lightly. “No product through, so you know she’s not done remaking you yet.” 

Focus on the good, ignore the stuff that makes you want to start a fire. Or a cat fight.

[Bannon]

He endured the ruffling of his hair with good grace, neither pulling away nor glowering at Lona, merely giving her a slight smile as he pulled a strip of jerky from his bag and chewed on it, pondering her words.  At first, he'd been puzzled - Marissa hadn't touched his hair - but he divined there could be a layered meaning to the comment, as surely Lona would not expect Mari to literally be combing his hair.  So, she believed that it was Marissa's influence, then.  Jase pondered that for a few more moments as Charlie talked over the musical choices that he was mulling over.

Lona wasn't wrong.  It just wasn't the whole picture.  Did he like-like Marissa?  Sure.  She was funny, sharp-witted and beautiful.  But as he spun the image of her through his consciousness, while about him his friends discussed the merits of various musicals, he realised that his improvements weren't just for Marissa's benefit.  He was dropping his camouflage, letting people see him rather than trying to encourage them not to look.  Marissa had opened that door, but he was walking through it.  Had walked through it.  And now, like a V8 Charger that had been idling along at five miles per hour, protesting every use of the brake pedal, his personality was roaring into view.  He wasn't sure where that would lead, but he planned to enjoy finding out.

"You've made some changes too."  he remarked to Lona, taking in the lip ring and the makeup with an evaluative sweep of his intense pale gaze, followed by a nod as though of approval.  "Striking."

[Lilly Pryor]

3 hours ago, Sara Hutchins said:

Sara listened and held Lilly's eyes with hers. She could feel the truth of the sports star's words. Sara swallowed, she had been hurt, the tough girl with muscles of steel and skin of stone, at least in her mind, had let the poisonous words break her. In the past she would have lashed out violently at her tormentor but things were different now, and instead of beating Marissa to a pulp, she had run. Now she felt shame, but that she could deal with.

Lilly spoke from the heart as she was held by Sara's eyes. she had never noticed before the warm hazel color, yellow green with a circle of fiery brown surrounding the pupil. as she said her piece and Sara listen and heard the colors literally changed fading to pale grey all the green and brown washing away and as she finished the eyes she was looking into had become bluish green. It was fascinating. Neither had blinked for the longest time.

Sara reached out and took the key back. "Okay."

 

  Reveal hidden contents

sara's eye color from start to finish of Lilly's last talk....      

 

"Whoa. That cool!" Lilly said, shifting her head from side to side and up and down a little to change her perspective on Sara's eyes as she looked in them. "How'd you do that?"

"Do what?" Sara asked, confused.

"Your eyes. It's like they changed colors. Trick contacts that react to light or something?" Lilly asked, her train of thought momentarily derailed as she was fascinated by Sara's eyes.

"What? No. Must be a trick of the morning light or something." Sara countered.

"Huh? Well.. regardless, it looked pretty frickin' cool." Lilly said with a smile.

She turned and looked over her shoulder at the table with her other friends at it, taking a moment for her to recognize Jason, and then turned back to Sara.

"So you wanna come eat with us? If not, like you said you'd eat with them, or you just need more time or whatever, it's cool too. But I consider you a friend and the others either do. or are on their way there, so just know that there's always a place for you, regardless." she offered with a warm smile.

Sara regarded Lilly for a moment and then nodded.

"Sure. I hadn't made any plans or anything." she replied.

Sara's answer brightened Lilly smile a little more and she nodded  towards the table with her head.

"Cool." she said and led Sara over the table.

"Look who I found." Lilly greeted the other cheerfully with a grin as she and Sara walked up.

"I reminded her that she always has a place with us, even is mistakes are made while still getting to know each other." she added, her gaze quickly shifting from one friend to the next, making eye contact as she took her seat with Sara beside her.

[z-Avalon Wilson]

Lona’s jaw dropped at the off-kilter but intensely delivered compliment for a moment before she recovered. “And you’re getting the smooth patter down. Keep it up, we’ll vote you for Homecoming King yet. Or maybe you can just dethrone Devin as top dog.” 

Again, that appraising stare that didn’t move from her eyes in a very non-Bannon way. “Who says I haven’t yet?”

“Devin, I’m sure,” Lona said with a snort, breaking eye contact before she rammed a tater tot up her nose or something too cool like that. Her eyes dropped to her tray again, focusing on her food.

Sara’s arrival drew a surprised smile out of her. “Hey, Sara, good to see you,” she said with her own warmth. “Missed you at the trailer and the barn. You gonna drop by soon?”

[Sara Hutchins]

Sara was a mixed bag of emotion as she followed Lilly back to the table, she nodded at everyone and upon seeing Lona her smile actually brightened.

5 minutes ago, Avalon Wilson said:

Sara’s arrival drew a surprised smile out of her. “Hey, Sara, good to see you,” she said with her own warmth. “Missed you at the trailer and the barn. You gonna drop by soon?”

"Yeah, I think so, I had to work some stuff out in my head. And then Lilly made me look at things in a different light, so yeah I'm back." She looked up and smiled at Lona, a real genuine smile. "Thanks by the way. And I like the look."

 

[Jaunt]

Devin entered pushing open both the double doors with all the bad assery that seemed like it should merit a slow motion cut scene.  The Shelly populace could say what they wanted about him and sure he was, personality wise, nothing any woman with standards, morals, or dignity should have been interested in, Devin was the exception in that he didn't need a personality... he was friggin' hawt (don't judge, women have been using that trick for 10,000 years).

While the ladies at the Nerd Herd table could easily curl a lip in disgust at him (for now) no less than twenty ladies in the cafeteria were happy to see him.  Ten were first day Freshmans, so we won't count them, but the remainder were four uggos who would never get the time of day, three who were at least sevens but wore a lot of wolf t-shirts and wrote way too much fan fictions, two more, a seven and a low eight, who were gamer chicks and probably into cos-play so he'd be calling Sean soon with ways to break that nice little ice and an easy eight who just hit Junior status this year and was looking damn fine.  Already he was coming up with way to be a 'lair to try her'.  It was nauseating the way he had that irritating Gaston smirk and despite his reputation girls still wanted him.

The Nerd Herd saw Todd Asper throw the football.  Kid had a damn arm on him but before any could any could shout a warning to Devin he simply spun about and caught it.  Without so much as breaking stride he finished his three sixty and kept on walking.  The whole thing looked choreographed it happened so sightly.  "Thanks, Todd!"  He raised the ball up with one hand and wobbled it back and forth.

An awkward silence was over he table as he approached as 'what the hell' seemed to be on the tip of their tongues.  "S'up low income subliterates?"

"You didn't say it as that honed," Jason said in his usual quiet tone as he looked at Devin and disregarded his greeting.

Devin shrugged and set the ball in the middle of the table.  "I told you, J.B. it was on eleven.  It's cranking at about a thirteen.  My head is like on overload, dude.  Feels like Godzilla is trying to ass rape Rodan in my head and those heads are like 'aarrrgghhh'," he waved his hands about on each side of his head.  "'Noooo, don't ass rape me.... arrghhh'.  That.  That's my head right now."

He nodded to the ball.  "Cool shit though, right?  You tell them?"

[Bannon]

"Tell us what?"  Lona asked, torn between a certain awe at the catch and a certain reflexive wariness at the sight of Devin.  Okay, so he was good looking (wild horses would not drag that out of her) and had been trying to be decent over the summer, but indoctrinated instincts died hard.  She was half-expecting him to jibe about her new look in a complete 180 to Bannon's sincere approval, but no smartass comment emerged.

"We've been noting some changes."  Jase stated casually as Devin slid into a seat next to Sean. His gaze took in the rest of them, narrowing slightly as he obviously thought through the potential conversation ahead, then cocked his head at Devin as though asking a question.

"Dude, go ahead."  Devin gestured.  "It'll save the whole 'that's not possible, stop talking crap' thing you hate so much, which I totally get.  Cut to the chase."  He gestured towards the table.  Jase nodded, then looked intently at the football, causing Devin to start to grin and the others to stare at him in puzzlement, all but scratching their heads.  Devin nudged Sean.  "This is gonna blow your nerd brain out your ears."

Before the eyes of the Fellowship but hidden from casual view, the football Devin had confiscated rose onto one end, rotated completely around it's axis, and then rolled slowly, end over end, the length of the cafeteria table.  Stopping in front of Lilly, it rose up four inches into the air, spinning first around one axis then another, then came down to rest on one end as though being held for a place-kick.

"Like I said.  Some changes.  I can feel the football as if I was touching it with a spare hand.   If I focus, I can do the same to everything in roughly thirty feet."  Bannon said calmly, his eyes gleaming in amusement at the expressions his friends were wearing.  "What I would like to know is - has anyone else noticed anything odd about themselves since the party?"

[Coraline Hess]

The retired overlord earned a smile and a wave from Coraline before the impossible football trick made her suck in a breath and squeeze Cade's arm. Oh no. It had followed her here. Or there was more than one of them. Or it was them doing it. Or... Okay. Just exhale.

"..That's very nice," she stated softly, getting words out quickly before Bannon's trick brought too much attention, "I've... Been seeing things, hearing things. And something's been zapping or freezing or heating or breaking stuff around me. I figured I was haunted. Makes as much sense as anything after the ghost squid."

She was *not* calling it the C-word. Ever. No. Just no. The tall brunette's smile grew a little more strained. 

[Clara Lys Wright]

Clara didn’t see the football do it’s ballet down the table. Just as the telekinetic talent show started she shivered and ran her palm down the side of her head, as if trying to brush someone else’s hand away. “Ugh, what the. . .?” she muttered to herself, shaking her head. “That’s different.” 
 
Her head at had buzzed a little when Devin had come in and done his stunt with the football - it felt like a that buzz when you crush someone in debate or get a standing ovation after a speech. It was there and gone in an instant, though, and she’d shrugged it off. Now it felt like someone was touching her brain. 
 
Clara shot a look at Lona, giving her an uncomfortable shrug in silent conversation. “Um, Jason,” she asked quietly. “Could you...stop? Please? It feels. . .weird.” She shuddered again and pressed a hand to her head again. 

[Cade]

Cora's good mood was something that made him smile.   Since they'd started going out, the tension there had evaporated, and he found he was actually happier  too.  It was crazy, but he often thought that he should have asked her out some time before.   When he'd asked his mom about it, it was Haruka who interjected.  "Well Duh.   You've liked her since the beginning, and having seen you two together as much as I have, she liked you too."   He had felt abit embarrassed that it took her asking him to make it happen, but it passed.   How it began didn't matter.

Bannon's arrival and back and forth with Lona was nice to see.  Since the party they'd all been abit nicer to each other, at least that was how it seemed to him, and he had even started thinking of Devin as one of them.
Just as he thought about Devin,  The "King" of the school arrived, and made a catch that he had to admit even He and Lilly would likely have not been able to do.

"Thanks for that disturbing mental image Devin.   Though I think if Coach Myers had seen you make that catch, he'd be out to get you on the football team. "  He went silent as the football rose unaided, and began to spin.  As it came to rest in front of Lilly, He set down his fork.

"Okay, that was pretty cool."   Hearing about the weirdness surrounding Cora, he was somewhat concerned, but she always seemed  to be okay.   "Well, normally I'd say there's no such thing as ghosts, but a minute ago I didn't think superpowers were a thing outside fiction, so yeah not gonna rule any source of weirdness out just yet."

Cade didn't get what Clara was talking about, Bannon wasn't really doing anything except holding the football now.  "What's wrong Clara?"

He paused a moment to let her respond, and to think back on the last three weeks, and hit upon something at least.  When she didn't answer immediately he forged ahead "May or may not qualify, but I've been able to calm  and approach animals that normally aren't the sort to calm down for anyone, let alone touch them.  Pretty much all the wild dogs in the area, and even some of the cats."   It wasn't as cool as Bannon's display, but those present knew that most of the feral dogs and cats were very skittish or aggressive towards people in general, as most had probably been shot at once in their lifetimes.

[Lilly Pryor]

Lilly watched the football with more of an intensely focused 'Huh?' stare rather than slack-jawed awe as it moved toward her. She glanced to either side, making sure nobody else was seeing what was happening, and raised her hand, passing it all around the ball as if checking for wires or air jets or something that could be making the ball seem to levitate. 

Lilly grasped the ball and tried to move, feeling a bit of resistance, almost as if somebody was holding it, before it went away, leaving her holding it. Magnets maybe? The whole thing sure looked choreographed, so maybe it was a trick ball? Different ideas crossed her mind and she would not put it beyond Jase to be able to rig such a thing, especially if encouraged by Devin 'for lolz' or whatever.

Lilly leaned back as Cade spoke, and peeked under the table. It was their usual table, so they could have come in and set it up beforehand, but she found nothing underneath aside from a few errant pieces of dried chewing gum.

Raising back up, Lilly gave the ball a slight toss upwards, spinning it and catching it again several times casually, checking to see if she could feel any odd weight and something unbalancing it, but came up empty.

"Okay. Ha, ha guys." Lilly said dryly. 

"What did you do? Put magnets in the ball and rigged up some electromagnetic field or something to make it look like it was it was floating? I mean, it was moving pretty slow and not very high. Using the weirdness to make us suspend our disbelief or whatever." she said, trying to explain away what she had just saw

Jason's eyes narrowed slightly and a single tater tot shot off of Lona's tray and toward Devin's face, only to swerve mid-flight and head right toward Lilly, landing inside the neckline of her shirt, causing her to let out a small yelp in surprise.

"What the hell?" Lilly was exclaiming, though trying to catch herself as Devin spoke up.

"It's okay. I'll get it for you." Devin said, reaching for Lilly's neckline, only to have his hand slapped away.

"Yeah. Because you're a gentleman like that, right?" Lilly said wryly as her other hand reached into her shirt and fished out the tater tot.

"Okay.. what the... Okay. Okay... It.. Okay.. If this is.. " she stammered a bit, trying to sort her thoughts as her minds raced. trying to make sense of it all.

"it must have been the clouds or mists or whatever. You saw or were exposed to them or whatever when I wasn't there. Must be some.. I dunno..." Lilly said and sighed, looking at the tater tot in her hand, crushing it between her thumb and forefinger to make sure there was no hidden magnet or anything inside it.

"I mean... What.... The Hell?"

[Jaunt]

1 hour ago, Cade said:

"Thanks for that disturbing mental image Devin.   Though I think if Coach Myers had seen you make that catch, he'd be out to get you on the football team. "  He went silent as the football rose unaided, and began to spin.  As it came to rest in front of Lilly, He set down his fork.

"No way dude," Devin said calmly.  "There is no way I'm letting this place profit off of my talent and not get a cut of it.  Besides, football of for-"

Lilly raised an eyebrow and folded her hands on the table, waiting intently on his response doing that annoyed mouth thing the Penny on Big Bang Theory was fond of.

"-people of all... makes and models, it seems." He formulated on the fly.

[z-Avalon Wilson]

“Hey, that was my tater tot,” Lona mumbled, “it’s the only good breakfast food in this hellhole. Stop putting it down shirts.” It was so much easier to focus on Bannon stealing her tater tots and launching them down Lilly’s shirt than to focus on the fact he was doing it with his mind. “Wasting perfectly good tater tots.”

Leaning forward, Lona said, “Clara’s got this thing where she can feel when things are weird. It makes her brain tingle. Or at least, what I think I’m doing makes her head tingle. I'm not sure about what Bannon's, uh, stuff does. I’m not sure what I'm doing, but when I give back rubs, I can make people feel better.”

“You have magic back rubs?” Devin asked with a sneer. Lona mumbled something. Devin leaned in with a finger behind his ear, miming for her to speak up. 

“I said, ‘Sorry I don’t get magic football-catching powers'. Asshole,” she snapped, flushing. “Look it’s not flashy but… I think it’s affecting me directly, too. I’m pretty sure that people don’t get to quit smoking cold turkey without some withdrawals, and I’m also sure that the day after running your first two miles, you’re supposed to be sore. Also-also, Bannon’s permanently lost me as a customer.” She gave Jase an apologetic shrug. “I did some experimenting with the Party Night party favors. They don’t really do much anymore.”

[Bannon]

"Let it all sink in - it is precisely as it seems."  Jase's calm voice cut across the table. He indicated Devin.  "Devin has some kind of super-acute spatial awareness that extends beyond mine, and even allows him to plot distance and time-to-destination with no calculation needed.  Feel free to test that as you wish, but I've already done so - it is genuine.  I have a... let us call it a kinetic awareness that most closely resembles touch.  I can 'touch' everything within thirty feet or so, making out any details that my fingers could.  I imagine I could even read braille, if I learned to do so.  I can also pick up and manipulate small objects - the football seems to be about my limit, though I can push a door closed provided it hangs easily and there's little resistance."  He paused for a moment.  "I also do not seem to get hot - exertion makes me sweat somewhat, but not as much as it should and the summer heat does little to me.  I believe, though I am not sure, that this goes beyond mere acclimatisation."

"Clara seems to be able to sense my use of my gifts.  Is it uncomfortable?" he asked  her.  Obviously trying to both restrain her giggle at the tater-tot 'goal' and resist the urge to freak out, she shook her head, searching for words.

"It's not painful." she stated.  "Just weird. Like your hand was brushing my brain."  She wrinkled her nose cutely.

"Lona has some kind of gift to do with... health?"  Jase hazarded.  "A healing touch of sorts, perhaps?  That also seems to be making her healthier."  He smiled at her.  "And I'd rather have you for a friend than a customer."

"And Cora - I would suggest that you pay closer attention to the phenomena around you.  It could be that you are causing them unintentionally through changes in your emotional state."  Bannon went on in that calm, clinical fashion that made his friends doubt if he knew what 'changes in emotional state' meant.  "Perhaps seek to control it when alone?"  He turned his gaze to Sean.

Sean had sat through the demonstration with the fixed gaze and rigid facial expression of a boy determined not to freak out in front of Jauntsen.  His eyes widened as they stared at the football poised in front of Lilly, then he rubbed them with thumb and forefinger before looking again.  As Lilly performed her check for magnets, then started to suggest it was a prank, Sean was already shaking his head, only to stop and stare once more as the tater-tot performed a perfect mid-air yoyo and ended up in Lilly's cleavage.  He snickered on reflex, rubbing his eyes once more.  And then Jase singled him out.

"Well..."  he hedged for a moment, then plunged right in.  "I was thinking I was developing synesthesia, specifically-"

"Sinner-what?"  Charlie asked, still blinking from the sudden attack of weirdness at the table.

"Sensing things I shouldn't be able to.  Usually a result of brain abnormalities."  Sean explained.  "Anyway, it was only with electromagnetic fields.  It's like I can see, feel, and hear them.  Kinda like you can feel what's around you and Clara can feel what you're doing, I guess.  I can see people's cellphone signals sometimes.  I can even pick up low-light-frequencies - see in the dark.  And..."  he paused, then waggled his phone in his hand.  "I've not charged my phone since shortly after the party.  So yeah, I could tell that Jase was not doing it with magnets.  What I don't know is what the frack is going on."  He looked at Jason.  "Do you think it was radiation?"

"Radiation?" Lona asked.  "Why would it be radiation?"  Sean took a deep breath, nodding at Jase who at least did not seem freaked out.

"Sean and I went up to the trailer a few days ago.  We set up the nanny cams and had a look around - we discovered some stuff, which I thought was by chance, but now I think Sean was subconsciously tapping his gift."

"What things?"  Cade asked, leaning forward intently.

"Firstly, that the trailer is a natural Faraday cage when certain power levels are set." was the reply.  "Secondly, that there was a generator underneath it, accessible by a hatch inside."  Jase paused, then said in a low tone, his eyes gleaming with excitement and interest that was rare in the stoic youth.  "An atomic generator.  Something so theoretical that it should not exist.  Not quite up to 'Ghostbusters' proton pack portability, but whoever made that has tech way ahead of anything we've heard.  The radio is... likewise much more advanced than it seemed.  Sean took the back off and examined it - he can explain that further.  But the reason I wanted to talk to everyone was about the files."

Everyone was still now, their expressions intent as they absorbed the flood of information.

"Last night I came to a realisation."  Jason said quietly.  "I had a dream that I was in a plane, taking photographs of the area.  When I woke up, I went out and examined all the aerial recon photos, then suddenly the pieces fell into place.  All that work we did helped, but what it helped was to make me see the truth.  All the files, the tapes - they were red herrings.  Smoke and mirrors.  The only data there that has significance is the aerial photos and the map coordinates they reference.  And I think the aerial photos were taken from one plane."  He pulled a large photograph from his book bag, passing it to Lona, who stared and passed it to Clara, who blinked and passed it along in turn.

The photograph was of the Rockies, but more important was the visible tail of an aircraft, complete with part of the tail number.

"We find that plane, we find another piece."  Jason said, stealing a tater tot with his fingers and popping it into his mouth with a slight smile.

[Sean Cassidy]

"There's more," Sean added, keeping his voice low, but not whispering - whispering drew attention - as he looked up from the photos to look around the group of friends and... associates? Acquaintances? He wasn't willing to accede to it being called the Fellowship yet. His odd turquoise and teal eyes were especially bright with interest and excitement. He gave Sara a nod, knowing she'd been incommunicado over the rest of summer break and leaving her her space as it seemed that was what she'd preferred, but accepting that she was back. "Remember the communicator? I've found out more, after powering up the trailer's faraday cage."

Scooching a bit to put as much space as he could between himself and Devin on the bench seat, which wasn't much with how many were at the table, he gave Devin an apologetic shrug. "I guess it wasn't so urgent to get those parts of the faraday cage after all. Anyways, whatever the thing was uplinking to, it's been cut off, no longer sending or receiving any signals of any kind. But it's given me time to snoop around and manually deactivate the transmitter. Looking at the stored memory of the gps function, it goes back with two years of GPS coordinates."

"Where'd he go?" Clara asked the first to ask the logical question

A slim finger slid across the table, as though drawing a rough representation of Shelly. Sean's eyes flicked to Clara for a moment, then away, nodding. "The guy - Captain Cooper - or whoever was using the communicator, was all over Shelly. But there are concentrations of pings and coordinates where he was most frequently. Around here, at the school." Sean stabbed a point on the table, inquisitive gaze going around the table swiftly, lingering slightly longer of those he knew had especially good memories, silently asking if anyone remembered seeing someone strange around school. His finger glided to another point on the table and stopped, eyes going to Cade and Lilly. "The Medical Center."

Sean took another deep breath and stretched his shoulders as he faced Clara and Lona, finger going to another point without looking. "Sorry ladies, but it seems like he was creeping around the Wright Estate a fair bit, too."

Devin glanced at Sean's invisible map, considered for a moment, then nodded. "If that's supposed to be Frenchie's crib, Cassidy, move your finger another two and half inches towards Charlie."

Sean shot him an irritate glance but moved his finger as directed and stopped when Devin gave an entirely too satisfied nod. Then Sean moved his finger again, eyed Devin askance as though he was going to be corrected again, then just huffed and pointed in the generally area of the last location. "And finally, our boy was hanging out 709 Oilfield Avenue."

"And what's at 709 Oilfield Avenue?" Lilly asked, turning from giving the football in her hands a suspect look.

"According to Google Maps? Some plain pavement, a street light, and some low rent housing. Couple of sheds in back I could see," Sean replied with a slight shrug, as though disappointed the address didn't lead to the Montana version of Area 51... or appear to, anyway. Would be pretty sneaky to hide the entrance to a secret government or military installation in some place so mundane...

"Local low income housing... " Devin drawled with insouciant enthusiasm. "You guys'll have no problem manoeuvring through there. I'll need a guide." He flashed the Nerd Herd plus Sara a lackadaisical grin. "Look at that! I'm already meeting new cultures. This is so much fun."

 

[Clara Lys Wright]

“He wasn’t lurking. At the school. He was going to class.” Clara was ghost white, her entire body trembling. “He was a senior last year.” She put her hand down on the table, under where Sean was pointing. “That’s Etienne’s house. He works at the Medical Center. He was at the trailer.”
 
Her voice had gotten quieter as she’d gone along, ending in nearly a whisper. She hadn’t burst into tears yet, but that was just years of self-control that she would not be seen as weak in public. Etienne hadn’t been to her house that she’d known of until after they’d found the trailer and the phone. Which meant he’d been there before. . .what, stalking her? Waiting for her to go running? Why?
 
She took in a ragged breath, trying to wrestle her spiraling emotions and thoughts back into the straight lines and muted cages she had built for them over the past half decade. Clara felt an arm slip around her shoulders, barely registering Lona's gesture of comfort in her own emotional storm. “Does. . .are there time-stamps? With the GPS?”
 
Oh, god. I’ve been telling him everything.

[Sean Cassidy]

Sean looked at Clara sharply, eyes narrowing to vivid-coloured slits. That he hadn't been expecting. He'd thought it had belonged to the eaten and vanished Captain Cooper. Lona put an arm around her near sister in sympathy and commiseration. Sean shifted awkwardly on the bench, his hand instinctively moving forward to pat her hand before he pulled it back and balled it into a fist, and settled for giving her an apologetic nod.

"There are," Sean said. His eyes flicked back and forth rapidly under lowered lids as he looked inward, perusing the inner database of his mind, recalling the annotated dates next to the GPS coordinates. "Most of the ones around here align with when he was attending Shelly High," Sean revealed, forcing his tone steady and if not of Bannon-level coolness, there was a hint of clinical curiosity, wanting to know how the puzzle pieces fitted together. "The ones around your house are mostly within the first seven months, barring several outliers. The biggest discontinuity however is with the first GPS coordinate logged. It's at the Marias Medical Center. He only started working there - as far as you know - after he graduated, right, Clara?"

[z-Avalon Wilson]

“He told me he got an internship after high school,” Clara said hoarsely. “That’s why he stayed in Shelly instead of going home. Med-Medical technician. Imaging?” Her expression hardened. “He was never very specific.”

“We’re going to fucking bury him.” Lona had already skipped ahead to murderous rage. 

“Home?” Sean asked. At Clara’s frown, he clarified, “Where is home to him?”

Clara nodded, her fists clenching. “He said he was from Quebec.”

“Another Frenchie,” Devin snorted. “Maybe you need to talk to Daddy.”

“Stop that!” Lona snapped. “That’s my family, so you shut your fucking mouth, Jauntsen. If Gerault or Adele or any of the adults are involved, then we’ll deal with it. But don’t accuse.”

“Relax, Avalon,” Devin said. “You’re the only one jumping to conclusions.”

Lona stared at Devin, clearly wanting to say more, and the tension between them built sharply. Clara bumped Lona and said, “If Etienne was at our house for seven months, then why didn’t we see him? The only thing I can think of is he was in the labs, and that is something to talk to our parents about. Also, Devin?” She locked eyes with the baby teleporter. “Shut the fuck up.”

Clara shook and without thought, Lona stood and moved behind her, grasping her shoulders. After a moment, Clara’s head started to feel warm and tingle as her roommate tried to help calm her down. Lona could feel the turmoil in her, and knew somehow, what to do. Within seconds of Lona's touch, Clara's breathing calmed and her shivers disappeared.

[Sara Hutchins]

Earlier when Sara had sat down, Lona, who was directly across the table, leaned over toward Sara and said "Thank you."

Just then Devin Jauntson had arrived and sucked all the air out of the room. When Bannon did his trick it was like the flood gates had opened everyone was talking and everyone was thinking, For Sara it was like watching a TV while keeping your finger on the channel up button, thoughts and memories that weren't hers flowed across her consciousness and she felt lost not knowing which were hers.

Sara sat there for several minutes while things were being revealed about Etienne and she was silent, still, listening, taking it all in.

"It must have been his memory, his thoughts." She looked over at Sean, "That must be how I knew about it and found it, the phone... I mean."

[Bannon]

He remained still as the others talked, as Clara made her revelation, as Lona's rage grew so she was spitting like a hot skillet at any and all targets but especially Etienne.  Medical Technician.  Imaging.  Intern and former Senior.  Man with a secret even from the woman he professed to care for.  He'd been at Clara's house even before the party, but not with her knowledge.  He'd been hanging around the Medical Center for almost two years before he graduated and formerly went to become an intern - a year before he 'arrived' in Shelly to start his Senior year, to be precise.

The simplest answer was that Etienne was never a high-school student, at least not the Etienne the Fellowship knew, not at Shelly High.  He'd been planted - or inveigled himself, but that would take considerable resources - into the system for a reason.  Part of Jason's mind spun down the path of how he personally would accomplish that feat, reasoning that it was possible with the right amount of forgery and computer knowledge.  Meanwhile the main thrust of his cognition continued.  Etienne had been at Clara's house for months, probably working in the labs there - which suggested strongly some collusion between the Wrights and him.  The Wrights field was genetics - cutting edge gene research.  Etienne probably wasn't just a medical technician if he was a guest in the Doctors Wright's lab.  The assistance of a prominent research scientist and his own connections could also account for how seamlessly Etienne had inserted himself into life in Shelly.  But then, maybe the Wrights were not part of any conspiracy.

Presumably, Etienne knew everything that Clara had told him - which Bannon presumed was a lot - and as yet no-one had come to raid the barn or try and shake Jase down for the location of his more illicit operations.  So Etienne's goals were higher than busting a small time pot grower.  He had also placed the communications device at the trailer for 'them' to find.  Which had presumably been defeated by Sara finding it and yanking out the battery.

"Here's my thoughts."  Jase mused aloud.  "Etienne's association with Clara's parents might be another red herring, like the files.  Hell, he might even have been breaking into Dr. Wright's lab and spying on his research.  What does seem likely from the evidence is that he is working for someone spying on Shelly's residents.  He has access to the med center, to the school.  Someone is keeping an eye on things here - and given the weird stuff we've seen at this table and out in the woods, it's not hard to presume why."  He glanced at them all.

"Someone knows.  Someone who takes aerial photos, uses VLF transmissions.  They were looking for the trailer- or looking for weird phenomena - and we stumbled across it with Eddy in tow.  He works for these people, and immediately realises there's something there they will want.  So he sets his GPS device there, encoding a transmission - which takes time - and Sara finds in and yanks the battery.  Eddy thinks he's done his job and the only reason HQ haven't sent him a back pat is because they're still filtering through the find.  Meantime, HQ probably think that Eddy is quietly doing his job spying on Shelly in general and the Wrights in particular."  Bannon's next words were calmly spoken, but gave an ominous chill to several present as he reached out with a fork and tapped the area Sean had indicated as 709 Oilfield.

"I think we need to have a word with Etienne."

"What if it's a trap?"  Sean asked.  Jase's eyes still glittered like frost, but he smiled slightly.

"It could be a pointlessly Byzantine trap for us like some pulp Bond villain.  He'll probably even gloat as he ties us to his laser saw, tell us all his plans.  The girls present, and possibly Sean will all be dressed in disturbingly exotic clothing for the execution.  He might even want to force Clara to marry him before his giant orbital laser melts the ice caps.   And then Devin gets to seduce his lovely, damaged assistant, who dies saving a man who just flirted cheesily at her.  We break free, Clara kicks Eddy into a vat of something horrible from a high gantry, and we go to Bunnee's for a burger."

[Lilly Pryor]

"Whoa! That's... whoaaaa." Lilly said as she sat back for a moment, her eyes wide as she processed all of the new information.

"I mean, for being a total stranger to me, and almost all of the rest of us too, he was quick to offer to take the... thing... I found."

"Whoa. This... This is like "Orphan Black" level stuff... or something." Lily said shaking her head and resting her forehead in a hand for a moment.

She then looked at Sara's after she made her comment and blinked. 

"Wait. What? You had his memories?" she asked quietly with a mixture of confusion and astonishment.

Sara nodded.

"I just somehow knew it and I told Sean that night that the memory was not my own." 

"Okay. Soo.. what? You all some sorts of special abilities? It couldn't be the cloud then because some of you were never exposed. Radiation from the power source beneath the trailer then? Ugh.. I dunno. But I know I've picked up others' memories, or talked to animals or moved stuff with my mind. There's been nothing odd with me. Like, at all. So then.. what the heck? it makes no sense." Lilly sighed.

She shook her head and tried to focus more on things at hand, sorting through her memories as quick as she could before nodding with some sort of resolve.

"Okay... so.. all I can say is that I've never seen him at the Medical Center when I volunteer, but I've also not been in every building. So it's possible I've never seen him, even just in passing in a hall or something, especially if he's in imaging. My mom is the Head Nurse, so I can try to check up on him at the Medical Center though, to verify what I can and maybe get some more info." she offered.

Lilly looked around again casually, to make sure nobody was eavesdropping or too concerned with the goings on at the table before continuing.

"Now.. to add to that..." she said and took in a deep breath. 

"I did some unobtrusive nosing around base. The week of the fair, an airman went AWOL, apparently an officer and there is a suggestion that he may have been suicidal. That could explain the wear on the uniform if he hoofed it out there through the woods and stuff, like to avoid detection. It also kinda explains it being all neatly folded and what not. Like, if he was suicidal, then he could have stepped out to 'do the deed', but did not want to soil his uniform, still having respect for it or whatever. It is not unheard of.

I also checked and found there there is a Captain Cooper assigned to the 588th SFOG, and he's is quartered on the base proper. I say that, because the housing for the few families that there actually are on base are separated from the main base. Trying to check out his room, if we wanted to try that... would take some doing." she explained.

"So it looks like Cooper somehow found out about the Trailer, maybe due to some secret project of the 588th, and had some personal issues with it or something, I dunno,  and fled there, maybe to blow the whistle on some seriously bad or unethical stuff. Just a guess. But yeah, it seems that 'Eddy' was trying to be slick and send out a signal so his handlers, superiors or whatever, could find the trailer, for whatever reason. I dunno why."

I might be able to find out more, but this was the most I could get without pushing it or drawing attention. Like, I know somebody who might be able to get me more info, or that I might be able to pump for some info, but I did not want to push it just yet." she offered.

"Aside from that, there is one thing that bugs me about the trailer and some of these leaps we are making. Everything in that trailer.. the files, maps, photos, appliances, cans of Coke in the fridge, even the trailer itself... all of it, with the exception of the uniform and that phone, are no newer than 1980. That means it has been sitting there, apparently undisturbed, for a few months shy of forty years until Cooper found it... or knew about it and went there.

And that photo? That's the tail of a Cessna. So it is civilian, or like secret NSA or CIA or something plane." Lilly said, tapping the photo with her finger before adding, "And also at least forty years old... give or take a few months. That plane might not even exist anymore. And this stuff was all done decades ago and then, apparently, abandoned, forgotten, shut down or whatever."

Lilly sat back and sighed.

"This is just... weird..."

[Jaunt]

"I'm banned from Bunnies."  Devin shrugged with a sour look on his face.  Then his lips twisted into a grin and he snorted.  "Still totally gonna go though."

Jason's appraisal of the situation was, as always, logical to a fault.  Clara seemed a bit embarrassed after Jason put everything into perspective and looked to Devin, then lowered her eyes, then looked at him again, pursing her lips like she wanted to say something but wasn't sure how to begin.  Finally she took a breath and decided to be, as always, the better person.  "Devin, I'm sorry I swore and you.  It was uncalled for."

Devin shrugged as he stole a tater tot from Lona with ninja-like deftness.  She slapped at his hand and protested with a 'hey'.  "Y'ain't gotta apologize, sweetness.  There ain't a single person here who hasn't thought exactly what you just said."  He threw the tater tot up, but didn't arch his head back to catch it.  "But next time," now he did just that, tipping back his head and catching the tot in his mouth in a single, deft motion that defied probability but was keenly reinforcing his spatial awareness.  He chewed and grinned.  "Try and ask for something more plausible, cuz we all know I never shut up."

"Ugh, god, we know," Lona rolled her eyes and Clara smirked.

"Ah!  See, there is was, that Clara is smiling!  Didn't think we'd notice," he leaned in to glare at her.  "But we did.  So, since you're like one conversation away from possibly being single, whatcha doin' Friday?"  He smiled that annoyingly charming grin that exclaimed he was joking, but you still wanted to punch him for it.

[Clara Lys Wright]

Clara took a deep breath and deadpanned, "That wasn't a smirk, it was a grimace of disgust. And Friday? Seems luke I might be digging *two* graves, Jauntson." Lona was pretty sure that she was joking. Clara usually wanted more than a week to plan out major projects like murder. Devin, on the other hand, was an expert in spotting total ego-protection bullshit when it came around. Hell, as far as he could tell, this might pass for flirtation with the tightly wound probably-going -back-on-the-market teen.

Clara scrubbed her hands over her face and turned back to the larger conversation. "Weird. Yeah, that's one word for it."

Her boyfriend had been here for a year before he'd siad he'd even been in the country. Her shoulders shook with something on razor's edge between hysterical crying and hysterical laughing. I should have stuck to the Plan. 'Life is more than safe' my ass, you bastard.

"If it was abandoned in the '80's, how did Cooper find it? Just cooincidence? Maybe messing with it is what made the cat and the starfish appear. Like turning on the power in there called them or something?" A thought struck her and she chased it down rather than deal with the shambles of her trust. "Wait, so this place has some sort of generator that's all sci-fi today and it's had it since forty years ago?"

She sighed and checked the wall clock to see how long they had until first bell. "Also, Sean, could type up or print ok or whatever all the GPS pings? Place and date? Before tonight?"

Sean nodded to her, digging out a pen and notebook from his pack. "Might as well go analog. I mean, what if they have someone that can do this kind of thing, too? No electronics are safe!" He spoke with B-movie dramatics, but frownwd as the thought caught hold. What if...?