WEIRDER STUFF - Rainbow Connection

[Cassandra Allen]

Cassandra blinked, then her eyes widened as she remembered the whole reason she'd come here in the first place. Other than to hang out with friends, that was.

"Right. Okay. I have stuff here," she tapped her rolled up folders and documents, "But this isn't the right place to roll 'em all on out. We can look at them in the barn or something. They're just backing up what I'm going to tell you."

She leaned forward and lowered her voice. "So. The same night as the party, like I said, there was a massive riot. My source was hazy on the details of the riot, though I did get some pictures from it. So far though, the whole thing is being covered up. Not a word about it in the news, even though some inmates and a guard died. And that's not the only deaths they're covering up either. About a week ago, an inmate had an autopsy done, but even though the examination totally disproved it, the case was marked as a death by misadventure. They're basically claiming he died because of a bad fall, and that's how it was reported in the news. The autopsy wasn't done by the Medical Examiner though...I think they knew he'd never lie like this. Instead they got an assistant coroner to do it. I verified this with the ME's office. "

Cassandra paused, then went on. "I think we can use this one to put some pressure on the coroner to get more information, including reports on the people who died in the riot. This could be a really big deal...and if it makes a big enough splash, it could open all kinds of investigations going back who knows how far."

After a quiet moment where everyone was looking at everyone else, not sure what to say, Sean said what was on a lot of their minds.

"Okay, that's some good work, but...is there some kind of connection between the riot and all this other stuff that's going on? The Dark maybe?"

Cass gave Sean a blank look, then frowned. "Not besides the timing, not that I know of." Then she realized that she might not get buy-in from the Fellowship without feeding the beast, and added, "My source isn't in a position where he'd be able to tell, but we have a place to start. A prison would be a great place to get, say, involuntary test subjects from, you know? Or if...it's some kind of psychic...vampire...lots of angst and anger and all that stuff. In a prison. Just saying, it's worth following up on."

[Bannon]

"It is.  Our working theory so far is that the Dark is attracted to torment and violence, indeed encourages it.  Given the point in the identified cycle we're at...  Sparking a murder or prison riot would be just it's speed."  Jason leaned his head back and closed his eyes, oblivious to or uncaring of the stink-eye some were still giving him.  "What I don't get is why the prison is even here.  Assuming that the government, or a faction therein, know of the anomalies and even perhaps the Dark.  Assuming that they've run experiments to unlock human potential, giving us our gifts, and then set up infrastructure to monitor Shelly's children...  Why the prison?  Cui bono?"

"Who benefits?  You mean other than the Dark?"  Laurie said with some exasperation.  Jase's eyes opened and he glanced at her, considering.

"It's a goat."  he said quietly.  Laurie started to glare again.  Sean pursed his lips- and then clicked his fingers as he got it.

"Jurassic Park."  he said.  Jase nodded as Sean went on to the others.  "Perhaps the powers that be are setting out bait, something to attract the phenomena so they could study it.  Like the goat tethered for the T-Rex."

"Wow, that actually makes twisted, cold-blooded sense."  Marissa said.  "I mean, who's going to care about some poor schlubs locked up in a prison?"

"Clara brought it up earlier, and it's been ticking in the back of my head since.  Now I'm more inclined to agree.  It's tenuous."  Jason admitted as he set his head back again, closing his eyes.  "And could be completely wrong.  It also doesn't condemn anyone's parents - after all, Cora's father is the latest warden, but that doesn't mean he's clued in on the place's true purpose.  He is complicit in covering up deaths, though.  Suborning a coroner's report is a felony."  He let that hang without further comment, but everyone could feel the unspoken follow up.

"We need to examine the autopsy documents you have, Cassandra."  he stated calmly.  "Though I agree probably not here and now."

 

[Jaunt]

Devin wasn't lying.  The wind in her hair was refreshing as he rode slowly down the streets back to her home.  Shelly had a helmet law, but when he drove slow and knew where every cop was, he could get away with a casual ride with a lovely lady on the back if he put his mind to it.

Cora knew Devin didn't offer anything for no reason at all, but he had been making a serious effort to change his ways.  Maybe he was a different guy under construction.

They came to a slow stop in her driveway and they walked to her door.  "Sorry again about that, Cora.  It could have been handled better, I'll have a talk with Jason, and I hope you consider coming to hang with us again."  He smiled that charming smile of his.  "It's nice having you around."

"You don't have to apologize for him, you didn't do anything wrong," she chuckled in moderate amusement.  "For once."

"Hey," he seemed enthused.  "It's almost like I'm making progress, I'll be a real human being in no time."

She laughed at his joke but still wasn't really in the mood to be cheered up.  "Look, I uh, I should get.."

"Yeah, yeah, no problem." He nodded and smiled as he backed away back towards his bike.  "But, hey, if you need anything or, just want to talk, gimme a call okay?  I'll make the time."  He snapped his finger and pointed in retrospect.  "Tell Cade I said hi, if you can get a hold of him.  He shoulda had your back tonight, it's a shame he wasn't there for you."

He spun on his heels and walked back towards his bike, raising his hand to say farewell as his Ducati roared to life he took off back to Bunnee's.

[Lilly Pryor]

Lilly let out a long, exhausted sigh as Sara walked off and leaned her forehead against the door of the ladies room for a moment again before her hand found the door knob and she let herself in. She walked over to the sink and rested both hands on either side of the basin, leaning forward, and looked into her own eyes in the mirror. 

She had watched Jason brutalize Cora and then risked taking a punch from Sara for him. She didn't like using, or straining, her and Sara's fledgling friendship like that, but it was far better than trying to stop her with force.

Just a few weeks ago it had all been a fun summer, D&D hanging out, cruising with music, looking forward to the fair. Everybody was happy and getting along. Well, except for Lona, but at leash she was happy, or closer to happy than she had been in a long white it seemed, with her and Clara reconciling. Now they were dealing with Devin and Marissa daily, were traumatized by monsters, onto some mystery, were being spied on and lied to, had some mind powers that may or may not be killing them and some evil, other-dimensional entity was stalking the town. 'What the hell happened?' she thought to herself as she stared into her own dark eyes.

Ignorance truly was bliss.

'No.' she told herself mentally. 'Now is not the for a pity party, Pryor. Save your tears for your pillow. Your friends need you. If only they would all realize how much they need each other too.'

Lilly took in a slow, deep breath, finding her resolve, and wiped away the streaks the tears ad left on her cheeks. After a few more slow, deep breaths to calm and center herself, she stepped out and headed back to the table, taking her seat across from Jason again as she caught most of what he was saying about the prison and.. goats?

Lilly shook her head almost imperceptibly, as she tried to focus on what was being said, but her thoughts were tying to take her elsewhere.

[z-Avalon Wilson]

She’d sat down and absorbed what was said, allowing herself time to deal. To her surprise, the shakes passed quickly, almost as if thinking she needed to stop the physical responses to the adrenaline from the fight had stopped it. Weird. Neat but weird. How much control do I have over my body?

Can I heal myself? She looked at her hands. 

Could I have healed Dad? She shivered and shook off the thoughts. Now was not the time for it. No, she had other messes to deal with.

1 hour ago, Bannon said:

"We need to examine the autopsy documents you have, Cassandra."  he stated calmly.  "Though I agree probably not here and now."

“No, not here and now,” Lona agreed quietly. “Here and now, I’m going to address the fucking elephant in the room. No. More. Assaulting. Each. Other. Physically or otherwise. 

“Seriously, how fucked up is it that I have to say that to my friends? To people I like and even some I love?” Lona stared at each of them. “Not saying names, but today we’ve had three major incidents. It’s the first day of school. This is seriously fucked up and it’s going to destroy us as a group if we don’t rein it in.

“And before anyone stares in on Jase, he’s already agreed to work on mitigating his words and for all his flaws, if he says something, he does it. But he’s not the one throwing punches or choking people either. He’s not the one who needs to get right with Jesus.” Lona felt a surge of sorrow as she inadvertently used one of her dad’s favorite sayings. “It’s other people.

“We have these powers coming online, guys. We have to get it under control and I don’t want to hear another ‘I lost control’ unless they’re owning up to it, too.” Lona shook her head. “What if I try to help someone feel better and end up short-circuiting their liver? I can’t fix that. I can’t say sorry. We have to be careful.”

“And I’m going to be honest -- if this continues, I’m going to stop coming to club meetings. I know what it looks like when shit falls apart from the inside--” She stopped as tears choked her for a moment. “I am not going to watch my friends rip each other apart, especially when we have monsters running around who will do it literally.” She leaned over the table, stole a handful of Jase’s fries and sat back. “So do I need to start participating via text and email?”

[Cade]

"No, you don't.  Not on my account at any rate." Came Cade's quiet reply.

As he heard what had happened, Cade was so angry he felt a sort of serene calmness.  He'd finished his meal as they spoke, listening and getting caught up with the bombshell from Cass.  All the while,  there was a little voice in his head demanding that he avenge Cora's honor, that Bannon needed to be taught a lesson himself.  He was fairly certain that he could take him in a brawl, but he knew it would do nothing to actually help the situation.   Bannon didn't see things like everyone else, if anything had been made clear to him about him over the years, it was that.   So he locked away that voice egging him on to violent acts.   

It wasn't that he didn't care, he did, and knew after this he'd have to call Cora, or if  there was time before that damnable curfew, actually go over in person.   When there was finally a moment for him to speak, he looked to Bannon.    "I will say, i'd like to have a word with you, sometime later, about what happened earlier, but right now's not the time."  There was no malice, only a deep calm to his tone.  "That said, I think the "Goat" analogy  makes alot of sense.   Ready access to the sort of prey The Dark feeds on, convenient ways to cover up any mishaps, and with highly trained medical and military personnel nearby should things get out of hand.   That's a near perfect set-up."

He looked to the others.   "I have a few theories of my own, if you all don't mind listening.  What if the reasoning for the hospital, and the level of educational excellence we have here serve to counteract the Dark?  The results of the studies they've done at the prison?  That could be the underlying reason why they're so concerned with Cody, seeing the steps they took failing?   I know more on that story as well."

He paused, letting anyone say something, but when no one did, he continued.  "After being grilled by the Sheriff, and just observing things in the office, I can say that they're concerned with two possibilities.  One is that Cody ran away to avoid "The Tree."  The second and more alarming, given what I know, is that they are worried he ran away to become "The Tree" and punish someone, or many someones.   Essentially they're concerned with him perpetrating a school shooting at this point.  I know this to be what they're thinking without any of them saying it outright.  I don't know if my dad's involved with whatever's going on, but I do know he wasn't there that night when I got home late, there'd been a massive pileup on the interstate.    I don't know exactly what we should do with this, but I think this creates a need to find Cody, before something does happen."  The entire time he spoke his voice never lost that perfect calmness, and his voice was only so loud that the others could hear.

[Charlie Cole]

"Lovely." Charlie said, thankful now for a break from the fighting. This was why he regretfully had clammed up, not wanting to dive head-first into another set of painful arguments. But now they had to deal likely with the Dark driving Cody to commit mass murder. "Of course we do, but how are we going to find him? The police are looking, and obviously they haven't been able to do so. We can't, unless we have some way of tracking the Dark or precognitive powers."

"You did seem to know about the cephalogina while being on the other side of the party." Cassie pointed out. "And something you said about this place being special fits with what Jason pulled up."

"I was also high off my mind and don't remember any of it." Charlie groaned, embarrassed at the reminder. "I'm not in favor of pumping me full of Lucifer's Reserve unless we're desperate."

 

[Cassandra Allen]

"No," Cassandra says, "but there's other ways to get to altered states of consciousness. What about hypnosis, or meditation?"

She looked at the others. "And I have to ask...what do we know about this 'Dark' other than this pattern you're talking about? Like, why do you call it that? What IS it?"

Finally Cass ran her hand through her long blonde hair and sighed, "...and where do I sign up for super powers? I was there too."

[Bannon]

Jase smiled a little as Lona stole a handful of his fries, inclining his head to her at her words as Devin came bustling into the eatery once more, tossing his keys in the air and catching them, and grinning widely as he saw Cade.

"Heya, dude.  I took Cora home for you, since you weren't about and she'd have just walked it otherwise.  You should probably call her and shit - she was pretty upset.  Needed someone to cling to."  He settled back into his seat next to Cassie, smirking as he grabbed some fries.  "Where we at?"

"Trouble at the prison, doctored autopsy reports, cover-ups of deaths."  Sara responded tersely.  "And if fucking Bannon had kept his mouth shut, Cora would have had her eyes opened more effectively than by peeling off her lids."  

"As Lona says - I will be moderating my behaviour in future.  There are people present who I don't wish to upset - more than some might suspect - and so I will try to exercise restraint in how I present my criticism."  Jason responded calmly before anyone could quarrel with Sara.

"Don't do it on my account."  Marissa stated in an exaggerated sultry purr, finishing with a small 'rowr' noise.  As some glared and others fought the urge to smile, Jase raised a hand for forbearance, his own lips twitching in amusement.

"I'm doing it for the cohesion of the group.  And for sake of people I care about, who are gentler souls than I am capable of being." he replied soberly.  Lilly bit her lip at the matter-of-fact tone he took, trying not to immediately protest.  Lona just smiled and shook her head slightly, as though agreeing to differ - for the time being.  Laurie just looked slightly mollified, her glare lessening its intensity.  "And I think, sometime soon, I will need to explain that remark.  But not now, and not here.  So..."

51 minutes ago, Cassandra Allen said:

"No," Cassandra says, "but there's other ways to get to altered states of consciousness. What about hypnosis, or meditation?"

She looked at the others. "And I have to ask...what do we know about this 'Dark' other than this pattern you're talking about? Like, why do you call it that? What IS it?"

Finally Cass ran her hand through her long blonde hair and sighed, "...and where do I sign up for super powers? I was there too."

Clara made an annoyed moue and muttered, "You can have mine, but it's dumb."  Some of the others smiled, Lona giving her sister a one-armed hug.  Jase shook his head in mild disagreement, but addressed Cassie's points.

"Cassandra's suggestion has merit.  Meditative exercise and visualisation was how I was able to refine my power from random pushing things by accident into the fine control you saw here.  I plan to do some more exercises on the farm, with enough space around me so that nothing gets broken.  You are all welcome to join in - it's remote, my father is usually working long shifts or asleep in a bottle."  he said the last without rancor, merely a vestige of sadness only the most perceptive would pick up.  He appeared to consider, pale eyes moving from Lilly, to Sara, then to Lona, then cocked his head and glanced at Cade.  "Extend Cora that invitation as well, if she is willing.  Her random surges could prove dangerous, and the farm is a good place for her learn to control them - if she is willing."

"And the Dark?" he smiled.  "It's modus operandi reminded me of an old Gary Numan song 'Dark'.  Specifically the chorus: Don't let the light shine on me / I am the poison that feeds life to you / Don't let the light shine on me / I am the demon that waits inside you / Don't let the light shine on me / I am the ghost that reminds death of you / Don't let the light shine on me / I am the darkness that crawls into you."  He recited it rather than sang it, but the words were somewhat chilling regardless.  "It provokes, inflames the worst impulses of others, and turns loved ones against each other.  It hides in the shadows of our passions.  Which is another reason I will be moderating my words - no need to give it an easy way in."

"And as for super powers..." he smiled at Cassie, a faint curve of his lips that reached his eyes.  "How do you know you don't have them? Charlie did not, until today.  I did not until I reached for a wrench and found it floating to my hand a few weeks back.  So far, the only ones who have not manifested anything are Lilly, Marissa, Laurie, Tawny, Eddy (we hope) and you.  Cade's gift with animals he mentioned at breakfast - we will need to see before we can quantify it, so we'll put a question mark next to his name for now."  He glanced at Cade, who nodded somberly.

"And finally, Clara - don't sell yourself short.  You can feel when we use our gifts.  That implies some sensory tap into whatever energies we're manipulating.  If the pattern follows, you may be able to affect those energies somehow."  As Clara blinked and looked at him questioningly, he motioned to various others.  "Devin can sense spatial distance and time measurements, and seems able to vastly shorten journey times beyond what is physically possible.  I can sense every solid object in this room, and can move the lighter ones.  Sean can sense electromagnetic energy and doesn't need to charge his phone, implying that he is actually his own charger.  What might you be able to do, if the pattern holds true?"

Clara subsided into thought, and Jase glanced back at Cassie.

"It's unlikely that most of us get some gifts while others get nothing.  You could be a late bloomer, like Charlie.  Any of you could."  he looked at the other powerless teens.  "So let's keep an open mind."

[Clara Lys Wright]

"Superfriend hugs and all," Clara said, with probably the closest thing to a positive tone she'd had since breakfast. She ran her hand through her hair and looked over the table, glancing outside at the darkened skies. "But what are we going to do?" 

She made an instant mental checklist and rolled down it with the group. "So, to recap: Shelly is all sorts of not how it should be and has a 27 year cycle of violence and monsters. Since encountering some aspect of that, most of us and maybe all of us are manifesting psionic-like abilities. There's been at least two cover ups at the local prison, a missing soldier that no one seems to be looking for, and my boyfriend clearly isn't who he's said he is." She let out a breath, then moved on before someone could interrupt her barrage. "Also, at least two people in our group have had medical issues. Sara's getting nose bleeds and Devin had a seizure just before all this began.

"We need to," she held up fingers to count out the actionables. "Find Cody. See if we can get brain scans to make sure we're not liquefying our brains. Practice control of our powers so we don't ourselves or others. See if we can trace out what is conspiracy and what's just coincidence in all of this. Figure out what's behind our 'Dark' and maybe see if we can't stop this whole murderous rage cycle.

"Seems like Devin would be best for heading up looking for Cody if he's got all the mapping and quick travel stuff, and Cody knows him. That might be really, really dangerous, so if you guys can keep from killing Devin, maybe Lilly and Sara could back Devin up on that? Jason's got the farm for people practicing their powers and if Charlie's actually got seer-like abilities then practicing at that would be super helpful. With or without the weed. We could see if we can get Cora over there, too, to work on her control and try to mend fences. Sean's got computer mojo and Cass clearly already has snooping connections, along with Cade's access to law enforcement, so you guys could head up the conspiracy of authorities angle. Marissa, you volunteer at the Center, could you snoop around there? Lona and I can look into my parents since Etienne spent so much time at my house two years ago. Maybe we can figure out why, like maybe there's a genetic component to this. And I don't mean that we all only do what I'm suggesting, just we have main thing we're each kinda organizing and primarily working on. Then get together again....on the weekend? Or on your guys' game night, but then your game probably won't happen." A final thought occurred to her and she added, "Oh, and I think we should all start working on basic self defense if you haven't already. If there are monsters, human or otherwise, wandering around, best if none of us are caught completely indefensible. Maybe that's something we could do out on the farm, too, if anyone knows enough to teach others."

And there was the old Clara, the one with a Plan. 

[Marissa Jauntsen]

"Center?"  Marissa glared at Clara like she just accused her of murdering puppies.  "Do I look like one of you bleeding hearts that needs to good deed to wash away the guilt of high fiving the possible torture, anguish, and death of one of my classmates?  We'll curb the strangling and throwing impulse punches, for now."

"No, girl, I do not volunteer at the center.  I try not to mingle with the meek, weak, and the desperate, that's my brother's schtick, I'm only here for the support and entertainment.  You guys really should take this act on the road."  They could almost see her fangs and catch the hiss in her voice as she spoke.

"I do, however, intern in the Mayor's office."  Her eyes narrowed and her lips curled into her sly mode of speech.  "I know people and I have a few who support my future.  Be what and old guy in a dead end marriage will do for a girl in a low cut top.  Because, and only, because, I'm finding all this rather interesting, and a bit fun, why not let me poke around the political big wigs of Shelly like the Sheriff, Mayor, and people who keep this place running.  Somone's bound to have a skeleton or two locked up."

[Sara Hutchins]

Sara shook her head "Lets not just jump at things  just because we have a hunch and right now spreading ourselves out isn't a good idea, not until we are better prepared.Right now we are vulnerable, to ourselves and to anyone or thing that might come after us.  I am all for figuring out what we can do. Like," she pauses and looks at Bannon with a much reduced glare, "Jason, while I was gone I was figuring out what I could do because i knew something was going on in my head and I taught myself how to do a few things. But it would be nice to have a better Idea of what these abilities might be capable of. Sean, you know about this, what was the word?"

"Psionics." he said perking up a bit.

"There you go, Psionics, there must be something about that online or in the library,  I think the more we know about what Psionics we could have will make it easier to figure out how to use it. Sean you did good with the plane and you know abou this can you make up a list of powers and what we should look for and expect?

The feminine boy leans his head side to side in quick contemplation, "Yeah I can whip something up a little primer that could help I think."

"Good," Sara nodded again and gave him a smile. The first she had cracked since arriving tonight.

She looks over at Clara and Lona, "About Etty, I still think we should leave him alone. He showed up last year at school and we are assuming that the GPS was him at your parents place before then. But we don't know that. We know there are at least two other gps phones or whatever we are calling them. I still say that until we are better prepared we shouldn't shake that tree. Whoever they are they haven't done anything about the trailer or the missing gps phone. And surely Etty has reported it missing otherwise why turn it off.

You broke up with him once and he stuck around. I bet if you do it again, tell him that with school and all you need some space. He'll do the same thing. Try and get back with you or go back to spying at a distance. But I don't think we should tip our hand to him or the people he is working with. Not yet."

[Lilly Pryor]

"I agree with Sara, like, across the board." Lilly finally said with a nod, her attention apparently back on the here and now.

Sara made good points again and again and really, Lilly could find no fault with them. They needed to be cautious, protect themselves and not tip their hand early.

Then came the issue of volunteering. How Clara, or anybody for that matter, could possibly confuse Lilly for Marissa was absolutely beyond her, and not something Lilly was thrilled about. She chalked it up to stress.

""As far as volunteering... I am the one who volunteers at the medical center. I've been doing so for years." she said and then glanced at Marissa before looking back to Clara again. "And my mom is the Head Nurse there too. She is the most caring and compassionate person I know, and I have total trust in her. So anything medical related, she is probably our best bet, if we want to bring her in on this and if she even believes it. I am not sure about either of those though, to be honest."

She was not keen on bringing her mother into what they had discovered, for fear of her mother's safety more than anything else, but she knew that talking to her might be a gamble that they'd have to take at some point.

"We might be able to swing brain scans if we suggest it to the medical center, maybe with my mom's help, as some school project. Etienne isn't the only person in Imagine, so we could try to swing it when he is not there and maybe Sean can hack and remove the images from the computer if I get him to a terminal inside or something. I dunno. Just a rough idea right now." she finished with a shrug.

"Anyways, for self defense, I can help there if anybody wants. I'm on the wrestling team and my dad, who is head of security for the base, has taught me stuff to make sure his little girl can protect herself. We spar and stuff sometimes and I have picked up a few things here and there too. So I can fight, but it is not my first resort, especially with friends. But I'd be willing to teach what I know, to any of you that want, because who knows what might be in store for us.

And anybody who wants to work on the cardio, strength, endurance, I'd be happy to help. Conspiracy or not, fitness is never a bad thing." Lilly said with a faint smile.

"I can also teach archery to anybody who wants to learn, and gun safety and how to shoot too, but somebody would need to buy ammo, which we can get in Great Falls if we want to keep suspicion down. I have archery gear though." she offered to the others.

[Bannon]

"She is an excellent teacher, too."  Jason remarked as he beat Lona to the last of his fries, then relented and let her have them with a small smile.  "As for firearms... Let's table that for now.  I can provide them if we need them, but right now they will create more problems than they will solve."

"Marissa's suggestion to poke around the officials is good.  Sara was on the money."  He continued.  "We have a plan-"  he winked at Clara "-and we can talk about when to meet up for powers practice and, for those who want it, self-defense training later this week.  Physical conditioning is up to you all, but personally I shall be continuing my running.  Cardio seems very important right now."

Sean snorted, smiling.  "Yeah, if we ever get zombies chasing us."

"Never say never."  Jason quipped back, his grin turning wicked.  Sean abruptly stopped laughing, but Laurie snorted with a giggle now.

"If that's all, I'm for heading home.  This has been one hell of a first day of semester and I am in the mood for a drink and some Russian poetry to read."  he glanced at the clock over the counter, then at the others.

"Dude,"  Devin smirked, then laughed.   "You need better hobbies."

"I do?"  Jason asked with a quirk of his lips, showing he was not offended.  Pretending to mull over Devin's words, he turned his glance on the ladies present.  "A second opinion is needed." he stated with a sly smile.

"Каждый раз в твои глаза я смотрю С моей собственной змеей - как узкие глаза И прикоснуться к тебе нежно, Осторожно! Я змея насквозь!" he recited softly, the vowels rolling from his lips.  Though nobody had a clue what he was saying, it sounded intimate, warm and, yes, hot in a way that made the stomach tighten and the heart skip.  That such warmth could come from the same lips that could flay a person to tears just made the contrast more jarring.  There was silence for a moment.

"His hobby is just fine."  Lona said with a definite air.  Clara nodded, smiling.  Lilly felt a faint heat in her cheeks and was glad to note she was not alone. Marissa smirked, but said nothing - itself a telling remark.  Laurelei blinked rapidly several times before speaking.

"Say some more!  Uh, please?"

"Another time, perhaps."  Jase shrugged.  "For now, unless someone has something to say that isn't going over what we've already gone over, I'm heading home."  He glanced at Sean.  "Want a ride?"

Spoiler

Each time into your eyes I gaze
With my own snake-like narrow eyes
And touch you tenderly,

Beware! I am serpent through and through!

 

[Cade]

Cade smiled at Lilly.  "You're not wrong.   Sparring and training is good.  You and I are going to be doing them anyway for our team commitments,  but I really see no reason we can't do them together if you want."  He knew Lilly likely didn't need his help but having another person to help others wasn't a bad idea.  Aside from her he was in the best shape of the group, and smiled.  Like her he was concerned about asking his stepmother to help them, so he'd hold off on that, and wait to see if they found some other way.

"I can also give anyone who needs one a ride home."  It was an offer made out of courtesy since it was one he always made, though normally it had almost always just been Cora who took him up on it.

[z-Avalon Wilson]

Cade’s words were very alarming, and she exchanged a worried glance with Clara. Man, I’m going to owe Jase a huge apology if he’s not the one to become the Future Active Shooter. Still, she said nothing, though she did sigh heavily when Charlie announced he wasn’t willing to play the Oracle of Delphi unless they got “desperate”. There goes that idea. 

She leaned forward when Cass mentioned other ways to create altered states. If Charlie wasn’t down for being a guinea pig, then Lona was willing to try. Just because he was an Oracle didn’t mean she couldn’t be one, too. She listened intently as Jase spoke further, nodding her head between munching on fries. 

Clara’s attempt to plan made Lona hide a smirk from her, but that faded once the others didn’t respond to it. Worse, some of the others seemed to lean toward doing nothing at all. She could feel her near-sister’s frustration at that and she put a hand on Clara’s arm. So when Sara suggested just dumping Etienne until they were ready to deal with him, she felt Clara go stiff. Clara didn’t say anything, but that wasn’t a good sign.

Lona smiled at Jason when he gave her his remaining fries, making a heart at him with her hands in silent thanks. When he spoke Russian, her eyes widened in surprise. Wow, she thought, stunned by the new sides she’d seen of Jase today. Hot damn, dude.

“Yeah, I’m ready to go the fuck home,” Lona said weary, “but I have one more thing to add. 

“I’m not down for trusting any adult at all,” she said, locking gazes with Lilly. “I don’t care how much you trust your mom, I’m not signing up for any scans, brain or otherwise, until I know I can trust them. Given that today I’ve learned that I may not be able to trust Gerault, even, that day is a long, long time away. Also, it’s a bit shitty if we tell Cora that it’s okay to not trust her dad because he runs the prison but it’s just fine if we trust Lilly’s mom because she insists it’s fine. Anyone working for the medical center is suspect. The only reason I’m not suspicious of Adele is because she’s an idiot.” Clara laughed softly at the statement, clearly agreeing.

“Your mom?” Cass asked, staring at her. “Why would you say that about your mom?”

“Because it’s true,” Lona said with a shrug as she dropped the subject. “As far as training, let me know when you’re scheduling and I’ll be there,” Lona added, grabbing her wallet and eyeing the door.

“I won’t be available Saturday until the evenings,” Clara interjected as she also started to make motions of leaving and pulled out enough cash to cover their food and a tip. “If you’re training Saturday evening or Sunday, I can join you.”

[Sean Cassidy]

Sean looked extremely nonplussed at the mention of working out and self-defence training. He'd seen enough movies and read enough stories to be well aware of the saying about not needing to be able to outrun 'X', just outrun the other person. He looked around the table. Two of the best athletes in the city, and even his sister was on the football team now. The top dancer, and one of the strongest, if not the strongest person in school. He knew Devin was surprisingly fit under his dickish nonchalance, and several others were dedicated runners.

He wasn't built for running and all the exercise in the world wouldn't let him match most of them. About the only regular exercise he got was biking about town, and he was looking forward to stopping that as soon as he got a real vehicle. Teagan had tried to get him to work out and learn to defend himself after all the bullying and flack he got at school, and it hadn't gone well. On the other hand... he shivered, there seemed to be stronger incentive now.

"Sure, I'll take the lift, Jase," Sean said with a nod at Jase, picking up his satchel and shifting out of the booth. He stood up and stretched, then pulled his wallet of out his satchel and dropped a few bills to cover his and Laurie's share, then turned his eyes towards Lona and Lilly.

"I understand the need for suspicion, but I have regular appointments at Marias all the time, just had to reschedule my appointment with my endocrinologist in fact. If we assume they've already accessed my medical file, it might be look suspect if I stop going to my appointments. If nothing else, I might get a chance to poke around next time I'm there, and could probably get Dr. Cook to schedule a CT and/or MRI for me. No telling him why, beyond concern for my condition, but we could compare the newest scans to all the others I've had, see if we can notice any new changes in them, or find someone else we can trust, even in a limited fashion, to look over the scans, since we don't have experience." He pursed his lips. "I might know someone who might know someone. And he's suspicious about almost everything."

Sean shrugged awkwardly, surreptitiously adjusting a bra strap under the guise of settling his satchel over his shoulder. "As for the fitness and self-defence training... I'll see. It's harder for some," he admitted with a self-deprecating grin, "and my talents and contributions are in another direction, but I'll see."

Laurie quickly finished the last of her shake and onion rings and slid out of the booth after her brother, glancing at Jase over Sean's head with a look of mixed wariness and intrigue. Sean snapped his fingers again. "Oh, about that primer. Just gotta make the disclaimer that it's only going to be a rough guide, cobbled together from gaming books, Sci-Fi novels, and stuff scoured from variously streams of folklore, spirituality, and faith, with no actual evidence-based facts. And whatever else we've seen, until I get clear and direct evidence, psychics speaking to the dead are complete bullshit."

Lona blinked, looking upset and Sean hissed in a shirt straining breath, faint colour rising in his cheeks. "Uh, sorry, Lona, but I can't bring myself to add that sh - that stuff to the Primer, beyond the mention of the claim."

[Lilly Pryor]

Lilly added several bills to the growing pile and then collected them all and put them into some semblance of a stack before she jogged to the door, catching Lona and Clara just outside.

"Lona? You got a sec?" she asked, which caused Lona and Clara to pause and look at each other.

Lona shrugged and Clara continued on toward her car as Lilly took a few steps back to be out of the way as Lona approached.

"Hey I just wanted to say thanks. I was gonna say something about the fighting being unacceptable but after being stunned by Jason putting Cora on blast like that and then almost taking a punch from Sara to stop her from beating his ass... My head was ." Lilly sighed.

"It's been a long night" she said, forcing a faint smile as she shook her head a little.

"We're all in this together and people need to get that through their heads, so I just wanted to say thanks. You said it better than I could have, I'm sure." Lilly said as she leaned close and gave Lona a hug, which she returned.

"You're welcome. It's been a shitty, long night. And I don't know about better, I'm just talking from the heart." Lona suggested.

"Yeah, but that was your power long before any of their weirdness, dude. When you play/sing/speak from the heart, people have no choice but to listen." Lilly complimented with a soft, sincere smile.

"Thanks. I appreciate it." Lona said as she blushed.

"You're welcome. And I'll text about when we can.." she made air quotes with her fingers, "...work out. Maybe Sunday mornings, if people can drag their asses out of bed, and maybe a time or two during the week." Lilly suggested.

"Okay," Lona said, turning toward Clara's car. "Thanks for organizing it, and I'll chat with you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay. Cool" Lilly replied and walked to her truck where Laurie was waiting.

"Hey. Sorry 'about that. Just needed to talk to Lona for a sec." she said as she hopped in and stuck the key in the ignition.

"Everything okay?" Laurie asked.

"Well, not everything, but.. enough." Lilly shrugged.

 

[WS ST]

thread is temporarily locked awaitn st post

thank you for your patience, have a nice day 

[Clara Lys Wright]

“So, do we plan on following any of that....” she waved back at the diner towards the table they’d been sitting at, “....that in there?” Clara had managed to keep most of her temper in check after the other destructive blow-ups and take-downs of the night, but she was certainly wide awake and full of vinegar now. Spending several hours being told that my relationship doesn’t matter and that I should just turn into a double agent spy like some Japanese Magical Girl anime sure does wonders for my mood, she groused to herself. 
 
“They want me to transform into some sort of Black Widow clone so they can reverse-spy on Etienne for their own advantage. If no one’s figured it out yet, I don’t lie well. That’s mostly because I hate lying. I barely get away with it through text, let alone in person, and I don’t want to.” The last was a frustrated, angry growl as some of her temper finally broke through.
 
“So don’t.” Lona sank into her own seat and closed her eyes with a sigh. She looked tired -- for a second. Then she lifted her head and said, “So what are we doing tonight?”
 
Clara laid her head on the steering wheel and groaned. “I don’t want Etienne to find out that we know about this from Devin showing up at his front door and punching him or something.” She looked over at Lona and said more soberly, “And someone should be looking for Cody.”
 
“I plan to, one way or another,” Lona said. “I’m not great at sleuthing, but I did have visions of stuff once. So I’m going to try it again, look for Cody. Fuck not finding him. What if it was one of the Fellowship? Or worse, someone outside of this, like Felix?”
 
Clara shuddered and pleaded, “Don’t, please don’t bring Felix into this. Even as a point.” She took a deep breath and then let it out in a long sigh. “There’s only so much time in the night. Why don’t we see if maybe Etienne knows anything about Cody’s disappearance? I know everyone’s all ‘don’t tip our hand’ but they’re also ‘who cares about your feelings’ so, whatever. If our conspiracy ideas are all even partially true, then Etienne might actually have a good idea of where to look for Cody or if it’s already-” She shivered again and started up the car. “I can drop you off at home if you don’t want to be in the line of fire when everyone blows up at me over this.”
 
“So is this a confronting him thing, or a weird ‘girlfriend asking about missing teen before dumping you’?” Lona asked. “Also, what precautions are we taking?”
 
“I don’t lie well,” Clara reiterated as she pulled out of the parking lot. “I’m not spy or double-spy or whatever material. If we talk to him, he’s going to know something’s up. If we’re all vague and weird about what’s going on, it makes it easier for him to play up not knowing anything. And that’s not helpful to Cody. Even if Etienne won’t tell us anything, if there is some group of people out here studying this and trying to stop it and that’s what he’s a part of, then there’s at least some hope he’d pass that along to any of those people also looking for Cody.”
 
“You gonna dump him?” Lona asked gently. “I wouldn’t blame you if you did, Clara. And I’m here for whatever you need.”
 
“I don’t know, Lona. It depends on what he says. I’m angry and I’m hurt and there’s this part of my brain that keeps just saying ‘but you don’t know the whole story’. And that’s true, too, so I just don’t know what to do.”
 
“Okay. Just let me know what you want me to do,” Lona told her, then settled into silence as Clara drove to Etienne’s small house. After Clara shut off the car, they sat in the dark for a long moment. Lona reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, letting Clara take the lead.
 
 
Clara had set a delayed text on her phone that would go to her parents at midnight if she didn’t stop it. At Etienne’s, please come get Lona and I would go to her parents and Something happened at Etienne’s and now Lona and I are in trouble would go to the group text Sean had set up. She left the phone in the car, under the driver’s seat. The walk up to the front door felt like a tightrope over a pit filled with monsters, secret spy phones, and yawning maw of her first real heartbreak. She knocked on the door. 
 
Etienne answered with a surprised smile. “Clara! I thought. . .” he trailed off as he spotted Lona and took in the tense air around the two. “Is everything okay? Come in.” He stood aside and motioned the two teens in.
 
Clara stepped inside, Lona following after, and the two stood awkwardly in the small living room. Etienne put his hands on Clara’s shoulders and frowned when she flinched away. “Cla-”
 
“We found the phone. At the trailer.” Clara interrupted with rushed words. “And the GPS record on it.” She looked up at him, clearly on the verge of tears. Lona studied him closely as he spoke, watching for signs of deception. 
 
His brows pressed together in confusion and he spread his arms, asking, “Phone? I didn’t leave my phone at the trailer.” He glanced around the room and pointed to his cellphone sitting on the end table next to the small couch. “It’s right there.”
 
Lona rolled her eyes. “Yes, because people can’t own two cell phones.” It looked like she might say more, but she shut her mouth sharply.
 
“Clara. . .” Etienne ignored Lona for now, pressing his forehead to Clara’s. “It was a weird night. That trailer had all sorts of strange things in it. Why would you think this phone was mine? It likely belongs to the man that was living there.”
 
Clara hadn’t stepped away from him again, but she was statue-stiff under his hands. “Se- We got into it. It had GPS pings all over town, for the past two years. We matched up places and tim-”
 
Etienne put a finger to Clara’s lips, stopping her mid-word. He gathered Lona’s attention with a glance, motioning for the two of them to sit on the couch. His expression was intense but blank, reminding Lona of Jason before- well, before today. Narrowing her eyes at him, Lona moved over and sat on the very edge of the cushion. Clara sat next to her and took her hand nervously.
 
Etienne walked over to the door and locked it, sending both girls’ heart-rates even higher. We have the phone messages, Clara reminded herself as she tried to keep her breathing even. He checked the window, pulling down the blackout shade that hung behind the flimsy flower-print fabric. He picked up his phone from the end table and pressed a speed-dial button. “We have a problem. Notify the Doctor.” 

He hung up immediately and tossed the phone onto the kitchen counter. Grabbing sodas from the fridge, he set them down on the coffee table and took up residence in the chair across from the sofa. “How did you find the phone?” he asked, eye the two curiously. “I didn’t place it until everyone was leaving.”
 
“Hold on there, Skippy,” Lona deadpanned back. “We’re not the ones due some answers. What is going on? Who is this ‘Doctor’?”
 
Eteinne ignored Lona and leaned forward toward Clara, "Clara," his voice is softer, "Look at me. Who else knows about the phone? You started to say a name, did someone help you unlock the phone?"
 
Clara waffled between folding like a bad poker hand and throwing the drinks on the table at him. She settled for a narrow-eyed snap, "No, actually, that's a good point. You're the one who's been lying and hiding things, Etienne." She crossed her arms. "What's going on? Why are you spying on us?" Why me? burned through her mind, but she managed not to say it.
 
He sat back and sighed, looking toward the door. Abruptly he stood and paced over to the window, peeking through the shade but barely moving it. He looked over at Clara, his expression pained and torn. Then he moved, rushing over to her and grabbed her arm to pull her to her feet. "I never meant to hurt you, Clara. They are not and were not spying on you, not when I began. Come you must go." 
He pulled Clara to the door and unlocked it, peering suspiciously outside. "Hurry, go but do not go home they will look for you there. Go somewhere they won't think to look - not the trailer. I don't know if they are watching that or not." He bent his head to touch Clara’s, "I am sorry."
"For how long, Etienne?" Lona asked sharply, moving to hover next to Clara. "You said we need to avoid home and the trailer -- can we go to school tomorrow? Which of our friends do they know about? We need a bit more information, so maybe you need to come too." Jase is totally going to hayhook us for this. . .
 
"Yes, you will be safe among your friends at school, They won't risk that much exposure.," He looked at Lona and shook his head, "They know all of you. I will talk to the Doctor, I will make some arrangement. It is the least I can do," he said that last with a soft look at Clara. "Now go they will be here any minute."
 
"Fucker," Lona hissed at him, then grabbed Clara's hand. "We're not done talking. You still owe us answers." She started to pull her out the door toward the car. 
 
Clara leaned up an kissed Etienne's cheek. She wasn't sure if it was a 'thank you' or a 'goodbye' but she needed to do it before they ran. She unlocked the car and waited for Lona to get in, not bothering with the seat belts before she was backing up out of the driveway. They were just leaving the small neighborhood when three large dark cars made their way to Etienne’s house. Two pulled up in front while the third moved around behind the speck of backyard to cover the back door.
 
"Call Jason," she said, keeping her voice as neutral as possible. "The farm has all of our research and most of the proof we have. Dammit! Dammit." Her voice was wavering and there were tears tracing down her cheeks. “And I don't think his dad has any connection to this. We, um, maybe we could stay there tonight?" She took a ragged breath and glanced over at Lona while driving. "Or-or should we not? Maybe go...somewhere out of town?"
 
Lona was already calling, glaring out into the darkness. "He's going to be all 'I told you so' ya know."
 
"Him I won't punch for it. And he'll still help us regardless. Without the smug comments or just asinine bitchiness." Clara’s opinion of the Jauntson twins was still somewhere below sub-zero. 
 
Lona’s call rang twice before she Jason picked up with a laconic greeting. She decided direct was best. "We went to see Etienne and now we can't go home. Can we come over to the barn?"
 
"Of course." The reply came with no hesitation, the tone calm.
 
Clara's voice came over from distance, "Can we spend the night?"
 
A slight pause, then "I'll make up a room.  No need to stay in the barn."
 
"Thank you. We'll be there soon."
 
About five minutes sooner than safe driving would have permitted, Clara's Ford C-Max pulled up to the house and cut off with an abrupt grumble. The two girls spilled out, looking wrung out and emotionally stunned. When Clara spotted Jase on the porch she gave him a weak wave. "Thanks, Jase. For putting us up. Putting up with us..." She stumbled over the words and stopped midway to the house, rubbing her face hard with her sleeve.
 
Lona grabbed her arm and supported her, her expression set in lines of fury.
 
He came down from the porch, glancing back down the road they'd driven up for a moment as he approached the pair, then stepped to Clara's other side.  "Let's get you inside and sat down."
 
She nodded and let herself be bundled into the house.
 
Once Lona had her safely seated, she sank into a chair herself. "Your dad here? Can we talk freely?"
 
"He's at work, and will be till 8 tomorrow morning."  Jase put a kettle on the hob and busied himself with three mugs, radiating calm curiosity as he glanced at the shaken Clara and the infuriated Lona.  "We're clear."
 
"We went to Etienne's house, because Clara had to talk to him. She can't lie for shit," Lona said, her voice heated. "So once there, he protested his innocence until we said we knew the coordinates, then he locked us in, and called some asshat 'The Doctor'. Then he tried to get us to tell him who broke into the phone, then he had an attack of conscience or some shit and let us go. It was full of the 'I'm so sorry Clara' dramatics, though if he'd really been fucking sorry, he should have just fucking told us what we need to know. Oh, and it isn't safe to go home, but we're fine at school, according to him, and he's going to make some kind of arrangement with the Doctor, and I think he's full of shit, even if his ass is nice."
 
Clara put her hands over her mouth to stifle a hysterical laugh at the end of Lona's recap. She started giggling and crying at the same time, managing to get out a, "It is a nice ass. He's an ass. Ass. Ass ass ass..." before descending into a full on crying meltdown. Lona put an arm around her and hugged her tight.
 
Jase listened calmly to the whole story, his expression intent on the details rather than the emotional import.  Though his eyes were cold through Lona's recounting, and his face immobile, he didn't seem to be angry or annoyed at their actions taken.  As Clara began to break down, he remained motionless, studying them both for a long moment before turning back to the stove and pouring the water into the mugs he had prepared.  Bringing them to the kitchen table, he set one down before each girl, and then seated himself on the other side of Clara as a faint flowery scent rose from the mugs.
 
"Are there any more details you can think of?"  he asked Lona calmly as he swirled his mug a little.
 
Clara wrapped her hands around the mug and took several long ragged breath then tried to step back through the encounter without falling apart again. "He said that they weren't spying on me, not to start. He...doesn't trust the people he works for. Or at least doesn't like the idea of what they'd do if they got ahold of me." She glanced at Lona, still thinking. "He thinks he can bargain with this 'Doctor'. He said he was going to try to make some sort of arrangement. He wanted to know who helped us break into the phone - we didn't tell him - and that was what made him admit that something was going on." She frowned, "When people came to his house, there were three cars. One pulled in around the back. Like cops trying to pen someone in."
 
"They know all of us." Lona took the mug, her hand shaking for a moment. She stared at it, and the tremor stopped. "I ask him which of our friends were safe to hide with," she continued. "and he basically said that they already know them. 
 
"And the phone, he didn't admit to anything until we made it clear that we knew he'd been there two years. Then he admitted to placing the phone. I didn't tell him we found it because Sara had some brain-thing happen."
 
"So there was nothing said about power, or abilities?" Jason asked.
 
Lona stared at the dark window then shook her head. "No."
 
He went quiet, thinking hard, his attitude taking on that quiet, inward-coiling tension that he'd radiated earlier at Bunnee's, though neither girl was given the impression it was directed at them.  "You brought your phones with you here?"
 
"Shit, yes." Lona pulled hers out and quickly started to shut it down completely. "Clara, do you need help with yours?"
 
Clara fumbled hers out and opened it, erasing the preset texts she'd set. "If they can hack our phones, they'll have already pinged our location." She pressed her eyes closed, "I'm sorry Jase, we should have thought of that."
 
"They're coming, then.  It's a matter of time."  he stated with about as much passion as one might say 'looks like rain'.  "It doesn't even take a lot to ping a phone's location.  The sheriff's department would have the ability." He pondered, then got up and started dimming lights in the kitchen, turning off the porch lights from the controls in the hall.
 
"Then we leave," Lona said firmly, rising. "Go somewhere else. Sleep in a damned ditch, if we have to."
 
"I know a place."  He grabbed a flashlight.  "Leave your phones.  Grab some food from the fridge.  I'm getting some blankets - it's not the Ritz, but it is off-radar."
 
Lona nodded and dropped her phone on the table, then grabbed a plastic bag from the pile and opened the fridge.  Frowning, she started to pull out food for them.
 
Clara actually pried the battery out of hers and left both pieces on the table. She finished the hot tea off quickly, then started picking through the food in the kitchen for easy snacks to add to Lona's bag.
 
Their host disappeared upstairs, then came back a few minutes later with a rucksack stuffed with blankets slung on one shoulder, wearing a dark sweater.  "This will be about an hour's walk through the woods."  he advised both of them, then smiled as a thought seemed to tickle him.  "And honestly, I never thought I'd ever take anyone where we're going."
 
"Uhhh, okay?" Lona swallowed nervously. "That didn't sound ominous at all." She hefted the food bag. "Lead on, Jase."
 
Locking the house up, Jase scanned the dark road leading to the house one more time before setting off across the fields, setting a brisk pace.  He didn't turn on the flashlight, instead allowing their eyes to adapt to the dark, and kept his head turning to pick up motion or obstacles the way Hank had taught him.  He guided them into the sparse woods, the stars and moon overheard their only illumination as Lona and Clara kept pace with their silent point man.
 
The trail was slight, not well worn, and the two girls did their best to place their feet as they saw Jase place his.  They travelled without talking and with little noise other than the rustle of clothing or bags and the faint huffing of breath.  It was peaceful, but the awful tension of the world they were fleeing still followed at the teens heels through that trek that seemed to take longer than an hour.
 
In fact, it took an hour and a half, Jase stopping several times and remaining utterly still as he listened to the night, only moving on when he appeared satisfied.  Finally, they came into a shallow valley at the bottom of which lay several seemingly-abandoned industrial buildings.  It was to one of these that Jason led them, unfastening the padlocks on the door of a large prefab cabin and ushering the two girls inside.
 
"Don't move for a moment." he said quietly, thumbing on the flashlight, adjusting it to a 'lamp' setting, then placing it down on a table, illuminating the room.  It was a workspace, obviously some kind of home-made laboratory with workbenches laden with tools, beakers, burners and all manner of equipment.  There was a faint tang of chemicals in the air, but nothing strong, and nothing seemed to be stored haphazardly or dangerously.  For furnishings, there was a single camp bed and an old motheaten couch, both with stacks of books piled beside them.
 
Lona stared around at the space and nodded. "It's isolated. Where the hell are we?"
 
"My lab."  he smiled in the dim light, moving around them and setting the rucksack of blankets down on the couch.  "Specifically where I make fireworks, Adderall, and other little illegal but oh-so-desirable goods.  The other buildings out there are where I grow my weed and tobacco."
 
"It's a drug den," Clara said with an only mildly hysterical giggle.
Lona stared at him, then laughed. "So today started with Chet being a decent human being and ended with me sleeping in a drug lab." She rubbed her short hair before setting the bag on a table. "Seems right."
 
"I prefer 'Fortress of Solitude'"  Jase replied with a small lopsided smile.
 
"The Fortress of Jaseitude." Lona nodded and glanced at the bed.  "Clara, c'mon, let's get you to bed. It's been a long day."
 
Jase made sure the blinds on the windows were tight before moving to a workbench and picking up an electronic timer.  Glancing at the clock on the wall, he frowned and entered some settings before putting the timer back down. 
 
"I've got us set to wake up at around six,"  he stated, moving to the couch and pulling out the blankets, tossing one to the camp bed before seating himself on the couch, long legs sprawling on the floor.  "That will give us time to get back to the house, evaluate if anyone's waiting, then freshen up and head to school."
 
"Make it five," Clara yawned as she collapsed onto the cot. "Lona and I hafta figure out clothes." She was already mostly asleep by the time she had the blanket pulled over her.
 
Lona moved to the couch and dropped next to Jase, leaning against him. "Are you going to sleep?" she asked softly.
 
"Not sure I will for awhile."  he admitted, his voice murmur-quiet.  "I'm half expecting to hear a black helicopter, or cars coming."
 
"Yeah, I don't think I can sleep either. Too scared." He didn't seem to mind her leaning against him, lifting an arm and draping it over her shoulders.  Though his motivation was more personal comfort than anything else, it allowed Lona to snuggle closer.
 
"What is that like?"  he asked quietly, curiosity in his tone.  "I've never felt comfortable asking anyone before - it's an odd question.  Everyone seems to know what it means, but I don't."
 
"Being scared?" She frowned, unsure how to explain for a moment. Resting her head on his shoulder, she said, "It's like... being helpless, but for something that hasn't come yet. Something you think is in the dark."
 
"Thank you."  he murmured.  "Feeling helpless just makes me angry, makes me look for ways to neutralise or punish what is causing the feeling.  It's like... With Cora earlier.  I felt that she was going to get someone I cared about hurt, with that attitude and her approach to things.  I wanted to drive her away - or make her shape up."
 
"I can get angry when scared, too," Lona said softly. After a moment, she asked, "Hey, have you seriously never been scared before? Ever?"
 
"I get tense.  I feel adrenaline when in danger.  It's like..."  he gestured with the hand around her shoulder.  "I don't get scared the way you do."  Lona was given the distinct impression the 'you' was not just her.  "I don't feel remorse or pity, really either.  I am quite literally not physically equipped upstairs."
 
"Huh." Lona looked up at him, considering. "Explains much. Okay, then."
 
"I do care about individuals.  'My people'." he said with a small smile, glancing down at her.  "But everyone else is kind of background noise or else a threat.  I considered telling everyone this at the farm that Saturday.  Medical reports and all.  But... It wasn't the right time."
 
"Yeah. Tell me about it," she muttered. At his curious head tilt, she sighed. "I was going to call you anyway tonight. I wanted to talk about how you pushed yourself, the way you altered your mental state to push. But right now, I don't think I could focus on it."
 
"But... thank you, Jase. For this. We needed someone, and you were there." She leaned into him, wrapping an arm around his chest.  "I won't forget it."
 
His arm tightened around her shoulders slightly, hand patting her arm.  "You would be there for me too."
 
"Yep." Her affirmation was quiet but firm.

 
 ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

 
Dawn came with the trio still trekking back to the farmhouse. Nothing was disturbed, no goon squads were waiting for them. Jase rustled up a few t-shirts for the girls to change into for the day and the phones were trepidatiously put back together and turned on while Jase tended to breakfast. Clara’s phone pinged with a new text message once she unlocked it. Everything’s fine. I will see you at school tomorrow. Don’t tell anyone what’s going on. - Etienne 
 

[WS ST]

Etienne’s House

Shelly, Montana

Last Night

The black clad and heavily armed swat team had entered the house and found the Canadian already on his knees hands on his head. While a half dozen laser beam sights intersected the young man the rest of the team cleared ed the hose when they were satisfied one of them spoke his throat mic relaying the info to waiting ears.

“It’s clear sir.”

A few moments later the front door opened again, and THE Doctor stepped into the small house. He was dressed in a hastily thrown on sports coat, button down shirt open at the collar, no tie in his left hand he held what looked like a full-sized i-pad of similar tablet.

Etienne looked up at his boss, “They are not here.”

“I know that Etienne,” The Doctor help the tablet up, “We know all, we see all, at least when the electronics are working.” He walks up and crouches down in front of the young Canadian spy a very serious look on his face. “You know Etienne, if this were a spy thriller, I’d be putting a bullet in the back of your head for this.”

Etienne swallows as his mouth goes dry and a trickle of sweat runs down his temple.

“But it’s not,” The Doctor laughs and stands, “Get up and put your hands down you look like an idiot.”

The doctor walks around taking not of the house’s décor and it’s cleanliness while Etienne stands. The swat team secure their weapons at a silent sign from their leader and begin withdrawing from the house.

“Do you know where they went?”

Etienne shakes his head and faces the doctor, “No sir. I told them not to go to their home.’ The doctor frowns but lets the younger man continue. “They are just children and they don’t have any idea what it is that is going on.”

“And you do? Etienne, really, you were hired to get close to the girl so you could get access to that damn lab not to fall in love with the kid. And let me remind you she is a kid and screwing her is illegal in the states.” The doctor takes a deep breath. “Okay Etienne obviously you have some crazy plan as to how this will all end up hunky dory how we cut the crap and you tell me what you think we should do.”

 

Shelly High School

Shelly, Montana

Friday

With the usual adroitness of school children everywhere by the second day of school the kids of Shelly had already settled into a routine, not surprising since the kids here had been following the same routines for generations.

The second day of school, as was normal in Shelly, school always started on a Thursday to give the kids and teaches a chance to acclimatize to the new year followed by a weekend to absorb and catch the breath. This year the second day also was the first official football game so the cheerleaders would be out in force rousing that good old school spirit. Also on the agenda was the first day of the new ROTC program which would mainly consist of signing up would be recruits, today was the beginning of the annual Flu vaccination and Immunizations conducted on campus by the Marias Medical center throughout the day.

That morning the buses ran, and the kids started arriving at school again as was normal. Most of the previous days’ excitement was either forgotten or at least dulled to a footnote for those to whom it had had no personal impact. Yes, Cody Sikes was missing but this was only noticed by his few close friends to everyone else it was a story with a dozen rumors attached which few if any gave any credence too. No one paid any mind to the Sheriffs Patrol SUV parked near the entrance to the parking lot. No one except a few who belonged to a unique Fellowship…

 

Spoiler

it is the next morning get yourself to school and make your way to the usual morning get together at the gaming groups table in the cafeteria. takes as long as you need/want i will intervene as warranted.

 

[Lilly Pryor]

Bannon Farm

Lilly's truck came down the road to the Bannon Farm much more quietly than usual. It was morning, as she Lilly kept her music turned down rather low, just enough to hear it. She had to skip her run in order to make time for this, meaning she likely would be a little antsy all day, but she had not gotten to talk to Jason like she had wanted to, with the night going off the rails like it did. She had considered calling him last night, but a face to face talk about serious stuff was always better,,

She pulled up and parked, killing the engine and sitting in silence for a moment as she prepared herself. She had thought a little about what to say to Jase, or rather how to say it, but did not want to overthink it either. Things like this were best said from the heart, and when alone, Jase seemed much more respective to her anyways, so here she was.

As she exited her truck she could see Jase already coming out the font door of his house and walking over. The farm was quiet, so even with her music turned down or off, the sound of her truck still stood out. Lilly closed the door and leaned against the side of her truck in her jeans and football jersey, as was 'strong encouraged' for the day of the first game, as Jase walked over to her. Lilly took in a small, deep breath, causing her chest to heave slightly before she let it out.

"Good morning." she said to her with a small smile on face, to which Lilly offered a faint, if slightly forced, smile in return.

"Hey." she said, still thinking about what to say. "We.. uh.. we need to talk."

"I considered the possibility. Can we do it in the greenhouse? I have to tend to my plants." Jase said, somewhat flatly, but still with a small smile.

"Dude. Can we not?" she said, slightly surprised, but her tone firm. "I'm serious here and want to talk face to face, not face to back while you do something else. That would just be... rude." she explained, adding, "Even if you do not realize it is."

He considered her for a brief moment, an appraisal in his pale eyes, then nodded slowly. He looked as though he had not slept very well, by the shadows under his eyes, but otherwise seemed alert and focused as ever.

"I understand. I did not mean to be rude. Come up to the porch - it's a nice morning." he gestured towards the house.

Lilly paused for a moment and then reached out, taking each of Jase's hands with her own and then leaned back against the truck again, pulling him a little closer as she held his hands.

"I know you said that you would pay more attention to your words or watch them or whatever, and if you said it, then you meant it, but..." Lilly sighed and looked up into Jase's eyes.

"I'm not trying to beat a dead horse here. I'm really not. But what you did to Coraline? That was brutal, dude. I mean, you let her have it with both barrels and it... I didn't like seeing that, or that you were even capable of that that." she said almost with a faint hurt lingering in her voice.

"I mean, I know that really anybody is capable of it, and I know I have to really bite my tongue sometimes, but.. I dunno... I just really didn't expect it, and it wasn't a good look. I was stunned and then I was hurting for her, putting myself in her shoes as if somebody had said that me. You just, you can't unload like that." she said emphatically.

"And I'm not telling you hide yourself from me again, we both know I don't want that. And I know you said you'd be more mindful, but..." Lilly sighed.

"I know she has not been around much, and I am sure you meant what you said, and she might be in a bit of denial, but can you blame her? She hasn't seen and doesn't know what all we do, and the though of your fath-" Lilly paused, not wanting to rub salt in a wound, as she perceived it.. She had heard Jase's comment before about his dad being asleep or in a bottle, and that made her sad and she could see that it had an impact on him too, even if he tried not to show it.

"it's hard for most people to admit oe acknowledge that their parents could be... I dunno... not perfect. I mean, with time we all grow up and see the flaws in them as we mature, but that happens at different rates for different people." she settled on trying to explain.

"And then Sara. I mean, you had to know that response would provoke her. You've seen television and moves, dude." she said a bit plainly.

"I.. I almost took a punch for you, dude... from Sara, because if things had gone violent, this.. this fellowship or whatever, it would have all fallen apart right then and there. And the take is not 'never let Sara within arms reach again'. She's actually very sensitive. Like I said, all the muscle, it's armor for her. And she was hurting for Coraline too. Provoking people like you did, nothing good will come from it.

I mean, it is not always what you say, but how you say it. You could have still expressed the same things to Coraline in a much less harsh and hurtful way, and still made your point. Same goes with what you said to Sara.

And I'm not asking you lie either. Your honesty is something I love about you.

You just have to pick your words and phrasing better with stuff like that. And if you're angry, then it might be best not to unleash it on people. I mean, I get that you were upset at her because you care about us, but none of us would want to be the reason you hurt a friend like that. She's in this too, even if it might take her a little longer to come around."

"And I know you said you would not apologize for what you said to her, and if you said it, you meant it, but you can at least think about apologizing for how you said it? Like.. 'I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said things the way I did.' or something? I mean, we can work on it if you want. But doing so would go a long way."

Lilly sighed and leaned forward, resting her forehead against Jase's chest while allowed the fruity aroma of her shampoo to rise to his nose.

"I just... I know you're a better man than you showed at Bunnee's last night." she said sincerely, forehead resting against his chest as she held each of his hands.

[Bannon]

"I didn't hurt a-"  he bit off what he was going to say, and she felt him sigh.  "You know why I did it.  And my reasons stand.  Anything milder and the message would not have gotten through.  And my last word on the 'Cora being my friend' issue is this: Only I decide who my friends are, Lilly.  No-one does that for me."  Lilly squeezed her eyes shut, trying to hold back tears at the cold tone.  Then his tone softened a little. "The friend I seem to have hurt most was you.  And that is something I do regret.  So I'll think and consider before doing something that might do so again."

Gently, his hands slipped from her clasp and around her waist, drawing her against him in a warm hug, resting his cheek against her hair and breathing in her scent.  He closed his eyes, enjoying the simple profundity of the contact as her arms returned the embrace urgently, as though to hold onto him.  He smelled as he always did - clean, faint cologne and tobacco, the warmth of his body seeming to radiate through her.

"I'm not 'better' than anything, though." he murmured quietly, knowing that he might be setting himself up for the hurt of abandonment, but unwilling to deceive.  "I think you see me as 'decent' underneath, and that is... Flattering, really."  His slender arms held her close as he spoke, savoring the softness of her body and the contrasting strength of her arms, and kept his eyes shut waiting for the tension and the pulling away.  "I'm not a good guy, Lilly.  I'm not a bad guy either.  I'm a more intelligent, two-legged version of the smilodon.  I care about what is 'mine', and what threatens that is my enemy.  I cooperate and associate with you and Sean and the others because I enjoy your company, not because I have the same social needs as others do."

"And now I have concerns - for you Lilly.  Because you might be putting me on a pedestal, seeing me as better than I am.  Because I care deeply about you, and unless your eyes are open to the facts, you will be ripped and torn inside."  He gently brought a hand up to tenderly stroke her hair, feeling a dull ache in his chest at the sense he was killing something that might make him happy.  It was similar to the ache when he saw his father's hopeless depression, the same ache when his mother left him.  Sadness.  He hated it, wanted to ignore that pain, turn it into anger or spite.  But Lilly did not deserve that spite.

"I'm not the man you seem to think I am.  And perhaps...  perhaps you should step back from caring too much for me." he managed to say, though the words felt thick in his mouth.

[Lilly Pryor]

Lilly leaned back, though not breaking the hug, and lifted her head to look up at Jase, her eyes wide with a mixture of surprise and hurt, though her expression slowly hardened a bit.

"That's a helluva thing to say." she said up to him with some barely tempered outrage in her voice. "Especially to me, after what just happened and what I did."

Then Lilly did indeed break the hug and took a step back, closing her eyes for a moment and shaking her head.

"I don't put you on a pedestal, Jason." she said firmly 

"I just see what you and other's don't. You sell yourself short, be it out of your own fear of further loss or whatever." she said honestly, but the hurt and irritation was plain in her voice.

"But don't you patronize me or tell me what I think. Only I decide who I care about, and how much is right. No one does that for me." she said back at him with a little more spite than she would have liked.

"And right now, because I care, I am gonna go before either of us say or so something we are going to regret." she said as she reached in her pocket for her keys.

"Or regret more." she added.

[Bannon]

"That is probably best."  he said calmly as he likewise stepped back, letting his long arms fall to his sides.  He made his face a composed mask, freezing the ache in his chest, stilling the impulse to reach out for her.  He knew he had told the truth, and advised her as a friend should, and it seemed as though the advice was heeded.  For despite her words, her actions displayed disappointment and withdrawal.  His message had gotten through.

Lilly nodded, stiff lips immobile as she turned and fumbled open her door without looking back.  She slammed the truck into gear somewhat roughly, turning up the music as she pulled away in a small cloud of dust.  And the reason she wasn't looking back was because she was mad at him, and nothing to do with the fact that her eyes were blurring as they filled to the brim with tears, and she couldn't see him in the mirrors clearly...

He stood there, squinting against the dust as he watched her go.  He didn't feel like crying.  He doubted he could.  And that was another reason that Lilly was wrong for him - that probably any girl would be.  He turned and headed for the barn taking out his keys and stepping into the humid fragrance of his hothouse.  As he worked, he replayed a conversation he'd had with Marissa, weeks ago, remembering the sun filtering through the windscreen of her Mercedes as they drove to the trailer.

 "I was asking why you were scared of dating, remember?"

"Yes"  Jason nodded, turning his gaze to look out the window again as he considered.  "I'm not scared, though.  Just..."  he searched for the word.  "Reluctant.  I guess 'shy' would work."

"Okay."  Marissa nodded, glancing sideways at him then back to the road.  "Shy.  But you're not shy around girls because they're girls.  I've seen that.  You don't get tongue-tied, blush or stammer or any of that stuff virgin introverts usually do when anything in a skirt walks by."

No.  He didn't.  He didn't feel shame or embarrassment, or suffer fear of rejection.  He wasn't afraid of being alone, or unloved.  He was as he had told Lilly - self-contained, a solitary predator choosing to adopt and care for a pack of interesting creatures.  He was strongest when he could act swiftly and decisively, as he had the night of the Party, as he had last night with Lona and Clara.  He stored the memory of what he felt would be their last close hug in his mind without regret, or even much sadness.  Lilly was safer now, and better off.  The wound would heal, the scar would remind her.

He exited the barn and headed to the smaller outbuilding that contained his car.  It was going to be a trying day.  Clara and Lona were going to have to explain their actions to the others- and that would be so much fun his eyes would bleed.  He'd bring a book to read for that conversation - something engrossing like Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment" in the native Russian.  And then, of course, there would probably be a few moral sermons quietly imparted by earnest friends trying to help him. And also some glares and sniffs from others.  And the counsellor's meeting for the Med. Prep class...  And the game, of course.  He would attend, for it was Lilly's game and her friend should be there.

Plenty to distract him from the phantom ache.

= = = = =

He pulled up with Sean riding shotgun, the speakers blasting heavy rock to forestall conversation he was in no mood for right now.  As the girlish-boy climbed out of the Charger, Jase stared at the playing field intently, letting the music wash over him as he tapped the wheel in time.

"I'll see you in the cafeteria!?"  Sean yelled over the music, receiving a nod from behind the mirrored shades his friend was wearing.  Shaking his head, Sean hustled inside.

[Cade]

Cade had actually arrived somewhat early with Haruka to pick up Coraline, as he hadn't been able to make it the previous night, and she'd not answered when he called.   Taking the hint, he decided to wait for the morning, since it had become routine that she ride with him.   

As far as that went, She seemed abit more subdued, not as peppy and cheerful as normal.   Cade's phone buzzed as he got a text, but he ignored it until they got to school.  he bid his sister goodbye then got out with Cora.  He looked at her with a concerned look.  "Are you going to be alright?"

[Coraline Hess]

"Nothing a little drain cleaner in Bannon's water bottle couldn't cure," Coraline responded flatly, waiting a beat to add, "I'm kidding. He was actually..."

She trailed off, eyes going abstracted as she was drawn back to the night before, after the warm glow of Devin's random act of kindness got her out of there in one more-or-less emotional piece, half an hour to bed time, phone off because she was in no mood for any more potential flack...

"Come on, come on. Just once. If this is really me... Just... Go!" she shouted at the punching bag, door to upstairs closed, fists up in a defensive stance, glaring daggers at the inoffensive object.

"Just Once, Now. Do Something," she growled, seething as she suddenly pictured Bannon's cold, oh-so-superior face on the bag. She lashed out.

"Come! On!" Kick. Thump.

"Prove! That!" Jab. Thump.

"Fucking! Smug!" Cross. Thump.

"Jerkass! Bastard!" Kick. Thump.

"Fucker! Wrong!!" Jab. BANG!

Everything got lighter for a second, just in time for a bloom of light and heat to send Coraline flying on her ass and the punching bag swinging wildly on it's chain. Maybe a little bruised and definitely emotionally raw, the tall brunette laughed and laughed from the padded floor, acutely glad for the sound-muffling walls.

"...Helpful. Sort of. Bastard doesn't know me, doesn't know dance, doesn't know my family. If this... whole thing... was half as evil as you're all painting it, they'd have just dumped toxic waste in the reservoir and removed the whole town years ago. Cleaned up most of the wild variables in one go. Has to have shades of grey in there, and that means some light to balance the dark, too. Won't find it if we don't look. I'm still looking," she finished, voice soft but intense, venting a sleepless night's worth of theory to Cade, gathering up her backpack, "Not that I'm telling the others that. They'll just shit on me again. I'm going to find my proof, safely, and *then* jam it down their throats until they choke on it. Hesses don't wallow. We work." 

[z-Avalon Wilson]

Lona signaled for Clara to stay close to the house, then pulled out a nail file. As Clara watched, she slipped the file between the windows and wiggled over the latch. “I always leave my window half-unlocked,” she told her housemate as she slid the window open effortlessly. Together, they climbed into Lona’s room; Lona started to dig into her closet while Clara went to her own room.

Clara came back in to Lona putting the finishing touches on her makeup. “How do I look?” she asked, motioning to the ROTC uniform she donned. The dress blues lay in the crisp lines only brand new clothing could keep well. Her hair was tightly french braided and tucked in so that the narrow cap would sit properly; the black dress shoes shined out from underneath the hem of the pants. Clara fidgeted with the cuffs, making a little face at the scratchy stiffness still embedded in the fabric.

Lona stared at Clara, her eyeliner half-done. “You’re in a uniform,” she said, her voice tight. “I’d forgotten about that bullshit.” With brusque movements, she turned back to the mirror, intently returning to her beautification.

Clara started at the brusque response, but eventually just shook it off as tiredness and stress. “Uh, okay. Well, I’m ready to go when you are.”

“Yeah, almost.” Lona did a final stroke of liner, studied herself critically and nodded. “Let’s go.”

They slipped back out to the car, parked on the access road leading to the backside of the Wright’s land. Once on the move, they rode in silence for a moment before Lona said, “It’s hard to see you in that uniform.” 

“Oh.” Clara mentally kicked herself for being an insensitive ass. “I’m sorry,” she apologized quietly. “It’s the ROTC recruitment day on campus. I’d already signed up, so Major Angelas wanted me in uniform. To help.”

“I’ll just need to get used to it.” Lona managed a wan smile. “It’s your career path, at least for now.” She took another look at her. “You know, you do look sharp in it.”

“Thanks.” Clara smiled at the compliment. “There’ll be stuff I have to do after school, I think. Do you want to stick around and wait for a ride home, or take the car and pick me back up later? I don’t know if the Scoobie Fellowship is getting together for another round of theatrics today or not. Probably. Probably to yell at me or us.” She shrugged, feeling more sanguine about any rancor the rest of the group might throw at them. At least they’d done something. 

That sparked a thought in her mind. “Hey, Etienne’s group is spying on people, right? Maybe they can find Cody. Or at least maybe Etienne can rule out a whole bunch of places to look because otherwise they would know where Cody is.”

“I honestly meant to ask him about Cody if he was forthcoming, but Clara,” Lona paused to pick her words. “He’s still not on our side. He still spied on us, and hasn’t given us much information. If he doesn’t cough up more, I may approve hayhook-levels of response.”

Clara snorted at the ‘hayhook’ comment. “Actually, from what he said, he wasn’t spying on us to start with. So what was he doing? They way he said it sounded like he was spying on someone, and given the phone info, that’s been for two years or so. Way before any of us got powers. So, what’s he supposed to be finding out or looking for?” She thought for a moment, then shook her head. “Too many variables, too many unknowns. Too much to try to figure out on the way to school. Maybe the two of us, Sean, and Jason can put enough together to know what kind of puzzle we’re even looking at. Why don’t we try to track them down before school starts and then maybe meet up at lunch? Etienne didn’t say when he’d be around today, but if we can get more information to throw on things, that’ll help.”

“Yeah, that’s what he said,” Lona replied softly, “but if someone’s not a Scoobie, I don’t trust ‘em.” As Clara pulled into the parking lot, Lona caught sight of a familiar Charger. “Speak of our devil,” she murmured softly. 

“Mmhm.” Clara gave Lona a speculative glance before pulling in next to the Charger and turning off the car. “Go flag him down? Maybe he’s seen some of the others.”

Lona nodded, climbing out and crouching next to his car. She rested her arms on the open window and smiled at him, trying not to think about laying against him all night, his heart pounding in her ear. “Morning. Have you seen anyone else yet?”

[Bannon]

He turned his face towards her, smiling slightly under the shades he was wearing, their mirrored surfaces showing Lona only her own face whereas behind them she knew those pale copper and verdigris flecked eyes would be studying her intently.  He turned clicked a button on his steering column, killing the music, and nodded.

"Sean, when I gave him a ride in.  He's probably in the cafeteria.  And Lilly came to my house just before I left, wanting to talk."  His jaw tightened a tiny bit, but his smile remained as he shrugged.  "I don't know where she is now - probably getting ready for the football event with Laurelei."

"Okay." Her eyes narrowed a bit but she said nothing. "Hey, I forgot to offer -- do you need a pick-me-up?"  He considered her words, then shook his head slightly.

"Coffee will do me, for now. Anything more would probably be a bad idea." he said with another, warmer smile. "If anything, I feel like mellowing out - but there's work to do." He removed his shades and grabbed his bag, plainly getting ready to climb out of the car.  She chuckled, standing and moving away from the door as his lanky frame unfolded and stood, shouldering his bag and winding up the window.

"I meant a Lona-pick-me-up. I've already done it for Clara and I." She didn't look like she'd been up all night, when he looked for the signs of fatigue. "If you wanna try it, lemme know. And um, hey." She paused and bit her lip ring lightly. "So talking about last night not being the right time for stuff, I did want to ask if you wanted to hang out sometime, just you and me."  He paused, then finished shutting the door behind him as he climbed out, locking it before turning back to Lona. His eyes played over her features, meeting her gaze as he nodded.

"That would be good, I think. We've not really hung out much before this summer, and never alone." he tilted his head to one side, smiling a little. "And I'd be interested in the Lona-pick-me-up." he remarked, some interest in his voice now he knew what she'd meant. "Today is likely to be trying.  Show me what you got."  he finished with a hint of flirtatious challenge in his tone and gaze.

[z-Avalon Wilson]

“Okay then,” Lona said, glancing down at the car for a second. “Mind if I lean on the baby?”

He nodded, his expression curious, and Lona reflected that another guy might have insisted on knowing why. She leaned back against the car, setting down her bag and pulled her shirt over the metal bits on her jeans so she didn’t scratch the paint. Lona rested her hand on his forearm and closed her eyes. 

For a second, there was only the soft pressure of her hand. She pictured his tiredness as a brown haze around him, enveloping the warm golden glow of a healthy person. The touch told her more about his health, but she ignored it to focus on the exhaustion. She pictured it flowing down his body, rolling down him like liquid. When it reached the ground, it sank away into the parking lot, one with the earth.

For Jase, warmth flowed from her hand, accompanied by a gentle tingle. Then he felt the weariness receding, pushed away by something he couldn’t sense. It felt a little invasive, knowing that she was directly altering his body, but he couldn’t deny the relief that followed the loss of discomfort.

Lona opened her eyes and dropped her hand, only to grab at the car. “Whoa, that was a dizzy one,” she said, blinking as if emerging from a dark room. “Sometimes, I feel a little weird after I do stuff, like sleeping upside down.” She glanced up at him. “Feel better?”

"Much."  he smiled, taking a deep breath as though feeling lighter.

“Great, let’s get Clara and find the others. I’m sure they’ll wanna have words with us,” Lona sighed. Together, the three of them headed inside, missing Cade and Cora across the lot.

[Cade]

Cade's smile faded as she spoke.  It was probably the first time she'd seen his smile die, and he nodded, his shoulders slumping slightly in resignation.  "Of course there are shades of grey, there always are.  We'll have to find them, together."  He held her gaze for a moment.  "Don't go off alone on anything Cora.  We're part of the group, we work with the others, even when they're assholes.  Now is not the time for independent actions.   That's how we get exposed to danger, and it could expose all of us."

He seemed abit drained, his concern still present.  "Come on, let's go see if anyone else is here."  With that he locked the jeep, and made for the cafeteria and their table therein.  Only now checking his phone.  It was a text from Haruka.  "What did you do to Cora?"

He quickly replied "Nothing."   The reply was fairly quick.  "Is that the problem?"   He grunted in annoyance, and put the phone back in his pocket.   His sister had a dirty mind for a twelve year old, something no one would ever expect.  

[Charlie Cole]

Charlie caught up to Cade and Cora as they were heading for the cafeteria. His night had been a restless one with images, now blurred by wakefulness but he knew he'd seen or sensed, well, something. A lame summary, but it looked like he definitely was going to take Jase and Sean up on those meditation suggestions. "Hey Cade. Hey Cora." Remembering the great Bannon conflagration and Cora's pensive expression, Charlie made to ask, "Uh, how are you doing?"

"Fine." Cora tersely replied, about as convincing as Swiper the Fox holding the object of his swiping with both hands behind his back.

Charlie knew what he had to say was going to be awkward, but in fairness, appropriate to balance out what Jason had received already. "Listen. What Jason said was totally uncalled for. But. I remember what I used to think of my dad. I thought he was a bit of braggart, bit of an ego, but not fundamentally a bad guy. So when I first saw him walking with that," Charlie said the word like it was a curse, "bimbo, I told myself there was an innocent explanation. Didn't want to think he was cheating on my mother, treating her like old garbage." 

"It's not the same." Cora retorted and Charlie nodded reasonably along with it. "It's not. But I know how it is to learn your own father isn't the person you thought he was. Maybe it turns out the spooks were able to work around him. Maybe he's being lied to or forced into this." Finally, the last possibility he said gravely. "Maybe he's up to his neck in all this. I really hope you're right Cora, but you do need to be prepared for the possibility you're wrong."

[Lilly Pryor]

Lilly gripped the steering wheel tightly and slammed her breaks, stopping her truck just before the gravel road reunited with the street. She moved both her hands to the top of the wheel and leaned forward, resting her forehead against the back of her hands and shutting her eyes tight. She breathed deeply and quickly, trying to keep composed as much as she could, but she could feel the cool lines running down her cheeks.

Jase was a friend, not one of the dozens of acquaintances she had, but somebody she actually considered a friend. She had been willing to to take a punch from and even wrestle down Sara if it came to it, for him, and this is how he repays that? By saying she should care about him? Really? And this was after he had told her that he liked her too. Does he even know what friendship actually is?

She didn't want to go to school right. After the night before, her restless sleep, if it could even be called, already being antsy from skipping her morning run to talk to her friend and then getting that friendship thrown back in her face... she needed to do something. Run. Lift weights. Work out. Punch something....

But she couldn't. Other people depended on her. Tonight would be the first football game of the season and she was a starter. She had to be at school today for the pep rally and to play. So once again she would suck it up, put on her happy face, as best she could, and try to make it through the day. It was only the first full of school anyways, which would be more lesson plans and stuff like that mostly anyways. And after the game she would have the weekend.

With a long, deep sigh she took her foot off the break and stepped on the gas again, easing her truck onto the street to make her way to the Cassidy's place to pick up Laurie, who was ready to go when she got there, wearing her jersey for the first time off the field. Lilly smiled as she got in the truck and said, "Looks good on you."

"Thanks." Laurie replied, still finding it a little weird to be wearing the large jersey with any pads on as she slug her bag to the floorboard.

"What's wrong?" Laurie asked, catching Lilly off guard.

"What? Nothing." Lilly said as she pit the truck back in gear which only drew a 'yeah, right' look from Laurie.

"Lilly." Laurie said flatly. "I can tell you were crying."

"Jase can be an ass." Lilly finally said as she navigated the streets toward the school.

"Gee. Ya think?" Laurie said in mock surprise.

"I don't mean last night. Well.. Okay. I do mean last night, but also this morning. He's.. he told me I shouldn't care about him so much. I count him as a friend and I step in front of Sara's freight train of a fist for him, and that is what he says to me? Seriously?" Lilly said, some of her outrage returning.

"And this is after he told me he likes me a few weeks ago." Lilly added in her irritation.

"What?" Laurie said in surprise. "He did? Whoa." Laurie said as she let it all sink in for a minute.

"Yeah." Lilly confirmed. "Just.. just keep it to yourself though. I don't wanna-"

"You don't want to... what? Embarrass him or something? He says that to you and you still are thinking about his feelings. Seriously. I don;t know how you do it, Lilly." Laurie commented as they pulled into the parking lot.

"Neither do I sometimes." Lilly said, shaking her head.

"Look. We got a game tonight, so just forget about this and enjoy the pep rally and stuff. Tonight is your first game. Enjoy it." she said with a smile as she exited the truck and grabbed her back.

"Sure. Cool." Laurie replied, doing the same.

With backs slung over their shoulders the pair heading across the parking lot.

[Bannon]

"You guys go ahead."  Jase said quietly as he stopped by the men's room door, giving Lona and Clara a quick smile.  "I'll see you in there."  The two girls carried on towards the cafeteria as the gangly teen shouldered the door open and stepped inside.  They didn't look back, intent as they were on their own discussion on what to do and how to approach telling others about Etienne, and so they didn't see three figures approach the men's room door behind Jason.  Two took up guard positions outside as the third slapped a "Wet Floors" sign on the door and slipped inside, intent on it's quarry.

Jase didn't pay much attention as the door opened, intent on his own thoughts as he occupied himself as the room was intended for.  And so it surprised him more than a little when a female voice intruded on his reverie.

"Hmm." the purr of feminine appraisal / approval caused him to blink and look up into the mirror over the urinal only to see Courtney smirking at him, her back to the door.  With a clicking of heels, she pushed off from the portal and approached him slowly, hand on her hip.  She seemed a little taken aback as his shock quickly passed and, rather than frantically stuffing his junk back into his pants and potentially wetting himself, as many boys had when she'd pulled this little trick out of her armory before, he just maintained eye contact in the mirror, his air one of patient tolerance.

"I'd say 'I think you have the wrong room', but that would be implying you didn't already know.  We both know that isn't true." he said calmly.  "I find it off-putting to piss with an audience, though, so if you wouldn't mind..?" He nodded towards the door, but Courtney was not about to be undone so easily.  In many ways she saw herself as being made of sterner stuff than Marissa.  The Jauntsen girl was subtle, a tease who made herself unattainable.  Courtney did not have those airs and graces, but she made up for it with sheer dogged blatancy.  Marissa would use sensual suggestion, Courtney was perfectly capable of following through on her teases, whether it was persuading jocks to harass other pretty girls with a little behind the bleachers handjob action, or screwing a teacher for a better grade - Or trying to get inside a guys head by playing mind games when he was taking a piss.

"Good.  You are a smart boy." she grinned as she stepped in behind him, pressing lightly against his back with her body as she peeked up over his shoulder so as to get a downward angle from the mirror.  Her eyes widened for a moment, plainly surprised, before narrowing in approval.  "Not bad, smart boy.  If you grow as well as you show, you could make a girl very happy and sore."  She pursed her crimson lips in a smirk.  "Assuming you like girls... Which I'm guessing you do after seeing you with the princess royal yesterday."

"Is there a point to this?  Only I'm trying to concentrate."  Jase asked, a faint icy glint to his gaze meeting hers in the mirror.  Courtney stepped back, raising both hands in a peace gesture, and turned her back, smiling as she heard him 'start up' again.

"The point is this:  Marissa is leading you on.  She's too good for you, me, the whole school.  Fine, she saw what you were hiding and brought you out of your shell - so romantic."  Courtney pressed the back of her hand to her brow dramatically.  "And she will use you - to get grades, to get credibility.  You know the jocks are scared of you now, right?  Word has spread about Cody, and a lot of whispers say you finished the job."

"Marissa and I are friends.  Nothing more."  Jason said with glacial calm as he finished his business and moved to the sinks.  "We enjoy one another's conversation.  And as for Cody... I've not seen him since he ran off with fear staining his pants at the fair, outrunning Chet for the first time in either of their school athletics careers."

"Oh, I believe that."  Courtney flapped a hand, rock-solid certainty in her voice as she said  "You're not a killer.  So..."  she pursed her lips at his back as he washed his hands.  "Not Marissa. Who then...?  Lilly?"

At the sink, hidden by Jase's body from her view, a rime of frost began to lace the porcelain.  He said nothing, paying attention to his ablutions to all appearances, but his eyes were fixed on his hands a little too intently.

"You know she's not even interested in guys, right?  I bet her and Little Cassidy are best buddies in the girls showers after the game later though."  Courtney sighed, oblivious to Jase's silence or else taking it for a sign her words were having the desired effect.  Her voice became warmer.  "Face it, Jason.  You have got something going on this semester.  A regular gender-swap Cinderella story.  I have to say, I'm liking what I see.  Everything I see."

The water stopped running from the faucet, a faint groan coming from deeper in the plumbing as the contents of the pipe froze solid.  There was a lattice of frost sparkling on the sink and tiles now in front of Jase.

"You know, you're right in a way, Courtney."  Jason said calmly as he straightened up, grabbing some paper towels and drying off his hands.  Abruptly he was standing in front of her after one long step, his eyes looking down into hers with that same sensual cold-hot predator's stare she'd seen the day before.  He leaned forward, his voice intimate in her ear.

"I do desire Marissa.  And you too.  I fantasize about fucking one or the other of you up against the lockers in the hallway, making you cry out, our sweat and cum mixing and running down our skins.  We mark one another - nails, teeth.  I leave my lust all over your bodies in bruised throats, bloody hickys and scratches, red welts and shivering nerves.  Your throats are hoarse when I am done, and the whole school watches in shocked silence, and the weight of their stares just makes it that much hotter and makes your surrenders that much sweeter."  His voice was a low, sensual tone as he spoke, never wavering or thickening, his control absolute as he slowly withdrew and stared into her dilated pupils.  "There is just one difference in the fantasies, sweet thing.  When I'm done with Marissa, I cradle her and kiss her gently."  He stepped back, inhuman amusement and malice in his gaze as it held hers.  He shouldered his bag and stepped back towards the door, still hold her gaze until he reached it, opening it without looking round.

"You, I leave there for anyone else to come along and help themselves to." he finished with a callous flat tone, and then he was gone, the door swinging shut behind him.  As it banged shut, the sink he'd been standing at shattered with a loud *CRACK* , causing the girls outside to jump as they heard the noise, staring at Jase's back as he strode away.

= = = = =

He strode into the cafeteria a few minutes later, nodding silently to the others before sitting at the end of the Fellowship's table.  Seeing that not all were present yet, he popped in a pair of earphones and blocked out the world, his eyes closed and vision directed inward at the feelings of savage cold and searing flame he felt warring in his mind.  He'd done something at the sink, and knew only a matter of effort had prevented him from doing something similar to Courtney. Something awful was stirring beneath the crystalline palace of his mind, something he'd acknowledged but thought safely dormant.

[Sean Cassidy]

Sean had sighed when Jason had picked him up, his rangy friend even more terse than usual, blaring the music loud enough that Sean had been wincing, his head pounding in time to the heavy rock. Yes, he wanted to talk with Jason about last evening, but he'd think by now, Jase knew he wouldn't force the issue, at least not so soon, if he didn't want to talk about. Jase looked tired and remote. Sean gave him a long, considering look then shook his head and hustled to the cafeteria, ignoring the looks that turned his way, easy to dismiss what people thought about him when he had so much else on his mind.

The first of the Fellowship in the cafeteria, Sean claimed their usual table, using his backpack and satchel to reserve bench space for the others. It wasn't just the conspiracy he had on his mind, the missing Cody, the provenance of the Atomic Generator and Rangeless Radio, and conflicts brewing amidst the... Goddamn we need a better name than the Fellowship. His skin tingled, as though feeling the warm touch of the sun after the clouds disperse on a cool day, but there was an electric edge to it too, the potential of a fierce thunderstorm lingering. It wasn't unpleasant, by the tightening in his underwear, just odd.

He was even more conscious of the various phones, tablets, and other electronic devices among the student body. He could almost feel them chirp and chatter, the indecipherable background noise of a crowd only he could hear. It almost seemed with some strain and effort, he would be able to make out what the electromagnetic babble was saying. Sean shook his head and rubbed at an ear, trying to subdue the tumult, then pulled out a tablet from his satchel to distract himself.

The tablet was practically responding before he even touched it, as Sean surfed Twitter, Facebook, and Steam, making updates and responding about his first game, Annwn, and the more ambitious game he was still working on. He snorted, his new game had psionic powers in it as an option, that would help with the primer. He'd made unexpected progress on the game over the end of summer. Reviews of Annwn on Kotaku and IGN had dropped - well after release, but not unexpected from an indy developer of one, who also did his own PR - and they were quite good, and he was very pleased by the comparisons to Okami, Journey, and Ori and the Blind Forest. His game wasn't designed with microtransactions or recurring revenue in mind, but after the reviews dropped, Sean saw a distinct uptick in sales for Annwn, and increased buzz for his next game. He made some responses on Twitter and Facebook, pushed that his next game would be microtransaction and lootbox free - he had no compunctions about the blowback hitting AAA developers in the last year - and made a mental note to make a new game development video for YouTube...

... y'know, if the MiBs or psychic entities from dimension X didn't get to him and his friends, first. Hmm, or even if they do. He'd like to leave something behind that people could enjoy.

As people joined him at the table, Sean slid his backpack closer to make space for them, giving them waves and chipper greetings. His turquoise and teal eyes were bright with glee, but his cheerful grin faded, noticing the tension among his friends as they claimed space at the table. He'd gotten some good news in the morning, a more than pleasant surprise after the not great meeting at Bunnee's, but it didn't seem to be going as well for others.

"Oh, man!" Sean exclaimed in rising concern, seeing the looks on the face of his friends, and quickly exchanged glances that Sean couldn't decide were guilty or were something else. "Did something else happen after Bunnee's?"

[z-Avalon Wilson]

Lona and Clara entered the cafeteria, the latter getting stares for her new uniform. Seeing Sean had already claimed space at the tables, they grabbed food and headed that direction. Lona smiled and greeted her friend, but she must not have been able to cover her tension -- or perhaps Clara gave it away -- because Sean clearly noticed.

In answer to his question, she sighed and rubbed her face. “Yeah, but it's best to not get into it until everyone is here,” Lona said. As Jase took his seat at the end of the table and immediately assumed his antisocial stance, she added, “Best to go over it once and get all the screaming and wailing done now.”

“That does not sound good,” Sean noted with a frown.

Lona shrugged. “It’s not great, but we know more than we did yesterday, so that’s a plus.” Fucking Etienne. I almost want to clear Jase for hay-hooking. She knew she wouldn’t, though. If she actually thought someone deserved to die to the point that it had to happen, she was uncomfortable with the thought that someone else needed to do the dirty work. It felt like if you wanted someone dead that badly, you should do it yourself.

She rubbed her face again and picked at what the cooks called scrambled eggs, not really feeling hungry. Murder, psionics, spies pulling the honey pot on Clara. Where the fuck did shit go this sideways? Fuck my life.

[Jaunt]

Devin strode through the cafeteria from his usual double door entrance with Marissa in tow.  Once again is seemed a slow motion theme was in order as the two looked they owned the place.

Devin was sporting his usual designer jeans and hoodie ensemble with a shirt underneath that supported some Malibu skate club.  Marissa was dropping a fashion bomb on the school with a white turtleneck and a black leather skirt that was way above the regulations for the school, a fact she maneuvered around by way of a sheer pair of leggings just dark enough to be considered acceptable as leggings, not stockings.  Her heels clack on the floor, barely audible over the loud talking in the massive room.

The twins moved like serpents stalking their favorite patch of tall grass and made it to the table just as Lona had finished speaking.

"Little much for school, don't you think, Marissa?"  Sean asked.

"I've places to be after class, and I've no time to go home and change.  What do you care?  You're not even a real girl anyway, play with your minis and magic dragons, leave real life aspirations to the adults."

"Chances are we still don't know shit, because people don't seem to know how teamwork works."  Devin glared at the sisters, obviously not happy.

"Look, with everyone here or not, let's get real.  It's obvious no one here wants to together, and when we're trying to work we're either fighting or up in someone's shit."  The local authority issue said calmly.  "This isn't friendship, guys, maybe we should all go our separate way and just do our thing."

While Devin addressed the sisters and the others, Marissa approached Bannon and bumped him with her hip.  "So," she cooed, not making any attempts to hide her volume.  "Courtney was complimenting your penis, Jason, do share."  She rolled her hand forward.  "The story, not your penis.  That conniving little skank is up to something I've just yet to discover what."

[Bannon]

Glittering thoughts slid into place, shunting aside the turmoil of desire-rage-isolation as he considered and replayed the sensations of the encounter in the restroom.  

He'd done that, to the sink, to the pipes.  Thermal subtraction.  He'd felt the power surge out of him, stronger than his minor telekinetic tricks he'd pulled before, and at the same time more focused.  He'd felt the air molecules, the water droplets within them, the dance of the electrons as they spun and, in his struggle for control of his anger, the inner freezing had stilled the molecular motion in the air, condensing the water.  That had been the initial rime of frost.

Focus.  Follow the thought train.  The music in his ears blocked out the chatter and bustle of the cafeteria.

And then his rage had mounted, and he'd exerted more of his inner coldness to suppress it.  He'd reached into the atoms of the porcelain itself and frozen them to the point of molecular fragility, to the point where the bonds that held the ceramic together were stilled.  And the water in the faucet, the metal of the pipes too.  And he'd known that if he turned his gaze up into the mirror, or around at Courtney, he would have frozen her in the same fashion, made her a glittering, dead flesh ice sculpture of muted colours.

Thermal subtraction.  Literally kinetically controlling the temperature by stilling the atoms.  Water boiled fast last night for the tea - I was in a hurry, but it took only a minute or two.  Thermal excitation too?  Makes sense - all kinetic energy.

He considered, then tore a small strip of paper from his notebook, twisting it and holding it before his eyes.  Feel the molecules, the paper.  Easier than the sink.  Flammable, small, controlled.  Remember how it felt when you lifted the knife, and focus tighter...  The end of the paper started to smolder.  Slow.  Control it.  Make it a match-flame, not a firework.  He felt it, behind his eyes, a weird pushing and reaching out sensation.  The tip of the paper 'match' started to blacken and he felt the incipient burst of flame-

1 hour ago, Jaunt said:

While Devin addressed the sisters and the others, Marissa approached Bannon and bumped him with her hip.  "So," she cooed, not making any attempts to hide her volume.  "Courtney was complimenting your penis, Jason, do share."  She rolled her hand forward.  "The story, not your penis.  That conniving little skank is up to something I've just yet to discover what."

Three things happened at once.

The makeshift paper match became a small burst of flame and smoke in Bannon's fingers as the soft contact of Marissa's hip and the puff of her perfume caused a small record-scratch skip in his concentration.  Rather than flinging it to the side, because Marissa was there, or away, because his friends were around him, he ended up cradling a dancing flame in his palm.

Sean's eyes widened from where he sat across from Jase, and he only just got his precious tablet out of the way before the mouthful of soda he'd taken caused him to cough, choke and splutter.  Some of it went on the table, some he swallowed, and some he breathed in, eyes tearing up as he coughed frantically.

Everyone else at the table froze in shock, initally as Marissa's words caused them to look around and stare at her and Jason.  Even Devin did a double-take, looking at his sister then Jase, his current train of thought jumping a track.  Lona was glad she hadn't had a drink in her mouth (unlike poor Sean) and felt an incipient blush coming.  The others stared.  And then the stares took in the dancing flame on Jase's palm and his calm expression as his eyes regarded it, the copper flecks in the pale depths taking on the bright gleam of sparks from a fire as he glanced back at them, then up at Marissa, then back to the flame with a tilt to his head and a faint smile on his lips.

He rotated his hand, letting the flame dance onto the back, over his fingers, then back to his palm as the slender hand finished turning.  It felt warm to him, but not burning... and yet he knew it wanted to burn. It wanted to destroy, to consume.  A hungry newborn, knowing only appetite.  He looked back at his friends over the flame, the reflection of it in his gaze seeming to reach deeper than the surface.  And then with a faint narrowing of his eyes he closed his hand, snuffing it out.

"Courtney likes to ambush boys in the restroom and cause them embarrassment, place them off guard, it seems.  I do not embarrass."  he replied to Marissa calmly as he opened his hand once more, showing unblemished skin which he examined.  "And she was trying to mess with my mind, or recruit me, or play one of those trivial parlor games.  I told her - in no uncertain terms - that whatever she thought she had to offer was of no worth to me, and nor is she."  He looked up and met Marissa's eyes.  "Does that shed any light on the subject?"

[Cassandra Allen]

Like the similarly intrepid Dana Scully, Cassandra picked the moment right after the weird thing happened to show up, thus enabling her to maintain her plucky resistance to accepting the existence of weird things. Except of course, she was way past that point. Details.

She swept over to the table where the Fellowship was uncomfortably gathered, only picking up on the tension in the air after she'd sat down.

Then she looked around, spotted Devin and Mari standing there, and sighed. "I swear every time I sit down with you guys there's a fight going on."

[Coraline Hess]

"I'll keep that in mind, Charlie. He's given me enough talks about doing the right thing the right way for me to throw one or two at him *if* you're right," she returned, breathing out and masking her hurt behind a smile, bracing for the unpleasantness of the coming gauntlet at the pre-class meeting of the 'Fellowship'. Hadn't Tolkien's version broken up over that ring or whatever when Sean Bean tried to kill Elijah Wood? 

"We're late for whatever bullshit Bannon is dictating today. Wouldn't want to miss it," she concluded with a final glance at the two boys before hustling into the cafeteria where, surprise surprise surprise, Bannon was holding court again. Joy. She pulled to a stop to next to the twins, smiling a honest little smile at Devin that lit up her face. The expression cooled as she swept over the  group.

"Morning, guys. And Bannon," she greeted with a wave, forcing her voice not to drop flat on his name, "I blew myself up on purpose last night, so if there are ghosts, they're very cooperative ghosts. You?"