Aberrant: 200X - The Cleveland Fly-in and Bake Off

[Praxis]

"Here, enjoy:

Praxis looked over at Jael for a moment, wearing his "I'm friends with everybody" face. When he got a good look at her, something just wasn't right. She seemed disturbed by something. Something about... him? That didn't make sense. She was reacting like he was some sort of quantum backlashed type. She dropped the roll and took off, leaving it on the table next to him.

He watched her, monitoring her emotional state as well. He wouldn't be able to pay as much attention to his true target, though he was going to figure out what the hell had just happened. As he watched, her emotions were like a damned roller coaster. Mild disturbance, then holy shit amounts of pure hormonal lust, panic, irritation, ramping, near psychotic levels of anger and aggression, then... nothing. This lady was completely nuts. Praxis picked up the roll and started chewing on it as he pondered this. He had better make sure to deliver that CD if he wanted to keep his face. On the plus side, the roll was good. Always a bonus.

[Kazuo]

Originally Posted By: Jael Carver

And then it turned personal. Jael listened with a tight jaw, holding the cigarette under her nose so that the fumes coiled into her nostrils with each breathe, keeping her head clear. She listened to him, and stared, and thought about jamming the godawful cigarette in Kazou's good eye. The impulse was so strong she actually leaned toward him a little. In her lovely blue-gray eyes, Kazou could see the wolf, the wild thing peering out and gathering for the attack. Then Sakolove's conditioning reacted, and the collar dropped around the wolf's neck, and the bars on the cage slammed down. In her eyes, her murderous intent faded, gone completely.

It occurs to Kazuo about halfway through his bullshit story (he's pretty proud of how well it came out, personally, but c'mon! like he'd actually lose to that sissy - as if!) that Jael has some serious emotional and/or mental issues. Serious.
Sure, he can understand her getting all defensive on him; that's what people usually do when you point out something true about themselves they don't wanna hear. But this chick looks like she wants to put out his eye or something (on a purely intellectual, abstract level, Kazuo can only approve of such tactics - dirty fighting is the best! - but this is his eye we're talking about, and it's the only one he's got left and he's kinda partial to it), which, really, is just overreacting a touch. Kazuo wonders if it's even occured to Miss Superhumanly Perceptive that he's spent the past several years working with the living embodiment of Viagra, and if there's anyone who knows how to deal with this shit, it's him. What, a guy can't help a lady in distress?
Kazuo is also simultaneously wondering what Knockout looks like naked, so his argument is, perhaps, less valid than he's making it out to be...

Then there's the creepy, sociopathic look she gives him for a minute. No, not the "wild" look, that only looks like non-verbal defensiveness to Kazuo ("No way, Mr. Scar-face-guy who only met me four seconds ago and is already trying to lecture me on life's lessons, I really am scary! Look in my eyes! See? I'm scary! Scary!"). What creeps Kazuo out is the look that comes immediately after. The dead-behind-the-eyes look that Kazuo's seen before, usually in some kind of truly fucked up situation. It's not a look that he can place though, and maybe he's only associating it with something else anyway, but Kazuo goes with his gut (even when going with his gut costs him an eye and a pound or two of carved flesh), and his gut doesn't like that look. Guh.

Originally Posted By: Jael Carver

Jael shrugged, giving him an easy smile. "I'm sure that's how it looks to you, but I'm just here to have good food and meet some people. If you're interested in psychoanalyzing me, you're in a free country, but you can keep it to yourself. I'm not interested in hearing tired cliches that compare me to wild animals." She grinned and added, "If you have new cliches though, I might be interested in hearing those."

Fortunately, this little bit of verbal sparring gives Kazuo the chance he needs to cover his discomfort at the realization that he's sitting next to an extremely hot mental case. "Hey, English is a second language for me. I thought I was doin' pretty good, all things considered", says Kazuo with a look of obviously faked chagrin, "if I'd known you get compared to animals all the time, I'da come up with somethin' else. I'd hate ta think I was borin' you."

Kazuo gives Jael an amazingly obligatory smile, while thinking What the fuck does psychoanalyzing mean?

Originally Posted By: Jael Carver

Vixen came running back to the gathering, bubbling with excitement. "Good for her," Jael murmured, taking a final drag on the cigarette before flicking the butt into a trash can.

"By the way, how was the roll?" She was so polite now, calm and demure.

This time Kazuo gives her a much more genuine smile and says, "Delicious. How was your cigarette?"

[Magnum Opus]

Originally Posted By: Ryusei Hideyoshi

"As a party though,it may be somewhat lacking. It's not like anyone seemed to think to bring anything beyond food and drink. A beautiful park day and a park full of novas... what are we going to do?""

Knockout thinks for a minute. "Uh... I could juggle plates. Or cars. Maybe someone else can do other stuff. I kind of, uh, just lift things and fly and take a good hit."

[Ryusei Hideyoshi]

"Better than me, all I can do is either make people really slow, really fast, or freeze time altogether."

He smiles. "And of course, I can fly."

[Jason Grant]

Jason felt awkward and out of place. By the time he had recovered from his first brush with quantum beauty and realized Miranda had been talking to him, she'd already moved on to more responsive people. He sat quietly at the table and finished the Tiramisu, not because he particularly liked it, it was a bit too rich for his tastes, but rather he didn't want to offend Dozer. Offending a 7 foot tall steel man seem like a dumb thing to do.

While eating the foreign treat, Jason observed the rest of the Novas gathered in the park and came to one basic conclusion. Aside from having super powers he had absolutely nothing in common with these people. The sexual and emotional tension in the air was heavy and not 3 feet away from him it looked like the scarred aisan Nova and Jael might just throw down, or fuck, he couldn't really tell which.

"Breeders," he thought glumly. Jason stood and started to walk to walk back to the truck when he though no one would notice. "What the hell am I even doing here?"

"Interacting," said a familiar thought-voice. "You went there to meet people, remember? How are you ever going to become comfortable with your new life if all you ever do is hide or run from it?"

"But I have nothing in common with these paople. From the looks of this is just a big excuse to for the straights to hook up."

"Oh course people are looking to make connections, sexual or otherwise. That's human nature. I warned you about what Novas with social enhancements can be like. You just need to relax and mingle."Jason felt a hint of exasperation filter through the link. "Patience is a virtue Jason. I know this is hard for you but you have to acclimate at some time. This will be good for you, trust me."

Jason yanked open the door to the truck and sat in the cab for a few minutes undecided on whether he should leave or not. He wasn't even sure if the otheres had even noticed him walk away. Finally he picked up his iPod which was plugged into the dash of the car and flipped around for a good party playlist. Adgusting the volume of the trucks speakers he hit play. The heavy thumping base and electronic beats of a club mix reverberated from the truck as he jogged back to the gathering

"I figured we could use some music," he said to no one in particular.

[Flicker]

"Oh hell yes," Nova said to nobody in particular when she heard Jason's stereo. Unconsciously, she began bobbing in time to the beat, and she immediately felt lighter on her toes. "Is that PPK? I think it's PPK." She cocked her head and listened for a moment. Following the sound to its source like one of the children of Hamelin, she bumped into Jason halfway as he ran back to rejoin the gathering.

"Awesome idea," she said to him, pointing over his shoulder at the truck. Nova swayed in time with the music. For the first time, Nova took the time to look Jason over, and her gaydar perked up.

Gay, she thought. Maybe bi. Naah. Definitely gay.

"Oh!" Nova said, pleasantly startled, the realization as plain on her face as a full moon in a clear winter night's sky. Not knowing where to start, but wanting to say something, Nova simply introduced herself to Jason:

"So, I'm Nova, right? People call me Flicker."

[z-Alexis Layton]

Originally Posted By: Miranda Skye

"Filming Elites. Yes. Hmmm. I could handle that. Do I just ring them up and say hello? I imagine there'd be a ton of legal muck-a-muck."

"I'd say that if you ring them up, they'll be than happy to talk to you. Also, do you remember Vile Bill?" Alexis asked, spinning the feather between her fingers. "If you wanted a personal introduction, you could ask him to refer you to the right person." A smile quirked across her face. "He seems enthuastic about recruiting people. I'm sure he'd love to actually suceed in snagging someone."

[Jael Carver]

Originally Posted By: Kazuo

"Hey, English is a second language for me. I thought I was doin' pretty good, all things considered," says Kazuo with a look of obviously faked chagrin, "if I'd known you get compared to animals all the time, I'da come up with somethin' else. I'd hate ta think I was borin' you."

"Boring? Is the fabulous Elite Kazuo capable of being boring?" Jael smirked, stretching her arms over her head. She looked slyly at him out of the corner of her eye. "And I would have guessed that English was your third or fourth language. Besides, everyone uses animals. I've never had a guy compare me to a car. I guess that I was a Lamborghini, but became a Volvo, right?"

Originally Posted By: Kazuo

This time Kazuo gives her a much more genuine smile and says, "Delicious. How was your cigarette?"

Jael smiled, and if Kazuo hadn't seen her earlier vitality, he'd think that she was just a pretty girl with a sweet smile. "Awful," she giggled, raising her hand to discreetly cover her mouth. It was a gesture used by a baseline girl to cover a gap in her teeth, but now it was just coy, a subtle way of drawing attention to her soft lips. "Thanks again - I can't smell anything but nicotine."

She was quiet for a long second before she asked, "So, how long have you and Aušrine known each other? You her boyfriend? What's the story there?"

[Kazuo]

Originally Posted By: Jael Carver

"Boring? Is the fabulous Elite Kazuo capable of being boring?" Jael smirked, stretching her arms over her head. She looked slyly at him out of the corner of her eye. "And I would have guessed that English was your third or fourth language. Besides, everyone uses animals. I've never had a guy compare me to a car. I guess that I was a Lamborghini, but became a Volvo, right?"

"No", says Kazuo, smirking right back, "you'd still be a Rabbit, but instead of two big ears an' some buck teeth, you'd have a VW logo on yer front bumper, and a reputation for bein' affordable." Kazuo pauses for a second and then adds, "and about a 170 horses under yer hood."

Originally Posted By: Jael Carver

Jael smiled, and if Kazuo hadn't seen her earlier vitality, he'd think that she was just a pretty girl with a sweet smile. "Awful," she giggled, raising her hand to discreetly cover her mouth. It was a gesture used by a baseline girl to cover a gap in her teeth, but now it was just coy, a subtle way of drawing attention to her soft lips. "Thanks again - I can't smell anything but nicotine."

She was quiet for a long second before she asked, "So, how long have you and Aušrine known each other? You her boyfriend? What's the story there?"

Kazuo gives Jael a don't-make-me-laugh look and says, voice laden with sarcasm, "Nah, we're not together. I'm kind of out of her league, yunno?"
Then he looks at her sidelong and grins.
"We're business partners, an' we both believe in keeping business and pleasure separate, so things're strictly platonic between us. Personally, I don't wanna be arguing over how to split a fat contract with someone I'm planning to fuck later. Aušrine", says Kazuo, looking in the direction of the lady under discussion, "well, she'd probably put it nicer than I just did, but she feels the same."

Kazuo pauses to take another drag on his 7, and then continues, blowing out the smoke as he speaks, "So, no, we aint 'together', but I guess we do get along alright, otherwise we wouldn't still be hanging around each other after all this time." Kazuo stops for a sec to ash his cigarette. "We've known each other for a while now. Ever since we both erupted in Kabukicho, back about four years now, I guess. Maybe it's cos we erupted at the same time an' our powers work well together, or maybe it's just because, but we've been partnering up ever since then and here we are."

Kazuo gives Jael a sly look and finishes up with, "So yeah, I'm still single. In case you were wondering."

[Mr Fox]

Daniel flew in just behind Jael trailing a bit further behind as they arrived. He'd been sensing something strange from her since she'd arrived at the hospital a couple days ago. She was nice enough, and friendly, and concerned for his health, but there was just something... When she got close to him he could sense her turning off. He figured it was guilt over cheating on her boyfriend with him even if they hadn't gone all the way. It made him a little sad. He hadn't intended for anything to happen after all and he wasn't lying when had told her he wanted her friendship. He just hoped that she would get over these feelings and put it behind him. He could count on one hand the number of real friends he had and he was hoping to add Jael to that list. Of course now that he was a nova, or known to be a nova he had fuckers crawling out of the woodwork trying to get close to him.

Over the last couple days just about everyone from school had showed up, first at the hospital and then at his house, to say how much they were worried from him when they'd heard about the attack. In the beginning he'd been pleased and touched, but then as more and more people came by that he'd never talked to before he realized it was just people wanting to be close to a nova, they didn't really give a crap about him. Well, some of his friends did he was sure, but most of the herd was just trying to be seen as the novas friend.

He coasted in behind Jael and landed. He moved over to the table and deposited the insulated boxes of peach pies. They should still be warm and yummy. He smiled when he noticed that only one or two people had even noticed him arriving in Jael's shadow and all. That didn't bother him, he was expecting it. He looked damned good by baseline standards but next to these people he would have a tough time getting noticed. These guys were the stars in the heavens and he might be a star too, but he didn't shine with their intensity. He would one day though. He was still getting used to his powers and discovering what he might one day be capable of.

A container of tiramisu or some such was placed in his hands and he had just taken a bite of it and was about to say thank you and complement the sweet dessert when a couple of very distracting things happened. Dr. Richardson went from being a fox lady to being a foxy lady, but even that was barely noticed.

Some foreign nova barged up to Jael and took one of her rolls in what almost looked like a sparing match. That was interesting to see, but it was the reactions that he was seeing that puzzled him. Jael was an enigma to him and that was no doubt. Until now she was the only nova he'd ever met in person apart from the Utopia doctors. This day was going to be interesting. He was sure whatever had just happened Jael had somehow been bested, and she looked a little taken aback by that. Daniel smiled slightly amused as he took another bite of the tiramiso thing.

He was still looking at Jael when it turned to ashes in his mouth. She went from being his friend and someone he understood to being a stake through his heart in one short second. The look she gave Praxis as she turned to take him a roll...

It was the day of his eruption all over again. Not that he'd tagged along like a puppydog after Jael or anything, but first it was kissy kissy, then the next thing she's fawning over some other guy, just fucking like Alice. He'd thought she was reacting to him oddly because of guilt, but that so very very obviously was not the reason, and he could see it now. He'd seen the same look on Alice's face way too many times not to recognize it. She was infatuated with a new flavor of the day.

"Fuck me!", he said quietly to himself and swallowed the chocolate covered crap that had tasted so good until a minute ago.

He just stood there watching it happen alone in the middle of a crowd of people. Jael had gotten him over Alice. She really had, but then to have her do the same thing to him was a pain worse than the beating he'd received. He wasn't hooked on Jael the way he was over Alice, but still it brought back all the old hurts that Alice had given him. As he watched he could practically sense what she was feeling and it made him jealous as all hell. Praxis was about as hot as a guy could get, he wasn't into that kind of thing but even he could see how the women would be attracted to someone like that. Somewhere in incoherent thoughts streaming through his mind he vowed to himself that he'd be like that one day soon, then it would be him that the girls were fawning over. Another thing he vowed was that he'd never let a girl make him feel this way again. It didn't matter that Jael hadn't done anything intentionally to him, it still hurt like a son of a bitch to be tossed aside again. From now on he would be the one moving on.

As the odd scene unfolded he just stood there bowl in one hand and fork in the other watching Jael and sensing what she was feeling. Then the weird interchange between her and Kazuo occurred and he decided he must be imagining it. She couldn't possibly have gone through such emotional swings. No one could. At least no one in their right mind couldn't. On the other hand her body language mirrored what he thought he sensed. Fucking weird. That's when he decided that the best thing to do would be forget all about Jael for a while and old hurts and new hurts and do his best to enjoy the party. There were some seriously hot novas here.

Speaking of, there was Knockout, damn she looked even better in person than those vids of her on the net, even if she was wearing clothes. Then he remembered that she was really a guy, and decided that food might be a better distraction for a moment and emptied the tupperware bowl into the trash and served himself up some cookies and pie and ice cream, then moved over to Ryu.

"Hey thanks for that tiramiso thing, that was very good. It's nice to meet you." After the introduction he thought it would be polite to compliment Dr. Richardson on her new accomplishment. "Congratulations. It's always nice to learn some new nova trick, there are a few I want to learn myself." He smiled and offered her his hand, "I'm Daniel." He offered his hand to the others crowding around the Dr.

[Ryusei Hideyoshi]

Ryusei shakes the proferred hand and smiles. "I'm Ryusei, it's a pleasure."

He chuckles. Thank Dozer for the Tiramisu, the peanutbutter cookies, walnut chews, and Rakugan are what I brought. Just something simple that's usually well=rcieved."

[Mr Fox]

"Domo arigato Ryusei-san", he spoke in decent Japanese.

He took a bite then added after a second, "So that's what Rakugan tastes like. I've always wondered."

Daniel took a deep breath and let it out slowly and took in the whole gathering as if to smell what Jael had mentioned. He couldn't smell anything, but he thought it could sense a little of the electricity and excitement in the air, almost as if he could sense what the people were feeling. It was a good distraction, and so was Ryusei. He'd been a massive anime fan since he was a little kid and this might just be a chance for him to make a friend from the land his grandfather told him stories about.

To Ryu he said, "I hope my Japanese isn't too bad. My grandfather taught me to speak it when I was a baby, but since he died, I haven't had anyone to speak it with and watching anime doesn't exactly make conversation."

[Ryusei Hideyoshi]

"No, it's alright. You're the second person today to speak to me in my native language. I take it your grandfather was fond of Japan then?"

Meeting someone his own age who was knowledgable about his home nation was an unexpected bonus.

"I'd heard you were put in the hospital after getting into some sort of brawl, it's good to see that you've healed well."

[Mr Fox]

"Yeah, my grandfather was stationed there after the war and he developed a lot of respect for the people of your country. He was probably one of the first Americans to come back home and teach karate. The martial arts didn't really become popular over here until the 60's, but he was teaching it in he late 50's. He taught me a little, and taught me to speak the language, but he died when I was 10. He was a great man. I'd like to visit Japan someday."

Ryu seemed pretty cool, "Yeah, it was some gang members. They thought they killed me and if I hadn't been a nova already they probably would have, but the quantum mojo kicked in and kept me alive. I've healed really fast. I still hurt a little and have some bruising, but all the main injuries are healed up."

[Jael Carver]

Originally Posted By: Kazuo

"No", says Kazuo, smirking right back, "you'd still be a Rabbit, but instead of two big ears an' some buck teeth, you'd have a VW logo on yer front bumper, and a reputation for bein' affordable." Kazuo pauses for a second and then adds, "and about a 170 horses under yer hood."

"Ha, I am not affordable," Jael snorted indelicately, smirking. "Even if I were a rabbit, I wouldn't be anything close to affordable." She gave him a sideways glance, sly and grinning.

Originally Posted By: Kazuo

Kazuo gives Jael a sly look and finishes up with, "So yeah, I'm still single. In case you were wondering."

Jael looked surprised for a second, which she covered, but Kazuo saw her think: he thought I was hitting on him?! "Interested? I was curious," Jael said, making sure she put the correct emphasis on her words so that he understood she was speaking the truth. She had been curious. "I have a boyfriend," she added, reaching into her jacket pocket and pulling out a small wallet. Opening it, she displayed a picture of a brown haired, brown eyed guy - disconcertingly average, someone who could have come from any school in any city in the US. "Jimmy." She flipped over the picture, showing a teen girl with dark hair and a pretty smile. "My best friend, Shelly."

Jael realized that she was showing a dangerous Elite the pictures of her friends - why did she think he cared? "Anyway, nevermind all that." She put the wallet away, looking out over the party. She saw Daniel talking to people, and felt a touch of sadness. Why was he so repugnant now? She'd almost destroyed her relationship with Jimmy over him, and now she couldn't bear to stand close to him. Just like Praxis.

The thought was disconcerting - why would she react to Praxis and Daniel like that. Slowly, it occured to her - his "second eruption" must have given him an anti-reaction field, but no one else seemed to be effected by it. It must be me, then. I just be that removed from humanity. She glanced at her companion thoughtfully. So why don't feel that way around him? It is because he's an Elite?

[Ryusei Hideyoshi]

My Grandfather started teaching all of us martial arts when were were five, and my mom taught us English until she died, then Sakurako and I kinda took over teaching our siblings."

"It's good that your node saw fit to aid you with a boost when you needed it. As to visiting Japan, that would be pretty cool. It wouldn't be hard to arrange at all, all things considered."

[Mr Fox]

Daniel looked a little surprised, "Really? Wouldn't there be a bunch of paperwork and junk from both my government and yours? Then, I'd need someplace to stay and money to travel and all kinda stuff. I figured I wouldn't be likely to visit Japan until after I graduated high school. I guess now that I'm a nova it might not be quite so hard to come up with money though. Someone is likely to be approaching me with job offers soon. Utopia wouldn't allow anyone to get close while I was in the hospital." Even in the middle of this talk he wanted to look back over at Jael and see what she was doing, but he firmly squashed that thought and focused on the thought of visiting Japan which he'd been wanting to do forever.

[Ryusei Hideyoshi]

"Let's just say the red tape is easy to cut through. basically all you truly need is a passport. The rest would be taken care of. You get your passport and I can arrange everything else."

He smiles. "There are some benefits to being the heir of an influential Japanese family. A place to stay, and since you would be my guest, anything else you require wouldn't be hard to manage."

[Mr Fox]

Daniel was impressed, "Wow, that'd be great. I actually already have a passport. The school choir took a trip to perform in Monterrey Mexico last year so I had to get it for that. I'll still have to make arrangements here with school and with my parents, and I'll have to deal with recruiters from DeVries and Utopia and all the others now that people have found out I'm a nova. May take a couple weeks before I can get away, that is if you are serious about me visiting. It sounds cool. Oh, and it might help to mention my grandfater's name too. James Fox. After the war, as you know the American government destroyed or dumped the katana's of the soldiers they captured into the ocean as a sign of the surrender. Before he left Japan, my grandfather returned five katana's that he'd acquired from other soldiers to the Japanese government. Apparently they made a big deal of it at the time and even offered him citizenship. He might have stayed, but my grandmother was back in the states and he was eager to return to her." After he said the part about the katana's he wanted to kick himself. He hoped he had not just offended Ryu, what the American government had done to the family swords at the end of the war was a terrible blow to the honor of the Japanese and it might be in bad taste to bring it up, even if his grandfather had tried to do his own part to mitigate it.

[Miranda Skye]

Originally Posted By: Alexis Layton

"I'd say that if you ring them up, they'll be than happy to talk to you. Also, do you remember Vile Bill?" Alexis asked, spinning the feather between her fingers. "If you wanted a personal introduction, you could ask him to refer you to the right person." A smile quirked across her face. "He seems enthusiastic about recruiting people. I'm sure he'd love to actually succeed in snagging someone."

"Aye, I might. Though Mister Bill's a bit of a bastard, so perhaps I'll just contact them direct. Thanks for the heads-up, 'Lexi."

Miranda reaches into her sidebag and pulls out a small hand-held camera that nonetheless looks expensive and durable. "Thanks again. I'm going to start filming for a bit. See if anything jumps out at me." She unfolds the screen.

[Vixen]

Roxanne seems entirely unused to all the attention. She blushes, sidling over to a nearby bench while she holds the tail hole in her dress shut.

Sure am glad I wore underwear this time.

"Yes, thanks, yeah, it feels great. I know, right? Yeah. No, I'm not cold at all." Well, a little cold, but I'll take that over what those smells made me want to do. Roxanne responds to the peppering of questions charmingly but distractedly.

It feels weird, being the center of attention for looking normal.

[Magnum Opus]

Knockout's phone chirps. She sneaks off a ways, and then answers it. "Hello?"

"Dani! What's shakin'? Everyone loving the Jello?" The voice belongs to Danielle's best friend, former roommate, and present annoyance "C.F." Blake.

Danielle looked down at the tub of Jello. "Uh... I guess? I dunno, maybe they'll have more later."

"They will. Maybe you and that blinking chick can roll around in it - "

"C.F.! C'mon! I barely know her!"

"Dude, you don't have to. You won't get pregnant, you won't get an STD, and I checked and it's totally legal to do a seventeen year old in Cleveland."

"You're making that up."

"I am not. Google it."

"Yeah, I really want my IP address linked to a search on the age of consent." She sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"Dani, you're leaning up against a wall right now, aren't you?"

"I - there aren't any."

"Right, but if there were any, that's where you'd be, right?"

Danielle looked to the rest of the gathering, and realized how she'd unconsciously drifted away. "I - well - yeah, maybe."

"Go and mingle, dude."

"I just - "

"Dani. Listen. I know you, all right? You always just drift off when you can. Don't do it this time, all right? Have fun with these people. They can't hurt you."

"Unless they mind control me or something."

"Can't control what you don't have - "

Danielle clicked off the phone. She exhaled,shoving her hands in her pockets. Maybe I should, I dunno, juggle cars... except I didn't bring any. And I couldn't bear to break anyone else's. My powers are kinda blah, really. Who'd be impressed?

She looks at Flicker, remembering something they'd said to each other, briefly, in a chat room. Her phone buzzed, and she checked the screen, which had a simple text message:

GO

FOR

IT

Huh. Yeah. She likes me. It doesn't have to go anywhere. And I did say that I would...

Danielle walks back towards the crowd, focusing on Nova's flickering form. She coughs a bit when she gets close enough to talk.

"Uh, hey, Nova, uh. Remember in the chat room, uh, when I said I'd, you know, that I'd take you up flying? Well, uh, the weather's, you know, it's pretty good. And I can lift a whole car - n-not that I'm saying you weigh as much as a car of course, but we could bring one up with you in it, or we could ditch the car and just, you know, if you, you know. If you wanted me to."

Oh yeah. Smooth as butter, Dani. Bitches be - uh, girls be lined up 'round the block for what you be givin'.

[Flicker]

Sorry Jason, Nova thought as she listened to Danielle's stammered come-on. You had your chance. Ya snooze ya lose. Nova turned to direct her attention to Knockout, and despite her all-out dorkiness, saw something more there. What that something was, she had no idea, but she was reasonably sure she saw it.

Maybe.

Nova smiled slowly, steadily turning up the corners of her mouth in a measured way as she tilted her head and tried to allow a gleam to come into her eye. Danielle was lovely, which was an understatement like calling a space launch "noisy" or calling Stephen Hawking "smart."

Slow and steady, Nova thought. Play it smart.

"I'd love to go flying with you," Nova said, speaking slowly and warmly. She edged imperceptibly closer, trying to insinuate herself into Danielle's personal space. Through her friendly eyes, Nova watched Danielle's intently, gauging her reaction.

[Magnum Opus]

Danielle felt her heart speed up. Just be cool. Go for it. She took a step forward, and put her hands underneath Flicker's armpits. She lifted her up as if she were lifting a feather.

They say it's almost impossible for me to crush anything by mistake. Please let this be true. If I - I couldn't bear the thought.

She turned Flicker around, and held her close, moving Flicker's feet on top of her own, and pressing Flicker against her chest, gently. Am I - am I spooning her? Just calm down. Go for it. "Just hold still. Uh. How high do you want to go?"

Flicker could tell that Danielle's hands are shaking with nerves.

[Flicker]

Oh, well, how about that! Nova thought, taken aback. She'd pegged Danielle for the ultra-shy type, and was not at all prepared for her to have picked her up so quickly.

"Well, I've never flown before," Nova mused, enjoying the way Danielle's body felt when pressed against her own. "Maybe just fly around downtown and the shore here?" The skyline of Cleveland loomed just a few hundred yards away, and on the opposite side Lake Erie filled the horizon.

[Magnum Opus]

"Sure, I can do that. Hang on."

Knockout's feet left the ground. Her initial wave of flight-related uncertainty came and went. Okay. Go for it. I can do this. I will not drop her.

Slowly, while staying upright, Knockout drifts higher and higher. "I, uh, hope you're not cold... oh, hi."

"Hey." Roxanne smiles, having reverted to her foxy form. Her fur rustles in the crosswinds as she floats next to the two of them. "Thought I'd, you know, fly a bit too. This is a flying and baking thing, after all."

"Room for one more?" Miranda's wings beat a steady rhythm, holding her aloft even at the relatively slow speed Danielle is moving. She's filming with her camera. "Smile and say 'intercourse.'"

"Oh, stop it." Roxanne holds up her hands, laughing. "Come on, I look horrible on camera."

[Kazuo]

Originally Posted By: Jael Carver

Jael looked surprised for a second, which she covered, but Kazuo saw her think: he thought I was hitting on him?! "Interested? I was curious," Jael said, making sure she put the correct emphasis on her words so that he understood she was speaking the truth. She had been curious.

Kazuo is really starting to enjoy himself, and it would be fair to say that he hasn’t had this much fun around other novas for a long time now. The novas he usually hangs out with are about as innocent as war criminals (actually, some of them are war criminals), so this little high school drama, so full of fun, good food, youthful vigor, and repressed sexual energy is refreshing. One of the really great things about this bunch is the way that, much like novice Go players looking at their opponent’s pieces, no one seems to be thinking more than one, or perhaps two, moves ahead in the conversation.
Take the blue-eyed young head-case sitting next to him for example: she still thinks Kazuo’s just another “guy hitting on her” – still thinking in the high school context – the baseline high school context, no less. Kazuo has to fight with the urge to knock her even further off balance after she blurts out her little disclaimer with something like: “Interested”? Who said anything about you being interested? I didn’t say anything about you being interested. Are you telling me you are interested, Jael…?, and so on.
This poor girl is apparently still used to dealing mostly with greasy, pubescent walking pimples who’ve got more out of control hormones screaming through their bodies than a prize winning dairy cow, and who can barely see straight they’re so horny, let alone think straight. So, understandably he supposes, Jael hasn’t realized yet that just because Kazuo finds her attractive (and he does) doesn’t mean he needs to bed her, or even get her interested in him, to feel good about himself.
Kazuo brings his cigarette back to his mouth to keep from smiling while he waits for the obligatory:

Originally Posted By: Jael Carver

"I have a boyfriend," she added, reaching into her jacket pocket and pulling out a small wallet.

Bingo! Kazuo’s been expecting this practically since he sat down next to Jael – the girl practically screams “taken” (but open to other possibilities).

Originally Posted By: Jael Carver

Opening it, she displayed a picture of a brown haired, brown eyed guy - disconcertingly average, someone who could have come from any school in any city in the US. "Jimmy." She flipped over the picture, showing a teen girl with dark hair and a pretty smile. "My best friend, Shelly."

Jael realized that she was showing a dangerous Elite the pictures of her friends - why did she think he cared? "Anyway, nevermind all that." She put the wallet away, looking out over the party. She saw Daniel talking to people, and felt a touch of sadness. Why was he so repugnant now? She'd almost destroyed her relationship with Jimmy over him, and now she couldn't bear to stand close to him. Just like Praxis.

And now we’re back to why Kazuo’s enjoying himself so much. If this isn’t just about the most innocent and normal thing anyone’s said or done around him in a long time – the people he spends a lot of his time around have wallets filled with no pictures at all, except the false IDs they use to keep secrets from everyone around them. Kazuo is positively charmed, somewhat caught off-guard, and very surprised at just how interested he is as Jael gives him a glimpse into her life. And this is also why life is so much more interesting than Go. Kazuo may have been looking several moves ahead in the conversation, but he never saw this coming.
Of course then she snaps the wallet shut, bringing an end to Kazuo’s tour of a seemingly simpler world as she does so, and he doesn’t have to think about it for long to realize why.

Originally Posted By: Jael Carver

The thought was disconcerting - why would she react to Praxis and Daniel like that. Slowly, it occured to her - his "second eruption" must have given him an anti-reaction field, but no one else seemed to be effected by it. It must be me, then. I just be that removed from humanity. She glanced at her companion thoughtfully. So why don't feel that way around him? It is because he's an Elite?

Kazuo can see Jael looking at him (not because he’s all super-observant or whatever, he’s just looking at her right back is all), and the egotistical part of him (read: most of him) wants to think it’s because she’s starting to go for his obvious charm, but then he realizes that his initial impression was closer to the mark than he realized, and there really is something nagging at her.
“Alright, Jail, if you don’t wanna show me all that then don’t, s’cool with me”, says Kazuo, after a moment’s pause, inadvertently falling back into mispronouncing her name, and referring to the contents of her closed wallet. “But if you don’t mind me sayin’ so, you still look like something’s botherin’ ya. You aren’t about to go all rabbity on me again, are ya?”, he continues, giving her a little smile as he speaks to let her know he’s just playing.

[Mr Fox]

Daniel looked over from his conversation with Ryu to see several novas taking flight and the urge to soar took hold of him. Ever since he'd learned to fly a couple weeks ago he could hardly stand being on the ground. Now would be a good time to be off the ground. He turned back to Ryu and grinned, "Time to fly!" He waited a just a second to see if the other nova would object then took to the air and sailed up to where the others were hovering.

"Hey, hope this isn't a private party, but then with the camera going I guess it can't be too private." He grinned at Miranda, "I'm Daniel, you must be Miranda, nice to meet you." He did a quick mid-air back flip and ended up facing her again.

[Miranda Skye]

"'Lo there, Daniel. Nice barrel roll there." Showoff. I'd fly rings around him but I have to hold this thing steady.

Miranda pans the camera around, taking in the other flying novas. She starts narrating, internally. 'Who hasn't dreamt of flying? For most people, sadly, unassisted flight is exactly that, a dream. But for myself, and for we lucky few, it's not a dream but part of life. It's a part of our lives that I'd wish to share with you, constant viewer. I hope you enjoy it.' Bit rough. Could work...

[Jael Carver]

Originally Posted By: Kazuo

“Alright, Jail, if you don’t wanna show me all that then don’t, s’cool with me”, says Kazuo, after a moment’s pause, inadvertently falling back into mispronouncing her name, and referring to the contents of her closed wallet. “But if you don’t mind me sayin’ so, you still look like something’s botherin’ ya. You aren’t about to go all rabbity on me again, are ya?”, he continues, giving her a little smile as he speaks to let her know he’s just playing.

Grinning, she elbowed him lightly, a move straight from the manual called When High School Girls Tease Boys. "Whatever. I'm not a damned rabbit," she grumped. "Keep that bullshit up and I'll psychoanalyze you and make you an dodo or something." Though he's not at all small and dumb. Ok, not small. We'll see about the dumb thing.

Sobering up, Jael bit her lower lip, her face thoughtful as she stared at Praxis. "I came here thinking I was looking for something, but when I found it, it wasn't at all what I thought it was," she said, pulling some hair over her shoulder and playing with the strands. "I thought it would be something... wonderful, but when I got close, it was icky.

"And, it's not that I don't want to share with you," Jael added, her blue eyes almost shining with sincerity. "I just don't have any more pictures in my wallet. I don't have a good one of my mom and dad, and my sister hates me so I don't want to care any of her. Shelly and Jimmy are two of my closest friends, the people like being with and hanging out with. Besides," she added shyly, "I really didn't think you'd be at all interested in me, or my pictures, or my life. I'm not anyone famous, and I'll never be a well-known nova. And that's ok for me, but not at all interesting to other novas."

[Praxis]

As Miranda took to the air, Praxis looked back at Alexis. It had been a few minutes since he had looked her way, and he had finished the roll. Not bad at all, though its insane creator seemed to be pretty tied up in the scarred elite. Which was just fine with him. She could take her rollercoaster emotions somewhere far away from him. They gave him a headache, to be honest.

The dark-haired giant came to his feet and made his way over towards where Miranda had once stood, fantastically huge and wondrous luminescent wings slowly unfolding from nowhere as he walked forward. By now he had effectively removed the fear and trepidation she had been feeling for him though it was up to him to make sure it stayed gone.

"Alexis, if you would care to..." By this point Praxis's wings had completely unfurled, brilliant, fanning tendrils of light at least 25 feet long, curling back downward, where they would remain until he took flight. The tendrils of light brushing the grass as he walked forward, he looked every part the archangel. He stopped a polite distance away and extended his hand to her. "...I would be honored if you would fly with me"

[Aušrinė]

Aušrine has been off balance almost since she arrived at this gathering. She hates to admit it, since she spends so much internal time lamenting the irony of it, but she's become so completely accustomed to having other people come to her, start conversations with her, and find her interesting even when she isn't doing anything, that it now throws her when she's Dormed and she has to actually work at it to be interesting enough to talk to. Aušrine isn't a boring or dull person, nor is she slow or stupid, but she has (and has always had) a bad habit of holding back in conversations, and of keeping herself aloof in social situations. Becoming superhumanly beautiful has only reinforced this bad habit, and the result is that she's been fighting with herself just to stay involved with the party. Now half the group has just taken off into the skies and left her standing on the ground, and she can't really blame them. Oh well, better luck next time. Privately, she's glad for the excuse to unDorm and return to normal, for which she feels just a little bit guilty.

Aušrine concentrates as she watches the others soaring into the sky, and feels her node activate, like a miniature sun flaming into life. She feels the waves of raw energy course into her, through her, and beyond. She feels, on a fundamental level, forces that science would give names like "gravity" or "radiation", and of course she feels Kazuo. His own field is still there, wrapped around and within hers, and while Aušrine could never actually name or describe what she feels, she knows it's there, all the same. She feels Kazuo's brief mental acknowledgement in her head, letting her know that he's aware she's "powered up" again, and then he goes back to his conversation.

Externally, very little about Aušrine seems to change. Her hair becomes visibly more lustrous, her skin becomes smoother and simultaneously more even in tone and more vibrant in its colors (hard to describe, and perhaps it's best to say she now has perfect skin), and there is an indefineable, but undeniable vitality that almost seeths within her, giving her an intensity of presence that is almost impossible to ignore.

But there is more to it than that. It's almost as though something foundational has just been altered behind the scenes of reality, like someone just accessed the Menu function on the Cosmic Remote and fiddled with Reality's Picture settings until the physical representation of Aušrine looked as good as possible. Nothing in the image of Aušrine has actually changed, but suddenly she looks perfect, immaculate, flawless. You get the picture.

As Aušrine prepares to lift herself into the air, the shimmering effect popularly known as her Vesper Light becomes manifest, the brilliant colors of a perfect sunrise or sunset almost criminally muted by the bright light of midday. The interesting thing about Aušrine's particular brand of bioluminessence is that, rather than turning her into some kind of living lightbulb that's obscured by it's own light, the light Aušrine gives off illuminates her as clearly and beautifully as it does everything else. In the dark the Vesper Light takes on all the hues of twilight: everything ranging from the argent glow of the sun, to burning magentas, to vibrant reds and brilliant oranges, to saffron hues and lilac glows. It is beautiful. In the full light of day the effect is still gorgeous, but its colors are muted and pale reflections of themselves, and as little as ten feet out the light has already faded to a pale, rosy glow.

And just like a rising sun, Aušrine slowly floats up into the air until she's hovering next to Knockout and Flicker.

"Hello again", she says, smiling and showing teeth that are so perfect, they might just be the Master Set, the originals, next to which all other teeth are only copies of copies. Having long since become accustomed to having cameras pointed in her direction, Aušrine waves at Miranda, and almost unconsciously assumes a graceful pose as she floats in the air.

She looks around and asks, "so, now that we're up here, what now?"

[Flicker]

Nova felt like the bland filling sandwiched between Aušrine and Danielle's ultra-beautiful Oreo cookie of pulchritude.

"I, ah, I mean," she began, awkwardy, at a loss for words despite her inhuman genius. She swallowed and tried again. "I guess we fly. Downtown is right there, the stadium where the Browns play is on the other side, and Emmett Field is just a hair south of the tall buildings. There's a wide-open lake here if you want some empty space for balls-out speed, too."

Nova had not actually pondered what it is that a flying nova does for fun, since she lacked the ability to fly. She'd assumed that they would already have some ideas of their own.

[Kazuo]

Originally Posted By: Jael Carver

Grinning, she elbowed him lightly, a move straight from the manual called When High School Girls Tease Boys. "Whatever. I'm not a damned rabbit," she grumped. "Keep that bullshit up and I'll psychoanalyze you and make you an dodo or something." Though he's not at all small and dumb. Ok, not small. We'll see about the dumb thing.

Kazuo keeps smiling and pretends to flinch away from the elbow while he wishes that he had an English to Japanese Dictionary, so he could figure out what in the hell psychoanalyze means, because Jael sure seems to like the word.

Originally Posted By: Jael Carver

Sobering up, Jael bit her lower lip, her face thoughtful as she stared at Praxis. "I came here thinking I was looking for something, but when I found it, it wasn't at all what I thought it was," she said, pulling some hair over her shoulder and playing with the strands. "I thought it would be something... wonderful, but when I got close, it was icky.

"Huh", says Kazuo, arching an eyebrow and refraining from dropping the heavy shit at this point in the conversation, because he senses there is more to come. He watches Praxis proposition Alexis, like one of the Sons of God courting his chosen Daughter of Men, and wonders what Jael thinks about it.

Originally Posted By: Jael Carver

"And, it's not that I don't want to share with you," Jael added, her blue eyes almost shining with sincerity. "I just don't have any more pictures in my wallet. I don't have a good one of my mom and dad, and my sister hates me so I don't want to care any of her. Shelly and Jimmy are two of my closest friends, the people like being with and hanging out with. Besides," she added shyly, "I really didn't think you'd be at all interested in me, or my pictures, or my life. I'm not anyone famous, and I'll never be a well-known nova. And that's ok for me, but not at all interesting to other novas."

Kazuo watches as half the party goes floating up in the air, and Aušrine unDorms and follows after. He says, "Kid, no offense, but that's kind of a cop out."
He takes a moment to run two fingers along the crossbeam of his facial scar, and then turns to look back at Jael. "Fame don't mean shit. You're either interesting, or you're not. Simple as that."
Kazuo then does something sort of incredible, in an understated kind of way. He reaches casually through a small hole, about the size of a pizza, that's just appeared to one side of him, and pulls out some milk from the cooler that Dozer brought. "Thirsy?", he asks, and takes a swig from one of the cartons.
Wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand, Kazuo continues, "an' I don't talk to uninteresting young girls for this long, even if they are incredibly sexy, so obviously you're an interesting person, Jael. Cool, even."

He looks back up into the air and, after a moment, remarks conversationally, "looks like the flying part of this get-together has begun."

[z-Alexis Layton]

For the first time in a long time, thoughts of Akil were far away from Alexis when she considered a man, and his subconscious restrictions were gone. With a smile, Alexis avoided the hand and lifted into the air, the movement shifting the silk top to her body. She wasn't, Praxis realized, necessarily rejecting him, but she was clearly someone who was very self-restrained. "Flying sounds wonderful," she said as she floated up before stopping and waiting for him to join her.

Tilting her head back, she looked up at the flying novas, watching them mill about. It was beautiful and graceful, and that beauty only increased when Aušrine floated past her to join them. While Alexis was confident in herself, Aušrine was a hard act to follow. Stifling unfair irritation at the beautiful nova, Alexis waited for Praxis to catch up.

[Jael Carver]

Jael looked sad as Alexis seems to have no trouble being close to Praxis - or if she does, she hides it better than Jael. There was a dark bitter moment in Jael's heart, as she watches others being normal, and knows that she can't be. She didn't belong next to Praxis. She probably didn't belong here, even, but after flying all the way here, she didn't want to leave.

Originally Posted By: Kazuo

Kazuo watches as half the party goes floating up in the air, and Aušrine unDorms and follows after. He says, "Kid, no offense, but that's kind of a cop out. Fame don't mean shit. You're either interesting, or you're not. Simple as that." Kazuo then does something sort of incredible, in an understated kind of way. He reaches casually through a small hole, about the size of a pizza, that's just appeared to one side of him, and pulls out some milk from the cooler that Dozer brought. "Thirsy?", he asks, and takes a swig from one of the cartons. Wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand, Kazuo continues, "an' I don't talk to uninteresting young girls for this long, even if they are incredibly sexy, so obviously you're an interesting person, Jael. Cool, even."

Jael took the carton automatically, so startled by Kazuo's words that she almost dropped the milk. Her pale Nordic features, already warmed to a rosy pink from the sun, darkened into a red color, a livid wash of color from her forehead down under her shirt. Even the round tips of her ears flushed. "Thanks," she stammered, reaching into a bag for a glass for the milk. That short distraction allowed her to regain her composure, even as her mind was still staggering with the shock. She'd never expected that someone like Kazuo would find her interesting at all.

She poured some milk and glanced at Praxis and that girl again, watching as the dark-haired beauty lifted into the air, beckoning Praxis to follow her. He's got his wings out. He's so pretty, she sighed to herself. Her eyes found Daniel, high in the sky, and she sighed again. Even if I can't hang out with them, I can talk to Kazuo, thank God. Otherwise, I would have been bored.

Originally Posted By: Kazuo

He looks back up into the air and, after a moment, remarks conversationally, "looks like the flying part of this get-together has begun."

Jael glanced up again, nodding. She paused to drain her milk before standing and saying, "Wanna join them? Since this is a flying and baking thing. We've done the baking part - time to fly."

[Praxis]

Originally Posted By: Alexis Layton

For the first time in a long time, thoughts of Akil were far away from Alexis when she considered a man, and his subconscious restrictions were gone. With a smile, Alexis avoided the hand and lifted into the air, the movement shifting the silk top to her body. She wasn't, Praxis realized, necessarily rejecting him, but she was clearly someone who was very self-restrained. "Flying sounds wonderful," she said as she floated up before stopping and waiting for him to join her.

Tilting her head back, she looked up at the flying novas, watching them mill about. It was beautiful and graceful, and that beauty only increased when Aušrine floated past her to join them. While Alexis was confident in herself, Aušrine was a hard act to follow. Stifling unfair irritation at the beautiful nova, Alexis waited for Praxis to catch up.

Praxis's wings unfurled almost instantly, spreading to their full span, which was about 50-60 feet. He rose into the air, his wings, illusory though they were, going through the motions of propulsion. His movement, however, was far too smooth for it to be from the gargantuan wings.

Aiding just a bit in the stifling of Alexis' irritation, he rose into the air with her. He wasn't as fast or as agile as, say, Miranda, but he was fast enough. Besides, this wasn't supposed to be a race, it's a simple, lazy trip through the air. Keeping pace with Alexis, he locked eyes with the lady and held them as he rose into the air. On one level, he acknowledged the presence of Ausrine and Knockout, sure, but he was of strong enough will to keep focused on the lady who was flying next to him.

[z-Alexis Layton]

Alexis watched Praxis fly. It was beautiful, to be sure, but his intense gaze on her was unsettling. She remembered what had happened the last time she had been stared at like that. But she wasn't fourteen years old anymore, full of romantic ideals and naive beliefs. Praxis was probably not Akil, but she wouldn't feel comfortable with that probably in there.

Looking at him directly, she arched a dark eyebrow upward and asked, "What are you intentions for me? You are staring at me like you want something from me, and I demand to know what it is."

[Praxis]

"What are you intentions for me? You are staring at me like you want something from me, and I demand to know what it is."

Praxis smiled and while he did not avert his gaze, something about him just seemed friendlier. "You misunderstand me. I am simply wishing to spend a day flying with a beautiful lady. If you would like me to stop looking at you, I will."

[Kazuo]

Watching Jael as she turns the same color as a fire engine, Kazuo is suddenly struck with the realization that Jael really is just a kid. He's amused watching her trying to cover up her reation, but he's also a little taken back by the apparent innocence of it. Kazuo hasn't really thought about his life, looked at from the context of someone else's since...uh, well never. So he can't quite wrap his head around the idea that someone like Jael might think of his life as being dangerous or exotic, or even just "more interesting than mine". To him, it's just life.

So, taking into account the following:

1)Jael is obviously even younger and more innocent than he had at first assumed,

2)she's in one of those "vulnerable" places right now where she's trying to "figure shit out" (this one hasn't been discussed, for those who're keeping score, but Kazuo's picked this particular tidbit up during the course of the discussion anyway),

3)and she has obvious "issues" - very, very freaky issues - going on under the surface,

Kazuo's got a few reasons to take a step back and sort of consider things a little more carefully before things progress.

Oh, who the hell is Kazuo kidding? He loves that freaky shit! The weirdness-factor here isn't a reason to stop, it's the best reason to press forward! (If this line of reasoning seems less than wise to some, then let it be known that not even Kazuo considers common sense to be his strong suit)

Kazuo watches Jael as she looks longingly up at Praxis and that kid she flew in with, and then back at him. That's right girl, take a good look. I aint pretty like those boys up there, and I don't much care. Best we get that out of the way early, cuz if pretty's all you're lookin' for, well then I am the wrong goddammed guy for you.

Originally Posted By: Jael Carver

Jael glanced up again, nodding. She paused to drain her milk before standing and saying, "Wanna join them? Since this is a flying and baking thing. We've done the baking part - time to fly."

Kazuo grinned and stood himself, joining her. "Well, I'd love to Jael, but we've got a little problem - I'm not much good at that flying stuff."

He sort of looks away as he says this like he's embarrassed, though he isn't, and then he looks back at Jael with a sly, I-dare-you-to-answer smile, and says, "So, what do you suggest we do about that?"