Aberrant: In the Beginning - Prelude: Æon- Breath on the Waters

[Katalyst]

Originally Posted By: Peter Bell

Louder,
"This crisis has past. Let's get back inside and start organizing ourselves before someone else takes a wack at us. If we don't, we are going to end up being tools like," he motions to the Vietmanese doctor, "this guy here."

"Please, can we all take a step back and start looking toward our futures. If we let this bombing divide us, the bomb will still have done its work. Don't give the bastards the satisfaction."

"Your right there on that point" King replies very seriously. "The future I'm looking towrads is one where I'm still alive in it, and the people I care about are still alive, so I'm going to do what I can to keep it that way!"

Originally Posted By: Titan

Into the pause, Kun interjects Fang's question, "Who here would help protect the New People from attack? Not just talk about it, or think about it, but work at it? How many?"

To Kun and the others gathered, "You mean team up like some real life X-men or Avengers shit! King chuckles, and looks around at the others as he contiunes "I'm willing to do my part to help, that's why I joined the military, but I'm not sure there are other who feel like I do."

[Fahrenheit]

Originally Posted By: Peter Bell

Originally Posted By: Fahrenheit

"What do you know of hope anyway?"

He's still distracted when he responds to her.
"I know you need hope if you are going to do more than survive. I know this is a new day, and you can have hope once more, if you really want it."

Originally Posted By: Fahrenheit

"I'm scared..."

Finally, he looks into her eyes and with a slight touch of his hand stops her from looking away.
"So am I", Peter tells her. "Tell you what: stick with me and if you start to do anything crazy, I'll pull you back. You do the same for me, okay?"

Leaving his luggage to fend for itself, Peter attempts to pull Fahrenheit along with him as he approaches the center of the conflict. Giving the German woman a last serene smile, he addresses to of the major players in the conversation.

Sascha let Peter drag her to the other 'New People'. It felt strange being touched this way. Usually people avoided contact with her or kept her heavily sedated. Peter seemed to actually care for her. As he pulled her to the others she said, "I'm not letting any Doctor touch or probe me again, Peter. Doctors are evil. Don't let them do anything to me, Peter - please."

She felt strangely at peace - something she haven't felt for a long time. She still avoided direct eye contact but she felt that she was part of new life. Whatever that meant.

[SalmonMax]

Juno nods fervantly at Wes and looks around.

"I don't know what to think anymore...at first I didn't even think I belonged here, but...that thing with my neck." Her hand goes to her throat and touches it again, reassuring her that it's back to normal.

She looks at Wes again and asks, nearly pleads, "Do you know why this is happening? Two days ago I...I was normal. Now I don't know what I am. What is going on?"

[Courier]

Rich nods to the men and starts heading towards the car, but remarks in passing,

"Looks like I have to go. I'm Richard Stevenson. Interesting meeting all of you, sorry it couldn't have been under better circumstances."

(To the older of the two on the way back to the car)

"I don't sense any fallout at all, and the only person with radiation problems is with us here." Rich nods towards the Oriental. "I'm pretty sure I could clean that up but so far I haven't."

[Peter Bell]

In response to Fang's appeal, Peter raises his arm at the elbow, palm forward and solemly says,

"I will. I'll work to help the New People remain alive and free."

He hears Sascha's words and for a moment he almosts laughs. Who is afraid of doctors? But then the meaning of that statement sinks in. He wonders about what a life one would live were you would become afraid of the medical profession - what abuses would you have to suffer.

"Sascha then no doctor is going to touch you. Welcome to being free," he says with conviction.

He didn't have to be clarivoyant to see freedom of choice was something alien to her. Other questions needed to be asked of her, but was now the time ... with all these people around? Peter knew Sascha was a problem he would need help with. Perferably a woman's help.

To Sascha, he continues,

"Stay close to me, or the soldier, Mr. King," indicating Katalyst. "I think we can make sure no doctors do anything to you without your permission."

"Can you help us with that, King?"

Save for the pledge, Peter's free hand was fidgeting wildly. Inwardly he ached to get back to his drawings.

[Charlotte]

Nathan observes the proceedings, staring at his hand where the eufiber had crawled out of, and at the suit.

It feels responsive, somehow. Perfect fit. Perfect cut. I got to thank him sometime.

He coughs. "If you folks want my opinion," he says, injecting himself into the conversation. "Someone was willing to hand a nuclear weapon off and wipe out all life in London just to get rid of you. They're going to try again, and I doubt they'll use the same thing, or be kind enough to get the device close enough to us to spot. I think our first priority is to find a place that's more secure than this if we're anticipating more attacks. Not just for your own sake, but for the sake of everyone around you. Once security's taken care of, we can figure out just what's happened to you all."

And to me.

Am I one of them?

[Titan]

Inside: Mazarin and Rashoud have filled the board. No longer are the separate groups of doctors, scientists, and other delegates looking for leadership, but brainstorming amongst themselves. Dr. Mazarin looks on this with no small measure of satisfaction. He glances up at the hole in the roof, and looks again around the room. He turns to Dr. Rashoud.

"Where are they?" he asks.

"Who?" she responds, writing a few final notes on the whiteboard.

"The affected... the, the.. what did she call them... the New People? Where are they all?" he looks again around the entryway, spies the group outside the window. He strides quickly through the groups of doctors, to the door. Behind him, the groups continue planning courses of study.

Outside: Hand after hand is raised. A South American man shouts loudly in Porugese: "Eu ajudarei! Eu trabalharei para Pessoas Novas!" A woman in a blue housedress laughs, and yells after him, "Moi aussi! Je vais aider, et comme un travail de la New Les gens!" A stocky man in his late forties, with the look of a laborer chimes in, "Good on ya, mates! I'm with ya, New People!" Almost as one, the New People shout their support. The few who dissent, again so so silently, and slip away without notice.

The black man allows the glow to fade from his eyes and mouth. As the shouting dies down, it becomes evident that he is waiting to say something. When he can be heard, he says, "I don't know about all that. But I'm with you, lady. Whenever, however, wherever you need me, say the word... and I'll be there."

Rich: When you reach the car, Dr. Briggs (If that's his real name) listens to your judgement of the radiation levels. He nods, and says, "The political situation here is pretty clear cut. A bunch of doctors, could care less what happens outside their lab."

He shook his head, then grew serious. He said, "Out there in the real world, though, things are heating up fast. We're gonna take this guy to the Embassy, and make a few calls."

He looked around the compound, then continued, "Word is that Clinton has shut down all flights into and out of the U.S. indefinitely, so we'll be in London for a while. You may as well stay here, find out what you can about your new... whatever. Find out what you can about the rest of these guys while you're at it."

He glanced at the Vietnamese doctor, who was looking back at the shouting crowd he had just been pulled from, and Dr. Briggs face wrinkled in distaste. He said, "In the meantime, what can you do about the residuals you sensed on the doctor here? I don't plan to ride in the car with some radioactive guy if I can help it."

[Courier]

Rich says,

"Let's find out, it should be easy, he's not very radioactive, the worst is his ring". Rich attempts to shut down whatever is left, just like he did back in Chicago.

[Edit by Titan: The residual radiation dampens quickly, and Rich sees a little clearer exactly how he is doing it. In seconds, all traces are gone.]

Rich says to the Doctor,

"Interesting... you should be fine now. Well... fine from this. You weren't expected to survive your 'suicide attack'. Someone might be playing a game of 'blame the dead guy'. Something to think about, you know too much and someone is playing for keeps. These two guys are the only friends you've got right now."

Rich heads back to the others.

[Katalyst]

The cheers of the other people gatherd around is a welcomed sound to King. "Fang should be happy now. I guess that's what she was trying to get us to do in the first place."

Originally Posted By: Peter Bell

To Sascha, he continues,

"Stay close to me, or the soldier, Mr. King," indicating Katalyst. "I think we can make sure no doctors do anything to you without your permission."

"Can you help us with that, King?"

Looking at Peter and Sascha, "Yeah I can do that, he says to Peter, and to Sascha in his best german (slang that is)"alles is gut."

[maminka]

"Your the same person you were before you came here. Except now you might be able to do some "different" things that might seem unreal. I can tell you this, your not going to go through this alone. I feel the same way you do. Let's find somanswers together" Wes said as he glanced around the room and watched the chaos try to be controlled.

It was an odd mix of fear with equal parts excitement and interest. It was easy for Wes to pick out the players in each. Even so right now he had a weird feeling of wanting to make sure Juno was alright. He scream had been so real. It was one of the few things about this get together that actually made sense.

"Are you here by yourself? I thought I saw you with someone before all this started happening. If we can get to a computer I am sure I can get those answers. Maybe not all of them but at least it would be a start."

Wes was interested in what was happening around him but he also knew there was a much greater picture to be explored. He needed knowledge of who the "New People" were and what exactly they could do, including himself.

Think Wes. If you were a computer where would you be in this place?...

[Fahrenheit]

Originally Posted By: Peter Bell

To Sascha, he continues,
"Stay close to me, or the soldier, Mr. King," indicating Katalyst. "I think we can make sure no doctors do anything to you without your permission."

"Can you help us with that, King?"

Save for the pledge, Peter's free hand was fidgeting wildly. Inwardly he ached to get back to his drawings.

Sascha smiled honestly at Peter, something she hasn’t done since ages. She nodded as he pointed at King and smiled at him briefly. Her eyes relaxing visibly as did her whole body language. She felt save and protected but yet there was fear… a new kind of fear. She couldn’t put a finger on it but it lingered on her thoughts.

Originally Posted By: Katalyst

Looking at Peter and Sascha, "Yeah I can do that, he says to Peter, and to Sascha in his best german (slang that is)"alles is gut."

As King tried to sound reassuringly and confident she answered coldly, “No, it’s not. Nothing is going to be alright.”

[SalmonMax]

"My dad and brother are here," Juno answers. "Dad went to go check on him... Why would a computer help though? Are you some kind of hacker?"

She shakes her head and climbs to her feet. "Do you think this happened on purpose? Like...we're some kind of secret experiment or something?"

That, Juno thought, might not be so bad. It might even be kind of cool.

[Katalyst]

Originally Posted By: Fahrenheit

As King tried to sound reassuringly and confident she answered coldly, “No, it’s not. Nothing is going to be alright.”

Sascha cold reply was not lost on him. Looking at her he frowns, and takes a second before replying. "Hey, now there's no reason to think that way. I'm pretty sure that all hoopla is down for the day, and if you take a moment to relax, you'll see that I'm right."

[Fahrenheit]

Sascha shook her head with a stern look in her eyes. It was a strong contrast to the beauty he could see behind the strands of black hair that covered half of her face, she was young but her words carried an unfitting weight.

"No, you're not right. I've been having these dreams ever since I was twelve... only now they seem to have become real. This is not over - it has just begun and it will get worse... it will get worse...", she didn't even look at him anymore as she finished her sentence and twitched nervously with one foot as if the sneakers Peter gave her didn't fit properly. Then she frooze and held her breath for no obvious reason only her eyes moved and scanned around quickly but there was nothing to see or hear in particular.

[Courier]

Walking up behind Sascha and Peter, Rich catches the tail end of that and comments,

"Worse... but better as well. My daughter is in a coma back in the states and has been for years. I just figured out a few hours ago I can probably pull her out."

"There's a lot of good we can do and we should be able to get rich doing it."

[Peter Bell]

Peter takes the few seconds of time to peel back on his sketchpad and to start drawing once more. He smiles at Jay's efforts with the young German woman. For a moment, he feels the warm embrace of his gift come creeping back. Quickly enough Sascha's words cut through the hazy of his creativity.

"Dreams? Did you ever dream of a man wreathed in power and ... fire's not the right word ... more like the corona of the Sun?"

He doesn't actually look up, but remains sketching until he realizes Sascha is holding her breath. He looks up at her,

"Are you seeing something now?"

[Titan Omega]

Without warning, a blast of tremendous wind slams through the group gathered on the mansion lawn, grabbing everyone's attention. Looking in the direction it blows from, a man of gargantuan stature, physique, presence and beauty has appeared in the air, bearing the blackened body of Shelby cradled in his huge arms.

Originally Posted By: Description

The figure before them is worthy of his name, a man of truly titanic proportions. Standing nearly 9 feet in height, his broad frame and hulking muscles made him seem even more gigantic. His presence is more than mere size however. His features are immaculate, beyond any mortal beauty. Hair spun of flaxen gold, too-blue piercing eyes and flawless skin. Perfect proportions and uncanny symmetry. Short of actually emitting light he seems to glow. Moreover he radiates an intense aura of power with a hint of danger. Like Kal-El of Krypton, there is something alien about the behemoth.

He is dressed in some kind of skintight costume, though no weave or pores serve to mark it as spandex or other fiber. Golden metal bracers/shin-boots/Belt adorn him. A white top that covers him like a muscle top, the rippled contours of his muscles protruding from his flanks. His pants/tights are a deep dark blue as is the cape billowing behind him. The chest emblem is solid gold and raised resting on a blue outline with the white of his top filling the negative space making a capital "T."

Gingerly he lays Shelby down upon the grass.

"This man needs immediate medical attention," his voice booms before he turns back into the air and disappears a suddenly as he appeared. About six seconds later he reappears holding Michael Peters, with whom he lands gracefully on the grass. Michal touches down quite softly, as apparently does the Titan, however those who are astute observers will note that the giant's feet actually float half a millimeter above the grass.

[Michael Peters]

"Sweet Mary mother of God." Michael exclaimed as soon as he reappeared on the lawn. "I can't decide if that was the more amazing experience of my life..." He looks back at Titan "... or the worst. No offense big guy." He smiled at Titan before kneeling beside the fallen Shelby.

Everyone who can see Shelby could tell, he was in terrible shape. Michael had seen some major burns during the Vietnam war and began checking Shelby's face and head for serious injuries, such as ragged breathing that may be a symptom of burned lungs.

"Medic!" He called, loudly but without panic "Medic!!"

[Wraith]

Caryn runs towards Titan and the man he put on the ground. "A medic isn't going to be enough for him, we're in a mansion full of doctors and scientists..they are his only hope" she says to Michael.

She knelt next to him, she looked at Michael, then back down to Shelby. She puts face close to his.. and listens. "He's still breathing" She says aloud.

"Where the HELL are the doctors?!" She yells as she stands again.

[SalmonMax]

On seeing what looks like a terribly burned body carried by...Superman?!...Juno covers her mouth and turns away. She's never considered herself squeamish, but there are limits to any young girl's tolerance.

[Charlotte]

"Jesus - " Nathan grabs at something on his hip that isn't there. He curses. "All right, yeah, medical attention. Hold him still. I'll go get the doctors." He follows his own orders, and runs to fetch someone who can treat the man's terrible burns.

[Titan]

Dr. Mazarin throws open the doors, his mouth open to call the New People inside. His shout dies on his lips, though, as he sees Titan Omega lay Shelby down on the lawn. He whirls, and calls to the doctors inside:

"We have a man down with third degree burns, possible radiation contamination, in critical condition! I need a trauma team stat! I will lead. Faroud will assist. You and you. Get scrubbed, you will be assisting as well. Dr. Go, grab four volunteers and carry him to the Medical Facility. Move, goddamnit! Faroud, with me!"

The doctors Mazarin had indicated ran behind him and Dr. Rashoud to the Medical Facility, located apart from the main house. Dr. Go strips a tablecloth off of one of the buffet tables, scattering crackers and shrimp. He grabs the shoulder of one of his collegues.

"You, and you, and you, and you. Not you, YOU! Come on!"

They converge on Shelby as though they had worked together a thousand times, and together they rolled him onto the tablecloth. They each grab a corner, and Go and the doctor he had grabbed take the slack in the middle. They run after Mazarin and Rashoud, carrying the blackened, twisted Shelby between them.

[Michael Peters]

Michael moves aside as the doctors approach, backing towards the other "New People" on the grass. Seeing Juno's reaction, he moves towards the young woman and touches her shoulder sympathetically.

"He's alive. How is beyond me, but he lives."

Michael addresses the others while he rubs his shoulders painfully, rotating his right arm as if it was cramped.

"What happened to the man who had the bomb? Did we arrest him?"

[Courier]

On the lawn when the man with severe radiation burns arrived Rich checked for contamination. He found lots more than before and tried to damp that down to the best of his ability.

Then in the commotion while the others gathered he tried to Heal the burned individual... and failed totally. It was like trying to turn on an electrical appliance with it unplugged. Rich frowned and stared at his newly mended hand while the burned man was taken inside. He considered,

*I don't have the power to heal? It worked before. For that matter it worked on the plane.*

*Batteries out? Everything else is working fine... I can sense radiation...*

*I'm not as strong as before? Yes... maybe... but 'weak' isn't 'helpless'.*

*I'm missing something.*

*...*

*The power only works on radiation injuries? Which he has.*

*The power doesn't work on 'New People'... except that it worked before and on me.*

*...*

*How does this work traditionally?*

*Traditionally Jesus or whatever faith healing...

*I believe I'm considering this, maybe I should sacrifice a goat?*

*...anyway, they'd touch whomever and...*

*...*

*Shoot! That's it. It's touch now.*

Rich ran inside after the herd of doctors and yelled, "Let me in, I cured hundreds of people when I became... whatever it is that we are!"

Assuming he can get close enough Rich will give it a whirl.

[Katalyst]

Frustration and anger begin floating around in Jay's head as he listen's to Sascha words. He just shakes his head and wonders why he even bothered trying to cheer up the german. "Too bad" he thought, "guess I'll keep my mouth shut."

Originally Posted By: Courier

"There's a lot of good we can do and we should be able to get rich doing it."

Rich's words about good and money, push those thoughts away, as he ponders the possibilites. "I never thought about that. He's 100% right. Now I only got to worry about getting a release from the Army."

Then as if on cue, another commotion stirs up the group, as a nine foot tall man, is carring the guy who grabbed the bomb. Calls for doctors and help ring out and the response is quick. King watches as Shelby is taking inside followed by Rich. "Is he going to be alright?"

[z-Wei Fang]

Fang watched with concern as Shelby was carried inside and the doctors started to tend to him. When she was sure he was in good hands, she turned back to the crowd. After she was sure that Kun was going to translate, she said, "<While we wait for them to save Shelby's life, let us consider what we may do for him and ourselves. We must be ready to anticipate the next attack. We must move to protect our interests.

"<Humanity will fear us. They have already shown this. They attack what they fear. Some will not bring bombs. Some will bring laws. They will bring restrictions. Some will call us inhuman, and deny us rights. To prevent this, we must plan for our future. We must begin to make the utopia now, before they try to make it for us.

"<First, the hardest task - removing fear. Who here can think of ways to negate the fear our powers will bring? What can we do for the world to show them that there is nothing to fear from us? How can we make them love us?>"

[Fahrenheit]

Originally Posted By: Peter Bell

Peter takes the few seconds of time to peel back on his sketchpad and to start drawing once more. He smiles at Jay's efforts with the young German woman. For a moment, he feels the warm embrace of his gift come creeping back. Quickly enough Sascha's words cut through the hazy of his creativity.

"Dreams? Did you ever dream of a man wreathed in power and ... fire's not the right word ... more like the corona of the Sun?"

He doesn't actually look up, but remains sketching until he realizes Sascha is holding her breath. He looks up at her,
"Are you seeing something now?"

Sascha turned around quickly as she heard Peter's question. "You know him? Do you know who he is? Where can I find him! You've got to tell me!", she almost barked at him her voice a mixture of desperation and hope. "He is the key to everything... I must know!"

Even the gust of wind that heralded the Titan's approach couldn't divert her attention her focus remained undaunted with Peter. "Tell me now!"

[Michael Peters]

Michael ponders Fang's words. The chinese woman made a lot of sense. People were going to have serious reservations about people that can fly, survive immense damage and who knows what else.

"Well..." Michael speaks up "There's a few ways I can think of. If we can get interviews and other public appearances, we can try to allay people's fears. You know... telling people that we're not crazy world shattering monsters..."

Michael shrugs, embarassed at the flimsiness of his idea.

"You know, the power of public opinion."

[SalmonMax]

"That guy who flew away with the bomb just saved London," Juno mentions. "He's a hero. I mean, you can't -make- people love anyone, but..." she pauses.

This is retarded. They're all scientists and doctors. What am I going to say they don't already know?

"I was just thinking...you know, everything's going to shit right now. There's earthquakes and...everything's a mess. Everywhere. So like, you guys who can fly and stuff..."

Her cheeks burned crimson. Public speaking had never really been her forte.

"Christ, you know what I mean! You slap some name on yourselves and instead of just being random...helpers and heroes, people see you're all in the same group! Like the comics, right? Justice League of Aeon or whatever you want to call it. Then everyone might be afraid...but at least they'll know SOME can be trusted."

[z-Wei Fang]

"Yes!" Fang said, pleased that she could do some English. Her ability with the language was getting better by the minute, and she risked foregoing Kun as a translater. As they talked, Fang nodded eagerly at the two suggestions.

"These are good! Much good," she said. "Public relations much important." She looked from the older attractive man to the younger attractive woman. "We need... pretty people. Pretty people make other listen. And we need name.

"And need warriors... no, guards." She glanced around, her eyes picking out the most physically capable of those around her. Her eyes naturally went to the nine foot tall giant among them, though only for a moment. Jay-King was here, too, and Fang had no doubt that he had some martial abilities as well. "Who defend us, like Shelby, our first hero?"

[Katalyst]

"I'm not a big PR guy by any means, nor am I the best looking guy either, but I'm not opposed to showing my face off to the camera if that's what called for" King says smiling to the others. "If that would help then by all means let's get on the TV and let the people know."

"What kind of name were you thinking of Fang? Anybody else got something in mind? I'm not sure what kind of commitment I can make right now, since I'm still in the Army, and I'm sure that I'm going to get called back here soon, unless some strings get pulled...?"

,,

[Peter Bell]

Peter sighs and looks up, clearly resenting being torn away from his work.

"Sascha, I was hoping to find him here. In my painting, he is there, but I have no clue as to were that might put him in our world. I wish I knew, because I think he has the answer to 'Why?'."

To Fang's call for help,

"I'm an artist,"

Not a terribly great one, until now.

"and I know someone in New York City that might be able to help us as well. She knows this kind of thing pretty well."

"We shouldn't ignore the fact that we are standing on the steps of both the Aeon Society and the WHO either. They have massive public relations mechanisms in place."

"Lastly, I'm not a guardian or a warrior, but I might be able to spot natural disasters before they happen, along with some of the major human tragedies, I hope. I don't know what kind of warning time I can reliably produce, but I'm willing to work toward that end if it will help."

[Fahrenheit]

Originally Posted By: Peter Bell

Peter sighs and looks up, clearly resenting being torn away from his work.
"Sascha, I was hoping to find him here. In my painting, he is there, but I have no clue as to were that might put him in our world. I wish I knew, because I think he has the answer to 'Why?'."

Sascha looked at Peter as if he had cheated on her. With an impulsive jerk she reaches for the painting and rips the page off his sketchbook. She turned it around to get a better look of him and carefully reached with her fingers to touch his face as if he was holy.

"I can still feel him...", then she looked around scanning her surroundings for something that seemed to be invisible. Slowly Sascha slid down to her knees clutching the picture fast to her chest while she held herself in a tight embrace. "No... no... no..."

Ignoring the world around her she sobbed and stared at the lawn. She was scared to death... she wanted to run away.

(ooc: for the very perceptive among you, she ripped a blank page off. There is nothing on it)

[Katalyst]

Kings hears the rip of paper being torn, and watched as Sascha looks around the area "Oh no here it comes again." Without thinking Jay's body takes on shimmering glow, encasing his body.

"Now don't go getting upset now Sascha" he says. Sascha either doesn't hear him or is ignoring his words, as she just kneels on the lawn crying. Still a bit nervous from earlier, Jay takes a strp back and motions towards Peter. "Um I think you need to talk to her, seems like your the only one to get thru to her."

[Titan Omega]

As Shelby was carried away, Adam looked at the scene he had just flown into and tried to understand what was going on. One of them was speaking in Chinese being translated by another woman, and it was revealed to him that the souce of the explosion that had summoned him was in fact a bomb meant to detonate right where he was standing...er floating.

Listening to the other's talk, it started to dawn on Adam what this moteley group of people on the lawn was discussing.

"You...you mean you are all empowered? Like me? That's...incredible!"

Originally Posted By: Lily

"That guy who flew away with the bomb just saved London," Juno mentions. "He's a hero. I mean, you can't -make- people love anyone, but..." she pauses.

This is retarded. They're all scientists and doctors. What am I going to say they don't already know?

"I was just thinking...you know, everything's going to shit right now. There's earthquakes and...everything's a mess. Everywhere. So like, you guys who can fly and stuff..."

Her cheeks burned crimson. Public speaking had never really been her forte.

"Christ, you know what I mean! You slap some name on yourselves and instead of just being random...helpers and heroes, people see you're all in the same group! Like the comics, right? Justice League of Aeon or whatever you want to call it. Then everyone might be afraid...but at least they'll know SOME can be trusted."

Quote:

"Yes!" Fang said, pleased that she could do some English. Her ability with the language was getting better by the minute, and she risked foregoing Kun as a translater. As they talked, Fang nodded eagerly at the two suggestions.

"These are good! Much good," she said. "Public relations much important." She looked from the older attractive man to the younger attractive woman. "We need... pretty people. Pretty people make other listen. And we need name.

"And need warriors... no, guards." She glanced around, her eyes picking out the most physically capable of those around her. Her eyes naturally went to the nine foot tall giant among them, though only for a moment. Jay-King was here, too, and Fang had no doubt that he had some martial abilities as well. "Who defend us, like Shelby, our first hero?"

"That's an AWESOME idea!" boomed the Titan. He begins gesturing in the air, as if reading an invisible marquee or proclaiming the headlines.

"We could form a team! We can use our powers to help usher in a britghter future...a better tomorrow, today..."

"The...the Team of Tomorrow?" he offers. In his excitment he realizes he just geeked out in front of everyone and Adam-the Titan blushed, though the effect only serves to make him seem more stunningly handsome.

[Michael Peters]

Michael was surprised at Titan's outburst. He had thought that the man was older, but his words made Michael recalculate his age... with the mans unique look it was difficult to peg his age with any certainty.

"The Team of Tomorrow..." he mused, half to himself. It sounded like a super-team from a 60's comic book, definatly not the kind of earth shattering name one would expect... but then again, maybe that was the point.

"Maybe before we start picking out Avenger names and a team color scheme, we should figure out what we should do. I mean, I'm an older man... but there are kids here. They're lives are going to be irrevocably altered by... by all of this." Michael gestures towards the sky, only minutes before filled by a second sun "I mean, how many of us are going to be able to face that kind of event every day?"

[SalmonMax]

Juno shrugs. "I dunno...it seems to me like...well, come on, I'm not going to be picking people out of the sky. What's my super-name going to be, Giraffe Girl? The Necker?"

"Just saying, I don't really see my life changing because I can stretch my neck...unfortunately."

[Charlotte]

"Yeah, no. Forget the Justice League or the Defenders or the whatever it is kids read nowadays - our first priority is safety. Your safety and the safety of those around you. The people who are after you all were willing to turn London into charcoal. I don't know about you all, but bullets don't bounce off my chest. They just go straight through. I don't have super-whatever - "

You sure about that, Nate?

" - so yes, I'll admit it, I'm nervous about them knowing where we are. We seclude you all, you all get medical testing, we figure out what's happened to you all, then we can decide where to go from there. I mean, how do you all know these 'powers' won't fade away as soon as they came? Unless they came with an owner's manual no one's showed me yet."

[Wraith]

"I am sure they have some sort of testing facility and a team of doctors with lists and tests to run on each of us." Caryn says.

She starts to walk back inside following the path of Shelby and the doctors.

"As soon as we figure out what exactly each of us can do, and how to control it, then I think we should think about what to do with it." She says

She looked back at everyone, then looked down to the ground with a worried sigh.

[Titan]

Rich ran after the doctors, into the medical facility. He flung open the door to an operating theater in time to see the twisted blackened figure of Shelby Eisenfaust being placed onto a padded table. One of the doctors from the conference was tying a gown on another man. A woman came flying into the room with what looked like a laundry cart.

"Dr. Mazarin! Here is the Tygecycline, the Sulfadiazine, and the implements you need for debriding," she shouted.

Dr. Mazarin turned from having his gloves put on him.

"Good, good. I want to clean the suppurrations on his face first. That is the most likely site for infection. His stamina is obviously excellent, which is good. His skin has to be almost impervious, Farah, will he take an I.V.?"

She moves to the table to start a needle. Rich starts to go to Shelby's side as well, but two of the doctors with Dr. Go try to stop him. Rich shouts:

Originally Posted By: Richard Stevenson

"Let me in, I cured hundreds of people when I became... whatever it is that we are!"

All eyes look to Dr. Mazarin. After a long pause, he nods. The doctors move out of Rich's way. He goes quickly to Shelby's side.

As Rich looks down on the man, Shelby convulses once, twice, then lies still. He lets out a long sigh, and does not inhale. The woman says:

"Doctor, he is in extremis, we have to start CPR!"

"Wait," Dr. Mazarin says.

Rich places his hands on Shelby. Immediately, he is aware of Shelby's body. His heart is attempting to continue circulating blood, but no more oxygen is entering the lungs. His brain is sending emergency signals trying to force the lungs to breathe. He has lost consciousness, and Rich can feel the brain starting to degrade from lack of oxygen. The heart is starting to beat faster, but Rich knows, somehow, that this is a momentary surge before the cardiac tissue dies. For all intents and purposes, Shelby Eisenfaust... Titan... is dead.

"It's not working, doctor, please!"

"Wait, goddamnit, look!"

Rich doesn't know how he is doing what he is doing, but he tells the heart to keep beating. It does. He asks the lungs to draw in breath, and they do. With that minor bit of maintenance out of the way, Rich looks at the real problem. Total destruction of all cells in the outer layer of skin, and the dermis underneath. Muscle tissue and bone also affected with sections completely dead. Nerve endings destroyed.

Rich pours life into them. He channels energy into Shelby's body, willing the dead tissue to live. They don't respond. They are, for lack of a better word, frightened. He doesn't even have a chance to marvel at that, but pours even more of this energy he has tapped into, into the cells of Shelby's body. The cells let something in, something bad. They fear to let anything in again. Rich uses his moment, filled with energy, to teach them how to live again. They start to take on life.

"My God! Do you see-"

"SHHH!"

He assures the cells that they are strong, that they are well, and they believe him. They knit bone and skin, the epidermis and the dermis, back together. They close up against the outside, more firmly than before, eliminating even pores from their design. Nothing will ever get in again. Rich checks briefly to make sure that Shelby can live like that, and is gratified to see that he can. He checks all the body's functions, and repairs any failings that he finds. His energy flickers, and he loses focus.

As he takes his hands off of Shelby, his eyes roll back into his head and he collapses.

Everyone:

Decisions and debate continue out on the lawn. The back and forth is healthy, without rancor, and there are humorous comments made... but the topics are dead serious. The doctors from inside the main house have wandered outside, and are listening to the conversations. Some are contributing. Small groups have formed, it looks like a cocktail party, but the content of each discussion is the same.

Study, sure. But first, protection. The New People...us. We must take steps to protect ourselves.

One of the doctors has taken up something Wei Fang said offhandedly, and is running with it in his group:

"Making the utopia, she said. Sir Thomas More's visionary philosophy has grown ever closer to a potential reality with each passing decade of the Twentieth Century. Yet, it still is considered an unachievable ideal. With the abilities that we are seeing, one could theorize about other potential abilities... the extrapolation of this concept leads one to think that with the so-called New People's abilities, Utopia could well become a reality... in our time! Done visibly, a project for the world to both see and share, this vision could not just sway public opinion against any who would harm the New People, but could in fact unite humanity in a true Utopian world. Think of it..."

In another knot of people, a woman is agreeing loudly with Titan Omega's idea:

"Growing up in Chicago isn't easy, rich or poor, that's all I'm saying. I'm sure it's like that all over the world, right? My mom was always saying to me, 'Alison, somebody has to stop it, why not you?' So what if she meant I should be something besides a debutante. A doctor, a lawyer... whatever. Why shouldn't I be the one to stop it? Why shouldn't you?" She turns to another young man standing silently and listening to her speak, and adresses him, "You're right, Tony, good point. If that's true, if God or Nature, or whatever has given us these abilities... then maybe they want superheroes. No, now wait and listen. This Titan guy, not the one that grabbed the case, the one from T.V. He's talking about a Tomorrow Team that helps people. Call it superheroism, call it an International Intervention Team, I don't particularly care, but I want on it, and I bet I'm not alone. See, lots of people..."

Another doctor holds forth to a group of New People:

"And that's exactly what we're talking about. No secrecy, complete transparancy. Publish our early findings as quickly as next month, follow up with papers throughout the year. Involve the media, and the common man. People around the world want to know what is happening and it is up to us to explain it as best we can. We cannot do that without your cooperation, and no one knows that better than I. However, I think it is important to show people that you are just people too..."

And so on.

Slowly, though, the crowd becomes aware of the men walking towards them from the medical facility. The first is tall, almost seven feet, and completely hairless. His skin has a plastic smoothness that seems unnatural, and is as mottled and pink as a newborn's. He is supporting a weary Richard Stevenson, for those who caught his name before. Behind them, Dr's. Mazarin, Rashoud, and the others are following at a reverential distance. For a moment, you wonder why they aren't with Shelby... then you look at the hairless man again. He smiles at the crowd, then the smile broadens into a grin.

"Shelby!" "Titan!"

He shakes his head, ruefully, and holds up a hand.

"I'm not the Titan... he is," he says, pointing at Titan Omega, "and thank god he caught me before I hit, or I'd probably be dead now. Speaking of which... if you ever get nuked out of space, have this guy around. Still haven't gotten his name, but the doctors tell me I died on the table, and he brought me back... thanks, buddy." He envelops Rich into a bear hug, then releases him, still holding him up with one hand on his arm.

An enormously fat man steps up from the crowd and begins to ask, "Shelby-"

"And I don't want to be called Shelby any more either," the bald man says, "Shelby was a name from another life. I have a new life now, and I feel like I need a new name. Call me Pax."

He smiles again as he looks around at all the people, New and old, on the lawn.

"It means 'Peace'."