Aberrant: Phoenix Rising - Book 2: Chapter 3: Pulse

[Gregory]

Gregory had never seen so much snow. It was clearly higher than himself and would make travelling difficult in any place other than those areas that were already cleared. Luckily, the monotonous environment would make sneaking simple. After surveying the white cliffs of snow on each side, he saw Adam. Adam was definitely different.

Still completely nude, and completely oblivious of social standards regarding clothing, he gave Adam a wave and said 'Hey'.

[jameson (ST)]

James for his part tries not to look nervous but he can't hide it completely. One can hardly blame him, as Adam's glare is nuclear fire and the threat of a very likely painful death. Adam back down though, dispelling the quantum fire from his hands. "Whatever, just keep him away from me." He looks at Anna and Ashley and gives only the barest smile. When he sees Gregory he rolls his eyes, "Kid, put some damn pants on fer crissakes, shit."

He turns back to Raider and Courier, "Dunno what the hell you did but the fireworks over the city were impressive. When it finally ended the storm started to die out. But as you can see it's like we're still stuck in a weird weather pattern, nothin' but cold and snow, cold and snow."

KB looks around and without a word winds rush in and carry her up into the air, "I'll deal with this. It's the least I can do."

[Gregory]

Hearing Adam berate him over his nakedness, Gregory looks down at his naked form with a look of concern. "Why? Is there sumptin' wrong with me?" He then proceeds to frantically run his hands across his body to check for abnormalities and wounds.

[SalmonMax]

By this time somewhat used to Gregory, Ashley just shrugs and enjoys the show.

"Nothing wrong from where I'm standing," she comments with a grin.

[Courier]

Doug watches KB leave and says to Adam,

"I think all those fireworks were Calypso and I haven't been able to raise her since that happened. I think she's dead."

He turns to James and asks,

"Did what's his name survive? Could he still be around somewhere causing all this cold?"

Originally Posted By: SalmonMax

By this time somewhat used to Gregory, Ashley just shrugs and enjoys the show.

"Nothing wrong from where I'm standing," she comments with a grin.

Doug opens his mouth but closes it without commenting.

[Joani]

Anna watched KB lift off and shuddered for a second. The concept of losing touch with the ground was disturbing to her. Still she second KBs intention to help and raised an eyebrow at Adam asking, "Can I help somehow?Are there wounded people? I can heal them."

[Gregory]

"Thank you" he replies to Ashley. "At least one of us is serious around here."

He turns to look in the direction of KB and freezes. Slowly he realizes that her comment had more to it than he first thought. A wave of warmth crept into his face as he realized that she was commenting about his manhood in a sexual manner.

[jameson (ST)]

Adam looks at Anna and pauses as though sizing her up. He looks to Doug to confirm and then nods, "Yeah, frostbite and such have been common as hell. Nothing serious but if you can help I think people would appreciate it. So what finally brings you guys back here anyways?" He asks his question as he leads the group through the carved snow trenches toward the hospital, the entire walk takes maybe ten minutes before they are inside the warm and sterile smelling building.

[Joani]

Anna cheered up and smiled at Adam. She was eager to help and the walk to the hospital seemed to take forever. Once inside the building she tried to get an impression of who needed her help most dearly. Looking at the others for permission she hesitated to proceed to the beds – she didn’t want to scare any one and complicate things because of her monstrous appearance.

[Courier]

Doug attempts to switch the link to KB. He doesn't try to send anything but if she runs into something he wants to know.

[Gregory]

Gregory goes and finds a place to eat and sleep..preferrably the shop they always used.

As he skips off for his respite, he gives the others a wave. "I'm going to get some food, then some rest."

[jameson (ST)]

As soon as Gregory goes outside he begins to feel lost. The immense quantity of snow is such that he can barely navigate. He is forced down corridors of blue-white ice and wind sculpted snow which seems to follow none of the old streets. Indeed after some time he find himself at the school building where dozens if not hundreds of people are taking refuge because their homes are buried. He is offered a cot and some soup by a young woman who seemed to be trying to look anywhere but at Gregory's face or body.

Meanwhile Anna moves carefully between beds and tried to heal those she can. It doesn't take long for each patient and very quickly she finds herself drained and tired, her quantum reserves reduced to the barest levels. Tagging along behind her James, Raider and Courier converse. Courier's mind was still on KB despite his inability to link with her. He was reminded once more that James, though their ally now, was responsible, directly or otherwise, for so much of the misery of the past year. Not for the first time the thought came unbidden to his mind of snuffing out the aberrant even despite his apparent change of loyalties.

[Joani]

Anna reluctantly took a break and sat down for a moment. If she only had more power, then she could heal them all. Her features had somewhat changed in colour again giving her a pale and sickly olive tint instead of the usual vibrant green. Nonetheless Anna seemed to be mostly happy. She was helping as much as she could and that raised her spirits even against the odds.

She had lost track of where the others had gone in the meantime and walked slowly to one of the windows looking outside watching the snow. Maybe she could help clean up the town once she had rested a little. This way she could contribute to the greater cause of helping the people and thus she hoped to be more welcomed and accepted amidst them. Staring up to the sky she knew that she was mostly dreaming. They had more important things to do. Things that couldn’t wait, that needed to be done. She was just scared by the thought of leaving earth. She didn’t want to die.

[Gregory]

Gregory shrugged and smiled at the woman. He did notice others looking at him funny and he was curious as to what, and if they were saying anything about him. Recently, he has noticed that his friends have been looking at him strangely and strangers just try to avoid looking at him.

As he curled up in his blanket, his belly warm from the soup, he listened to conversations around him.

(OOC: activating Hyperenhanced Hearing)

[Courier]

KB refused the link... presumably she was busy with weather related stuff. Stepping outside Doug was shocked at how bad things had gotten.

Of course there was an obvious candidate for whose fault this was. Unbidden came the image of James' head spraying blood as he pulped it with one fist... then he pushed the thought away. For every person suffering here there were at least five back at abby-city central. James was *still* annoyingly useful.

Doug hated that they needed him and he hated that he hated him. Hate was easier to embrace than release. Although he could see what it was doing to him and where it was taking him, Doug didn't see any better options. He'd never be able to forgive himself for walking away, so he stayed in "the kitchen" and these darker emotions festered.

With an effort Doug focused on the present. KB was needed here. She'd be able to banish the snowstorm and raise the temperatures by 60 degrees or so. If they were very lucky she might even get paid for it.

She also wasn't going to be all that effective on a weather-less moon anyway. Anna was a plant, she probably needed the Earth and was probably going to insist that she stay to heal the frostbitten anyway. Gregory... where was Gregory anyway? Here? Had he left? Shoot that could be annoying. He wasn't sure what Ash was going to do.

Doug said out loud,

"Raider, Adam, James, Ash, we're just getting ground down here. Abby-city is stronger and better organized than we are. They're also better equiped."

"I think we need to try that city on the moon. I also don't see a reason not to just go there now."

[Mr Fox]

Raider nodded. "I'm in agreement with that. I would like to rest up and be at full energy when we go though. Let's get some sleep and have breakfast in the morning then go. What do you say?"

[Courier]

Doug replies,

"I'm good with that. I'm full right now so I'll poke around and let everyone know what KB is up to. Maybe I'll do my heavy lifter bit and dig some things out."

[Mr Fox]

"That sounds good Doug. I'm going to head to my shop and get a little sleep then, anyone that wants to come is welcome."

Raider will lead the way as best he can. If necessary he'll ask Adam to open a warp to get them all there. Once there he'll have a good meal and get some rest.

[SalmonMax]

Ash notices Raider and the others putting their heads together and wanders over to poke her nose into their business. After listening for a bit, she says, "I guess I'll go too. Better than cooling my heels in Snowtown with Tentacleboy, getting nothing done."

And, she had to admit, if the asteroid had been possible leverage against the aberrants of New York...maybe having allies on the moon with a giant laser would serve a similar purpose.

[Joani]

Anna followed Raider to his place and happily took the offer to get some rest. She was really spent and needed a break. Listening carefully to the plans she tried to get some sleep but couldn't divert her thoughts from the moon. Could she even survive there? Her eyes reflected her fear but she didn't say anything. She didn't want to be a liability.

[jameson (ST)]

Much to Raider's irritation he finds his home is buried completely under snow and ice over ten feet above his roof. It takes some time and with Ash and Doug's help they are able to carve a tunnel to the house and an access for the chimney to vent. By nightfall they sit within the house as the fire does its best to warm the thoroughly frozen structure. Gregory finds his way back eventually, still naked as the day he was born and joins the rest. James excuses himself and requests the use of Raider's workshop, saying that he needs to perform some maintenance on some of his equipment. Anna, looking much better for some rest, helps the others prepare a meal.

[Courier]

Doug eats less than he would have a year ago and more like a baseline. In the abby city when it was hard to find food, well, somewhere down the line food just stopped being important. He supposed he should 'blame' 'thank' Squidward James for this but decided it wasn't worth the bother.

As he was eating Doug reached out with his mind and tried to see if KB was feeling receptive. *KB? How are you doing?*

[Mr Fox]

"The workshop is through there." He pointed down a hallway.

Once James had left he walked over to Gregory and whispered, "Would you mind keeping an eye on James and make sure he doesn't do anything bad? I really need to get some sleep if we are going to visit the moon."

[Gregory]

"Sure thing." Gregory said with a child-like smile. In only a matter of seconds, Gregory's skin took on the qualities of the surroundings. He slinked off to where James was going to do his main'nence.

[Joani]

Anna had some trouble manoeuvring in Raider’s shop. She was simply too huge in every dimension. Still she was glad that she could arrange a meal for the others and happily served the meal. She didn’t have the need for ‘real’ food any longer. Sun and water gave her nourishment enough but she still enjoyed the company and remembered the times before her change. Today those times seemed much farer away than only a few weeks ago and Anna felt how those dark thoughts started to affect her morale. Nervously she asked the others, “Do we really have to go to the moon?”

[Mr Fox]

Raider stifled a yawn to answer, "Yes, I think we need to check it out. At worst they will kill us for showing up, at best we might gain an ally that could help defeat the Aberrants from the city."

[jameson (ST)]

In the workshop James removed a device from his coat and set it down on the bench. He gathered tools together and rummaged through some raw materials for a while before he stopped. "So my brother still doesn't trust me eh?" He spoke aloud but apparently to the room and not to anybody in particular. "So he asks you watch me, report back to him? He uses you to spy for him does he? Tell me, do you like it that your friends use you but do not look on you as an equal?"

[Gregory]

Greory was a shocked at James's directness to Gregory's presense. He was not used to being 'known' when he was hiding. Shrugiing his shoulders, he dropped his camoflage and stepped out where James could see him.

"I do what I like." He said to James. "I not sure if I trust you. I happy to do it. I like to spy." He smiled at James, even though inside he knew that James was right and that they didn't see him as an equal. He was not as smart as the rest of them, and they knew it. But he could do things they couldn't and had proven himself to them. He hoped.

"They never told me to track you to your rocket. Never even knew what I went to do. I did that because they not know how to." Gregory paused. "Sorry 'bout your rocket."

[jameson (ST)]

"I knew you were there Gregory. Had I wanted to stop you from returning I could have. I didn't anticipate the rash retaliatory strike you and your comrades would make however. Nor did I expect that you would succeed if you did attack." He looks at Gregory as he slides the cover off a small device and begins to fiddle with the electronics within. "What is it that you want Gregory? What goals have you set for yourself?"

*****

Meanwhile in the main house KB enters through the front door, the tunnel of snow dark as night has fallen, eliminating even the slight amount of light that had passed through the layered snow. "Whatever she did that Quantum ... being, I guess, is gone. But there's a great deal of interference. The local weather system is still being effected by their battle I would assume. I did what I could for today but its going to take me some time to repair the damage. It's like ... it's like trying to put a window into a brick wall. You got to remove each brick one by one and make sure that everything is still stable before you can move to the next." KB grabs some food and flops down on the couch near the fire. "Where's the freak?"

[Courier]

Doug answered,

"He's in Raider's shop, Gregory is keeping an eye on him."

Then he digested what she'd said and continued,

"You're going to need a lot more time to make this right then... I think most of the rest of us are going to the moon in the morning. We'll take him with us."

"It feels like another forced move. We're losing. There's just too..." Doug shrugged helplessly. He wasn't sure if he meant, 'there's too many people getting killed in this' or if he meant 'we're giving up too much of ourselves in this'.

[SalmonMax]

"What do you mean we're losing?" Ash asks, coming up from behind Doug and looking down at the food on the counter.

"You're reading a lot into this moon thing. They've been up there probably since before the Burn, and they've never fired that thing at the ground. Why would they start now? Relax a little. We're going up there to make allies, not try to talk enemies out of blowing us up."

[Courier]

Doug responds,

"I mean look around. We've been fighting Abby-City for months and they're stronger than ever while we're not. They have more man power, more raw power, higher tech, and they're more organized. We even decided that killing James would be counter productive."

"We're losing. We need whoever is on the moon."

[Gregory]

Gregory had never thought of what he wanted, other than his immediate survival. As for goals, he wanted to make sure that what happened to his parents did not happen to anyone else. Still, he was put off balance by James's questions

"I...I don't know." He replied. "I never though much of any of those things other than stopping abbies from hurting people."

[jameson (ST)]

James stopped and turned giving Gregory and appraising look, "What happened to your folks?"

****

KB snorted, "Just because they didn't lay a smack down doesn't mean that they couldn't. I don't go out and exterminate every ant hill near my home just because they could come in. No I only deal with them when I need too. We may have just proven to them that we are dangerous. Who knows. We don't even know if its populated with humans or novas or aliens." She shrugs, "For all we know the abbys in York may need to become our allies."

[Courier]

Originally Posted By: jameson (ST)

"...We don't even know if its populated with humans or novas or aliens." She shrugs, "For all we know the abbys in York may need to become our allies."

Doug winced, he hadn't even considered this. *I can't decide whether I like or dislike that she's smarter than me.* After a moment he replied,

"Ouch..."

[Joani]

"Then we need Raider's brother to help us make friends with York. I don't know if we can trust him, I am still a little confused by all this. And I'm scared to go to the moon. What if we are the bad people and the good ones live on the moon. Maybe we are the monsters and not them?"

Anna wished she hadn't said that but it slipped out of her just like that. She was thinking too much about being a monster herself that she lacked vision for a more abstract point of view.

[Courier]

There was a lot more wisdom in Anna's words than Doug wanted to admit. For a moment the memory of him ripping that man in half came to his mind... and like always, he pushed it aside. He replied,

"...I don't know. I guess we deal with it if it happens."

[SalmonMax]

Ashley's face hardens at the mention of alliance with York, but she doesn't say anything to it. All she says is, "No way to know without going and looking. How are we getting there?"

[Gregory]

Gregory moved closer to the aberrant he distruted yet felt drawn to.

"They got eaten." he said. "Abbies at them when I was only five." Gregory's face looked distant as if trying to recall faces from his childhood. He drew a blank. Instead he pointed off to the west. "It was a long way that way. To where the sun sets. The land there is wierd and kinda dead. It's called 'The Blight'."

[jameson (ST)]

KB gives an ironic smirk, "That rocket you all busted up would be real handy right now. Maybe James'll help up build a new one?"

*****

James turns to Gregory and lays his human hand on the yound man's shoulder. "I'm sorry, I understand the damage that taint can do. I've seen many of the novas in York become little more than beasts, while others have had their minds twisted, their very humanity torn away." He slips the device back into his belt. "But you cannot let your own life be consumed like your parents' lives were. Protecting people is noble but in this world you must look out for yourself. Surely you've seen the way that the baselines look at you. Your own taint is well hidden and yet they can still see it, feel it. To them you are just a monster waiting to be. Our people need their own place, apart from the humans, the baselines. Don't you think that would be better for everybody?"