Aberrant: 200X - One Minute Closer To Midnight

[Evo]

Donald- At night

Donald paged through the very large section on Spanish vocabulary, amazed to find that over time, he was certainly slowly but surely making some marked progress. It helped that he had originally taken Spanish in high school, though he had let it go to pot without much care.

Sitting in the library of the Rashoud clinic, he had already glanced at the clock to see the time. 3:00 AM. And he wasn't the slightest phased. It seemed sleep was no longer truly necessary for his well-being.

Sure you're still 'human' at all?

He slapped away that thought before it went down a dangerous and currently unwelcome road of logic. Let's leave it at 'study aid'.

He did, and got into the book on forensics & crime scene investigation as well, and was still at it when he finally decided to get some food at 9:45 AM.

Click to reveal..

Investigation 1 and Linguistics 1 (Spanish) developed-ish:

Imagine he'll be doing this studying for many a night until it's ingrained for a basic knowledge.

[Jael Carver]

Einherjar got a nod from Paul when he entered the room; Paul had met him before. Their contact had been brief, usually a brief exchange of hellos before Jael and the Nordic poster boy had disappeared for four days or more. Einherjar was also one of those guys that made Paul feel like he should have born tall and white.

But Jason and John’s arrival quickly took his mind off of the near-giant. Paul made a strangled noise that might have been a sound of approval or laughter at John’s observation of Bombshell’s assets. “Yeeeeahhhh,” he drawled once he had stopped laughing. “Jason does. Looks like you and I may have that talk sooner than I thought.”

Paul remained sitting, one leg drawn up onto the couch with a corner of a blanket covering his lap. He wasn’t moving for any reason on earth, not until his Jason-inspired boner went away. And if that kind of statement doesn’t make you feel awkward about your sexuality, then you are definitely secure in yourself. “This guy, Jason, is John Doe,” Paul explained. “Jael found him in the Crush, and he’s kinda gotten attached to her.” Einherjar raised an eyebrow at that and Paul said, “I know, right?”

[Firanis 'Fi' Flux]

The arrival of Jason's assets, then the woman herself and a clothed John went unnoticed by the raven-haired beauty as the object of a school girl crush landed on the terrace and strutted into the lounge like a leonine war-god. Keeping her drooling to a purely mental variety, hiding it behind a coy smile and heavy-lidded emerald eyes that raked over him with frank admiration, she completely missed Sunshine's 'stunning' observation and Ghostwriter's insubstantial antics.

*He's on my list, Ryu!* Katya informed her boyfriend over they psychic bond, the excitement and desire thrumming in the thought.

*List?* Ryusei queried, concerned yet resigned as his girlfriend went on point, as it were - in actuality, Katya portrayed an indolent composure.

*Y'know, the List. You can choose any three - okay, the number is negotiable - any three celebrities or famous people, and if you have a chance with them, it doesn't count as cheating.* Her smile slowly widened as she recalled his Playgirl spread. He was so studly and dangerous and tragic and resolute. She loved Ryusei, but this was a fantasy, and since erupting, she was all for fulfilling her fantasies.

*Really...* Ryusei's reply was wry and dry and though he couldn't read minds, he knew what was running through Kat's.

*Really! And Einherjar is on mine... Three times,* Katya informed him with sensual solemnity. *Please - please - don't get in the way of this, Ryu. Pick whoever you want for your list, I'll even help you make it come true, even if it's Jason and Danielle, just don't get in the way of me fulfilling a fantasy that I thought would always be a fantasy.*

Ryusei sighed, a resigned smile gracing his flawless features. Katya was an impulsive woman, and he loved that about her, he just never expected this. He just had to trust this was a one time - three time? - thing and that she'd come back. Telling her 'no' would probably just result in resentful compliance and her hiding things from him. The girl liked having secrets. *Okay, Kat,* he relented, adding - mostly to keep her on her toes, *But I'm keeping you to your word. I'm making a list.*

Katya's mental squee almost made him wince. *Love you, Ryu, always. And fair's fair in fantasy and desire.*

Employing all her dancer's grace and more-than-human qualities to great effect, Katya swayed up to Einherjar, her smile welcoming and endearingly coquettish. She laid a hand, enticing and tingling on his wrist and felt herself growing wet at what she felt transmitted through the simple touch. Cold, controlled violence held unleashed, an unassailable honour, the tragic, lingering lost, and the deep reservoir of lust for life.

She wanted him. If he had asked her to have his babies, she'd seriously consider it for the chance to have him for a night. Thank God I can keep a straight face.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Einherjar." Her light accented voice was a throaty purr, engaging and seductive, but not in the least crass or fan-girlish. Her grin grew an impish dimple. "Jason has been bragging how she got to make out with you." Jason may have been better at hiding her blushes, but she knew what the way she ran her hand through her hair meant. "Which is hardly fair, don't you think, since she knew how much I've admired you since she was my boyfriend?"

Despite her infatuation, her emerald eyes and sharp ears didn't miss Einherjar's raised brow or Paul's tone. Bitch! she thought with a trace of envy she thought she was over since erupting. "I hope you would be willing to talk with me further. Your article in Playgirl was very engaging, I'd love to hear more. Maybe over dinner?"

I wonder what they chances are of getting Ryusei and Einherjar, both...

[Ghostwriter]

Ghostwriter sat back down on the floor, seemingly unmoved by all the super-attractive people in the room. She had no wish to make herself look like an idiot lusting after a bunch of people who would be more interested in screwing each other than herself.

"So what are we going to do now, about the mess in Victoria?" she asked.

[Jael Carver]

Paul sighed at Ghostwriter’s question. “I need to get back and get back to work,” he said softly, his expression filled with distaste. He tried to smooth it away but he wasn’t very successful. He closed his eyes for a moment and all he saw were the bodies he’d found and dragged out of holes. “I mean, I’ve been here a few hours now.”

He paused and then added, “Hey, Jason… do you have some food I could take back with me? I mean… from your kitchen? Please?” Leave the room and take my hard-on with you, please.

In the shower, Jael rinsed her hair one more time, trying not to think about the discovery. Alone in the shower, without Sunshine to distract her, her thoughts drifted back to that, until the water from the shower felt like it was boiling against her chilled skin. Finish quick… get back to the others. She was almost done. Oh, hell, to be honest, she was hurrying to join Sunshine again. She liked the others in there, those that she knew, even Paul. He was her friend; they’d had this bump, but they’d get past it.

But Sunshine was different. She felt things for him that she didn’t feel for other people. Hell, she felt things for him. When Jael said she liked someone, she meant that she found enjoyment in their company. It didn’t mean that she felt something for them; it didn’t mean that she liked them in the way that most people meant it. But when she was with Sunshine, she felt things – actual affection.

Like with Shelly. Jael paused, biting a lip as she considered this thought. She cared about Shelly. Of all the people in the world, Jael hurt when Shelly hurt. Shelly had been her only true friend for years. Now it looked like Sunshine was joining that tiny club. Was he going to be okay with that?

“Fuck it,” she muttered. It was what it was and she wasn’t going to worry about it. With that, she finished what she was doing and headed for the living room. She was relieved to see that Sunshine wasn’t right outside the door; it gave her hope that he was gaining more and more social grace as time went on.

However, even her realization that Sunshine was coming to mean something to her was forgotten when she saw the new arrival. “Einherjar!” she blurted, dashing across the room. She didn’t even realize that Katya was standing next to him. With a little hop, she was clinging to his form, giving him a rousing kiss. His strong arms curled around her and offered support; as those thick sinews enclosed her, Jael knew she wanted to fuck him right now. She wanted him to chase away the fear with pleasure, until she was warm again.

There was something more desperate then normal in her grip on him; they both could feel it. But when Jael broke the kiss and looked over his shoulder, she saw Sunshine staring at her with wide eyes. With a blush and an awkward chuckle, she floated away from Einherjar and settled to the ground. “Hey, Ein, good to see you. Again.”

[Bombshell]

Hearing Katya's completely out-of-context boast of her claims, Jason gave her a lovely scowl, her fair brows furrowing further as she saw her ex vamp=up to the large Elite and her co-star. She glanced at Ryusei, a question in her eyes, but after the Asian Temporal Manipulator gave her an awkward shrug and a shake of his head, Jason let it go. It was between them now, not her place to step in. Kat had always been a flirt and tease and never went further, it probably just looked worst than it was.

Jason gave Paul a nod as she passed by on her way to the kitchen open to the lounge and dining room, and a guy able to simply walk like that would have been obscene if he wasn't so damned hot. Jason arched an eyebrow as she glanced at John Doe. "Well, anyone getting out of the Crush alive is a miracle, so there's that at least."

“Hey, Jason… do you have some food I could take back with me? I mean… from your kitchen? Please?” Paul asked. Leave the room and take my hard-on with you, please.

"Oh, yeah, sure," Jason replied, and to Paul, he couldn't help but think she was agreeing to something else altogether with that mellifluous soprano. "Some high-calorie protein bars, they're pretty tasty too. Since Novas and their metabolisms came around, they've really improved the flavour from when I was playing hockey in the Pee-Wee league."

The argent-tressed goddess continued on, circling the island in the kitchen and claiming the bowl of strawberries and cream neglected by Katya. She popped several white-topped berries between her luscious lips with an unconscious sensuality, then grabbed one of the unopened boxes of HungerBreaker Maximum Bars from the pantry as she contemplated her ghostly guest sitting on the floor and her question.

"I don't know, Ghostwriter," Jason finally admitted after a long moment, the light of her slightly glowing eyes dull and matte with regret and resigned resolve. "I'm goin' to follow Paul back to the Crush in a few more hours, help dig people out, do what I can, but... But it's getting hard - we're finding fewer and fewer alive. After a week..." The man-cum-woman trailed off.

Regardless of how inhumanly beautiful she was, it mattered not a whit when digging through the destruction and ugliness of the Crush, and it showed clearly on her exquisite face. "Most of the ones we find now are found deep in large hollows formed by what happened to Victoria, places where they can still get water."

Jason tossed her head, shaking a tenacious lock of hair that kept obscuring an eye from her face, considering the other woman. "If you can stay that way for a long time, Ghostwriter, we can certainly use your help locatin' people under the ground. Even... bodies too, so we can bury them... But I have to warn ya... It... it ain't pretty, what we're findin'. I don't want to imagine what we're not findin'."

Jason leaned a little to the side, so she could see around the corner of the kitchen to where Paul was sitting on the couch. "Here, my compliments." With an easy flick of her wrist, the box tumbled through the air to land precisely on the corner of the black steel and glass coffee-table with barely a whump. "Feel free to come back for resupply, I have plenty. I buy in bulk."

[Ghostwriter]

Ghostwriter stood up, shrugging. "I'll deal with it," she replied curtly. "Besides, some of the priorities around here seem skewed."

She went completely intangible instead of mostly and hovered in mid-air.

[Eingar]

"You must be Katya." The rumble of his voice caused small sympathetic vibrations throughout Kat's body as the Elite looked down at her, studying her with those pale eyes and clearly liking what he saw, teeth white against the sun-bronzed face and pale gold hair as he smiled. "Jason surprised me when she turned up with the magazine for me to sign, but she explained it was for a good friend. It's a pleasure to meet you." He took her hand gently in his tanned grip and gave it a courtly shake.

Katya repressed a shiver at the sense of controlled power there. Jason was stronger, but she wasn't a killer - this was like touching a man-eating lion who for the moment was in a good mood with the world. Normally, with a few exceptions, Katya didn't go for the 'hoo-ah', gung-ho macho soldier-types. She liked strong-yet-sensitive men like Ryu, or Jason before her change. But Einherjar wasn't a soldier: he was a warrior. She could take the template of his soul she was feeling through her fingertips and transplant that honor and ferocity into a samurai, or a European knight-errant, or the bogatyr of Russian legend.

Einherjar looked over at Ryusei, and Katya could feel doubt mingle with the definite interest and desire under her touch as those ice-blue eyes studied her boyfriend, then her. He was uneasy with the idea of taking another's woman, that much was plain to the perceptive empath. Of course he would be, she realised. He still wore the ring of his wife, remaining emotionally faithful to her twelve years after her death.

"Dinner sounds good." he said with a friendly smile, casting a questioning glance Ryusei's way before letting his eyes linger on Kat's unquestionably graceful form. "You should come out to Praetoria and let me show you around." He grinned then. "I promise not to try and recruit you for DeVries. Maybe you and Ryus-" whatever he was going to say was interrupted by an excited shout of his name.

Quote:

“Einherjar!” Jael blurted, dashing across the room. She didn’t even realize that Katya was standing next to him. With a little hop, she was clinging to his form, giving him a rousing kiss. His strong arms curled around her and offered support; as those thick sinews enclosed her, Jael knew she wanted to fuck him right now..

Ein kissed Jael back enthusiastically, feeling the strength in her arms as she clung to him like a rock, pressing herself to him. When she let go so did he, but the large Elite was bemused at the blush on her face. Jael wasn't exactly the shy and retiring sort, especially when it came to kissing guys she liked. The blush made her look younger than her usual worldly manner did. He grinned at her.

"Good to see you too. Again." he answered with a twinkle in his eye. "I didn't know you were involved in this mess, least of all adopting stray boys." He nodded towards Sunshine, who was watching them both with a curious tilt to his head.

"That was an intimate kiss." he stated, deep sky-blue eyes regarding Einherjar soberly. "You and Jael have affection for each other. That is why she kissed your mouth. Are you hooked up?" Einherjar blinked, then smiled.

"Not really." he said, walking over to the glowing golden youth. "We are friends, though." The kid was artless, his expression open as the sky reflected in his gaze. "I'm Einherjar. Good to meet you." He offered a hand.

"Eye-n-hair-ee-arr." Sunshine repeated carefully, then took Ein's hand like he'd seen on the OpNet. "That is a strange name. I am John right now, because I do not have a name. Except for Jael, who calls me Sunshine. It-is-good-to-meet-you." he said in imitation of Ein's own manner.

"Likewise." Ein said, smiling despite himself. "No memories, then?" he looked at the others.

"None." Paul said as he scooped up the power bars from the table. "Completely blank, nothing even in the subconscious according to Doctor Jia." he waved a hand in the direction of the guest bedroom. "Which reminds me: she wants to take John here to the Clinic ASAP, Jael. You've probably got until she wakes up before she starts making noise about that. I think she's worried he'll be an accidental danger to himself or others."

"What is the Clinic?" Sunshine asked. "Is it like a hospital? And why does the doctor think I am dangerous? Is it because I have no memory?" It was plain enough to all that the young nova was both curious and a little worried at the prospect of being a danger.

[Minerva 'Mainframe']

Minerva had gotten the call from her friend, Anna only a little while ago, while she had been dealing with investigating a matter in Quebec.

"Enherjar found a problem with our director in the Canada office, and wants him slapped, hard. I'd see to it myself, but your in the area, and I trust your judgment, and there are other matters that need my attention. Besides, after me, you own the largest share of DeVris, at 12%, so your authority is unquestionable. I promised Enherjar that we'd transfer him out, to Medellin, to give him time to reflect on his attitude."

Minerva laughed at that, even as her mind considered the possibilities. "I take it you want me to look into the local office moral and hire or fire people as necessary to clean things up a bit? As well as look into chances of other abuses? As well as put in some work regarding the recent disaster? Do some relief effort, improve publicity?"

"That's what I like about talking with you Minerva, your ability to grasp what I have in mind instantly."

"I want a completely free hand, give me total authority of the Canadian office until I find someone with the right mix of capabilities for the office."

"Done, it's all yours."

Downloading the information directly to her portable computer, she read the matter even as she contacted DeVris Transport and got a portal directly to the city and location. Meanwhile, she purchased a plane ticket, someone else would not be allowed such a swift transport.

Walking straight into the office, without even stopping to speak with the secretary, she simply reached out and activated the doors pushing them open as she stormed into the office. "Mr. Cinciano, you have been transported to our Medellin offices, here's your ticket, your flight is in 2 hours, your personal effects will be sent after you."

"Who.. what.. I..you can't do this!"

"I have Ms. DeVris full confidence, and total authority with regards to the Canada offices, I can do anything I like. Now, get out of my office!"

Normally, she didn't come across so harshly, but when Anna wanted someone slapped.. they got slapped, hard.

"But.. but, this is my office."

"Not anymore, next time you insult someone in the company by saying they are lying, make sure it's actually true, and that they are not more valuable to the company then you. Your insistence on getting payed for a matter that should be charity work, makes me wonder what other sorts of things I mind find if I look into things." The man turned pale, and swiftly got up and grabbed the ticket, walking out quickly. She watched impassively as he moved, then she looked at the computer he had been sitting in front of, thinking that perhaps he had been embezzling money from the company, his last actions had been almost suspicious.

"Julia.. get in here." She already had pulled the name of the secretary from the computers, not even bothering to touch them.

"Yes, miss?"

"Just call me Minerva, by preference. He was pressuring you to sleep with him?"

Her face darkened. "I..what.. how?"

"Never mind, I see you managed to keep him at arms length, for the time being, even with the pressure he was putting on you. Didn't make an issue of it, cause you couldn't afford to risk being fired." Even as she spoke she was reading over Julia's file from the computer files. "I also see you managed to do your job rather well, despite distractions, you'll do as my secretary as long as you remain your efficient self." She didn't say it, but if the woman had been sleeping with him, then Minerva would not have kept her on as her secretary. The look of relief in the woman's eyes was almost noticeable. "I think perhaps even a raise is in order." Now Julia's eyes turned hopeful.

"I'll look into it, but for now I want everyone in the office to be pulled from their present tasks, I'm already going over their files, I want a moment with each of them, start making appointments. I want to see the first of them in 30 minutes." The computer behind her was showing various files being called up even as she spoke, then she closed the doors and moved to sit behind the desk.

Meanwhile, she called up Enherjar on the phone, she already knew a great deal regarding the disaster, but a few words with the Nova Elite would help considerably in setting up her own relief efforts.

[Ryusei Hideyoshi]

Ryusei sighed, but he was also chuckling. He had faith in Katya, and in himself to allow her this dalliance. It wasn't like he could really stop her. A part of him wanted to do just that, but in the past couple of years, he'd mellowed on that understanding how the world truly worked.

Besides, he could make a list too. This intrigued him, as he wondered just who he fantasized about.

[Firanis 'Fi' Flux]

Katya took a step back, crossing her arms beneath her breasts, lips quirked with wry amusement as Jael jumped into Einherjar's arms, stealing a kiss she dreamed of having for herself. "Seems like Jael knows a lot of boys," Katya teased endearingly, flashing a dimple that was both innocent and wicked. Inside, that spike of envy flared higher for a moment and she hated herself for it. Her tone would have held more spite, if she hadn't wanted what Jael evidently already had so badly.

Originally Posted By: Sunshine

"What is the Clinic?" Sunshine asked. "Is it like a hospital? And why does the doctor think I am dangerous? Is it because I have no memory?" It was plain enough to all that the young nova was both curious and a little worried at the prospect of being a danger.

"The Rashoud Clinic is like a hospital, John, a hospital and a school both," Katya told the solar-powered Nova gently and a deal of simplification. "And because you have no memory, Dr. Jia thinks you could be dangerous. We all can be. Novas are very powerful people, John. But we've had time to get used to what we can and can't do. You are still new... to everything. Without knowing your limits, you can stretch yourself too far and hurt yourself, or others, like Jael."

Katya sashayed to Sunshine's side, laying a soft hand on his shoulder, emerald eyes full of genuine sympathy. "I know you don't want that. Dr. Jia just wants to help you learn what you can do so no... accidents happen. And maybe find out what happened to you in the Crush, maybe find out who you are. Here." With compassionate urging - and no ulterior motive, really! - Katya led Sunshine over to Jael, reaching down and placing his hand in the other woman's. "Why don't we wake Dr. Jia up. I'll open a portal, and Jael will go with you - you will, won't you, Jael?" Katya proposed to the taller woman with a questioning smile that might have held an edge, daring her to deny the poor, amnesiac boy.

"That way, you'll have a familiar face to keep you company, and hey! If you don't like it there, you can always come back here. Doesn't that sound fine?"

"Now, wait a min-" Jason began from the kitchen around another strawberry.

"It does sound fine, doesn't it, Jason?" Katya said with narrow-eyed emphasis.

"No, no, it's fine," Jason quickly agreed with an easy and honest grace. She didn't mind offering her place, it was just Kat's presumption that made put up a token protest. "You guys can have a place here as long as you need."

"There we go then!" Katya said brightly. She arched a brow at the levitating Ghostwriter. "I know very well where my priorities lie. I'll help the victims of the Crush as I can. But I saw the Crush happen. I'm grateful to be alive, and will neither fill guilty for it nor take it for granted."

Then she turned back to Einherjar, her grin warm and intrigued "I've only really started traveling in the last year, and there are still so many places I haven't been, yet. You were saying about Praetoria?"

[Jael Carver]

“Before you get too deep into the flirting,” Jael said to Katya wryly, “we’re gonna need a couple of warps.” Her tone was more amused than angry; Einherjar wasn’t hers except when they were fucking, and it was hard to get even a little worked up about it when Sunshine’s warm hand was in hers. She did wonder what Einherjar thought of all of this; regardless of what he thought, it wouldn’t change what she did. She just wondered.

She was a little more interested in what Sunshine thought, but that beautiful face gave her no clues. She’d probably find out what he was considering, eventually; anything that came into his head seemed to come out of his mouth. “Don’t worry, the Rashoud Clinic is a good thing,” Jael said. “They help a lot of novas if they have any issues. I had trouble with my claws – every time I got startled, they’d pop out, which got awkward quickly. They helped me get control of the impulse to pop them.”

“They still come out if you’re excited enough,” Einherjar said with a teasing grin; to his amusement, she blushed again.

“Can you be excited so I can see them?” John asked.

Jael’s blush burned hotter. “I, uh… damn it, Einherjar!” As the big man laughed, Jael turned to John. “I can just show you,” she told the golden youth. With a flex of her quantum muscle, the glittering weapons appeared on the tips of her fingers. Their wicked silver shine was very bright in the warm lighting of Jason’s apartment.

John reached for those gleaming razors but Jael pulled her hand back. Why do people always want to touch them? she wondered. Is it because they’re so dangerous? It never occurred to her that they might be beautiful, in their own way. “They’re very sharp, John,” she told him gravely. “They can cut with almost no strength behind them and they cause wounds which don’t heal very easily.” She turned her hand over and brought it back toward him, saying, “Here, you can touch the backs or the sides, but not the tip or the edge.” She released his hand to demonstrate where it was safe to touch them; when she was done, their hands reclasped without Jael really thinking about it.

Paul was torn; he liked Sunshine, but he’d never seen anyone get under Jael’s skin so fast. She never bothered with letting people ‘pet’ her claws and she didn’t take people’s hands like it was natural to her. It was like watching a new couple who were gravitating around one another, or like watching a mother with her child. Paul wasn’t sure which one it was yet but he still watched with hungry jealousy.

[GDP_ST]

Sunshine was watching Jael too. And Katya. And Einherjar. And the others. There were dynamics at work here that the glowing nova, for all purposes only a few hours old, was picking up on and trying to decipher, his brain flowing like quicksilver from one thought to another trying to find the patterns.

Katya obviously wanted to hook up with the big blond man. Jael evidently was hooked up with him, yet wasn't at the same time according to Einherjar. Katya was already hooked up with Ryusei, but wanted Einherjar too? Paul was nice and liked Jael, yet sometimes sounded tired-angry when he talked about her. The Ghostwriter lady sounded mean sometimes, and sometimes laughed at and said things Sunshine didn't understand. Maybe she was alone and had no-one to hook up with, like Paul. Sunshine didn't have anyone to hook up with either, but it didn't make him mad. Why was it Jason owned this big apartment, yet Katya got to say who could use it. The whole business was confusing.

That was another thing: hotties. Jael was a hottie. So was Katya. So was Jason. Ghostwriter was a hottie as well. But the fledgling nova was picking up on the differences: one hottie wasn't the same as another.

Katya moved in a slow, graceful way that caught the eye. She touched people and smiled a lot, and had a nice accent. Sunshine remembered she had hugged him and stroked his hair and shoulders when he'd been trapped without words and sad.

Jason was very beautiful. And not just because of the big chest. She moved... differently from Katya or the others, in a way that made Sunshine stare without knowing why. Her voice was rich and warm. She was tall, too. Nearly as tall as Einherjar, who was the biggest man Sunshine had seen in his admittedly short life so far. She had also given him a shirt and pants, which smelled nice and were soft.

Ghostwriter was strange. She was pretty, but didn't move or act like the other women. She also didn't like to touch or be touched, and while she wasn't mean, she said and did things that he didn't understand. John got the impression that Ghostwriter didn't like people very much.

And Jael... Jael was special. She'd been the first person John had seen. She'd smiled at him and given him the sheet to wear. She'd stayed with him and was kind to him, being very patient with his questions - and John knew that he was asking lots of questions - and taking the time to answer him. She had cried when he hugged her, but told him it wasn't because he hurt her but because someone else did. He'd felt something new then: something dark in his chest had moved when Jael had said someone had hurt her. It had gone as quickly as it had appeared at the moment, but right now he was examining his feelings and thoughts. He didn't have a name for the quiet dark feeling, and that puzzled him. He knew happy, afraid, sad, and lonely: this was none of those. And right now with her holding his hand he felt happy, so the quiet dark feeling didn't matter.

Jia came back in, rubbing her eyes and blinking in the light. Sunshine looked at her a little apprehensively, knowing that she wanted to take him to the special clinic place. His hand tightened around Jael's, who smiled at him and gave his hand a squeeze in reply. Fortified, he looked at the doctor and smiled a little.

"I am ready to go to the Clinic with you now, Doctor Randalls." he declared. The doctor stopped rubbing her eyes and smiled.

"Thank you, John. It won't be for a long time." she promised. "I just want to use the scanners we have at the Vancouver facility to see what's going on there with your eruption."

"Eruption?"

"When a nova, like you or me or Jael, becomes a nova, that is called an eruption." Jia explained, accepting a mug of coffee and taking a gulp. "Every eruption is different, and does different things. My main job is helping to figure out why and what those things are."

"Oh." John looked curious and smiled. "That does not sound bad."

"It's not." Jia smiled back. "We'll run some tests for a day or two, figure out what you can do. We can also have people come and talk to you about choices you have to make, like schooling and what job you eventually want to do with your gifts."

"School? Job?" John brightened a little more, looking at Jael, then looking back at the doctor. "What sort of job? What can I study?"

"Well, you're still young yet." Dr Randalls laughed. "Let's do this one step at a time. We also need to figure out who is going to take care of you until you can take care of yourself properly." John looked at Jael quizzically, then at the doctor, his bafflement obvious.

"Isn't Jael going to take care of me?" His grip on her hand tightened again as uncertainty clouded his eyes.

"Well... there's some rules about things like being able to take care of children." Jia tried to explain. "And you are a child, technically. Not that Jael would be bad at taking care of you: she's done a good job so far. But that's different from really looking after you for months or years."

"But I want Jael to look after me." Sunshine said a little plaintively.

"It's not up to us, I'm afraid." Jia said with an apologetic shrug.

"It should be up to me. Why do other people get to choose?" John demanded, his brow furrowing, clearly agitated.

[Jael Carver]

Jael jumped in, her hand squeezing Sunshine’s to let him know it was alright. “Most children – and due to your age and comparative understanding of the world, that’s what most will see you as – aren’t able to make decisions for themselves. There are laws that protect them from being victimized… er, hurt by others, but those laws require that someone who does understand the world makes those calls… decisions. Most of the time, that’s their parents. Sometimes, they don’t know who their parents are, and someone else does that for them.” Jael drew a breath and gave him a moment to wedge in a question. Or maybe even three.

“Who will do that for me?” John asked. “Why do they get to do that? How can I get them to let me do that?”

“Oh, boy, uh…” Jael pressed a hand to her forehead, looking a little lost. “Ok, so in this case… I guess a judge, unless you can find some family to represent you. A judge is a guy appointed by the government to make decisions on laws. Basically, to interpret the laws or to see how individual cases adhere to the laws.” Her blue eyes studied him. “You following me?”

Sunshine set his jaw, looking troubled. “How do I get to decide?”

“You’ll have to prove that you can take care of yourself,” Jia said softly. “I’m not exactly sure what that will take; I’m not a legal expert.”

“Sunshine, don’t worry,” Jael said softly, giving his hand another squeeze. “We’ll figure it out.”

“Then are we ready?” Jia asked.

“Just about,” Jael answered. She let go of Sunshine’s hand to step back and stand in front of Paul. He stared at her warily as she swallowed and said, “We’ll talk more, later, ok?”

“Sure,” Paul said, frowning. He glanced at Sunshine before his eyes bounced to Einherjar. “Though, we’re still friends, right? I mean… nothing like that has changed, right?”

Jael smiled, more than a little relieved. “Yeah, we are. I just didn’t want you to go out there if you were mad at me,” she said.

Paul nodded. “Right. And I have to get back to it. Maybe I’ll find a sexy blonde to adopt,” he added with a grin.

“I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you,” Jael grinned. “Take care and call me later, ok?” Paul nodded and muttered an affirmative as she gave him a quick hug. When she turned, Paul was forgotten. “Why is 'Juicy' written across Sunshine’s ass?”

[Firanis 'Fi' Flux]

"Truth in advertising?" Katya suggested with a playful grin and a mirthful light in her eyes. A suspicious choking came from the kitchen, followed by inconspicuous humming. Katya aimed an amused eyebrow at Jason.

"I just the grabbed first pair of sweat pants I saw," Jason protested as she put the empty bowl of strawberries in the sink then got another box of power bars from the pantry. "I swear, I thought they were just plain grey."

"Mmhmm," Katya said with teasing accusation. She'd gotten her those pants as a joke and was beginning to believe the overly pretty woman was just trying to foist them upon another unsuspecting boy. Not that I don't agree with the slogan. "If you say so, Jase."

Before Jason could offer to find another pair of pants and Jael could insist on it, Katya turned slightly and inhaled a smooth breath, gesturing at opposite sides of the lounge. A green and black ringed Portal swirled open where she pointed, one showing the tree-lined street and multistory building of the Rashoud Clinic and the other, a field hospital blurred by the ever present haze rising over the Victoria Crush.

"If everyone's ready... Door Number One is an all paid trip to the Rashoud Clinic - and no worries John, we'll visit," Katya said, imitating the tone and manner of a game-show hostess. "Door Number Two will take you to the Victoria Crush, with your first step of the journey being the Frontline One Emergency Field Hospital. These trips are only available for a limited time offer." Katya released the rest of her deep breath with a wry grin. "Seriously, I can't keep two Warps open for long." Her grin grew an impish edge as she glanced up at Ein. "On the other hand. I'm much more practiced engaging in other activities for lengthy periods of time."

Jason stretched, rolling her shoulders in an intriguing manner that should have been impossible for anyone who had bones, then gave Katya a nod before glancing around her apartment as she headed for Door Number Two. "Guess it's time to get back into it, guys." Just before stepping through the portal, she favoured everyone with a brilliant, heart-warming (or was that a heart-stopping?) smile. "Honestly, my country thanks you all for the help. If you guys are gonna be here for any length of time, regardless of the reason," she added with a direct long at John and Jael, "feel free to claim a place to stay right here."

With that, the fantasy of a woman stepped through the portal to the Victoria Crush, the dusty haze seeming to part before her.

[Jael Carver]

Paul was right behind Jason, following her without any hesitation. He wasn’t eager to return to the Crush, but he had to do it. Following Jason just made it a little easier; letting his little brain engage for a while let his big brain forget that he was walking back into hell. It hit him when he crossed the warp, but then it was too late. Or so he told himself, and kept walking away from the clean, quiet room with beautiful, sweet-smelling women. Paul set his jaw and kept moving into the Crush.

Jael, meanwhile, had other problems. “Katya, you can drop that warp right now, because we’re not going until he has pants that don’t have Juicy across the ass, I don’t care how true it is,” she said tersely.

“Jason’s already left,” Katya said smoothly. “He can’t get another pair.”

Jael paused, looking up at Sunshine. “Fine,” she said, taking a firmer grip on her charge’s hand. “Give me two minutes.” She dragged Sunshine after her into the bathroom and turned to him. “Strip.”

“Strip what?” Sunshine asked, blinking at her.

“Oh, you’re so not helping… strip yourself, Sunshine,” Jael said, getting flustered. It was making her uncomfortable to be asking him to undress now. It was crazy to feel this awkward about asking a guy she’d already seen naked to strip; it was also wrong to feel so conflicted about asking a guy so hot to get naked! “Take off those clothes, and I’m going to give you mine and you… this is a loan, that means I want it back. But you can make these clothes fit you and look nice and the first time people see you they won’t see you with Juicy on your ass!”

The last words rushed out in a torrent and Jael stopped, a little startled by how vehement that had been. She stopped, looked down and then back up. “Just do it, ok, Sunshine? It’s important that the world sees you as… perfect, instead of a guy with a joke on his butt."

[Ghostwriter]

Ghostwriter was struck by two things: the devastation and the stench. The intangible Australian realised that no matter how unfair her life was, there was worse in the world...

She was immediately picked up by a harried-looking, dirt-streaked rescuer when somebody walked right through her. "We need you here," he replied, pointing to a street on the map he held.

Putting a tight lock on her emotions to prevent overload, the autistic went into the ninth circle of hell to try and make a difference, already knowing she wouldn't be the same afterwards but being unable to walk away.

[GDP_ST]

"Ja- You want me to look perfect? You are upset by these?" It was a statement and question combined, his wide blue eyes grave as they studied Jael's face. He looked down at the grey sweatpants, then at her. "These are bad?"

"Yeah, they're bad." Jael nodded. "Jason didn't mean them to be bad, but they're not right for you." Sunshine nodded, then started to shrug out of the jersey, raising his arms over his head as he did so.

He doesn't mean it to be sexy. He's not trying to attract me. He's just a kid with a more-than-kid's body. He's innocent. Jael told herself while the toned stomach, then the sculpted chest, with those oh-so-faint pinprick sparks of light under the skin came into view, muscles flexing slightly with his movements. She averted her eyes as he bent over to strip off the pants, trying hard not to think of the word 'Juicy' in any context. Damn Bombshell for not thinking, and damn Katya for thinking it was funny! Sunshine wasn't a piece of meat for people to drool over. Hell, he'd learned to walk in a matter of seconds and talk in a few hours, for Christ's sake. By the end of the week he'd probably be doing advanced calculus during a gymnastics routine or something.

"Okay Jael, I am stripped." John told her, and Jael took a deep breath and stooped to snatch up the discarded jersey. She slid it on quickly, trying not to dwell on how warm it felt as she half-turned away from him and held out her hand, palm up. With a thought and a small push her eufiber began to warp and shift, flowing up across her body and collecting into the gray, plastic lump of material that was a living colony's default state. She was glad of Jason's oversized wardrobe: the jersey was large enough to cover her down to her thighs. Even so, she could feel the warmth of Sunshine's aura caressing her skin through it like a lazy Arizona afternoon, and found herself wondering briefly if flowers felt like this when the sun shone on them.

"Here." she said, trying not to sound brusque and mostly succeeding as she held the lump of eufiber out to Sunshine. "Hold it in your hand and concentrate on it." He took it gingerly and curiously, his eyes widening in surprise.

"It feels funny!" he exclaimed, and Jael knew he was feeling the faint tickling sensation in his node that a nova got when a colony of eufiber was attuning itself to them.

"It's alright." Jael said soothingly, smiling a little as she glanced a little his way... then immediately looked off to the side again. This is silly. I've seen him naked, dammit! I've seen lots of men naked. It's no big deal. She focused on the lesson at hand. "Now keep concentrating on the ball, and imagine it changing into... a shirt and jeans, like Paul was wearing."

"Okay." John replied without hesitating. He squinted at the eufiber and Jael, peeking, tried not to laugh at the grave look of concentration on the youth's face. The eufiber colony shifted and stretched, starting to flow over his body and swiftly configured into a loose, baggy t-shirt and jeans. John looked at himself in the mirror. "It is loose." he stated. Jael smiled.

"You can make it fit better." she told him. Sky-blue eyes glanced her way and he nodded, then concentrated a little more. The clothes shrunk, fitting him more comfortably.

"There!" he exclaimed with proud delight, turning this way and that in the mirror. "I did it!" He grinned widely at Jael. "Thank you for the loan. I will give it back to you." he promised earnestly.

[Ryusei Hideyoshi]

Ryusei had hoped for abit more rest, but such was life. He stopped a moment to touch Katya's arm and nodded. "Have fun, but be ready I'll need you to help relax when I come back I'm sure."

He smiled and stepped through the portal, looking around and his face became a mask of impassive calm. "We need to find who did this, somehow." He'd already funneled alot of money into the relief effort, and some efforts were being made on his sister's end to uncover who had done this. He'd have to redouble his efforts on the next break.

[Eingar]

Einherjar had managed not to laugh at the whole 'Juicy' incident, though the big Elite was intrigued at Jael's reaction. He knew the blonde girl as almost callously easygoing, and she definitely was not the hand-holding type. On the occasions they'd gone out places she'd hooked an arm through his, but that was more out of a sensual desire to feel him close than from any tender emotional attachment. But with this boy... Well, she was acting both motherly and somewhat smitten from where Einherjar stood. She'd blushed, and that was something he'd never seen before. Flushed with pleasure, yes. Shy embarassment, never. With a mental shrug, he filed that away under 'truth can be stranger than fiction' and focused his attention on Katya with a grin.

"Looks like we'll be waiting here awhile until people get their travel plans sorted out." he told her good-naturedly as he moved to sit on the now-vacant couch. With a sigh of resigned agreement Kat moved to sit on one end of the same couch, her green eyes flicking along the breadth of Einherjar's shoulders as he studied her anew, his pale ice-chip gaze oddly warming as it ran over her body and finished at her eyes.

"Well, as I was saying, Praetoria can be quite a party town-" the chiming of his slim OpPhone interrupted his rumbling voice and he rolled his eyes at Katya as he fished the offending device from his pocket and raised it to one ear.

"Einherjar." he said by way of greeting. Then he smiled a little. "Ahh, the redoubtable Minerva. Oft-spoken of, never experienced. You are? He is, is he? Wonderful." Whatever news he was receiving was obviously putting the big Elite in an even better mood. Then he listened for a few moments more and nodded.

"I see. Well, you could do worse than to call Katya Skovskaya if you encounter blocks in coordinating relief efforts. I understand that the lady in question has been working a fair bit on smoothing over the bureaucratic humps and bumps. Though despite being experienced in going at it for lengthy periods of time, I think she's taking a well-earned break." he grinned slyly at Katya and winked. "If you wish, I could pass along your number to her put you in touch. Other than that, the people on the front line administration are a mix of Utopians and Canadian authorities, with the Disaster Relief people and the International Red Cross playing backstop." He paused again, listening.

"I certainly shall." he replied, an amused twitch on his lips as he glanced at Katya, his gaze frankly wicked. "I think closer cooperation between DeVries and the local efforts can be arranged. I'll get in contact with Miss Skovskaya as soon as is physically possible. You'll hear from her soon."

He put the phone away and smiled. "That was a lady in charge of the local DeVries office in Vancouver. Newly-in-charge, I should say. She's offering on behalf of Anna to help with the cleanup. I told her that I'd be touching base with you and passing that along." He shrugged in mock-innocence, then grinned toothily.

[Jael Carver]

“Yes, you will,” Jael assured him, grinning at him. She snatched up the offending sweat pants and pulled them on. “I know where you live.”

“You do?” Sunshine asked, his eyes going wide. “Where!?”

Jael laughed despite his serious inquiry. “No, not literally,” she laughed. “It’s a saying that means I know how to find you if I need to. It was a joke, meaning that if you didn’t return the eufiber I could find you and make you give it back.”

“You will not need to make me, I promise,” Sunshine assured her. He blinked and frowned, looking confused as he watched her tighten the strings on the sweat pants so they’d stay on her hips. “You shouldn’t wear a joke on your ass, Jael.”

“It’s okay,” Jael assured him. “I’ve already had my first appearance in public. It was many years ago, so it doesn’t matter anymore what I look like. I don’t really care anyway.”

“But you care what I look like,” Sunshine said, tilting his head. “Why?”

Jael stared at him before shaking her head and giving a small shrug. “I’m not sure,” she admitted. “I don’t care like this normally. But… you’re special, Sunshine. I just got mad thinking that someone might laugh at you.”

“Why?”

Jael struggled for a moment. “No one should laugh at you, not in a mean way,” she said, her voice becoming firm.

“Then I don’t want you to wear the pants, if people will laugh at you in a mean way,” Sunshine told her with equal firmness.

“Well, first, this jersey will cover my ass, so people won’t see it,” Jael said, turning to show him. “Second, people already do that. Wearing these pants won’t even raise an eyebrow.”

“Why do they laugh at you?” Sunshine looked really upset and Jael wondered how she kept managing to put her foot in it.

“Society doesn’t agree with my actions,” Jael told him, trying to think how to explain society’s views on sluts to him without ending up with him learning some truly terrible things. She hopped up to sit on the bathroom counter, crossing her legs as she talked. “I… hook up with a lot of people. See, normally, people only hook up with one other person and they hook up for a while, sometimes their whole life. But I don’t do that. I’m not interested in hooking up in that way - my hookups are very temporary - and some people don’t like that. I don’t care; I knew that acting that way would make them think that. I just didn’t care what they’d think of me.” She frowned at him. “Am I making sense? To you?”

[GDP_ST]

"Join the club, kid." Paul said bitterly as he turned away, heading for the shower. "We have a decoder ring."

...

“She is Jael Carver, she’s right now at the Crush, working to help people and her job is to be a criminal justice major at Stanford and a general pain in the ass.” Paul winced a little and sighed. So much for not being bitter. “Forget I said that last part. I shouldn’t have mentioned it; it’s not really true.”

...

"Jael doesn't know hooking up either, at least for more than a night at a time"

...

Jael, blushing. “Hey, Ein, good to see you. Again.”

...

"Seems like Jael knows a lot of boys," Katya teased endearingly.

...

Sunshine's eyes rested on Jael's face as he replayed all of the comments, the tone of voice that had been used, the body language. His mind fizzed from thought to thought, bridging gaps in his experience with leaps of logic where possible, his expression going from agitated to quietly somber as he considered what he was learning.

"So when people hook up with one person for their whole life, that means that they only want one person. When people hook up with lots of people, it is because they enjoy hooking up a lot of times, like you." A vaguely ominous frown of childlike determination formed on the young adult face. "Paul is upset because you hooked up with him for temporary and he wants you to hookup longer. I understand. But society should not laugh at you. I do not like it. They try to tell you how to hook up like they try to tell me who can look after me." The golden motes of light dancing in his eyes spun faster, their glow brightening. He looked off to one side, the dark feeling coming back. But this time it wasn't cold and quiet. It was hot and loud, roaring like a lion in his head. And it seemed to go on forever.

"You are nice. It is not fair! It is... it is not their business!" He grimaced terribly, strange feelings clashing and conflicting. Jael, concern in her eyes, started to reach towards him. Sunshine looked at her, his blue eyes containing a molten core of gold where the pupils had been as he clenched his fists. "They should leave us alone!"

The beam of white-gold light was unexpected, but Jael's instincts and training served her well. Angry nova = unpredictable, Reynolds had always hammered home, and Jael's superhuman reflexes were well up to the task of ducking to one side at the first flare of light from Sunshine's eyes. She rolled off the counter and hit the floor in a crouch.

Out in the lounge the golden beam of pure solar heat lanced through the walls and furnishings at chest height like a hot knife through butter. Dr Randalls screamed and threw herself to the floor hands tucked behind her head, and Katya couldn't help a small shriek of surprise as Einherjar grabbed her and pulled her down beside him. The beam traversed across the kitchen counter, causing the water jug on the counter to half-melt, then explode into shards even as the fluid inside evaporated in a cloud of steam before it cut through the far wall of the apartment and speared into the air beyond before winking out, leaving the whole apartment darker by contrast to it's searingly bright light. It had lasted maybe 2 seconds, and the novas in and outside the bathroom looked at the 2 foot long and 2 inch high slit that had been carved through the upscale apartment.

Sunshine looked stricken, his temper forgotten for chagrin as he stared at what he had done, then looked at Jael, his fright and remorse more than evident.

"I did not mean to do that!" His face crumpled then as he staggered back and sat on the edge of the bathtub, crystalline tears springing into his eyes. "I am s-s-s-sorry!"

[Jael Carver]

Jael spared the pierced wall a brief glance; the shouts from the other room were scared, not hurt or terrified. She turned back to the more pressing injury: Sunshine’s pain was almost a physical thing. Sitting next to him, she looped her arms around him and hugged. “I know, I know,” she said softly with an empathy that would have shocked most people who knew her. “That’s why we need to get you to the Rashoud Facility,” Jael said softly. “They’ll help you learn how to not do that unless you mean to, ok?”

The door slammed open and Jia stood in the doorway, glowering. “Are you done fooling around now?”

“Chill out,” Jael said sharply, returning the glare. Her hands tightened on Sunshine, even as her stomach turned over. Her brain was screaming at her for making a telepath angry but she couldn’t back down. “It’s not his fault.”

“Oh, I know that,” Jia answered, her gaze full of fury. She left little doubt who she was angry at.

“Let me get him calmed down and we’ll go,” Jael snapped. Jia started to stammer something, but Jael ignored her. Grabbing some toilet paper, she wiped Sunshine’s face. “Shh, shh… it’s alright, hon. You didn’t mean to and Jason will understand that.” I hope. “Come on, stopping crying and we’ll get you to a place where they’ll teach you not to do that.”

[Firanis 'Fi' Flux]

Originally Posted By: Einherjar

"I think closer cooperation between DeVries and the local efforts can be arranged. I'll get in contact with Miss Skovskaya as soon as is physically possible. You'll hear from her soon."

He put the phone away and smiled. "That was a lady in charge of the local DeVries office in Vancouver. Newly-in-charge, I should say. She's offering on behalf of Anna to help with the cleanup. I told her that I'd be touching base with you and passing that along." He shrugged in mock-innocence, then grinned toothily.

Katya let her Warps lapse and returned his grin with a slow, smoldering smile, her emeralds alight with coy wickedness. "Well then, let's not let her make a liar of you, hmm?" she suggested in a throaty, accented purr as she began slinking towards Einherjar's side of the couch. "I certainly hope you'll be touching more than just first base..."

The stunning Russian-Canadian trailed off as felt an expectant trepidation rising beneath her breast. Einherjar caught the quizzical alarm in her eyes an instant before he grabbed her and pulled her to ground protectively beneath him as the blinding beam of coherent light streaked above them. Despite herself, Katya yelped, more for Einherjar's swift pre-action then for the destructive laser.

She was a quick-witted, intelligent woman, the source of the swathe of light was obvious to her, if not the reason. Though considering her previous train of thought, she was willing to posit one possibility over several others...

Katya sighed, her grin painted with regret for the lost opportunity and sympathy for John's plight, especially after Jia stalked out of the lounge towards the bathroom. Einherjar noted that the slender, shapely woman beneath didn't seem to have any trouble bearing his bulk. "This isn't exactly what I had in mind, though I won't pass up the opportunity."

Einherjar could feel the rise and fall of her perky breasts against his chest, warm lips brushing against his collar bone, then a very distinct pinch on his ass before flowed back to her feet to survey the damage. A tall, narrow DVD and chip rack was severed in half. A flat hole was burned through the back of the leather recliner and a wide, shallow trench dug through the granite counter top. There was a hole through the exterior wall, and though the structural integrity didn't appear compromised, the lights in the kitchen were flickering.

Looking the other way, Katya found the several interior walls punctured and a slice passing through the master bedroom, which pierced what she took to be a dresser. Through the holes, she could see a bit of John, leaning his tear-streaked face against someone's shoulder. Katya closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. There was a faint burnt smell, but nothing strong, nothing that was on fire.

"All in all, this could have been much worst," Katya said, tugging at her clothes, then straightening Einherjar's shirt, taking another opportunity to caress his chest, basking in the muscles beneath, coiled and poised to action.

Over the sound of Dr. Jia's tight words and Jael comforting John, the phone rang. Kat rolled her eyes - it was as if the world was conspiring against her wanting a piece of Norse Warrior for her very own.

"Yes? No, no, just a little mishap with a new Nova," Katya assured the concerned superintendent, her voice light and easy. "I can assure you, it will not happen again and none of the other tenants have to worry. Oh? That's sweet, I'll make sure Jason knows. Hmm, the damage? Not too severe, though I'll be calling a private contractor - Oh? Why, thank-you, you're such a sweetie. Thanks and Jason thanks you too." Katya set the receiver down on the cradle, then arched a brow at Einherjar. "The super. Now, let's go check on our distraught Nova."

Katya knocked gently on the doorframe of the bathroom then peaked. John instinctively tried to hide from any accusing looks behind Jael, but Katya's smile was soft and warm. "Don't worry about a thing, hon. Jason isn't going to be mad, at least not at you. She hates shopping for furniture and house things. Besides, she had her own accidents when she... hmm, erupted. But I hope now you see why you need to learn what you can do and why you need someone to look after you until you do, right?"

Jael finished wiping the tears from John's face and ran a comb through his silken, golden mane. Then he took a calming breath and stood up, giving Katya a somber nod. "I understand. I will learn to do better. To be better. And I will apologize to Jason for what I have done."

"I'll tell her that, when I see her next. Who knows, if Jason is at the Crush for another week, I might even be able to get everything fixed before she notices anything even happened." Katya glanced around the crowded bathroom, Dr. Jia's taut, concerned impatience, Jael's protective stance at John's side, and the pained slump in John's shoulders. She patted his hand and his shoulders straightened a little as new determination trickled through him. "If everyone is ready to go, step right this way please."

Katya gestured into the hall and another Warp irised open, filling the breadth of it, the view into the lounge and kitchen hidden by emerald and onyx edged portal opening onto the front steps of the Rashoud Clinic. No need for John to see the results of his accident, he was aware enough of it as it was. People where already peeking out the tinted-glass doors.

"Thank-you Ms. Skovskaya." Dr. Jia stalked through in a side-ways walk as she kept a close eye on John. Jael and John followed more slowly, not reluctant, but resolute and determined, their hands clasped tightly.

"Thanks, Kat," Jael said with sincerity as she passed through the warp. "Make sure Jason knows I'll cover the damages, will you?" Somehow.

"Honestly, don't worry about it, Jael. Jase will bitch and moan, but she'll understand. Besides, I'm her accountant, she can afford these unexpected expenses." She held the portal open, tilting her head to the side as she looked up at Einherjar, an enigmatic smile curving her lips. "You going to with them to keep Sunshine company, or helping me pick up the pieces until I get a contractor in here?" Please stay, and for the love of God, don't let anything else happen the moment we get close to each other.

[Bombshell]

Walking into the Crush, the group of Novas, fresh from a few hours relaxing in a penthouse, found themselves assigned duties after only a few steps. After a week, rescue-workers and coordinators were well practiced in utilizing what they had to work with - Novas were either known or sized up quickly and put to work, no different than anyone else looking to help, save for the expectation that they would do more.

Jason and Paul were placed in a group together, raw might and physical hardiness complementing each other. One with more manual precision than an industrial machine and the other with engineering experience was an even bigger bonus, letting them dig through the rubble with less potential for causing collateral damage. Those with enhanced strength were very popular in the Crush, able to work longer and more consistently, if on a more limited scale. After a week, those with earth- and gravity-manipulating powers were exhausted, powers strained beyond their limits. Several were in the Rashoud Clinic due to quantum stress.

For his part, Paul couldn't decide if working side-by-side with someone like Jason was a relief from the horrid scenes in the Crush or just additional stress. Beyond her awesome attractiveness, that Jason was also immensely likable only exacerbated the effected. She really was a chick who was 'one of the guys.'

Though he was incredibly strong in his own right, and able to move with blurring, beautiful speed if necessary, Ryusei's ability to fly, teleport, and warp made him far more useful for ferrying wounded to the various hospitals and reallocating supplies and personnel to where they were most needed. When his temporal abilities were demonstrated, he also found himself pressed to help in triage, stopping time for the most critically injured, giving the medics and doctors enough time to stabilize them.

Ryusei was burning through nova-juice at an incredible rate, but his abilities earned him the benefit of another Nova's own unique and high-in-demand capabilities. Quanta was a wiry Frenchman able to recover quantum energy at a truly astonishing rate and even better, was able to transfer that energy from himself and other Novas, and between other Novas as well. This let Novas with suitable abilities work longer. He also had no problems laying his hands on any handsome men, which Ryusei found out first hand.

Ghostwriter's assigned duty was simple, yet incredible trying. Technically, all she had to do was walk and keep her eyes open... and that ended up being the difficult part. The walked through the bones of a broken city, and the broken people buried among them. Others dug them up, but at least they were in the open air, with others around. She was in the dark, alone with them, passing through them.

Even more difficult for Ghostwriter, were the rare, the so terribly rare, ones who were still alive. To them, she was every bit as beautiful at Bombshell, she was life itself, able to bring them water and sustenance until they were dug free. And more importantly, Ghostwriter brought herself, letting them know they weren't alone, and though she didn't believe herself good company, they blessed her for it.

Every time she came back up, finding another of the too few survivors or another terrible tomb of broken bodies, Ghostwriter saw the honest respect and gratitude in her fellow rescuers eyes. Despite all they have seen, digging through the rubble, they well knew there was far more buried beneath it and it took a strong heart to willingly walk through it again and again.

[Minerva 'Mainframe']

"Of course, give her my personal number, Einherjar, before or after, have fun." She responded, even as she gave him the number to her own phone. It was easy for her, even over the phone understand the meaning of the innuendo in the conversation.

As the phone call came to an end, she smiled slightly, and began to reroute cash though several different associated businesses. It was so easy that she barely even really gave it more then a portion of her attention. In fact, she moved the money though the stock market, buying and selling stock at a increadibly swift rate, and practically tripled the amount before she was done. Idly she also took some of her own money and purchased 5% stock in a promising company, her study of financial trends suggested it was going to double in value within the next two weeks.

Even as she did this, she began to carry out the interviews with the Canadian personal, moving them to departments more suited to their personalities. Really, the situation was something of a mess, and she felt a moments regret she was going to have to give a good deal of attention to it, there were so many other things she could be doing with her time.

Even as she was thinking this, she was setting up a 200 million dollar crush relief fund, though DeVris, to be used for rescue and repair of the city. She then considered what she had to add, and began a telepathic scan of the area from her office.

After a few minutes, she touched one of the minds of the nova's there. Regan, don't panic, this is Minerva, I'm doing a telepathic scan of the city, your closest to the area, and best able to help short of a teleporter, all of whom are busy. There is a number of very scared folks trapped in a basement under the rubble to your right. The two children especially could use some reassurance, as their parents are hurt, and need medical attention, if you can take some medical supplies to them, even bandages will be of a help, until someone can dig them out of there.

She then continued to scan the city, occasionally touching minds and directing them in a manner best able to rescue those still alive. It was difficult to do from a distance, but it was a way she could help that the relief efforts couldn't

[Eingar]

"Sunshine's in good hands." the big Elite chuckled as he watched Jael lead the glowing young nova through the warp portal after the impatient doctor. "Let me know how it goes, Jael." he said to her with a lazy wave just before she passed through. "Take care, Sunshine. See you both later."

As the warp closed behind them, Katya breathed a sigh of relief. Sunshine was a sweetheart, but he'd be more of a sweetheart once he was 'toilet-trained' enough not to accidentally slice through several solid walls, a granite counter-top, and anything (or anyone she thought with a repressed shiver) else in the way. Being Jase's manager, she knew enough about XWF standards, and had observed enough of the selection process, to know that an attack like Sunshine's 'little outburst' would probably not be allowed in the ring, even in Black Circle matchups. It could probably damage the vitrium walls around the Kombat Zone with little difficulty, and the XWF were always wary of powers like that.

"Well then." Ein sauntered over to the kitchen and examined the counter, then crouched and looked at the melted and shattered glass fragments all over the floor. He looked over his shoulder at Katya as she drifted over to lean against the counter, looking down at him. "I suppose by staying here I've drafted myself into some manual labour." he said with a slight grin. "We should probably get to it."

"Mmmhmm." Katya said as she stared at him half-lidded. Einherjar. Flirting with me. Alone. Just a meter of countertop and a couple of layers of clothing away. She dimly wondered if her eyes were glowing, so intense was the feeling running through her right now. She remembered when he'd pulled her down off the couch and covered her protectively: an unthinking act, but all the more chivalrous for that...

"So, do you have a broom?" Ein asked her seriously. Katya blinked, quickly covering her surprise and straightening up. Of course. Business before pleasure, and the place did need some straightening. She turned to get a brush and pan from the cupboard and brought them over, offering them out to the large blond Elite. Then she saw his eyes, twinkling chips of laughing blue ice as he stood and took them from her.

"Thank you." he said softly in that deep, resonant voice as he looked down into her eyes, a charming touch of humor quirking the corner of his mouth. He was close to her, so very close that she could feel his body heat. Logically she knew it wasn't higher than nova norms, but right now it seemed a furnace.

[Ghostwriter]

Ghostwriter was not pleased at having her mind touched by someone, but she was just pragmatic enough to accept the help and advice offered by Minerva. The insubstantial woman had never been particularly appreciated or admired before, so the relief on the faces of those she found was too much for her to handle with anything other than her customary curtness.

Through the day and night she moved through the wreck of a city, delivering sustenance, medical supplies and hope.

[Firanis 'Fi' Flux]

Einherjar may have been a furnace, but Katya didn't mind letting the heat of mutual desire rise a little higher. Besides, now that he pointed it out, the mess would have bothered her eventually, probably at the most inopportune time. She ran two fingers across his broad chest, which seemed to trail a teasing heat in their wake, then gave him a small push back.

"You're quite welcome. After all, you are a guest." Her lips curved into a slow, impish grin to match the quirking of Eonherjar's mouth, a dimple blooming. "You take care of the sweeping and straightening, I'll take care of the heavier things. And of course, you will be... recompensed for your efforts."

Einherjar's grin broadened as he watched Katya flounce away, an extra sway to her dancer's gait. She walked over to the heavy, perforated recliner and effortlessly plucked up in the air. As she strutted towards the garbage shoot, Katya glanced over her shoulder at the leonine Elite, deep green eyes bright and merry. Einherjar gave a basso rumble of amusement then crouched down to begin gathering bits of debris, finding the waste basket under the kitchen sink.

Usually, larger pieces of trash had to be carried down to the garbage room in the basement of the apartment building, but Katya was a Nova and had other options available to her. Slender, delicate hands tightened on the recliner, ripping the leather and padding with casual ease, crushing the steel framework and bracing into pieces small enough to fit down the garbage shoot.

They teased themselves during the simple domestic activity, lingering looks and subtle touches, a surrogate mating ritual. While Einherjar swept up the broken bits of DVDs and Chips and neatly stacked the rest and Katya broke down the severed rack, they shared their taste in music and movies. In Jason's room, they shared amused looks at the contents of the pierced dresser as they emptied the drawers and picked up knickknacks off the floor.

"Who knew Jase has more lingerie than I do?" Katya murmured with an arched eyebrow, fingering through silk and satin. Some of it had been burnt to ash others neatly severed by Sunshine's laser, but there was plenty that was still fine.

"I would wager Danielle does," Einherjar (correctly) presumed, unavoidably remembering the nude Jason he had held in his arms on his last day of shooting Valkyrie.

It didn't take the two of them long to tidy up what they could - there wasn't much they could do about the holes in the wall. Katya was sitting on the couch, browsing on the Opnet for replacements for Jason's damaged furnishings when Einherjar sat down next to her after throwing the last bag of trash down the garbage shoot.

Not wasting any time, Katya slid smoothly onto his lap, firm legs straddling his thighs as she looked up at his face. God, he's big, she though with a delicious shiver. Jason had been 5'9'' when she still had a dick, if pretty muscular, Ryusei was six feet even with a lithe build, but Einherjar was just plain huge. If I was still a 5'1'' baseline, he'd ripped me in half... And I'd still have gone for it if I had had the opportunity.

"Now, where were we?" she murmured, pressing herself against his chest. Her sophisticated, sharp, skirt-suit began to ripple and flow, eufiber shifting into something thinner and finer that might have been found in one of Jason's lingerie drawers."You were glorifying me with the Praetorian atmosphere?" She shuddered as his large hands cupped her bottom, but held up a staying hand before he could continue. "Just minute."

Without leaving her perch in Einherjar's embrace, Katya leaned over for her purse on the coffee table and turned off her OpPhone. "DeVries, the government, or any of my clients can wait a while, hmmm?" Her hands slipped inside his shirt, her light-fingered touch seeming to reach so deep, pulling his passions to the surface. Einherjar growled like Thor's awakening thunder, his grip tightening. Katya leaned in for a kiss. "I've been waiting a long time for this..."

And then there was a knock at the door.

Anyone else would have seen a perfectly poised, sensual woman basking in her potential lover's embrace, but Einherjar felt her body stiffen, silken muscles coiling like steel springs with frustrated annoyance. Katya would have ignored it, but the knock came again, polite and deferential and insistent.

"Not again," Katya sighed, slipping free of Einherjar's warm, strong hands, her eufiber snapping back to the previous skirt-suit configuration as she opened the front door that led to the elevator.

She smirked when she say the two contractors standing there, eyes looking over her head. They'd obviously been expecting the much taller Jason. They looked down with the beginnings of disappointment, but it faded instantly. She might not have been in Bombshell's league - very, very few were - but no baseline woman could even come close to matching her and she knew it.

"That was quick, boys. Please, come in. I hope the damage won't be too hard to fix." Her accented contralto was welcoming, a little teasing, and didn't reveal the fact that if it wouldn't end up being more of a bother, she'd have thrown them both off the terrace.

"Anything to help a woman like Bombshell, ma'am," the taller of the contractors said respectably, though Katya could have been his daughter - a thought he steered clear of considering the other thoughts going through his head.

"That's sweet, she wouldn't say it, but Jason really appreciates it. Let me show you the damage." With smooth words and superhuman social adeptness, Katya showed the contractors around, practically having them willing to pay her for the privilege. Despite their excitement and nervousness at being in the Nova Supermodel's sanctum sanctorum, or maybe because of it, the contractors kept themselves to a studious professionalism.

Katya was glad to find out most of the damage was superficial and wouldn't take that long to fix. There was a strut that need to be reinforced, a bit of electrical work in the kitchen, and part of the exterior wall to repair, the rest was just patching up drywall. The biggest trouble was the granite countertop. They could repair it, sort of, but it wouldn't look very good. After taking the measurements, the younger of the contractors handed them to Katya, blushingly informing her about a good place to go to commission a replacement that his uncle owned.

Katya let them start on the simple repairs, though they had to head down to their truck for some extra materials and tools, reminding herself to call in some painters after the drywall set and was sanded. Hmm, maybe call Danielle, she can do that speedy stuff. She can paint this entire place in a few minutes. Katya joined Einherjar on the broad terrace, her eyes flicking to the expansive jacuzzi under the gazebo.

"So." The two letter word held a subtle, but definite, hint of foiled desire. "What's it like living someplace with so many Novas around?" Katya laughed lightly. "Somehow, I haven't even gotten around to visiting Ibiza yet."

[Eingar]

Einherjar grinned, holding out a cup of coffee for her. True to his Brit roots, the Elite had put the coffeemaker on as soon as Katya had begun showing the repairmen around. Hot drinks and household repairs went hand in hand, after all. Katya took the cup and cradled it in her hands as she leaned against the balcony rail next to him, calling on every ounce of decorum in her soul not to drag him over to the jacuzzi and let the contractors wait.

"Ibiza's a paradox. On the one hand, it's the most overrated, over-glamorised, over-blown party spot on Earth. On the other, it has to be seen and experienced to be believed. Gods, I remember when Ibiza was a place for bored young Brits to go and get smashed out of their heads on drink and drugs, dance to techno, get sunburned, tattooed, and probably arrested, then come home after picking up who-knows-what interesting sexual diseases and a lingering case of guilt in case their boyfriend/girlfriend found out what they'd been up to." He made a face, then shook his head with a low laugh. "Not much has changed really, except there's the Amp Room and a lot more press there. I've been five times since I started working for D.V. Once was curiousity, the other four were business."

"Praetoria is a lot quieter. Socially it's an Elite town for the most part, which means the novas there are usually either DeVries or hoping to do business with DeVries. It makes for a more polite, less frantic social life." He grinned down at Katya. "Not that it doesn't get wild sometimes. Anna hates it when we make her look bad to the South African government, though."

"As for what it's liked living around a lot of novas..." Ein leaned against the rail himself, pale eyes distant as he considered the question. "It seems very normal six times out of ten. You live and work with these men and women day-in and day-out. We live like a paramilitary merc outfit. Sure, you know that they're Elites, and that our training exercises generally involved more expended energy than Operation: Desert Storm. You read the files on others out there that you might face. Now and then you're part of an exercise with someone big like Totentanz who, incidentally, gives me the willies." He flashed a grin at Katya, then went somber again. "And then we leave that place where the baseline support and training crews are used to us, and we go abroad in the world to places like the Congo, or North Sudan, or Somalia. Or even to civilised places like Havana or Marrakesh or Ibiza. And then life gets surreal, because we're treated like gods. We're mercenaries. We fight wars and kill people for money. We put a price on the lives of others and ourselves, treating those things like a commodity. And yet..." he took a sip of his coffee, eyes distant once more. "And yet people see dark icons and anti-heroes. Kids buy our action figures and posters and t-shirts like we're XWF entertainers or movie stars." He paused, then turned so he could look fully into Katya's eyes. The slender brunette was struck by how cold his gaze suddenly was, how deep the cold went behind the glacial eyes...

"In the world beyond they like to point to the Third-World warzones, the killing fields, and the bombed out towns and say 'How terrible, that people can do these things to each other. Surely the worst of humanity must live in these places to do these things.'" He told her conversationally, his voice a low rumble in which the empathic woman could hear the thunder of guns, the cacophony of explosions and screams. "But all Elites know better, even if it's subconsciously. We see the other side. The worst of humanity sit at their OpNet terminals and watch Totentanz slaughter a badly-prepared member of Team Tomorrow over and over again in reruns of the Equatorial War highlights. The worst of humanity talk numbers and percentages and consider that it's better to hire a walking WMD to wipe out resistance fighters than to actually pay the local labour what they're asking for. The worst of humanity see nova soldiers, knowing what destruction they can unleash in a war, and so fight more and more wars with them because they're 'conventional' forces with the power of tactical nukes."

Perhaps the worst part of Einherjar's speech was how calm he was throughout. There was little to no vehemence or anger in his tone, merely a faint weary disgust. Katya was acutely aware once more of the deep fundamental difference between him and the other men that she'd had in her life. He spoke as if commenting on something distasteful but remote from himself. "Oh dear, the slobby neighbours have left rotting garbage in their yard again. Well, at least the wind is blowing the other way..."

"So why do you do what you do?" she asked him with commendable calmness of her own, unsure whether what she'd heard, felt and witnessed just now was scaring her or making her even wetter. Both, she decided as her green eyes searched his ice-blue gaze. Einherjar blinked, then smiled with renewed warmth, a twinkle of humor visible in his eye.

"I'm good at it." he told her simply.

[Bombshell]

Minerva was finding it difficult to get a lock scanning for minds due to the distance between Vancouver and Victoria, and looking for general, distressed thoughts wasn't helping, but she was able to relay an approximate location of seven survivors to Ghostwriter. It took ethereal woman a while to locate them, but she finally found them in a crooked fault beneath the heaped upon remains of a grocery store.

Ghostwriter climbed up back to the surface and pinpointed their position for the rescue team as well as detailed what the intervening space held, then returned to the seven survivors, employees of the Save on Foods grocery store. They'd been lucky to be trapped with enough food and liquids to sustain them down here, but the air was dangerously stale and the light Ghostwriter carried, along with the hope, brought tears to their eyes.

Jason and Paul were the closest team with the strongest capabilities to succeed, so were tasked with the rescue effort. Jason did all the heavy lifting, Paul directing her efforts and using his own strength to help with the bracing. The collapsed rubble wasn't very stable, but finally managed to make it the survivors, though Paul and Jason had to weather one brief shower of debris that left Jason glad she had brought her eufiber with her, since her regular clothing had been torn to shreds. Paul only got a half glimpse through the dust and debris filtering through the flattened shaft.

While Paul remained below, his nearly invulnerable body a potential emergency brace, Jason began ferrying the survivors back to the surface, her inhuman grace carrying supporting them as readily as a high-end elevator. The rescue was progressing smoothly, Jason having already brought up the three cashiers while Paul and Ghostwriter kept the others calm when the Earth... shrugged.

It wasn't a earthquake, more of a slump as the ground settled on top of the broken bedrock. They all screamed as the shaft caved in instantly, the assistant manager tumbling into the darkness of the crevice. Ghostwriter phased as Jason used main strength to stave off the rubble tumbling in on them and Paul used his body to do the same. Mercifully, the rubble jammed up before they were all crushed, though Jason had one leg crushed under broken concrete and rock and Paul was supporting a good awful amount of weight on his back, not due to his strength, but solely to the fact that his body wouldn't break. But he couldn't move.

And his face was pillowed on Bombshell's bountiful bosom.

"You guys okay?" Jason coughed, choking on the dust that went down her through. Her leg didn't pain her, precisely, but she knew she'd need to get it free before it started knitting it.

"Holy Fuck! Reed fucking fell down the crack! He fell! He's gone!" one clerk cried hysterically.

"My-my-my head! Something hit my head. I'm bleeding, I think. I... I'm okay," confirmed another.

Of the last, they could only see a pair of broken shins in the eerie light held by the ghostly Ghostwriter. Jason felt her bile rise up her gorge and looked away. This wasn't the XWF, where wounds just as savage would get better, this was real... and permanent.

"I'm fine," Paul claimed, his voice strained and muffled against the globular flesh supporting his head. "But if I move, I think the rest is going to fall down on top of us. And, uh, sorry about this, Jason."

"Not your fault. When we get out of here, feel free to boast."

Jason could feel him smile. "I plan to. Okay. Okay, we're going to get out of this. Ghostwriter, can you go up and find out what it looks like above us?"

Ghostwriter went up, checking it out as well as informing rescuers above of their predicament. It was a controlled panic on the surface. There had been other trembles and shakes, but this was the most severe since shortly after the Crush Event itself. Ghostwriter returned, her face grave. "It's not good. The rubble is pretty tight."

"Fuck," said four simultaneous voices.

"Okay, since it's tight, if we can shift a large piece of rock the right way, we can keep it from collapsing on us, give ourselves time to think or people on the surface to start digging us out. Jason, this is what I want you to do..."

It took some delicate and sometimes sheer brutish maneuvering in the tight confines, that at any other time the three males would have loved to share with Bombshell, but Jason and Paul finally made themselves at relatively secure shelter where none of them had the weight above pressing down on them. When Jason tried to carefully dig up through the rubble, it rumbled and shifted ominously and she quickly stopped.

Jason's leg began repairing itself, her breasts rising and falling with her deep breaths. She wasn't claustrophobic, not really, but this was the first time she actually felt in mortal danger since she had erupted. Despite learning to live as a member of the other sex, the new strength and health had been a heady rush, giving her a sense of immortality that had just been ripped away.

"Now what?"

Everyone's eyes kept returning to the chasm opening just beyond their feet where Reed the Assistant Manager had tumbled to his doom. The cave-in was gummed up just below their level and they could feel a faint breeze across their skin.

"For now, we wait," Paul decided, though the two clerks gazes were drawn to the silver-haired mega-model they were trapped with. Paul didn't blame them, but he forced himself to turn to Ghostwriter, striving to keep his voice calm. Panic could doom them all.

"We'll wait for now, to see if they can get us out, but this is nowhere near stable. Ghostwriter, can you see if there's a possible way out through that chasm? It's pretty narrow, so we could brace ourselves against both walls and we may not have the option of remaining here. Oh, and tell those above not to attempt to open a warp or gate down here, it might make the rubble fall down on our heads."

[Firanis 'Fi' Flux]

"I hope that's not all you're good at," Katya teased with a smoldering, heavy-lidded gaze and a heated smile. Einherjar's cool recitation had been off-putting but the underlying zest for life made her blood surge. Here was a man who endured the worst of humanity, by anyone's definition, yet behind his stoic mien, he lived.

Jason wore her heart out on her sleeve. She had drawn inward after her... change, but Katya could see as she adapted to her new life, she was actually little changed. Ryusei was more reserved, but his passion for her and for family ran like deep currents, powerful and everlasting. Einherjar was a dichotomy of a man, a steel hard, deadly dangerous exterior surrounding an unyielding - okay, not quite gooey - core of passion. He's like a Viking of Legend.

Though his aura of restrained violence was intoxicating, Katya didn't care about hearing any details. Some people, baseline and not, gloried in them, as Einherjar said, but despite being a certified accountant and able to play the stockmarket like a violin, she never saw the appeal in numbers and statistics not when they represented lives. The appeal was in the men themselves.

"I believe I'm going to have to experience both Ibiza and Praetoria," Katya mused over her cup of coffee, inhaling the delicate blend of flavours. Must be Danielle's, Jason probably still doesn't look beyond plain Dark Roast. "Curiosity never killed the Kat. What the Kat found did. I do hope you would be willing to escort me, in case there are any dogs?"

Einherjar let out a deep rumble of laughter that Katya felt more than heard. "I would be my pleasure. Us Elites know how to keep the dogs in their place. Cats and Kats on the other hand, are far more intriguing in my opinion."

"They are indeed," Katya agreed with a twinkling-eyed smirk. Finishing her coffer, Katya glanced through the patio doors at Jason's penthouse apartment, head slightly cocked to the side as she listened. The electrical work and interior wall in the kitchen was done as was the through-and-through through the bathroom wall. The contractors were working on the severed stud and long gash in the hallway, discussing what Katya and Einherjar were doing in Bombshell's apartment.

Katya's grin widened as she heard their theory about Bombshell having an insatiable sexual appetite - how could someone built like her not have one - and needing more than just Knockout to satisfy her. She didn't think Jason would have been amused about their conjectures on which other XWF stars she had fucked.

"Is being good at something enough?"

When she turned her eyes back on Einherjar, her dimpled grin was a touch somber. "I formed a small accounting firm with my mother because I'm good at it, but I manage Jason because it's fun and provides me plenty of opportunity to tease her mercilessly. And I've been thinking of going back to dancing - not that kind of dancing, ballet," Katya said with a mock glare. "But I have lots of time to decide. And I'm still enjoying just being a nova and letting my whims guide me."

"Jason on the other hand... No one really saw it, but losing the opportunity to play in the NHL almost hurt her as much as losing her dick. More than having her family disown her." Katya's smile became edged with melancholy sympathy. "She never said it, but even as a baseline, I was well aware of it when she was moping in our basement. The XWF was something to do that approximated an active sport like hockey, though it lacks the team component, but it's the competition more than the fighting itself Jason likes. The acting and modeling Jason seems to do just because she enjoys it, much to her and my own surprise and equally surprising, that she is so good at it. Before, I had a rule about singing in the car because she had a voice like a bullfrog. Admittedly, she might have just latched on the first thing that filled the void, though I think the modeling is just an excuse for her to see one of the hottest women on the planet in skimpy outfits and swimsuits whenever she wants."

Katya chuckled with genuine fondness and Einherjar could tell she still loved Jason, though that love had shifted to a sisterly sort. "What I'm trying to get at Einherjar, is that you're undeniably good at what you do, but do you enjoy it? Is there something you do or want do just because it's something you simply wanted to do, not necessarily good at it? Painting, stand-up comic..." Her emerald eyes dropped lower, sensual lips spreading into an exaggerated leer,"... nude modeling?"

[Eingar]

"A good question." Einherjar chuckled and relaxed as he leaned on the rail, his eyes leaving Kat's face to look out over the city below as he took a drink, his face reflective. "I've asked myself that. Kind of had to. And the answer is 'Yes'. I enjoy it. There's not many Elites who don't enjoy war." He shrugged his broad shoulders, his deep voice quiet. "I decided to go into it on a whim, really. I was out of prison, I had no interest in anything, no will to live, no will to die. And something sparked in me as the DeVries agent made his pitch. I was interested in something outside of my head for the first time in ten years. And once I tried it... I knew this was what I wanted to do."

"Why?" Katya asked quietly, her green eyes on his profile as she tried to figure out the puzzle. Ein shrugged again, still smiling.

"Damned if I know." he said easily, the look in his eyes telling Katya that, yes, he knew that she knew that he did, in fact, know why. "I like it, I'm good at it, and the nude modelling, acting, and fame are just side-effects. Pleasant ones, but ultimately I'd still be doing this anyway."

Katya's eyes narrowed slightly over her dimpled smile in unspoken interrogation, but Einherjar merely smiled back until she made a softly exasperated noise.

"Fine, have it your way." she sniffed, but the sparkle in her eyes was laughter. There were depths there beyond her reach... for now. Even through her empathic touch, there were so many layers of complexity to his emotions that figuring him out would not be easy.

Good thing he was on her List. At least three times.

"I intend to." he grinned back, a large hand reaching out lazily and tugging the slender brunette into a one-armed embrace. "So... if you envy Jason her on-screen makeouts with me, maybe you should see if they can fit you into the show." he teased with a sensual rumble of laughter hinted at in his voice. "You could be an evil sorceress type: they tend to be dark-haired and sexy."

[Precious]

Ghostwriter's body began to violently tremble as she weighed and considered their options, finally settling on the most practical one - but the one which caused her the most distress. Then, for the first time since eruption, she solidified enough to grab the most injured man, attune him to her quantum wavelength, and then fly him up to the waiting rescuers.

It was repeated for the other man, and then she came for Paul, and finally Bombshell. With each person removed the earth shifted a little; in the processes of attuning Bombshell, it fell completely, and the buxom beauty experienced the sensation of tonnes of earth falling through her.

When Ghostwriter moved, her molecules slipped through everything: earth, metal, stone, concrete, even air. Her passengers also felt this, and the violent trembling of the autistic's body as she endured the forced intimacy of another's touch.

Once she reached the fresh air, Bombshell was unceremoniously dumped as the brunette fell to her knees, shaking as she tried not to vomit.

[Bombshell]

Jason lay panting next to Ghostwriter, the remembered sensations of earth and metal and stone and concrete and even air sliding through her flesh, along with the lingering after-affects with her brush with mortality making her shudder uncontrollably. The feeling had been uncanny, disturbing to a woman with bullet-proof skin. She felt a slight pang of envy, again regretting only having heightened human traits rather than any actual powers of her own. Jason sighed, flicking long, silver hair from her face with a carelessly graceful gesture, Jason glanced over a the woman who may have just saved her life.

Bombshell wasn't the only one. Paul and the two clerks were looking at her with gratitude, approaching to give her their heartfelt thanks. Despite the extra devastation the slumping terrain had cause, several other rescue workers had seen Ghostwriters heroics and were adding their congratulations and slaps on the back. Despite being beside a woman as ridiculously gorgeous as Bombshell, Ghostwriter found herself in the odd position of being the center of attention.

The avid attention and invasion of body-space made Ghostwriter shake even more violently, bitter bile rising up her throat. Jason noticed her reaction, even if she didn't really understand why Ghostwriter reacted the way she did. Jason flowed smoothly to her feet, as stunning as ever, imperious and regal despite their ordeal beneath the surface of the Victoria Crush.

"C'mon folks, give her some space, can't you see how hard this was for her?" Jason conjoled, drawing attention away from Ghostwriter with an awesome presence that was nothing short of divine. "You guys, why don't take Mike and Chris here, take care of their injuries, make sure they're okay, eh? Me and Paul are fine, we all are, thanks to Ghostwriter here. We'll just wait for her to have a breather, than we'll get back to it."

"Hey, if she can do stuff like that, why didn't she do it before? We can really use her-" one EMT began in a belligerent tone, after he managed to pull his eyes off Bombshell, but his tirade was quelled by a pair of glaring, luminescent twilight eyes.

"Go," Jason said in a hard, heavenly voice that seemed to fill every niche of the EMT's brain, pointing back the way he came. Without another word, he left.

Jason watched everyone leave, tossing lingering looks at her and Ghostwriter over their shoulders then backed off a few steps and crouched on her heels with smooth fluidity, waiting for Ghostwriter to collect herself. Paul waited at her shoulder to give his own thanks. Despite the way Jael made his emotions boil like water in a tea-kettle, he was extremely grateful that she was in Vancouver with Sunshine rather than here, possibly buried beneath the Crush.

When Ghostwriter looked up, she found a pair of captivating, indigo eyes looking back at her with concerned consideration and genuine gratitude, along with something almost protective that she associated more often with men.

"Thanks," Jason said simply and honestly in her rich, mellifluous soprano, tone firm with conviction. "If there is anything I can ever do for you, Ghostwriter, you only have to ask. I give you my word."

[Ghostwriter]

"Because," Ghostwriter said with acid dripping from every hoarse word that was torn from her throat, "that particular effort cost me the same energy as four days of remaining intangible, four days I could have spent searching for people. Only the fact that four other people were in immediate threat of their lives and I was the only one who could rescue them immediately made me suppress my haptophobia long enough to get them out of there. I am dealing with the after-effects of an eruption several months ago, a lack of treatment for the psychological issues that caused me to erupt like this, and a very large dose of misanthropy and autism. But I am still here. So fuck off, mate, and don't fucking judge how much or how little help I've given when I have found over three hundred people for you."

The EMT was there just long enough to hear the autistic's words; he flushed and scuttled off.

When Bombshell made her offer, the brunette shrugged and became fully intangible again. "It had to be done. Just because I'm an Aspie doesn't mean I'm a sociopath or a bitch... Well, maybe not the former. Just don't make a song and dance about it or you'll make my eventual emotional overload and mental collapse even worse."

There was no sorrow or shame in the nova's words when she mentioned an impending collapse, just a plain matter-of-fact attitude overlaid with exhaustion. "Now let's get this shit over and done with so we can go back and pretend everything's great again."

[Firanis 'Fi' Flux]

Katya rolled into Einherjar's embrace with a lithe pirouette, her thighs firmly clenching his torso as her heels hooked over the edge of the railing the modern-day viking was backed against. With one arm looped loosely around his neck and a hand teasing his chest hair, Katya's pale lavender lips spread into a smile full of tempting malice malice and seductive mystery that would do justice to any number of evil sorceresses, but her emerald eyes were full mirth.

"Moi, evil?" Katya said, tone full of mock shock, before bubbling over with warm chuckles.

"I also said dark-haired and sexy," Einherjar rebutted, a hand pressing against the small of Katya's back sliding deliciously low. "Which you indisputably are... as well." He punctuated his last sentence with an emphatic squeeze on her behind.

The slinky brunette's lips parted in a soundless moan before she began nuzzling at his neck. She nipped at his ear with small, sharp teeth, a coy, flicking tongue toying at the sensitive cluster of nerves hiding behind the lobe. Katya could feel the vibration of Einherjar's deep growl, her merest touch evil, delightfully evil, tongue and the fingers trailing across his chest seeming to have a direct line to the tightening in his pants.

"Mmmm, okay, I might be a little evil," Katya admitted with a husky murmur as she relaxed into Einherjar's strong, kneading hands, her own hands teasing his muscles with indolent laziness. She laid her cheek against his broad-shoulder, a musing smile on her lips. "I've been considering the Bolshoi, hadn't thought about looking for a part on Jason's show actually, nor the benefits thereof." Her dimpled smile conveyed exactly what benefits she was talking about.

"I'll have to reconsider... Perhaps a sorceress who has stolen an Einherjar from Valhalla, pulling him back to the mortal coil. A dead hero to slay her enemies, specifically one Chooser of the Slain who made Freya herself question herself, his former lover no less..." The two of them continued piecing together a part to propose to the writers and producers of Valkyrie, even as their hands got to know them better, until there was a polite cough from the patio door.

From her manly perch, Katya looked over at the contractors, somehow managing to maintain a demeanor both imperious and indulgent. "Yes?"

"Um, Ms. Skovskaya, we've patched up what we can today," the older of the two confirmed. "We have to let it set and dry. If possible, we'll come back tomorrow and finish up, smoothing the drywall and replacing our temporary patch on the exterior wall for a seamless permanent one."

Katya watched them shift under heavy-lidded eyes, reading the tell-tales of every sub-conscious cue. They were proud of the work they had done, putting more effort in it then they typically did. There were also bursting with what they had seen with a little bit of not-quite-innocent curiosity. Katya gave them a thankful smile.

"That will be completely acceptable. I'll make sure there is someone here and that the super knows to send you up. Good night boys." As the contractors picked up their toolboxes, then turned to leave, Katya called out after them. "Oh, and boys? I trust whatever you saw in the master bedroom, you'll keep it to yourselves, yes?"

The contractors swallowed, a guilty rising to their cheeks. Katya might have been a slender, sultry beauty, but there was something in her eyes that was dangerous and predatory. Then there was the fact that just last month, they had watched Bombshell rip a tank in half with her bare hands and pound Superbeast into the floor with it. After one shared glance, both contractors nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes, of course, Ms. Skovskaya, all part of the contractors code. Our lips are sealed."

"Men!" Katya snorted with amusement, and she seemed to mean it for the contractors, Einherjar, and Jason. "As much as I'm enjoying this, I should probably glance at replacement counter-tops and paint, so I can get the place cleaned up. Then I do have some calls to make." She lips brushed Einherjar's as lightly as a feather, then she dropped gracefully to her feet and strutted back into the penthouse.

"I could use a man's point of view, Jason would probably be grateful for it. Perhaps we can look over some of the options over dinner?"

[Bombshell]

A line appeared between Jason's surprisingly dark, perfectly shaped brows. What's this with the singing? I haven't played Rock Band in over a week. "I wasn't planning on it, Ghostwriter. Just remember, you have a place to crash if you need it. Let's see where they need us then, eh?"

Giving the insubstantial woman with a more than substantial tongue a comradely nod, taking what she said at face value Jason flowed back to her feet and went to find out where she, and they were most needed. Though she tended to bottle her own problems insider, Jason had more than a little respect for those who accepted their problems openly.

Paul watched the castigated EMT scurry away with a smirk then gave Ghostwriter an approving smile, waiting for her get up and begin moving after the distractingly attractive woman before following at several steps to her side. "I don't think anyone is going to comment on how much you contribute anymore, GW. Good job and well said. Give me a holler if you need any help with... anything."

Their equilibrium restore, the three very different Novas went back to work, spending most of the next few hours dealing with the after effects of the latest shift in the broken terrain. Paul and Jason spent more of that time stabilizing damaged checkpoints and field-hospitals, digging free partially buried rescue vehicles and rescuers. Ghostwriter was tasked with checking areas were other rescue attempts were occurring during the tremor before looking for new survivors.

After the latest ground-shift, rescue teams were strengthened, with more backup on hand in case of any further rising issues. Ryusei joined them, flying the people they found to the field hospitals, providing extra muscle as needed, as well as giving people speed boosts if necessary. The work proceeded slower after that, but it was deemed more important to prevent rescuers from becoming more possible casualties.

[Ghostwriter]

Ghostwriter worked for hours, ignoring the whispering and murmuring of the rescuers as each corpse - fresh, rotten or somewhere in between - was located and brought up to the open. Despite being intangible, sweat and dirt caked on her face, and she began to smell pretty ripe. But she kept on working until the last flicker of quantum was gone from her body.

[Minerva 'Mainframe']

For Minerva working from a distance began to get a bit inefficient, even as she began to interview the local staff of the DeVris office, and she decided a short way into her second interview that she was going to make a few changes. Having made up her mind within a few minutes already, she sent the young man back to his work.

Standing up, she walked past Julia. "Hold the rest of the interviews, I'm going down to the crush to take action to improve matters directly, it will be more efficient for me to help from there directly."

As quickly as possible, she had herself transported to the edge of the crush, and began to direct and guide others in the best way to help anyone who was left. Making use of her synergy enhancement to direct efforts and telepathy to find survivors.