Mutants & Masterminds: The Indigo Children - [First Phase: Alpha Segment] Test: N-01

[Telluris]

Rob's eyes widened a little at Apex's pronouncement as well as the manner of it. Dude, if I was wearing a unitard I sure as hell wouldn't stand with my legs apart... He controlled his mouth before it suited word to thought and instead straightened up in his chair, taking his face out of his hands.

"Well, I haven't revealed all my remarkable capabilities, but that's private third-date kind of stuff for ladies only-" he wrestled back control of his mouth from his brain. "Uh... Thanks, I guess? No, I mean that. Thanks, Apex. Coming from a guy who does this all the time, that's cool. It was kind of my responsibility- Wait, there was really a woman stuck in an elevator giving birth?! I thought those were urban myths, like giant albino sewer gators. Really?" Apex simply nodded solemnly, and Rob slouched back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair reflectively. "Wow." A short pause while he considered the concept some more, then "That's gotta suck." Suddenly he realised that everyone was staring at him.

"Oh. Yeah. Tights in the lounge. Right." He rubbed his face briskly with his hands then looked at Apex. "So you think that you, me and Tighty-Whitey are the only ones, huh? Well, there's others. Saw some of them tonight in Times Square. A dude all on fire like the Human Torch and a wolf-girl." He carefully edited his friends and the Indigo network: if Dreamtime and Gigaflop hadn't contacted Apex, they must have had reasons. Like they can't trust him. Or it might just be something as simple as they don't know who he is. Maybe. He looked sideways at his plate of food and took a quick forkful whilst waiting for Apex to chew on his own food for thought.

[jameson (ST)]

Originally Posted By: Jordan

"He has revealed the nature of his remarkable capabilities to us, but we were unaware that his actions have drawn the notice of so august a personage as yourself, Mr. Apex," Jordan commented in a silky, polite tone.

Apex nodded at Jordan, if he was impressed by her looks it didn't show, and it certainly would have in one way or another. "It was by chance that I saw him and was able to follow. Any man or woman who performs such acts of selfless heroism should be thanked however."

Originally Posted By: Rob

"Wait, there was really a woman stuck in an elevator giving birth?! I thought those were urban myths, like giant albino sewer gators. Really?" Apex simply nodded solemnly, and Rob slouched back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair reflectively. "Wow."

"Indeed, I was forced to pry the car free from the elevator shaft to extricate the young woman. I was able to get her to a hospital but only after helping her to deliver the babe. Mother and child will be fine I was assured by the medical staff."

Originally Posted By: Rob

"So you think that you, me and Tighty-Whitey are the only ones, huh? Well, there's others. Saw some of them tonight in Times Square. A dude all on fire like the Human Torch and a wolf-girl."

Apex nodded, "So there are at last more supers emerging. I had hoped I was but the first. Our city reeks with the stench of crime and corruption. I do what part I can to show the people that there is hope. I had hoped to inspire them to make this city, this world, a better place but I should have known; when presented with the opportunity they will gladly allow somebody else to bear the burden."

The hero shook his head sadly, "And now this. Such chaos and needless havoc can only be the work of a true super villain. Who else could do such as this?"

[Telluris]

"Actually..." Rob couldn't help it. Something inside him couldn't let this slightly-oblivious-and-probably-nuts-but-nice dude believe that there was some cackling mastermind out there. "It was kind of an accident."

Apex looked at him askance, at least Rob thought it was askance. He forged onwards: "Someone was playing with something they shouldn't, a kind of device that sent powers haywire. I think they were trying to capture one of us in Times Square, because I saw a bunch of men in black fatigues shooting at the fiery guy. But whatever they were doing was messing with my power too. And... um... my power is controlling electromagnetism. Mostly magnetics, but you can't really separate them scientifically, which is why physicists refer to it as electro-magnetism..." he trailed off, realising that he was babbling again.

"Anywho, the feedback effect of whatever gadget they were using caused a buildup of E-M energy and... uh... well... I kinda exploded." Rob confessed. "I let off an EMP... oh yeah, you don't know what an EMP is. It's an electromagnetic pulse, and it overloads and shorts out everything that uses any sort of current or has any kind of electronics in it. Boom. Instant Stone Age." He raised both hands defensively.

"I'm not a villain, okay?! It wasn't my fault those spooky commando assholes decided to play their dumb-ass wargames!" Rob's voice rose as the mingled anger/guilt/remorse of the night came dislodged from where he had sealed it away, his words coming out as a relentless staccato. "You think I wanted those people to die because of me?! I wish they weren't dead but they are and it's my fucking doing even though I wasn't even trying for it just like with my stepdad and if I knew I could EMP that big an area I would never have even moved to New York and I really, really wish I'd moved to somewhere like... like the jungle or somewhere where I wouldn't fuck everything up because monkeys don't have goddamn pacemakers, or airplanes, or elevators, or iPods, or spooky monkey's in black fatigues who like to kidnap other monkeys who are unlucky enough to be born with motherfucking powers!"

He ran out of breath and slumped back in his chair, head dropping into his hands to hide his tears. His next words were barely audible, muffled by his hands and broken by his silent sobbing.

"They're dead. People are dead and it's my fault."

[z012]

Tess was at Rob's side immediately, her slender arms wrapped around his shoulders as she quietly reassured him. "It isn't your fault, Rob. Those men did something enormously stupid without any idea of the consequences to themselves and everyone around them. You did what you could to save as many people as possible from their actions. It isn't your fault, and hundreds more people would be dead if you hadn't had the foresight to know what could be happening at LaGuardia. You saved people that those Men in Black couldn't have cared less about. You're not the villain and you've shown tonight that you do have the heart of a hero."

She squeezed her arms around him, hoping that he was listening to her words. "You belong here, Rob. With us. Please don't run away again. You have friends here, friends that understand. And if you're willing, we'll do whatever it takes to make sure that what happened in Times Square never happens again."

[jameson (ST)]

"You did this?" Gone was the broad shouldered confidant bravado, replaced by an uncertain quality as Apex reeled from Rob's abrupt confession. "What would Superman say?" he asked quietly, apparently speaking to himself. "And you said that there were men attacking another like us? And a device that caused your powers to become uncontrollable?"

Jamie piped up for the stricken Rob, "Yeah, there were guys that looked like special forces or something, an' they were attacking this guy who looked like he was on fire. We ran them off though. Well, not me, but Rob and, umm, others like him." Jamie sucked in the corner of her lower lip and chewed at it uncertainly, "We didn't see anything but the thing had to have been a machine cause when Rob, umm, blacked everything out the problems with the- his powers stopped."

Apex looked at Jamie, "Do you have paper and pencil? I think I have seen these men before. I could draw them."

[Telluris]

Tess's words and reassuring hug calmed Rob down, his tears subsiding as he leaned his head against her shoulder. He felt drained and somewhat numb now that the pain of guilt had torn itself free; he also felt that he could sleep for a week. If he was honest with himself, he had considered running away again as Tess had intimated. But that wouldn't make things right. And he'd be missing out on a chance of friendships where he wouldn't have to lie about who he was.

"Thanks, Ms Romano." he said in a weary voice, giving her a faint smile as he straighted up a little and wiped his face. "Don't worry - I'll stick around long enough that you'll get sick of me." The smile became a weak grin. "I owe you that much." He clasped his hands over hers, then looked at the others.

"Sorry about the spazz-out, people. I'll go pray for the earth to eat me later. Where are we at right now?" he asked. The others could see that although his eyes were a bit reddened and he looked like Death warmed up, Rob was pretty close to being his usual self.

[Tharra of the Katjaa]

Jaime patted herself down then gave Apex an apologetic shrug. "I don't have any on me - this isn't my house, so I don't know-"

"There is a small office if you go out in the hall and turn left," Tess offered helpfully from her embrace with Rob. "It's the second the door on the left, Jaime."

"Okay. I'll be right back, Apex, sir," Jaime said before bounding to her feet and dashing out of the living room, a hand clutching at the edge of the entrance to swing herself around the corner. She was back soon, thrusting her hands at Apex, one holding a stack of printer paper, they other, a bundle of various pens and pencils. "Will this do?"

When Rob broke down, Jordan surreptitiously averted her eyes, so as not to witness the open display. Though she considered herself a relatively open... person, there was always a part of her she was hiding, even, especially, when she was hiding in open sight. When Rob regained his composure, Jordan gave him a commiserating smile.

"Think nothing of it, Rob. Considering the circumstances, you, of anyone, are entitled." At Rob's question, she gestured gracefully at her sister and the spandex-clad 'superhero' with an elegant hand. "Apex was saying he has seen our assailants before and believed he could provide us with a sketch of their appearance."

[jameson (ST)]

"Umm, yeah, don't worry about it. Erm, I mean, Think Nothing of It. We all have our limits and breaking points, and clearly you have been pushed to yours by this tragedy." For a brief moment the man behind the mask had appeared but was quickly subsumed within the Ego of the Hero. Apex stood by quietly trying to avoid being awkward while he waited for Jamie to return.

In short order he sat down at the table with the paper and writing utensils. He reached for a pencil first and started to draw. CRACK! The pencil broke in his grasp. Apex's lip curled in an irritated snarl as he grabbed another pencil only to the have the same trauma inflicted upon the defenseless implement. Sighing Apex reached for a pen, one with what appeared to be a metal body, and clicked it open. It too suffered the devastating effects Apex's strength as it twisted and bent in his hand.

"Damnit," the would be superhero swore, "I ... I'm not used to trying to draw like this. I mean usually I'm not suited up."

"You mean you draw naked?" Jamie asked, her expression suddenly acutely interested.

"What?! NO!" shattered and gone was the facade and in its place Apex turned a deep crimson as he flushed deeply with embarrassment. "I'm not usually ... super. When I draw." He looked to the others to see if there was any comprehension at all.

[Telluris]

Rob stared at Apex for a moment as his somewhat frazzled brain put two and two together.

"Wait a sec. You're only super when you're wearing that suit?" He frowned, trying to make sense of it. "So it's the suit that has the powers, not you. Is that what you're saying?" Rob looked sideways at Tess, catching her eye before looking back at Apex. It would certainly explain why he wasn't on the Indigo network if he wasn't an Indigo. His handsome brow furrowed in curiousity. "That's pretty cool, I guess. So is it like a symbiote? I'd ask if it was powered armour, but it doesn't really look... well, bulky enough. Where'd you get it? Are there more of them? Please, God, don't let there be more of them worn by assholes with government I.D's..."

[jameson (ST)]

"What? Hahahheheh ... *phew*, no, no, the suit is just, haha, just a costume. I think you saw too many repeats of Greatest American Hero or something. No I mean ... hmm, well I guess I can trust you since you're like me, and if you trust them ..." Apex looked around the room at the others as though gauging them on sight alone, then again maybe he could. "Here, I'll show you, just don't laugh."

Apex closed his eyes and then there was a flash of light that made everybody blink. As the others blinked their eyes they found a scrawny guy sitting where Apex had been. He looked barely out of his teens with scraggly dark hair. A once white tee-shirt, now stained with various colors, possibly paints or inks, was worn over rumpled and torn jeans. "Hi," he said with a wave of his hand, fingers likewise stained with colors not native to human skin. He grabbed a pencil and began to draw quickly as he explained. "I can turn into Apex, kinda like Billy Batson I guess. No lightening bolt required though, which I guess is good."

Jamie gaped, her jaw literally hanging for a moment. "Holy Crap!" she finally managed, "Wait, where's the tights? Shouldn't you be like, swimming in over sized spandex?"

"Huh? Oh no, clothes don't switch, which is good. I'd probably end up looking like a moron half the time otherwise. Though that first transformation was a touch embarrassing." Apex, or whomever he was, continued to scratch furiously away at the page with the pencil, occasionally stopping to use his fingers to rub the graphite into the page.

[Tharra of the Katjaa]

The unexpected flash of light and her keen eyesight made Jordan wince against the glare and when she could see again, her jaw dropped in a near copy of Jaime's. For a moment, the similarities between the sisters, despite their physical differences, was very evident. It took him a bare second to change, no strain, no thought required... Jordan closed mouth with a faint snap, then flowed to her feet.

She slowly circled him, sharp eyes trained to notice even minute details of appearance, appraising him, comparing and contrasting his 'real' (?) form with his 'super' (?) form. Other than a vague similarity in the shape of the face - no closer than that shared between cousins maybe - there wasn't much the two of them shared. Her lips briefly curled in an amused grin - he sort of reminded her of her long-time friend, Pete. Only scrawny instead of a little overweight.

Jordan didn't overlook his new (previous?) clothing, either. When she altered her garments, she couldn't affect their amount of wear-and-tear, nor any stains or filth on them, which was why she was very particular when she picked things up at thrift stores. Apex's spandex had been pristine, but this... boy's clothing was faded and frayed, spattered with ink and paint, a small rip torn through the collar of his shirt. His powers, it's sort of like what I can do, but more limited and more expansive at the same time...

The sounds of her heels, muffled against the thick, Persian rug, stopped behind boy-form Apex as Jordan leaned over his shoulder to look at what he was drawing, a hand resting softly between his shoulders. "No worries, me and my sister won't say at thing about... you - this," Jordan promised, husky voice full of sincerity. She well knew how having - needing - different looks could be, how they affected family. She pursed her lips musingly. "Do you always change the same way, or can you alter your final... hmmm, configuration?"

[jameson (ST)]

Jordan peered down at the picture, it was coming along quickly and even as fast as he'd scrawled it the drawing was taking shape as a fairly accurate rendition of the Men in Black. Particularly impressive was not only the speed of the work but also the quality; were it not obviously a hasty pencil sketch Jordan suspected that the picture would have been even more impressive. The young man's left hand seemed to trail in the wake of the pencil and with his finger he forced the graphite "lead" to smear and smudge into lifelike shadow and shading.

As she put her hand on his back he stopped, "Umm, I, umm, can you...? I can't concentrate with you hovering like that." He seemed, he looked, visibly distressed, uncomfortable and distracted. Jordan got the impression that he'd have wriggled out from under her hand to get away from her.

"Can I see?" Jamie asked leaning over the other side of the table some, having moved closer. Though she could easily have looked at the work in progress she was instead looking intently at the young man who had been Apex just moments before. Jordan knew that look, she'd made it herself, and himself, before; Jamie was into this young man.

He nodded and relaxed visibly as Jordan backed away, "I'm not sure what you mean. I just become Apex when I want and back to myself when I'm done being him." Apparently comfortable enough to continue he returned to the drawing and in no time he completed the image. He held it up, specifically towards Rob but also showing it to the others, "Is this them?"

[Telluris]

"Oh yeah." Rob leaned forwards a little, peering at the held-up drawing with reddened eyes. "That's them, only the guys I saw close up had waaay less of a sense of humor. Plus they had goop guns."

"Goop guns?" Apex asked quizzically. Rob nodded.

"Yup. These boys like to do their homework. When they came after me they had next-to-zero metal on them and had these shotgun-type weapons that fired blue gel packs. Those hurt, by the way. In case anyone was curious." Rob snorted. "Non-lethal my butt. Tonight, though, it seems that they were after some kid with flame-control powers, so were loaded for a regular paramilitary night in Manhattan. Some good drawing skills you have there. Hobby or profession?"

[jameson (ST)]

"Eh?", the man who was, and wasn't, Apex, looked up, "Umm technically profession. I guess."

"You guess?"

"Well I'm trying to get into comics but for I do architectural drawings. You know? I take the drawing the guy designs and make it look like it will when its sitting where it'll be built. Happy little trees and smiling pedestrians and all that. Pays the bills, but it's not what I want to do."

He looks down at the picture. "These guys have tried to catch me before. Having a secret identity helps an shitload, especially one that takes only a second to swap."

[z012]

Tess had almost been leaning on Rob when he moved to take a look at 'Apex's' drawing; she took the moment to gather her wits back and put the rather snarky it's better than a pair of glasses, at least comment safely somewhere away from her mouth. She motioned to the drawing, her expression carefully neutral, "How long ago was the first attempt, do you know? These people are well trained and well armed. That speaks of money and of planning."

"They've attacked several people now, that we know of. Either they're finally putting some pieces together, or they're just getting impatient. This....stunt....can't be swept under the rug by either side." She rubbed her temple with one hand, her headache from earlier still playing drums in her head despite the aspirin and time. "If they were willing to strike at Times Square in the middle of the evening rush, then they certainly aren't afraid of publicity; that makes any place or time vulnerable to another attack."

[Tharra of the Katjaa]

Seeing the look in Jaime's eye, a look she well knew, Jordan stepped back, folding her arms beneath her breasts. As much as she wanted to, she didn't slip into big brother mode - literally - and tell boy Apex exactly what would happen if he didn't stay away from her sister. Nor did she take another option available to her, and try to steal his interest. No, considering what she was getting up to at Jaime's age, she had no right to dictate Jaime's interests.

But it didn't stop her from fretting inside her skin.

A new interest perked, Jaime didn't notice the concern in Jordan's eyes as she leaned closer to the slender artist who was able to mask himself as the powerful Apex. "That's so cool, that you want to draw comics and are, like, a comic-book hero yourself." Jaime actually looked at the sketch before returning her gaze to Apex. "Y'know, that's really good, you should start doing a webcomic. That way, you'll get more exposure, maybe someone in the business or whatever will see it and offer you a job."

Jordan rolled her eyes, sighed, then tilted her head to the side as she considered Apex anew. He was one of the Indigo children, with a mostly good reputation. By his admission, he has avoided these people before. Having someone like him maybe keeping an eye on her might not be such a bad thing. There was Isaac, but he was... odd, whereas Jordan felt like she understood Apex, whatever his real name was, all too well. So, she decided to give Jaime a little help.

"If that is something you might be interested in... Apex, my friend Peter is quite handy with computers," Jordan offered graciously. "He could set you up, I'm sure. If you want to stay in contact with us..."

Jaime looked around at her sister in surprise, Jordan giving her a brief smile and a quick wink that said, you owe me.

[jameson (ST)]

"Apex" shrugged and replied, "I don't know maybe a week or two after my first appearance. Not my first activity mind you, I kept on the dee-ell for a few weeks after my first transformation before I started with the Superman routine. I only know they tried because they actually came after 'him'. After that I kept an eye out but I think they gave up. That or they got better at hiding it."

He looked from Jamie to Jordan, "Thanks but I'm ok. I haven't really had much time lately anyways, for, you know, obvious reasons." He picked at his slacker threads as if to explain, "I really need to expand my portfolio but at the end of the day I'm usually too tired."

[Tharra of the Katjaa]

Jordan gave Apex a small smile and nodded. "I understand, but the offer is open if you decide to change your mind. While you spend all your time saving lives, make sure you don't neglect your own, hmm?"

As soon as she said it, she knew her last statement could be a warning to all of them. She wasn't adverse to helping someone out, especially if they were standing in front of her, but she wouldn't at the expense of her sister. Family first. Rob had pushed himself to today to save a great many people and even blaming himself for the damage his powers had caused, there was a sense of accomplishment in his eyes. Still when you valued other people's lives more than your own and that of your family, that value couldn't help but decrease.

At least, that was how she saw it. Jordan shook her head, dispelling thoughts that were far more introspective than she was used to and picked up her plate and any other plate people were done with. She brought them to the kitchen, then served herself another helping of lasagna.

Jaime watched her gorgeous sibling leave, almost aware of what she was thinking, realizing how much Jordan had given up for her. She had put her dreams of making it big in Hollywood on hold, had even given Jaime the choice of having a brother or sister for a guardian, with no trace of regret at the decisions. When she turned back to Apex, her blue eyes were genuinely inquisitive rather than girlishly interested.

"Does your family know about, well, you, y'know? When did you first know you could do things?"

[jameson (ST)]

He shrugged, "A couple years now at most. I wasn't special growing up or anything. Just one day I woke up buff and handsome, and ... and awesome. Took me a bit to figure it out but after that things kinda fell into place. My folks are both gone, so I dunno, I guess if there is a heaven and they are looking after me then they know. If not, it doesn't matter."

"Apex" looked at the others. "I should get going, there's bound to be a lot more to do before the night is through, lots more people that could use a helping hand. I'm not even sure how far this thing goes so ... well I should go." He scribbled a number down on the bottom of the drawing. "That's my number if you need to reach me."

[z012]

Tess pursed her lips, but took the leap despite her misgivings. "You're welcome to come back whenever you want - or need. My home is is always open to friends."

Well, maybe more of a hop than a leap.

She smiled at 'Apex' and added, "You should be careful going home. These goons may not yet have caught on to your Clark Kent act, but they're obviously stepping up their operations and nothing should be taken for granted. If you need a safe place to crash or if you need help of any kind, give me a call." She took one of the extra sheets of paper on the table and wrote out a phone number in precise but elegant handwriting.

"I may not be able to fly or do all those things that you do, but I've got some resources of my own." She smiled, "Not the least of which is very deep pockets. If you need help, call. The world needs heroes, more so now it seems, and heroes need friends to back them up."

[Telluris]

"Likewise, man." Rob said with a friendly nod. Apex wasn't so bad. Hell, Rob himself had entertained the occasional idea of taking his powers and doing good with them, but before tonight he'd been too afraid of screwing up or getting caught. Apex was one up on Rob there, even if he was a spandex-wearing super-nerd. Good artist, though.

"Look, um, I'm sorry about what I said during my little spaz attack back there when you came in. If you want, or need, any help out there, whether its from spooky black ops people or getting cats out of trees... uh, give me a call." Rob blinked. "Yeah, I did just say that." he muttered to himself, then looked at Tess. "I think I'll need some sort of outfit, though. NOT because I want to wear spandex!" he hastened to add. "But because I can't fly even close to flat-out without losing my regular clothing, and that would be bad if I turned up to an emergency sans pants."

"Terrible." said Jaime with a grin.

"Horrible." agreed Jordan from the doorway, managing to look both arch and amused as she ate lasagna at the same time. Rob looked suspiciously at Tess as though daring her to add a comment. Tess just blinked innocently.

"Anyway" Rob went on heavily "I was thinking that maybe if we were a little more public and a little less shadowy that the goon squad might back off from us. Those guys tonight were dressed as SWAT, but we know they weren't, right? Maybe we should go and see the Police Commissioner, masked up of course, and talk to him about people impersonating cops. I'll bet he's got some things to say, and if we start getting the local authorities on our side, it'll make things harder for the assholes in black."

[jameson (ST)]

Apex accepted the scrap of paper from Tess, "Thank you, miss. With luck I'll never need to request help from citizens such as yourself though." He winked, clearly the whole Apex persona was something the young man enjoyed in addition to providing a heroic disguise. "If you don't mind I'll show myself out. Rob. Ladies." He started out of the room and then looked back over his shoulder, "And you can tell you shy friend that it's ok to say hello next time. I don't bite." With that he made his way to the front door and vanished into the night sky.