CHICAGO AFTERMATH [The attempt to capture "EuroNinja" and rescue the alien woman Ashiya was a failure. Reluctantly, Nancy Hartwick turned over Ashiya's invisible probe to the federal agents, but then left, angry at their methods and unwilling to work with them any more. Harvey Jones, Walter Shindell, and Kim Brenner are left with Agents Mahon, Hackley and Donnay.] [GM] "I don't either," says Mahon grimly. "But unless you know some way to find them, we're back where we started...minus Langstrom." He takes everyone (that is, Kim, Walt and Harvey) back to the federal building. Once there, he tells Walt and Harvey "We'll be returning to Virginia tonight unless something breaks in this case. I understand we may be meeting some new metahumans when we arrive." Then he turns to Kim. "Before we call your parents, Miss Brenner, I'd like to have a talk with you." He holds the door for her, apparently meaning he wants to talk to her now. <><><><><> Walt: [Walt looks slightly confused, when 'Gravity-Gal' starts talking about him] "Sorry, ma'am; names Walter Shindell". [With regards to Mahons comments] "Well, alright Mahon; if thats the way it's gotta be...but I just don't like the thought of leaving that lady and 'Mystery' in the clutches of that psycho". <><><><><> Kim: Kim nods, and goes through the door. "What is it you want to talk about?" <><><><><> [GM] Mahon tells you "Basically, I want to talk to you about joining the government. You already know we're recruiting as many metahumans as we can. And being a telepath, you would be especially valuable. And I'm sure you'll want to be part of our continuing efforts to locate your friend." "There are a couple of catches, though, since you're a minor. First; absolutely no way am I going to put you in a combat situation again, especially considering what happened to that other kid. Second, obviously we have to have your parents' permission. Assuming you're interested, do you think we can get it?" "And of course," he grins, "you won't be absolved of your educational responsibilities." "But in the immediate future, we'd like to take you with us back to Virginia, to have your powers tested. If you want to return to California first to spend some time with your parents, we can arrange that easily enough." "I can't make any big predictions about what things will look like long term- our agency is still in a formative stage, metahumans are still such a new phenomenon. I can say that you'll have a much more interesting job than most teenagers can get working after school, and we do pay well. In fact, I'll bet we can arrange for a full government-sponsored college scholarship, in return for an agreed-upon term of service with us, probably concurrent with your going to college. The details will have to be worked out, but basically, you've got something we need, badly, and we're in a position to offer you quite a bit for your cooperation." One thing you appreciate immediately is that Mahon isn't talking down to you. He's serious about enforcing your status as a minor, but he seems to accept that you're quite capable of making decisions for yourself, so he doesn't waste time talking to you like you're a child. <><><><><> Kim: [OOC: Kim is pre-disposed to help the government... her faith may be a little naive, but she *is* only 16 ] Kim looks interested and thoughtful. "My parent's permission? I think they'd give it, but they might need a bit of talking to first. And I'd better visit them first, before going to Virginia, otherwise they'd *never* give their permission!" >"And of course," he grins, "you won't be absolved of your educational >responsibilities." Kim gives a mock scowl, then grins. Inwardly, she's thinking that a "government-sponsored college scholarship" is a very nice carrot to dangle in front of her parents if they are reluctant to let her go . <><><><><> [GM] "Well," says Mahon, looking pleased, "let's arrange to get you back to California as soon as possible. I have to stay here in Chicago....a couple of unresolved issues." He frowns. "But we'll have a couple of agents meet with you and your parents, and see if we can reassure them." He leads you back to the conference room. After a few minutes, Agent Mahon reemerges from the smaller conference room with Kim. "Miss Brenner will be returning to California," he says, "but hopefully, she'll be joining us in Virginia soon after that." He looks at Harvey and Walt. "You two had best get some rest. And when we get back to Virginia, I think some down-time is definitely in order." <><><><><> Harvey: Harvey gives Mahon a look that could be anything from rage to despair when he mentions 'downtime' and bites back a retort that every thing seems to be 'down' so far. Then he sighs as he accepts the inevitable, inspite of how bad things have gone, and Harvey has a hard time think how things could be worse, there's nothing to be done about it. He can't think of anything to do about or for any of the people they've lost, except hope they've only been misplaced. "A little rest sounds good (but somehow I think I have a reason for nightmares)". <><><><><> Walt: "Rest? What's rest? Oh, right...I remember trying that about a million years ago. Sounds good to me, chief!" Walt forces a light tone and a slight grin, trying to make the best of a bad situation. But inside he's not feeling particularly heroic; far from it. It had all gone wrong. Trying to bring a psycho to justice, they hadn't accomplished anything but losing another member of their tiny 'team'. Some heroes. <><><><><> [GM] You all catch a little sleep before the evening (except Kim, who STILL isn't really very tired). By 6 pm, there's still nothing new to report about Ashiya or her elusive captors. At 8 pm, Agent Mahon tells you to get ready to leave. You'll be taking off from O'Hare, and your ETS in Virginia is 5:30 am, tomorrow morning. Kim is scheduled for a separate flight, to Oakland, CA. Mahon authorized the expenditure from the seemingly limitless expense account his non-agency has been granted (wait until Congress and the public finds out about THIS!), and Kim makes a phone call to her worried parents, who will be in Oakland late tonight to meet her. "Someone will give you a call tomorrow or the day after," he tells the teenager. "That will give you some time to rest and recover and soothe your folks' nerves...and maybe start working on them yourself, persuading them to let their daughter become a government employee." He smiles with mild amusement. "In the meantime, this card has the number of our headquarters in Virginia. Call if you need to, for any reason. Stay alert; we don't know where this telepathic creep went, and it's not inconceivable that he might come after you in California." Agent Donnay sighs, returning from wherever they took Ashiya's probe to. It's being sent ahead of the agents, and will be in Virginia before them. He looks around at the exhausted metahumans, the federal agents whose failure clearly weighs heavily on their shoulders, and commenting on the situation in general, says, "What a goddamn clusterf***!" <><><><><> Kim: Kim nods at Mahon's warning. It's something she's been afraid of, that Euroninja could decide to hunt down her family. Especially since, with Ashiya kidnapped, Kim is about the only person who could positively identify him. She's a bit subdued, worried by the thought of Ashiya in the hands of that monster. <><><><><> Harvey: As Kim is leaving Harvey goes over, shakes her hand warmly and smiles broadly, "Don't hesitate to call us. And if we get back together maybe you can give me a few pointers on being stealthy" he says grinning. Harvey likes Kim even if he's just met her. In fact all the people on the team almost feel like family. It bothers him how many of them seem to be getting hurt and he tends to blame himself. At least Kim is getting to walk out, so far, rather than be carried. <><><><><> Kim: Kim smiles. "Well, you could try climbing out of your bedroom window without your parents hearing...." <><><><><> Harvey: Harvey grins back at Kim, "...you know, if you ever need a hand slipping out, give me a call. I'd make a great second story man ." <><><><><> [GM] Harvey and Walt leave on a plane to Virginia that night, while Kim is put onto a flight that lands at Oakland International Airport in the late evening, California time. * * * * * En route, Harvey and Walt are given the latest news; the nuclear assassination of Paladin in Germany, Pulsar's most recent broadcast, and the battle in Seattle against "Terrarizer." "There was also *another* metahuman battle at an airport, this time in Boston," Agent Donnay tells the two remaining metahumans. "A couple of female metahumans helped our agents there capture a psycho who intended to crash an airliner, and I understand they'll be in Virginia when we arrive." <><><><><> Harvey: Harvey is shocked when he hears about the attack on Paladin, it isn't clear which bothers him more: that someone may well have assassinated Paladin or that they ued a nuke to do it. Both outrage Harvey, he just isn't sure which outrages him more. (He also isn't convinced that Paladin is dead, but he'll admit it doesn't look good). <><><><><> [GM] Agent Donnay advises Harvey and Walt to get some sleep, which is both appealing and difficult. It's snowing in Virginia when you land. Donnay tells you both; "Get some sleep now. In the morning, I'll let you know what information we might have come up with, anything new on that poor Ashiya girl, and maybe you can meet our other new 'recruits'." <><><><><> Harvey: Harvey thinks sleep sounds wonderful and then realizes he's so keyed up that sleep is impossible. Too many things have gone wrong and nightmares are imminent. With sleep out of the question he seeks out Walt, hoping he can't sleep yet either and is willing to spend a little time trying to sort things out and get things settled. <><><><><> Lisa: She awakens at first light and in her human form goes through her wakeup routine. Stretching and beginning a light aerobics routine she gets ready for the day. After finishing her exercise she washes up then looks for the cafeteria. She'll eat a healthy breakfast and find someone to ask about her schedule for today. <><><><><> [GM] Harvey and Walt both collapse and get some much needed, though definitely not undisturbed, sleep. Harvey in particular is disturbed several times during the night by a full-fledged onslaught of the old nightmares. The next morning, he's feeling anything but refreshed when he joins Walt in the cafeteria for some breakfast. Meanwhile, nobody stops Lisa when she leaves her room and heads for the cafeteria...for a "secret research facility", there seems to be remarkably little surveillance. Then again, she really wouldn't know what to look for; in all likelihood, the agents who brought her here know exactly where she is and what she's doing at all times. Harvey and Walt both notice the petite, extremely attractive young Chinese woman who strides lightly into the cafeteria, looking perfectly innocent and slightly curious. Simultaneously, Lisa notices two weary- looking men who are already sitting there. They stand out from the other staff members having breakfast or drinking coffee, because both seem haggard, apprehensive, and a little out of place among all these clean- cut, ever-busy government agents. Lisa doesn't see any sign of Finn. Following on Lisa's heels is Agent Mahon, who sees the pair of men and the young woman appraising each other, and heads over, apparently intending to be present for any conversation that might ensue. <><><><><> Lisa: " Good morning Agent Mahon. I'll join you in a moment. I want to get something to eat first. " Lisa goes over to where they are serving breakfast and picks out fruit, cereal and juice before going over to sit down near the two men who look so out of place here. " So Agent Mahon what's on todays schedule ? Are they going to let me do a little flying ? " She asks curiously. Waiting for Agent Mahon's answer she gazes over at the two haggard looking men wondering who they might be. [ OOC: Hint hint go ahead and introduce yourselves. ] [ OOC: Description of Lisa: She's 4' 11" tall, under 100 lbs. , her complexion and features , Chinese , are very beautiful. Both the short hair cut to frame her face and her eyes, are black. Even to the most casual examination Lisa is in excellent physical condition. ] <><><><><> Harvey: Harvey, one of the tired looking men, gives Lisa a friendly smile when he notices her, but then turns back to his conversation with Walt. When Lisa gets close enough she hears Harvey say between sips something about not being awake until after his first cup of coffee, then she realizes he's drinking tea! Harvey is 5' 10" with an average build. His hair and eyes are brown but the hair looks like it's getting a little shaggy and his eyes are dark rimmed, apparently he didn't sleep well last night. His posture has some of the straightness of someone who had a military background but right now he's showing slight signs of either weariness or sadness. [I'll wait for Mahon to introduce us.] <><><><><> [GM] [I don't believe Lisa has met Agent Mahon yet.] Mahon looks at the three people sitting down at a long table, and says "Well, I guess you're introducing yourselves, but Jones, Shindell, this is Lisa Chang. She arrived here last night from Boston. She and another metahuman- who should be around here somewhere, shouldn't she?" Mahon looks around the cafeteria- "helped us capture a lunatic pyrokinetic who was planning to crash an airplane into Logan International. We have him subdued downstairs." He looks at Lisa. "Ms. Chang, this is Harvey Jones, and this is Walter Shindell. They're metahumans also. They look tired because I'm afraid we've been overworking them lately. We all just returned from Chicago, where we had our own lunatic metahumans to deal with." Agent Mahon looks a little overworked himself, but he shows it less than the two metahumans. <><><><><> Harvey: "Got another one for the collection downstairs, hmm", sounding pleased. But inside Harvey kicks himself for not having added to the collection. He tries to push the thought away by will power; those are people down there, dangerous ones in fact, NOT trophies. Harvey reaches out to shake hands, but just before his hand reachs Lisa's he stops and asks, "I assume it's safe to shake hands with you"? Then (assuming she doesn't say otherwise), he finishes the gesture and adds a friendly smile. "The question wasn't as foolish as it sounds. The first meta I shook hands with assured me he wasn't currently charged with several thousand volts...._After_ we had shaken hands"! Starting conversations with newly met metas is hard for Harvey. He isn't quite willing to say 'hi, I walk through walls what do you do?', partially because he thinks it's impolite to ask someone about their meta abilities and partially because he doesn't like giving away what he can do, but you've got to start somewhere. Lisa said something to Mahon about flying, pictures of a human body soaring through the clouds occur to Harvey. "You fly? Guess you aren't afraid of heights, at least any more." Pause. "I'm the local density control expert, which doesn't sound like much but I can make my density low enough to walk through a wall or very dense." Harvey will definitely not give away Walt's secrets or press Lisa for her's. <><><><><> Walt: "Wonder just who *that* is, Harv" Walt says quietly as he prepares another fork-full of scrambled eggs to meet their doom, to be followed closely by the last piece of bacon on his plate. "Man, I'm still beat; I feel like I haven't slept a wink." <><><><><> Lisa: > " She and another metahuman- who should be around here somewhere, shouldn't she? " < " Finn's probably still sleeping, she was terribly tired last night from our fight with the second pyrokinetic and dealing with her new abilities. I expect she'll show up when she gets hungry. " She replies to the agent. > " Ms. Chang, this is Harvey Jones, and this is Walter Shindell. They look tired bcause I'm afraid we've been overworking them lately." < " Mr. jones, Mr. Shindell I'm pleased to meet you both. Having dealt with two psychos I know how exhausting it can be. " She responds to the introductions. ************ > "Got another one for the collection downstairs, hmm", sounding pleased. < " I'm not exactly comfortable with the idea that those criminals are somehow a collection. It's deadly serious. Too many people have already died by the meta-abilities of these psychos. " Her voice is bitter with sorrow though her expression and mood quickley lighten as Harvey continues. > " I assume it's safe to shake hands with you? " < " As far as I know it's safe. Most of my abilities seem to be physical in nature. " She shakes hands with both the men. > " The Question wasn't as foolish as it sounds. The first meta I shook hands with assured me he wasn't currently charged with several thousand volts...._After_ we had shaken hands"! < Laughing she looks appraisingly at Harvey and Walt for a moment then says: " I haven't tried for electricity or flame; yet. I do have superhuman strength. Ummm. Maybe I should have mentioned that before I shook your hands. " She smiles in amusement at their chagrin. > " You fly? " < " No. I can just walk on air when I'm human. But when I assume my dragon form then I can fly. Though I'm still pretty new at it. I just gained my meta-abilities yesterday. Learning what I can do is one of the reasons I'm here and maybe to help stop some of these psychos. " Lisa answers him as she polishes off her breakfast. " All done. I suppose it's back to the testing. Hopefully I'll get to try out my flying today. I must admit to being very curious about my limits. Have they done much testing on either of you yet ? " She asks both the men with sympathy having already gone through some of it herself. <><><><><> Harvey: Apologizing, "I didn't express that too well. I think it comes from trying to avoid thinking of it as a prison, though technically it is. I'm not used to thinking of myself as someone who needs to help put people in prison." Harvey suddenly becomes very attentive when she mentions being able to walk on air. "How _fast_", he asks with more intensity than it seems to warrant until he explains? "I can walk on air in reduced density mode, but not very fast because air doesn't give good traction. Sort of like trying to walk on ice, you can move but you have to go slow. If I try to go fast I increase my density and start to sink. If you've got a technique for moving faster on air, I'd like to learn about it." "We've been through at least some of the testing." He smiles in sympathy, "it varies between the monotonous and the hair raising. But it can be very insightful and educational. Of course, it would help if I could have understood the doctor's explaination." <><><><><> Lisa: She blushes with embarrassment as Harvey apologizes. " You don't have to apologize. I was commenting on some of the things I had done, not criticizing you. " > "How _fast_", he asks with more intensity than it seems to warrant until he explains? < " The same as my normal running speed. Except for my footing being a little unstable it's just like running on the ground. I can even pick up and hold a small car aloft while standing on air. " She answers. " Hmmm... I think we have different ways of doing the same thing. You reduce your density to walk on air whereas I just step up on the air and start walking or running. Any techniques I might use probably wouldn't work for you because our meta-abilities are so different. Of course because we both can walk on air we can share ways to use the ability. If that's any help to you. " Lisa laughs softly at Harvey's rueful explanation. " I know what you mean, like you, I seem to have a personal exemption from at least one of the laws of physics and maybe more. Getting the scientists here to explain how that might be possible, in a way that I can understand, is going to be the real trick. Then after lunch they can explain meta- abilities and find a cure for the common cold too. " She smiles to show that she's just kidding, mostly. She looks around to see if Finn has entered the cafeteria yet. <><><><><> [GM] Finn is entering now, looking worn-out and tense and in a really bad mood. But she stops dead when she sees the three of you at the table. Walt, meanwhile, in the middle of taking another bite of sausage, looks like he's about to inhale his fork when he lays eyes on Finn. <><><><><> Lisa: Finn's entry into the cafeteria draws a smile of pleasure from Lisa at least until she notices what a terrible mood Finn seems to be in. She notices Finn and Walt's reaction to each other. " Good morning Finn. I'd like to introduce Harvey Jones and Walter Shindell. There both metahumans working for the government. " She keeps both her voice and thoughts as calm as possible while speaking to Finn. Lisa is deeply worried about Finn and how sleeping near those psychopaths might have affected her. <><><><><> Harvey: "But I do, or rather I need to thank for pointing out that I was rather starting to think of it that way, which is in appropriate". "Well, maybe yoiur techniques for air walking _wouldn't_ work for me, although I would like to hear about them since they might work or give me ideas for related techniques. Sigh, I keep expecting to find a common underlying phenomena but so far no luck." Harvey is startled by Walt's sudden freezing, and looks up to see what might have provoked the effect, breaking off his conversation with Lisa, but there doesn't seem to be anything to cause this effect. He looks left, then right, then still not seeing anything startling he looks back at Walt, who is still frozen and again looks where Walt seems to be looking. Harvey still doesn't notice anything, except for Finn standfing equally still. She doesn't seem unusual enough to provoke this effect, except she also seems to be frozen. Harvey nudges Waslt, "hey, what's up" he whispers. <><><><><> Walt: Walt chokes, trying simultaneously to swallow the bite of sausage while jumping to his feet and moving to meet Finn. In his haste, he knocks over his chair and overturns the half-full glass of orange juice that he had been drinking at breakfast. "Ack...Fnn......wheeze...you!," he sputters, moving toward her, an incredullous expression spreading across his face. He has to pause for a brief moment, leaning over and grimacing as he forces himself to swallow that small, villanous bit of pork product. "I reckon that I don't have the slightest notion how you ended up here, but Jesus it's good to lay eyes on you, Finn!" He closes the last of the distance between them, and unless she dodges, parries, or blocks (this *is* GURPS, after all ) him, Walt sweeps Finn up into a HUGE hug! "Hot Dang!" <><><><><> [GM] "Ahem," Agent Mahon says. "You two know each other?" Finn's shocked expression becomes even more so as Walt grabs her. As Walt grabs you, the constant mental babble around you disappears- instantly! You're no longer getting extrasensory perceptions of any kind. You didn't realize that you were actually getting used to the constant flood of supernatural sensations, until you experience the startling "silence" of their absence. <><><><><> % Finn % Finn's tired eyes looked around the cafeteria and spied Lisa sitting with two other men. She could hear the thoughts Lisa projected without meaning to, and began to speak to her. **>> it wasn't them Lisa, I'll tell you more later, really, I'm ... <<** Mental thoughts cut out as Walt stood up and began coming in her direction, as it suddenly became hard to think to do anything but stand there and gape. The sudden rush of thoughts spilled over as soon as her brain kicked back in, and Lisa could hear the babble, though nothing made much sense. ** ohmygodhe'sstillalivehe'sherewhatthefreakishedoingherehe'salivealive! ** Finn closed the last few steps toward Walt herself, and returned the hug just as enthusiastically. For a few moments. The pleased, surprised expression evaporated like water at noon in Death Valley. Replaced by one of utter and complete surprise, astonishment, and fear. "Holy Mary Mother of God! Put me down, Walt! Now!" She waited until he released her then stepped away from him, staring incredulously at the red-haired trucker that stood before her. <><><><><> Lisa: " Ummm... " Astonished by the scene before her she turns to Harvey and says in a deadpan voice: " I'm beginning to suspect that they know each other. " Her smile is back glad that Finn seems to be recovering from yesterday. She's somewhat puzzled by Finn's unintended telepathic chatter. However she'll wait until Finn decides to tell her about if ever. Lisa glances at the agent to see how he reacts to Finn and Walt's greeting. <><><><><> Harvey: "I'm not certain, but I have that suspicion myself", in an equally deadpan way. Harvey then turns to face Lisa and adds "of course, that is incredibly improbable,... which since Walt is involved makes it almost a certainty" <><><><><> Walt: Walt gets an expression on his face that is.....unique. It's as if he simultaeneously had been told that he won the lottery, and that his dog had died. He looks for all the world like he's afraid Finn will explode if he holds her for one second longer, but at the same time he fears that she'll break if he just drops her. All in all, it makes for a rather humerous image; Walt trying to drop Finn without dropping her. He's obviously ecstatic to see her, but at the same time trying to adopt a "Who, me?" kind of stance. It is the most poitively animated that anyone present has ever seen the man. "Yes ma'am, he mutters without realizing it when Finn commands him to put her down. Her tone cut right through to his control center, and for a moment it was like Mama were right there in the room. Walt looks around confusedly, assuming that she saw something that made her start acting so strangely. "Whats goin' on, FS?" he asks, still trying to find the source of her outburst. <><><><><> % Finn % Finn stopped dead as Walt released her and she took her step and a half away from him, scanning the room, skimming Lisa's mind for proof. "Holy Christ," she mumbled, and reached out once more to take hold of Walt. Then before he could stop her, she stepped away again, this time further away from the man she so obviously knew. And she stayed away, staring at Walt with absolutely no expression at all, which made it all the more scary. "What the hell happened to you, Walter Richard Shindell?" [umm...GM? Can she skim the thoughts of Walt, Harvey and Agent Mahon while we're at it? She'll try, just to see if she can, of course. All part of the testing. :) -- Dazz] <><><><><> [GM] [No...your senses are still "blinded", even after Walt let go of you.] <><><><><> Lisa: " I do believe you're right Mr. Jones. " She continues in the same deadpan tone of voice. Then bursts into laughter for a moment. She suspects however, there's more than meets the eye in the way that Finn has greeted Walt. Her humor replaced by a mild worry. Turning to the agent she asks: " Is there something specific on the schedule for today ? Or is it back to the testing for us ? " <><><><><> Walt: Walt somehow looks more confused than he did a moment earlier. When Finn asks him what "happened" to him, he leaves off his looking for some external source of her aggravation and turns quickly back to face her. "What happened to me? Well then, I'd reckon you wouldn't know then, would you. It would seem that I myself am one of those there "Paranormals". Don't that beat all? Anyway, I don't know as how anything much has _happened_ to me. A few tight scrapes, a couple bruised ribs; thats about it really." Walt, though hardly brilliant, stops as the light of realization dawns on his face. "You mean that *you* are the other "paranormal" that they been jawing about!?!" Suddenly Walt grins. "Harvey, what would you say the *odds* would be that one o' my "near'N'dears would show up with powers?" <><><><><> % Finn % Finn looked over at the agent as he spoke up, and nodded. "We knew each other as kids, and then met again not that long back." Her expression was relaxing bit by little bit, and the tiredness that she felt was beginning to wash over her, as she realized that her "powers" hadn't returned after she stopped touching Walt. She ignored his comment to Harvey, and addressed her old friend again. "What the hell did you do to me? I can't sense anything anymore ... nothing, it's like I was normal, before ... " she stopped and looked from Walt to the agent to Lisa to Harvey before back to Walt again. "If this isn't permanent, then you're sleeping with me tonight," she said without preamble, and her tone sounded deadly serious. She definitely seemed completely ignorant of any other interpretation that might come from her remark. <><><><><> Harvey: "As I was just saying to Lisa here, it's extremely improbable which since you're involved makes it a virtual certainty." Muttering under breath 'I'd say he's a lucky guy, but that's redundant for him'. <><><><><> Lisa: Listening to Finn and Walt, Lisa realizes that any worries about Finn are unnecessary. Walt will probably take care of any problems she might have. Looking over at the agent Lisa says: " You didn't answer my question. If the government doesn't have any plans for me right at this moment I'd like to get some exercise. Is there a gym here ? " <><><><><> [GM] "Well, we did plan to start testing you, yes," says Agent Mahon. He seems more interested in the interaction between Finn and Walt right now. "We do have a gym, if you want to go ahead. Make it a light workout, though, since the tests we planned for today are rather rigorous." At this point, Agent Slopes enters the cafeteria. "What's going on?" he mutters to Mahon. The two agents confer in low whispers. "Ahem," Mahon says to the two reunited friends. "Ms. Colvin, as you've already discovered, Mr. Shindell is a metahuman as well, and one of the powers he's demonstrated is the ability to neutralize the powers of other metahumans. That's something we wanted to test more thoroughly, in fact, but I take it you already got a sample." <><><><><> Lisa: She looks at Agent Slopes and the other agent, her eyes sparkling with barely repressed laughter. " Well if the testing you have planned is rather rigorous then I wouldn't want to tire myself out. I'm very interested in what you consider rigorous though. After all as an aerobics instructor I only do about four to six hours of exercise per day. If what you have planned is that extensive then I had best save my energy. " She smiles to show she's just teasing him a little. <><><><><> Walt: "What do you mean, you can't 'sense anything'?" Walt good mood seems to evaporate, and he again looks confused. He stops, looks at her rather strangely, and then sighs. "Finn, what *are* you talking about?" Her remark about the sleeping arrangements catches him obviously offguard, and he flushes bright red. "Darn it all, FS, whatdja go n' do that for? Ain'tcha ever heard of privacy?" <><><><><> % Finn % "Privacy doesn't have anything to do with it, Walt. I just would like a night without the dreams." Slopes entrance put off any further response from Finn, and she listened to the other agent's explanation, nodding. "Makes sense," she replied, and stepped a few steps further away from Walt. "Does it come back after a while, or does distance help?" Her eyes widened, and she looked around the cafeteria, noting who was there. "Umm...Walt? Were you on a plane recently? Who was with you?" She looked over to the agents and spoke before Walt could reply. "How long before my ... powers come back? I need to know, *now*," she looked at Slopes imploringly, hoping that he would understand her sudden need. <><><><><> Walt: "Oh, I see..." offers Walt quietly. "How long til you all get your powers back? I reckon I ain't sure, sorry ta say; should be about 5 minutes or so though." Walt hastily looks around at the reactions of the other people in the room, as if afraid of what they might be thinking about all this. "A plane? Finn, I've been in, under, fallin' out of, and a bunch of other stuff I can hardly even think of with planes lately. Heck, I darn near got hit with one! As for who was with me, why there was Harv there (points to Harvey), and the agent there (points out agent)....I think that was about it." (Turns to Harvey again) "Harvey, I don't *recall* there being anybody else on the plane, do you?" After questioning Harvey, Walt turns his bemused attentions back to Finn. "Whats gotten into you, Finn? You're acted crazier than a cat in a room full o' rocking chairs!" <><><><><> Harvey: Harvey is rather enjoying watching the show without participating (and participating would probably be considered a crowd under the circumstances) and is rather startled when Walt brings him into the conversation. Well there was Kelly... but you probably don't want to bring up another woman to an old (not so old) flame...but this flame is a 'path so you can't keep it from her... well I can't, at least once she gets her meta abilities. Harvey smiles inwardly to himself, this time he didn't say powers, which always bothers him when he does. What to do what to do, telepathy can make this so complicated. Finally, "You left out the bad guy" Harvey answers archedly. There, I didn't say more than I should and I didn't say much less, although Finn will probably still be mad when she realizes my omission (got to try to think about other things; got to stop think about not thinking about this, SH** I'm never going to be able to do this). Since he's now been introduced, and since they've sort of reached a pause, Harvey walks over and offers his hand to Finn. "Hello, it seems we have a mutual friend in Walt here, though I believe you have precedence. Very pleased to meet you." <><><><><> [GM] Mahon says "Myself and Agents Hackley, Richardson and Blake," [there were some other agents on the plane whom I mentioned briefly, though not by name- they didn't do much, being "backup personnel"], "Shindell and Jones, and of course the pilot and copilot." He looks at Finn. "Why? What's so important?" Slopes is frowning. "Where are all of them?" "Hackley is around here somewhere, Richardson should be still in the facility too. Blake left on leave right after we arrived, and you'd have to ask central about the crew." Now Mahon is frowning. "What's going on?" <><><><><> Harvey: "Yeah, What's up?" he asks Agent Slopes, becoming alarmed by his single mindedness. <><><><><> Lisa: " Finn is something wrong ? " Lisa asks concern in her voice readily apparent. " You're going to have to tell us what's wrong if we're to do anything about it. " She gets up and goes over near Finn being careful not to touch Walt. [ OOC: No offense B'aeyr but weird things seem to happen to metas who touch you. ] <><><><><> % Finn % Finn seemed relieved when Walt said it would only be five minutes, but she made certain that he didn't touch her again. "Ummm, actually, would you all mind if I sat down? My legs are a bit tired, and I could use some food and something to drink." Finn went over to the table and almost sat, but then realized she would need to go and get herself some food. She looked at Lisa with an odd half-smile. "Right now Lisa, I could go for some tea, fruit, and toast. Don't worry, I can't *do* anything until my ... powers come back, so I won't go harrying off without you. Do you think you could get some food for me, Dragon Lady?" Finn's smile remained, and though she currently couldn't see the dragon that was coiled around the diminuitive Oriental, she knew it was there, and perhaps winking at her at this moment. She looked at Harvey's hand when he stuck it out to her. "Um...I'm Finn Colvin. I hope you don't mind if I don't shake your hand, but right now I'd rather not take any chances." She smiled up at him though, tired but with warmth. "What bad guy?" she looked inquiringly, nervously, at Harvey, then turned to Slopes. "Do you think that you could get the others who were on the plane to be around sometime this morning? I don't know if I will be able to sense what I saw, but I can try." She didn't speak on any of the matters that she had half brought up until she had the food and drink in front of her, and an attempt had been to start in on them. "Okay, I told Slopes about this, and I'm not sure who he told, but it probably doesn't make any difference at this point. It could be the 'bad guy' that Harvey mentioned, or maybe not. "I had another dream last night. It was different from the one I had about Lawrence. It wasn't like a precognition, but more of a prophetic one." She shook her head, "No, that's not right. It's so damned hard to explain. It was like I was seeing the future, a possible future, something that might happen. But there was enough of the present in it to make me wonder. Like you in the plane," she looked at Walt, "that's why I asked you about it. At the end of it, I saw you, in a plane, and there was someone with you. I don't know who it was, which is why I asked who was with you. But they were at the end of a dark thread." She laughed at herself. "Look, I *know* how ridiculous this sounds, so please just let me finish before you all start doubting. There was a man in my dream, someone who controlled people. The image I got was of a dark hand with dark threads coming from the fingers, and whenever he pulled one, something happened. The nuclear blast in Germany was one, that was his doing. He pulled, and people around the *world* suffered and died. And one of them went to the plane that you were on." She finished quietly, just above a whisper, and sat staring into her tea for a long moment. "There was more," she spoke up, looking at the others again, "but that is what I'm worried about right now. That, and the woman, or child, that he has and is torturing. But I can't do anything about that just yet, because I have no idea where he is. I just know that he's *very* powerful, and," she paused, shuddering slightly, "very evil." Finn looked up at Slopes, then sent out her mind to Lisa's, seeing if it had been long enough for her "powers" to begin to return. "So now what?" <><><><><> Lisa: When Finn asks her to get her some breakfast she immediately goes over and gets what Finn asked for. Bringing it back she sets it before Finn and says: " I'm glad I didn't go off and exercise I wouldn't want to miss this. " Lisa listens with growing horror as Finn recounts her dream. " Finn what you're describing sounds like what you did to evacuate those people from the plane in Boston only... evil. A nuclear bomb to kill Paladin, torture and mind control; I hope this guy is on the governments most wanted list. " Lisa is clearly taking Finn's dreams seriously having had experience in taking things she says on faith. " Wait you said one of the people on the plane was being controlled and then right after that, Walt touches you and you lose your powers could .... " Lisa gets a rather comical look on her face as she realizes she might have lost her powers too. " I think I had better test and see if I still have my abilities, if I do then I'm wrong. If I don't... " She says and then tries to step up on the air. [ OOC: Has she lost her powers ? ] <><><><><> Harvey: Harvey considers for a minute and then gives a big grin, "I understand completely...but I'm Harmless. We'll just postpone shaking hands until we get to know each other better." "As for the bad guy I mentioned, I was talking about a few days ago, although it doesn't seem that way because we've been so busy, when the plane exploded. That was in New York, and it made the news although I don't think all the details were released. "Sounds like we're getting some advance warning for a change, nice but we still need to figure it out. If you can tell who wasn't the person in the dream, can you describe the person? <><><><><> [GM] "EuroNinja....and Ashiya," Mahon says almost breathlessly, looking shocked as Finn tells her story. He turns to Agent Slopes and explains, "The mind-controller who danced right under our noses and took Langstrom and the alleged al-" he stops, looking at Finn and Lisa warily. "Did you pick any of what happened in Chicago out of our minds?" he asks Finn suspiciously. Then he gives Lisa an odd look as she steps into the air and stands there, as if performing a magic trick. Slopes glances at Mahon, then back at Finn, ignoring the levitating Chinese girl for the moment. "Ms. Colvin, are you saying someone on the plane back from Chicago is actually being mind-controlled by....this 'EuroNinja'?" He glances back at Mahon and mutters in an aside; "'EuroNinja'?" "Later," Mahon mutters back. "I'd better call Dave," Slopes sighs. "And someone better get hold of Mabe. This could be trouble." <><><><><> Lisa: Lisa looks at both Harvey and Walt with suspicion she's clearly very upset. * This is beginning to look just like whatever happened between Jack and Lawrence. Some sort of psi powers involved and nobody understanding what's going on. Well not this time . * She thinks angrily. " Excuse me ! Am I the only one other than Finn who's noticed that there's something really weird going on here ? A mind controller took someone from you and you act as if nothing had happened until Finn relates her dream. That isn't exactly normal behavior. I'm not an expert on these things but it sounds like your minds were tampered with so you would forget about this mind controller until it was too late to do anything about him. It might be a good idea to find out what each of you remembers happening and then look for discrepancies. " Worry colors her voice as she begins trying to make sense of what's going on. " Why don't you tell us about this Euroninja and Ashiya for a start. " " Finn when you get your abilities back you had best check them and see if any of the people on that plane are under some kind of outside control. " Lisa will remain standing in the air ready to use her meta-abilities to restrain anyone who looks like they're going to attack Finn or herself. <><><><><> [GM] Mahon looks at Lisa sourly. "Wait until you know the whole story before you fly off the handle, lady! We did NOT act as if nothing happened. We were very much aware of what happened back in Chicago. We did our best to track down the son of a bitch, after he abducted Ashiya and Langstrom, but we failed. We still have agents there searching, in cooperation with the FBI and the Chicago PD. Some of us came back because there was nothing more we could do there for the moment." <><><><><> Harvey: "Explaining about Euroninja and Ashiya is going to take some doing. But since Euroninja is easier let's try that one", Harvey pauses as he considers, "Imagine your worst nightmare...and then realize it's worse! Pretty simple considering we know next to nothing about him. He's a powerful telepath and a very powerful psychopath. He's more or less kept people from noticing him. He somehow bailed out some confederates who were being held without bail. And he walked back into an place the police knew he had been and no one even noticed." "As for losing our agent, was trailing Ashiya, who euroninja, which incidentally we know is a silly name but we haven't got a better one except for the late euroninja. Where was I? ...Trailing Ahsiya who Euroninja ad captured and was supposed to report back.......and didn't. We don't know what happened, don't know where to look, we...just...don't...know." Harvey's frustration is showing again. He obviously wants to do something but can't think of what to do. He finally looks over at Finn, "Maybe you'll know something, some information would be nice", he doesn't say 'for a change' but he almost does. Harvey looks at Lisa standing in mid air, "When I first learned to do that I stood on air for quite a while, one of the doctors told me in looked strange. He was probably right" he says with a smile. <><><><><> Lisa: She looks at the agent completely baffled for the moment and then replies in a quiet voice: " I think my experiences over the last twenty four hours have caused me to start seeing problems where none exist. If that's the case then I do apologize. I still haven't gotten over what happened yesterday in Boston. " She steps down from the air and takes a seat wondering if she's beginning to lose her mind. Lisa listens carefully as Harvey explanes what happened in Chicago. She turns and looks at Finn very confused by what's just occured. <><><><><> Harvey: "No, you're not necessarily seeing problems where none exist, we DO have problems. But forgetting about 'Mystery' Langstrom isn't one of them. I will admit it looked strange". <><><><><> % Finn % % "The streets of my town are not what they were They are haloed in anger, bitter and hurt And it's not so you'd notice but it's a sinister thing Like the wheels of ambition at the christening..." % "Oh, Christ," Finn swore when Harvey told her that the "bad guy" he had been talking about was a few plane trips ago. "There goes that theory." She shook her head at his question. "I never got to look at him. It was just an image, of darkness, of the dark hand. And he doesn't know that I'm here. Yet. I mean, he knows of me in the future, but, oh, nevermind," Finn waved off the rest of what she was saying. It didn't make any sense to her ** well, the really bad thing was that it was beginning to ** so why should it make sense to someone else? "Relax, Lisa," she began as the aerobics instructor began her tirade. "I really don't think it's a conspiracy. More like we've not been briefed, or debriefed yet. Or whatever it is that the Men in Black call it," she smiled sweetly at Slopes and Mahon, then stopped and listened to what they had said, were saying. % "So I went out walking on the streets of the dead With a chip on my shoulder And a voice in my head It said you have been brought here Though you don't know what for Well the mystery train is coming right to your door..." % Finn bristled at Mahon's remark. "No, I didn't pick anything up from your minds. In case you didn't notice, I just walked in here, and touched Walt, and then *BLAM* -- nothing. Besides, Slopes can tell you ... I had this dream probably before you even touched down." % "And I hear you calling, you don't have to call so loud I see you falling and you don't have to walk so proud You can run all night but we can take you where You can cry like an angel..." % She relaxed a little, but only a little, as Mahon finally realized what she had been trying to say. "That's it, though I'm not sure how direct it is. I'll have to try and see if I can see the thread when I get my ... powers back. I can try to, 'go astral,'" she chuckled and looked at Lisa, "if people don't want me to mess with their minds. It might even be better that way, as I was kind of like that in the dream. "But most likely the person doesn't even know it. We really shouldn't let everyone know about this until I can do a bit of checking. If 'EuroNinja'," Finn paused, trying on the word for size and instantly liking it, because she knew that he would *hate* it, "can find out from that person's mind that we might be onto him..." She trailed off, hoping the agents would take the hint. "You probably should call Gemann, though. He wasn't on the plane. Tell him that we've found someone who can stop me from reading his mind, I'm sure he'll be right over," Finn ended that with a definite sour note. % "There were high school night dances When we played stump the band We were raising each other In a strange land There were hard pills to swallow But we drank 'em all down Oh the nights were too short then And now they're a little too long I hear you calling and you don't have to call so loud I see you falling and you don't have to walk so proud You can run all night but we can take you where You can shout out in anger You can laugh like a fool You can cry like an angel..." % Finn listened to Harvey's explanation of EuroNinja and what he was like, and their experiences with him. It wasn't much, but what they did have seemed to fit with what she had seen in the dream. "Who is this Ashiya," she looked from Harvey to Walt to Mahon, "and does EuroNinja have her now? That may have been the woman I saw in the first part of the dream. He ... he was torturing her, but I'm not sure how much of that was real and how much was figurative. Though with what you've said about him, I think I know ... and would rather not have." Finn once more tested her powers, to see if at least the smallest trace of them had returned. If they didn't ... a huge part of her would be very glad, that she knew. But there was this Ashiya who was in danger, and then there was EuroNinja. She knew how he felt ... would feel ... whatever ... about her, and that was some relief. He might overlook her, at least at first. They might be able to get a jump on him ... once. It was probably the only chance they had. But to do that, she had to get her powers back. There wasn't any other way. "Who is Langstrom?" She again turned from the two men to the agent for any answer. % "So look homeward baby Keep your eyes on the sky They will never forgive you So don't ask them to try This is your party, I know it's not your ideal May we all find salvation In professions that heal I hear you calling and you don't have to call so loud I see you falling and you don't have to walk so proud You can run all night but we can take you where..." % Finn had waited until all her previous questions were answered before asking her last ones. The ones she had to know, to get as much basis as she could before checking things out "mentally." "Umm...did any of your men in Chicago meet him? EuroNinja, I mean? And if not, umm...did any of them answer any phones that were calls that you don't know who was on the other end? Because you can, well I can, and I assume that means him too, can use the phone to contact someone telepathically." She wondered how well that bomb was going to drop. % "You can shout out in answer You can laugh like a fool You can call up to heaven We'll be listening to you You can sing hallelujah You can fly like a bird You can cry like an angel When there are no words." % ["Cry Like An Angel" by Shawn Colvin, copyright 1989 AGF Music Ltd./Red Songs Ltd./Lev-A-Tunes] <><><><><> Harvey: "Remember how I said Euroninja was the easier to explain? Well that makes Ashiya the hard part." He looks around the room distrustfully, apparently there's something he does feel should be said in public. Then he visibly decides not to say it and goes on. "Yes, Euroninja has her...again. That is NOT good news considering what he did to her before." He can't seem to bring himself to go into details. Then he brightens at a thought, "We did have some very interesting ideas of what to do to him if we ever got our hands on him. And we're not the kinds of people who go to extremes with out good reason." "Langstrom, or 'Mystery', was the meta who we...misplaced...in Chicago. She's..ah..he's...hmmm. He slash she is a shape shifter, so it's hard to decide whether to say she or he, although if present I just use the current pronoun." Harvey is dumbstruck! After a few seconds he manages to mutter something that sounds like "estes", but wheels are turning, he's putting 2 and 2 together and not liking the results. It's just going to take him a few minutes to adjust his thinking and get things sorted out. <><><><><> [GM] Slopes and Mahon look at each other, then Mahon says "Hold on, OK? Just give us a sec..." The two agents move away, to a phone on the wall, and confer with someone on the other end. A few minutes later, Agent Gemann arrives, along with two of the scientist-types that Harvey and Walt recognize. The men all talk amongst themselves in low voices until the four metahumans are becoming distinctly uncomfortable; finally, Gemann leads the others over. "All right," he says, with a neutral look at Finn. "Follow me to the conference room. It sounds like all of you will need to know this. Actually, Jones and Shindell already know most everything, since they were there, but Colvin's going to need the rest, and I don't feel like arguing with someone who can turn into a dragon about whether or not she should be included." He glances at Lisa. "I figure Colvin would just tell you anyways." He leads all of you to the large conference room that some of you have seen already, and gestures for you to take your seats. Finn is beginning to get a "tingling" sensation at the periphery of her senses, for lack of a better word. No real impressions are coming through yet, but it feels like her...powers are beginning to return. "By the way," Gemann says with an ironic smile as everyone seats themselves. "We have *another* metahuman arriving this afternoon or early evening...actually, we have two. One friendly, and one more for the 'collection' downstairs." <><><><><> % Finn % The brown-haired woman looked very displeased at Harvey's non- explanation of who Ashiya was. She frowned at him, her eyes glaring and the look pointed, but she seemed content to wait until the agents returned. His comment about Langstrom, aka Mystery, brought about a startled look out of the stare. "What do you mean, 'misplaced'? Do you mean that he slash she shapeshifted and got away from you? No, wait, he slash she was also taken by EuroNinja. That's what you meant by 'misplaced' ... right?" Since the agents didn't seem eager to explain themselves at the moment, and Harvey was silent or muttering to himself, she took the time to finish her breakfast and tea and speak to Lisa. "I watched your tests a bit yesterday. Interesting results. Tien Lung wasn't pleased with the vibro-needle, but the thing with the eyes was neat. I know, the dragon isn't separate from you, but every time I see you that way, it's like I think of it as something different. It will just take some time to get used to it." She shrugged, and watched the agents again. "What do you want to bet they're discussing whether or not they can tell us all this? I mean, they are Men In Black ... they can't just be going around spilling government secrets to people ... even people like ... us." Finn went with the group to the conference room, making no comment to Gemann as he made his remark, not even a sarcastic smile. As her powers began to return, Finn kept quiet. Purposefully. She took a seat that would support her, and settled into it comfortably, letting her limbs relax. Preparation, she told herself. One of the agents in here, hell, it could be Harvey for all she knew, could be the one she had seen, and she wasn't going to give anything away until she had to. She motioned for Lisa to take the seat next to hers, and closed her eyes. Gemann's announcement caused her to open one eye and give him a look that matched his tone. "Oh, goody. More for the inhuman zoo, and a companion for the rest of us in the ... metahuman zoo, I suppose?" Oh boy, the tiredness was definitely getting to her again, and she closed her eyes for the briefing. Waiting, waiting and testing. Until her powers returned, then it would be a quick, quiet thought to Lisa alone, and then time to go scouting. But of course, she listened to everything that was said. Until. <><><><><> Lisa: > "I watched your tests a bit yesterday." < " Astral peeping Finn ? " Lisa says begining to recover her sense of humor, somewhat. > "Tien Lung wasn't pleased with the vibro-needle, but the thing with the eyes was neat. I know, the dragon isn't separate from you, but every time I see you that way, it's like I think of it as something different. It will just take some time to get used to it." < Lisa looks at Finn even more lost than at breakfast. " Finn I didn't change into my dragon form last night. I'll admit I didn't care for the needle and I did find my visual abilities fun but how could Tien have an opinion seperate from me. It's just a name I use for my dragon shape. " > "What do you want to bet they're discussing whether or not they can tell us all this?" < " I wouldn't bet at all. You'd win. " She replies. Lisa takes the seat next to Finn at the conference room table. Fear trickles through the depths of her mind. Fear of the villainous telepath, fear that there's something going on around her that she can't do anything about and fear that she made the wrong decision in cooperating with jerks like Agent Gemann. Despite her fears she knows its to late to run away. There's no place she could go far enough to get away from Euroninja. More importantly she would never abandon a friend like Finn to him. Lisa will have the following thought in her mind for when Finn regains her telepathy: * What the hell is going on Finn ? * <><><><><> Walt: >>"Oh, goody. More for the inhuman zoo, and a companion for the rest of us in >>the ... metahuman zoo, I suppose?" "Now Finn, don't be that way; you got no right to judge. These agents are doing the best they can wiht what they got. Ain't like they can just open up the 'Big Book O' Paranormals' to figure out what to do. Cut 'em some slack." Walt looks at her intently. "You *sure* you're OK? You look like something the cat done dragged in." <><><><><> Harvey: "Misplaced means we can't find him/her, it also means we plan to find her/him and then unmisplace he/she/it! We do not like it when our people disappear." "Sorry about not even trying to explain Ashiya, but not in public please. I suspect some people would be displeased if I went blabbing everything...And some peple would decide I'm crazy. Some of it is unbeleivable, but reliable people are convinced, so we sort of have to accept it." [incidentally, the donut does not constitute conclusive proof, at least not in a world with dragons, telepaths, etc.] "Please cut us some slack" he asks in a pleading voice, "We're new at this". <><><><><> [GM] Agent Gemann leans against the podium and clears his throat. "As I've said repeatedly, we are a very new agency. We have very few established procedures; we're still mostly making things up as we go along. Metahumans are possibly the most dangerous threat to law and order that the world has ever seen, and we're almost clueless what to do about it. So we recruit anyone with superpowers that's willing to cooperate with us, because we NEED you. But that doesn't necessarily make for a smooth working relationship. All of us agents are veteran government employees, mostly from a law enforcement background, some from the intelligence community or the military. We're not used to working with civilians. We're used to compartmentalizing information, restricting it to those who need to know. We're also used to a chain of command, and following regulations." He seems to be looking at Finn in particular as he says "You may not like the way we do things, but try to keep in mind how cops, soldiers and intelligence analysts usually do their job. You all have unique talents which we desperately need...but you're from a variety of backgrounds, with no training- ok, with a few exceptions," he nods at Harvey, "and you have...conflicting attitudes. Plus, understandably, you're still trying to adjust to your powers." "So of course there's some friction. It's stressful for us too. For instance, what I'm about to tell you all is being classified 'Top Secret' even as I speak, but here I am giving it out to an aerobics instructor, a folk singer, a truck driver and an engineering consultant, none of whom except the latter have any kind of security clearance." He sighs. "Jones and Shindell already know most of this, but you two-" he nods at Lisa and Finn- "need to hear it, especially Ms. Colvin, since her powers may be the biggest break we've got yet." *Lucky us* his expression seems to say, or so it seems to Finn. "Let's start with Chicago. Agents Mahon and Hackley were in Chicago investigating a suspected metahuman known as 'Falling Star', who's been smashing up crack houses and harrying street gangs in Chicago's inner cities. That seemed indicative of someone with a sense of social responsibility; Mahon and Hackley were hoping to locate this individual and possibly recruit him or her. Incidentally, we're now pretty sure that Falling Star is a her, and a child." "As it happened, a street battle broke out in Cabrini Green, one of the worst neighborhoods in the country, while our colleaugues were in the area. It turned out that it was in fact a setup for Falling Star. *Someone* wanted her captured, and sent a couple of metahumans to do it. And into that situation stumbled THREE *other* metahumans who were looking for yet *another* metahuman child. Yes, it get's quite complicated, forgive me if I gloss over some of the details." "Anyways, the two metas who, we believe, were hired by a Columbian cartel, were subdued by the three women who stumbled into their abduction attempt. Falling Star got away, Mahon and Hackley arrived in time to have the two mercenaries drugged and shipped back here, and they interviewed the one woman who stayed behind...she's a resident of Illinois, and she has gravity powers. She briefly described what happened from her point of view, but meanwhile, her two friends were being kidnapped." "OK, leave Chicago for a moment. Back here in Virginia, we have these two metahuman mercenaries brought to us. Jones, Shindell and Langstrom were here for the interrogation. Mitchell Langstrom is a kid from New York. He has shapechanging abilities, and can imitate people. If he assumes the form of another metahuman, he gains their powers." "We don't learn a lot from our prisoners, but we learn enough to send our three available metahumans to Chicago." "Here's where it starts getting really ugly." "I mentioned the first woman, who controls gravity. The other two both came to Illinois from California. One is a teenager who has telepathy and teleportation. The other one..." he pauses. "Her name is Ashiya. She's a telepath...and she claimed to be an extraterrestrial." Gemann looks at Mahon, who speaks up. "I met her. I can't tell you if she was really a space alien, though she seemed human enough, and even claimed she WAS human, but that humans have colonized the galaxy, or something like that. I CAN tell you that she was definitely a telepath. And...she had some very odd devices. Gadgets she was using to track metahumans. We brought one of them back here...Mr. Jones even helped us retrieve it. It definitely makes use of a technology none of our scientists have seen before. If she's not an extraterrestrial, she's definitely got SOME kind of weird connections, with people that have unearthly knowledge and resources." "Anyways, quite aside from that issue, is what happened to her. Ashiya and her teenage friend from California were abducted by a powerful telepath who was able to take on both of the girls and subdue them. The kid called him 'EuroNinja', because he wore a black bodysuit and had a European accent. He seemed mostly interested in Ashiya and her claim to be an alien." Mahon's face is tense, distraught. "This bastard tortured her, and had a couple of his henchmen rape her." "But I guess he got careless, and the two girls got away, made it to a hospital, and that's where myself and Agent Hackley, found them." Gemann resumes his narration. "They finally decided they might be willing to cooperate with us, but before Jones and Shindell, with Agent Donnay, could rendezvous with them, 'EuroNinja' struck again. He incapacitated the other two women, and made off with Ashiya." Mahon breaks in again. "At that point, Donnay's team caught up to us. The woman with the gravity powers had been shot in the head- not fatally, but badly enough that she was in no shape to join the pursuit. So we had Langstrom assume her form, and her powers. You see, Ashiya had this...probe, which followed her even while she was unconscious. The thing we brought back with us. It somehow nullifies gravity, and that woman could track it with her gravity powers. So we had Langstrom take her place." His look becomes an angry scowl. "But that damn hotheaded kid didn't wait for us to catch up to him- he flew on ahead and, I can only assume, got nabbed by EuroNinja before he could call for help." "We did end up tracking him back to where 'EuroNinja' had taken his two kidnap victims the first time...but he was gone, along with Ashiya and Langstrom. He left the probe behind, and that's how we got it." Gemann looks at the rest of you. "So that's where we're at now; the woman from Illinois, and the teenager from California, both returned home. We weren't able to persuade them to join our agency at this time. EuroNinja is still on the loose, with Ashiya and Langstrom as his captives, probably being brainwashed and tortured. We're studying Ashiya's probe." He stares at Finn. "That's when Ms. Colvin arrives, after we had our own little adventure in Boston, and has this...vision, or dream, or whatever, with a lot of disturbing parallels regarding what happened in Chicago." "So, now I guess we try to find out if Ms. Colvin is right, and one of us is secretly an agent of 'EuroNinja'." <><><><><> Harvey's response: <><><><><> % Finn % "Oh, I'd forgotten that I hadn't mentioned that to you," Finn looked embarrassed as she talked to Lisa. "Umm ... when I ... 'went astral,' I saw this image there, around you, that's a part of you, that is you, but since it is obviously so *not* you, I keep trying to think of it as separate. "It's a dragon, Lisa. It's winked at me when I was able to see it, and it's a part of your power. I could see what it was doing when I was watching you, and I've seen it grow in power as you gained power. When you ... changed, at Logan, it had gotten very powerful. Enough to break out, but since it's you ... oh, nevermind," Finn waved her hand in a dismissive gesture. "I told you it's hard to explain." ******** At Walt's question, Finn merely fixed him with a look that was absolutely expressionless, which was terrifying enough from the normally very expressive folk singer. "You haven't touched their minds ... or had their thoughts in your head, unwanted." She didn't say anything further on that subject, and let the agents' speak. ******** Finn had listened to the story, all the time with her eyes closed, as if trying to remove herself from the situation, to be as dispassionate as she could be. Otherwise it might very well overwhelm her, if she allowed herself to think about it. Everyone's looks at her went unreturned, only their tone and words penetrated to her, as she concentrated on the returning of her powers. When they were finally done, only then did she respond, but she still hadn't moved or opened her eyes. "Well, that will just have to wait until my ... powers come back. I can't do anything about tracking down this possible agent until I can use them again. "But it might be helpful if everyone who was on the plane was nearby, if not here in the room. Concentrated in one area, or in worst case scenario, get them on the phone." She paused, and twitched one eye open, fixing it on Gemann. "They may not be an agent ... they may merely be a puppet, and unaware of what they are. And," she closed her eye once more, too tense to sleep, but that's a lot what it looked like, "I'd like to speak with the teenager, and see Ashiya's probe. They're the only other telepaths I know, and I'd like to see if they can help me, and maybe the probe can help." <><><><><> Lisa: " Well that explains a number of things you've said recently. Hmmm ... There must be some kind of relationship between my power and this image. Don't worry about the delay in telling me. We both have had a lot on our minds lately. In my case quite literally it seems. " She replies amused. ************* Lisa listens in utter horror as the agents briefing continues. She's never really been confronted by true evil and it's a disturbing experience for her. 'Euroninja' is the total opposite of Lisa and everything she believes in. Despite the fear she feels, she knows to the depths of her soul that this is one fight she won't be able to avoid. " If you're planning to go after him I'd like to help. I really can't understand that kind of evil. But I'm willing to help stop it. " Lisa's voice is cold and determined. " Let's see if Finn can clear up what's going on, when her telepathy returns. " She suggests. <><><><><> Harvey: Harvey gets up, apparently to stretch his legs or let off nervous energy and happens to walk by Walt. Nudging him he comments in a very quiet voice "You remember our once wondering if you could enhance meta- abilities as well as null them? Well this seems like a very good time to try. Or at least a good time to try turning off the off...er...you know what I mean, just pretend I said it in a sensible manner." <><><><><> [GM] "We're trying to get everyone back here," Mahon says to Finn with a sigh. "Do you have any idea whether you CAN actually sense this...telepath's control or influence or whatever? I was on that plane; you might as well check me first." Finn's power WAS coming back, but slowly. She sensed Harvey's frustration and confusion, Lisa's optimism, dented somewhat by the horrors described to her, and Walt, haggard at the gauntlet he's been through for the past week and concerned at what awaits him now. Emotions seem to become perceptible more quickly than actual thoughts. The agent frowns at the request to see the probe. "Well, I guess we can arrange that. The other girl, the telepath, tried to contact it. She said that Ashiya communicated with it telepathically, but apparently it would respond *only* to Ashiya. It was set to follow her and maintain a certain altitude above her. EuroNinja somehow reprogrammed it, or perhaps forced Ashiya to, so it hovered motionless in one spot and resisted all attempts to move it. In fact, we *still* have to keep it anchored in the lab, or it will fly away. And I mean fly *away*- the damn thing is *smart!* It actually heads for the door! I don't know if it would actually fly back to Chicago if it got out, but we don't want to find out just yet." "As for Miss...uh, I'd rather not give you her name just yet. We've already spoken to her and her parents. We're hoping they'll agree to send her back here, to have her powers tested, but she's a minor, so there are special considerations, and we can't force her to come in any event." <><><><><> Walt: "Hmmm, wha...OH." [Oh mighty GM, the unworthy Walt is going to try to 'reverse' the effect of his dampening. Hopefully he will at least be able to restore her powers to the levels that they were at before she touched him.] <><><><><> [GM] Finn feels Walt's attempt to boost her power- or rather, senses the intention in his mind. However, while something flickers within him, the manifestation of his power, she doesn't feel anything immediately as a result. The fact she perceives this much is probably a sign that she'll be back to normal soon, but only Walt, who's sitting right next to her, is perceptible at this time. <><><><><> % Finn % "Mmmmm..." Finn responded to Mahon, "if I knew for sure, you all would know. I can only try, and right now, I'm still willing to." The emotions were interesting, each a different "flavor" to them. She tested the agents as well ... though no doubt missing Slopes as her eyes were not open, and he would be invisible to her new senses, as always. ** maybe one of them would be nervous about being found out, more so than being tested ... ** "I only want to talk to the teenager, not see her," Finn replied. "Remember, telepathy by telephone? I can probably ask questions and her parents would never be aware, unless she told them." She finally opened her eyes, though this time it came slowly, as if the tiredness were really taking over. "If you want me to find Ashiya, then I'm going to need to know as much as I can. It sounds like this teen knew her, and since they're both telepaths, then I can probably find out more by a simple phone call than by bringing her all the way out here. "And if I can't find out who has got the black thread of EuroNinja, then she'll be the best way to track him down, unless something else comes up." Her gaze moved to Walt. "Has proximity been known to effect others with your powers? It's been more than five minutes, but I'm not getting much back yet." [unless Walt boost works... ] <><><><><> [GM] Moving to another seat doesn't seem to accelerate your recovery. Agent Gemann looks perturbed at your claim to read minds over the phone, as you thought he would. "Ummm." Pause. "Well...I suppose we can call her. However...I think it would be best if we inform her of your intention. Privacy laws don't cover telepathy, yet, but if she's a telepath too...who knows how she'll react?" "With a little luck," Mahon adds, "she'll agree to come here. She seemed willing; it may be a question of whether her parents will allow it." <><><><><> % Finn % Having moved to another seat, to further remove herself from Walt and possibly whatever he might still be doing to her ... powers, Finn began to lose the calm facade she had been wearing. "Well, that didn't freaking work..." she mumbled as she gestured, with a hopeful look, that Lisa might move to sit near her again. "Whatever you tried to do Walt, didn't work either. Or rather, it didn't help much, except with you. I suppose I can try that now, to see if this works..." Without further conversation, she directed a few mental thought- sentences at her friend, hoping he would hear her. **>> Walt, can you hear me? You do seem to have boosted it, but only with you, as you're now clearer in my ... other perceptions ... than the rest of them are. <<** To Mahon and Gemann, she directed a bit of her frustration. "You don't understand, or maybe you do but you just don't care. I don't *need* this teenager to come *here* ... though I'm sure you would like that, so you can do more of your *testing* on her," Finn's voice gained some of its cynicism back. "All I need to do is to talk to her. I'm not going to go poking about in her brain unless she allows it. Hell, if she was trained by this other telepath, this alien, I probably *can't* do anything without her knowing about it or stopping me. "And if she wants to help us find this Ashiya, and EuroNinja, then I think she'll be more than willing to help. Christ, her parents might even be *pleased* that I'm talking to her, because that will mean that their daughter doesn't have to do anything anymore ... she can go to school like all the other normal girls with telepathy, and leave the 'saving the universe' bit to us so-called adults." [Well, maybe if being all nice and quiet wasn't helping Finn get her powers back, maybe being her normal, irate self will... -- Dazz] <><><><><> [GM] Walt hears Finn's directed thoughts, though it takes her a bit of effort to send them. Agent Mahon says patiently, "Yes, she DOES want to help. But like I said, it's her parents' decision as much as hers. You wouldn't want the big bad government trying to supercede parental rights, would you?" <><><><><> Lisa: She looks quizzically at Finn then shrugs, gets up and moves over next to where she is sitting. Though calm on the outside, Lisa is still deeply worried about this 'Euroninja'. Not being able to do much about those worries she puts them aside for the moment and mulls over what Finn has told her about the dragon aura she possesses. She'll pay attention to what everyone else is doing, especially once Finn begins scanning minds. <><><><><> [GM] Gemann makes a suggestion to the small group of metahumans. "Look, how about we get Ms. Chang started on her tests, while Ms. Colvin waits for her powers to return. Once they do, she can scan whoever she needs to scan. I don't think getting everyone together in one room is feasible, but we'll try to get a chance for you to...probe, everyone. And once it's morning on the West Coast, we'll call the minor's parents and see if we can obtain permission for you to speak to her. Mr. Jones and Mr. Shindell, you can relax, watch Ms. Chang's testing, or catch up with Ms. Colvin."