Society of Justice 3: Crisis on the Earth

[tsatoma]

Garrus watched silently as Brian grabbed the car keys then the waffles before heading back to his room. He turned back to his English muffin and muttered to no one in particular, "Hopefully this feeling of bad things to come for my car will leave..."

"Beep," Ethan replied, drinking the leftover milk from his cereal with a crazy straw.

----

"I shall be brushing my teeth then while you go and grab them," Leland replied as he stepped out of his closet and walked over to his bathroom. As he started to zone out while brushing his teeth he wondered if anything interesting would be happening today at the Promenade, or if it'd just be another one of those days. 'Not that I dislike those days though. I'll take as much free time I can get,' he thought to himself.

 

[Pm0n3y]

After a prolonged session in the bathroom, Jason emerged, a thick cloud of steam trailing behind him as he strode towards dresser drawers, a towel draped across his waist. He hummed rhythmically as "Waiting for a Train" played from his TV playlist.

"So, what're we gonna do today?" Erebus asked as Jason replaced the towel with undergarments, light basketball shorts and running shoes. Stopping the music that played from his TV, Jason moved towards his bed, turning on his iPod before holstering it in an armband.

"I've been meaning to go jogging, and today seems like a good day to do so. Or, maybe some hero duty might turn up. Speaking of which..." His voice trailed as he moved towards his communicator, placing the small earpiece in his pocket, mumbling a "can't forget this" as he turned off his Television and exited his room. The smells and sounds of construction were a little more apparent upon entering the small hallway of the residential wing, but Jason grew used it, placing the wireless headphones into his ears as he strolled towards the kitchen for breakfast.

 

[Captainguy42]

Tommy finished his squats and returned everything to it's proper place. He wiped sweat of of his forehead and neck before walking to the kitchen.

" Mornin' guys." He greeted as he grabbed an English muffin and reached for the raspberry jam, before noticing the jar was empty. He frowned and chose to eat the muffin plain instead of using another jam.

" I was thinking about doing a patrol today anyone else in?" He asked.

 

[RBMidknight]

Levi collapsed backwards onto his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling above Taryn. "I don't know if anyone can help me".

"W-what if..." Taryn flinched and closed her eyes. Her hands clenched into fists as she turned her head toward the wall. 'Damnit.' She opened her eyes and her gaze met fresh paint. Off-white paint. Her sudden glare did nothing to the newly reconstructed wall. The color was wrong. It wasn't...what it was. Why was it the wrong color? Why couldn't it be what it was...

There had to be something...something she could say. What could she say? Something to help. Taryn believed she could help. She had to believe. She had to because...

Because she was losing him. A foot away and he may as well be a statue for all the attention he paid her. For all he seemed to care. Unfeeling. Unseeing. Unknown.

His gaze was on the ceiling. Hers was on his face. On his eyes. On him. On the shell of the man she loved. That she...

"What can I do." Taryn said finally, the words an urgent plea. She stooped down, half kneeling on the floor. "What can I do? Please...just...just tell me what to do. What would help? What-" she bit off her sentence but the words continued in her head. 'How can I get you back? How do I wake you up? How do I get you to see me?' Still the green eyes remained fixed on the ceiling. Uncaring. Unrecognizing.

Hopelessness invaded. Harsh, dark, and unrelenting. Doubt forced its way in.

'You can't help him... it whispered. 'Give up. He's gone. He's gone.'

'No.' Taryn shook her head, the denial a harsh whisper of sound. 'No...no.' Silent pleading. 'He'll come back. I just have to-'

'He's gone.' Smug satisfaction. Gloating.

'No...' The room blurred. Tears slowly slid down Taryn's face. "I don't know if anyone can help me" he'd said. She was 'anyone'...she wasn't 'anyone'...

'Gone.' No more holding hands. No more gentle words of comfort. No more soft touches. No more fingers trailed down bare arms. No more moments of silence. No more laughter...no more anything...

'No!' White light flared on hands that reached out to grip twin fistfuls of grey tank-top. Knuckles white with force and energy, Taryn spoke with a harsh voice. Raw with pain and stubborn denial.

"Listen!" she growled. "I love you. I. Love. You. I don't care if it takes a month. A week. A year. A decade. I'm not leaving you. I'm staying until you wake UP! You're not getting rid of me that easily. You hear me? Wake up, damnit."

 

[socialtangent]

Taryn grabbing ahold of him was unexpected.

The electric shock even more so.

Levi's eyes shot wide open as the furious jolt of electricity surged through him. This wasn't like the several times where Taryn had accidentally electrocuted him; this was a much more powerful shock. The sensation was akin to an electrically charged slap in the face. Although the actual jolt lasted less than a second, it was more than enough to violently yank Levi from his depressed and fearful stupor with a figurative splash of ice water to the face.

Then Taryn spoke in a tone of voice he had never heard from her before. It was angry. Anger mixed with sadness and frustration. Tears were streaming down her cheeks.

"Listen! I love you. I. Love. You. I don't care if it takes a month. A week. A year. A decade. I'm not leaving you. I'm staying until you wake UP! You're not getting rid of me that easily. You hear me? Wake up, damnit."

Now suddenly feeling the consequences of what he has done crashing down on him, Levi took a moment to come to his senses. With his heart no longer gripped by fear, all of the emotions that had been suppressed all this time suddenly came rushing forward. He finally felt...alive again. For the first time in weeks, he locked eyes with Taryn. With genuine feeling. To see the pain he had wrought in her beautiful brown eyes was almost unbearable.

I almost let Victor win.

"I...I..." Levi stammered, nearly speechless. "...I needed that. I really did". He waited again before continuing. "Thank you," he said softly. He sat himself upright and placed his hands over hers, which were still tightly gripping the fabric of his tanktop. Levi wanted to say more, but words failed to come to him. The only thing he could do was silently stare into her eyes.

 

[RBMidknight]

Adrenaline was still rushing through Taryn's system. Even after Levi spoke she remained clutching his shirt. It was instinctive. Slowly Levi's solemn gaze registered. He was...he was looking at her now. And actually seemed to see her. Taken by surprise, Taryn blinked, breaking the gaze. Her anger and frustration dissolved into puzzlement. "I needed that...thank you." he'd said. 'He's thanking me...is he...'

Taryn glanced down at Levi's hands over hers. He'd done that himself. Voluntarily. Then Taryn realized that electricity was still visible across her hands. She made a quiet sound of alarm and released Levi shirt. The action took her hands from his but also stopped the current.

"You." Taryn leaned away from Levi but remained close to the bedside. "You're welcome?" she said hesitantly. She took a slow breath. And exhaled shakily. The change in Levi's demeanor was what she'd wanted and hoped for. But that hope was a fragile thing. Taryn tugged on the sleeve of her shirt and swiped the dry cloth across her face. She used the automatic movements as cover to regain a bit of her composure. "Are you...how are you?" she asked. Her voice was still rough but quieter now. At her side, Taryn's hand twitched slightly. The remaining bits of electricity jumped from her fingers to the cloth of her pants, then vanished.

 

[socialtangent]

"Are you...how are you?"

Taryn's voice was still raw with emotion, but it was much softer now. Levi met her gaze once more and noticed that around her eyes, the skin was tinted a faint shade of red. A side effect from her crying. Her eyes were still watery, as if tears would come again any second. Levi had never seen Taryn in this much distress in all the time he'd known her. The worst part of it was the crushing realization that he, and he only, was to blame for her pain.

That was a hard pill for him to swallow.

After reflexively straightening his tanktop, Levi looked down at the red-carpeted floor in an attempt to gather his words. Eventually, his eyes found their way drifting upward again, up to Taryn's distressed visage. "Honestly? I feel horrible," he replied. "Not only for doing this to myself, but doing this to you". Levi reached out and placed his hand on Taryn's cheek. Her skin was still warm and a bit flushed. I'm sorry, he wanted to say, but those words seemed woefully inadequate.

A fresh tear appeared and started to stream slowly down Taryn's cheek until Levi intercepted it with his thumb and wiped it off. "Hey...let me get you a tissue for that," he told her quietly. "It's the least I can do". Reluctantly, he removed his hand and stood from his bed. Stepping into the restroom, Levi did a double take as he caught a glance of himself in the mirror.

Whoever was gazing back at Levi in the mirror wasn't him. It was a haggard, disheveled, empty shell of a man. Stroking his thick, abrasive stubble, he frowned. He looked more like a filthy homeless vagrant than he did a normal human being, let alone a member of the Society of Justice. Did I really allow myself to go like this?

With a heavy sigh, Levi grabbed a box of tissues from the drawer and delivered it to Taryn. "Here," he said. "Also...if it's okay with you, I wanted to clean myself up a bit. I can't stand seeing that...thing in the mirror anymore".

 

[RBMidknight]

Taryn had drawn her arms up and crossed them over her chest while Levi was gone. She rocked back on her heels and stared down at the floor. Levi returned from the restroom holding something in his hand. Taryn took the offered box with a very slight smile of gratitude and a nod. The smile flickered into something more genuine when Taryn brought the box closer. Tiny brightly colored dinosaurs decorated the cardboard sides. Dinosaurs with sunglasses. For some reason the out of place images comforted Taryn.

"...if it's okay with you, I wanted to clean myself up a bit..." Levi said then.

Taryn waited for him to finish speaking. Then she nodded. "Alright. I'll...be here." she replied. A slight tilt of her head was used to indicate the room.

 

[socialtangent]

Levi nodded. "I won't be long," he said. With that, he grabbed a change of clothes from his closet, opting for a dark brown t-shirt and a pair of his dark blue jeans. He also got himself a towel, which he draped over his shoulder. Entering the restroom, he looked at Taryn one more time before closing the door behind him.

Turning on the water, Levi stuck his hand tentatively into the stream to judge the temperature. After a moment of adjusting the knob between

Hot

and

Cold

, the water was close enough to his liking. Already, steam began to fill the somewhat spacious restroom, coating the mirror in a thin layer of fog. Levi stepped into the shower, letting the warm water wash over him for a bit. After warming up somewhat, he went though the regular motions of cleaning before shutting off the water and toweling himself dry.

Next on the list was shaving the horrendous stubble he had accumulated around his neck and chin. With his trusty razor and a liberal amount of shaving cream, Levi went to work. He shaved at a deliberate pace, careful not to cut himself on the razor's sharp blade. Once he finished, Levi splashed his face and wiped off the excess shaving cream before looking up at his reflection. To his relief, his reflection was once again recognizable.

After changing into his clean set of clothes, Levi placed his dirty ones in the basket and opened the door.

"Taryn?"

 

[blaze96]

"Alex you will figure out what is going on, but you are perfectly fine and deserving of my love. You have been dealt enough sorrow for a life time, you no longer need to add more onto your shoulders." Richard replied as he held her.

 

[Lizmichi]

Alex sighed and held on to Richard more. "I really want to have a kid love." Alex said getting up. "Well I should get ready to head to work." Alex said. Today was the day she was going to use the serum. She hoped Eric or Richard didn't know what she was up to so she could get away with it. "I should be home in a few hours, just have some testing to do." she said kissing him softly.

She got dressed quickly, feed Sam and headed to her car. "Today is the day I get my life back." Alex said starting the car the drove off.
----------------

Eric woke up at the Promenade and got on his computer. "I'm worried about what Alex has been up to. She's been spending hours in her office. That's not like her at all." Eric said typing in codes to enter the Gentron data base then started hacking into her computer. so far all he could find was work on Rowan and other Gentron affairs. After sometime searching something caught his eye. "A serum for altering modified genes? Alex hasn't and any.... OH GOD Alex what are you doing?" Eric said picking up his phone to call Alex but no answer. "GOD DAMMIT ALEX!" he yelled loudly.

Eric smashed the buttons on his phone to call Richard. "Come one PICK UP!"

 

[RBMidknight]

Taryn waited until she heard the muted sound of water going through the pipes. The sound that indicated Levi was busy. Taryn sat down on the bed. The movement was more of a collapse as her legs just refused to hold her anymore. Taryn's fingers dug into the sides of the tissue box. She began turning the thin cardboard container around in her hands. After running through a gamut of emotions Taryn was having trouble settling on what emotion to feel now. The tissue box became righted again. Taryn pulled a soft white tissue from the stack.

She was relieved. Definitely. Grateful. Thankful. But what about happy? Levi was awake again. He was back to being more 'alive' than before. Would it last? Taryn hoped so. Levi's confession came back to her. "I feel horrible...not only for doing this to myself, but doing this to you." It certainly sounded like the Levi she knew. And loved. Taryn raised her empty hand and pressed it to her cheek. She had missed him so...

A sudden creaking sound interrupted Taryn's thoughts. She looked up to see that Levi's closet door wasn't completely closed. Such a simple problem. She could use a simple problem with a simple solution right now. Taryn set the box of tissues on the rumpled bed and stood up.

Stepping over some socks and shirts she made her way to the closet and lightly gripped the door. Realizing how many clothes she'd now passed Taryn opened the door more. 'Does he have any clothes left?' she wondered. Closer inspection proved that he did still have clothes. And towels. And sheets. Taryn eyed the last items with a thoughtful expression.

"Why not..." she muttered quietly. Taryn pulled a set of fresh sheets from the closet and took them over to Levi's bed.

By the time the water stopped running Taryn had put new sheets on the bed and slid, mostly with her boots, the various piles of clothing into one large pile on the opposite side of the room. It wasn't much. But it made the room resemble its usual appearance.

"Taryn?"

At the sound of her name Taryn leaned forward and waved from her seated position on the bed.

"Hey." she said quietly. Her lean became a full stand when she saw that Levi was now clean and freshly shaven. He looked...normal.

Taryn took a few steps toward Levi. She'd removed her boots so her feet made little sound on the carpeted floor. She moved slowly. Cautiously. When she was within range Taryn brought her hand up to his face. It was an accidental echo of his own gesture. Sliding the tip of her finger down one smooth cheek, Taryn smiled. A quick half second grin. Her hand then went up to brush against the edges of his still damp hair. "You're back." she said quietly, her gaze not quite meeting Levi's.

 

[socialtangent]

Levi took a quick look around his room as he stepped in, noticing that it looked...different. Most of his dirty clothes that littered the floor were now grouped together into a single pile on the other side of the room. The sheets on his bed seemed to have been changed, too. Taryn must have done it, but why? Especially after all he put her through...

His train of thought was interrupted when Taryn approached him. She raised her hand and traced down the side of Levi's freshly shaven cheek. It was then that he realized how much he missed her touch. The feel of her soft skin. Taryn's hand reached up and brushed along his damp hair.

"You're back." she said quietly.

"All thanks to you, really," Levi replied, his quiet tone mirroring Taryn's. Reaching out for her hand, he gently clasped it between his own. "If it weren't for you, I'd still be staring at my ceiling right now". His eyes met hers in a firm gaze. "Thank you, Taryn. I really mean it," he said sincerely. Somewhat cautiously, Levi pulled Taryn in a bit closer to him and rested his forehead on hers. "I love you".

 

[Pm0n3y]

Jason stepped into the kitchen, greeting those that were already in there, finding something light to eat as Tommy addressed the majority.

"I'll totally be up for a patrol. Just let me get a little morning jog in. Then, just let me know when you'll be ready to go." Jason answered simply as he dug through the fridge.

 

[CounterAttack]

"All righty then," Katie answered without really needing to as she adjusted her shirt on her way out to the Lodge's library. She'd left about half a dozen different books in a pile on one of the tables there, having read three of them over the past fortnight and placed bookmarks in between pages that described potions of which she liked the idea. Sure enough the books were where she'd left them, their bookmarks intact.

Katie gathered up the books, careful not to drop them all at once due to the size of some of them, and paused there, wondering whether to return to the bedroom she had shared with Leland, or head for the lounge. Why she came up with that idea, she didn't know, so she shrugged to herself and made her way back to the bedroom.

 

[tsatoma]

As Leland finished up his morning routine he heard his door open and walked out of the bathroom to greet Katie. "I see you got the books. I take it we're good to go then?" he asked her as he started to put on his shoes, taking another moment to make sure everything was good before teleporting the two of them into the hallway outside of the lounge of the Promenade.

"After you," Leland said as he opened the door for her, letting her step through first before he did. He greeted the Society members that were in the lounge before making his way to the kitchen and took a seat with the others there. "Hello," he said, contemplating what he wanted to eat now that he was there.

 

[blaze96]

Richard had just finished dressing when his phone rang. He walked over to the simple wall mounted cordless phone and picked up the receiver.

"Richard Masterson speaking." He said as he held the phone using his shoulder and put a watch on.

 

[RBMidknight]

"I love you".

Three words spoken with sincerity. Warmth washed over Taryn as did a peculiar feeling of dejá vu. A quiet sound escaped her. Part sigh of relief, part overwhelmed exhalation. Taryn looked into Levi's eyes and his words and action broke through the last bit of doubt. He was back.

"I love you." Taryn said softly. "I..." Her voice faltered and her sentence trailed off. She drew in a breath and wrapped the warmth she felt around her like a shield. "I missed you." she continued. Her voice was clear though her expression was briefly pained. Taryn wrapped her fingers around Levi's hand and squeezed gently. She smiled. Then there was silence. Something clicked in Taryn's memory. Levi's words. And this place. Almost the exactly same place. 'I remember...'

Carefully Taryn slid her hand from Levi's. She smiled as she dropped it to lay gently on his chest. As the pieces fell into place her thoughts were a mixture of the present and the past. But it was with full awareness that Taryn leaned up and pressed her lips against Levi's.

 

[NeoAC]

Brian was a contained whirlwind in his room. The waffles and orange juice were gone almost instantly, and he set to work on dynamiting the Mount Crapmore he had let himself become into someone who could be presentable in society. It was a long, arduous process, filled with showering, shaving and actually picking out clothes by look instead of smell. Finally getting back to his usual-looking self, and dressed in the only collared shirt he had, a white one, paired with his finest blue jeans, he slowly left the door, still weary of the quack, but not caring right now.

He made his way out through the lounge towards the garage. He gave a wave to Garrus, still in the kitchen. "Don't worry, eh?" he told him. "I'll have 'er back in one piece there!" He ran out to the garage looking for his chariot.

 

[Lizmichi]

"Richard Alex is up to something, something I don't think you'll like. She's been working on a way to reverse her genetic work done by her father. She hasn't done all the testing but this could very well kill her. What her father had done to her is embedded in her DNA. He didn't make chromosomes better, he replaced them completely. While she had been working on replace her old DNA, there could still be parts missing." Eric said panicked. "I can't get into her lab like you can but you have to hurry. It looks like she has testing set up for today it's marked as human testing." he added.

--------------

Alex parked at Gentron and got out, silently walking to her office/lab only saying something when she had to. She wasn't going to be pulled away from her task today. It was, it seemed, her only chance. "Michelle, please hold all my calls. I'll be doing some testing and I don't want to be disturbed." Alex said to her assistant who just nodded.

Alex entered her lab, shut and then locked the door. "Now to make the serum." Alex said walking to a piece of equipment.