The Goldmar Incident: A Superhero Role-Play { Accepting Applicants via PM }

[Dogmatic99]

There were a lot of good questions going around the room right now. Adam tried his best to try and take his focus away from the strange tingling that was running up and down his skin or the buzzing in his ears and tried to piece together something close to a theory.

This had to be down to that Nefarious guy, it was the only thing that made sense. They had all been exposed to the genebomb and days later they had all started displaying these strange symptoms. It was the only linking factor that Adam could think of off the top of his head. Hell it was even called a "Genebomb"! If there was ever a clue more obvious. Adam could have kicked himself for not working it out sooner. Hell, the guy had thugs with working laser guns but they thought they could be so lucky as to survive a bioweapon made by him.

Add to that, there was the "super heroes" running around. How the hell did I forget about that? The bomb had mostly overshadowed the crazies and their antics on the news but then there were folks like "Bastion" who were almost constantly in the limelight.

This couldn't be like that could it? I mean we couldn't be - we couldn't have... superpowers?

Stuff like that happened to other people. Right?!?

This whole thing had started getting him worked up again and the buzzing in his ears was getting louder and more high pitched. The tingling was spreading across his body and getting more intense. It was like pins and needles, if the needles were trying to force their way up through his arms. Adam hunched over in his seat trying to will it away.

"I don't know if that was me focusing on it, or if it was out of my control, but... I'm fairly certain I did that." --- "Do... do you guys think, maybe, we could learn to control these... occurrences?" Said Lisette, bringing him back into the conversation.

"We have to." Adam grunted. "I can't live like this and what if- what if we hurt someone?" He could only hide a bit of the desperation he felt. Still Lisette's glass of water trick could give him some hope. He just had to focus. "It's all part of our bodies right so, I guess it should come naturally to us; right?"

Adam closed his eyes, trying to block out the world and all the ways his body was his body was freaking out. He breathed deeply, counted to ten. Everything he could think of to try and make himself calm. It took a lot of effort but eventually it all died down. The harsh buzing sound faded away and the strange sesation in his skin seemed to shrink or retreat until all he felt was a small tingling in the tips of his fingers. Adam opened his eyes and looked at his hands.

The tips of his fingers had turned a metalic grey. They even clinked as he tapped them together, the skin on top was solid like steel and each time they made contact with each other he could see tiny sparks leap between them.

"Oh crap..." Adam muttered, his eyes widening.

 

[NeoAC]

Kayla was slowly backing up after seeing both Lisette and the other guy...Adam, that's what it was, Adam, display abilties that were not standard issue in humans. Between the instant freeze and the spark show coming from clacking fingertips that would make any Spanish dancer jealous, it was a little too much to bear witness to.

All this talk of those freaks on the news, and now they're right in front of me. People I was forced to spend time with, people I went to school with, they're turning right in front of me...

"Oh crap..."

"Yeah, oh crap. Don't you see this isn't normal? That this is some kind of fucked up? For all we know, irreversible damage has been done to all your bodies, and it's only a matter of time before you all mutate into some weird mess vaguely resembling a human..."

As she was backing up, Kayla rested her hand on a serving table kept in the function room for guest's use. There was a variety of cutlery on there and her unrealized powers attracted the utensils to her body.

"...and they'll call more government people to test on anyone else that was in there, and I'll have to put up with more bullshit then what I've gotten this past week..."

She raised her arms to illustrate her point and all the forks and knifes were sticking onto her hand, melding together into one large multipronged mess of metal. It was finally large enough for Kayla to notice it though.

"...and I'll fall further behind in my studies, and why is everything in this place so damn sticky!"

Kayla waved her arm to try and get the clutter off of her hand, and she succeeded. Too well. As she flung her hand forward, the mass of formerly usable silverware rocketed off her body and embedded itself in the opposite wall, which looked to be made of pretty solid materials. All the blades and forks dug in, leaving the conjoined handles sticking out.

After looking in shock at what she had just done, then at the table to confirm that there were a lot less things on it than before, and back at where her projectile had made it's mark, Kayla finally stared at her hands, which she couldn't believe had just done that. "Oh no..." she softly said to herself. "Oh no. Oh no. Oh no..." She backed up further, and when she hit wall, she slunk down, sitting at the base, still looking at her hands the whole time.

Oh no.....I'm one of them too....

 

[Fappy]

Her instincts getting the better of her, Noel jumped to her feet and moved over to Kayla. She dropped to one knee and placed her hands around Kayla's arms. Her eyes were still glued to her hands. She hadn't even registered Noel's presence, "Hey, hey... it's okay, Kayla. It's all going to be okay. We're all in the same boat. We'll help each other, okay?"

Noel wrapped her hands around Kayla's and closed them in an attempt to force eye contact.

Please, Kayla... I don't need this. I can't have everyone around me freaking out as well. I can't... I'm not strong enough to do this on my own.

 

[NeoAC]

Still in a state of shock over what she had just done, all Kayla could do was go over it in her head. However, the rational part of her mind was definitely not in control. I'm a freak. Bad enough I stand out already in this white bread state, now I can't even say 'Oh I'm just like you' because I'm not. I'm mutating by the minute. It's not fair. I shouldn't be so-

The runaway train of thought was brought to a halt when Noel grabbed her hands. They were so warm, like a croissant right out of the oven. It brought Kayla somewhat back into the realm of reality. She looked back at the girl, peering over the top of her glasses to bring the face into better focus. She's right, you know. At least you're not alone on the outside.

"OK," she said softly.

 

[Lambi]

Having brushed the rocks off, Chris was now more than ever ready for a drink. She had tasted alcohol once or twice, but never really liked it. But this time, she just felt that she needed it. "What can I get you?" the bartender asked her and Dom. "Just something. Something cheap that doesn't taste like ass." Chris told her as she tried to calm herself down a bit.

Dom initally thought of taking the "I don't give a fuck" route Chris took in terms of picking out drinks, but noticed how voraciously the short haired girl to the right of him downed her first pint of beer. "Y'know, I think i'll have what she's having." He said to the bartender, fingering towards the young woman. "I hope it's a good as she's making it seem." He added.

"Coming right up." the bartender replied to the two before she started to mix some drinks for them. Not too long after that, each of them was given a glass of what they'd ordered. Chris took her glass and took small sips of it. It had a hint of fruit, so indeed, it did not taste like ass.

Dom gave a thankful nod as the bartender slid a pair of beers in his direction. He caught one, and let the other head for the girl that ordered her second round. He took a full big gulps from his mug, quite content with what he got. "Sweeter than I was expecting butohgodwhat-" His impromptu review was cut short, as his wandering eyes went wide, and revealed a horrifying sight. He almost leapt from his stool as he watched something long, slimy, and red, protrude from under the girl's sleeve.

Chris wondered what had made Dom react in such a way and, whilst taking a sip, she noticed the tendril from the girl beside Dom and almost choked on her drink before she let go of it. The glass went on its side and rolled off the table to the floor, but Chris just watched the tendril in horror. "What the hell is that?!" she said before she gave a scream. As she did, a small earthquake started up, shaking everything within the Festival. People were ducking under tables and the bartender who had been as horror struck as the others by the sight of the tendril, began to make her way away from all the bottles and glasses that were on the wall behind her.

"WHAT IS THIS?!" It was safe to assume that Dominic's never experienced an earthquake firsthand before. He began to hold on to the counter as he felt himself rumbling away from his seat. Chris went down on the floor and under the counter as much as she could. As if this day hadn't been weird enough without an earthquake happening as well. She didn't know she was the one causing it, so as she kept panicking, the earthquake kept increasing in strength.

 

[Fappy]

"OK"

Noel smiled and gave Kayla's hands a gentle squeeze, "That's what I like to hear. I don't know what's happening to us, but if we take it slow and work through it together I am sure everything will be fine."

That's right Noel, you can do this. You can be brave. These people need you just as much as you need them.

Noel began to stand giving Kayla a light pull, "Now let's get up and take a seat over--" Mid-sentence, Noel stumbled forward crashing down on top of Kayla as a violent tremor shook the building. "The f-fuck...!? Sorry!" Disoriented, Noel could feel the heat inside her begin to rise once more, "Shit!" She screamed as she rolled off of Kayla and braced herself against the floor. Her hands felt as heavy as lead and glowed a warm red as they began sinking through the ground. Like acid eating through plastic, her hands had burned holds straight through the wooden floor.

Noel pushed herself back up into a sitting position as the tremors intensified. In a panic, she shook her hands violently and managed to banish the powerful heat.

This is bad. I'm a walking deathtrap.

The wall offered support as she pulled herself onto her feet, "Somehow I imagine this isn't an ordinary earthquake..."

 

[CounterAttack]

"What the hell?" Lisette got up from her seat once the floor began shaking. Noel had started a small fire by burning through the wood. Oh, crap! The blonde student poured a portion of the pitcher's water onto the affected area to kill the flames, before she ducked under the table to wait until the earthquake stopped. There was easily enough space for everyone to hide under as well.

[hr]

The rest of the bar was experiencing similar issues. A lot of customers were panicking and trying to stay out of harm's way. A good portion were primarily interested in keeping their drinks intact despite the natural disaster. The floorboards began to shift, twist and break apart under the stress.

The kitchens were still a hive of activity: however, their focus had changed to maintaining safety during the emergency rather than to prepare food.

Out front, Dominic managed to rise from his heavily shifting seat, with new priorities in mind. He clumsily lowered down to Christine's position, joining her under the bar's counter. She was still on edge, though more likely due to the sudden tremors, rather than the brown girl's "spontaneous growth". What started as a kneeling position dropped down to a sitting formation as he tried to grab hold of the frightened girl. "Chris! Look at me!" He put hands to her bare shoulders, yelling over the roars of panicked club-hoppers and rumbling furniture. As he got ahold of her, it seemed as if she were shivering to the point of constant vibration. "What the...? He began to address her again, trying a more soothing tone this time around. "...Look at me, okay? We're gonna be alright...alright? This'll all pass, just, stay focused on me..." He instructed as calmly as he could through such calamity.

Chris, still frightened by the earthquake, looked up at Dom with a frightened look on her face. She moved closer to him, grabbing a hold on his shirt with her hands and pretty much burying her face in his chest, closing her eyes. It'd be alright. She was with Dom and he was there for her. She started to calm down a little, and as such, the earthquake lessened a little, though it was barely noticeable.

Dom nodded as she began to cooperate, embracing her further with more a comforting hug. "It's almost over...it's almost over." He softly reassured her, his head atop hers.

Chris trusted that Dom was telling the truth, and as such, she started to calm down slowly. The earthquake lessened as well, and as she felt it lessen, she felt calmer, until her fear and the earthquake were no more.

The place was still for a minute or so. Then Roxy's voice called out: "Is, uh, is everyone alright?" She received a series of confirmations from most of the other patrons, as they began to surface, setting chairs and tables upright before they sat down with sighs of relief.

Mitchell, the manager, hustled in from the kitchens to survey the scene. "Hell's teeth. Look at all this! We'll have to get new floors put in, new furniture in some cases... Roxy, did we lose anything else?" The bartender quickly examined the bar, stepping over a small patch of shattered ice on the floor, before she shook her head. "Nah, we got nothing broken. No glass or anything."

"Good, good. Got a few plates and such broken in the kitchens... Alright. Sorry, people, but we need to get everyone out so we can take stock of the damage," Mitchell called out. "We might be closing down for a while, but there'll be specials on when we reopen," he improvised a solution. Keeping the customers happy meant they'd come back when the damages were taken care of.

"Aight, you heard the man. Let's go." The customers gradually began to navigate their way through the ruined floors, some of them taking photos, some still a bit shellshocked.

[hr]

When it was over, Lisette scrambled out from under the table and poked her head out to see what was going on outside. Everyone was leaving... and the place was a mess. Maybe Noel had a point when she supposed the earthquake wasn't normal. Could someone out there have created it?

Seeing Lisette investigating, Mitchell strode over. "You guys alright in there? 'Cause if you are, I'm gonna need your help with all this, Lizzy. We're clearing the place out to assess the damage."

"Got it, Mitchell. One sec," Lisette noted before ducking back into the function room and turning back to the others, who were getting up as well. "Alright, turns out you guys gotta go. Just... just think about what I suggested, yeah? It might help come to terms with... well, this new situation we're in." She didn't get many responses from the other three, instead just filing out past her. Lisette was the last to leave the function room.

What a night... there'll be hell to pay soon, she mused to herself, stepping around a now-vertical piece of floorboard.

 

[tsatoma]

There was a look of relief on Izzy's face when she seemed to have dodged any suspicion; that is until the young man sitting next to her made eye contact after glimpsing whatever had come out of Izzy's arm. His reaction was to jerk back, causing both the bartender and the girl the man was with to also notice. Fuck. Izzy thought as the young woman screamed loudly, half ready to shut her up the quickest way she could think of before the bar started to shake suddenly.

Putting her fist down, Izzy looked around as the patrons and servers started to freak out; most having never been in an earthquake before. Thank you dad for taking me to California for vacation, she thought, feeling something moving under her sleeve and noticing that the tendril was creeping back out...this time with some friends.

Jesus Christ, I thought it couldn't get any damn worse! First I get one of these...things poppin' out, then these three idiots next to me start freaking out, then there was a fucking earthquake, and now I have a bunch of stupid tentacle shit coming out of my arm! Izzy had had enough of whatever was going on. She pulled her sleeves over her hands (clutching the ends with her hands) and stood up, briefly rustling in her purse for enough cash to cover her drink and starting to head out.

The shaking of the ground made it difficult for her to keep her footing, but the earthquake was not quite as bad as she had been in before and she was in no mood to stay inside any longer. "Excuse me. Come on people, move!" Izzy yelled at a few people who had been dining as they huddled by the door frame. They moved aside for her, thinking that the covering of her hands were due to some sort of injury.

As Izzy passed the threshold of The Festival, the shaking ceased. She heard someone speaking up over the whining and whimpering of everyone in the bar before the door closed behind her. After a few paces, the door of the The Festival opened behind her with people starting to rush out of the place as if they had seen a ghost. I just need to get back to my car, and go home. Preferably with nothing else weird happening.

 

[NeoAC]

For someone who had been immediately written off as a ditzy bimbo, Noel was certainly proving vital in keeping Kayla calm during this realization of her newfound.....ability. If she can handle stuff happening to her, I should be able to handle this right? If anything, this is...concealable at least. Kayla was about to say something very profound and emotional, especially for her, when the shaking started, and Noel's body fell on top of her and started burning up. Kayla tried to get her off, but Noel did the job much quicker as she started heating up on the floor. Lisette took charge putting out the fire and herding the people in the room under the table. It had been a while since Kayla had been in an earthquake. California had a few, but she was there after the big one rocked San Francisco, so it was just some little ones she was familiar with. Still, at least this crisis could be handled.

Once the quake stopped, the party of four emerged out. Noel had said she didn't think it was ordinary. "Considering that the state of Michigan isn't lying on any major fault lines, I'm inclined to agree," she added. "And..I guess, if we're doing stuff that's out of the ordinary it would be safe to assume that others are as well." Poor bastards. Lisette said it was time to go after a quick chat with someone outside the door. As they were ushered out, Kayla couldn't help look back with some sort of twisted curiosity at the mass of metal still holding steady in the wall. I could have least tried to fix that...who am I kidding? I don't even know how I did that.

As they joined the rest of the people heading out of the self-condemned Festival, Kayla commented to the others. "At least maybe this earthquake will finally drive the reporters away from my building, huh? If I could be so lucky..."

 

[Dogmatic99]

Adam climbed out from under the group table, his legs still shaking a little. The whole earthquake experience had felt a lot longer than it probably was for him. The sudden shock had sent the the cold tingling feeling shooting through him and the metal points that tipped his fingers had spread out over his arms, sending sparks leaping off them like lazy sparklers. It took all the concentration he had to stop them from going totally nuts and setting something on fire instead of just singing the underside of the table a little bit.

As the others all filed out and surveyed the destruction around the Festival. I hope this isn't going to be a regular thing.

Everyone seemed to be their own brand of shaken up and desperate. Not that he could blame them, yet again they'd all had to take in a freakish amount of information about a freakish subject. But this could be a good thing, at least now they had something to go on. Actual information, Adam could work with that. Now at least he could research whatever was happening, trawl the internet, find experts. But first he needed practice.

He had to learn how to control whatever was happening to him. Otherwise he might not be able to go near a light switch or his laptop without frying it. He rolled down his sleeves to hide the metal casing before anyone who wasn't in the know saw him. Adam didn't know what to say to the others, he knew he should say something but his social mojo just hadn't recovered from all the crazy it had been faced with in the past few days. He said his goodbyes to the others and set out, not entirely sure of where he was going. Back to his dorm on Campus he guessed.

I need to be somewhere private, somewhere I can get my shit together.

 

[elementsoul]

Marcus approached The Dugout and was about to enter before his phone went off. He quickly pulled it out and saw the text alert, before unlocking the phone and reading the message.

?Well, not to me personally. But something's gone down at The Festival. Something's left a frickin' hole here. And the area around the impact site is pretty warm. Like, warmer than the rest of the place. How's that for weird??

Marcus didn?t exactly understand what Dom was actually describing. Dude could have at least sent a picture. Suddenly his phone went off again and a message from Lisette previewed on his phone before he opened the message.

 Yeah, a lot of us have. There's some abnormal stuff going on. Come to The Festival.

Okay so I might not be the only one having shit go down. Marcus quickly looked up directions to The Festival on his phone and took off sprinting. There were a few passing stares as Marcus ran to The Festival. Someone running full sprint down the road normally does that to people and soon enough Marcus made it there in less time than he expected.

As he approached the bar, he saw an attractive girl exiting the bar. The tanned skinned girl had an attractive look to her without seeming overly done up. Normally Marcus would have just walked her in case she was someone else?s girl who didn?t like random guys talking to her, but he was in a nice neighbourhood, he wanted to know what sort of weird things were going on in there since the outside of the building didn?t indicate anything, and most importantly he just wrecked an asshole?s BMW with ice out of nowhere; even if this ice was fucking up, he wasn?t about to be fucked up tonight.

?Hey, my friend texted me and said that there was some strange stuff going on in there. Did you notice anything weird going on inside?? Marcus asked the girl who was holding her hand upon further inspection.

"What?" Izzy replied distracted, not noticing the young man that had asked the question before he was already in front of her. She had been focusing on trying to keep the tendrils from coming out from under her sleeve (seemingly the hectic atmosphere was causing them to come out more, though Izzy related it to the fact that she was not focusing on them), and as she looked up at the dark-skinned young man she hid her right arm behind her back.

"Oh, you know...the usual things that have happened at The Festival before. Bartenders not serving drinks, overly greasy fries, earthquakes, dents in the floor. Common happenings. I imagine it is going to be closed for a little bit, you could probably go inside and check if your friend is okay...I don't think anyone got hurt," Izzy told him, doing her best to try to act like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. It was hard to do that, however, when she felt one of the tendrils rip through the cloth of the sleeve. She pressed it up against her back, finding the sensation of being able to actually feel the cloth of the shirt with the tendril quite queer.

Well no shit? I think they might have overtook my little ice trick. Marcus thought as he looked past Izzy, towards the exiting crowd. Suddenly Marcus was shocked and twitched back a little as a dark red tendril slowly worked its way through the air behind Izzy?s back. Her too huh.

?It looks like he, or rather they are exiting now anyways. You on the other hand might want to do something about that tentacle thing coming out from behind your back.? Marcus said as he switched his attention between the exiting crowd and tendril, not noticing the puddle he was about to sidestep into. The puddle?s water froze before he made contact with it, turning into a white sheet of ice that quickly cracked and shattered like glass once he finally did end up stepping on it. The pieces of ice clung to Marcus? leg and slowly moved up his body before resting along his face and neck.

The weird feeling on his neck and face caused Marcus to brush his neck, and the ice turned into small floating crystals that started to be carried off in the air. That sight caused a bit of a shock and the pieces of ice feel from his body. I guess me and her are in the same boat.

"What do you think I'm trying to do?" Izzy asked bitterly, bringing her arm back in front of her and tucking it under her shirt as an easy solution. Once that was taken care of she looked back up at him, eying the ice that had broken and traveled up to his neck and face with a slightly shocked face. It was certainly not something someone sees every day, but she had already been desensitized to odd things on people when she had first seen the tentacle. "At least you didn't start screaming like that one girl did in the bar. Then again, it seems like you're dealing with some odd things yourself," she commented.

?Ya odd things. Pretty sure most of us who were there are.? Marcus said mostly to himself putting what she said and the two people at the bar together.

Wait was this girl there too? Marcus racked his mind as he tried to recall his most recent watching of the video. Fuck I think she might have.

?Since you look like you need to get out here in order to get someplace less private to get a handle on those things, I?ll let you go. Although do you mind if I get your number first? There?s already a group of us survivors who shared numbers in case something happened. Might be worth being a part of in case shit starts getting more fucked up.? Marcus said with a light smile as he pulled out his phone and offered it to the hand that Izzy didn?t have tucked in under her shirt.

"Probably one of the oddest circumstances a guy has ever gotten my number before," Izzy said with amused smirk, shaking her head at just how bizarre her day had been now that she looked back at it. Still, she took his phone in her free hand and quickly added her phone number and name into his contacts before handing it back. "Be sure to let me know if anything comes up regarding our...problems," she told him before speeding off to the other side of the street to her car.

Still counts. Marcus thought to himself before Izzy handed back his phone and started to leave.

?I will. It?s Marcus Wickliffe in case you were wondering later.?

Marcus messaged her before finishing his short walk to the bar door. Most of the people had cleared out, and Marcus noticed a few of the people from his hospital ground leaving with the bulk of the group.

From the stragglers Marcus heard them also talk about an earthquake, that Izzy had mentioned but he overlooked at the time having not felt any earthquake himself, and how the bar was being shut down for a while due to the damage. Curious Marcus took a look inside the bar quickly and saw the damage himself along with the lack of people remaining inside.

Opting to just head home instead of prying in, Marcus just took out his IPhone and sent a message to Dom and Lisette.

Just got to The Festival. The place looked fucked up all over. I?m heading home. Send me an update about what happened when you have a chance. Shit?s fucked up all over.

 

[Fappy]

As they walked through the decimated bar Noel remembered that she never even got the drink she came for.

Doesn't look like that'll be an option for quite awhile...

Once outside, she took a moment to get a head count and waved Adam off as he left. Lisette was likely still inside, but Kayla remained by her side. Still shaken up, from the looks of it. Noel took a deep breath and crossed her arms, rubbing them nervously as she spoke, "Well... that was something else, right?" A terrified giggle followed.

Noel didn't have a clue where to go from here. Her sister was working late tonight and her father was out of town for the next few days. She couldn't be alone. Not now. Not tonight.

Noel glanced around the area once more, "I don't know if... well, maybe it's not such a good idea for any of us to be alone right now. My place will be pretty empty tonight," She managed a smile. "Would you want to come over? We can ask some of the others, too." She laughed, "I would offer drinks, but I'm not so sure that would be a good idea for any of us right now!"

 

[Pm0n3y]

Just as quickly as the tremors began, they ended. Not without causing a substantial amount of damage to the club, however. Dominic slowly glanced around the area before lowering down to the girl still in his clutches. "Was that just a convenience, or...?" Employees were clearing people out of the place, and Dom only felt it natural that they move out as well. "C'mon Chris...it's time for us to go." They began shifting from under the bar, carefully.

Still a bit shaken, Chris replied with a small "Yeah, I agree..." as she followed Dominic out of the Festival. They left with all the other people being escorted out, and they probably would have just went home if they hadn't noticed some familiar faces and heard some familiar voices. "Would you want to come over? We can ask some of the others, too." Dom wanted to ask wherever that peculiar-appendaged woman disappeared off to, but Noel's query got his attention instead. By the way it sounded, to two might've been invited by proxy. "Sweeeeet. I'm down for a slumber party! We can have pillow fights and braid each other's hair!" He saved face, approaching the two with a light chuckle. Chris giggled lightly as well. "Yeah, that does sound pretty sweet. I'd be up for it, especially after what just happened." She wasn't sure whether she was kidding or not, but either way, it was probably better to hang out with others than to spend time alone at home.

Dom's expression lowered a bit after the joke settled. "But seriously, what's, uhm...what's been goin' on with all the...freakiness...around here? I mean, the random earthquake was crazy enough, but there was this, like, alien chick sitting next to us, had frickin' tentacles popping out of her." His phone went off soon after his comments. "That was pretty weird. Today in general has just been rather weird. I had rocks stuck to my feet when we arrived here, and they weren't stuck there with any glue or anything else We were able to lightly brush them off, but they'd been clinging to my feet up until then." Chris added to what Dom said, her own expression matching his. What was going on, anyway?

As Chris conversed, Dominic read the text message sent to him. "Marcus was here...?" He mumbled. He scanned the crowd for the face, but couldn't find a match. If Marcus was there, he was long gone by now. He reread the last few words in the message.

"Shit's fucked up all over."

Dom scoffed and nodded at that. "No shit." He scoffed again.

 

[NeoAC]

Kayla was thinking over Noel's offer as more people emerged. A couple more people from the police station a few days ago. They invited themselves into the event and seemed pretty enthusiastic about it. As they prattled on about the strange occurrences they had noticed, Kayla was still thinking about whether or not it heading to the blonde's house would be worthwhile.

Well, there will be people there. People that are familiar with what's going on. But if those cockroaches from the press were bothering me, surely they would be after her as well? Perhaps even more so.

Do I want to risk going back to my place though? I can't really afford to mess up any of my own stuff, especially if I don't know what exactly I did to those forks and knifes to twist them up like that. I did do it though. I did that... I...

"I think I would be interested in staying the night with you, Noel," Kayla said. "If nothing else, having multiple people battle through the onslaught of the fifth estate would make things easier." Plus, you're the only one worse off than me. I might need that reminder now.

 

[Dogmatic99]

Adam was just turning around to take his leave and let the others go about planning whatever super power party they wanted when his phone buzzed off in his pocket. He'd forgotten he even had it on him, by some stroke of luck it hadn't been fried when he started going all 4th of July.

It was a text from one of the guys that lived across the hall from him.

Dorm hall Steve: Hey you moved back in yet? Theres been a fire at the dorm somthing about the fuse box exploding or something so lame.

One second thought.

"Hey!" He called back to the others. "Don't suppose I could invite myself over?" Adam asked Noel, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck, his electric tail between his legs.

 

[NeoAC]

Spoiler: OOC

This is part of a multi-post dramatic telling of the night at Noel's. Myself, Lambi, Pm0n3y, Fappy and Dogmatic99 all contributed our own parts, but Dogmatic had to sleep so he doesn't get a post. Just this spoiler tag.

Noel was a bit surprised by the positive reception, but after being only momentarily disarmed she smiled and nodded, "Sounds great! If you guys are ready to go now my place is only seven-or-so blocks up the street."

The walk back was filled with idle chatter. It was apparent that the group wanted to avoid mentioning what happened at the bar. It wasn't much of a surprise and Noel figured that they'd have plenty of time to get into that later on into the night.

Noel was a bit embarrassed when they arrived at her house considering it's size. It was a large, slender building, the biggest on the block in fact. Despite it's size, it was still in the city so the actual property size left much to be desired. Noel blushed and smiled wryly, "Well, this is the place."

After opening the door the group found themselves in a lavished hallway. Noel stepped forward and held her hand out, signaling towards the kitchen and living room, "Make yourselves at home!"

Kayla set her handbag down on a table near the door. "This hallway is bigger than my apartment..."

Adam let out a low whistle as he took in sight around him. This was a place he wouldn't have even dreamed of living in back on the farm. Of course he wasn't on the farm anymore. Maybe someday huh? He smiled to himself, taking a seat with the others.

Chris took her sweater off and hung it up on a chair that she then sat on. "It looks pretty big. Dunno if you could get lost in here, though. But still, pretty impressive."

"I hear that." Adam replied, remembering his manners and quickly finding his hoody a hook to call home.

Having not received the spinach dip that she placed an order for back at the bar, Kayla was still rather hungry. She started walking towards the kitchen. Going to have to mention that to Lisette, see if I can at least get a refund or something. Or at least get Noel to pay for it since she caused the commotion.

"This place is bigger...well, taller, at least...than my mom's house!" Dominic thought, managing to mosey up to the girl who lived in it. "Must be one of the perks of being a government official's daughter, huh?" He said, smirking.

Noel began walking down the hall after the others and returned Dom's smile, "Well, I can't argue there I guess." She giggled nervously. Her humble nature had forced her to blush, but she appreciated the compliment. Once they had reached the kitchen she walked over to the refrigerator, "Is there anything anybody wants to eat? I might be able to microwave something..." Well... I suppose I don't actually need a microwave...

As if it was reading from a script Adam's stomach perked up, grumbling like an elderly guard dog. In all the commotion he'd completely forgotten he hadn't eaten yet.

"Anything you've got would be perfect for me, thank you." Adam leaned against the wall near the kitchen door.

"Same here." Chris said right after Adam. "I'm not too hungry, but I could eat something right now."

"Yup, me too. I'm okay with just about anything." Dom piped up, finding a seat at the kitchen counter.

Upon seeing the kitchen, Kayla would have had to wire some forks together to keep her jaw from dropping. The place was immaculate, marble countering sandwiched between mahogany cabinets. All manner of appliances were lining the counters, some looking like they hardly been used since they came out of the box. The fridge was massive, and as Kayla walked right past Noel to it and opened it up, it was jam packed full of ingredients. Fresh vegetables, some fine cuts of meat. Multiple cheeses. It was like a dream kitchen.

"You know...I could probably whip something up, if you guys want."

 

[Pm0n3y]

"Ah, that does sound nice~" Chris mused, finding a seat beside Dom and put her sweater there instead. She'd offer to help, but she wasn't really that much for cooking. Noel stepped back, allowing Kayla by. She was caught offguard by her... assertiveness, but after offering to cook Noel shrugged it off, "Oh, well... that sounds good to me. What did you have in mind? We have, uhh... all of this!" She explained waving her hands up and down as if presenting a prize at a gameshow.

Noel had been completely neglecting her stomach for the past week, so she really hadn't a clue what her father had bought for them. Adam fought back the urge to drool as he saw the fridge door open, it was so beautiful. So beautiful. He didn't care they made so long as it was fast. "Hmmmmm," Kayla was wandering over to where the cupboards were, scoping out the ingredients. "I haven't cooked for more than just myself before...better play it safe if I can...I think they've got enough ingredients for it."

"I could do some personal pizzas or something. I know a recipe for dough that's somewhat quick. It would take like 40 minutes from start to finish. But if you guys are hungry now, then I'm open to suggestions." "I can last. Heck just point me in the right direction and I'll help out." Adam grinned, images of perfectly formed pizzas filling his mind. Noel shrugged and looked around the room, "I can wait if everyone else is cool." The hamster in her skull began to move its quick little feet as she placed a finger on her chin. After giving it some thought she figured she may as well suggest it... even if she had mentioned the danger of it earlier, "So, uh... does anyone want something to drink while we wait?"

She scratched her arm nerviously, "I mean... I think I could use one!" She said laughing. The thoughts of a stiff drink caught Dom's attention more than the thoughts of food. "Well, what do you have? Something with alcohol in it, I hope. Barely got to taste the beer I had back at the bar..." He trailed off, starting to wonder if he were sounding like a drunkard.

With the offer of help, Kayla went into field general mode as she searched for a bowl large enough to hold enough dough. "Sure," she said, accepting Adam's offer. "If you want to start chopping up some toppings, that would be awesome." She brought a large glass bowl and went to the cupboards to grab some yeast and sugar. "I guess I'll take a drink as well, Noel." Noel gave a firm nod, "Roger that! Who wants to join me downstairs as I raid my dad's reserves? Let's see if we can find something that's not scotch!" "Not scotch? Awww..." Dom whined playfully, rising from his seat to stand at her side.

"On it." Adam chirped in Kayla's direction, finding a chopping board and a knife with an insulating handle before he set about crudely dicing up some vegetables and half a chorizo sausage. "I'm up for a beer if there's one going." He called over to Noel. "There was a freaking earthquake earlier... and here I am cooking." He guessed there could have been worse ways for the day to end.

Not really sure what she should do, Chris stood up and walked towards Kayla. "Anything I can do to help with the cooking? Because if you two are enough, I can help the other two look around for a drink." "Well if Adam's got the toppings, I guess you could start grating some of the cheese in there," Kayla said as she waited for the yeast to finish foaming in the water. "There's a block of mozzarella, but there's also some monterrey jack for anyone who wants a little more spice, so a mix of both would be great."

Kayla started mixing in the remaining ingredients, the flour, salt and hint olive oil hitting the bowl. "This is nice. This feels almost normal. With all the other stuff today, this is great to get back to." Noel giggled and started for the basement door, "So, you're a scotchman too? Whelp, there goes your chances right there!" "Was that too much...?" Noel couldn't really help what she said. She was a professional when it came to word vomit. As she opened the door she spoke, "Anyone want anything specific before we dive in down here?"

"Whatever you get should be fine by me," Kayla answered. "What she said. I just wanna drink something." Dominic also answered, chuckling along with Noel's word spewing. "Alrighty~" Chris responded to Kayla and grabbed the two blocks of cheese along with the grate when she found it, then got a board and started to grate the two blocks. This feels nice. Haven't cooked for a while now. Haven't really been in the mood for it. "I'll have whatever as well." Chris said to Noel. She wasn't sure what exactly to make of her word vomit, so there wasn't a response from her to it.

 

[Lambi]

Noel led the way down the small staircase and into what Dom immediately recognized as a "Mancave". A pool table sat in the center accompanied by a large leather sofa and a big HDTV in the back of the room. Noel walked right on by the lot of it, her sights focused squarely on the small bar nearby.

She crouched down and took a look through the cabinets below, "Like I said, plenty of scotch and... oh shit, we've got tequila!" She stood up, a large bottle gleaming in her hands. An insidious smirk grew across her lips. "I've got just the way to announce this to the folks upstairs as well."
After placing it on the bar she walked across the room to the sound system set up next to the tv. Bending over, she reached out and cranked the dial to the right causing a low buzz to echo through the room. The bass was powerful, to say the least.

She punched a few commands on her dad's iPod touchscreen, "You ready?" "Soooo ready." Dom let out a wild, cheesy grin as he looked on. Instinctively, Noel squinted one eye as she hit the play button. The funky brass boomed through the speakers as Tequila began vibrating the whole house. She dashed over to the bar once more, snatching up the bottle and started for the stairs. "Drink time!" Dom made sure to race up behind her, not wanting to miss out on the festivities. "Let's get druunnnk!" He yelled out in bit of a sing-songy tone. "

"I think that should be enough." Said Adam as he chopped up the last of the toppings and slid them all into their little groups. And then the floor started vibrating. "What the hell?" He mumbled. Chris also finished grating the two blocks of cheese, bringing what she had over to Kayla and Adam, then put what was left of the blocks in their right places and the grate in the sink. Then the vibrations started. "Is that another earthquake?" she said before Noel and Dom came back upstairs to announce that it was time to drink. She giggled lightly at it. "I can't say I'm super excited about it, but oh what the hell. I'm with people I'd say I can call friends, so I should be safe." Even though she knew that she wasn't used to alcohol and therefor probably wouldn't be able to hold much alcohol.

Adam turned round to see the bottle of tequila being brandished in their direction. "Looks like we're going to Mexico. After the pizza." no way would he be able to handle anything strong while he was running empty. Kayla rummaged underneath the cabinets while searching for suitable pizza sheets, only coming up with a couple of cookie sheets as the vibrating started announcing a drink choice. "O...K." She tried to set the cookware down on the table, but they weren't coming off of her hands. "Damn it...can I get some help with these?"

Being so close Adam just had to shift over a little to grip the pans. "1-2-3!" He yanked on them and they came away though not without a bit of fight. Quietly below the sound of the beating music his hands crackled a little, though he didn't seem to notice. The music was loud enough to draw out Kayla and Adam's voices as Noel jogged across the kitchen and opened up a few cabinets. Moments later she was mixing drinks, "Pack your bags kids, we're heading down to Me-he-co!" Not a second after, Dom popped in after her. "Ooh oohoohooh, I call shotgun!" He called out, wasting no time to be first in line.

"Thanks," Kayla said sheepishly as the pans were places on the counter. Noel's reemergence attracted attention to where the alcohol was as Kayla started to get the dough spread out.
"I think these will be big enough for the five of us, but it's be nice to have a bit more room..." She looked down at the metal trays. "I guess I...no, no I couldn't. But I did do it to the forks..." She grabbed one of the trays on both ends and started to pull, seeing the supposedly durable metal expanding and enlarging the cooking area. "Well, it worked." She tried to set it back down, it took a couple of shakes but she was able to get it off her hands by herself this time.

"OK, if someone wants to grab some sauce, I think we can build these up," she tried to announce over the music as she separated the dough into 5 equal chunks.

Noel placed a drink in Dom's hand and smiled, "For mi amigo!"

After pouring the rest she delivered them to their respective drinkers. She took one for herself and approached Adam, "There are plenty of beer choices in the fridge. What'll it be?"

Chris' attention was brought away from the drinks and towards what was happening with Kayla and the pans and tray when Kayla asked for help. She became freaked out by it and backed away from the two of them. "What the hell?" she said loudly, unable to say much more than that. "Shoot! She doesn't know!" "Uh....yeah, think I put a bit too much spray on here..." she weakly excused herself. "That was really the best you could think of???" "I'm pretty sure spray doesn't expand trays..." Chris said in return, not wanting to get near Kayla just yet.

"No...no it doesn't," Kayla agreed. "Um....these are some really high tech trays?" "Just a Bud, thanks." Adam replied, thinking the pizzas would be enough to satisfy his need for something fancy. "Coming right up!" Noel announced as she walked over the fridge and began rummaging through the drinks in the bottom drawer. After finding what he wanted she turned to give it to him, but was briefly distracted by the confrontation happening nearby.

She quickly gave Adam his drink and walked over to where Kayla and Chris were standing, "Uh... is everything alright over here?" Dom looked up from his (already half-finished) drink to also address the two excitedly conversing girls. "High tech? Never heard of sheets like these...Geez Noel, just how rich are you?" He looked between them, closing the gap between him and the three.

Noel blushed, "High-tech?! How can trays even be high-tech?!" She got a better look at what was happening and sighed. Dom and Chris hadn't been with them when they discovered their powers. How much did they actually understand about what had happened today.

She placed her hand on Chris' shoulder, "Look, it's okay. Let Kayla finish up here," She pointed in the direction of the living room. "Let's sit down and I'll try to explain what happened today as best I can." She looked at Dom as well as she spoke. The possibility of high tech trays was there, but it didn't cross Chris' mind. She just thought of how the pans sticking to Kayla's hands reminded her of the rocks that stuck to her feet earlier, and she started to freak out more. When Noel placed her hand on her shoulder, she looked up, and after she was done speaking, Chris nodded slowly and stood up to go with her to the living room.

"Explain? What else happened today? Heh, don't tell me one of you made the crater that was at the club, or caused that random earthquake." Dom asked with a chuckle, now as intrigued in letting Noel give them a story, as he was invested in getting himself another drink. Noel cocked an eyebrow, the red on her face intensifying. Blushing seemed to just come naturally to her tonight, "Uh, well... we might want to take this." She grabbed the bottle before leading them to the living room.

 

[Pm0n3y]

As the three headed off into the living room, Kayla slammed her head on the counter, which wasn't a far drop. "Why? Why did I do that?" she asked herself. "If I'm already getting this careless with this, I'm going to be in real trouble."
"Don't worry about it." Adam said, surprising even himself with how nonplussed he actually sounded about it. "It's far from the weirdest thing that's happened to us today." "Yeah, but we are in the same boat," Kayla pointed out, "Those two? They don't know. She probably thinks I'm a freak," She slammed one of the chunks of dough on the now stove wide tray. "That's just what I need."

"Everyone here was at the lecture hall when the gas went off and everyone who was exposed to the gas has been showing these crazy powers. Did they seem that freaked out to you? I doubt anyone here is in any position to be calling people freaks." Adam tried to give her a reassuring smile as he kneaded out one of the balls of dough. It wasn't so long ago he was in Kayla's position. The circumstances may have changed but the words never did. Why not just add genetic mutations to his list of baggage.

They sat down on the sofa. Noel began as she topped off Dom's drink, "So... that 'crater' you mentioned... that was me I think."

"What." was all that Chris could say to that. She caused that crater? She didn't have a scratch on her from it. "Yeah, what she said...What?" Dom replied in a tone similar to Christine's. "How, even? You?d probably have to weigh tons to leave a dent like that!" Noel shrugged and a looked down at the glass in her hand, "Yeah..." She downed the drink, squinting uncomfortably as it went down. After a brief sigh she continued, "I'm not sure how I did that... or how it relates to my other ability."

And then it happened. As the alcohol made its way through her system her metabolism kicked in. A chain reaction had begun in her body. A reaction that ended with a burp. A tiny fireball burst from her mouth as her small voice croaked. Her eyes bulged in surprise as did Dom's and Chris'. After a moment of awkward silence Noel smirked, "I should have figured that'd happen."

The fireball made Chris freak out even more. She kept herself close to Dom, since she felt safe with him. "What the hell is going on?!" She almost felt like crying, today had just been getting weirder and weirder. "Whoageez!" Dominic instinctively shielded himself from the explosive discharge. He began slinking away some as Chris did the same. "Okayyy...that wasn't just the alcohol that did that...soooooo...you can breathe fire now...?"

Noel put her hand to her chest as to quell the flames inside her. Whether it actually did anything or not was completely ambiguous, but it seemed to help nonetheless. She put her other hand out, "Shit, look the attack on Goldmar. The genobomb... i-it gave us these... abilities."

She closed her eyes as she had before and clutched her shirt. She held her palm out in front of her as her body warmed up. By the time she opened her eyes a small flame danced in the palm of her hand. The rest of her body felt cool now. A subtle smile appeared on her face, "I can do more than that."

Then Ad heard that Chris girl yelp. "And why do I feel like I've just been proven right?" He smirked teasingly at Kayla. "Everyone okay over there?" He called over to the other three. Chris had almost no words for what was happening. She was quiet for a moment before she uttered "...a-abilities? I think I understand, but I don't want to understand. Are you saying there's something...wrong with me? With us?" She didn't answer Adam since she wasn't paying attention to him, no offense meant towards him.

Kayla was going to say something before the girl cried out from the living room. "Thank Dao for Noel. She's so much better at this then I am." She got the three patches of dough spread out on the tray before grabbing the can of tomato sauce she scooped from the cupboard. "I think we really need to eat these pizzas as soon as possible.

 

[Lambi]

Dom's eyes widened as he watched the conjured flame performed a hypnotic dance between Noel's fingers. Her description of the situation (along with Chris' world crashing down around her) brought him from his trance. "Huh. The genobomb...did this? Was it just you? What about any of the other survivors?" He looked between himself, Chris, Adam, and Noel. He took another long swig. He then, made another glance at his cup. "I'd probably be able to process all this better if I could, at least, catch a buzz!" He began taking bigger gulps. "Geez! Two drinks in, and nothing? Is this a part of my, uhh...abilities?" He thought, his mind clearer than he was wanting. "On that, we agree." Adam nodded and took a swig of beer.

"OK," said Kayla as she spread the sauce on her chosen canvas. "I figured we could each do our own up since everyone likes their own thing." Kayla grabbed a handful of chopped green pepper and a bit of the chorizo. "Hmmmm, could probably use some onion too..."

After spreading the red onion on top, Kayla reached for the drink that Noel left and took a sip, eyes going wide as the unexpected flavor hit her tongue. She had to struggle to keep from spitting it out over the pizza. "Wow, OK, was not ready for that. How much alcohol is in this?"

Noel kept her eyes fixated on the flame in her hand, "I can't say for sure, but I think we've all been affected. We're all reacting to it... differently." She diverted her attention from the flame long enough to answer Kayla, "Not enough."
"We...are...?" Chris started to think things over. They had all been affected. Everyone who'd gone to the police station that day, everyone that had put their numbers in her phone there. Even she. But what could it have done to her? It all started to make at least some sense to her. The dirty feet at the museum, the feats of agility she'd done even though she'd never been particularly agile, the rocks on her feet in the Festival. But...did that mean the earthquake had been her doing? "Do you have any rocks anywhere around here?" she then suddenly asked Noel. She had to see if she was right, even though she was afraid to find out.

"OK, well if you guys want to doctor up your pizzas however you want them, they'll be ready to go." Recovered, Kayla went for the monterey jack cheese and started spreading. A ding on the oven indicated 400 degrees had been reached, which seemed to help Kayla snap back and realize exactly what the girl just asked for. "Wait, rocks?" Dom's fear towards the situation was short lived. Now more curious and excited than anything, he too, wanted to see Chris had in mind. "Yeah, what she has like, some sort of earth power or something?"

Adam helped himself to a beastly share of meat and added a sprinkling of veg to his creation. "Sounds perfect to me!" And he slipped it into the oven, snickering a little at Kayla's. He moved to join the others in the living room in short order and claimed himself a spot on a couch, beer in hand. With her and Adam's pizzas now in the oven, Kayla also moved closer to the conversation, drink in hand. "So what are you doing with the rocks?"

Noel was also confused by the request for rocks, considering what Dom had said. "Earth powers? " Noel got up and walked over to a bowl on the kitchen counter. Inside it sat a hefty, marble ball. Some kind of office decoration someone had given her father as a gift. She grabbed it and brought it back over to where Chris sat, placing it in her hands, "Lisette had some kind of... ice power. I suppose it'd make sense someone could control rocks and stuff, right?"