His back was still facing away from the copycat but he is under the impression that the copycat borrows Erica powers since he had heard the scraping sound from the building wall. As they tilt their heads upward he again assume the copycat sprouted wings as he heard a flapping sound and it become quieter until it is gone.
He heard Erica telling them she knows a place to hide.
Erica nodded, seeing she had everyone's attention. "Alright then, let's get going. Follow me, and stay close."
And with that, she turn and ran down the nearest alleyway, the others following close behind. As they ran, Erica glanced behind her. Wow, I've really gotten in over my head this time...
-------
It was late afternoon by the time they arrived at the orphanege, but was unusually quiet. No children were running around, and the air seemed eerily still without their voices lingering in the air.
Erica could feel the hairs on the back of her neck standing up. Where is everybody...? She thought, beginning to feel panicked. Instead, she cupped her hands over her mouth and shouted, "Hello? Is anyone here?"
For a moment, there was silence. Then the doors suddenly opened with a creak, and Lauren poked her head out. Upon recognizing the teenager, she pushed it aside and ran forward, embracing her in a motherly fashion.
"Erica! I was so worried..."
The girl akwardly returned the hug before pulling back, fully aware that they were being watched.
"Sorry about that," she said, sounding a bit sheepish. "I was planning to get here earlier, but I got a bit... sidetracked."
Lauren nodded, then looked at the small group of youths clustered behind her. "And are these your friends, Erica?"
"Yeah, pretty much." the teen responded. "Anyway, things got a bit... out of control, and we need to hide for a bit, so I mentioned we should come here..." By now, some of the children had emerged from the building, and were curiously eying the newcomers, some even coming forward to examine them more closely.
"Well, you're more than welcome to stay here," Lauren said kindly. "I'm sure we have enough room and food for you all - Jessie, please stop pulling at the nice boy's hair - and you can stay for as long as you need to - Paul, please don't bother that girl - I insist."
Erica nodded gratefully. "Thanks, I really appreciate it."
"It's no trouble, you're always welcome here." Lauren folded her arms and said, "Now, who are your friends?"
The girl blinked. "Oh, right. Why don't you guys introduce yourselves?"
"Well, you're more than welcome to stay here," Lauren said kindly. "I'm sure we have enough room and food for you all - Jessie, please stop pulling at the nice boy's hair - and you can stay for as long as you need to - Paul, please don't bother that girl - I insist."
"Awww, no. It's okay," Enapay chuckled as Jessie tugged at his hair.
Erica nodded gratefully. "Thanks, I really appreciate it."
"So do I," Enapay interjected.
"It's no trouble, you're always welcome here." Lauren folded her arms and said, "Now, who are your friends?"
The girl blinked. "Oh, right. Why don't you guys introduce yourselves?"
Enapay stood up and introduced himself first, saying in a childish fashion, "Hi, guys. I'm Enapay! And I can do this, among other things." He telekenetically lifted three small rocks off of the floor and they began to hover above his bandaged right hand, spiraling similar to a faster version of a ferris wheel. He was selling it with the exaggerated expression of excitement on his face.
Dawn knelt down, setting down her guitar case, and playfully tussled young Paul's hair. "It's fine," she said, smiling warmly. "He's cute."
She stood back up and moved an imaginary hair from her face. She's acting shy again. "My name's Dawn. Dawn Anastasia. I... we really appreciate the offer for a place to stay. And-and some food would be nice, too."
Lauren might be wondering why Dawn smells faintly of smoke.
She couldn't help but smile at Enapay. Not so much at his display, but rather his hammy expression. Like a ringleader at the circus.
Roar make a small gesture of waving his right hand at them and is acting somewhat shy and modest.
He quietly said "Hi I'm Roar but you can call me Lloyd."
His right finger then pointed at his mask.
"I have a big scary voice so I have to wear this so I won't sound so scary." said Roar.
He is diverting his sight away from them. While he is taken in by their warm welcome and the children innocence, the sight of them reminded him of his past actions. Still thinking he is a wanted man he is feeling guilty that just by being in their present will somehow make them involve in the government eyes.
I can't stay here. I won't forgive myself if the government found out I here and will do something to these people and the children's...
"Hey, I'm Marcus. Thanks for letting us stay" Marcus said to introduce himself. He watched Enapay's spectacle with some interest, but had something else on his mind.
"I'm guessing this place is like an orphanage or something," he thought. "Most of these kids are probably here because their parents died during the Event. Sonny should be here. Not living in an old homeless shelter where he's forced to stand outside all night."
"True," said one of his voices. "But, his power could be a danger to the other kids."
Marcus struggled with the decision while watching the rocks spin around. He wanted what was best for Sonny, but didn't want to ask this woman that he had just met to compromise the safety of the other children in her care. In the end, Marcus decided the worst thing to do would be to not try at all. He would discuss it with Lauren if he could get a chance to talk with her alone. Marcus wanted to wait a bit before asking, not wanting to spring the issue on her suddenly.
The entire group of omegas started to leave the scene of the burning building. Apparently they were more than just coincidental friends, they were a unit. A unit...just like the units that swept the undercity collecting omegas. But he couldn't let them go. He released that girls powers, the crystal flaking off and dissolving. He needed to chase, and for that he needed to be enhanced.
And it was that chaotic omega. Part of him thought this was absolute foolishness focusing on him, but he knew the feeling. As long as he didn't borrow anything that he wasn't familiar with, he should be okay. Narrowing his eyes as he stared at him, the muscles in his body tensed and firmed, growing out a bit against his tight clothing. Yes, this was just what he needed.
They started to move, and he gave chase. The only way to follow and stay out of sight was to stay up leaping from rooftop to rooftop. It wasn't hard, not with his powers, but it was hard staying in range. Several times he felt the strength leaving him as the chaotic omega...Enpay, did he say? got too far away, but he managed to close the distance. It was incredible though. Crossing alleyways was a breeze, and several times he leapt, literally leapt across the streets. Most of his landings weren't that graceful, but as long as no one noticed...
The chase was growing to a close though. It was...an orphanage? What were they doing there of all places. The crystal alterationist knocked and pushed the door open, stepping inside followed by the rest. Ben ran across the roof of the neighboring building and jumped onto the roof of the orphanage, crouching low and still. He couldn't risk being heard, not yet...for that matter, not ever. But if they were staying here, it gave him the chance to learn their powers more. Although, that seemed like it might be more troubling than he first thought. This was an orphanage, apparently for omega born children. This place was a power source, or a powder keg, he couldn't tell which at the moment. But, he settled against the chimney vent pulling his tattered jacket around himself. Apparently they were going to be here for a while.
Beneath the now cloudy sky, a grey, humanoid shape was barely visible against the stone of a tall building that it clung to the side of. Suddenly the figure's face area was occupied by a glowing, green, Y-shaped visor. Foxhound turned so that his stomach was facing the wall and scaled it similar to an insect, climbing onto a ledge that was shared by a couple of gargoyles. While he crouched at the edge of his, his suit returned to it's default metallic jet black. "Hmmm."
Using his visor's functions, he zoomed in to the front of the orphanage, using x ray and thermal imaging simultaneously to view the occupants inside. "Foxhound to command. 828 has stopped moving. Look's like he and his little clic have set up in that orphanage that crystal girl, Adanson, tends to regularly visit."
Ronda's voice was on the other line. "Is that all you have to report?"
Foxhound exited his thermal and X ray vision modes and zoomed in on Ben's face. "Well, interestingly enough, the homeless Omega who can copy other Omegas' powers, Ben, has resorted to tailing the group for some reason. Rather sloppily at that. I don't know what his intentions are, but he's proved to be pretty belligerent and unstable in the past. Very disgruntled. Very paranoid. Just an unpleasant person in general, I think. And he smells bad. I got within ten feet of him a couple of times, but he didn't notice me... 828 almost killed him at the fire. The man managed to escape only by the mercy of the rest of the group. No telling what'll happen when he gets caught, and he will get caught. I'm sure of that, as it seems that 828's senses are becoming even more heightened."
He was examining the inside of the building again. Enapay was playing with some children when he stopped to look directly in Foxhound's direction. Feeling uncomfortable, Foxhound scooted a few feet to the left.
---
"Something wrong?" Jessie asked, tugging at Enapays form fitting pant leg. Enapay shrugged. "I just got a feeling... It's probably nothing. Hey, you smell that?" The teen looked to the ceiling and Jessie did the same.
---
"Anyways, ethier that man's got some plan going, or he's just an idiot. Or maybe he has an idiot plan in mind."
"You done?" Ronda asked.
"Pretty much," Foxhound shrugged.
---
Enapay was making three children float about five feet off the ground with his telekinesis, now. They enjoyed it and it was an opportunity for the dark-skinned teen to practice his telekinesis and get a better handle on it.
The kids were pretending to be martial masters, less than realistic ones, parodying those in movies the likes of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, The Matrix, and Iron Monkey. "Chang! You have killed my family! And for that you must die!" Paul said, trying his best to make his mouth not move with the words and pushing off of the wall. He slowly floated towards Jessie, foot extended for a wire fu kick. Jessie floated towards him in the inaccurate Crane stance from the older Karate Kid movie. Once they collided, Jessie hammed it up, back flipping multiple times from Paul's low impact kick. After several, Jessie stopped himself, chuckling, "I'm dizzy."
This caused a smile to make it's way across Enapay's face, before the teen laughed. But he then felt a small jolt if pain in his head, running in a line from his forehead to the back of his skull. Enapay grunted, but didn't remove his smile from his face. "Okay guy's. Enapay's tired. Time for a widdle break."
The children protested at first, but eventually accepted it. Enapay took a seat on a bench that was positioned under a small section of the roof that was missing. He peared into the sky for a moment.
The teen then looked to Dawn and her guitar case, a little look of discontent on his boyish face. He thought about how he hadn't touched a guitar in over four years, and it was mostly the three weeks that he was awake that got to him. That was far too long in his opinion. He almost considered asking her if he could play a few licks, but she had only met him today. If she was anything like him, she would value the guitar as a close, personal item, possibly with some history, and wouldn't just let some stranger play it. And he was sure that he wasn't much more than a stranger, at this point at least.
Considering this, he kept himself occupied with air picking, performing fluid sweeps and arpeggios on his dream eight string classical. He was naturally left handed when it came to guitar playing, but he trained himself to be ambidextrous early on, able to play, with equal skill, both ways.
Dawn watched the play-fighting with a big, toothy smile on her face. Her teeth were quite white, considering she probably hadn't stopped anywhere comfortable for a while now.
When Enapay sat down, Dawn sat next to him, setting her backpack down on the floor next to her. She opened her guitar case and slipped the strap around her shoulder. The guitar looked rather expensive, a maple-wood finished Gibson Les-Paul with a pick-guard and three knobs for an amp.
"You, uh," she began, tuning the strings, "you asked me earlier if I played? Sorry I didn't answer you at first, but we were kinda in a hurry. Yeah, I play whenever I can. It's just a shame I couldn't bring my amp with me."
She picks the strings a few times as a test. "Hmm... which song... oh, I know."
After making sure she has the right opening chord, she begins picking. Enapay might recognize it, though the kids might not, since Dawn doesn't sing the lyrics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5M04_qkRdY
This has a lot of texts so I gonna split it into two parts (I will post the next part after a few posts later
Just when everyone started listening to Dawn playing her guitar Roar had heard a faint sound of "PSHHH" behind him. He turns around and saw it was Professor Mizu waving her hand at him from outside of the orphanage.
Roar said "I going out to get some air, don't worry I will stay hidden from the cops."
He quickly walks out of the orphanage and follow professor Mizu into a quiet alleyway. Mizu is wearing the same lab coat but this time her clothing was more formal. She was wearing a salmon colour button shirt but some buttons were handing out exposing her cleavage and yet she also wearing a button ties. She was wearing a black miniskirt and her typical expensive high heel.
Roar "How did you found me so quick and easily? I thought I remove all the tracers on me."
Mizu "You did remove the ones on the mask but not the one on the neck."
Roar "Oh crap! I got to get out of here or they will get caught in my?"
Mizu "Whoa there calm down Lloyd! I?m here by myself and the Government don't know where you are right now."
Roar calm down and take her words for it. She walks closer toward him holding a briefcase. She stood when she was three feet away from Roar.
Mizu "Anyway here's my parting gift for you."
She picks up the briefcase and opens it for him to see the content inside. Inside there were two new masks and four new neck fabrics underneath it and a fold up laminated paper next to it.
This is what the new mask look like except there will be one black engrave line and that line will outline the jaw and canine teeth. There will also be one control knob located in front of each ears, covering it (a bit like headphone).
The old mask appearance was back from page one from my character bio post. Yes you can still refer it as mask, face guard, mouth guard etc.
The new mask is coloured silver with a dull gross shine to it. The design is slim and looks like it will warp onto his face unlike the one he is wearing now. The most noticeable feature are the black line patterns engrave on it which actually marks out the lower jaw of the mask and it also mark out the canine teeth at the top and bottom (the bottom teeth is closer together. He took a closer at the pattern and realise that although it engrave but the mask it actually compose of the upper and lower jaw hinged together at the ear area. He also notices control knobs which are located where the ears are so it looks like it are covering it.
Mizu "I present you the voice muffler mark 4!"
Roar "Must you always keep calling them voice muffler?!"
Mizu "Why yes. I invented it therefore I get to name them!"
Roar "But muffler mean more like reduce noise, filter is the proper word! Since that what the mask does, filter out the fear aspect from my voice so I can speak to people without putting them in fear."
Mizu "I don?t care, just put it on."
Roar gives in but he will never use the proper name should anyone ask him about it. He started to take off his mask and the neck fabric underneath.
"You, uh," she began, tuning the strings, "you asked me earlier if I played? Sorry I didn't answer you at first, but we were kinda in a hurry. Yeah, I play whenever I can. It's just a shame I couldn't bring my amp with me."
Enapay nodded as Dawn spoke, smiling warmly. The boy brushed some of his jet black hair out of his eyes, finding it annoying at the moment. "I didn't even think I'd see another guitar again, let alone a nice one like that. I play, too. I've been at it since I was five or six. I think I'm pretty good, but I haven't held one in my hands in about four and a half years, so I don't know what I would sound like."
She picks the strings a few times as a test. "Hmm... which song... oh, I know."
After making sure she has the right opening chord, she begins picking. Enapay might recognize it, though the kids might not, since Dawn doesn't sing the lyrics.
Enapay chuckled at Dawn's song choice, but he air picked the song perfectly, mirroring Dawn's fretting while doing an economy picking motion with his left hand, instead of the traditional alternate picking.
"Tenacious D? Hah. That's a classic. What is this? Dio?...Noooo, that's...um...Tribute. Have you ever seen the movie? It's hilarious. I think Jack and K.G. could've been totally amazing musicians if they took thier music seriously. So, do you have a favorite band?" he asked with a child-like expression of curiousity and a smile. He wasn't air picking anymore.
Most of the bands he had listened to in his childhood were less than conventional outfits from in the period between 1990 and 2015. The music scene had taken, in his opinion, a less than favorable turn in 2016.
"Wait until I'm done and can knock the dust off," she said, "and maybe I'll let you try it out."
Dawn giggled at Enapay's mimicking. "Yeah, my picking's not the most original."
She finishes out Tribute with the final riff, then flexes her fingers. "No, I never saw the movie. I kinda want to, though. Jack Black and K.G. are awesome."
She shakes her hand as if trying to get rid of a cramp in her wrist. "My favorite band? Wow, that's... that's a big question. Uh... there's Tenacious D, obviously... Green Day... Weezer... Cage the Elephant... maybe Metallica... wow, too many to name."
She rubs the strings. "Humph. Still some dust. Fortunately, I know the perfect song. Now we just gotta hope I can still do it," she added, smiling.
She inhales, exhales, flexes her hands again, and begins. Obviously, she can't play the lead parts, but the blur that is her picking right arm and the agility of her fretting left arm are still impressive.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxusiXuybik
Dawn giggled at Enapay's mimicking. "Yeah, my picking's not the most original."
"Nah. If you pick that way, go ahead. I just economy pick so that there's less wasted motion. It's kind of annoying to do it at first because you have to make yourself think about it and force yourself to do it. But after a while, like anything, it becomes natural."
Delicious Economy Shredding
She finishes out Tribute with the final riff, then flexes her fingers. "No, I never saw the movie. I kinda want to, though. Jack Black and K.G. are awesome."
She shakes her hand as if trying to get rid of a cramp in her wrist. "My favorite band? Wow, that's... that's a big question. Uh... there's Tenacious D, obviously... Green Day... Weezer... Cage the Elephant... maybe Metallica... wow, too many to name."
"Metallica, Weezer, Cage the Elephant, and Green Day? I can definitely get with that. I guess my tastes are a bit less conventional, though. I like stuff like At The Drive-In, The Mars Volta, The Fall of Troy, Deftones, Veil of Maya, Animals as Leaders, The Ghost Inside, Shai Hulud, Brand New, Glassjaw, Scale the Summit, Reflux, Protest the Hero, Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza, and more. Weird stuff like that. I guess the band that I liked the most was Animals as Leaders. Tosin Abasi, thier lead guitarist, was like, the greatest guitarist to ever exist and his drummer and rhythm guitarist were so good, too. They were so orgasmic. So intellegent with the music. Like, when I heard Song of Solomon, my mind blew up, literally. They had this one bit where the lead and rhythm were in two completely different time signatures and they met up every nine bars." He closed his eyes and reflected on the masterpiece for a brief few seconds.
Enapay then slowly opened his eyes and wondered what Dawn thought about that moment of music appreciation. "Heh...Anyway, you NEED to see the movie. But I guess it'd be hard to find these days. Most people are busy trying to survive, not trying to find copies of Tenacious D. Still, there's this hilarious scene where Jack is on shrooms, and the scene with that song," Enapay pointing at Dawn playing Master Exploder. "It's too great. And the whole is so very metal. You'd love it."
Erica sat by the others, listening to Enapay and Dawn discussing music. After a moment, she decided to join in.
"Those all sound interesting, but I'm more of a rock/metal/alternative kinda girl myself, mainly stuff from the late 20th century." She began counting off her fingers.
"You know, bands like Green Day, Evanesance, Within Temptation, Linkin Park, System of a Down, The Protomen, Smashing Pumpkins, Gorillaz... I also like music fom groups like Daft Punk, the Beatles, and Coldplay... but then, I'm not that picky when it comes to music."
"Well, all of those bands I just named are some form of rock, alternative-like, or pretty metal or metal influenced. Deftones, alternative metal. Animals As Leaders, progressive metal. Veil of Maya, progressive death metal, or deathcore because of the excessive, but intellegent, breakdown usage and occasional two step. Shai Hulud, metalcore or metallic hardcore. Scale the Summit, also proggressive metal. Periphery and Between the Buried and Me are two other good ones. I even listen to this little sleeper band that never even got signed to a label called Immersed. They're good and straight up death metal, I believe," Enapay said. "But I'm not very picky ethier."
"I'll even listen to rap sometimes, not that any popular rap in the past score or so was any kind of truly intellegent, or even good. Just decent, and mostly crap. I did, however, enjoy Common, before he did that crappy club album in an attempt to get with the times. He should of stuck with what he was doing, actually being smart about his music. I hate all the stuff about loose women, drugs, rims, being a gangster, swag and all that crap. But it's good for the novelty and dancing like an idiot when you feel like it, I guess. I'm more than a little guilty of that." The boy laughed a bit.
"Anyways, I listened to Evanescance with a passion when I was in the fifth and seventh grade, but kinda just stopped. Still listened to a little System of a Down. Not so big on nu metal, but I liked Slipknot, P.O.D., Nonpoint, and Linkin Park. Linkin Park kinda sold out in like, 2008, though. I don't like their more recent stuff. Their album at the turn of the century was pretty cool, though. Everyone was a Linkin Park fan at some point in their life because of it. Even though it took almost no talent to play the simple drum beats and simple riffs, the charisma of the group, combined with the fact that they showed up at the right time, made the album succeed. But there newer stuff? Just no. That's my opinion, anyway. In fact, I think At The Drive-In's Relationship of Command, which also came out at the turn of the century, deserved that fame more than Linkin Park did," the teen continued.
"I like Smashing Pumpkins. Doomsday Clock was my jam. And I listened to Gorillaz every once in a while. Not so much anymore, though. As for Daft Punk, the Beatles, and Coldplay...Well, those groups will always be classics," Enapay said, a smile on his face as he reflected upon everything they were talking about. It made him feel rather nostalgic.
Enapay then paused, his eyes shifting between Dawn and Erica. "Heh. Um...Am I talking too much?"
Dawn smiled, holding up her first finger and thumb close together. "Just a bit," she said, giggling softly. "But it's okay, it fills in all the holes I leave by not talking. I think I've knocked all the dust off now, if you wanna try a song or two."
Ben was right, they were going to be here for a while. He couldn't tell what was going on inside, but they weren't moving around a lot, he could feel that much. That much of his odd ability he was thankful for, the sense for omegas around him. It gave him a sixth sense of sorts, and it was because of that he could sit and spy on the omegas inside.
THree of them he was well familiar with now. The sonic, the crystal alterationist, and the chaotic. There were several more there though that he wanted to experiment with, and that firebug seemed like the easiest place to start. He focused his mind, closing his eyes as he looked into the house. Through the roof, several floors down to the ground floor, near the chaotic omega. Right there. It was...a warm feeling omega as was to be expected. And it was that warmth that linked him to it.
The warmth he felt from the firebug, like that of a candle, began to wash over him. He felt warm, despite sitting outside on the roof. And that warmth continued to grow. A smile spread over his face as he sat up a bit, looking down at his hands. The light wind moved over his body and barely phased him. THis omega had power to spare, apparently, and he was somewhat familiar with what she could do already. He just had to do it himself.
The warm feeling kept growing. It felt like a fire had been lit in his belly and his body had become a furnace. The more time passed, the warmer he got. Soon he was almost ready to take his jacket off he felt so warm, but he left it on anyway, reveling in the power growing inside him. But as the temperature kept climbing higher, so did a new scent in the air. It was faint, especially in the light wind, but it smelled remarkably like...smoke.
With wide eyes, Ben looked down at himself. Small whisps of smoke were rising from his jeans, and similar plumes were escaping his jacket from his t-shirt. Opening his jacket, he saw several small, smoldering holes appearing in the polycotton garment.
"Oh shit!" he exclaimed as he stood up. As quickly as he could he started patting his body down, starting over his chest and moving down over his legs. he couldn't feel the hotspots in his clothing due to his far above average body temperature. But the start and panic shook his focus, more concerned with smothering his clothes than the firebug omega. The hotspots in his clothing stopped appearing and the coolness around him was starting to leave. The power was vanishing and good riddance.
"Okay, that...one might take a bit more practice to get, but not now..." he said as he sat back down. Pulling the now warmed jacket around himself, he closed his eyes and looked down into the house again. There were still a couple others that he wanted to work with.
There was that other alterationist. Alterationists were nothing new to him, they were suprisingly common after the omega event, but this one felt a little different, and he couldn't figure out what it was. He cleared his mind and focused on him as much as he could, but oddly enough, no matter how much time he spent or how much he focused, nothing ever changed.
"Come on, gimme a break here. Just what are you?" he said to himself, folding his arms over his chest. This omega was as much a mystery as that other one that felt like a morph. That one had him a bit concerned; morphs were different than other omegas. Their abilities couldn't be copied because they didn't work except at their full power. THis one wasn't a morph though, it was an alterationist that apparently didn't have an alter form.
Ben grabbed his jacket and pulled it tighter around himself. Since he got nice and warm with that firebug, now it felt all the colder. There were pinholes through his clothes now that let air through them. Just more marks now in his already tattered clothes. Opening his eyes, he gave it a rest for a moment and looked down at his pants. It's not like he could get any more. CLothing was hard to come by now, almost nothing in the undercity was new and there was very little of what there was available. And of course, it was expensive. The more he looked down at his pants, the more he wished he had some way to fix them. The holes weren't sewable, and he didn't have needle or thread. Nor did he have any patches. And the more he looked at his pants, the more he saw the holes...going away...
Sitting up a bit more, he leaned down further. They were going away. Smaller and smaller, the threads looked like they were knitting themselves together. It was amazing, it was miraculous, and it was this other omegas power. He was an alterationist, but not a normal one. He was like a cross between an alterationist and an enviromental, he altered things but not himself nor his enviroment. Just, like, anything he laid his hands on he could change. Like Bens pants, and...his shirt, his jacket, his shoes. They all touched him and they were all changing, repairing themselves. In just a couple minutes, his clothes were just like new.
"Wow, nice. Very, very nice. You're a handy one." he said to himself as he looked left and right over himself. Just like store bought. They weren't this good when he got them, which was out of a dumpster in the first place. He was definitely a handy one to have around, but now that he knew what he was dealing with, it's time to move on.
There were a lot of omegas, but this group seemed like the strongest around as far as he could tell. There was that cloaker but he was long since out of range. So that left the morph. Ben took a deep breath and zipped up his jacket for the first time since...ever. Being that he hadn't felt anything from the alterationist in the first place, it was hard to tell if the power was gone, but he went after the other one anyway.
This was it, the morph. THis was going to be a very delicate thing. If this omega turned into some kind of monster and he started to transform halfway it could be fatal. His organs could change and his body not or vice versa and the incompatible bodys not work. That would end his day real quickly. He had to copy enough of his power to get an idea without going to far.
He focused on the omega. This was much easier than the touch alterationist; this one he could actually feel. And he let that feeling wash over him, which is exactly what it did. It felt like he was suddenly doused in water. More than feeling it, he WAS being doused in water. His eyes shot open, looking down at his new clothes as they started to soak through. It was as if every pore in his skin suddenly opened up and were pouring out all the water in his body. Before it could progress any further though he moved his focus away from the morph and to the firebug again. The wet feeling went away replaced by that warm one once again. This time though, he embraced it fully, letting that fire burn inside him. The temperature around him rose as his body temperature shot up, the water in his clothes steaming off. Soon he looked like a plume of smoke coming out of the chimney, a good camoflage if a short one. A few minutes later, he was dry, and warm once again, dialing back the heat so he didn't burn his newly fixed clothes. Settling back again with the newfound knowledge of what this group of omegas could do, he let himself rest, warm, dry, and thanks to the morph, cleanly bathed.
"Heh, sorry. It's just that this stuff, music, always gets me going. It was most of what I did when I was little."
"I think I've knocked all the dust off now, if you wanna try a song or two."
Enapay raised an eyebrow. "You sure?" he said, feeling a tad relieved that he didn't have to actually ask for it and taking the instrument with the utmost care. He swung the strap over his shoulder and gently ran his hand across the maple wood finish, keeping his superhuman strength in mind at all times. He didn't want to ruin this beauty and risk Dawn hating him for the rest of his natural born life. As he moved his hands along the instrument, memories came rushing back. Dawn's guitar was for right handed players, but Enapay had trained himself to be ambidextrous. Still, it should have felt awkward at first, especially after all these years, but it did not. He figured that his powers must have had something to do with it.
"This is a nice Gibson. Very nice. I'm more of an Agile man, if only because they cater to lefties just as much as they do to righties.
"Hrmmm, what to play?" Enapay looked off into the distance and gestured his right hand as if checking through a mental playlist, keeping his left positioned in the middle of the neck. "Modern Meat? Nooo, not enough strings. Point to Point? Nooo. Never played it on a six string. Why am I even out to blow somebody's mind when I haven't even touched a guitar in years?" He was muttering to himself. Then it clicked. He made sure the tuning was standard EADGBe and looked to Dawn.
"Okie dokie. For you, pretty ladies, I will play one of my favorite songs in the whole world. Mouths Like Sidewinder Missles by The Fall of Troy. Leads are kinda hard and, on this ampless acoustic electric, won't have the umph that a pure electric plugged into an amp would have, but I'm gonna try and recreate it the best I can for you. Okay? Okay."
Enapay settled into his comfort stance, leaning forward slightly. He began slightly nodding his head, closing his eyes mentally counting the time signature. He took a deep breath through his nose and out of his mouth. With that, he began.
Just click "Watch on Youtube".
Near the end, Enapay's tounge poked it's way inbetween his white teeth as the teen began lightly banging his head to the progressive post-hardcore symphony in his mind. "Goddamn," Enapay said after he ended the closing riff, a smile on his face. He threw in a melodic descending sweep for good measure. "How was that? If it was good, you want another?"
"This is a nice Gibson," said Enapay. "Very nice."
"Thanks," replied Dawn. "It was a gift from my big sister. She taught me how to play." Her expression darkened for just a moment before snapping back to cheery with an audible *smack*.
"I'm more of an Agile man, if only because they cater to lefties as much as they do righties."
"Hehe. My family was almost exclusively right-handed, and even if we weren't, my dad had this thing against left-handed people. Some old superstition or something. I don't buy it, though."
She listened intently as Enapay played, watching his fretting hand leap all over the neck of the guitar. "Wow," she said as he finished. "I don't think I can do that," she giggled. "It... actually looks kinda painful. You're... really, really good."
She reached across to take the guitar back. "Hold on a sec, I wanna see if I can still multitask. Besides, I fell like playing some Green Day." She slipped the strap back over her head, set her fingers, readied her pick, inhaled, and began.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bTdLi0YUVM
The sounds come free and clear from the strings, Dawn playing quite well. Then she began singing.
"Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road
Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go
So make the best of this test
And don't ask why
It's not a question, but a lesson
Learned in time
It's something unpredictable
But in the end it's right
I hope you have the time of your life..."
Her voice not only complimented the acoustic riffs of the guitar, but even seemed to improve them. Her voice was soft, and yet energetic, and every syllable carried weight. She never faltered or missed a note.
She finished and inhaled, apparently a bit short of breath.
My Internet was down for the last three days, so I can't make this too long. However, watch for a nod to another superhero series in here. One of my favorites, no less.
Erica didn't respond to him directly. Instead, she gave a blanket order for everyone to follow her. For a second, Alex hesitated and thought of hanging back and trying to talk to the police. He hadn't been fully involved in the aftermath fight, aside from throwing his jacket over someone's face. No one had spoken up to him either.
"Hey." said a voice nearby. It was Dawn, holding what looked like an instrument case. "What are you stalling for?"
Alex looked back as the cars began to arrive, their red and blue lights making him question his conviction. Eventually, he saw the officers arriving with pump shotguns and dropped his idea of trying to talk to them. He had no idea if he could mend flesh with his abilities, but he knew what kind of damage shotguns could do. "Alright, I'm coming. Wait up." Alex then picked up his pace, following the group away from these scene. The event ended badly, but at least they had done something good.
--------------
After nearly two hours, Erica had lead them to what seemed like an orphanage. It was in pretty good shape on the exterior; the paint was very fresh, the grass mostly green, and the sidings intact. He then realized that he hadn't had much interaction with kids over the past five years. Everyone he knew was a college kid, or at least high school.
Inside wasn't what he expected; there was no one there. Looking around, he stepped a short distance away from the group, only to be surprised by the voice of a girl about Erica's age. She was quick to hug her, then asked about the group behind her, Alex hearing that her name was Lauren. During that time, several other orphans were quick to come out of their hiding places, taking notice of the group. One even had something on his wrist that caught Alex's eye and made a grin spread over his face.
Being separated from the motley crue, he waited for everyone to finish their introductions to Lauren before he walked back over. Holding out his gloved hand, the girl gave him a quick look and shook it, though not very strongly. "Alex Bismark." he said in his usual deep voice.
"Glad to meet you." Lauren replied. "I was just telling the others that you can stay here as long as you like."
Alex nodded. He was fairly certain she didn't suspect he was an Omega, but she was nice enough, and Erica was one like him. "Thanks, but if you don't mind, I'm going to hang with the children for a bit. That OK?"
"Oh, sure. They like company." Lauren replied.
Nodding again, Alex then heard what sounded like the crunch of plastic behind him. The kid he had seen with the wrist strap toy had set it down, only to have it stepped on just seconds later. As the kid held the broken toy, Alex could tell he was on the verge of crying. Checking to make sure the knife he had made before was still tucked away, he got in close to the crying child.
"Hey, pal." he said in a cooing voice, sitting with his legs folded next to him. The kid was young, maybe 10 or 11, and looked over at him. "What's wrong?"
"It's...it's...broken." the orphan stammered. "I can't fix it. I loved this toy."
"Well then, let me help you." Alex offered. "I can fix it, no problem."
The orphan suddenly began to perk up. "How?"
Alex chuckled. "My secret."
"You an Omega like Erica is, mister?"
Alex was floored. He didn't expect the question, but he and Erica were both human in appearance. "Yes, I am." He then held out his hand to the orphan, who was still clutching the toy. "Can I see it?" Once he had it in his hands, Alex examined the damage, his grin growing even more. It was a basic stress fracture on the back. Removing his gloves, he focused on the object's plastic hull and as he did, the sounds of it's plastic repairing told him the job was complete. To be sure, he put it on and tested it; everything worked. "Pretty cool, huh?" he asked.
"You like it?" the kid asked.
"Do I?" Alex said, his voice getting lighter in tone. "I've never seen one before, but I like the show it comes from. I watched it for a while after the Omega Event, and I really grew to like it."
"Do you want that, then?"
Alex looked over at the orphan. He thought about it for a second, but as much as he liked the morpher, this wasn't his. However, the kid suddenly wouldn't take no for an answer, pushing his offer and the toy away when he tried to return it. "You keep it. You'll take better care of it."
Alex stared at the morpher for a second, flipping it open once with a satisfying click. "Well then, I accept. Thank you."
"Are your friends playing something over there?"
Looking over, several of the group were trying to play a tune on a guitar Dawn had brought with her. "Yeah. Looks like a guitar." He then stood up from his cross legged position. "I'm gonna go see if they need something though. Thanks again."
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