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Carson's vision was blurred and his head was throbbing. What had happened? only a moment ago, he'd been adjusting the telescope for Clara. Maybe he'd passed out or something. It was an odd occurance, maybe there had been some sort of pressure change that messed with his head. He pushed himself up to a sitting position and held his head in his hands as a wave of dizziness swept over him. Once his vision had cleared, and the wave of nausea passed, Carson looked around. Weird...it was daytime. Maybe he'd just fallen asleep and his family had left him out here. He shook his head...that sounded like Clara.

He sat in the grass in their front lawn. There was definitely something different about it, but Carson couldn't quite put his finger on it. Maybe one of the neighbors had painted their house, or planted a garden or something. He shifted himself into a more comfortable position and lifted his head, just enjoying the warm morning sun. He heard the squeaky screen door on the porch swing open and looked over his shoulder to see who it was.

It was just Clara, probably coming out to check the mail. He smiled at her, "Morning Clar." There was something different about her too, "Did you get your hair cut while I was out or something?"

She just stood there on the porch, frozen. Her eyes widened as they bore into him and she looked like she was about to cry. "What..?" He looked at himself to make sure there wasn't some huge spider on him or something. "Hey, Clara...are you alright?"

Clara felt the color drain from her face. Was her mind playing some kind of cruel joke on her? That couldn't be him! If it was, he hadn't changed in the slightest since...well since that night. She couldn't tear her eyes away even though the sight was breaking her heart. She was finally going crazy, there was no other explanation. Then he spoke to her...

She lost it then and a tear fell down her cheek. She finally managed to choke out in barely a whisper, "...Carson?"

Aila Berings

Aila opened her eyes, expecting to see her familiar cluttered sky-blue room on top of her big queen-sized bed. Instead, she was on a hard, old carpet in an empty room, the walls a faded cream that might have once been blue a long time ago. Huh? Aila thought, Wha... I just fell asleep, and now I'm in this wierd room. Is this a joke?

Her computer was gone, and Aila stood up in despair. That computer was her life! She searched frantically, but there was nowhere to search-- there was no furniture. But she recognized the wall shape and format and the popcorn-style ceiling; this was definitely her room... but what had happened? Hadn't she just fallen asleep on her bed next to her souped-up laptop?

Aila ran out to the hallway, checking herself all the while. No, she was the same as she had been before dozing off... but she didn't remember dozing off. Just waking up. That was weird... and the hallway looked different, too. And as she passed an unfamiliar, and yet familiar at the same time, window, she saw that it was broad daylight. OK, now things were getting really weird. For once, Aila didn't feel like joking. She was starting to get freaked out.

"Mom? Dad? What the Hell happened?" Aila ran down the stairs in her white nightgown, albino complexion and red eyes complementing her light pruple hair which had resulted in an experiment to dye her bleached white hair red. She was an albino, explaining her red eyes and white skin. But when she got to the bottom of the stairs and turned to the living room, Aila's mouth dropped open and she practically recoiled.

The whole room had been redecorated, and now a bunch of people stared at her with shock on their faces. Including her parents, who-- what?! Her parents! They looked older... and who were all these people?

"Mom? Dad? What happened? You're so... old! And who are these people?!" Aila was bewildered as her parents got up and walked towards her cautiously, as if she was a dream.

"Aila? Is that really you?"

"Who do you think it is?! Is that really you?" She responded. Everyone in the room gaped. "What happened? How long've I been out of it? Did I go into a coma or something? And WHERE is my COMPUTER?!"

"Aila?" Aila's parents exchanged a look. "You've been gone for seven years."

---

AJ Karetine

"Yes, I know, it's astounding. They appeared again after all this time? We'll have to get right on it I suspect, sir. Yes. Unh-huh. Sure thing, I'll let you know," AJ clicked off his cell phone.

It was amazing! After all this time, and yet the Blues, as most of the SERO scientists had referred to the disappearees as, had returned to Earth unscathed after seven years. He bet that Laura already knew, she'd probably been watching the news while trying to keep the kids under control... and she'd have an opinion and a nag to add in as soon as he got home. AJ groaned inwardly.

He and Laura had stayed together all these years for the sake of the kids-- and the fact that they couldn't afford a divorce. AJ wished, most of the time, that he could be free of her incissent nagging, but what was he to do? He loved his children, although they weren't the easiest kids to provide for... or keep under control. Laura had become an old crone over the years and he was sure that the Triplets enjoyed her company even less than he.

Still. AJ groaned again and picked up his phone, dialing the number of his boss and waiting for him to pick up.

---

The Triplets

"Shhh!" Allie snapped at Jace.

"Sheesh! I'm the one doing all the work, you should be--" Jace was interrupted. Lari was busy chatting to an old man who was suspected (by the Triplets) to be a Blue. Mommy had said that Daddy was going to want to capture the Blues after the news came on today, and the Triplets wanted to help. And, they were dangerously bored.

"Will you shut up and do the work, Mr. I-Do-All-The-Work? You should be gald I come up with all these ideas. And even you should be able to see that you're doing it wrong. Give me that," Allie snatched a doohickey out of Jace's hands and spun it, seeming to make it work.

"Grah. Give it back," Jace snapped. Allie did so. Lari was usually the peacemaker between the two, but she was distracting...

"There. Now give the signal," Allie told him, once the trap was complete. Jace mounted a shrill whistle, and Lari nodded. Now it was her real turn.

"Mister, will you please come play a game with me?" Lari asked, making an irresistable face.
The old man nodded a yes, and Lari led him over to under a tree near the bush Jace and Allie were hiding in. She sat down dangerously close to the ruffle in the grass which concealed the trap and gestured for the old man to sit down. But when the man stepped over there, his foot was caught in a rope loop...

"NOW!" Lari screamed, and Allie tugged a rope smugly. The man's foot was caught in the rope and he was swept off his feet and hung upside down from the tree.

"Now," Jace said, he and Allie emerging from the bush, "Tell us where the rest of the Blues are."

---

Disposable Blues (Kay and Ben)

"Huh? Ben... what happened?" Kay asked sleepily rubbing her eyes and sitting up, instinctively buttoning up her blouse.

"Uh... I dunno..." Ben did the same and pulled his shirt back on. "I think we fell asleep," But as the two looked around, they were in a strange place... On a bed, but not Kay's bed. It was different.

They got up, baffled, and looked around, but moved out into the hallway. Kay went and checked in her parents' room... and screamed. Her father was asleep-- but not with her mother. Soon Kay's father got up sleepily at the scream, and his eyes widened.

"Kay?" He asked, getting up. He was wearing boxers and a T-shirt, his usual pajamas, but he was different... older. "Kay... is that you? It's been seven years!"

"Seven years?" Ben asked, looking in the room and eyes widening. "Seven years?"

~Dr. Logan Williams~

Dr. Williams was watching the television in the lab that was always on some news station. So, more of the Blues had shown up. This was proving to be very interesting. His cell phone vibrated in his left pocket. The only ones who had this number were the members of the group he had working on the Blue Moon Project. He pulled it out and looked at caller ID.

Karetine.

He flipped the small phone open, "This is Williams."

AJ Karetine

"This is Karetine, sir. I assume you've seen the news. There're Blues popping up all over the place. Sir, are there any orders needed to be carried out?" AJ asked, his voice wavering a bit. He was always nervous when he took the initiative talking to Dr. Williams. Because his job, and therefore his life, along those of his children and his wife, was on the line here. Of course, he wasn't particularly keen on unting down the Blues... he knew that they weren't considered human anymore, but they were. He had no choice in the matter-- he was stuck between a rock and a hard place, as long as he wanted to keep feeding his family.

The Triplets

After about ten minutes of hardcore questioning, at about the point where the triplets began to get bored, Jace ran his hand through his spiky black hair and shoved another hand into the pocket of his worn jeans.

"He's clean. Let 'im go."
"I agree," Lari said, although Allie stayed silent. Jace undid the trap and then the triplets were gone so fast that the old man had no time to scream at them.

The brunette girls and the raven-haired boy met up back at their rundown one-story house, where their mother didn't bother to ask where they had been because she already knew. Laura got them some lunch and then left to watch her programs.

"Useless," Allie sighed, twirling a lock of light brown hair that fell to her shoulders and dark eyebrows knitting over dark blue eyes.

"Totally useless," Lari agreed. She had the same blue eyes and brown hair as Allie, except Lari's hair was shorter. Otherwise, the two of them were exactly alike. Jace was the oddball when it came to appearances-- he had AJ's dark hair and eyes, while Allie and Lari shared their mother's complexion.

"Well it's not like we can ever effing tell. Tell me why we're even hunting these people, anyways? They ain't done nothing damn wrong," Jace complained.

"Shut up with the language, Jace. We're pranksters, not gangsters," Lari argued. "But we're hunting them because they're dead. Do you wanna be hunted by zombies?"

"If they're dead, how come they don't eat us? They look perfectly alive--" Jace was interrupted by the usually-silent Allie.

"They're not dead, idiots. They've been announced dead. Which means they've been gone so long they're not considered alive."

"So they're zombies?" Lari asked, confused. Allie sighed and pressed a palm to her forehead.

"I live with idiots!"

~Carson and Clara~

Carson just stared at his sister whose gaze was even more intense than his was. The only difference was that her eyes had tears in them. Did she not recognize him? "Clara...what's the matter?"

Clara dropped the the glass of milk she'd been holding and it shattered on the porch. It only took her a second to start running toward Carson. She fell to her knees right in front of him and threw her arms around his neck. "Carson," She cried on his shoulder, "Where have you been all these years?"

Carson's eyes were full of confusion. He wasn't sure what she meant, but she was clearly upset about something. He put his arms around her, trying to comfort her. "Clara, what are you talking about? I never left..."

She pulled away from him and looked straight into his face. "Carson," his name sounded almost foreign on her tongue. She hadn't said it in seven years. "You've been missing for seven years. The police have declared you legally dead."

His eyes widened and he was rendered speechless. Seven years? Was that even possible?
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~Dr. Logan Williams~

Williams sighed. There was something that drove Karetine. The man was a hard worker, but he always seemed reluctant. "Yes, Mr. Karetine. I need you to meet me and the lab. I have a few files I need you to deliver to a Mr. Louse. He will be in charge of getting the Blues to us. Then, I need you here for the most part, helping me with my research. There is something odd about these people. No one goes missing for seven years and returns unscathed. Even more intriguing is they didn't age, and they came back en masse." They needed to study these people. Find out where they'd been...if anything had happened at all. Whatever the case, there was always a scientific explanation.

"Just get here, Mr. Karetine. We'll discuss it more once you arrive." Dr. Williams flipped the phone shut and placed it on the table as he resumed watching the constant updates on the Blue arrivals.

John suddenly fell to the ground. "OW," He said loudly. It wasn't excatly original, but you didn't ussually have time to be creative when a chair broke on you, somthing that was unfortunately common in his life. Then something hit him, two somethings really. One, the ussual painful peices of chair were not present. Seccond, the sun was shining on his face. Opening his eyes, he closed he looked around him. He appeared to still be in yard, but things seemed oddly different. The trees were taller, and some of the lawn furniture was missing, replaced by new stuff. That was when he noticed a little girl on a swingset. She looked strangely familiar, though John couldn't place where he knew her from. As he stood up, rubbing is aching backside, the little girl let out a scream and ran into the house. "AUNT JAMIE, THERE'S A MAN IN THE BACKYARD!" She slammed the door shut, his door, cutting off all sound. John stood there trying to figure out just what was going on, and trying to convince himself he wasn't crazy. A short while later, a women came out of his house. He new her. It was Jamie Allred, a friend of Kayla's. But something was different about her. She seemed, older. "John? John, is that really you?" She asked, slowly moving closer to him. "Last time I checked, he replied sarcastically. "Care to tell me just what's going on."

"JOHN!" Jamie screamed, launching herself out him and grabbing him in a big hug. "Oh John, where have you been? Kayla will be so happy to see you. She's missed you so much."

"What do you mean, where have I been. I fell to sleep out here watching the moon last night." John patted the now sobbing womens back awkwardly.

"John, you've been gone for seven years." Jamie said pulling away from him. "You just dissapeared while you were out watching the moon. They declared you to be dead just a few months ago. Kayla was heart broken. Oh dear." Her face suddenly became serious.

"What? And where's Kayla."

"That's the problem, she's out on a date."

"A DATE!"

"John you were gone for seven years. She needed to move on. Her mom set her up with this nice guy she knew from work. I think he's going to propose to her."

John sat down hard on the ground. This was all to much to take in. He was gone for seven years. His wife was dating, and might be getting. "Who was the little girl."

"That, John, would be your daughter."

Wes Louse

It was about an hour later from his little sit an talk at the Starbucks. He was taking a nice little ride through the city, AC was on full with the radio playing in a Sleek, Sexy, Jet Black... Ford Crown Victoria. Yea if that doesn't say government car. Hey he didn't pay for it, Nor did he have to worry about the gas. He wasn't doing anything at the moment, But driving around waiting for the phone to go off. In the hour since the first call he had been called three more time to be told the same thing as last time. Each time Wes wanted to yell into the phone that he knew! But, again with each call he merely said the same thing, Yes Sir... Yes Sir... I understand Sir, It made for a great one way call. He happen to be stopped at a red light with his eyes looking here, and there kind of day dreaming like everyone dose when their at a red light. When he happen to look into the park(?) across the street.

Eyes were scanning for hot chicks... Hopefully some of them might even be out of a run today. Looking deep into the trees he saw a man hanging upside down from a tree. “ Hu, It's not everyday you see something like that... What!!” His car didn't have Red and Blues, Nope nothing that nice. He wasn't a cop, or in the FBI anymore. Nope he had nice yellow ones, leaning down to flip the little thing-a-bob to turn the LCD lights behind the grill on, Then turning his four-ways on at the same time. He drove through the light as soon as it turned green. Pulling into the driveway of the park, and kind of parking his car in the middle of the lane. Fulling blocking four cars in.

His Old FBI training came back to him in a flood. He grabbed the 9mm handgun, and clipped on his belt as he almost jumped out of the car. He races into the park trying to find the spot where he had seen the man hanging. It took almost five minutes to find the man, And by the time he did find him the man was sitting on the ground rubbing his shoulders. As then man saw Wes running up to him he yell.

” Are you with the park where have you been thoughts kids had me hanging for a almost an hour!”

“ No Sir, I'm not with the park... I work for the SERO.” Wes knew what was coming next.

“ The What!?!”

“ The SERO sir, It's the Science to Explain Random Occurrences” This almost felt like the lead up to a joke....

“ Ha! Well I was just hanging upside down in a tree for an hour. How much of a F#$*ing random Occurrences is that! Those kids were calling me one of those Blues.”

“ Yes sir, Ummm I'll call the cops for you... This really isn't what we do sir...”

Wes just started to walk away as the man started to yell something else at him. Hmmm... This whole Blue people thing was going to get far worst before it got better. As he started into the parking lot there was a group of young men with a football yelling at one another. When they saw him, one pointed yelling “ Hey asshole is this your car! Dude move it before I call the cops, You can't park it like that!” Wes didn't say a thing to the man yelling at him, He merely just walked past him climbing into the car. Almost as soon as he was seated his cell phone went off again. ” Yes.... Yes ma'am.... I understand Sir.... I'll be there as soon as I can.” It was Dr. Williams secretary he needed to head to the office. Well, Now there was something to do... He started the car and headed out. Well, this has been one hell of a day so far... He missed out on like maybe thre dates at Starbucks, And then learned that kids were hanging people in a tree cause their blue... Hmmm That sounds like something else almost, Naaa, Then almost got into a fight in a parking lot. Damn! Then he almost ran a red light... Please God, Help me out here man... I got to have faith that my day will get better. Hey wow she's cute!... Thanks God, your the man!" Maybe his day was turning around... with that he pulled onto the Highway

OOC: Sorry about all the jokes... Just trying to make people smile.

Aila Berings

All Aila could do was stiffen in shock. It took a few minutes to calm down; but then she was pacing and face-palming herself, demanding to know more. Her poor, exasperated parents who were simply happy to see their daughter home, answered as best they could until she abruptly dropped down on the floor.

"Seven years..." Aila had been repeating this phrase to herself all through the questioning, but now it was louder.

"They... they pronounced you legally dead last month."

"WHAT?! I'm not dead!"

"Remember, honey, seven years. And you haven't aged a bit... it's so strange... You're not technically considered human anymore..."

"Someone. Bring. Me. My. Stinking. Computer," Aila spoke slowly and deliberately. Her parents, she knew, would have saved every keepsake. Her father went up the stairs and returned a few minutes later with the dusty machinery, and she grasped it and hugged it to her chest. "My baby! Ugh..." She immediately began clicking awya on the laptop, which apparently worked just fine despite all the dust and grime. "My baby!" Her parents grunted awkwardly.

"Listen. I've just returned after the stupid blue moon seven years later with all my friends probably married and with kids, and my parents have made new friends, my relatives have died, I disappeared from the face of the earth for seven freaking years. I'm legally dead and technically no longer human, I haven't aged since the day I disappeared, my whole life has moved on without me and there's no way I'm going to finish high school, let alone go to university, now. I need to calm down before I go insane for real. Give me a freaking minute to calm down, OK?" Any uncomfortable guests quickly shut their mouths, and Aila proceeded to click away on her computer in her little white nightgown in the middle of the floor of the living room in her parents' house. She was probably in the middle of a nervous breakdown.

After a few minutes of silence, Aila sighed in relief.
"Whew! After seven years, I finally got this thing upgraded."

AJ Karetine

AJ groaned after he clicked off his phone. He hated seeing the boss, but since he was basically second in command (although his salary was not much different from a field agent's) it was he who had to deal with the unnerving situations and come this close to getting fired day by day. Of course, this was probably an exaggeration on his part, seeing as he was thinking of the classic underpaid, over-worked sidekick with the icy-hearted boss, not himself. He probably didn't come THAT close to being fired...

He walked down the hallways to Dr. Williams' office. "I'm here, sir."

~Carson and Clara~

Carson followed his sister into the old familiar house. Not much had really changed. If Clara hadn't told him he'd been gone for seven years, he probably wouldn't even have noticed. That was, until he saw his parents. They looked like he remembered, only his dad's peppered hair was now completely gray, and much thinner than he remembered. His mother had distinct wrinkles now, but underneath he could make out her familiar face. It was then that he realized just how long seven years is. Maybe it didn't seem that long when you said it, but when you witnessed it...

His parents were sitting on the couch, watching the news. His mom was holding a tissue in one hand as if she'd been crying and she was leaning against his father's shoulder. Both their eyes were transfixed on the news. Carson looked at it, and saw the same story that everyone in the country was following. The "Blues" were returning.

Clara cleared her throat, holding on to her brother's arm tightly as if he might disappear again. Both parents turned their heads in her direction and their eyes widened simultaneously. If the situation hadn't been so serious, Carson might have laughed. His mother was the first to say something, leaving his father gawking. "Carson? Honey, is that you?" She stood up and walked over to him, tears welling up in her eyes.

Carson wasn't sure how to react. To him, it seemed like he'd only seen them a few hours ago. It was strange, but his family was obviously upset, so he'd go along. "Yeah, mom. It's me." Much like Clara had done only moments before, she wrapped her arms around him and cried uncontrollably.

His dad had a different reaction. "Carson, son. I don't know that staying here is the best thing..."

Mrs. Evander rounded on her husband. "And just what do you mean by that Gary?" Her angry, motherly tone coming through, "Our son has been gone for seven years, and you want to kick him out already?"

He put up his hands defensively, "It's not that, it's just this new group that's developing. SERO or whatever they're called." He sighed and walked over to his wife. He put his arm over her shoudlers and looked at his family. "I don't know how to tell you this, but Carson isn't seen as a person anymore." He looked at his son, "They see you as some sort of experiment, and are telling people to keep a watch out for you. They're telling people that you all came back as some sort of threat, and they're looking for you."
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~Logan Williams~

Dr. Williams looked up from the article he'd been reading and took off his glasses with one hand. "Ah, Mr. Karetine. Glad you could make it." He stood up and walked over to his desk, pulling out a folder stuffed with pictures and information. "In this folder is all the information we have on the Blues that disappeared." He handed the folder to Karetine and walked back over to his desk. "As you have probably figured out, they are now incomplete. I need you to find Mr. Louse, take him with you, and fill in the blanks, so to speak. But be careful, Mr. Karetine. These Blues could prove dangerous. If you can, bring them in, but don't try anything just yet. We need to know what their weakness is before we can do anything major." He replaced his glasses and resumed reading his article, "You are dismissed, Mr. Karetine."

Karl Ernst sat at his desk, cleaning and polishing his luger. Not only was it his prefered sidearm, but it was one of his most prized possesions, and the only one he kept on his person at all times. The rest were stored in a large safe in his office that only he had access to. Finishing, he put his tools away and replaced the luger to it's ussual place in the holster on his right hip. Standing up, he grabbed his cane and went out to make his rounds. His job sounded quite simple, to ensure the protection of all SERO personel and assets, but it could become quite demanding for a man that was almost 80 and demanded as close to perfection as he could get from those under him. Exagirating his limp, went around the complex, checking all the security points and sytems, talking with his men, making sure everything was running smoothly, and trying to fix the things that weren't. It was hard to believe that such a frail old man could be as dangerous as he really was.