Michael Lorentz's Story

((As a slight note, talking in dark blue indicates that Michael is speaking in German. I would love to type things in German, but that's just making it more complex for everyone.))



Thud.

All around the collapsed Michael Lorentz, OKARI equipment - primarily used for reading magnetic fields - were fizzing and exploding in a shower of fairly harmful sparks. One particular piece of equipment had caught on fire, but a white-coated assistant was dousing the malfunctioning sensor with a fire extinguisher. The head scientist, standing on the other side of a two-way mirror made of bulletproof glass, shook his head. The intercom connecting the two rooms was fried, so he was forced to step out into the room to provide Michael with the results of his evaluation.

"Michael," said the scientist, nudging Michael, who - after being helped to his feet by one of the scientist's assistants - still appeared to be in a slight daze. "Your evaluation. A sheet of paper, which had his name printed in the scientist's handwriting in the upper left hand corner. Several notes were written in shorthand - nothing that Michael would be able to decipher - with a red stamp at the bottom, indicating the Greek letter Beta. The assistant helping Michael guided him out the room, and returned back to his work.

Once he was left in the hallway, Michael folded the piece of paper somewhat haphazardly, stuffing it in his brown jacket and started walking towards his room - truth be told, he was headed towards the vending machine between the thrice-damned labs and the rooms. Once there, Michael sighed, and slammed on the glass front. Glancing at the selection of drinks, Michael turned his right index finger in circles, with the intention of grabbing a drink for free.

Fuckin' assholes.

From one atom to another, electrons raced through naturally, until they felt the influence of Michael, at which point they started to submit to his overwhelming strength over them. And so, Michael's control extended to greater and greater ranges in scale. First from the atoms, and then the molecules began to dance to his will. Then, small - and later larger - pieces of machinery within the machine began to move, and the next thing Michael knew, a can of rather generic soda was sitting in the bottom of the vending machine, free of charge.

Grabbing the can with his left hand, Michael tore open the tab and the attached piece of aluminum, taking a gulp of whatever-the-hell he was drinking. The test - another attempt by these OKARI assholes to try and make him use his damn electromagnetism control to fly - had gone disastrously wrong yet again. The damn scientists knew he was scared of heights. They knew what happened the other nineteen times that they tried to make him fly with his powers, and they didn't listen. Yet again he had destroyed their expensive lab equipment, and there was nothing they could do.

Sure, he could move magnetic metals easily, but as far as generating electromagnetic fields, Michael was still figuring that out. They knew that too, and hoped that his fear of heights would enable him to fly. If Michael was stuck on the damn apparatus with that awful harness one more time, he would have torn apart the entire facility out of sheer rage.

And then, out of the blue, an announcement came over the PA system.

"All prototypes, please report to the commons. All prototypes, please report to the commons."

Ah, prototypes. For these scientist bastards, Michael Lorentz was no more than a lab rat. Raw data on sheets of paper kept in some godforsaken archive in this damned facility kept everything they needed to know about him. Hell, once they were done with him, he'd probably be disposed and forgotten about. In all truth, that royally pissed him off.

The nearest speaker flung off the wall, and most of its wires and metallic parts were sticking out at odd angles. Michael gulped down the rest of his drink, and crushed the aluminum can into a perfect sphere as he walked towards the commons.

Once there, he looked around to see that several of the others had made it there before him. Michael didn't look particularly pleased, nor did he feel the need to socialize with any of them. Instead, he walked over to a wall and leaned against it, waiting for the next damned OKARI official in a lab coat or fancy suit to give them some bullshit message.

Charlotte had been exceedingly alright with keeping to herself. She still wasn't fully aware of where she was, or why, but it was obvious the other people in the room were of a similar nature. They may have had more awareness, but no one of them seemed to have any great insight beyond hers. It was almost a shame, she ended up at an isolated table towards the front of the room, just watching the others. She would've loved an excuse for some form of conversation to put her nerves at ease but everyone was so busy keeping to themselves, or brooding in one form of another it was like being in a casting room for a B-rate movie. The role of “Angsty hero #3” no less. The only person who caught her interest was Michael. The can he was twirling was just interesting to watch. The way be bent it into various shapes amused, and struck a little fear into Charlotte, considering her piercings.

The only thing that caught Michael's attention however, was the clipboard man. He was typical for Okari staff, and before he even spoke Michael was quite away the cloak and dagger game was about to continue. "All prototypes with the clearance for Psi, please stay here. Betas, please follow me."  And there it was, typical Okari. “Just follow us blindly and you'll probably be alright.” He was slightly appalled that none of the other betas, or Psis even were openly questioning this, and when William willingly moved to the hallway he was shocked. They could play sheep if they wanted, but he was calling it. “Bullshit.”. Without even looking up from his can, which currently resembled a railroad spike he knew the effect it was having on Mr.Clipboard.

“I'm calling bullshit,” He sighed. “I'm not getting up let alone following you down a hallway without knowing why, and where that hall leads.”

Unknown to them both, all of this caught Cyrus' attention. He'd been in the middle of reminiscing on the old days, namely Jantec bursting into rooms and slaughtering people for the shits and giggles while Sara bitched up a Diva's storm. He'd just about lost his faith in this new group, they were a little to willing to please, to willing to accept the don't-ask-because-we-won't-tell attitude of Okari. His orange eyes moved from Vein, the only other possible source of interest thus far, and fixed on the ex-employee. It was rather fitting that he was the first to raise true protest.

"Mr.Lorentz.." Exasperation was an understatement for how the man felt towards Michael, it would be no surprise to Cyrus if the entire staffed wanted that man dead the way he wrecked things. Almost as well as Cyrus himself did. "I'm not at liberty to discuss this in front of the Psi subjects, nor am I about to ask them to leave this room. You are to follow me, and when we reach your goal you may ask questions." Cyrus watched the boy carefully, obviously Michael was still fuming about his tests, and that was the last answer he wanted. From the shape of the can, to the fact Charlotte was getting up to rally behind the boy it was obvious a scene was about to go down, and as interesting as it may be, it'd also be time consuming. As he pushed himself away from the wall Michael let the spike fly, hurling towards the doctor at an alarming speed. The boy was a bit arrogant, not realizing the hell killing that man would bring down on all the betas, which would really spoil plans for later. With a half-hearted flick of his wrist the projectile was sliced to ribbons before it could reach it's target, the poorly aimed wires leaving large gashes in the floor. Before the Doc could start barking Cryus flicked his wrist again, wrapping a single wire around the man's neck and silencing him. "I'll tell you just enough..You're going down a pretty little hall, and up a few floors, from there a pretty little room. You'll be meeting with a very important officer from Okari to go over the details of an assignment you're required for..Now..If you'd all be so kind.." He motioned towards the hall. "Can we get this going along, Betas?

---

When the man laughed at her comments, the smallest of smiles graced her plump, peachy lips. She truly enjoyed it when others appreciated her as much as she appreciated herself, and acknowledging her comedic nature could easily put you in a good standing with the woman almost immediately, as if smoothing out her feathers. No one around here had a sense of humor. She cleared her throat to make sure she didn't seem too delighted, but her smugness could not go unnoticed. She stole another glance at him.

“A peanut allergy or a recreational game huh? Well most sports games imply team work, so we should at least introduce ourselves right? I’m Francis Washi…” the man had begun, and she drank in his appearance as he spoke. He had a way of talking to the whole room, a commanding presence, she'd note. He was interrupted by the grumpy academic. “I'm calling bullshit,” He had sighed. Vein nodded her head empathetically as if to say "fair enough". She could understand his concern. His objection wasn't outrageous in the slightest, knowing OKARI. It wasn't a surprise when the droopy looking doctor who was leading the Betas out of the room refused the spectacled guy. When it came down to it, it didn't matter what any of them did. The organization that ran them would ravage them, fully and violently, until they'd had enough. There was no escaping it, no rebeling. It was a futile fight, but one she could respect nonetheless.

You could feel confrontation sizzling in the air like a static charge and Vein merely continued to watch the scene with a mild amount of amusement. She appreciated the spunk the Betas had. That said, when can that had been turned into a killing device was hurled at the doctor's head, and Vein didn't even attempt to act concerned for his well being. She did, however, react when the projectile was ripped into slivers and gauged the floor. "Holy shit," Vein breathed, looking about the room for the person responsible for this act. Her nonvocalized question was answered almost immediately as that man with the fringey coat began to speak. Her eyes caught onto a wire that was - "Woah, is that around his throat?" She couldn't even hear what he had to say, too distracted by analyzing his powers to listen. She only heard him say, "Can we get this going along, Betas?" Vein hadn't even realized that her muscles were slightly tensed, but as soon as she did, she went back to the incredibly languid body language she'd possessed before, lounging in her hair with her hands entwined behind her neck. She sniffed and nodded her head. "Huh. That's pretty bad ass." she commented, an observation rather than a compliment.

Then "Francis Washi-" began to talk again. "Since it seems like we'll be involved with each other for the moment. Having a name to a face is much more beneficial in any team situation, especially if its football," she snorted here, "so why not introduce yourselves. Like i was about to say, i'm Francis Washington, just call me Wash. I enjoy painting and long walks on beaches. It's a pleasure to finally be able meet you all" Jane introduced herself first, and Vein hummed. She wondered what her brother's name had been and tried not to recognize that she just used past tense when referring to him.

"Alright, my name's Vein. I occassionally turn into a walking shard of crystal in my free time." she drawled, taking another sip from her flask after her introduction. "And if I'd have known this would have been socialite hour, I woulda gotten drunk off my ass beforehand."

Irene's gaze went immediately to the door, interested in the spectacle. It seemed a couple of the Betas, a dark haired woman and this "Mr.Lorentz", were not happy with the total lack of information. It looked like it would dissolve into a fight, probably with the scientist being killed or worse. Lorentz hurled a spike at the man. It was made of some aluminum that he had been messing with before that probably had been a pop can. Irene calmly wondered if his power was simply manipulation of objects, or if it was something more complex than that. Suddenly, wires darted out from a man that Irene hadn't noticed before. One of the wires that hadn't sliced the spike, and the floor, wrapped around the scientist's neck. The mysterious man then got them going to their destination. It was supposedly some meeting, though Irene doubted that was the whole truth. With that, the Betas shuffled down the hall and out of sight.

With almost half of the prototypes now out of the room, Irene was feeling ever so slightly more comfortable. She was used to waiting quietly, though the first while she had been here she hated never knowing what was going on, she eventually became used to it. Now, however, some of the other Psi were trying to start conversation and get to know each other. She decided it would be a nice change, and she listened attentively to each introduction.

The first man, who started the conversation, said his name is Francis Washington, Wash for short, and some nonsense about painting and walking on the beach. He was a tall man with long, dark hair drawn back into a ponytail. The next was Jane, whose brother had greeted Irene. She hoped that he would be alright, but quickly pushed the thought away. It was useless to worry or become attached at a place like this where everyone was replacable. Next was the woman who called herself Vein. She seemed confident, even showing a sarcastic sense of humor that Irene found refreshing in all this blandness.

While the others were introdicing themselves, the man who had seemed busy reading a book apparently finished and was talking to a woman at the service counter. A moment later, he set a few cups of coffee infront of them while introducing himself as Zakhar. She nodded at him with an abrupt, "Thank you," before introducing herself. "I am Irene Thompson. You may call me whatever you wish, I don't much care." The statment didnt seem to be to anyone in particular, but to everyone in the room. She calmly sipped the coffee, enjoying the warmth and bitterness. It did wake her up a bit, and she enjoyed it.

John hesitated over the threshold, not because he was surprised at the room (he had long ago stopped being surprised at the range of environments housed in the OKARI base), but because stepping into the room was like falling underwater, like stuffing his head with cotton. He couldn't see into anyone's head anymore. There were no more sights or sounds filtering through his head. He stifled his reaction and sauntered over to the cushy, generic-looking couch. He threw him self down on it, so that he was sprawled lazily over one corner.

"It's probably just another test," he said with deliberate loudness. He had no doubt that they were being monitored in some way by someone. If there was a fight coming, he was more comfortable playing the dumb blonde than announcing his intentions. And if any of the other Betas were convinced by them and could be made into human shields, so be it.

---

Jane was annoyed when Francis accepted her curt introduction with charm and graciousness. The chatty girl called herself Vein, which was stupid. She kept petulantly silent, closing her eyes. John wasn't hurt. He wasn't panicked. Maybe she was overreacting...

"Zakhar." Her musings were interrupted when the crimson-haired boy set a hot cup of coffee in front of her. Jane almost thought he had made a joke the way he introduced himself. She eyed the cup he put in front of her, before taking it and drinking it down. She wouldn't even admit to herself that the small twinge she felt was gratitude. She sipped the drink while tapping her nails against the table, a staccato rhythm to accompany her agitation. Her fury only rose the longer they spoke and exchanged pleasantries. The girl who bored her was Anrie, the girl who stared was Irene (though apparently Jane had express permission to find a name more suitable), and golly gee, weren't they all just so thrilled to be together forever! Finally, she slapped her palm down on the table, hard.

"Pardon my manners," she snarled, "But I just want to be clear. Are we only pretending to engage in inane chatter while God know who decides who knows what about our immediate futures, or are we actually that dense?"

Charlotte

---

Michael's outrage, unceremoniously interrupted by the hooded man, had been enough to soothe Charlotte's own. After all, when nothing but a few wires leave deep gashes in the walls and flooring, raising questions becomes second to survival. In careful silence she'd followed the rest of the betas, making sure to keep her eyes fixated on her feet, counting each step as they were ushered into the little hallway. She'd subtly made an effort to stay at the very back, allowing her some leeway, which was vital. The innocent act of her fingers quietly brushing against the walls was paramount to her spinning mind, drawing away just enough matter to ease her apprehensions. By the time they reached their destination, and the bumbling fool of a scientist had opened the father intimidating door, she'd managed to form two average screwdrivers, and concealed them in the deep pockets of her slacks. She couldn't place why exactly, but she simply couldn't bring herself not to trust this place she was in to not turn out horribly, and it had been made clear open resistance was met with force.

Over the course of that walk she'd focused on what she may need to get out, not on what may have been waiting for her. She'd already deiced it would be something grim, so the pleasant little hotel room was a bit of a shock, but it raised her apprehension ever further. It wasn't until the door closed behind them that panic set in. She'd been in the process of forming a small wrench from the leftover material she had, but that was abruptly brought to a halt as the door had sealed. She just stood by room's entrance as the others dispersed. Unsure of why, she was waiting for a cue. Someone to do something first, and Michael's big mouth gave her what she seemed to need. "Looks like we're in one hell of a situation."

“Gee, Lord Obvious. I hadn't quite gathered that yet. Astute observations like that must be why you were a shoe-in for this 'job', eh?”