Wade Thomas/ Watcher's Story

Rylie stood, a little stunned as Adana passed the child to her and another one climbed off of her back. Rylie cradled the smaller one and moved away from the building with them. She turned to tell Adana not to go back in but it was too late, the girl had already taken off. John's figure followed her into the smoke.

A child's voice hit her ears. It was asking if she was a good guy, if they were going to stop this. Rylie looked down. Around them the fighting was slowing as the factions realized just what was going on with the civilians. Rylie frowned, a little unsure how to answer.

"I...we are here to help if we can. The others are trying to get things stopped." Rylie looked around. "Let's move over here, away from all this. It will be safer."

Rylie moved the pair of children off to the far side of the street, away from the majority of the fighting and the fires that ripped through the buildings. She was mildly uncomfortable with the children. She did not have a ton of experience with them. Rylie placed the small one down and stood beside them.

Her eyes remained on the building where Adana had gone in, where John had followed. She could hear Wade's voice as he too had been helping get people out.

John, with Adana in his arms and another woman came over to where she waited with the children. Immediately they reacted to the woman, they belonged to her it seemed. John laid Adana on the ground and free of her charges, Rylie knelt next to her.

"You okay Adana?" She patted the girl's back, hoping some deep breathing and coughing would help clear out any smoke she had inhaled.

Rylie looked up as Wade approached. She nodded. "As soon as Adana can move we will leave."

Her eyes scanned the crowd. Ambulances were arriving now to tend to the fire victims. The fighting had stopped now, allowing all emergency personnel the chance to get close. Fire fighting crews began to set up and battle the blaze.

Wade looked at the new girl. She was young enough to be his daughter and now she was without a home, all thanks to a damn bomb. Shaking his head he looked to Masters and said, "We really need to get moving, I can hear sirens." It was true the sound of the NCPD approaching permeated the air.

Wade looked to the others, nodded at them and signaled he would be on the roof then leapt. He grabbed a windowsill and thrust himself the rest of the way up. Wade jumped from building to building back in the direction of the warehouse, eventually leaping onto the roof. stretching from the muscle strain his stomach grumbles and he beds inside. Entering he notes the other three still there, Warren and Zoey he could understand but the mercenary was also sitting their. Glaring at the little bastard he grabbed an MRE and sat near Zoey, "What have you been doing?"

Rylie looked down at the dog that now sat by her feet. Adana seemed alright, a little freaked out but overall fine.

Her attention turned to the girl who seemed to be helping her siblings. Her powers. Interesting. Ember, likely meant her power had something to do with fire. She had questions for the girl but now was neither the time nor the place.

“Maybe we should get the children someplace safe? There is nothing here now and it is going to be dangerous as the crews move in and out of the area.” Rylie didn't look at the children, their restlessness making her a little ill at ease.

Rylie waited to see what John wanted to do with them. Wade mentioned the sirens and he was not wrong. They were getting closer and it would not do them any good to get caught out in the open. She watched as Wade took off. Rylie assumed his destination was the warehouse and she longed to be close behind.

“Adana, shall we go or are you waiting to escort them someplace else?” She wanted to be away from the action. She was an observer, a watcher and an interviewer. Running into burning buildings is not what Rylie did.

A look to her right and she could see the approaching cars. The military, fire department and ambulances had all descended on the scene as well.

“We need to move and soon.”

Rylie followed silently, pulling up the rear of the group. She kept her eyes and ears on the scene behind them, ensuring they were not followed. She wondered if bringing the children to the warehouse was a good idea but stayed quiet.

Last time new people were brought it caused tension and arguments. This time one had powers, unstated ones as of yet and the others were just children. Rylie wasn't entirely sure the warehouse was a safe environment for them, what with Zoey working on arming the place for protection and the bits and pieces laying around. Keeping all this to herself she walked behind them all. "Let John deal with the others this time."

Rylie had tried to be diplomatic bringing in those that could potentially help but distrust ran high with the rest of the powers. She wasn't willing to cause more in fighting.

They arrived back. Adana was wiping soot from her arms by the time Rylie stepped into the warehouse. She secured the door behind her. Looking at the others she realized that the tension was high. She hoped something hadn't happened in the brief time they were gone. Nothing appeared odd, Zoey was working, Daniel and Warren were sitting quietly.

Wade looked as if he too was trying to get a sense of things but everything seemed calm, just tense.

Rylie looked at John. "What do you want to do with the children? And her?"

Her eyes fell on Ember. "I am Rylie Malcolm. There was no time for introductions in the field. What exactly is your power Ember? You mentioned you changed your name when your powers developed. Others here have them as well, just so you know you are in similar company."

Rylie crossed her arms and stood, relaxed but attentive.

Rylie listened intently to Ember as she explained her power and that she had been using her power to help them as they escaped. A nod moved her head but Rylie's mind was preoccupied. The girl was still fairly new to her power it seemed. New a lot of times meant volatile but the girl seemed to know her limits.

Rylie frowned a little as John inquired about their family and Ember responded that they had no place to go. Her back went stiff when the girl asked if they would take her and the children in. A super with an ability that dealt with fire was useful but the children would need extra protecting.

Remaining silent, Rylie began to walk slowly around the room. The problem rattling around in her head. It would be John's decision of course. He had brought her here and he would make the final call. Rylie inspected the other powers wishing she had the ability to read minds and figure out how they felt about this new power and the children.

Her eyes landed on Adana. The girl looked sullen and introspective, choosing to look at the wall rather than the children she helped rescue. Daniel was standing, walking the room in the opposite direction that she walked. He of course asked outright what would be done and while the question seemed a bit crassly asked it was valid. He wasn't being unpleasant or rude, even shaking the girl's hand. He was asking a very legitimate question.

Rylie licked her lips, “How about we start with them getting some food. Adana, want to find those rations we brought back and see if they are hungry?” Rylie looked at the children, she wasn't at all sure how to approach such young and obviously frightened individuals. “Adana, she will get you something to eat okay?”

Rylie inhaled slowly and looked at John. “A plan is needed I believe. If you wish to keep them then something needs to be done to allow them to have a place to sleep, access to better food and facilities that what we can arrange here. Then we must account for what we will do with them should we have to fight or flee. I am not saying don't, I just think we need to ensure this is planned out.”

She turned to Ember. "We have limited access to things. If you can think of a way to help us make this work it would be appreciated. I understand that you have been responsible for them and help would be nice but there is a great deal of danger surrounding this place that they will need protecting from."

Wade sighed and looked at the children the others had brought back. Shaking his head in a resigned fashion he lay back on the floor with his fingers rubbing his eyes. He tried to rub the dull ache that accompanied the overuse of his powers away. It was making it difficult for him to think, and with children here they definitely needed to think.

Sitting back up he looked back at the kids and Malcom. He decided to simply listen to the plans as they were presented instead of go through the mental strain of thinking of one himself. Blinking the remaining sore out of his eyes he reactivated his powers and looked about the room, all seemed to be in working order and there were no forces closer than the burned neighborhood within the vicinity of the warehouse.

Things were so tentative. The group, if they could be called such were already on edge and the presence of children did not help. Rylie looked over each one of them. She was certain that no one there had a great deal of experience taking care of young children and Adana herself was only a teenager. She slightly shook her head as Daniel’s offered hand went unnoticed. He was on agitated and she didn’t blame him. He hadn’t been readily welcomed and now this girl and these kids were her and welcomed in and protection offered.

Rylie scratched her head and sighed. Wade seemed to be at a loss of what to do like she was. Adana, now a dog again brought the children the bag of food. “We will have to get a lot more supplies....” Rylie’s mind began making a list of all the things that would be needed. She couldn’t go back to the checkpoint, not yet anyway. In a week or so, maybe but not now.

She couldn’t help a smile as the dog lavished the children with slobbery dog kisses and then bounded over to where Wade sat.

Rylie turned back to look at John. At least he understood and was sensible about this. Better residence, war zone, bullets....yes all things they needed to worry about. Her face remained impassive as John pointed out that some of them had military connections. For now hers were taken care of. She was on a mission. The occasional check in and they wouldn’t question her activity. Rylie didn’t say anything though. As long as her work didn’t jeopardize the others or the location of the missile then it wasn’t important.

If she wasn’t so well trained at keeping her emotions hidden Rylie’s jaw might have dropped at John’s statement that they would have to fight back. She stared at him, her face a cold mask. “Is he nuts? There are so few of us and most of us don’t even have powers to help combat...”

Her thoughts stop as Daniel made his point. He seemed to be thinking along similar lines as she was. She had to admit that leaving would be simpler but leaving meant taking the warhead with them, finding a way to dispose of it and not all of them could simply leave. “Not all of us can even simply fight.” It wouldn’t be that easy.

She looked at the others again, reassessing their abilities as John explained the missile to Ember. No very few of them were capable of full on assaults. If...if they were going to fight Daniel was right, they needed real allies. Rylie looked down at her feet. They would also need to start working as a team, an actual cohesive team of powers to utilize everyone’s abilities to their fullest. They would need to train and trust each other, even just a little bit.

Rylie moved to sit next to Daniel. John had a broad plan but they needed specifics something for the short term that could help them get to the goal of fighting back, if that ended up as their best course of action.

Her head went back against the wall. “If we can’t get the gangs to help, and I agree we need allies in this, who else can we turn to? Not like we can put out an advertisement for those with powers to come and join us. Got another group in mind or you want another run at the gangs?”

Daniel looked at Rylie, genuine surprise evident on his face for a moment before he hid it with a crooked smile, "It honestly would not be that hard to get the gangs on our side, particularly the renegades since most of them are already soldiers who went awol. Even the gangs that dislike me should be easy for me to talk to and pull into a temporary alliance. After all, if one of the militaries wins out over the others, hell even if none of them win and they just stay deadlocked, the gangs will be wiped out."

Pausing for a few moments, he took a careful look around the warehouse and considered what he knew about the various powers assembled, "Mental powers, pyrokinetic, shapeshifter, physical powers, teleportation..." He said quietly to himself, already figuring out ways to use these to his, their, advantage. "We still need to figure out what to do with the kids," He said louder with a sharp look to Ember, "But I think that on fighting terms we should be fine, assuming that is the gangs are willing to listen. If anyone else has any useful connections now would be a fantastic time to let us know."

Then he looked at Watcher and gave him a warm smile, "Also, having access to the computer's information would be immensely helpful." He said simply, glad for the glasses that hid the glint in his eyes.

Rylie still had her head back, her eyes slightly on the ceiling as she spoke to Daniel when Adana bounded over and launched her dog body onto Rylie's lap.

“Oof!” The wind was knocked slightly out of her as Adana settled in, tongue lolling slightly out of her mouth. “Okay Adana...geez...” Rylie laughed as she ran her hand along Adana's head. She was still stroking the dog's fur when she realized Daniel was looking at her.

Surprise was clear on his face but Rylie's remained impassive. She noted it as he made it vanish as quickly as it came with his slightly off-sided smile. Her hand played with the dog's ear as she nodded slightly to Daniel's response about the gangs. An alliance would not be out of the question, even if it was just for enough time that they could exit the city. Rylie sighed slightly, just loud enough for Daniel to hear. It was one of relief, she had been worried that things were so screwed up out there that this small band would be one their own.

She watched him as he looked around, doing what she had mentally done just moments before, taking stock of the resources in the room. Rylie almost shook her head as he smiled towards Wade, mentioning the computer. He was treading unstable ground there and he knew it, was poking at it on purpose.

Rylie looked at Adana. The dog's large eyes looked back at her and Rylie had to smile. “I wish things were simple, don't you?”

John was talking again and Rylie looked over at him. She listened to what needed to get done. Disarming it was not something she could do, she knew nothing about them. Disposal...well again, she had never tackled missiles and their upkeep so Rylie had nothing to add. Relocation and fighting back were areas she could help with specifically. John asked Zoey about the missile and Rylie wondered how the woman was going to tackle it alone. She was capable, that Rylie did not doubt but from the look of it there was a lot involved and she imaged Zoey would have an easier time if she had others who knew what they were doing. Zoey's response confirmed Rylie's thoughts. Zoey had done all she could alone, now help was needed, help that knew how to handle a warhead.

“I think we still need some sort of defense here. Doesn't sound like we or the warhead are going anywhere right away. We clearly need help. If Zoey can't move it alone...which really, I don't blame her for and would not expect her to handle that alone and none of us have experience in this sort of thing, we need a new tactic. We can't have someone storming in here in the meantime and accidently blowing it up.”

She looked at John again. “It is as disabled as she can make it and we cannot just move it. So we secure this place while we work on getting some help with it?”

Rylie really wasn't sure what to do at this point. They needed help but help could bring trouble. “Rock and a hard place...”

John listened as everyone put in their two cents. John started thinking. Gangs would be the most easily accessed choice, but I can't put too much trust in their capabilities to protect us or disarm the bomb. The U.N.E. would be able to provide a dedicated EOD team with protection forces, but we can't be sure of their real motives. Police bomb squads and escorts would be an effective neutral party, but they are already spread too thin as it is. What we need is an extra layer of security, some kind of 'super defense'...

John felt like an idiot. "Super defense" was exactly what they needed. Supers who knew how to use their powers would be able to defend the warehouse. With the warehouse defended, a U.N.E. bomb squad could work on the bomb with no fear of being attacked by the S.A. or the E.R.I.S. With the bomb disabled, the warhead could be disposed of safely. Again, supers could supply an escort. Afterwards, a joint operation by supers, gangs, and the police would be able to clear the city, block by block. the only problem would be supplying the force. John figured that each military had someone corrupt who could help.

John turned to Rylie. "Rylie, do you think you could rally supers to defend the warehouse district?"

Rylie kept scratching Adana as the dog's tail began to thump the floor. She smiled at her. “Let's see what alternatives we can come up with before we begin trying to use you as a pack mule, alright?”

A wet tongue ran up her face and then the dog settled down into her lap. Rylie changed the scratching to a soft, soothing rubbing of Adana's back.

Looking at Zoey, her jaw set, Rylie nodded back. She wasn't sure UNE involved was a good idea but Zoey was also correct that R&D would want the military to stay away so they could study it. Slippery slope. “Maybe we save them as an option. I see your point but I am wary to bring them in.”

She wondered how long it might be before they were the only option. Rylie looked over at Daniel, the corners of her mouth turning up ever so slightly. “Trusting the military personnel in this room....and I can juggle watermelons...”

There had been very little trust or respect between most in this room but at least right now the tension wasn't threatening to overwhelm everything. Anger seemed to have taken a backseat to an attempt at being sensible.

It was such a complicated situation, and their biggest obstacle was the very thing they were trying to protect. Rylie looked over at John. He was obviously weighing all the options. She didn't envy his position in this.

His question took Rylie completely off guard. She rubbed Adana's fur and went very quiet. Rally supers? Her face remain cold and impassive. She was in the city to find and interview them. She hadn't found many and she highly doubted that with the fighting breaking out more would be jumping up to be counted. Still...it was worth a try.

“You want me to see how many I can round up to help? Defend the area. I can try. I do not honestly know how many will being willing to help, assuming I can even find them.” She held up a hand to stop any potential comments. “I will see what I can do.”

Adjusting her legs, Rylie moved Adana off of her lap. “Anyone have names or hiding places here in NC where I can start looking? Otherwise I will just head out and see what I can uncover.”

Daniel stared at John for a while, the question catching him by surprise. He hesitated again when Rylie asked everyone in the warehouse her question; sure he knew a few people with powers but a lot of them were already involved in the gangs and of the ones that weren't, half didn't know Daniel existed and the other half probably wouldn't trust him. "I really can't give you any names," He finally responded, "and I am a little worried about trying to rally them. Defending the area I could handle if it's really needed, particularly at night when my powers are much more useful."

Plus being able to move around that freely with no one question opens a lot of opportunities. He silently added, glancing around the warehouse again. At this point, he was considering bringing up a vote on their course of action but he wasn't sure yet that it would turn out the way he wanted. Mind racing through situations and decisions, he continues to watch and wait.

"You're forgetting something again," Daniel says with a smile, "I can teleport and so long as I do not try and push the distance on the individual jumps, I can teleport a lot. If you need someone to get to the docks, I can manage it in three hours easy." He stands and stretches, subtly checking his weapons as he does so. "I could probably bring someone with me, although that would take longer and exhaust me."

Rylie listened as Adana told her about the few powers she knew of. Looking at Daniel, she realized that he wouldn't be of help in the recruitment but he could be in the defense. His powers at night would be extremely useful.

“Understood and if you think rallying the ones you know isn't a good idea then we don't. We don't want to set off a chain reaction and make this situation worse.”

Nodding a little to Ember, “Thank you. The docks is where I will start then.” The volley of shells near by shook the building a little. Rylie frowned. It would be out of character to ask for transport and not bring the powers back to the UNE. “I don't think that is a good idea...they might assume anyone I visit or move is about to join the UNE. Not something we want.”

The time to travel the city would be a factor. Once there it was a matter of talking. Then getting them back again. Her head hurt. The dull ache getting a bit worse as she tried to figure out what to do. Reaching for her pouch, Rylie extracted the small bottle and popped two of the painkillers. Her eyes were closed when Daniel offered a suggestion.

Opening them she looked at the man. “If you are willing to take me then we can see if we can find an alternate way back here with anyone willing to help. But I can also find a way on my own if you feel it would be stretching you ability too far. It will do us no good if we exhaust our powers too much. If you wish to go alone, so be it and I hope your have good recruiting skills.” At this she smiled slightly. For a man who worked for so many gangs as a gun for hire essentially she knew he would have to be at least half way decent at making deals.

Rylie waited. She had no desire to exhaust Daniel by making him take her and she could make her way across the city as well, all be it longer but still....

Daniel nods to Rylie, "I did offer to take someone." He says lightly, mentally drawing his powers and picturing the best route to reach the docks.

"If you want to try to make your own way there," He replies to Adana, "I am not about to stop you although there will likely be a lot of military personnel in your way."

The general outline of a route was forming in his head now, anything more specific being next to impossible at this time of day. That didn't bother Daniel at all though while he glanced at the other supers in the warehouse, "I would suggest taking a weapon but not much else," He says with another look at Rylie, "but I intend to avoid just about everyone between here and the docks. Let me know when you're ready." Behind the sunglasses his eyes become dark pits of shadow as he pulls the shadows of the warehouse into an area around him, large enough to fully contain himself and one other person.