Mortimer Mene's Story

Several students were wheeled through the main hall directly to the infirmiry, many of them injured in some way. He now knew exactly what Axel had meant by life threatening missions considering the state these young people were in. The entire time Mortimers silence was unbroken as he watched the scene unfold. He would be lying to say this rush of people back and forth and in such numbers around him made him comfortable in any way. He knew these people meant no harm to him but old habits or in this case recent life styles die hard, much like himself.

He followed the path of commotion seeing as how he was on his way to the medical offices himself. He had been putting the state of his decay off long enough and this was more than enough excuse to proceed directly to there. There he stood, observing the scenes as they unfolded before him.
Doctors and nurses wheeling about and yelling to each other in a hectic nature, pristine white floors fresh with disinfectants and other cleaning chemicals, trolleys and gurneys of medical paraphernalia being assigned and reassigned on a whim and even the students were raveled in a web of inter-social relationships with each other, the most notable being the case of woeful James from earlier trying to make amends or something to that effect. Seeing everything happening like it did made him start to really think about what he was doing here at this school.

I feel two things. One: I am glad I am an outsider. Not to say I am afraid to be counted amongst the many injured here but these wounds I see before me are not products of fist and weapon but of both the horrors of battle and of their own creation. This web of history I have been placed in knows not of me and I am afraid I am scarcely known within it myself. Is that bad or is that good? Time will tell and I'll be seeing my answer first-hand.

Second: I feel an unease I cannot settle. It isn't just my apprehension with standing in a room so active around people I don't know and am not sure I want to know. I wonder about what Axel had said earlier. Anna's ability was to see the history of anything she touches or so I'm told. My body is a portmanteau of history all tethered together by my own recent animation. If I were to switch parts I wonder if that would circumvent that inevitability? It would be unreasonable to say to her that she may never touch me but if the parts of me that have lived the life I have lived were discarded I could avoid the complication altogether. That does raise the question of what Axel knows about me to make him think that her touching me would be harmful towards her as result of her powers.
Is there a detail among many about Anna's capabilities that I am not aware of that my condition could put her at risk of or does he assume my life was probably too awful for her to dare see. I do not disagree with the notion that it would indeed expose her to the face of humanity as reflected upon my eyes but does he know my life has been lived knowing only the worst of these people I see around me or does he simply assume that quality of me? And who is he to make demands as to our conduct? I understand if he is worried and perhaps to warn both her and myself that touching would likely lead to unseemly incident but to not tell her a thing and simply threaten me into refusing to touch her is...

Surprisingly unsurprising. I say surprising as I had been assuming little of this school on the warrant that my views would be outdated by the forward thinking crew of this educational establishment, students and teachers alike. The fact I can say that I'm not surprised about one persons actions towards me is in itself a little bit of a reversal of my opinion of this place and a tad worrying. Perchance the people here are all wearing faces of happiness to hide the doubts and fears they no doubt hold towards this place, the world in general and more specifically me.
Had I been so naive to believe that after seeing people from every walk of life turn their hatred and fear upon me that these people would not do the same? Had I perhaps held some sense of childlike innocence born of the very idea that there could exist a sanctuary for a creature like me anywhere on this forsaken earth? Had I become a fool to be played by masters of disguise such as is born of a society where lying and betrayal is reinforced? That everyone I had believed kind were only trying to trap me in the inevitable tragedy that befell these poor souls I see tearing at one another with words before my cold unfeeling eyes?

Could even Anna?...

No. I am not disillusioned about her. Her beauty great as it may be does not affect my mind when I make this judgement of her character: She was kind to me and she is sweet in general. I am not blind to what faults she may possess but her kindness was genuine. A person like her wouldn't betray my trust as such and like so I do believe her when she says what she says. It is also kind of relieving that she had been spared these missions inflicted upon the others. Would I see a mind such as hers marred by the dark corners the people running this place deliver these youths into I would call travesty and see to it that those who would dare damage such an innocent mind know my sorrow.
In the end I know I can trust Anna but I fear for what the future holds and how I could possibly protect her? And if I dare impose my desire to safeguard her upon her would that not be wrong? If she refused to consent I would dare not impose my will upon her for it would be equally as wrong. After all, what point is there to the gift of life if not to live it as one so desires? Choice is the only freedom we living beings are allotted in this twisted puppet show called life.

Given opportunity it would easily be possible for Mortimer to dwell on such topics for days without so much as a mental pause. Unfortunately current circumstances called for actions over thoughts as he soon neared the office of the chief nurse. With slow, almost robotic movements he rapped his degenerating knuckles against the oak door and waited for a response. Had the nurse not been present Mortimer would of simply waited until his return but luck had favored Mortimer in this very instance as movement was detected within.
An older gentlemen in what appeared to be a hastily cobbled together doctors uniform answered the door, greeting Mortimer with that unintentionally eery pleasantness the staff around the school seemed to sport on a regular basis. "Ah, Mortimer I presume! Good to see you here. We are a little busy at the moment but luckily I have some time to spare to answer any issues you might have. Any problems you have come to tell me about then?" The old doctor looking character merrily questioned Mortimer's presence.

"I assume the medical team has been informed of my... condition? You see, it has been quite some time. You surely understand why I'm right here now." Mortimer gestured to the doctor with his most decrepit hand to carry the point across. "Ah yes! Most of the staff is aware of your unique condition Mortimer." The doctor looked around a second, making sure the situation in the background didn't need his immediate attention before coming a bit closer to Mortimer, lowering his voice a bit so it didn't carry quite as far. "Normally students would not be permitted to investigate the mortuary but in your special circumstance I can have a nurse escort you there so you may select a body without arousing too much worry out here. After all, don't want to disturb the more squeamish students out here now do we?"

"No... We do not." Mortimer begrudgingly complied with the doctors reasoning, even if the man's demeanor did unnerve him somewhat. With a short wave of his hand the old doctor waved another nurse over and had the man escort Mortimer into a hall leading deeper into the medical wing and from there through a set of large steel doors that were locked via a key card reader. With a short beep the doors slid open before them, shutting closed after Mortimer and the nurse proceeded into the room. This room was rather large, rows and rows of body cabinets lining large rows of shelves. It was as though this school was ready to lose every single person inside it and have them shut in these shelves. The idea that the school would consider a possible number of deaths that large to warrant buying that many units did not help Mortimer's paranoia any. From then on forth the nurse had Mortimer look through several occupied coffins, several of the dead nurses that had been executed not too long ago resting in there. It seemed that some of the going theories on what had occurred here could now be confirmed. The nurses had all been murdered at gunpoint.

After some deliberation Mortimer found a body that was close match to the physical build that fit closest to The Line. "This one will suffice." Mortimer informed his escorting nurse. The man nodded and simply stood there, not looking directly to give Mortimer some privacy while still keeping an eye on him to make sure he didn't do anything else while in the mortuary. Mortimer now stood at another crossroads, two decisions laid before him. He could simply take the parts he needed, leaving the remaining body mostly intact while keeping most of his own body parts, memories and all. The other option would be to swap all of his parts over to the nurses, disposing of his history and allowing himself to be around Anna without being of any danger to her at the cost of looking quite different. He spent some time contemplating the pros and cons of each choice until he came to a decision. He figured his physical appearance was not truly representative of who he is and that what he looks like means less than the ability to better interact with Anna. It was not going to be a clean conversion to be sure, but it was needed for now.

He started by cutting the physical parts of the dead body he needed to the bone. The nurse had so thoughtfully brought along tools for Mortimer to use in this recycling of dead body parts for a greater good. When he was finished he identified the parts of himself that needed to be replaced.

Right hand, both legs, left arm, new stuffing, new eyes and a tooth replacement.

He pulled at the finely woven thread that held his left hand on with his right hand. He tugged with such delicacy as so not to tear so much as even a millimeter of skin on him, removing loop after loop of old wire in a surprising quick and effective manner. He was too used to having to work in a hurry as so to not be discovered by any grave keepers. The hand came off the arm, laying there upon the slab like it had done so originally. The sight of his hand having returned to it's true state never failed to make Mortimer self conscious.

I see this hand has returned to it's original self again. Perhaps the rest of my body is just like that. Dead flesh animated unnaturally, yearning to return from whence it came. My will is the only thing that separates me from that. Without a body how could my mind remain in this world itself? How does my will keep me within this side of the veil to begin with?

Those questions and many more plagued Mortimer as he ran length after length of tough wire through the expired meat and skin of the new hand, attaching it expertly to the rest of his old arm. Many years of practice honing his surgical stitching skills combined with a body that doesn't twitch constantly like a living body does had gave Mortimer the ability to rival most expert surgeons skills in sewing flesh and bone together. Heck, Mortimer could make a better surgeon than most others period. His cold dead hands had unerring accuracy because of his unwavering motions and he certainly had enough knowledge of human anatomy from first hand experience.

After attaching his new hands he proceeded to do the same with both his legs, swapping them in their entirety with the deceased nurses pair. The same applied to his left arm. After the limbs was the matter of the torso. First Mortimer made a fine cut down the side of his skin allowing him to peel it away, exposing the rotting tripe and organ meat packed within.
The smell in the room at this point was noxious to the point of nausea to anyone who had a sense of smell. The lack of such sense hindered Mortimer at times but it also helped him attend to his special needs. He nonchalantly discarded his old skin in a pile by the dead bodies feet, which were Mortimer's old feet now. With the skin he removed the feted gore out from his stomach and chest cavities and piled it next to the worn skin at the base of the dead nurse. His hollow skeletal frame devoid of any interior was quite the sight indeed.

He very thoughtfully drew his blade across the skin of the nurses body, making a fine line for him pull the skin along and remove it so that he may use it to wrap himself up. He scooped out the intact organs and other such miscellaneous pieces and deftly placed them within his own body, arranged as they were meant to be arranged. With the new filling now inside he sewed up the nurses torso skin, effectively sealing them inside himself with fine stitches.
All that remained were the head pieces. The face, the very definition of ones identity by most opinions. To replace his face or keep the old flesh, effectively discarding his old appearance? This question left Mortimer a moment of pause with which to make the final decision with. It would not be easy to go back on this change once made seeing as how his current face was in such poor condition. He had to replace the lower half of his face in the past because that part of his facial skin had sloughed off, required a patch up from another body. He doubted that after removing the stitching the old face would be good for anything. The decision had to be made...

... And it was.

Mortimer removed the wiring holding the skin of his head on, causing the skin to peel away immediately. This face was long overdue for a exchange. He dropped his old face in the pile and donned the face of the deceased nurse, a man who will no longer need his face as he does not suffer the same unusual fate Mortimer must endure. With fine rows his face held together quite well, fitting to his facial bone structure quite nicely. It was evident the nurse he picked bore some physical resemblance to Mortimer as was with this current set of bones. A shame really, not even the bones of his are the originals.

With the skin now applied he popped the eyes in, the soft wet orbs rolling forward to meet up with his line of sight. It was mildly difficult but not overly so as he pried rotten teeth from his mouth. His gums welcomed the nurses shiny white chompers, holding onto them dearly until they too would rot away as everything of his does.
It was the last item on his checklist of repairs needed. Mortimer was finished reconstructing himself yet again so that his time spent amongst the living may be prolonged yet another while longer. Looking into the reflective metal of the doors to the body cabinets he observed his new look. It wasn't bad, quite handsome in his own low opinion of himself. "I am finished." He explained to the accompanying nurse of his. The man nodded, taking Mortimer from this place back into the general confines of the school. After that the nurse went off to attend some of the many duties needing attending to, leaving Mortimer to ponder his own destiny.

Hmm... Where to next? He wondered. He figured he would go and meet up with Anna once more. Not to say he was not concerned with the safety of the students fresh from their mission but he didn't know them. He didn't even know what he would say to them if he were to even approach and they all seemed quite caught up in their own history. He knew Anna and thus could find some semblance of direction with her at least. Didn't hurt that she was a charming and beautiful person in general to add incentive to visit her.

Mortimer lurked through the long white hallways, making his way out from the medical wing of this school to go and perhaps find Anna again and resume where they left off before they were rudely interrupted. Stepping forth into the main room where all the action took place he saw exactly who he was looking for conversing with a nurse not too far away. A stroke of luck indeed, although cut short as the conversation between her and the male nurse was rapidly cut short after a short contact followed by Anna's rapid departure into the main foyer and out the front doors.

This incident concerned him greatly. Obviously her power must of picked up information off the blood on the nurse, unpleasant information evidently. He gave chase, hoping to catch up to Anna in order to attend to her safety and perhaps console her if at all possible. Through the front doors he followed her with great ease. She was not sprinting particularly fast and Mortimer could maintain top speeds with no effort for as long as his shin bones could handle the stress. She managed to make it to a tree where she slumped down and sobbed before he was able to approach her. That small little uncertainty about the specifics as to how much information her power could derive from what gave Mortimer a moment's pause, less than a second's consideration. "Anna, are you alright?" He asked, about to go right up to her when all of a sudden, like a tiger lurking in the bushes, Axel sprung into the scene and immediately to Anna's side.

Axel was not Mortimer's concern at the moment. He didn't even consider the implications of the situation at hand nor their prior conversations before taking to Anna's side, keeping about half a forearm's distance between him and herself. He took her powers into consideration, not touching her as to not dilute her mind with further information. The opinions and concerns of nearby students, Axel included, were a distant second to Anna's health. Only after her well being could be ascertained and remedied would he start to worry about such tertiary matters such as the other students or even the staff of the school themselves.

The cold air cut through her thin clothes, though she barely noticed the lack of feeling in her fingers. All she could think about was the memories now engraved in her mind, Having never been shot before the experience would not be one she would forget anytime soon, even secondhand.
A she stared at the ground between her knees a warm fell over her shoulders, and familiar arms wrapped around her,
The painful emotions were washed away with the cold, replaced by happiness and love.
It was Axel, there to comfort her in her time of need, as he always seemed to. It was evident that he was thinking of kind memories to comfort her, but the love that was slipping through was genuine.It was that love that comforted her the most.

Another man approached her, one whom she did not recognize, though he seemed vaguely familiar to him. The voice she recognized, but the face was different than before.
Is that Mortimer? O, we just met...I don't want him to see me like this...what will he think of me... she though as she imagined what he was thinking, seeing her at one of her weakest moments.

"I'm here, Anna, I'm here..."
Sniffling she leaned into him, pulling him close and burying her face into his chest. Was it for fear? Or shame...she couldn't decide. Maybe both.., She merely experienced for a short time what the others were going through at this moment, however she was far too weak to handle the amount of physical pain she had shortly endured.
"Did you touch something with painful memories recently?"
She couldn't speak, not yet. She simply nodded and wiped her eyes with his shirt. All she wanted right now was to be held, for the last hour never to have happened.
Peeking up she looked at the stranger once more, and realized something familiar about him, though in a different manner. He appeared to be one of the nurses that cared for her when she was ill, but it couldn't be...all of the infirmary staff had been killed. Confusion swept over her, was she now seeing ghosts? He seemed to have the same look of worry that she remembered every time she was carted in on a gurny to be cared for. The same kind eyes, but the man behind them was different. It was evident in the way he carried himself, and the way he spoke to her. There was no doubt, it was Mortimer wearing a familiar face.
At first ,for a fleeting moment she was horrified, however looking back she realized that it was a positive change for him. The body he was using previously was in horrendous condition,. this was a change of necessity, not cruelty. In time she would get used to his new look.
However now she felt more shame than moments before, For someone as weak as I am, I shouldn't be so quick to judge...
Tucking closer to Axelshe began to cry once more, softly whimpering as she gripped harder onto his shirt. She sat with him like that for a few minutes, until she realized that her hands were still bleeding.
"I'm so sorry Axel...I got blood on your clothes, she sniffled as she rubbed her hands on her skirt, taking the hem of her shirt and wiping the red stain on his shirt in vain. Just as the memories of the others was now forever in her mind, the bloodstain on his clothes from her grip would more than likely never come out.
Slowly she pulled herslef to her feet, attempting to hold her hand out to him.
"Come, I think I have something to get that stain out...
However, the strength she thought she had was merely an illusion as she stumbled once more, barely catching herself as she landed in his arms once more.
Finally she began sobbing again, barely audible through the sniffling and stifled gasps of breath, "Axel...Mortimer...the things they went through...they were..they were...horrible....I have never...never felt such pain...ever in my life...and that was just...just once person...one person's experience...I just cant...can't believe...
As she spoke she looked from Axel to Mortimer, such sadness in her eyes, as her heart ached for those who lay in pain just feet away from her.
"We have to help them....we have to..do something.."

There are some ways all men are hardwired to act like in the event of a woman they love crying before them. Axel could do none of these things as Anna cried, hating that there was nothing he could do but hold her and comfort her. Anna was a one in a million girl... No, she was one of a kind. With that in mind, he placed his hand under her chin, tilted her head up so she could see the love in his eyes, and kissed her gently before speaking, his tone soft and kind.
"We'll do things once we know you're strong enough to handle them. Any time before that, and I'll refuse to let you take part. There's an old adage in Japan that I just made up. The man who prepares is worth twenty of the one who is brash. I won't let you ruin yourself over actions you don't know the end result to..." he turned away and frowned, "I learned that the hard way...", then shook his head, coming back to reality. "So you rest, for now. I'm pretty sure a kitten would win in a durability contest right now. Both Mort and I are fine, one of us is dead emotionally, and the other is holding the person who already saved him. We won't be hurt any more than we already have been. Now come on, I still need to treat you your birthday present." Axel then picked her up in his arms bridal-style and stood up, taking a step back from Mort so that he wouldn't touch her. One person's death had sent her into this panic. She didn't need to see at least two more today. With Anna close to his chest, he was amazed at how fragile she looked there, like a lily in the snow. Once he was standing, he carried her to the movie lounge, then set her down on the couch, only going off to fill one tub with popcorn, and salting it with Anna's tastes in mind. Once the tub was full, he carried it back over and sat down next to her.
"For the girl who deserves everything from the guy who has nothing, I give the gifts of movie choice and the rest of the day to do with me as you wish. As long as it doesn't involve you getting hurt again."

Usually Anna was fully opposed to being carried or spoken to like a child. However, being lifted into in Axel's arms was comforting, and even if she disliked it she was far too weak to fight back. Axels words, and his kiss ere filled with caring and love, but she couldn't help but sense that he was threatened by Mortimer in some way.Was it solely because of his past, in an effort to protect her? Or was it something more than that? She knew that Axel cared for her deeply but his actions suggested something possessive over her.
Being claimed was not something that she was used to, and though she felt bad that he was casting her new friend aside so easily, it warmed her heart to know that she was worth so much to him.
She did make a mental note to talk to him about it later, Mortimer was no threat to her and she didn't want him to drive him away.

As he carried her through the doors of the school she gave Mortimer a weak smile and a dainty wave, She hoped dearly that he wasn't terribly offended of the actions Axel had taken.

It didn't take long for the two to reach their destination. When Anna opened her eyes once more she was shocked to see that he carried her all the way to the common room where they watched movies together. As he rested her down on the couch the smell of popcorn fill the room, and the familiar sound of the salt shaker just over her shoulder.

"For the girl who deserves everything from the guy who has nothing, I give the gifts of movie choice and the rest of the day to do with me as you wish. As long as it doesn't involve you getting hurt again."

Even here, in a pleasant place with him, she couldn't get the others out of her head. The lack of protection the school supplied worried her, and suspicions continued to fester in the back of her mind.She decided she could not simply sit by and let more people get hurt. Especially now that she had people, friends that she cared about in the potential line of fire. She was in a special position, because of her ability, to obtain the information needed. The thought of taking on such a task struck both excitement and fear in her heart. On one hand she had a chance to help not only Adrein, Axel and Mortimer, but al of the students at the academy. On the other, this path had the potential to be both dangerous and painful.

She didn't even even know where to begin. it seemed that the students were alone in the school, rarely sis she see any staff other than the nurses or the occasional butler.She had no idea what the head master looked like, let alone where his office was located.
Thinking back she remembered receiving a map of her school upon arrival. When she touched it she knew where everything in he school was locate. However the faculty offices were not located in the school anywhere.
She wondered if they hid them from her intentionally, if they knew that this day would come.

Realizing that Axel had spoken to her Anna broke from her thoughts to answer him with a smile, "I'm not sure what to watch..honestly can;t stop thinking about is the others, and what we are going to do about this school..."

Forgetting about the cuts on her hand she dipped her hand into the bag of popcorn. As the open wounds began stinging from the salt she quickly retracted her hands.
"Ow..." she exclaimed as she pulled her gloves from her hands to examine her palms.
"I forgot that I hurt myself..."she whimpered. It took a moment for her to stand, but once on wobbly legs she reached under a nearby cabinet and withdrew a first aid kit. Resting it on Axel's lap she held her palms out to him and asked, "Do you mind? I'm terrible at cleaning wounds..."

"Axel...Mortimer...the things they went through...they were..they were...horrible....I have never...never felt such pain...ever in my life...and that was just...just once person...one person's experience...I just cant...can't believe..." With much sadness in her voice she turned her eyes from Axel over to himself, tears wetting her pale cheeks as she spoke. "We have to help them....we have to..do something.."

Mortimer couldn't agree more. What many could say in a thousand words Mortimer confessed his resolve with a single nod and a look of resolve on his new face. Of course, what Mortimer mistook for a moment of unity and clarity of direction was obviously not what was on Axel's mind, evidence being the kiss he gave her followed by the almost overly saccharine wooing. "We'll do things once we know you're strong enough to handle them. Any time before that, and I'll refuse to let you take part. There's an old adage in Japan that I just made up. The man who prepares is worth twenty of the one who is brash. I won't let you ruin yourself over actions you don't know the end result to..." It seemed Axel was speaking from experience, although question as to exactly what he's been involved with up until now still a matter of many questions. "I learned that the hard way..." Yes, it was already quite evident and only more so now.

"So you rest, for now. I'm pretty sure a kitten would win in a durability contest right now. Both Mort and I are fine, one of us is dead emotionally, and the other is holding the person who already saved him. We won't be hurt any more than we already have been. Now come on, I still need to treat you your birthday present." On top of being somewhat dismissive of him Axel's comment on Mortimer being emotionally dead as well made him far more self conscious than he already was, which was quite a lot.

Is that what this has all been about this whole time? Does he really believe I am emotionally dead inside? That would explain why he seems so antagonized by my presence. It is because he believes I don't have any feelings that he acts like he does towards me, that all this time he didn't have to worry about whether or not he might hurt me with his words. That would make quite a lot of sense, seeing as how different people will act when they believe they don't have to refrain out of common courtesy or politeness. Give a man the power to suffer absolutely no consequences and the result would be a monstrous individual, a beast by almost every modern sensibility. I'm only familiar with that mindset because that is the light under which almost everyone views me under: Something less than human, unknowing or even unworthy of traditional human empathy or even pity.

After all, I am already dead by some definitions. Who could not take the chance to act how many wished they could act towards everyone else towards me? I know very few people that wouldn't and only because the ones who don't act that way are too scared of my macabre appearance to do so. Really, Anna's one of the rare few who actually shown me true kindness, the kind people only give to those they really like. I could never ask of anything more from her, truly. As for Axel... I am disappointed to say I may have been wrong about him. Seeing as he was different in that he was also somewhat inhuman in a medically technical sense definitely did not dampen his sense of humanity. To say he is different from other people would only really be applicable towards a scientist's sense of biology. Without the powers he is no less human than the others I'm afraid.

Not that that is necessarily a bad thing. The true crime is in my sordid existence. Though thankful for the second life I have been allotted I cannot help but feel the distinct divide between me and humanity in general. I may never find a suitable common ground that I could found a friendship on. When my basic function is alien to life itself how could I expect them to relate in any way, shape or form? I feel nothing. The only sensations available to me are hearing, sight and a vague knowledge of the current status of my body. I do not eat and I only rest to recuperate mentally for a short period of time. I cannot reproduce and my cells do not replenish, only decay.

Amongst the many qualifications for being alive the only one I meet is sentience. My will, the only thing defining my existence. An existence animated purely by force of mind is one dissimilar to almost any other life form I have known. Myself and the rest of humanity share little but a mind and a humanoid form. How could I possibly hope to find commonality amongst them for myself? Do I deserve to even despair as others do? Perhaps Axel is not wrong to look down on me as he does...

Just as Mortimer stood wearing his cold, contemplating expression of relatively neutral emotional status he broke out from his depressing inner monologue to see Anna being carried off by Axel like a warlord's prize. As his freshly acquired eyes met hers he saw her weak smile as she daintily waved him goodbye. His usual semi frown lightened into the faintest beginnings of a smile as he waved back to her before she disappeared into the school altogether. Such a temporary happiness, set only to be juxtaposed against the never ending onslaught called reality.

The smile faded, his face a neutral semi frown once more. He set into the school, his destination a different one from the one the other two were taking. While they relaxed and enjoyed the fruits of luxury he would do what must be done. She was right in that she was the best suited for extracting the needed information to better excavate truth from the labyrinthine machinations set into motion within the very arteries of this school. Knowing this the benefactors behind this entire setup would foresee that potential information leakage and limit her exposure far more than the other students. Mortimer was not under such strict informational confinement would assume the role of delivering the information to her. After all...

We have to help them. We have to do something.

Mortimer stepped back into the medical wing, standing within the epicenter of suffering that the students who were embroiled in the last mission resided while they were recovering. He made his way through the constant maneuvering of nurses attempting to tend to their patients needs towards their head's office. Standing in front of the chief doctors office like last time Mortimer looked in through the windows into the interior to see that no one was inside at the moment. Somewhat to his surprise the door was in fact unlocked, the natural conclusion being that the doctor was off on a brief errand of a medical nature. Taking a look behind himself he confirmed whether or not anyone was observing him in particular at the time. They were not. Safe in that mindset he stepped into the office, softly shutting the door behind him so as to not be under direct observation.

He quickly scanned the office for items which would not be conspicuous and yet offer a decent amount of information to Anna. The file cabinets were locked, the computer was too large to conceal on his way out, the papers on the desk would give him away the moment he stepped out, the picture of the old doctor's wife would likely have very little information of value,
the ornate pen... perfect. In a smooth motion Mortimer stepped forward and gently lifted the pen from the cup.
Hmm... Just in case anyone stops me I better conceal it. Mortimer plotted out his exit strategy on the spot.

He opened up a pocket in his coat and tucked the pen inside. With that done he tucked his shirt back in and walked back to the door, opening it just enough so that he could fit through and stepping past the doorway, gently shutting the door as he exited the room. Without even so much as a pause he continued out the medical wing into the main foyer and down towards the dormitory halls.

Mortimer stood just outside Anna's room. With new information on his person he gave three firm but modest knocks on the reasonably sized wooden door. A short while passed with no response. Perhaps they didn't hear me? He gave another three knocks to try and draw their attention once more.

I shouldn't be so hasty. Perhaps I should bid my time and wait for them to respond? Yes, that seems about right.

With that thought Mortimer stood motionless outside Anna's room. He stood as quiet as the dead, not even the sound of a beating heart to disturb the stewing silence while he waited for someone who was not even present to answer the door.

Mikhail

Before he could even think to ask what exactly Axel meant by 'mental images' a girl he barely recognized suddenly ran out, crying and dry-heaving. Axel left pretty quickly to her aid, and from his perch the Russian had a bird's-eye view of the entire scene without being noticed. It seemed Axel had also completely forgotten him, not that Mikhail minded. He doubted whatever help or therapy Axel might have been thinking of offering would have done much. He hardly knew the guy. Just that he was partially Polish and could do a decent Freddie Mercury.

As he watched, he was surprised to see someone completely new also approach the girl (Damn, what was her name? Started with an A...it had been weeks since he last saw her...) but this person (looked like a guy...) was much more distant than Axel, who...did he kiss her?

As Axel ran off, girl in arm, a pang hit Mikhail in the stomach as he thought of Hallie. What did she think of him right now? Hopefully she was doing better...if it had been any other day he would have stayed, but for some reason...with James...he couldn't reign it in. And when he tried, it felt like he was being crushed. No, this was better for both, for now. He'd go back inside when he was calmer. Or before he dropped down from exhaustion.

He shifted his weight slightly, eyeing the new guy quietly, trying to see his face. From this distance, he did look slightly familiar, but Mikhail couldn't place it. It wasn't long before he as well ran off.

Mikhail continued staring at the spot where the drama had happened, zoning out. He had been so caught up in his own life, he didn't even realize this was going on. Then again, when you were being tortured, there was little else you can think about.

He continued climbing, trying to refocus on himself. His arms were aching and his leg just grew heavier and heavier as the branches grew thinner, but he stubbornly refused to use his power at all. He tried to think about the baby, but that just worried him and made him think of Hallie which made him think of what he had seen and the events around that. He wanted to avoid thinking of Sasha in any manner, but that was impossible. He didn't want to think of his parents or Vlad or April, or anyone or anything. Nothing. None of it was normal...they were all complicated problems that plagued only him and no one else, least of all anyone normal. Hell, did he even know what normal was?

Mikhail stopped climbing. He was very high, now, the treetop hardly six feet away. He looked down, clutching the branches and trunk hard. There was a slight breeze and he felt himself swaying with the tree.

If you let go, it would be normal for you to fall, he heard himself think, if you fell, it would be normal for you to die.

"I thought you weren't trying to have me killed," Mikhail whispered to himself in Russian. His leg felt like it would fall off. Perhaps it would pull him down with it.

I'm trying to make you feel... the thoughts responded Feeling is normal, too.

"Feeling hurts," he said even softer, hugging the trunk tighter. After a pause, he added so softly he could barely hear himself over the wind, "...but I guess pain is normal, too."

Zara

After screaming her throat dry, Zara stared hard at the tree that she knew Mikhail was climbing. She could tell he was on it, but she couldn't see, from this distance, what he was doing. Just where he was on the tree.

"You IDIOT!" she shrieked hoarsely one last time, throwing up her hands and slamming the window shut. The wind was picking up, and the last thing any of them needed was a cold. She looked at Hallie, crossing her arms.

"He's an idiot," she repeated, "He goes on and on about how he misses you and wants you back, and what does he do? Fucking leaves. After just coming back, too! If I was him, I wouldn't want to leave your side for a good week."

Of course, Zara was also hurt that Mikhail had left her. He didn't even try to continue asking about James? He just left, to what? Do pull ups and climb a tree? She figured there might be some sort of emotional thing going on, but couldn't he deal with that here? Inside? Especially with that leg! Jesus!

After biting all her nails out of worrying that his leg would end up killing him for good, Zara finally stood up abruptly. "If he gets back before me, will you do him a number for me?" she asked Danny. "Not that you couldn't do it," she said to Hallie, "But, you know, the baby." And after wrapping a thick scarf and shoving a wool hat on her curly hair, she stomped out of the room.

She barely made it out of the hallway before she saw someone she didn't recognize. She knew he was there, but in the room she had assumed it was a nurse. Upon closer inspection, she figured it might be a student, though an oddly colored one...was their power something to do with skin? Or shapeshifting? She squinted and craned her neck forward, trying to get a better look without actually getting involved...

Was that....were those....

Stitches?!

Stitches all over? This person was literally stitched together? The nurse she had sense...there was a part on its face...and another for the arm....and another for part of the leg and....and....

Zara screamed loudly, yet because her throat was dry it came out scratchy and painful, yet she kept screaming and screaming before she realized she could move and booked it back into Mikhail's dorm, slamming the door hard.

"There's a...a...there....this p-p-p-erson...th-th-[i]thing[i] but..b-b-but it's...it's m-m-m-made up of...of other...." she stopped, swallowed, and then screamed loudly and coherently, "THERE'S A GODDAMN ZOMBIE MADE OF OTHER PEOPLE IN THE FUCKING HALLWAY!!"

Mortimer had been standing in front of the door for a relatively short while, though it might of been a long while since Mortimer's idea of fast isn't all that fast. When he heard footsteps coming up from the door to the side he was only mildly surprised. He expected people to be in and out of their dorms quite a lot but he didn't know that anyone was inside the neighboring rooms at that moment. Out from the room he watched a relatively boyish girl wearing a scarf and wooly hat. Since everyone else he had met with in the school had relatively tame reactions to his condition he didn't expect too much fuss from this girl either. It was only when he saw that tell-tale face of stunned terror that he knew what was going to go down.

The girl screamed hoarsely at him for what seemed like forever. This was not new for him. Many a time did he run into someone by accident or go somewhere without knowing whether or not he was seen and it ended most often like it is now, someone screaming and reacting negatively to his presence. Countless girls with countless screams and yet every time it still put Mortimer on edge, scaring him almost as much as it scared the women in question. The moment the curly haired girl turned tail and retreated back into the room with her friends it suddenly struck Mortimer. No, nothing actually struck him but a sudden unpleasant realization came to mind.

Friends. She has friends.

He knew very well what friends meant, at least in his life style. More enemies, these ones possibly with strange powers to improve upon the number of ways to kill him. Sparing not a second longer Mortimer bolted off down the hall, his long legs striding with a quick rhythmic thunder. The sound of his feet hitting the wooden floor boards could be heard quite a ways down the halls he was currently escaping through. He wasn't aiming for stealth since that idea was blown by the screaming girl not a few seconds ago.

He arrived at his and Axel's room, quickly throwing the door open and dashing inside. He shut, locked and braced his back against the door just in case they pursued him with the intent to kill him. If that was the case he was worried that he may not be able to stay out in the open to help Anna if people react as the other student did to him. He'd have to find some way to sneak in and leave her the information he pilfered before slinking off into the woods. After all, he walked all the way here so he should be able to walk all the way back. He has new flesh to do it with now so he quickly planned his escape route, his back to the door while he waits to see who might be coming for him.

Zara

Why was there a zombie in the hallway?

"How the fuck should I know why there's a goddamn zombie in the hallway?" Zara snapped back, nearly losing her voice in the middle but regaining it in the end, "How should I know why anything happens in this school?"

She would have said more, but heard an ominous thudding sound grow farther and farther away. Peeking out the peephole in the door, she managed to get a glimpse of the zombie running...fucking running down the hallway and into another room.

"It can run...the zombie can run!" Zara said, voice pitching and fading in and out of hoarseness, "Zombies aren't supposed to run, right? Or does that make him infected? Maybe he's a mutant zombie. Or a zombie with superpowers!" After a beat she screamed again (albeit shorter) and grabbed her head, "He ran into another dorm! The zombie can open doors!"

The thought of that made her double check the lock on the door and then shove one of the chairs in front of it. "Shit," she muttered, "Do you think the teachers know about this? Or maybe they're already gone...I don't know whose dorm he went into, but I think it's empty...who do we know with offensive powers? I know there's you," she pointed at Danny, " sort of. Axel...sort of. I don't even know exactly what he can do. Mikhail...and...Adrien? Maybe? And Arian...sort of...oh, and Zoe. And Chandler...sort of." She knew where they all were, but they were too far away...Axel with a girl she didn't recognize in the movie room, Zoe and Chandler in the hospital, Adrien...in a hallway? And Mikhail was in a fucking tree. If he was here, he could just squash the zombie or spiral him into space and that'd be the end of it. But all Zara had was a sleepy time-stopper and a pregnant, weary empath and herself. Not exactly the most ideal zombie-fighting team.

"Danny, do you think you could timestop long enough to take care of it?" Zara asked, "He's right down the hall, in one of the dorms...should be easy to find, and if we act fast, he won't have gone far." She hoped he did act fast...otherwise she'd have to help him find the zombie, and Zara had seen enough dead bodies to last her a good while.

Daniel

So now the zombie had basic articulation. This just got better and better. "Goddammit," he muttered. "Zombies are just scary because they got numbers and every little scratch is bad. Infected are friggin' dangerous." Zara's list seemed to cover just about everyone whose powers could be used offensively, though mind control probably wouldn't work on most kinds of zombie. Traditionally the undead had no brainpower to speak of. Though the technically-not-really-dead might. Hm. Well, didn't matter, she wasn't here. So who was here? Headcount: A severely distraught and possibly still amnesiac empath; a clairvoyant who was even scrawnier than he was, if that was even possible; and him, a geeky, scrawny, sleep-deprived teenager who happened to be able to stop time.

Yeah. They'd handle a zombie apocalypse just fine.

Danny nodded, suppressing a yawn, as Zara explained the plan. Such as it was. "I shoul' be able t' hold th' universe f'r a minute," he muttered. "Smash zombie skull." As he spoke, he ducked down (well, collapsed) and reached under the bed to extract something he'd stashed there for emergencies. He probably should've brought it to meet Arian's parents. Would've made things a lot simpler. Also would've helped with the Spetsnaz. Yes, he and the slightly-rusty iron poker he now held in his hands had been through a lot together. Well, okay, through one thing. He'd fought April with it. But he'd injured her (accidentally) and used it to keep her away from him, so he'd kept it as a memento. And in case it turned out to be useful. Like now.

"Alrigh," he slurred through a sleepy haze, straightening up slowly. "You find, I smash. We're lucky, might be th' firs' one. Stop the apocalypse. Heroic. Woo."

Axel's theory made sense... Anna had the ability to extract memories from people, by concentrating and seeking through the mind of her target, she could see anything she wanted. This book that lay before her was a simple object, but it's lost pages were the same as memories.
"You are right...I can see what was in people...It should work for this book too," she said with a smile. Letting his place her hand upon the cover of the book she took a deep breath.
She sat silently with her eyes closed, and let the information she desired seep through her finger tips. At first the only things that came to her her were the words still remaining in the book, title, author, publication information. It took her a moment, and a little extra concentration to peer past what is, to see what once was.

She learned that psychometrics were exceptionally skilled at lie-detecting, and had been used in the past to determine the integrity of high ranking officials, or the fate of the most notorious villains with this ability.
Ina another chapter it explained that, with extensive practice, some were able to locate missing people through physical contact with precious possessions. With extensive concentration a psychometric located over fifteen missing children, simply by grasping their toys and using the emotional connection lingering behind to track the mental wavelength each individual person has.

So much information poured into her mind, but it was thrilling. As she removed her palm she opened her eyes and smiled at him. Not only had he helped her learn something new, but now she had goals to work toward. Her first lesson to herself would be to defend herself against pain as she searched through people's memories. And she knew just the person she would need to start.

"Oh Axel, this has been so much help! I have a lot of work to do...I though my powers were a burden, but there is so much I will be able to do, with a little practice!" Standing she pulled him behind her , "We have to go find Mortimer!"

Axel felt the swelling of pride in his chest as she discovered just how far her powers extended, and was just about to praise her... Then she uttered six words that terrified him.
"Ever hear of the story of Icarus?" he said, planting himself firmly so he wouldn't move. "Just because one obstacle has been overcome does NOT mean all others will instantly fall. I would suggest working *up* to the guy who's probably spent more time mutilating corpses for parts and losing his own limbs than I've lived. Look, how about we use someone like Zara for practice? I'm sure she'd be willing, and I'm VERY sure that she's been through a bit less than Mort. Speaking of, I don't want you touching him until I KNOW you're ready. Talking to is fine, but touching, no. A drop of blood from a nurse who'd probably only had those last few seconds of violence in their life is a bit different than an entire body of death." The tinge of fear in his voice was new to him, he'd normally hide that sort of thing. But the experience he was having, and thus unknowingly sending over to Anna, was most assuredly his own panic at the thought of Anna delving too far into Mort's past. Axel might have literally been born a few weeks ago at MAX, but he was in no way dumb where the supernatural was concerned, and Mort's history, if what he'd gleaned of his past from the few words on it he had traded with Mort was accurate, would be the equivalent of Anna touching Nazi gold. As soon as he realized what he was doing, he let go, rubbing his hand. His voice was still shaky as he spoke, though, still not used to the level of panic he was experiencing. "O-on second thought, i-it might be more useful for us to learn to turn off your power first... THEN move on to building your threshold." He smiled weakly as he spoke, trying to ease the tone of the area.

Zara

Heartbeats had never sounded louder.

It was so quiet...she wasn't sure she liked it at all, and was thankful that Danny broke the silence. She wasn't too keen on the hand holding and pulling her around, though. Punches in the arm and slaps on the back were fine, but something like this, especially after that disaster with James...wait, why was she thinking of him again?

She realized then the other thing that felt weird. Now that everything was still she had a much clearer vision of where everyone was. Not only was it clearer, but it also didn't want to go away...which would explain James.

She shook her head, trying to get rid of the thought. She thought about pulling her hand away, but remembering that Danny had a thing for Arian, decided that there was probably something else behind the physical contact and kept her hand still.

"He should be in this room," she said, pointing and this time leading Danny forward. She stopped in front of the door hesitantly before pushing against it with her fingertips. She was surprised to find that it didn't budge, even when she pushed harder. "It's locked!" she shouted, "The zombie knows how to lock doors?!" Exactly what kind of zombie was this?!

Hopefully they'd be able to do it in soon.

Instinctively, Zara reached for her hairpin to unlock the door. But it wasn't until she had pulled it out and started to work on the lock that she realized she was holding the lock with one hand and her hairpin in the other and that the sound had returned and Mikhail was climbing down from the tree and she didn't know where Danny was and the zombie was inside and moving...


Mikhail

Mikhail was about ten feet down from the top when he heard the faint sound of someone screaming. Yet even though he was a good distance away, he recognized that shrill voice immediately.

"Zara?" he whispered out loud, his breath coming out in a white puff. If Zara was in trouble...then that would mean Hallie would also...

Without warning, flashes of his torture and the grainy video of Hallie in the hospital room ripped through his head like a knife, stabbing and twisting. He cried out in pain and didn't even realize he had lost his grip until he felt himself falling. More images reared in his brain, this time including the older ones of his fall, but now with Sasha's burnt face intertwining with them, and his head pulsed and pounded until he thought it would split in two.

When he opened his eyes he saw that he was face down and floating, his nose barely two centimeters away from the snow. Breathing hard and clutching his head, Mikhail blinked and swallowed, his heart pounding at what felt like 2000 beats a second. Finally he lowered his knees and returned his gravity to normal, the cold snow seeping into his sweat pants. His elbows fell forward, the weight suddenly too heavy, and Mikhail pushed his forehead into the snow, trying to soothe the pain.

Mikhail knew that his flashbacks weren't entirely new. While he didn't remember the ones he saw in his dreams, he had felt them throughout school consistently, although they had been getting better in the two weeks before the last mission. Now, though...the ones that just happened...they were infinitely more violent and real than his previous ones. And physically painful.

"Zara," he reminded himself, and he got to his feet, "I need to find Zara." The flashbacks, though worrisome, would come back if he thought about it too much. He just knew it. Right now, he just needed to find Zara and Hallie and make sure they were okay. "Just don't think about it anymore," he told himself as he started running back to the school.

He had to use his power on his leg to make any sort of speed, and by the time he reached the school he was completely powered out. Trying to climb up to the room would prove impossible. Instead he went through the main doors and went down the first hallway he recognized. After several turns, though, it was obvious that he was lost once more.

Mortimer had his back resting on the door for quite some time. Everything was still, the only thing changing was the noises he could faintly hear through the door. He knew staying where he was was not going to help him. He would need to sneak away eventually even if they did forget about him which was highly unlikely. It was after some time of just listening that he heard something coming from the door. A faint clicking sound near the knob. Now Mortimer might not be the most tech savvy of people but he knew well enough that the door was being tampered with. These locks were not going to keep these people out for long.

Mortimer's mind got to work right away. He knew the locks would be able to hold them out for a few seconds at least. That would be enough time to prop something up against the door. If he could do that then he could afford enough time to make an escape. Simply sitting and waiting was no longer an option. With warranted haste he pushed himself off the door over to a bedside dresser. It was a large heavy wooden model that definitely gave an old fashioned vibe to it. It was also heavy and sturdy enough to bar entry through the door regardless of the state of the locks forcing his attackers to have to break the door down or find another way in. Mortimer picked up the dresser with no effort and slammed it hard down against the door. Since he cannot feel pain by extension he cannot feel strain or effort. This made him stronger than most living people because he could exert his maximum potential strength all the time and feel no different from it. He did observe in the past however that the harder he pushes his body the faster it decays. It was almost as though his body would take the energy used directly from the physical material he consists of to exert any kind of effort.

Regardless of the interesting science lesson about the living dead it would become moot if he were to get killed here and now. He had more time but that time was still ever fleeting. He looked around the room some more to figure out a way of escaping. Moving over to the window he peered down at a steep drop from the second story into the sparkling white field of snow sparsely dotted with trees, getting thicker farther out from the school.

If I can get deep into the woods then I may be able to evade detection until they lose my trail and relent their pursuit. I will need to sneak back into the school tonight to give my due to Anna. She deserves to know what I found. If it can help her understand more of what's going on then this matter will weigh upon me no longer. As much as I desire to help her I must also see to my safety. After all, I'd help no one if I were to die.

Quickly an idea jumped to mind. He looked over at the bed and more specifically the sheets it is adorned with. He realized that he could rip the fabric of those sheets apart and quickly tie them together making a rope to climb down the wall safely. He could do it fast if he only tied together enough strands to get him down into safe dropping distance. He was not worried about coming back up any time soon.

He reached to the sheets and with a loud tearing noise he ripped through the cloth with his undead might. If he were alive he'd might worry about the resistance of the sheet cutting blood circulation to his fingers. Several loud tearing sounds could be distinctly heard from outside the room as he made short work of the blankets. In about half a minute he'd managed to make a long enough rope to drop himself at a safe distance. He tied it tightly to a corner leg of the bed and tossed the remaining length of the rope out the window. This was it, his chance to make it out. He had the field the cross before he could disappear into the woods and lose them. He thought back for the briefest moment to his arrival at this school. The friendly and welcoming way their greeter treated him, a beautiful deception. It was so well crafted it made him believe he could freely walk amongst the living here. For a short while it certainly seemed to be so. As all good things in life do his fortune fled rapidly. It was only a matter of time before he was hunted once again.

Hearing noises from the halls outside the barriers to his room he wasted time no longer. He exited the window feet first, the rest of his body following. He slid down the cloth by his hands until he fell to the limits of his tether. He still had a bit of a drop before him but nothing that would cause major damage to his frame. He let go, dropping to the snow as his feet sunk into the white cold mush. He managed to keep standing, not injuring any of his limbs most fortunately. Getting a momentary glance at his hands he noticed fine red lines burnt through the skin of his palms. He was not familiar with rope burn, lacking the ability to sense the pain of a rope cutting into his flesh made it difficult to tell he was actually getting damaged somewhat by that. He only really noticed after the matter of the fact at a fleeting glance.

It was mildly vexing but the matter at hand pressed him with urgency. He started running as fast as he could which for him was faster than most people could possibly do. Crossing across the visibility zone he slowed down for nothing at all, the deciding moment at hand. He would either escape undetected or simply get gunned down or worse. The tree line was almost in reach, he could almost feel the closest thing he could feel to hope right now. The hope that he may survive to further seek a purpose. It was the only thing worth living for now. He made into the thicker parts of the canopy and continued on until he was mostly out of view. He would not stop running until he knew for sure he had lost them or found a hiding spot he could evade them at.

Axel held tightly to Anna's hand as they made their way through a cold field, dainty snowflakes falling from the ivory sky above. Though it was winter, she felt warm with him. She began dancing barefoot through the snow, faint music rang through the air urging her to spin. With her long hair swirling about her she couldn't help but laugh and smile, reaching out for Axel to join her. As their fingertips touched----


She was woken abruptly as a loud crash came from one of the upper floors, jerking violently off of Axel and the couch, and onto the hard floor below. As she rose, rubbing her elbow from her landing she glanced over at Axel, hoping that he hadn't woken from her sudden movement.
What the hell is going on up there? she thought glancing up at the ceiling. Looking over at Axel she stroked his head and leaned over to plant a kiss on his cheek and whisper softly into his ear, "I'll be right back sweetie."

Making her way up the stairs it was overly quiet, as if everything was being dulled, "I mist be imagining it," she murmured softly to herself as she rubbed her ear, continuing up to the dorm level. She saw nothing down her hall. Approaching her door she placed her fingertips on the wood, listening to the rooms speak to her. A vision came to her,
Mortimer was here,,,waiting for me... she sifted through the images continuing to look for more clues. Almost as if walking into a dream she was pulled into the vision, and instead of seeing in her mind, it was as if she were watching a black and white movie, standing off to the side as a bystander.
Well this is new... she began to think, but as she did so a horrified scream tore into her head. Dropping to her knees she clutched her ears, but the sound was echoing inside of her head. The vision began to fade as the pain in her head grew. Turning to the direction of the sound she screamed SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP! but the girl she was yelling at didn't answer, and the memory kept unfolding. Finally she turned back into the room two doors down from her own.
That's whats his names room...O why can I not remember..." she mumbled to herself as she heard her frantic accusations about a there being a zombie in the school. Looking back to Mortimer she saw that he had already turned tail. Chasing after him the vision faded as she turned the corner to see two other students picking at Axel's door handle, one of which was the screaming girl. There was something unnatural about the air around them, a weak force filling the halls. She had noticed it before, the unnatural silence, the thickness in the air. It was stronger around these two, one of them was the source.

Am I still watching a vision? Or am I really here?
She had no idea, she could very well still be downstairs, sleeping soundly on Axel....she could be seeing what was unfolding in her dreams...she could still be stuck in the vision of the past...
In any case she had to try something. Anger boiled up inside as she screamed as loud as she could, "What do you think you are doing to Mortimer!?!?!"

Zara

She nearly dropped her bobby pin at the sound of shrill screaming. Zara would have shouted herself (most likely a profanity of sorts) but was interrupted by Danny yelling, followed by a thud. She turned around to see him talking through his shirt.

"What? You're fucking bailing on me?" Zara asked in disbelief before turning to the new girl. She had been too involved in her lockpicking to notice her arrival, but now Zara could sense that the zombie had booked it and was running for the trees...but Mikhail...no, he was back in the school. Somewhere downstairs. Maybe he could help her get rid of the zombie. Could the monsters in the woods be turned into zombies as well? That would be the last thing they needed.

"I don't know who this Mortimer is," Zara said curtly to the bespectacled girl, standing up and flinging the bobby pin down in frustration, "but we were in the middle of taking care of a zombie infestation, and would have succeeded if you hadn't screamed Danny out of focus! Seriously, we're right fucking here! Is that your power, supersonic, ear-bleeding screams?"

Mikhail

After much hopeless wandering and no phone to help him figure out his position, Mikhail finally found a pair of doors leading to a hallway that he thought he recognized. Yet when he tried the doors, they didn't budge. Had he been in a better, calmer state of mind, Mikhail might have reasoned that it was locked for a reason. Yet frustrated and riled up from before and not even ten feet close to feeling any sort of calm, Mikhail acted on impulse.

I'll need a new glove he thought briefly as he twisted the first two joints of his index finger off. Pocketing the prosthetic, he rubbed his thumb against one of the small, barely visible switches on the lowest joint, prompting a thin but sturdy two-inch knife to slide out. In a matter of minutes, the lock was no longer a problem, and he hid the knife and replaced his finger as he walked through the doors, a small grin on his face. For a moment he almost felt normal.

He realized he might have put away the knife a bit too quickly, what with all the other locked doors in this hallway. Many of the doors had an additional entrance device, most of which were card readers. Yet there was one with what looked like a thumb reader, and Mikhail's grin grew wider. "Haven't used this one yet," he said to himself, rubbing his prosthetic thumb against his shirt to clean it from prints. "Let's see if you work."

Taking an anticipatory breath, Mikhail pressed his thumb up against the reader. After a few tense seconds--during which he wondered if it would even read the metal--the reader activated and scanned the thumb. A couple more seconds resulted in a happy, affirmative beep, and he heard the door unlock. Smiling almost ear to ear now, he pushed the door open.

It wasn't until he flicked the lights on that he realized what exactly he was doing. Just like old times he thought, especially after spying the computer screen. He untwisted one of his digits and stuck it in the door jamb just in case before walking over to the desk. Nothing was particularly dusty, leading him to believe someone frequented this place often. He'd probably find some good recent information, but he'd have to be very careful not to leave anything out of place.

Taking a breath and stepping as lightly as he could, he reached the computer. He hardly breathed as he toggled the mouse gently, eyes glued to the screen. It remained dark, yet just as he contemplated jiggling the mouse again it suddenly came to life, glowing brightly. A young man's face covered nearly half of the screen, the other half taken over by large, capital letters proudly reading:

"I don't know who this Mortimer is...but we were in the middle of taking care of a zombie infestation, and would have succeeded if you hadn't screamed Danny out of focus! Seriously, we're right fucking here! Is that your power, supersonic, ear-bleeding screams?"

Anna's blood began to boil as the girl cursed her at her. Usually she would apologize, take a step back and observe the situation from her side. However, today was different. Today she felt anger toward these two students who were not only chasing after another student and friend of hers, but breaking into the room of the boy she loved.

"Excuse me? I hope you don't kiss your mother with that foul mouth!" As she took a step forward she crossed her arms, "Mortimer is the boy you two have decided to attack without question! Did you honestly think that someone like him wouldn't be accepted to this school? Did you even think to ask him? Or just decide that he needed to die?!"

Looking down to the boy on the floor she continued, "So you two can stop trying to break into MY BOYFRIEND'S room and leave our friend alone. He is more than likely long gone by now anyway, seeings how he has had less than a warm welcome to this school."

Once again she stepped forward. however this time she stroked her fingertip against Zara's exposed arm, "And no, Zara Marie Rodski of the Russian Intelligence, my power is not "supersonic ear-bleeding screams".

As she turned to walk away she looked back over her shoulder, "O, and sorry for the comment about your mother. I guess you don't kiss anyone in your family with that mouth."

Axel awoke to Anna missing. That was unnerving thing #1. He then heard her voice shriek out in reference to Mortimer. This was reason to move at Mach 4 #0. As he dashed out of the room, his foot and aura-made falsie were moving fast enough to start a small trail of fire, or at least, they would if he was in a cartoon, however, they were muffled by both carpet and psychic energy, leaving only the gentle creaking of the mansion around him in response to his weight. The stairs were cleared in three steps, each gaining more speed as he accelerated upward. The hallways blurred past as he moved, details being erased from his mind as soon as they registered for lack of need, until he silently stopped behind the corner leading to his dorm, where he pressed up against the wall and cocked his head to listen in on the conversation.

"-ded if you hadn't screamed Danny out of focus!" Axel was surprised at Zara saying that(Her voice wasn't exactly hard to forget), he'd thought that once time stopped, sound wouldn't be accessible from "outside". As she continued to freak, Axel thought to jump in, but decided against it, thinking it better to see how Anna'd react, which she did with superb manner, even if her-... Did she just call him her... BOYFRIEND? Well. That made him feel warm little bubblies... Strange. If the good Doctor Ziles wouldn't probably dissect him like a frog the second he told her he'd both become self-aware and was now experiencing emotions that he hadn't been programmed with, he would have asked her opinion. Although, thinking about how doctors that are willing to break the morality rules(such as cloning humans) tend to dissociate themselves from emotion, that would have been a bad idea anyways. That issue'd need to be dealt with later. {For now...} he thought, turning the corner to reveal himself like a ghost from the mist, the smile on his face as real as a fake one could look, {I have a feeling this will only escalate unless I step in.}

"Zara!" he said, taking his place by Anna's side as he switched over to Polish and keeping the tone cheerful so Anna couldn't understand, hoping that he hadn't forgotten any of the language, "Co ty do cholery robisz próbuje włamać się do mojego pokoju? Facet tam nie tylko zombie, to mój współlokator. I Danny, jeśli jego moc jest to, co myślę, że jest, nie byłby w stanie być zakłócony przez Annę, więc wina nie jest jej. Niezależnie od tego, dlaczego nie myśleć szukać właściciela pokoju pierwszego, czy innej randze? Szczerze wątpię, że dwóch nastolatków, psychiczny lub nie, może obsługiwać Pacjenta Zero sytuacji." A little off on the pronouns and some of the grammar, maybe, but it was more or less understandable: Zara dun goof'd by trying to enter Axel's room without permission, regardless of how big an emergency she thought it, and he was not happy about it.

Dr. Ziles

She waited momentarily as the lights flickered on in the large room, remaining hidden at one of the desks behind one of the many computers in the room. It was one of the students rummaging around for some of the schools secrets again. The thought of it caused her mouth to twitch slightly into a smile, it was quite amazing, really, to see such curiosity still embedded into the mind of an artificially made human...she wondered how this boy differed from another of her creations...Axel. They were both artificial in a sense, but one had nothing but one had gone through real experiences, a real life...what the latter had was only synthetic, nothing other than ideas from her and her colleagues imaginations. There was also the fact that he was preprogrammed, the emotions he felt, his behavior, his thought processes, all preprogrammed.

She would like to say that she felt a tinge of guilt for what she had done, what she was doing, and what she was planning to do, but if she said that she would be lying entirely. She was doing what she thought, no what she knew was right, and to her, the ends justified the means entirely. She knew she would be praised in the future for what she achieved in the present, and although she may be hated currently for what needs to be done she didn't care, it would be done either way.

With that she decided she gave the boy enough time to do his research, she didn't want him finding out too much after all.

"Mikhail Petrov," she stated, flipping switches that served to power off the computers in the room. "You do know this room is under restricted access don't you?" She asked, smiling slightly, as she walked over to the door, leaning on it while waiting for his response.

Adrien

Adrien had found himself drifting through the halls once more, chuckling slightly at the habit he found himself forming. Although he was one who loved socializing and enjoying time with others, he oftentimes found himself isolated in his own world of sorts, daydreaming almost constantly. That wasn't to say he didn't love daydreaming, because he most certainly did...but it wasn't that fun to do it consistently. He shook his head, he couldn't lie it was kind of nice to drift off into his own world, but there was a real world that he was living in, and despite how hard it could get one always has to deal with reality in the end; he was sure that was a fact.

Finding that he was growing weary of thinking to himself for so long he went back to his dorm room to see if Anna was there, once he saw that she wasn't he sighed slightly, presuming she was with Axel or Mortimer elsewhere within the school. He began to exit the room until he turned and looked outside the window...and what he saw most certainly surprised him...snow! At the sight of it he assumed that everyone else must have been outside enjoying it, and his mind drifted to thoughts of snowball fights and creating a snowman with friends as he put on a coat, gloves, and a hat, already having his scarf on...he didn't think he ever did create a snowman...the thought made him frown slightly, but he smiled knowing that that was what the present is for!

Once he was completely dressed for the cold weather he made his way outside, looking to see where everyone was. As he looked he was unsure if they had even went outside in the first place...eventually, once he had been looking for a while and couldn't find them, he stood there silently, beginning to think once more. He had never really liked the snow...well that was until his powers started working to benefit him, when he didn't have to spend his days lying down in subways because they were the warmest place he could find...getting kicked out of any indoor are that he attempted to go to...freezing out in the streets as the snow piled on top of him...a pained expression grew on his face, but he found solace in the knowledge that things were different now...Psy Prep provided a roof over his head...his power provided him warm clothes to be able to enjoy this weather...He could live, do things that normal children were able to do.

He took a deep breath of the brisk air through his nostrils, the cold air spreading down his throat, and then he released through his mouth, a fog emitting from his mouth. It was beautiful. He closed his eyes and gently dropped down to the ground, deciding he would make a snow angel, once he had hit the ground he let out a pained yelp, finding that there was barely any snow formed on the ground, and that he had just fallen in what was primarily a pile of leaves and soil, along with some snow, it was only October after all. He found himself letting out a dry laugh, as he rested on the ground, looking up at the cloudy sky as the snow fell.

He was at peace.

That was until what seemed to be a dark shadow flew (or rather, ran) above him, his eyes widening in shock as he took in a deep gasp. He jolted up to see what it was when he realized it was Mortimer! "What's going on?" He thought perplexed, before turning to see where Mortimer had came from and seeing a long rope of what appeared to be blankets protruding from the window of one of the dorm rooms.

Even more curious, Adrien chased after him, slightly worried for Mortimer's well being. "What's going on?" continued repeating inside his head as he continued chasing after him, he began panting once they reached trees and he decided he might as well begin calling out to him before he lost the guy. "Mortimer! Mortimer wait up!" He said, worry in his voice as he began to slow down, "Are you okay?" He called out, his voice tinged with slight desperation as he knew he couldn't continue running much longer. He was proved correct when his legs seemingly gave in and he fell, skidding on the ground of the canopy. He was unsure of where they were exactly and he wasn't sure if he could even see Mortimer anymore, as the sky had been growing dark with the coming of the night. "Mortimer?" He called out one more time, leaning down on a tree as he sat, panting for breath. "What's going on?" Rang through his mind one more time, he hoped it wasn't another event like with what happened to the others who returned from that mission, injured and bloody.

As Mortimer was running he could hear someone else pursuing him. How did they catch up so fast? He wondered, making good distance on the footsteps falling behind him no less but it was still an odd happening. Is that one of their powers? I have to be more careful if I am to escape them. He managed to make it into the thick of the trees before he heard a voice distantly calling out to him. "Mortimer! Mortimer wait up!" He heard the familiar voice of Adrien, the friendlier of the few who initially greeted him, drifting away as he ran. From his tone of voice he didn't sound angry or menacing to him. Perhaps it's a trick to try and lure you in Mortimer's sense of paranoia chimed in. At a time like this it was hard not to be paranoid about people, especially when all throughout his life his paranoia had rarely given him a false path to walk.

Despite his paranoia however his deductive logic began playing as the devil's advocate. He could of sworn that Adrien was not counted amongst the two who were last pursuing him. For that matter he couldn't hear or see anyone else with Adrien. If his guess was correct then Adrien would be the only one out here, hardly logical for someone trying to attack him. There was not enough time to set an ambush either so there was no way the other students had simply hidden nearby, waiting for him to take the bait. By all conclusions Adrien was no bait, just a fellow student trying to speak with him.

Mortimer had concealed himself in a rather advantageous hiding spot. The way the bushes and the trees hid his position also allowed him a great deal of view, enabling him to watch Adrien without being noticed himself. "Mortimer?" Adrien called out one last time before settling down against a tree, evidently fatigued from chasing him. Seeing as how he had the upper hand in this circumstance and Adrien seemed rather alone Mortimer was quite conflicted. In the end there was one question Mortimer had to solve himself: To trust paranoia and get the heck out of there or to give someone who was characteristically good the benefit of the doubt?

...

Mortimer's faith in humanity won out. He snuck up behind the tree Adrien was resting on, approaching while keeping his visibility minimal while staying as quiet as the dead. He needed to act swiftly for this to work out. In a fast motion Mortimer's rope fried hands reached out from around the tree, clasping around his mouth so he didn't yell out in surprise, compromising his position. He slowly drew his left hand back to his own face, placing his index finger next to his lips in the manner most typically associated with silence. "Shhh." He quietly hushed Adrien, trying to make sure that he didn't try and pull anything unfortunate. Fairly secure that Adrien likely got the idea he pulled his right hand away from Adrien's mouth. "Do you know where the others are?" He asked in a quiet tone, his eyes darting about, searching for any additional pursuers.