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Babble

"Silence is golden."

0 · 702 views · located in The Genetic Modifications Centre

a character in “Genetic Anomalies”, as played by Zalgo

Description

BABBLE
Image



Name: Lee Littles
Nickname: Babble
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Type: Born
Duration of Stay: Nine Years

Abilities:

Sound.

Almost everything to do with sound. From the vibrations to the way the mind interprets these signals, he rules the sonic domain with the power of his mind. He controls sound not with his vocal cords but with his sheer willpower.

He can produce a dizzying number of effects using his sonic manipulation. These effects are limited in a way very similar to how sound itself is limited. Like sound, his sonic effects grow weaker the farther away from him it goes. Like sound his powers are more powerful when traveling through thicker mediums than air such as liquids or solids. Using these principles Lee can not only produce sonic effects externally but internally as well. He used to be able to use sound to make his hand vibrate so fast that the edge of his hand could cut flesh and bone. His hands are gone now but he has learned how to use that particular technique in different fashions such as "Shuffling."

Shuffling is a technique he uses by using sound to vibrate his legs and then take a rapid series of short steps which allow him to move with extreme speed and precision. The speeds he can achieve when shuffling can come close to the speed of sound. Close but not up to, Wind resistance and friction serving as limiting factors.

At maximum vibration he can go from shuffling to hovering. When hovering he no longer needs to be touching the floor to move in the horizontal plane. He can prevent himself from falling any distance while hovering but he cannot make himself ascend any distance higher than he already is. Additionally unlike shuffling he has far less control of his speed and direction when hovering, like as if he were sliding on ice.

His power doesn't exhaust him unless it involves his body directly. When shuffling, he uses up as much energy as he would be running the same distance he's shuffled. Despite the efficiency of it, his power allows him to travel much farther and faster than possible for regular humans but that makes it quite easy for him to expend a lot of energy rather rapidly without even noticing. His appetite can become quite ravenous when this situation occurs.

Weaknesses:

- White Noise almost always causes great pain.

- He's learned to control it but without being able to control sound all sounds cause unbearable pain.

- He's got no hands

- He is afraid of glass

- Shuffling causes contact burns as a result of friction.

- Tuning Forks distorts his ability's effects.

- He's very frail and gets sick easy.

- Cannot turn his power off willingly.

- Most limitations sound has he also has.

Appearance:

His emaciated form is rather gaunt, making him very light and frail. Standing at only four feet nine inches tall and weighing only ninety eight pounds doesn't help either. He has perpetual deep dark circles under his eyes from a chronic lack of sleep. His short, straight, coal black hair is constantly disheveled and his grooming habits have suffered quite a bit ever since he lost his hands. His skin is a sickly pale white due to how little sunlight he sees on top of his malnutrition.

Generally he wears a standard patient's white shirt and pants because that's all he's given to wear.

One peculiarity to note is that ever since the incident back at the previous facility a year ago he never opens his mouth to speak. He almost never uses his own voice whenever he talks, always someone else's.

Personality:

He's nuts.

To say he is strange would be an understatement. When he talks he doesn't always stay on topic, often going into outright babble. He hears everything that is going on around him whether he likes it or not unless he uses his powers to counteract his passive sound reception. He has a fascination with the way words sound like they do. He puts little value in cooperation, only doing so if he must. He doesn't much value people's company either, seeing as how people have brought him nothing but misery.

For all the horrible things that have happened to him he's only concerned with the simple, childish things he's never got to enjoy. He just kids around and lives to enjoy himself. He holds very little actual malice towards people in general despite how little he cares for their company. Even though a lot of people have hurt him in one manner or another he's only ever killed one person with his sonic powers and that was a special circumstance. He usually restrains himself to simply incapacitating or dissuading his opposition with intensely painful sounds.

Above all else he loves the golden noise. When he is able to he just likes to sit in absolute silence, no sounds around. This is only possible for him by producing the golden sound, a sound which is so quiet it drowns out all other noises until all that's left is silence. The real effect of this is similar to a technique people commonly use. The golden sound is all sounds present played back at the exact same frequency. As the waves hit they cancel each other out, creating silence. All he does is constantly play all the sounds he hears back against the original sounds, eliminating both for sweet silence. One day he hopes that he can strengthen his powers to an extent where he can broadcast the golden noise across the entire world, drowning out all sound and putting an end to communication forever. He believes once people lose the crutch that is talking society can begin to be more honest with itself, expressing ideas and emotions through actions instead of words. Until then he simply practices honing his powers when he can, welcoming any opportunity to test his abilities and improve. If someone wants to get on his good side then they better be quiet. After all, silence is golden.

History:
- Pending disclosure



Character Link: He can hear everything being said and done in the cell block when he's in his cell. Outside his cell he can hear throughout most of the facility.

So begins...

Babble's Story

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Neptune Character Portrait: Serena Character Portrait: Ember- The Wraith Character Portrait: Reyna Wynter Character Portrait: Hector Kazuhira Character Portrait: Druggie
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#, as written by Zalgo
BABBLE

The lights turned on with a buzzing sound. The light hurt his eyes. He had been sitting in absolute darkness for the last twelve hours. He sat in the middle of the featureless white room, looking at nothing. There was nothing else in his room. They couldn't trust him with anything after what happened back in the facility up in Hope, New York. For the greater part of the year he was mostly left alone in the room since they were not to test him until the investigation was resolved and his files could be transferred. Such was the nature of Bureaucracy, a double edged blade capable of allowing great harm or preventing it, both out of it's sheer inefficiency. It was orderly perhaps but efficient it was not.

As of late he has heard discussions regarding a test for him. They've gotten bolder. He understood that the guards assigned to him were quite nervous. Unlike the guards back in the last facility he was not directly the cause of this paranoia. These guards who attended him were not well informed as to the nature of his powers, only that he had successfully set at least three blocks of mutants loose before they narrowly managed to corner him. Until his file was released to this facility they simply left him in the dark. They couldn't of risked provoking him before they had proper security measures in place to contain him.


There were others in his block. Other mutants with different abilities and different problems. Most of the time he didn't bother listening to them, simply canceling the noise out so he could sit in perfect silence. Today he didn't listen to his golden sound, he could hear people walking through his block. Three guards approached his cell door. He could tell in what exact arrangement they were standing thanks to the sounds of their equipment bouncing off of each other illuminating their frames in his mind. He could see sound, even with his eyes closed.

Two guards, each fully armored and equipped with guns as well as a speaker attached to their belts and one guard also armored but carrying a white board instead of a gun. The speakers were a recent development of theirs to suppress him in case he tried anything using loud radio static. The white board was to communicate with him as they did not wish to provide him with sound while they were getting ready to transport him. He generally cooperated better when they didn't make too much noise so this method was what they used most often. The last few times they communicated with him verbally he either played with the very sound of their voice, disregarding their intended message and making silly sentences or he babbled on and on about irrelevant matters. None of the guards could use force on him unless permitted by his new doctors as they were still trying to understand what they could safely get away with. Thus far sound was the most successful method of punishment as they learned from his previous doctor's file on him. They'd expand upon their learning's with further sonic torture but first he was to undergo the social experiment.


Remain still. Do not make any movements.

When they opened the door Babble's eyes were naturally drawn to the white board as it stood out from the rest of the guard's current uniform. Seeing as how he oh so enjoyed silence he's quite happy with reading. A silent method of conveying a message was not unwelcome, especially if it came with illustrations. His favorite reading material was those dinosaur picture books meant for kids. He always loved the adorable drawings they had of all those ancient dead lizards.

He didn't move a muscle, something the guards were quite happy with. Not waiting to see if he was actually obeying or just spaced out the two guards stepped forward. From behind him one of the guards produced a set of headphones. These were noise cancellation headphones designed to cancel out all outside noise. Typically these are seen on people who have to work near deafening noises such as airplane mechanics. Tense as a tightly wound rope and with their fingers on their triggers the guard placed the headphones onto his head. He didn't flinch but a smile did creep it's way onto his face. It wasn't enough to completely shut out the noises in the hall, there was very little they had which could replicate the golden sound but the world had gone from a constant explosion down to a dull roar.

Stand. Follow us.

Babble unsteadily eased himself up onto his feet, just as what was written on the white board. The two guards stood to his sides but slightly behind him while the one which was holding the white board took the lead, tucking the white board under his arm and walking ahead. Babble staggered a bit as he had been sitting for an awfully long while which gave him leg cramps but slowly enough he made his way behind the leading guard, the two guards at his back focused on his every movement with great intensity.

He knew exactly where he was going. One time when they opened his room to give him his dinner he overheard a scientist standing in the room he was now headed that the room was to be prepared for the social experiment. Another time he overheard another scientist listing off the participants to a colleague and his previous name was mentioned. Lee was the name he left behind back at the previous facility. He left that name behind because Babble is sound and he is Babble. That's all there was to it.


Unsurprisingly to him they eventually came to the room where he already knew where he was going. As they approached the door the guard leading them stopped and so did he.

Stand still. Once headphones are removed proceed inside room.

The guard held the white board back up with the new orders written. Babble frowned in disappointment. The one guard removed the headphones and the guard with the white board moved out of the way so he could proceed forward. With the sound of the entire facility howling in his mind at a volume almost anyone but him would find intolerable he proceeded forward into the room. He wouldn't of tolerated the volume but by this point that was just how the world sounded. His tolerance for pain is much higher now given how much of this unrelenting storm of noise he's had to endure.

There were four people in the room currently. Though some of them might not have even seen him before he knew them all. Their conversations carried through the walls whenever he didn't tune out to the golden sound. Ember, Reyna Wynter, Neptune and Druggie. They weren't the only ones there either, more were coming down the hallway still. Looking mostly at his own bare feet he shuffled over to the corner opposite of where Reyna was and sat down with his back resting on the corner wall while leaving his legs straight out. His arms hung limply to his sides, the sleeves coming well past the point where most would assume his hands would be and resting on the ground like damp noodles. With his head hanging forward he closed his eyes, looking like he just straight up went to sleep as soon as he came in. As much as he'd like that to be true there was no way he could sleep with all this sound going around him. He was just trying to concentrate, shutting his other senses to the world and focusing purely on sound.

Within moments of his arrival delightful Elevator Music was now playing at a rather gentle volume all throughout the social experiment room. This helped make the place a bit more pleasant while he focused on mapping out the surrounding rooms using echolocation.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Neptune Character Portrait: Ember- The Wraith Character Portrait: Reyna Wynter Character Portrait: Druggie Character Portrait: Babble Character Portrait: Harold Nye
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"Damn... Damn it!", Harold mumbled under his breath as he watched his hand form into an amorphous blob. He's been at this for weeks, what else is there to do when you're locked in a dull, grey cell? His hand reformed into it's regular shape as he dropped his head in defeat. It's been a day or two since any of the guards have visited his cell. The closest thing he got to interaction is when the metal plate with what little sustenance it had came in from under the door panel.

This is why he was surprised when his door flew open with no warning. A few armed guards came rushing in expecting Harold to put up some kind of resistance. When in reality, he was in a state of too much surprise and confusion to even utter out a word of defense. Plus he was never one to give the guards too much trouble. But after a huge mutant breakout that he had heard from some of the guards, things have become a lot more strict. Sounds of rubber rubbing against rubber could be heard as the guards pulled Harold's arms behind his back. A third guard, no, it was a doctor, approached Harold with a straitjacket. It was customary and almost traditional that whenever the cell block door opened a straitjacket would follow. It has happened so many times now that Harold could pretty much put it on himself. These guards weren't leaving anything up to chance though. They were definitely very serious, but about what?

"Easy gentlemen. No need to be so aggressive", Harold had said once he was able to gather himself and assess the situation he was in. A sharp, "Shut up", came from one of the guards behind him. Harold didn't like to be the rude, cheeky inmate so he zipped his lips. The straitjacket was tightened securely and triple checked before they started to shove the poor man out of the cell and into the hallway. The fluorescent lights in the hallway were blinding compared to the dimly lit cells the prisoners resided in. Harold would admit it, he was pretty nervous about what was happening. Especially as soon as he saw more mutants being guided by the guards and doctors. From inside the jacket came the same rubbery noise, Harold was rubbing his fingers together, not for the sole purpose to annoy his escorts but out of sheer nerves. The jacket kept him from doing much more with his arms and hands. This was particularly annoying when he developed a scratch on his nose during the daunting walk he was taking.

From down the hall Harold heard.... music? Calming, elevator music to be exact. And with each step he got closer and closer to the source. The guards opened a heavy metal door and the music flooded out of the room. Harold was shoved in, stumbling on his feet and being careful not to fall. He had no arms available to catch himself after all. He turned around with his mouth open ready for words followed by a question mark when the door slammed. His guides had already began walking the opposite direction. Harold turned back around to see a few people in this white, blank room. The few people plus the guards of course, there are just so many of the guards that they just start becoming invisible after awhile. Harold eyed every inmate here with a very perplexed look on his face. He didn't recognize anyone in the room, and he started to scan the walls, ceiling, and floor. There were no speakers found, so where was the music coming from? The portrait before Harold was haunting to say the least. There before him stood a guy and a girl, staring blankly at each other. In one corner another girl sat down, looking very afraid. And another guy was sitting against a wall. He just looked dead inside. All of this paired with the elevator music that started to sound more unnerving with each passing minute.

They all must be wondering the same thing. They want to know why they were taken out of the relative comfort of their cell blocks and into a room full of raggedy strangers. After what felt like being in a trance Harold stepped forward, eyed the guards, and spoke out some pretty brave words.

"Can anyone scratch my nose for me?"

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Neptune Character Portrait: Ember- The Wraith Character Portrait: Reyna Wynter Character Portrait: Hector Kazuhira Character Portrait: Brent Summers Character Portrait: Druggie
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#, as written by Shiki29
The black room didn't bother Hector. It was designed to contain and deflect EM waves. Without it, Hector would easily be able to see the entire facility, or connect to the internet. However, that was not what Hector had tried to do. It would be useless in this cell.

The social experiment went pretty badly in the first run. After the ordeal, he was unceremoniously put back in his cell. The incident that occurred in one of the earlier tests had resulted in Hector's security status to be increased. Although his powers were certainly potent and a dangerous threat, he had never required much security. He always complied with the tests, and even assisted some of the scientists in their work. Hector smiled. When that happened, the scientists gave him some funny looks, as if an animal just explained something to them that they didn't know. The really funny part is that Hector was correct. The scientist who checked the data on the computer tried to lie to Hector, and tell him that the answer was incorrect. However, Hector saw the signals coming directly from the computer. He was right. It was only after confirming this that the scientist who Hector assisted opted to push the panic button under his desk, seeing as how Hector had somehow been wandering around the facility, unnoticed. Hector gave up without a fight, that time.

The incident occurred when Hector was directly lied to by a scientist for a test that would have been painful for Hector. The test was explained as something minor, and easy. Hector had cooperated, until a hidden trap sprung, designed to test Hector's electrical conductivity. Hector's fast reflexes were what saved him that time. However, the rage he felt was immense. He remembered threatening the scientists from the other side of the glass door, should they do something like that again. They would likely have taken precautions, as they were now, but Hector simply couldn't contain his rage. It took two tranquilizer darts to knock him out and get him ready for the social experiment.

Now, Hector stayed in his black room, dressed in his suit, and wearing his glasses. He was in the lotus position, meditating. The guards have likely not heard a peep from Hector, at all. However, when the door opened, Hector was brought out of his meditation by the armed guards. They wore rubber suits underneath their protective armor.

"Get up. We're taking you to another social experiment."

Hector got up. Another social experiment. . .

Trying again was necessary for accurate data, but why do it like this? An escape attempt was likely. Maybe. There was probably a fail-safe in place, of some kind. However, Hector didn't know what that was.

On his way there, Hector checked the cameras to look for the other people that would be participating. Hector closed his eyes for a short moment, and looked through the hallways. There was Wraith, Reyna, Brent, that drugged-up one, and a few others he did not know. One of them interacted with electrons oddly, as if he was more elastic than a normal human being. Another one had hair that was two, different colours. There was also one that was wearing bulky headphones, definitely the kind used around sources of extreme noise. At that, Hector could guess at some of his powers.

When Hector got to the white room, and noted the lack of speakers, his guesses were confirmed to be likely. Looking at what the others were wearing, he felt almost a little bad for wearing his suit. But, it was a privilege that he was granted for his cooperation. It did not denote any hierarchy or self-worth. Many mutants were given clothing for various reasons. Hector liked to wear the suit, despite the lack of mobility and how formal it was. To him, it was comfortable.

The guards in the back of the room presented extra security. Naturally, no dangerous usage of powers were permitted, it seemed. Hector, however, knew of the dangers that certain frequencies of sound could give so people, and he glanced at the mutant who had the headphones on. Hector took his own place at a wall, and sat down. The floor was probably extremely clean.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Neptune Character Portrait: Ember- The Wraith Character Portrait: Reyna Wynter Character Portrait: Hector Kazuhira Character Portrait: Brent Summers Character Portrait: Druggie
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Brent gasped spitting out blood onto the floor, the pain that shot through his stomach was unbearable, the throbbing radiating throughout his body. He would've wiped his mouth but both arms were being restrained by two guards while the other threw the blows, they had been like this for half an hour each of the guards getting a turn at bruising his body, it was all he could do to remain conscious. It was because of Brent's ability that is was so simple and did not effect regular people that he was one of the only tenants that the guards could do this to, and after the failed social experiment these sessions tended to get more and more frequent.

His insides felt numb as if they had been turned to mush after the intense beating, like everything on his insides wanted to be on his outsides. Boy, do these guys really know how to make a guy feel special, was all he thought as the next punch came in slamming hard into his side sending up another splatter of blood to his lips. He spat it out. Even with all of the relentless beatings Brent still would've chosen this than to see her again, she forced him to face everything that he tried to forget, his guilt, his bitter hatred, everything. She reminded him of what he had lost and for that he hated her, she was the symbol of the last of his hope dissipating into nothing.

So instead he took the beating almost happily willing to do anything to stay out of a situation like that again, but the shots were getting less and less frequent and more and more subdued. He could see the signs of a bashing fest almost done with he started standing upright, half to show that he wouldn't be broken and half to show how little their strikes were making on him. He would've never admitted that standing right then was the last thing he wanted to do, instead he wanted to rest for a bit. But the worst of the bunch, some hot shot who referred to himself as The Machine, had other plans. He wanted the mugging to lest that much longer and break the spirit of Brent, he wanted to see him slumped on the floor not willing to get up he wanted to make sure that the need for escape was gone from all mutants in the facility.

However unfortunately for him and fortunately for Brent just as a knee to the stomach hit was being made the door slid open to let a scientist into the room to break up the group, not that the scientists were even bothered by the beatings they only ask that the guards did not make any marks on the mutants faces, facial recognition was the main way the scientists differentiated between the mutants and their abilities. Even with this rule in place a few scrapes could be seen on the odd mutant or two, this was the reason for the busted lip that Brent now sported.

The scientist made a hand motion and the two guards holding his arms abruptly letting go and dropping him to the ground before walking out of the cell. As Brent was slowly struggling to get up the scientist had made his way over to The Machine and was whispering words that Brent could make out. Soon after Brent was dragged to his feet and pushed towards the open door of the cell, the group made their way down a white hallway down twists and curves of the maze of a facility.

Bent assumed they were on their way to proceed with just another experiment, which surprised him considering the scientists had done many tests over the years and had since run out of things to throw at him and learn from him. Most of the time they just kept him in his cell to keep him from returning to the outside only using him on other mutants every once in a while, Brent thought this might be one of those times. Just as he was getting used to the idea of a run of the mill experiment he came to a door that slid open after a code was punched in, as the door slid to the right Brent looked up, wiping the blood from the cut on his lower lip. And what he saw mortified him, for he look up to see the long black hair that was hers, Ember. The Wraith.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Serena Character Portrait: Ember- The Wraith Character Portrait: Reyna Wynter Character Portrait: Hector Kazuhira Character Portrait: Brent Summers Character Portrait: Druggie
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To Serena, life couldnā€™t be better. All was well. In the corner of her cell, which wasnā€™t really a cell, was just a massive mound of assorted pillows, blankets, and cushions. It was like her safe little cave, nice, warm, and quiet. This is generally where she slept away more than half of the day; there wasnā€™t an actual bed in her room. If she wasnā€™t sleeping there, she was dozing off on some rafters, or in someoneā€™s lap having her ears rubbed. The workers in the facility loved her, and, to her knowledge, there wasnā€™t anyone that disliked her, save the anomalies. Most, if not all of them, were extremely jealous of her. But all she really needed was for the workers to like her. They ran everything, and they provided her with food and comfort. She knew if she was not on good terms with them, then her life would be a living hell. Scientists and guards practically fought to be in charge of Serena. She generally provided them with cuddles and an easy job.

Serenaā€™s cell isā€¦ odd. As stated before, its not really a cell. The floor was cushioned, like that of a cell in an insane asylum. The walls, however, were made of steel. But the steel was covered with hundreds of pictures. What are the pictures of? Thereā€™s nothing in specific. Theyā€™re just pictures. Some are posters, but the others are just pictures. Pictures of scenery, pictures of food, pictures of random people in silly outfit. Anything that interested her or fascinated her was pasted to her wall. Sometimes, she likes to just sit and stare at the wall, thinking about the pictures. Where did they come from? Who took them? These were all answers that she knew she probably wasnā€™t going to get. Even since she started crafting this collage of images, there had been a sort ofā€¦ longing within her. She wanted to go to these places. She wanted to meet new people. Butā€¦ she knew that was not possible.

A scientist walked through her cell door. The door was always open, unlike all of the other cells. Serena was free to roam the halls of the facility, as long as she didnā€™t go into restricted areas and returned to her cell by curfew. ā€œSerena? Itā€™s time to wake up, kit.ā€ The scientist spoke quietly, hoping not to startle her.

What came from the mound of pillows sounded similar to that of a groan. Serene poked her head out of one of the small opening. She was blinking rapidly, hoping to remove the sleep from her eyes. ā€œWhyā€¦?ā€ She whined childishly, letting out a loud yawn as soon as she finished talking. Suddenly, her entire body went stiff. ā€œI-itā€™s notā€¦ I-I donā€™t have to go to the doctorā€™sā€¦ right?ā€ Her golden irises shimmer and then went from their usual gold to a darkened silver. You could see the fear in her eyes. She hated the doctorā€™sā€¦ They had to poke and prod her with needles, not to mention touch her in places she doesnā€™t likeā€¦

ā€œNo no no, thatā€™s not today. Though I do believe you do have an appointment coming up soonā€¦ā€

Serena let out a pitiful whimper as she receded back into her little pillow cave.

ā€œNevertheless, its time for you to get up. You need to get dressed-ā€ Another whimper from her, ā€œYouā€™re doing something special today, kitten.ā€

The cat girl sat up, her ears perked with interesting. ā€œSpecial? Like what?ā€ She crawled out of her pillow mound. Digging her claws into the soft ground, she pulled back, stretching her shoulders and back like that of a cat. Purring quietly, she sat up.

ā€œItā€™s not exactly somethingā€¦ amazing. Just a test.ā€

ā€œAwwā€¦ You got me all excitedā€¦ā€ Serena pouted.

ā€œSorry, sorry.ā€ He patted her head a few times, causing another smile to appear on her face. ā€œDonā€™t worry, weā€™ll have a special meal prepared for you when you return. As long as youā€™re a good little kitten. Understand?ā€ Serena nodded, a big, toothy smile on her face. ā€œGood. Now, get dressed.ā€ He handed her the pile of clothes.

ā€œBut I donā€™t like wearing clothesā€¦ā€

ā€œI know, kit. But you canā€™t go in dressed like that.ā€ Of course, he was speaking in reference to the fact that she was only wearing a pair of black underwear and a black bra.

After another few moments of pouting, she gave in and got dressed. She was wearing a pair of sweatpants and an orange t-shirt. She also had on a pair of running sneakers. Her tail flicked about irritably. ā€œI donā€™t like it.ā€ She pouted.

ā€œItā€™s only for a little bit. Now come along.ā€ The scientist ushered her out of the room. Serena followed, a disgruntled scowl on her face. The walk to the room was a silent one, the two of them didnā€™t speak once. But the room she was put in definitely sparked some curiosity within her. The room was small and white. It also had a few other anomalies, almost all of them with some sort of restraint. Her head cocked to the side, her earā€™s flicking. ā€œNow, be good.ā€ The scientist gave her a partially stern glare. Serena nodded, waving as he left. She turned to look at the others, surveying each and every one of them with a sweeping glance.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Neptune Character Portrait: Serena Character Portrait: Ember- The Wraith Character Portrait: Brent Summers Character Portrait: Druggie Character Portrait: Babble
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Ember's solitude was extremely short lived. Her neighbour took a seat in the corner and then Ember's fears were realised.

"Ember?"

She cringed, before reluctantly meeting the girls eyes.

Neppy.

A horrible mix of deep seated fear and guilt wrestled with uncharacteristic joy at seeing her. Neppy's face contorted with hurt and confusion, before she took a step towards her. Under the strain of all her emotions, Ember automatically backed up a bit. She was not the same person Neppy remembered- she couldn't just return the big sister figure she had been. There was far too much blood on her hands. From the lack of fear or anger, Ember could only assume the other girl had no clue to her past. She was not really keen to fill her in. Once she found out Ember couldn't bear to think of the reaction, and there was no way to hide it. It wasn't particularly new information for most here.

She was panicking now, her light grey irises unable to look away from Neptune's two toned eyes. Suddenly the drugged up guy from the last experiment was chucked in, looking slightly more lucid than last time. Obviously he had no problem with personal space as he walked straight up to Ember.

"What."

Ember's eyes flashed red in annoyance, furious at the metal clamping her jaw shut. What did the idiot think she was going to do? Reply? Another kid was shoved mercilessly into the room and Ember decidedly ignored him, quickly deciding to retreat to as far a distance as she could manage from the room. Before she could take another step she froze, eyes glazed over.

Music. Oh my goodness. All thoughts shut down as she stood motionless enraptured with the sound. She hadn't heard music for four long years. Granted, of all songs to be playing it wasn't exactly a master piece. However, at that moment Ember couldn't care less. For once there was no pain hidden behind words, no cruel tones nor screams. It was a beautiful, innocent sound, and Ember's mask slipped off her face and she stood vulnerable and open. Knowing that it must be coming from the kid in the corner Ember decided that at some point she would beg him to play more. Anything to hear some of the music from her past. She was vaguely away that an unknown man and then Hector had been bought in, but she couldn't bring herself to transfer her focus.

Abruptly her temporary pleasure was torn from her. Brent. This time it appeared he was in no condition to hurt her. Evidently the guards had been attempting to break him from the split lip and the way he attempting to hide how much pain he was in. Good. Ember would use it to her advantage. If he dared attack her again she had no qualms about driving her small fists into his fresh wounds. She gave him a cold hard stare, daring him to try approach her again. Then she blinked once and turned away from him, heading for the metal doors letting him know that she had no interest in him anymore. She didn't blame him one bit for hating her, however she was not going to become his victim.

Ember couldn't believe the next anomaly that was let in through the doors. Her eyes flamed red at the sight of Serena. Inglorious little snob. She would have grimaced at the scientists fatherly orders if she'd been able to move her mouth. When the girl looked over at her Ember made sure her anger was still hot so her eyes would be the deep auburn.

Suddenly Sam decided to enter. She tried to avoid his gaze, hoping that this time he'd found a different victim. No chance.

"Ember get over here."

He was the only person in the facility that insisted in using her real name and she hated him for it. He was practically acknowledging that she was a person before abusing her. He was pointing straight down next to Brent, as though she was a dog. Gingerly she made her way forward not meeting either Sam nor Brent's eye. Sure enough as soon as she drew near enough Sam grabbed the edge of her mask, forcing her to meet his eyes.

"I'm going to take this off you, but you are not to move from Brent's side until every guard is out of this room. Unless you want another session with myself." Embers old scars ached at this reference. "Do I make myself clear?"

With a furious glare she managed a stiff nod, before he roughly turned her around and removed the mask. He motioned for all the guards to leave. With horror she realised that she could no longer use the mask as an excuse not to talk to Neppy. Stiff backed Ember waited impatiently for them to get out of the room. Despite her defiant attitude earlier she was scared of Brent. Even in his condition, she wasn't sure she could escape unscathed, not with the anger that would behind every blow. That was when she remembered her previous question. He hadn't answered her after all the guards had burst in destroying the first experiment.

As soon as the last guard had left, she turned to face him, shaking slightly as she did so.

"I need to know if you can permanently remove abilities." Her husky voice was steady, even if her nerves were not. Worried about his reaction she started to step back a few paces to try and put some distance between them.

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Character Portrait: Neptune Character Portrait: Serena Character Portrait: Ember- The Wraith Character Portrait: Reyna Wynter Character Portrait: Hector Kazuhira Character Portrait: Brent Summers
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Reyna kept to herself, she was not going to make the same mistake as last time; getting close to someone and then watching them die, killed by the same people they were supposed to work with. Her blue eyes grew sad at the memory of the twin, he had been an artificial being; a clone that was unneeded in the eyes of the scientists and could be crossed off by the Wraith. The memory of his lifeless body and bright hair still haunted the small female on occasion.

Reyna finally looked up when a man in a straight jacket was thrown in and requested that someone scratch his nose, but no guard would comply to the request. However one of them moved out of line and approached the girl, taking the gloves off of her hands and leaving in formation with the rest of them. Reyna rubbed her raw wrists, the skin red from the harsh metal digging into her epidermis. She looked around as another few entered, flinching when Brent appeared although he was never a direct threat to her and frowning as a girl with silky cat ears followed.

Finally the doors closed and Sam announced the beginning of the experiment. Reyna rose to her feet, the jacket she was wearing was far too big and when she stood it went past her knees and covered her hands like a kimono. She rubbed one blue eye tiredly, wondering what he had meant by deciding about abilities; so they could not use theirs? But if it was a physical attribute they could? The last time she had faced this challenge, the child had had a nervous break down and the experiment was cancelled due to some unforeseen problems before they had even entered the maze. Now however, Reyna stood at the entrance where the lights began to blink slowly on; their fluorescent glare hurting her eyes. Reyna closed her eyes and turned away, nervous for the beginning. Instinctively her hands went to play with the necklace she normally wore only to remember that it had been taken away.

Reyna took in a quiet breath and opened her bright blue orbs once more and turned towards the others, forcing a small smile. "My name is Reyna! I hope we can all work together to get through this!" She turned back towards the maze and withheld a shuddering sigh. Slowly Reyna took a step in, testing the floor to see if it was heated to burn her bare feet or electrified. This section was not, but there was no guarantee that danger did not lie further ahead. Knowing Sam this was not a simple maze, but some sort of trap aimed to destroy them physically and mentally. "I think the beginning is safe." Reyna mused and put her foot down completely, taking another step inside.

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Character Portrait: Neptune Character Portrait: Serena Character Portrait: Ember- The Wraith Character Portrait: Reyna Wynter Character Portrait: Hector Kazuhira Character Portrait: Brent Summers
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#, as written by Zalgo
BABBLE

Four more were shuffled into the mix. Four more cards in this bad poker hand. A couple of them spoke, a couple of them were opposed to each other. It was clear that Ember and Brent had an enmity going, their heart rates spoke clearly. It could of been love but Babble wouldn't know what that would sound like. He's never heard love before, only hate. He knew the sound of hate well. He's heard plenty back at the facility, both around him and directed at him. His doctor didn't like him very much, not that he understood why.

He wasn't always cooperative but didn't always have the power to say otherwise. Back before he came to terms with this reality he's been presented he was in constant agony. Between the experimental drugs, the surgeries, the beatings and the constant howl of the facility screaming endlessly in his mind he would often be in too much pain to sleep. One would think that at night when everyone was resting and the machines were given pause he'd have enough peace and quiet to meekly pass out at his discretion.

That would be so if it wasn't for the guard of his block. The night guard was a brute of a fellow who used the scarcity of oversight during the night to get away with ghastly abuse. For everything that man did if it were done to a normal human he'd be sentenced for prison for life. As it was there was little to no recourse for his crimes. His worst crime in Babble's opinion? His radio.

The man always left the radio on all throughout the night, always on a station that played heavy metal rock and roll, always set obnoxiously loud. Almost nobody on his block got decent sleep thanks to him but Babble suffered the most from it. The feedback, that infernal buzzing noise, always playing kept him up for weeks straight. He'd only get to sleep after being so tired that his body would literally shut itself down. Quite frankly, it was no surprise he turned out this way.


But such was a story for later. Much later. For now there was a new harsh buzz, the crackle of the intercom. With the sound of a record scratch the calm unobtrusive sound of elevator music came to a dead halt, as did his own calm.

"Before we begin the next test, there is one rule to be obeyed. No Anomaly is to use any abnormal abilities lest the whole group gets punished. However you deem that rule applies to yourself; you would do wisely to obey it. Lastly- the aim of this next test is to observe how quickly the group can complete it. Individual achievements will not be rewarded. It is the groups time that will ultimately be of interest."

Babble heard him clearly but was barely paying attention. His focus was diverted on blocking out the crackling buzz of the electronic feedback coming from the intercom speakers. While it was mildly audible for those with keen hearing he heard it like a snow storm in his brain. He managed to lessen the noise somewhat by dulling the overall sound with some of his golden sound, fighting feedback with feedback on the same wavelengths but with a lesser volume so the noise of the scientist addressing them wouldn't be completely drowned out. As it was, the message would be a bit quieter for others as their hearing was nowhere near as keen as his.


The guts of the room grinded and churned, machinery locking into place as the bonds that held the door closed were pulled loose. Little did the scientists know the music was all a big ruse. By the time his music came to a stop he had projected his supersonic echoes throughout a majority of the course. He didn't have enough time to fully map it and even less time to memorize what parts he scanned because the door blocked a large portion of the pings he sent. Now that the door was open he could find his way through blindfolded with both his arm-stumps tied behind his back but he knew they were testing them. It was one thing to see closed floor panels where traps lay or hear the breathing of other oddities they placed in wait for hapless wanderers but there were some machines in there he couldn't identify even if he saw them in person. If they were scanning for ultrasonic waves using some super fancy microphone of some sort he'd tip them off.

Not that he thought they were going to be let off easy. He knew scientists, punishment was merely the tool of the sadist. Whether they used their powers or not was an uncontrolled variable and therefore, given that the scientific method is followed and their experiment is constructed in any way intelligently, just another point of data in the spreadsheet. This was a social test and it was highly likely that if they actually planned on punishing them then they would do it regardless of whether they cooperated with the stated rules or not.

It was clear enough to him. He just said that to see if they'd actually obey. Not only a social test but an obedience test hm? Well, seeing as how no matter what I do they'll get what they're looking for I might as well have some fun! He concluded, putting all the evidence he could arrange from his existing knowledge on doctors. He didn't know many but he knew his own doctor well enough and that was the kind of game he played. His whole life was like that one kids game 'Operation' except whenever the scalpel touched his sides there was more of a reaction from him than there would be from a plastic human figure with a light up nose.

"My name is Reyna! I hope we can all work together to get through this!"

She tried to fake a smile but her voice despite her efforts was laughably easy to see through. Reyna was nervous, there was no hiding that. Her heart rate had picked up a bit earlier as she saw Brent, indicating that she knew him at least enough to be concerned. All and all he'd analyze her further but what conclusions would he come to that would be of any actual note? None he'd actually care about. She was pretty low on his list of people he actually cared about right now. That could change later but given was little of her attitude he'd seen he was bored of this dish. Now Druggie was another matter, a dish he was keen on sampling. Just from seeing his behavior so far he struck Babble as a fascinating figure. No one knew his name for gods sake, how could people not be wowed by just how mysterious he was?

Mainly because nobody could get anything more from him. After all, the number of drugs they kept him on was a veritable alphabet soup of sedatives. Right now the real question was whether he liked him as he was or if he'd like him better if he was in his proper head space for once. Time could only tell.

"I think the beginning is safe."

That was it. Her babbling was enough to finally rouse him from what appeared to be complete catatonia. He put his back to the corner and pushed himself up the wall using his feet. What else was he going to use to stand up, his hands? Unlikely given how they were a fine meat puree somewhere at this present time.

Easing himself onto both feet he stood there, swaying from side to side like a gentle breeze could knock him over. AS he stuck one foot out he leaned back like his leg and body were all one bone, stuck in a straight line as he planted it back down. With the next foot he rocked his head back and then forward again, ending in a hunched slouch. He continued this walking pattern, his whole body swaying back and forth in accordance to the motions of his hips like his upper body was a metronome.


When he finally came to a stop his whole body slumped forward with the momentum of his walking. He was well within arms reach of Druggie, swaying as he stood like some sort of tired drunk. His arms just kind of hung there like they didn't even work, drooping to the side every time to swayed. He lifted his head up slowly, a genuine but somewhat off-putting smile on his face.

"Hello me. I am me. You are you. We are us. How are we?" He spoke, although he didn't actually speak. His mouth was not moving and it wasn't his voice. It was Druggie's voice.

"I wonder if these wonderful gentlemen and ladies in their little white suites have put something at the other end of the red maze. Maybe it's pizza? Or birthday cake?! Ooo, I love birthday cake. Is it any of our birthdays today? If not we might have to settle for regular cake. Or pizza. Pizza is good too. Not as sweet as cake but always delicious. I wonder if they'll have any toppings on it. Did you know that tomato sauce is a topping too? I know, right? It's confusing to consider a pizza without any tomato sauce, just a flat piece a bread with a crust. Not very pizza like if you ask me. If it's a good pizza it'll have tomato sauce and cheese on it. Melted cheese, a wheel of cheese sitting on a pizza would just be silly, am I right? Almost as silly as if they had no toppings. But what toppings would they put on that pizza if there was a pizza and if it had tomato sauce and cheese already? My favorite topping is pepperoni. Pepperoni's are a very tasty meat but they don't taste like peppers, isn't that strange? Almost as strange as putting pineapple on a pizza. It's got such a strange name, pineapple. Which is it? A pine cone or an apple? how on earth are we expected to make such weighty decisions when we just wanna eat some pizza? I mean lives are at stake here. If anyone of these lovely people got mulched or crushed or maimed or violently torn apart by the maze then the last thing we'd need is to decide what a pineapple is. We don't like pineapple pizza. I can probably guess why. I am right, we should just have it be pepperoni pizza. I like pepperoni pizza, even if it has nothing to do with peppers. After all, you gotta put something on a pizza besides just tomato sauce and cheese. Not putting toppings on a pizza would just be improper they'd say."

He babbled on and on using Druggie's voice to speak with Druggie, his mouth not moving a muscle. He didn't need to speak anymore, he didn't need to use his own voice anymore. No one liked his voice and as he saw it no one ever would. He was sound now, why limit himself? If he was going to talk he'd might as well make the person he's talking to more comfortable by letting them listen to the sound of their own voice. Some might consider that creepy but Babble didn't know better. Nobody had told him otherwise ever since he learned how. Then again, after he learned how he was thrown into a padded room with no lights and fed sandwiches three times a day. They couldn't trust him with any utensils so sandwiches were the safest thing to give him for sustenance. Anyone who asked how he'd be able to eat the sandwich when he had no hands was asked to offer a better solution and the discussion was quickly put to rest.

It didn't really inconvenience Babble anyways. He loved sandwiches, even if they were often just pieces of bread with a slice of cheese in between them, and he learned to use his feet to do more and more as the year flew by. Since his hands were gone he had to use his feet to do what his hands used to and because of that necessity he's gotten quite good at making do. As a bonus he's become very flexible, able to wrap his feet around the back of his own head kind of flexible. As for discussions though the staff never bothered speaking with him. All he did was babble. All he was was Babble. That's what he always was and that's what he knows himself as now. All it took was one nice doctor to tell him who he was. This was who he was.


No one is going to tell me to not be me.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Neptune Character Portrait: Serena Character Portrait: Ember- The Wraith Character Portrait: Reyna Wynter Character Portrait: Hector Kazuhira Character Portrait: Brent Summers
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Hate filled the pit of his stomach when he say that face but when he took a closer look and saw how exhausted she was and almost felt bad for her that was until he saw her glare burn holes in his skin and remembered that she was the enemy. But for now they needed to play on the same team Brent saw this but hadn't quite gotten used to the idea then when she was directed over to him he shifted uncomfortably leaning his weight onto his right leg, his head tilting up and away from her so as not to make eye contact.

He understood why she needed to be near him, to keep her from using her abilities, but he hated every inch of her and it took all sense of control not to outright attack her right then. He was shaking with the urge to fight but he kept his cool taking in deep breaths trying in vain to calm himself. Then she turned to him and asked him a question he never got to answer before a question he had mulled over in his time returning to his cell, "no I can't, oh how I wish I could maybe there would be someone alive to this day."

His words held an air of sarcasm as he practically spat the words at her in a forced whisper, he wanted to make her feel bad to make her feel sorry about what she had done. Even though it had happened so long ago, upon seeing The Wraith, Brent felt the same way he did when he was so young and helpless, so he reverted to his teenager self and acted like a child, face flushed red with anger. He clenched his jaw fighting back urges to act immature, instead he straightened to his full height taking in a deep breath as he did calming himself down to the point of a low simmer.

The voice over the intercom explained the test and how it was meant to be completed, he scoffed, typical of them to make the group work together. Normally, Brent would have easily been able to finish the maze but with his recent injury and having to drag along a rag tag group of misfit toys, this was looking to be a more difficult task than his usual testing. He looked around the room but saw no one that he could confide in besides a tall guy that made an odd sound whenever he moved.

But he would have to think about gaining a companion later as for now he would focus on the maze and getting through the first test. As for the maze itself he knew better than to assume that it was just a maze, he knew full well that there were more than a few challenges throughout the winding hallways and saw that Reyna was smart enough to check for them. She was small and harmless looking but polite and intelligent enough and he was guessing that she was more than a little dangerous guessing from the gloves that she was wearing before.

He could see that she would be able to pull her own weight and the others only time would tell, for now he stepped towards the entrance to the maze ready for anything they had to throw at him, though Brent couldn't shut off his power he knew the scientists knew this and would probably be making notes behind their comfortable monitors watching and waiting for data to be analyzed. He hated them but hated Ember more refusing to even look at her as he passed stepping up behind Reyna looking into the dimply lit hallways. "Whelp, this sucks."

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Druggie kept his head down keeping his mouth closed but his eyes wide remaining silent but staying vigilant so as to not be caught off guard. After talking the changes were all too much for him, the moving around, the addition of people, he didn't like all the people they were strange to him. One of them even had ears which didn't make sense to him, in his world Druggie was just a normal person, he didn't understand why he was here or what they wanted him for he only assumed that everyone lived like this and that he was just living a normal life, no one bothered to explain to him the truth and therefore he stayed in the dark comfortable and relatively quiet.

He couldn't remember anything back before he came to the facility and even when he did it all seemed like a far off dream from some other world. So when a girl came in looking like a cat it puzzled him, however not wanting to face the truth he chalked it up to being a hallucination something he was very familiar with. The music that had been playing softly relaxed him causing him to sway subconsciously, it sounded familiar to him but he couldn't understand why and like with all things he couldn't understand he chose to ignore it keeping instead to his rhythmic swaying.

When the music stopped so did Druggie giving a few more sways before realizing that the melody had ceased, he felt more than a little crest fallen about it but didn't have time to morn when a voice came onto the speaker saying words that he partially understood. Words like "test", "group" and "anomaly" it was a word he had heard often and could only understand that he was one not really getting what it meant.

As the doors swung open to the maze Druggie felt uneasy shifting from foot to foot looking around at the others, then looked into the maze and got the same feeling he felt when he heard a clock. Clocks were his least favorite their constant ticking drove him to the brink of insanity, during one of his tests scientists stuck Druggie into a room with the sound of ticking being played, after three hours of being in the room Druggie was clawing at the walls with bloodied fingers, screaming at the top of his lungs until his voice went hoarse.

So when Druggie now looked into the maze he could almost hear the tick tock that haunted his dreams and instinctively took a few steps back. His thoughts of nightmares were interrupted when another body moved next to him, his eyes grew wider still. It wasn't until the sound of his own voice could be heard that Druggie really started to react. At first he looked down pressing his chin to his neck to make sure it wasn't moving then he moving his hands up patting down his chest then making a wiping motion like he was trying to get ride of a persistent bug.

When that didn't work he turned in a circle looking at the ground like he was looking for his voice that he dropped, only to finally to realize that the voice was coming from the stranger standing next to him. Now was when Druggie opened his mouth out came a sound that didn't seem to be words but more of a dieing baby sea lion that had been caught in a bear trap and was complaining about the weather which starting off hushed then grew a bit louder but never going over a normal speaking voice, "mnnyyyaaeee."

It wasn't an annoyed sound or a scared sound, Druggie was just confused and more than a little nervous that he might be going insane. When his voice stopped speaking so did Druggie, stopping and staring at Babble with his big wide eyes wondering what was going to happen next slightly entertained by the new things that were presenting themselves to him. Druggie stood on tip toe looking at the boys mouth curious how he had done it, if he even had done it, he grabbed Babbles sleeve to steady himself and the stranger tugging in it gently like a small child watching a magic trick, he was captivated.

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Character Portrait: Neptune Character Portrait: Serena Character Portrait: Ember- The Wraith Character Portrait: Reyna Wynter Character Portrait: Hector Kazuhira Character Portrait: Brent Summers
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No one complied to Harold's request to itch his nose, not even one of the guards. Instead they started removing the restraints from the others in the rooms, as well as Harold's straitjacket. Once the uncomfortably binding clothing was removed he stretched his arms out, but this wasn't a normal stretch, his arms reached a length that no normal person could conceive. They reached to about 5 feet long before they retracted back into a normal length for Harold's height. He reached up his hand to his face and scratched the irritating itch that had been sitting itself atop his nose.

Harold didn't have much time to observe his surroundings further when a voice came over the intercom. Harold recognized Sam's voice, as would anyone in the facility, and a certain burning rose from him. The fire inside of him both died and rose even greater when he heard that they were to perform a series of tests, without the use of their gifts no less. A large metal passageway opened up that revealed a dim, red, evil glow. Harold could hardly see the end of the hallway, but saw that it split. What kind of social experiment splits people up?

Besides the moment that Harold obtained his mutation, he hasn't been as poorly treated compared to most of the other mutants. He didn't have much to be afraid of, or at least he thought so. There was some meandering among the crowd before the most meek and the one Harold would least expect to speak up first, spoke.

"My name is Reyna! I hope we can all work together to get through this!"

She was quickly joined by the blond haired guy of the group. The one that had the headphones on started speaking.... At least Harold thought he was speaking. There were a lot of words being thrown out by one voice, but no one's mouth was even moving. Harold decided not to question it, as he was sure the answer would confuse him even more. They all had powers, but they weren't allowed to use them. Why they might have to use them is what made Harold a bit nervous.

Harold walked forward, past Reyna and Brent, and turned around. "I think introductions are needed, at least for me", Harold had said as he realized that some people here already know each other. "I now know your name", he said looking straight at Reyna, "But what about your powers? We should know what each other are capable of".

"My name is Harold and my whole body is elastic. I can stretch certain parts at my will, and I'm kind of indestructible to a certain degree", he looked over the crowd before him for a response.

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Character Portrait: Neptune Character Portrait: Serena Character Portrait: Ember- The Wraith Character Portrait: Reyna Wynter Character Portrait: Hector Kazuhira Character Portrait: Brent Summers
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Neptune did not say another word as she met her big sister's gaze, her emotions unreadable until a boy who clearly lacked any conversational skills and personal space boundaries strode up to the black haired female and declared, "What?" Neptune looked between the two, recognition apparent in Ember's eyes as she strode away angrily, nostrils flaring. A pang resounded in Neptune's chest and she turned away, uninterested in the scraggly male whose eyes had glazed over. The music was beginning to get on her nerves as well, they played classical pieces like this often during experiments and it did nothing but set her nerves on edge.

Finally the symphony was cut off only to be replaced by a cacophony of gears and levers that revealed a dark room with a red light. Slowly the light bulbs began to flicker on, revealing nothing other then a maze. Announcements were made and while cryptic the message was clear, they were not to use their abilities. It was within the first five minutes that the rule was broken by the one who had previously been adorned with headphones and although his mouth did not move, he made it quite apparent that his ability had to do with sound waves. Neptune was about to tell him to quit it when the timid girl who had been sitting in the corner and was now standing at the entrance of the maze began to giggle. "You're weird," the child said and soon the blonde and the one in the straight jacket joined her at the beginning of their doom. Her timid stature quickly dissipated and the fake smile she had been wearing was replaced by one much more genuine. Her innocence reminded Neptune of someone else she had once known and was quick to repress the memory of, it made Neptune want to protect the child.

"I think introductions are needed, at least for me," the one in the straight jacket spoke, declaring that his name was Harold. He directed his gaze towards the little one, Reyna if Neptune recalled. "I now know your name, but what about your powers? We should each know what one another is capable of." The child opened her mouth, then shut it quickly; clearly hesitant to establish this.

"I'll go first," Neptune wasn't sure why she volunteered, but the words slipped between her lips before she could stop them. The bicolored haired female strode forward, wondering why some of them had been given shoes and others were forced to go barefoot. However, that was not important and she pushed the thought from her mind. "My name is Neptune, my ability is called hallucikensis. In simple terms it means I can induce hallucinations and project illusions." She stepped onto the maze floor, crossing the line and deciding that there was no going back. Neptune couldn't stay in the room anyways, refusal for this test would surely mean certain death. Neptune turned towards the little one and gave her an encouraging smile, surely someone so cute couldn't possibly have an ability that was bad?

"I have blood manipulation," it was so quiet Neptune almost missed it, but she blinked in surprise. "And I can transform certain parts of my body." That was not the answer she was expecting, but that was the funny thing about living in a place like this; the most dangerous people were often the most innocent. Neptune turned to look at Ember and wondered if it was the same case for her big sister.

"What about you?" She whirled around towards the blonde that had already begun walking. "What can you do?"

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Character Portrait: Neptune Character Portrait: Serena Character Portrait: Ember- The Wraith Character Portrait: Reyna Wynter Character Portrait: Hector Kazuhira Character Portrait: Brent Summers
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A lot had happened in only a few minutes, and Serena was doing her best to take it all in. As she listened to the announcement that the main scientist was making, Serena couldnā€™t help but scowl. Not use my powers? I canā€™t justā€¦ not. They are a part of me. Her scowl turned into an angry grimace. That scientist is stupid. Her inner thoughts were jerked away from her as a wall had suddenly started moving. The loud, echoing sound beat against her eardrums intensely; so much so that she put her hands up to cover them. Once the wall was gone and everything stopped moving, she removed her hands from her ears. Suddenly, a lot of different scents and sounds hit her like a tidal wave. She breathed in deeply, her ears twitching and flicking this way and that, picking up noises like a sonar.

People had begun to introduce themselves, but Serena wasnā€™t paying attention. Theā€¦ everything coming from the maze was almost hypnotizing. Plus, she knew all of the things they were saying already. Being nosy and loved by every person is power had its perks.

Sluggishly, she began to walk towards the maze, in between everyone else. Her eyes were glazed over, as if she was in a hypnotized state. Too many questions arose at the same time. Too many things to take in. She walked past Reyna, her ears still fidgeting atop her head. After taking a few large steps, she froze, her body stiffening. ā€œWhat isā€¦ā€ She muttered out loud to herself. The overpowering smell ofā€¦ something flooded into her nose. It was a strong, odd scent. She couldnā€™t make out what it was, which is surprising. She spent years of her life memorizing the specific scents of different animals, but this one wasā€¦ strangely different. Almost like a combination of more than one creature. The musk of fur was present, but as was the much drier smell of bare skin. She could hear it lumbering about. It was large, larger than her, no doubt. The sound of claws scraping the hard, metal ground sent shivers up her spine, causing her entire being to grow tense and on edge. Should I tell themā€¦ Her golden gaze flicked to a camera. She knew where to feed to that video was going. But what about the scientistā€¦ this count as using my abilities? She clamped down on her bottom lip, the feeling of her sharp fangs jolting her from this frozen, shocked state.

Serena turned on her heel and made her way back to the others; she wasnā€™t far, just a few strides ahead. Once again, the small girl, Reyna, had just finished speaking when Serena had come up next to her. ā€œSorry to interrupt.ā€ She apologized quickly before looking back at the group before her. ā€œAs most of you may know, my name is Serena. I know that most of youā€¦ā€ She frowned and looked at the ground, her shoulders suddenly heavy with shame. ā€œMost of you probably hate me because of the way I am and what I do. But I have helped you in the past, you just have not noticed. That extra amount of food on your plate? That day that they decided to leave you alone instead of poke and prod you, or perhaps put you into another one of these? That fresh change of clothes you got once, randomly? They listen to me. They think they understand me, so they listen to what I have to say. What I have to suggest. I know the things I have done are very little, but if I ask for moreā€¦ I would probably end up like most of you, unable to help you the little that I ever had.ā€ She stopped and bent down, untying her shoes. She kicked them off, and took off her socks as well. ā€œIf anyone wants these, have them. They are a hindrance to me.ā€ She turned, stepping on the cold ground.

Serena could hear it all, feel it all now that she didnā€™t have half an inch of rubber keeping her feet from the ground. ā€œThis is indeed the first time I am being tested like this, with many others. I am used to working alone, but I am sure we can do this.ā€ She looked at the others, taking a deep breath through her nose. ā€œThis maze is riddled with traps. I can hear them and smell certain ones. All I have to do is this.ā€ She walked over to the white wall of the maze. She then tapped her finger nail against the surface, and the sound began to echo. She listened intently, her eyebrows furrowing. ā€œAnd I can sense the exitā€¦ It is subconscious. Something that I cannot control. The air in here is bitter, dusty. When was the last time this maze was cleaned? The exit sends in a gust of air. It is not fresh, but it is different. Clean. There are doctors waiting for us. Presumably because the traps we will encounter are going to harm us.ā€ She spent a few moments staring intensely at the T-split in the maze. ā€œYou can choose not to trust me, but we all want the same thing, no? Not to mention, the smell of blood is gross. Iā€™d rather we all make it out unharmed.ā€ She tore her gaze from there and rested it upon the rag-tag ground once more. ā€œI recommend we stay together. Nothing good will come of us splitting up, I am sure of that.ā€ Serena looked back at the fork in the road once more.

ā€œThe first turn we will be making will be a right.ā€

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Neptune Character Portrait: Serena Character Portrait: Ember- The Wraith Character Portrait: Reyna Wynter Character Portrait: Hector Kazuhira Character Portrait: Brent Summers
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Reyna was already back to her peace-making self it seemed. It was a wonder the child hadn't been broken yet. Then again, she didn't believe Reyna had had the opportunity to get close to someone and have them lost. Ember efficiently ignored Reyna's cheery introduction. There was no point in niceties- what they needed was practical but detached team work.

"No I can't. Oh how I wish I could, maybe there would be someone alive to this day."

The words held the very texture of anger woven into them. She wasn't surprised. That kind of anger wasn't going to dissipate any time soon. Still the words hurt. Not so much by the way he attempted to heap guilt atop of her, but by the simple message: no. Ember's face went blank, trying to mask her bitter disappointment. She had warned herself not to hope, but with an idea as simple and tantalising as having her abilities wiped from her, she had ignored her own sound advice. She felt empty once again.

As Brent walked off towards Reyna, she couldn't help but whisper her reply.

"You're not the only one that thinks that."

Druggie and the strange sound manipulation anomaly were both using unintelligible communication. This wouldn't have bothered Ember if the sound anomaly was not using his freaking ability exactly like Sam had told them not to. Since nothing had happened yet, Ember guessā€¦hoped that it meant only in the maze. Nonetheless she decided she was going to make sure this punishment didn't happen. She was about to do so, when Harold introduced himself.

She analysed him for a second. Carefully looking for signs of malice or falsehood in his face. Finding none as of yet, Ember guessed he was as unaware of her 'gifts' as she had been of his. Good. For now, he was not a huge threat. Her sister then spoke up. No new information there. Ember gave her a quick apologetic glance, but then immediately turned away, ensuring that she was sorry but still not keen on confrontation. After Reyna's introduction she was starting to worry. How was she supposed to introduce herself? Hey, I'm Ember and I've killed many of you. She decided that all they needed to know of was her air manipulation in regards to speed and weapon use. After all, she wasn't planning on using her other abilities, unless she was told to. And if that happened, it wouldn't help them anyway. Serena interrupted her thoughts. For once, Ember was pleased at the pets presence.

The girls ears were twitching madly as she delivered her little speech. Ember didn't buy it. Not all of it at least. In her eyes, Serena was using the idea of her charity to ensure she was trusted. While Ember didn't particularly care about the first bit, there was no denying the truth in the second. Serena was currently in this with them, going into a more dangerous part of the maze was not going to benefit her. What scared her though, was the blatant reference to the girls skills. Sure she hadn't told them exactly what was in the maze, but she was hinting that she could sense them and thus to trust her. Ember glanced uneasily at the camera's, hoping that Sam wouldn't not consider this a breach of code.

"I agree with Serena." Her scratchy, unused voice spoke out without emotion.

She started to head towards the entrance, but made a quick deter to the babbling sound guy. Immediately her anger came to the surface, splashing her eyes red. She stared down at him, her eyes glowing red coals.

"I suggest you quite using your sound ability, else you not only suffer Sam's punishment but mine." She hissed, holding the boys gaze, her fury not relenting for a second. "I don't care if you think we'll be punished anyway. I'd prefer to err on the side of caution."

Without another word she turned from him, allowing the rage to simmer out of her eyes. She didn't bother waiting for a reaction from any of the others either. She was sure they would not approve of threats, but she wasn't bowing to anyone's will but the scientists at the moment so it didn't matter.

She neatly stepped past Serena, and walked to the right corner, peering down the corridor. This one was longer than the entrance, but seemingly the same. She frowned slightly, trying to gauge how or where the traps would be, before putting aside her unease. Without thinking she deftly slit open her right palm with her long nails. Ignoring the stinging sensation she pressed her hand at eye level against the right corner. Removing her palm, she left a small bloody smear on the smooth metal surface. This way they knew exactly where they had been.

"I'm going right." She announced, her English accent growing more pronounced as her voice gradually got used to the amount of times it was to be used. "However I half wonder if it would be more wise to simply keep a hand on the right and keep moving that way. I have no doubt, Serena that you can sense the exit, however Sam would be well aware that." The bastard, she added mentally. "And will probably lay the most traps on the more direct path."

Suddenly she realised the source of her original unease. Someone other than the anomalies was breathingā€¦.no something. Somewhere to the left there was labouredlabored drawn breaths. Her eyes melted to light-grey. This was something big. And worse, it was slowly getting closer.


"Change of plans. I don't care about how we go about it. We just need to move now." She hissed with a sudden surge of urgency.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Neptune Character Portrait: Serena Character Portrait: Ember- The Wraith Character Portrait: Reyna Wynter Character Portrait: Hector Kazuhira Character Portrait: Brent Summers
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#, as written by Zalgo
BABBLE

"mnnyyyaaeee."

Babble just kept his head cocked to the side, his eyes locked Druggie's. Most of his face remained still like stone however his eyebrows moved as though he were cycling through a whole spectrum of emotions. After a few seconds which felt more like minutes he shot right up, his right arm sleeve brought right up to his cheek while he sported a great big happy smile. He'd of moved his other sleeve as well but it was being held onto so it was kind of stuck.

"Eeeeeeee! I just absolutely LOVE IT!"

He cried out in the voice of a little girl he knew. Of course his mouth still didn't form words or even open. It was pretty much established by this point that he didn't use his mouth or even his voice to talk.

He was just adoring this new friend of his. His response, regardless of it's coherence, said everything that needed to be said. There was no need for words, Babble understood just fine. Such a quizzical sound for what was understandably strange to him, it all fit together like legos. It was such a breath of fresh air too. While everyone else was babbling about this and that all this tall fellow made was a sound and that's that needed to be. What point was there in communication anyways? Words to him were like the plastic wrappers over candy bars. Remove them and all that was left was the delicious sound. It made him wonder what it was with all these people eating the wrappers and ignoring the bars of chocolate they held.

The kitty started speaking but he had little interest in listening. Not that he had a choice though, he could hear her straight through his skull which was part of what made it so annoying. Her words just kept droning on and on about how she's oh so sorry and really a nice kitten who's just trying to help but the scientists don't let her and other such monotony. He didn't care, he couldn't care less. He didn't hold her treatment against her, he barely cared even when he wasn't in the same room as him. If the scientists wanted to play favorites how was that any business of his?

She claimed she had very good hearing and could sense the exit. Yeah nice work, gold star, bravo, congadularations, you win the prize, ect. His thoughts maintained a sarcastic and bored tone as he listed off praises in his head, all of them intentionally back-handed. This was one of the few times he bothered to keep his thoughts to himself, mainly because he didn't want to have to bother getting involved in their little patty-cake session over in the halls when he was much more interested in his new pal. Needless to say he wasn't impressed as he already knew most of the paths to the exit as well as where most of the traps and fun things were. If he wanted, he could just skip his way down the safest route no problem. Of course uncle Sam said there was no using their powers. It's not like he could comply even if he wanted to but he figured he'd make it easier on the others in case the doctors actually meant what they said and simply not use his powers to help.


All of a sudden Ember decided to be a spoilsport and come over to talk at him. She decided she wanted to look him straight in the eyes, something which was uncomfortable as she basically wedged herself between him and Druggie as he was looking towards him when she decided to do that.

"I suggest you quite using your sound ability, else you not only suffer Sam's punishment but mine. I don't care if you think we'll be punished anyway. I'd prefer to err on the side of caution."

Her eyes were red, not that he'd of noticed. He wasn't looking back at her eyes but rather her mouth. After all, that was the only part on her which could actually do some damage to him. As she spoke the golden noise gradually drove the volume of her voice down until the end of her little threat at which point her voice was barely audible to anyone else but him since there was little he couldn't hear. He'd say it was a waste of her breath but he knew she had plenty of others to spare.


"Hah! After killing at least over a dozen people I've become a pro at killing the mood, eh Brent?"

It was Ember's voice coming directly from no more than a millimeter out from her lips and loud enough so that everyone in the immediate vicinity could hear. Everyone that was behind her would have very little way of knowing it wasn't her speaking, Brent included as she had strode ahead of them all. After all it wasn't just a reproduction of her voice, it was her voice down to the accent and eccentricities of her speech pattern. Babble was a master of sound and was very keen on the nature of the voice. The way words sounded, the way people spoke, even the various factors which influenced their voices was something he's honed to the point where he can pick up on details even other anomalies with keen hearing wouldn't pick up on just by hearing a person speak once. There was a large gap between hearing a sound and understanding what the sound really was and why it was made. He had crossed that gap a while ago and then some.

In his mind he was sound. Sound was no longer just a scientific phenomenon for him, it was a way of life. He still had a lot to learn about just what could be done with sound but with every chance he'd get he was determined to learn it all. Duplicating human speech while hard at first had become second nature for him. As such there wasn't a human voice around he couldn't replicate to the point of being indistinguishable from the original.


After that fun little jab at miss grumpy pants he turned back to his newest friend, big smile still stuck on his face. "Hey! I've got an idea!" He was now speaking using Druggies voice once again and he was back to being the origin of the sound. With that said he wormed about in his long sleeved white shirt. Pulling his arms up through the sleeves he pushed the collar of his shirt over his face. The collar of his shirt now rested on the crown of his head, exposing his midsection slightly. Pushing his arms back through their sleeves so they'd stay nice and concealed his whole head was now immersed in his shirt like he was some sort of turtle.

"I'll let me decide where we go!" Since the voice was Druggie's he'd hope the idea got across. Since his pal had a hold on his sleeve he was going to let him lead the way. He already knew the way as well as where the traps were so there was little fun left to be had. All he'd have to do is skip to the end and then receive a nasty recess with scientists. What he wanted to do to make things more interesting was to let Druggie, someone who didn't already know the way, decide and see where that takes them. He could hear where everyone and everything was but he couldn't see anything and since he wasn't using his echolocation he wouldn't be able to see them that way either.


"Where do YOU want to go?" He asked Druggie. He was fairly sure that wherever they were going was bound to be interesting. He could hear the husky breathing of something up ahead too. Things were already getting exciting, he could feel it in his bones.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Neptune Character Portrait: Serena Character Portrait: Ember- The Wraith Character Portrait: Reyna Wynter Character Portrait: Hector Kazuhira Character Portrait: Brent Summers
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Druggie was excited, he had never had someone talk to him as a person, the only people who actually acknowledge his presence were either the scientists who refused to listen to a word he said and guards who just tossed him around like a sack of potatoes going from place to place. So now when someone was actually smiling at him and speaking to him he wasn't quite sure what to do, he had the slight urge to jump but knew that that wasn't right.

He wrapped his brain for the necessary social skills to interact with this new person but before he could come to any conclusion that dark haired woman came back stepping between them. Instinctively Druggie shrank back terrified by her very being. From her reaction of him before he had made a mental note to leave her be in fact Druggie might be more afraid of Ember than he was of the maze.

When she returned to the rest of the group over at the entrance of said maze Druggie relaxed watching as his friend pulled his own shirt over his head, puzzled Druggie tilted his head to one side looking him up and down. But before he could say anything his own voice spoke back to him asking, "Where do YOU want to go?" And Druggie knew where he wanted to go, he wanted to get out of the room and not through the maze.

He could feel something bad was in there like it was screaming "no" at him, so instead of leading Babble towards the maze he let go of his sleeve stood in front of him and gently pushed him towards the, now locked door, that he had entered from. When they reached the door and it did not give Druggie got upset continuing to push Babble against the door wanting it to move, to get out any way he could. He wanted to do anything but enter the maze, he wanted to leave and go back to the comfort of his cell with his new friend.

But most of all he could feel the effects of the drugs wearing off in his system, he had already known that the dosage had been lowered by the almost full operation of all of his limbs, but now he was feeling clarity and it was terrifying. It just half an hour if he didn't get his injection or pills he would go into a full panic and possibly downright hysterical. Druggie's best option was to try to call for help and appeal to a scientists better nature by trying to get out the easy way

He knew from past experience that this was the wrong way, that he was going to be punished for not playing along, but he didn't much care his need to escape the bad maze was greater than the need to avoid being hurt by any guard or scientist. He kept pushing on Babbles stomach nudging him into the metal door making small sounds of unhappiness at his fruitless efforts frustrated that he wasn't getting any further away from that looming badness behind him.

He had just got a new friend and he was trying his hardest to keep him safe by keeping Babble away from the entrance to the maze though he knew that eventually they would have to enter he just didn't want to admit it to himself wanting to push it off as much as possible. His miscolored eyes were sad with a pout but he didn't want to seem weak so he kept at his soft pushing inwardly begging for it to open so busy in his efforts that he didn't even realize that the door swung inward.




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Brent watched as each of them introduced themselves not speaking up immediately, he wasn't one to talk much just watch and observe, but when he was directly asked who he was and what he could do he looked back at the dual colored hair and blinked for a moment caught off guard by the question before responding, "my name is Brent, and what I do is complicated..." he opened his mouth to speak again but someone out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, he looked up.

He jutted his chin out in a sort of nod towards Hector, "you know what I can do, don't you." He noticed it in the trials before and he noticed it now, Hector was avoiding the space around Brent, he wondered what sort of ability he had that would make it dangerous to be near him or maybe just the idea of not having his abilities with him made the guy uncomfortable. Either way Brent knew that Hector knew what he could do he just wanted Hector to know that he knew that Hector knew what he could do.

"I can take away your powers when I'm around you, so when we get in there," he nodded towards the inside of the maze, "you won't have a choice about using them or not." He looked around at them to see their expressions knowing that his gift wouldn't be any less hated than Ember or Serena's reputations. At least, he hoped.

His train of thought, however was interrupted by The Wraith's voice say his name, when her words registered in his mind his head jerked towards her fury in his eyes but then subsided. The phrase didn't sound like anything that she would say and in knowing that there was a kid who could manipulate sound he wondered if it even was her, but he couldn't be sure. His brows furrowed as he looked at her eyes more questioning than angered, he looked at her face but she didn't meet his gaze instead going into the maze passed him.

She went to the right, the way in which Serena had suggested, and not soon after he heard her give warning. He scoffed at how soon she was ready to give up, but when he heard the inhuman breathing and saw something looming in the shadows and making it's way towards the group. Brent's eyes went wide as he jumped into action, grabbing the nearest person to him by the collar, which happened to be the girl with dual colored hair and eyes, he pulled her along with him down the left hallway yelling in a deep and commanding tone "MOVE!"

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Serena Character Portrait: Ember- The Wraith Character Portrait: Reyna Wynter Character Portrait: Hector Kazuhira Character Portrait: Druggie Character Portrait: Babble
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Event.

The sound of voices grew stronger as it began to lope in their direction. Strange new smells filled its nostrils as it took in great droughts of air to its lungs. It let out a bestial snort of pleasure as it finally made the last turn. The smell of fear was as pungent as the each individuals personal smell. An instinctive curl of the lips made the creature look like it was grinning. It slowly began to advance on the small crowd of misfits. It cocked it's ugly head slightly as it inspected a smaller one, dressed all in black. The Anomalies long hair turned it off. Not quite as appealing as that one. It gave out a loud growl of pleasure as it began to lope in the direction of the feline one. This one smelled like it's natural prey. The black female pressed herself against the walls radiating fear, but it ignored her having decided on its prey. Sure this one still had quite a bit of hair, but it was the smell. Immediately the thing began to salivate slowly advancing balancing on the dorsal aspect of its front paws, and then it was there gazing at the familiar triangular ears and long thin tail. It let out an excruciating loud howl, and raised a large taloned paw to swipe the girl down. It may be slow at moving on its four legs, but oh it could swipe down with an incredible speed.

In its primitive mind it could not fail.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Neptune Character Portrait: Serena Character Portrait: Ember- The Wraith Character Portrait: Reyna Wynter Character Portrait: Hector Kazuhira Character Portrait: Brent Summers
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The lumbered foot steps and deep, heavy breaths of the creature only loomed closer, causing Serenaā€™s entire body to grow rigid and tense.

"MOVE!" A loud, commanding shout from Brent, who had grabbed Neptune and was dragging her behind him, echoed through the halls; Serena could hear the sound waves bouncing through even distant corridors. Interestingā€¦

ā€œWait!ā€ Serena cried as she heard a click coming from the machines. The second Brent and Neptune had stepped past the others, a wall came crashing down. Another click and it had locked in place. ā€œEst-ce que vous me baise plaisantez!?ā€ She spat out a curse in one of the many languages she had learned throughout the years. It was a habit she couldnā€™t seem to shake. Now the only way they could go was left, which means they were going to end up having to take a longer routeā€¦

Another tidal wave of smell washed over her senses. But this was different. The dominating smell that flooded her nostrils was fear. The second one was that of the beast. The sounds of its sharp claws dragging on the ground was suddenly much, much closer. Serena whipped around, her eyes widening with horror. The beast was right there. She stood there, perfectly still. However, it was not out of fear as most would assume. She had to test somethingā€¦ She did not know of the nature of this beast. She had a lot of learning on the job to do.

Serenaā€™s eyes glanced at its shoulders; she saw them tensing, preparing to strike. Its strike was amazingly fast, but as was Serena. She had barely a fraction of a second to launch herself backwards. She was so close to being swiped down by the beastā€™s mighty claws that she could actually feel the wind that was blown by the quick movement. She landed on all fours, her knees bent and her hands planted on the ground.

Frontal blindspot? Nope. It seemed frustrated by the fact that it had missed its prey. It let out a blood-curdling growl, its eyes glowing with anger. For some reason, itā€™s eyes seemed to be trained on Serena and Serena only. ā€œEmber!ā€ Serena shouted, not taking her gaze off of the creature. The two were in a stare down, neither moving, but Serena could tell its patience was going to run out soon. ā€œIā€™m going to lead it awayā€¦! It wants me.ā€ She projected her voice so she could be heard by the others. ā€œBabble knows where to goā€¦ā€ She glanced over at Babble, her eyes practically pleading. She remembered the day she learned of his powers and past; the scientist who happened to be watching her for the day liked to mutter under his breath. She had decided to do some research of her ownā€¦ She ended up being caught and punished, but not after learning all she needed. Not to mention, the punishment was just a day locked in her cage. ā€œHelp them. Please. They wonā€™t know.ā€ She spoke in Babbleā€™s direction, knowing he would be able to hear her. She said they in reference to the scientists of course.

Boom! The creatureā€™s powerful paw came crashing down in a motion that would absolutely flatten whatever it struck. Itā€™s eyes gleamed with triumph as it lifted it paw, expecting what was underneath it to be a blood splatter. But, to its dismay, there was nothing. It let out a mighty howl of pure anger. Where had his prey gone? Serena had seemingly disappeared.

No matter, it would choose another. Itā€™s gaze locked on the one it had spotted recently; the one covered in black. It seemed moments before it was about to strike, it froze for a split second before throwing its head back in a cry of pain. It lurched and heaved its massive, heavy body to and fro. Attached to one of its haunches like a leech, Serena clung for dear life, her diamond hard claws dug into its thick skin, slicing through it like butter. The second before it smashed its body against the wall, Serena leapt off. Did that count as using her powers? She hadnā€™t been shocked by her collar yet, so it must not. It stumbled about, dazed. Smashing its entire being against a metal wall did a number on it.

ā€œHey!ā€ Serena shouted, trying to catch its attention. She stood proud and tall, her chest puffed out and her tail lashing back and forth. Her stance screamed dominance. ā€œStay away from them!ā€ She hissed, her eyes narrowing. She suddenly widened her stance, her hands clenching into tight fists. Serena tilted her head back and let out a bone-jarring roar, one that resonated everywhere throughout the maze. The creature howled back, regaining itā€™s balance. ā€œIā€™ll catch up with you guys later!ā€ She gave a single wave, a grin plastered on her face, as she disappeared around the corner. The beast lumbered behind her, its limbs swinging heavily with every wide stride.

And they were gone. Serena ran this way and that, knowing she would be able to find her way back. She just wanted to draw it as far away as possible from the others. Something within her told her she must protect the othersā€¦ They were all in this situation together, and no one was going to be able to get out of this alone.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: [NPC] Bartender Character Portrait: Neptune Character Portrait: Serena Character Portrait: Ember- The Wraith Character Portrait: Reyna Wynter Character Portrait: Hector Kazuhira
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#, as written by Shiki29
Hector made sure to remain quiet and listen to everyone. Hector never had much of a use for trying to pay attention to people. Not only was Hector not good at it, but Hector seldom had a use for it. This time, however, Hector had little else to do, without his powers.

Everyone that he already knew had not changed much. Everyone else did not seem to be extraordinary. All of them seemed like good, reasonable people. Even the cat-girl that was pampered by the scientists. She was still very relate-able. The only one that Hector saw actual fault in was the sound-controlling one. It was not his demeanor, but something specific he did. When Hector heard Ember's voice ring out as she walked away, he knew very soon after that she was not the one who said those words. The elevator music and what had just happened were what truly told Hector about that person's powers. It was a versatile ability, but the owner of that ability was someone who could be a problem. At present, however, everyone could be. Hector hardly knew them.

Hector stood to announce his name and power.

"My name is Hector Kazuhira. I can manipulate electricity and electromagnetic waves. That includes x-rays, gamma rays, and microwaves. Since my power is of no use, at the moment, I'll let you all know that I know a lot of things. If any of you need medical attention, or to disable or reactivate a device, or anything at all that requires knowledge, let me help. I'll do my best."

Hector stood silent again as he watched the situation. Everyone had gotten mobilized, and then promptly separated. Hector entered the maze and bent down to the ground, pressing his ear on it. With the other ear, he listened to Serena's explanation of the monster coming after them. When she confronted it and ran off to serve as a distraction, Hector fell at ease. She was strong. She would probably be able to get back alive. Of course, there was still the prospect of trapping her. Although it would be easy to trap anyone in this maze, if you had the traps at your fingertips, the chances of falling to a trap increased when alone. That creature probably had immunity from the traps, somehow. That is, if it was not being tested the same way that the scientists were testing this group. This group would not be alone if he left, as well. He had no physical characteristics caused by mutations, so he could not believably use a mutation that would help the group. If he was by himself, a trap that was sprung would affect him alone, probably. In terms of fighting ability, Hector was likely one of the strongest physical fighters in the group. He had fought mutants with great physical attributes by using his brains, fists, and technique.

Hector tried to gauge what would be the best decision for everyone in the group. Although it was best to remain with the group, since this was a team-oriented experiment, Hector chose the alternative. For now. After all, if that creature attacked Hector, he would be able to hold his ground, even without his powers. Serena would be close by anyway, and the two of them would certainly be able to defeat that creature, if it became necessary to. Hopefully, Hector would not encounter that creature. Serena distracting that creature was the best plan. The priority objective, then, would be to assure the safety of Brent and Neptune. If everyone else remained in a group, then Hector would be able to approximate their location. If they kept a slow, but methodical, pace, Hector would likely be able to catch up with them.

"I'm going to try and distance myself from the group, for a short time. . . I won't go far, but I think it would be best if I could hear Serena, Brent, or . . . Neptune, was her name, I think. I won't get lost, if the maze does not rearrange itself until after I find them."

Hector began to walk down the path Serena had ran along. His senses perked up, his mind calmed, and his will set to survival. Without his powers. Just what Hector was used to. It was time to get down to business.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Serena Character Portrait: Ember- The Wraith Character Portrait: Reyna Wynter Character Portrait: Hector Kazuhira Character Portrait: Druggie Character Portrait: Babble
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When Hector finally revealed his abilities, she couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction and relief. She now had everyone's abilities mapped out- a considerable advantage since it appeared not everyone was aware of her own. Her temporary sense of achievement was short lived when Brent caught onto her previous urgency- only to take Neppie and himself to safety leaving the rest to face the beast. Despite this, if there was anyone she wanted safe in this motley bunch it would be Neppie. She may no longer be able to emotionally cope with actually being there for her younger sister socially, but Ember could not remove the years of instinctive care that had been built up.

Now was not the time to be distracted however. The powerful creature loping towards them caused Ember to grimace. Sam was certainly going to enjoy this. Since it appeared to move slowly, and she was not entirely sure what it could do, Ember decided the best course of action was to press herself against the wall. She attempted to keep her breathing steady, but fear was sweeping over her like a wet blanket. And then it passed her. It seemed completely uninterested in her presence, instead preferring Serena. When the giant claws raked down, Ember was certain that Serena would at the very least sustain a nasty injury, but it seemed the young women had the reflexes of a goddess and managed to escape unharmed. That's when the beast decided it would go for more easy preyā€¦

Ember had a split second to react- should she use the air to speed herself up? Instinctively she would have done so and made it, however her broken fear of Sam's punishment caused her to second guess. If it had not been for Serena's attack, Ember knew those claws would have taken her out. She barely had a second to recover when Serena bound down the hallway, taking the creature with her. Frustration and anger rushed through her like waves. She could not afford to owe anyone here, least of all the pet of the group. Grudging respect worked up through her negative emotions as she noted the way the feline had managed to handle the situation.

"I'm going to try and distance myself from the group, for a short time. . . I won't go far, but I think it would be best if I could hear Serena, Brent, or . . . Neptune, was her name, I think. I won't get lost, if the maze does not rearrange itself until after I find them."

Ember scowled. Just brilliant. Leave me in here with a kid, an addict, the rubber man and a malevolent fool. Sure Reyna had a useful ability, however she was unable to use it. And she was completely naĆÆve when it came to people in the facility as far as Ember knew. Harold appeared pretty harmless so far, Druggie was busy pushing the sound mutant against walls, and Ember didn't even want to think about Babble. Her eyes flamed red just at the thought of him. Did he have any clue that he could have got her killed if Brent had believed his little trick? That aside- how dare he use her voice to say such spiteful things. He had no clue what she had gone through.

It took her a little while to realise that she was feeling decidedly uncomfortable. The temperatureā€¦Ember's eyes widened. The metal floor was begin to heat up. It had begun unnoticeable slowly, but was quickly gathering speed.

Hector was already a little way a head, however if the temperature continued to rise, the rest would be forced to run. They'd catch up with him pretty soon. What did he expect? She certainly wasn't going to sit here and wait for a while. Suddenly the heat began to be unbearable. Letting out a hiss, she started to run forward, down the corridor.

"Looks like sitting here is no longer an option" Abruptly a burst of flame came up from the floor. She let out a sharp cry, throwing herself to the side. Her eyes grey with fright, Ember realised that the testing had only just begun.

"Hector you are going to want to run!" She yelled, hoping that he would hear.

Pillars of flame were starting to appear randomly from the floor. For now they were sporadic, but Ember feared it would only get worse if they didn't start moving ahead.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Neptune Character Portrait: Serena Character Portrait: Ember- The Wraith Character Portrait: Reyna Wynter Character Portrait: Hector Kazuhira Character Portrait: Brent Summers
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The heavy sound of breath was prominent in her ears. Reyna turned, cupping her hands over them in order to muffle it, but the sound simply grew louder. She frowned as the ugly noise persisted and someone screamed at them to run. The child whirled at once as the cat Serena with a burst of speed jumped on top of the beast that was rounding the corner and led it away. Hector then announced that he was going ahead to search for their missing teammates.

Reyna could feel Ember's piercing gaze on her back. The older girl must have believed that she had been left with the most useless of the group, but the child was determined to prove the Wraith wrong. Heat began to sear her bare feet and Reyna yelped, jumping as a wall of fire shot up from the floor and traveled upwards. Reyna turned to run only to realize that Druggie was still pushing Babble against the wall in his nonsensical state. Reyna whirled around and pulled Druggie away, pushing him forward and grabbing both Druggie and Babble's hands, leading them away. She was not going to let them be barbecued, not if she could prevent it. "Harold, run!" Reyna screamed towards the rubber man although she doubted she needed to tell him twice.

She pushed Babble and Druggie ahead of her, trying to get them to catch up with Ember and jumped backwards as fire shot up in front of her. Reyna stopped, falling backwards on her butt and burning her hands. She grimaced at the pain but stood and continued running, attempting to keep out of the way of the streams of fire. Reyna looked around for Harold but couldn't see him and assumed he was up ahead with the others. She didn't want to fall behind and so with a final burst of speed Reyna rounded the corner, catching up to Druggie and Babble. "Why did it have to be fire?" She asked no one and wondered if this was their punishment for Babble using his abilities or if the Doctor had simply had this in store. She knew he enjoyed tormenting mutants, but broiling them alive had to be illegal somehow?

Her feet ached, her sleeves were singed black from nearly catching fire and her hands were lightly burned. Reyna would have traded anything for accelerated healing at that moment, but you did not get to chose your mutations and you do not get to choose your fate.