— Day 1 —
Parksville, Erbaine

The setting sun illuminated a far different scene in Parksville than the relatively peaceful evening the Baxters were enjoying at about the same time.

Brandon and Gina Norwood stood outside the burned ruins of their home, each holding one of their twin daughters. The girls whimpered quietly, shivering with fear, as the couple did what they could to console them.

Next door, the Baxter home lay in ashes, little wisps of smoke still curling from the rubble. Fortunately the family was away for the week. Hopefully they're safe in the national park, Brandon thought. They may be shocked to find their house gone, but insurance should take care of that. It was still too soon after the supernova for him to know how wrong that assumption was.

He looked toward the horizon, where the orange of false twilight hinted at fires burning elsewhere in town. His mind replayed the events of the day...

He was the principal of the elementary school where Angela Baxter taught. He'd called his wife during lunch; in the middle of their conversation the sky suddenly lit and the vidscreen went dark. It took only an instant for him to realize this was a crisis he'd not been trained for, as all the systems in the building seemed to fail at once. The halls were suddenly filled with the sounds of crying and fearful children, and teachers trying to comfort them and maintain order.

He longed to rush home, to make sure his wife was okay, but his first duty had to be to all the children entrusted to the school. Under his direction the teachers monitored each class, making sure all the kids were accounted for. Before long parents, unable to perform their own jobs, began stopping by to collect their children and take them home. It went without saying that school was canceled indefinitely, until the crisis passed.

By late afternoon the school was empty, the teachers dismissed once their students were gone. He had his own daughters, Holly and Ivy, in hand, as he tried his car once again. Like his cell phone and all the other devices in the building, it showed no signs of life, and he was grateful they didn't live far from school. He was worried about his wife, and knew she'd be worried about them.

He arrived home to find much of his neighborhood on fire; his wife Gina was part of a bucket brigade delivering water from a nearby stream to the burning houses. Again the gravity of the disaster weighed upon him: city services they'd long taken for granted, such as firefighters and probably police, seemed to be nonexistent. How widespread was this disaster?

It took hours of hot, dirty work, but by dusk the neighborhood's fires appeared to be out save for the occasional smoldering ember. Entire blocks lay in shambles, but so far the only injuries appeared to be minor.

Holly and Ivy were in tears, not only for their lost house and toys, but worried for their good friend Grace. Gina gently reminded her daughters that the Baxters were camping this week, and while their house was gone they were probably safe.

"Where will we sleep tonight, Daddy?" He looked down into the soot-smudged face in his arms. She's still so cute, he thought, cute and trusting.

"The city has set up an emergency shelter at the school," a neighbor commented before he could say anything.

"I guess we're going back to school, then," Brandon said to his family.

"Ugh, I don't want to go back to school," Ivy's little voice whined.

Gina chuckled. "Think of it like a sleepover with other kids in your class. It might be fun!"

"Maybe we can find out what's going on," Brandon added as they gathered up a few things Gina had managed to save from their house. Like so many others, the couple really had no comprehension of the magnitude of the disaster that had struck their world, and were eager for any scrap of news.

-Day 1-
Capitol University
Judicia, Erbaine
Post-supernova

Standing in the dark, glass-filled hallway, Laramie felt like she was being pulled in a hundred directions. Her mind whirled, endlessly trying to make some sense out of the chaos, but none of the pieces fit together.

The sure confidence she was used to seeing in Liam's eyes was gone, replaced by deep confusion and barely concealed fear. At least Liam was there with her. She wasn't alone, but even the simplest of things no longer seemed to make sense. If an exploding star could come out of the sky and wipe out everything familiar and even your hands weren't your own, what would come next? Reality itself seemed to be fraying, and Laramie felt like she was falling, frantically grasping for a foothold and finding none.

Suddenly, Leon appeared next to them, saying something about hiding under a car. Shaken out of her thoughts, Laramie sighed in relief. "Leon!" she exclaimed. "Thank goodness you're alright!" Her brow furrowed. "Where did you come from?"

Before Leon had time to answer, however, Dr. Dreyman joined them. "A day early and a dollar short, eh?" he said with a smile before commenting on Liam's injured hands.

Laramie studied Dr. Dreyman's face. Although his cheery expression was evidently forced, he did not appear to be afraid. Laramie felt her disoriented mind drawn to the calm calculation she sensed under his nonchalant facade. Maybe he would have some answers.

Taking a deep breath, Laramie met the Doctor's eyes. "Is there any more of this coming?"

Diabolis, Pre-Supernova

Jason Farr drove his motorcycle down a side street of Diabolis. This garbage laden part of the city was his haunt. Well, that and this is where the Boss lived, so everyone in the gang relocated to the crappiest part of the town.

“Farr, the Boss is looking for you” on of his fellow bikers yelled from across the street “Alright” Jason replied, picking up his CB mike and radioed in “Jason here, whadda you want boss?”

“Farr, I live down the street from you, can’t you just come over?” Boss said, agitation clear by his tone of voice “I would, but I’m out on the road, couldja just tell me now?” Jason replied, turning his bike around and heading for the bosses house already. No sense in arguing “No, you get over here before I give this job to someone else”

“Alright, I’m on my way” Jason said, gunning his bike. He jumped out onto a main street, cutting in front of several cars and getting a multitude of horns blared at him. But he didn’t give a rip. Getting to the bosses place pronto was a lot more important then some random driver’s opinion of him.

-Day 1-
Capitol University
Judicia, Erbaine
Post-supernova

Liam tore his eyes away from Laramie's when he heard Leon's voice and mustered up a smile for his friend. "No. I have no idea what's going on." He leaned in close and whispered, "You think hiding under a car is weird? You must've gotten off lucky."

Liam looked up as Dr. Dreyman's voice echoed through the halls, coming closer along with his voice. "Dr. Dreyman," Liam greeted him, clearing his throat. His voice sounded weak and shaky. What was up with that? He managed a nervous-sounding laugh. "Yes. Apparently, you were right about this supernova thing." He took a deep breath. "I hope the worst of it is over."

Liam shrugged lightly when the doctor mentioned his hands. "Hurt? Yes. Scarred for life? No." His attempt at humor did little to ease the situation. After an awkward silence, he continued. "But... a first aid kit would be nice." He looked at his bloodied palms, even though he felt no pain. "Really nice."

Day 1--Arida--de Mon Castle Grounds

Candi nodded, not really having anything else to say. She took another puff, and was considering asking another question when Annie appeared.

"'Scuse me, Miss, but the fire in the sitting room has died. I think the Majordomo wants to start putting people in that room, too, so he's asked for it to be cleaned, but ye has said you wanted to take care of the hearth yourself."

Candi nodded.

"Quite right. Thank you Annie," she said, then turned to Christopher. "It was a pleasure meeting you. I'm sure we shall see each other again soon."

With that, she swept by and into a side door, disappearing into the inner darkness of the castle.

Day 1--Arida--Convent

Xandria smiled bleakly, and reached for the lantern.

"There's nothing we can do about it tonight. We can't call out, we can't check outside the convent. We'll figure that out tomorrow. Like Sister Martina said, God will give us grace for whatever comes. Let's just try to sleep."

And with that, Xandria blew out the little flame that was in the lantern.

"Goodnight."

Day 2--Arida--Convent

Xandria woke up with a scream, half leaping up from the floor. The noise of gunfire was loud, very loud, and seemed to be right outside the convent. Xandria reached over to shake Allee awake, but it appeared her friend had woken up for the same reason. They stared at each other until the string of fire was over. Xandria gulped.

"I think we better hurry over to where the kids are. I hope they're okay."

Judicia, Day 1, After the Supernova

Warren finally found the strength to open his eyes and looked around, what he saw was grim. A car, which had previously been driving down the street outside the house, lost control after the circuits went haywire and slammed into the front of the house at fifty plus miles and hour.

The results were devastating, as evidenced by the beam lying on his legs. He then took a look to his left, there was Haley. Unconscious alright, but still breathing, then Warren looked right, and he wished he hadn't; Mrs. Blanche was pinned against the wall, a piece of the car protruding from her stomach.

He proceeded to puke his guts out, not so much from the blood… But seeing someone he had known for so long die like that- “Haley, I have to get her out of here!” he said to himself urgently.

And so Warren began to push on the beam that had trapped the two of them against the floor, but he failed to move it an inch. After struggling for three minutes he rested for a bit, his mind went back to the Zoo “Man, if I had Lionel here this would be a lot easier” he whispered to himself.

Lionel was the Zoo’s resident gorilla, and his arms were as big as Arnold Schwarzenegger… Warren tried pushing on the beam again, and this time the beam, surprisingly was flung across the room.

“What the heck?” Warren said, lifting himself up. It wasn’t until now that he noticed that his arms were as hairy and black as… a gorilla’s. While he was looking at them they changed back to his old arms.

“Okay... Then”

Palisade National Park, Day One, Pre-Supernova

"Okay Volt," said Jenny, "which way did they go?"

The girl and her dog stood on a fork in the path through the woods. The two of them had been going on a hike with the other members of the actors camp, but when Jenny had stopped to climb some trees the others had passed out of sight. Volt sniffed on the paths trying to pick up the scent. Jenny smiled. Once again she was glad Volt had hidden in her bag and came with her to camp. Not only was he her best friend, but he was smart enough to help her out when she needed it. She made a mental note to thank the leaders again for letting him stay. After a minute Volt walked a few paces down the right path that led up the mountain, turned and barked.

"Okay, let's check that way."

So off they marched. After five minutes Volt found and picked up a discarded candy wrapper.

"Good work," said Jenny, "they must have come this way."

Half an hour later as they crossed a shelf in the mountain, Volt stopped, sniffed the air, and started snarling.

"What is it," asked Jenny, but then she saw it. Three growling wolves came around the corner on the path ahead of them. When she looked back three more wolves came into view the way they came. With a precipice on one side and a smooth cliff face on the other there was nowhere to run. The wolves closed in on them.

"Okay Volt," Jenny said as they backed toward the cliff wall, "whatever you do, don't do anything rash. These wolves are twice your size."

Volt didn't listen. As soon as one of the wolves pulled ahead of the others the reckless dog threw himself at him.

"Volt, no!" Just then a strong gust of wind passed them by, nearly knocking her over. At the same time the light and heat increased in intensity. It was so strong that she forgot about the fight for a moment and looked up. "Two suns," she thought, "what's going on?" A howl brought her thoughts back to the problem at hand. The canines had stopped fazed for the moment, but Volt quickly recollected himself and launched himself upon the leader. Jenny watched in astonishment as the small dog grabbed the wolf by the neck and hurled him over the edge of the cliff. Volt had always been athletic, but she had never seen him do anything like that. A gray birthmark was on his side that she had never seen before either.

The other wolves were startled too. Volt moved with astonishing quickness and tossed another wolf into another, sending them both flying back. That was enough for the others. They turned tail and ran for their lives. Volt turned back to Jenny.

"Are you all right Jenny?"

Jenny jumped. She had seen Volt's mouth move and words come out.

"Volt, did you just talk!?"

"I can talk!?"

Day 1
Burg, Boriel
At the school
During the Supernova

The power is out and everyone is going crazy. Clar is trying not to sob. Zach knows shes extremely worried about Topaz.
The middle of the cafeteria, the floor cracks into two sides. Thank goodness the teachers had everyone near the edges. This place is going into complete chaos. He had to get Clar out of here. He pulls her up silently and she obediently follows. Zach sneaks her over to the restrooms and head toward the window.
"Zach, where are we going?" Clarissa speaks up.
"Were leaving"
He pushes her out the window first and follow quickly behind her. Once Zach is out side he takes her hand and she follows him. They have both always been fast runners and quickly reach the outside of the school and can't believe what they are witnessing. Lamp posts and stop lights turned over, complete chaos running in the streets.
"Zach...we need to find Topaz, please."
"Of course." He can't bring myself to upset her anymore than she must be. This time she pulls him in the the direction of Topaz's neighborhood. At her fast speed she starts to lift of the ground slowly going higher and high and he hold on her hand like a life line.
"Clar whats going on?!"
"I'm not sure but I hate heights!"

— Day 1 —
Judicia, Erbaine
Underground

"Excellent," the president echoed. "General Claw, arrange transport for Dr. Steele and the boy to Quadrant 9 immediately, and contact all military divisions and give them their orders regarding the superhumans. They are to be captured as calmly as possible so as not to raise public suspicion, but I want them brought to the government's possession whatever it takes. All I ask if that they still be alive."

"What about bounty hunters?" General Glaw said, the strange fire in her eyes—bloodthirst—burning brighter.

"Anyone who can help with this undertaking is welcome, regardless of. . . past record," the president said with an indifferent wave of his skeletal hand. "A bounty of ten thousand is mere pittance compared how we may apply these mutants."

"Very well," the belligerant woman said, her thin smile very white.

"Any further questions, or reports?" The president inquired the room, but it was silent. Everyone seemed to be in varying degrees of shock.

"Meeting adjourned, then," the president said. He stood and, flanked by two guards, walked through a door and disappeared into the shadows.

— Day 1 —
Parksville, Erbaine
Palisade National Park

Terra had never shared Lui and Loretta's fondness for wolves. Didn't dislike them, exactly. It was more along the lines of deep-rooted distrust.

Back in the Hinterlands, when her parents were still alive, the danger of wolves had been hammered into her head more times than she could count. As it should have been—a small child in the vast wilderness would make an easy meal for the wild, deadly packs of wolves. Their little daughter wandering off alone in that wild country had been her parents' greatest fear, and they drilled that rule into Terra's young brain as soon as she was old enough to understand.

The wolves at the rehabilitation facility were far more docile than those untamable creatures, but she'd been conditioned to fear them. She was used to them now, after so many years of helping cousin Lui, but she could never be really friendly with them, not even helpless Tundra.

Except Tundra wasn't looking so helpless right now. Her teeth were bared at Terra, and she was growling. In an instant, all the fear conditioning from when she was a little girl came back to her life a ton of bricks, and her heart started to pound.

She's a blind wolf, Terra told herself, trying to calm down. She can hardly hurt you.

That was the strange thing, though. Tundra's eyes were trained on her. She glanced at Lui, but Lui's expression, the sharp glare of her eyes, mirrored the wolf's. The two almost seemed to be. . . linked.

"Call her off, Lui," Terra said, trying to keep the stammer out of her voice. "Lui! Call her off!"

But her cousin didn't say anything. Great, Terra thought. Two strong-willed people coming head to head.

"Just let me push the jeep to the compound—" She started again, starting for the back of the jeep, but Tundra chased her down, and the teenager was forced to veer off to the right to avoid the wolf's snapping teeth.

"Tundra! Back off!" Terra exclaimed, almost angry now, but the usually meek wolf stood her ground, and barked back at her. Oh dear. Terra's thoughts flickered back to Lui's bleeding forearm. She couldn't afford to take an injury like that to her legs. . . not when Lui was depending her.

Dang it. Lui and that crazy creature have left me no other options.

"Fine," she snapped, "but if you don't take care of yourself, Lui, I'll never forgive you as long as I live."

She turned and fled, furious, and ran the last mile back to the compound. It felt like her lungs were on fire, and she wasn't sure how she was able to keep her legs moving. She stopped at the gate, fighting for breath, and leaned up against the fence—and then gasped, not for lack of air but for shock, when she saw the facility. It looked like a low level tornado had swept through it.

The only thought she could string together was, Is anyone still alive in there?

— Day 1 —
Parksville, Erbaine
Palisade National Park

Lui was hardly hearing anything Terra said. She watched her with dark brown eyes, keen and unwavering. Her blood was racing and her mind was a confusing tilt-a-whirl of thoughts, none of them making any sense.

She swayed on her feet, holding tightly to the side of the vehicle. She was only slightly aware of Tundra running Terra off. Lui closed her eyes and sank to the ground by the tire. Leaning her head against the Jeep, she tried to sort out her thoughts. Pain flared up her arm and she knew she had to get the wound cleaned.

Tundra padded up, wagging her tail slightly. Lui leaned forward and wrapped her arms around the wolf, burying her face in the soft, grey fur.

It wasn't long before she passed out again.

~~~

Lui quickly sat up, her eyes wide. Her breathing quickened as she looked around. She was at the compound, on the back porch.

How...? She felt the wooden boards beneath her, flinching as she felt the pain in her wrist. A black circle surrounded her; she rubbed the blackness and discovered it was ash. The wood had been on fire, but not the whole porch. Parts of her jeans were singed and the shirt on her wrist was nearly completely burned, too. Her skin and hair, however, were unharmed.

She remembered the Jeep, Terra and Tundra, but she couldn't think or remember how she got here, to the compound. The fact that she didn't know disturbed her.

Trying not to panic, she quickly stood, pulled open the door and ran down the hall. The tiled hall ended in a T; she went left toward the small medical room. A silver operating table claimed the middle of the room, while a Formica counter ran around the edges.

Lui slid to a stop in front of a floor-length cabinet and searched through the contents. She found a pair of scissors, hydrogen peroxide, bandages and a few other things.

She tossed few pain killers in her mouth, but immediately stopped as her fingers hit something sharp in her mouth. Running her tongue over her top row of teeth, her eyes widened. She grabbed a hand-held mirror from the cabinet and looked at her teeth. Her canine teeth were longer and sharper than usual.

What is going on!? she frantically thought as she stared at her face. Not only were her teeth different, but her eyes looked strange. Instead of her usual brown color, her eyes held a greenish-gold color. Lui slammed the mirror down on the counter and took a few breaths. This is a dream...right?

She tried to remain calm as she cut the shirt off her wrist. She grimaced as she looked at the wound, thankful that she didn't have a weak stomach. Twisting the lid off the hydrogen peroxide, she clenched her jaw, feeling the sharp canines almost dig into her tongue, and poured the peroxide onto the wound. It stung as it bubbled and cleaned the wound, but there was nothing she could do. It needed to be cleaned.

Lui waited until it stopped fizzing before she rinsed it off and started to work on the bandages before it started bleeding again. It wasn't the best job she'd done, but it would be alright for a temporary bandage.

Hoping the pain killers would set in soon, she walked out of the medical room and toward the kennels to check on the puppies. On her way, she ran her tongue over her teeth again and thought, Please, let it be just a dream...

-Day 2-
Arida, the Convent
Previous Post

Allee was awake before the gunfire even started. She had been laying awake on the floor, unable to sleep for several reasons, the least of which being that she had a huge knot in her back. Then there was what had happened yesterday. She didn't think anyone would have gotten a good sleep last night after the supernova.

The calm atmosphere was shattered by a chain of gunfire piercing the still air. Allee shot straight out of bed, her heart pounding. She nodded and gulped when Xandria mentioned the children. "You're right. We should go." Allee took off running down the hall, her bare feet slapping against the convent floor. As she ran, she chided herself for panicking. It'll be okay. A tight feeling made its way across her chest. Then again, this is the supernova. Anything could happen.

Palisade National Park, Day One, Post-Supernova

"Am I dreaming," asked Volt.

"I was about to say that," said Jenny.

Volt reached down and bit his leg.

"Nope, I'm awake."

Jenny pinched her arm.

"So am I."

Volt tried to figure it out. He had never been able to speak human before. His unusual strength when he was fighting those wolves was also strange. Did it have anything to do with that second sun?

"Maybe I'm not speaking human, maybe you are understanding domestican?"

"Domestican?"

"That's the language us domesticated animals speak."

"It wouldn't be any weirder," said Jenny. "I know a way we can find out. Pretend there's another dog to our left and speak to it in your language."

Turning left, Volt said, "Hello, how ya doing?"

"Well, I didn't understand that, so it's definitely you, not me. Do you think we should head back now?"

"Aren't we going to try and catch up with the others?"

"We won't catch them before they get back, I'm gonna get in trouble anyway. Plus, there might be more wolves around."

"I could protect you," Volt said indignantly.

"I'd rather not risk it, we don't know how long this will last. For that reason, I also suggest we not tell anyone but my mom about this yet."

"Whatever you say." And so the two of them started back.

-- Day 1 --
Judicia, Erbaine
Underground

Dr. Steele nodded politely as the president swept by him and left the room. For a moment, he narrowed his eyes into a look that matched his name, but he settled the expression into a somewhat softer one as he lifted out a syringe hidden in the cart with the scrap metal and turned to Tony.

The boy's eyes were once again nearly black with rage. "This is not how you told me things would turn out."

"These events are no longer under my control. You heard it yourself."

"I should never have let you talk me into this," snarled the teenager and rapidly turned his back to Dr. Steele.

"Tony..." murmured Steele and touched his shoulder lightly, "This 'Quadrant 9' may very well be the new start you have been waiting for. Your mind requires a change of scenery and a shifting of purpose in order for it to heal after today's events."

"But not as a prisoner!" There was a new and oddly petulant tone to his voice.

Steele's lips twitched, but his eyes were sympathetic. "Seeing as how I am also a 'prisoner', you and are in the same proverbial boat." He touched Tony's shoulder again, "Turn around, son."

Slowly and reluctantly, Tony twisted around and looked at the Doctor.

"Nothing will ever be the same for anyone after today. You and I are only a poor sample of the many changes that will be made, voluntary and mandatory, in the lives of everyone on this planet." He stood silent for a moment, then continued. "It's the least we can do to assist in creating some order and benefit out of this chaos and pain."

"But Doctor-!"

"Stand still a moment; this will help."

"But Doctor, I don't see how sticking people in a prison will make "order and benefit" for anyone except the government! And if the people are like me and not really dangerous just different, then how-..." He stopped suddenly and staggered, a reaction to his unexpected loss of balance and trembling legs. "What's-... Why-...?" His knees gave out and he found himself up and cozy with the floor before blacking out entirely.

Steele gazed at the boy's still body for a moment, then turned to General Claw. "Whenever you are ready, General, we are at your disposal." He smiled coolly.

-Day 2-
Obviously after Supernvoa
Arenico, Arida

A supernova: the event of a star exploding, becoming larger and brighter, because of some cosmic conditions

Doctor Arthur ford stared at the book in his hands, at the page full of definitions, and sighed, running a tanned hand through his golden hair. He had made a verdict; after examining all the facts, and going over the moments again and again in his mind, he had brought all it all to the conclusive decision that what had occurred was a Supernova. He had been hearing rumors for some time now about such a ‘disaster’ occurring; a radical professor in Judicia had been lecturing upon the fact that this event would be widely affecting, but from what he had heard from the government, they had taken little heed to the few hints of warnings.

A frustrated breath escaped his lips as he stood, striding across his study room’s floor, glass crunching beneath his shoes. A wave of pressure, which had swept through yesterday, had shattered every window, and fried ever electronic devise he owned. He had been left with no way to contact anyone, and with a house bathed in darkness, and covered in sparkling sharp shards of what remained of most of his lamps and light bulbs. His hand grasped another heavy bound book from his shelf, and he returned to a chair, the light spilling in through the window frame, that was now all free air. There was little he could do but wait, and read.
A doctor by profession, and a skilled and expert one at that, when the apocalypse had occurred he had been in the resident hospital, performing minor, but intricate, surgery. When all the lights and computers and blanked and burnt up, he had been left in a silent room, with a patient, hanging on him suddenly without anything to keep him alive. He had thought he would lose the young man. What could one do without the systems to monitor vitals? Or the oxygen, constantly being fed? But sheer determination had led Arthur to perform a miracle…he had been able, with some strange force, to finish his procedure, sewing the stitches in almost complete dark, luckily added with the light from a lighter, which his niece and nurse Catherine, had managed to have.

He cast his eye upon the book in his hands, leaning lazily on his desk and flipping with little care through the pages. He had been scouring books for the past day now for information on the effects of radiation, and it’s abilities to alter the human body, or possibly enhance and change attributes and skills. His search had been mostly fruitless, and he was frustrated and quite confused. How can there be no information on this subject? People have researched it-
His thoughts were interrupted by a sharp knocking upon his front door. He tossed the book down on his desk, standing up delicately, again avoiding the knife-like glass pieces. He wondered who would be calling on him, so early in the morning. Though, it could certainly be a citizen needing medical help, and for this reason, and his conscious, he could not ignore the wrapping. “I’m coming!” he called, as the sound impatiently came again.

His hand slipped over the knob and he gave it a stiff yank. He was taken aback by the sight of two, broad shouldered, stony expressioned men, dressed in black suits and sunglasses standing there before him. One of his eye brows raised, and he stared for a minute, unsure if what to say.

“Doctor Ford?”

“Yes…?” Arthur inquired warily.

“The Government has immediate need of your services. We have come to respectfully request that you accompany us without resisting.”

Arthur’s jaw snapped shut, and he drew a step back. “The Government, eh?” he glanced around his hall for something he could use to possibly defend himself. “What will my services be used for? Is the president sick?” he asked with a chuckle, “I’d hardly think he’d send you chaps all the way here, just to have me treat his head cold.” He could tell they did not find him amusing. “Well, you have only respectfully requested, so I shall respectfully decline until I’m told where exactly I’ll be going…”

“You are not given the option to decline, doctor. I suggest you come. Now.” One man said, his lips twitching.

“I refuse.” Arthur said quickly. “Where will I be going? Who will I be helping? Why?” he let out a breath. “I just wish for you to answer a few questions…is that so hard?” Normally he would have been more agreeable to the two fellows, but he knew in the sight of the disastrous event, order, in some parts of the city, had been thrown to the winds. And was it hardly wise to trust anyone whom acted so strangely?

“Yes.” One snarled. “I’m afraid, sir, we cannot answer anything. If you will not willingly come….we shall have to take you.”

Arthur froze for a minute, knowing, beyond a doubt, if he did not passively accept to go with them he would be taken by force. But he was hardly in a mood to oblige so easily. He reached out and tried to slam the door; he heard it instead contact the face of one of the men, a loud grunt emitting from behind it. He then spun on a heel, and leaped toward the railing and steps. But the ripping sound of grinding glass was heard, and one of the agents launched himself after him. In one athletic bound he was upon the stair, beside the middle aged doctor. Without a word he reached out and grabbed him by the arms, drawing him toward himself, then stuffing a white cloth into his face.

Arthur drew a panicked breath and smelled the poignant odor of chloroform, before feeling himself slip into a drugged unconsciousness.

-Day 1-
Parksville, Erbaine
Palisade National Park, Wolf Rehabilitation Center

The Wolf pup gave a sharp bark, and Loretta’s head snapped up as she heard a rush of words flood her mind, and alert her to the presence of another. Again, she was puzzled at how should could hear the canine talk, when before all his sounds had been simply those normal utterances of an animal.

Her green eyes swerved to beyond the gate of the center, to a tree, where a gasping person leaned. She jumped to her feet, and then recognized the being as Terra, Lui’s cousin and good friend who she occasionally saw at work. They had never exchanged more than a few words, but from what she had detected, she was a very nice girl. Loretta glanced at the pup, its little tail waggling, shaking its whole body, and then walked toward the gate, pushing it open to approach Terra.

It was then she remembered her head, and a nauseating ache swept through her. She bit her lip, and steadied her suddenly wobbly legs, pinching her eye shut for a moment, getting a grip on herself. I have to get this bandaged as soon as I can… she thought, before sighing and looking back up, cracking a smile at Terra.

Loretta opened her mouth to call out a greeting, to break the normal silence that existed between her and Terra, but instead of words, nothing came from her lips. She halted herself, brow furrowing, then tried again, to say something, this time louder, but she could not make herself speak. She drew in a quick breath, and tried to yell, anything, everything, just to make a sound, but again silence. She felt her heart give a lurch, and panic began to tear at her. I can’t talk! What is happening!? I can’t talk! she thought desperately, all calm washing away. Her hands moved to her throat, and she felt tears began to sting her eyes. What’s wrong with me!? What’s happened!? I’m not a mute! No! she wanted to scream, but it seemed she was doomed to nothing. A tear slipped down her cheek, and she sunk to her knees, nails digging into her throat. I can breathe...don’t panic...don’t…you’re all right! she told herself, looking up at Terra with a pleading gaze. Was this all just a nightmare? Had she never woken up this morning? How could she be a mute!?

Her head began to swim, and in a last try, she attempted to let out a piercing cry. Instead of her own voice, a high, loud, voice, an almost howl, came into her mind. She covered her ears, and began to sob. What’s wrong with me!? What’s wrong with me!?

Palisade National Park, Camp Watzmilion, Day 1, post-supernova

When Jenny and Volt arrived back at camp, they found Henry Wile, the man who had led the hike, waiting for them. They remembered that the last camper to come back late had been assigned by Wile dish washing for 2 days. Since the camp had a strict "no electric equipment except for emergencies" policy, there wasn't even running water, it all had to be got from the river. The two of them looked down at the ground as they walked up to him.

"Sorry we didn't keep up with the troop sir," said Jenny.

"You can apologize by doing all the garbage work after your "Becoming someone else" class. Speaking of which, it's starting any minute now, you need to be getting over there ASAP."

"Just one question? Do you know what that is?" She pointed to the second sun, now significantly faded.

"It's the supernova, the one that's been coming for a while now." He smirked. "And that Dr. Dreyman said it would cause a catastrophe. Now hurry up!"

With that Jenny and Volt dashed off towards the theatre.

When they got there she whispered, "Okay, now you go have some fun, just don't do anything super where people can see you."

Volt had a look around. He wanted to find out the extent of his new powers, and all the kids were at class. He was just about to see how fast he could go, when the 2 maintenance men came out of the building where they kept the emergency generator. They seemed tense, so Volt walked closer to hear what was going on.

"It's no use," said one. "That generator is as good as junk now. The supernova must have shorted it out, just like the buses."

"And all the phone lines," replied the second. "Not to mention the satellite connections. Think the boss will want to tell the kids?"

"No, there's nothing we can do until tomorrow anyway, no reason to worry them."

They then walked towards the office while Volt stayed and thought. Should he go tell Jenny this? No, he wasn't allowed into the classes, and anyway, he couldn't think of a way to get her away from the others so they could talk. It would have to wait till class was over. In the meantime, he had some powers to test! He trotted off to the woods.

------------------90 minutes later--------------------

Volt did test his powers. He found he could run as fast as a car, was strong enough to throw one (or at least a rock he guessed to weigh as much), and could toughen his body to withstand harm (he found that out when he accidentally ran full speed into that rock). That last one was most effective when he did it on just a section of his body such as his head, but could do it on all his body at once. However, whatever parts he toughened couldn't move. He also discovered the ability to shoot a green light from his eyes when he stared hard at something, such as a pretty flower (now burnt to a crisp). All he could see was green while the light blazed, but if he noted where things were he could aim the light and burn patterns without having to see while doing it. He stopped both because he had to stamp out a third potential wild fire, and because Jenny's class would be over soon. In fact, campers were just filing out when he got there. Jenny stepped out, saw Volt, smiled, and walked over to him.

"Class went great today, I got second place in the daily contest. The other girls in our cabin are going to take a swim before sundown, we can go there and talk."

Once they got there and sat down Volt told her all he had learned, starting with the downed electrical devices, and then telling her about his powers. After telling Volt not to use what she guessed was laser vision in the forest again so he didn't burn the woods down, they started discussing the supernova.

"Do you think that's what gave you your powers Volt?"

"It would make sense, that's when I got them."

"I wonder, have all the world's electricity suffered the same fate as it has here?"

"I don't know."

"I hope my mom is okay," said Jenny with a worried look on her face. "I think we need to go home."

"The camp leaders will make a plan tomorrow morning, they'll find a way to get everyone home, you'll see," reassured Volt. Since she still looked concerned, he reached up and licked her hand.

She smiled. "At least I've got my good boy with me," she said leaning down and kissing his forehead. "I think I hear the girls coming back now, stay quiet."

They did not speak to each other again until that night as they lay together in bed.

"Good night Jenny," Volt whispered.

"Good night Volt," answered Jenny.