Day 3-Morning- Burg- Josh

He stood as Lawrence walked around the desk and said, " Oh, sorry, how rude of me. Josh Hunter, I tought kendo downtown before everything changed."

With that he followed the other man into the kitchen where Selena and Jennings were.

Burg: Day 3, morning
Lawrence Manor

"Josh, eh? That's a good name." Lawrence said as he opened the door to the kitchen. "Jennings, Selena... meet our new associate: Josh."

The butler and the Malcom's associate greeted Josh before the former offered the young man some toast and drink. "I suppose you will be staying here, sir?"

"Yes, he'll be staying here. Are the east wing rooms ready for a guest, Jennings?" Lawrence asked as he sat across from Selena and began eating a late breakfast.

"I believe so, sir. And I believe some of your old clothes from a few years back are also in one of storage closets." at this, the butler looked Josh up and down. "... Yes, I believe some of Master Lawrence's older clothes will work well."

"Sounds good then." Malcom said with a smile before taking another bite of his toast. "By the way, I'm hosting a ball here tonight for the local authorities. Nothing overly fancy, but still..." Lawrence paused while he took a sip of coffee. "... I need to know who we can trust on the inside, if anyone. I figure this will be a good enough way as any."

"I claim the first and last dance with you, then." Selena said with a girlish grin.

"I shall go prepare the manor then for guests..." Jennings said with a slight sigh at Selena flirting with Malcom. I do trust she behaves herself tonight or we'll all be ruined....

(((Sil, when you post again, please end it in a way that will allow us to take a break. I'll be posting about a time-jump in the Cavern Tavern later. )))

Day 3-Morning- Burg- Josh

Josh accepted a piece of toast from Jennings and sat down at the table. He spread jelly over the crisped piece of bread as he listened to the others talking.
They seeed to be a fairly well formed group, friendly with each other, it was hard to tell how long the woman had been a part of it but he guessed it was not too long.

After he was finished with his toast, Jennings showed him to his room. Josh sat on the bed and wondered what the future would hold.

Day Two - Judicia Suburbs

Haley returned from rummaging through the medical cabinet and returned only when she found the pain killers. “The water is turned off, so you’ll have to take these dry” she said as she gingerly sat herself on the table next to Warren.

The boy forced himself to sit up and then carefully – as to not put too much stress on his thigh, he swung his legs over the edge. “Thanks” he took the pill-bottle and downed three of the little white drugs. The two then sat there, just breathing in the air and wondering what had just happened to the world around them.

“Warren, what do you think happened to our parents?” Haley proceeded to break the silence like a sledgehammer would glass.

He cringed inwardly as all the memories of the previous day came rushing all at once back into his mind. Haley’s mom speared by that two-by-four, his mom and dad bloodied and lifeless in the SUV, he knew that he should tell Haley what happened to them. But he couldn’t, not now, it was all too real.

All he could do was lie, not only to her, but to his own self as well. He touched Haley’s shoulder in an futile effort to comfort her and said “I’m sure they’ll be fine… Oh crap, the animals at the zoo!”

He saw an way out and he followed the signs to the letter, jumping up and grabbing his clothing, all despite Haley’s protests.

Last post here

Day 5, Quadrant 9
11:20am, Q9 time
Isolation wing, room 349

The sheer wonder of this new dimension of sight drowned out Hali's fear and exhaustion. She stood with her eyes closed in the middle of the room, turning and turning around to look with this new inner vision. This was not like seeing color or light - she saw things as they were, simply as they existed. Every movement made a picture. She could not control it - not yet - but it seemed to extend at least ten feet in all directions. She could see that underneath the metal floor there were tubes and pipes, all with some kind of matter rushing through them.

She stared hard with her mind's eye. The denser, clearer movement seemed to be a liquid. The dizzying, spinning motion was a gas - perhaps hot air. But the most intense pipes - or maybe wires - carried pure bolts of sight. Whatever this substance was, it was screaming it's existence at her mind.

Hali opened her eyes and the mental images faded; they were now only slightly superimposed over her normal vision. She could see a little of the wiring in the walls, and see the hot air from the vent move across the room, but it was dim and vague. She sat down on the floor, drained from the intensity of the experience. A moment later, her eyes fluttered shut, but no explosion of sight came. This was the blind darkness of sleep.

~ ~ ~

Judicia. The light that hurt my head. Elise killed by the crazy woman with snakes for hair. My family miles away. Professor Collins finding me a day later, telling me I was sick. She took me to the empty dorms, she wouldn't let me leave. No light, no running water, just canned food. The two men with guns, they came to take me away. Professor Collins said they wanted to help me. I ran, I ran out the fire escape and down the street. Not thinking, not planning - just running. Afraid, so afraid. The pain in my head. They came after me, they fired the guns. The feeling of being hunted. The bullet that grazed my ear. The blood, the screams, the darkness of the truck. The fear. Everything lost.

Hali's eyes shot open and her scream died on her lips. It was only a dream. She was lying on the floor on her silver cell. Slowly, she stood up and went over to the sink. She turned the water on, gazing at the motion for a moment before scooping some up to rinse her blonde hair. The dried blood flaked off into the water and sunk down the drain. For the first time in days, she felt clean and maybe even a little bit hungry. She turned the water off and went over to where the tray of food had slid into her room - was that hours or days ago?

As she bent to pick the food up, her mental vision saw movement just beyond the wall with the door in it. Two people, both women, walking towards her down a hall of some sort. She stood up and was about to bang on the door to try to get their attention. Her vision picked up another detail and she froze in fear.

Both women were carrying large guns.

OCC: okay, backstory / basic powers intro completed. You take control of the story from here, Lady C and Lonnie.

Burg: Day 3, Evening
Lawrence Manor

The guests were starting to arrive at the manor, thus keeping Jennings busy with serving the guests plus keeping an eye out for any suspicious characters. So far, everything was running very smoothly. The guests seemed to be genuinely enjoying themselves and master Lawrence was doing a fine job of playing the "politicians game".

"Oh, miss Browning! The guests in the study have yet to be served any drinks. Would you mind?" the kindly butler asked as Selena entered the kitchen to refill her tray of cheese cubes.

"Not at all, Jennings." the younger woman said with a smile as she took the tray of martinis from the older gentleman. Having previously worked as a waitress many years ago was coming in handy for Selena tonight.

As she meandered through the crowd of people, a familiar figure effortlessly picked off one of the drinks and gave the red haired girl a charming smile and a wink. Selena gave Malcom a playful disapproving scowl and continued on her way.

"... I understand completely. We can't afford not to be too careful in these trying times." Lawrence finished before taking a sip of his martini. So far the evening was going well. Most of the members of Burg's upper class were here as well as those from the political scene.

Day 3-Evening- Burg- Josh

Josh did his best not to tug at the sleaves of his suite jacket. He was standing at the back of the room, watching the crowd of people talking throughout the room, trying to see who was genuinely conserned about the crisis the city was in, or who was simply trying to figure out the best way to profit from it.
There seemed to be an equal amount of each in the room, as well as those who had next to no idea what was going on and had simply come cause they were used to it. People clung to what they considered the "norm" even if it had been bodily picked up and tossed of a cliff to the sharp rocks below only three days before.
In his hand he held a plate of ham and cheese on toothpicks. beside them were several slivers of wood that attested that they were not entirely for show.

He caught sight of one of the people that he had pegged as one of the less snobby people in the room and worked his way through the crowd until he stood next to them.

"What do you think of all this crazy stuff? By now I can hardly tell what is real anymore. Yesterday I thought I saw somebody floating in the air!"

OOC: A place where somebody's cameo can jump in.

Day 1, Evening, Diabolis, Sturgeon Family's Apartment

Harry sat on the couch stroking the back of the sleeping lizard in his lap. Smoke floated out of Flame's nostrils again, and the boy could feel heat coming off his pet's body, but other than that he seemed normal and okay. Harry had been surprised when Flame had informed him (loudly) that he liked to be stroked. The boy had always thought that was a mammal thing, but apparantly some lizards liked it too. So, he had finally gotten him to sleep by petting him. He would have to remember this trick.

Just then he heard the lock click and the door opened. His mother and father stepped in, sweaty from all the work they had done downstairs. "Well, we're back," his dad said.

"Hush," Harry said, "I finally got him to settle down."

His parents nodded. "So, anything interesting happen while we were gone?" whispered his mom.

Harry responded by gently grabbing the scales on Flame's back. There was barely any seam, and it wasn't visible, but it was there. He gently pulled out a wing for his parents to see. "Well, it seems he's grown wings."

"Yup, that settles it," his father said, "he's become a dragon."

Harry didn't bother to answer, because he had to admit, his dad had a point. Instead he simply stood up, careful not to disturb the sleeper in his arms, said "Good night", and went to his room. He instinctively stepped to where the terrarium had been, but then remembered it had been broken. So instead, he placed Flame on the foot of his bed then got under the covers himself. For a desert, Diabolis could get cold at night, especially with the heaters out of power. Flame, however, was giving off a warmth that flowed into Harry's feet then creeped up to the rest of his body. He smiled. Flame may be an annoying lazy dragon, but he was his annoying lazy dragon, and he intended to keep it that way. With that thought in his head, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Day 3, Evening, Burg, Lawrence Manor

Lewis Jackson turned to the young man who had addressed him. "You may have, one of the primary symptoms of this radiation poisoning is superpowers. Unfortunately it seems to be lethal over time, and the lethal part is contagious. I've been immunized thanks to my freind over there, Inspector John Ronald. He's the one who invited me."

He paused to select one of the pieces of cheese on a toothpick and try it, then sighed. "You know, sometimes I wonder if all this is just some book I'm writing and I'm so into it I think it's real. Even then this would have been the most unusual thing I've ever written. Oh, where are my manners, I'm Lewis Jackson. Who are you?"

Burg: Day 3
Lawrence Manor

Doctor Tamara Lightwood lightly stepped through the doors, smiling on the arm of the dignitary that had brought her. The manor sparkled, and Tamara was set to match. She was stunning arm candy, despite being a little older than one would expect, and tonight was no exception. After exchanging the necessary polite greetings with any national big-wigs, Tamara slowly began exploring the manor, her sharp eyes looking for both trouble and someone who, well, wouldn't be boring to talk to.

Tamara was just finishing making small talk with an Ambassador what's-his-name when she turned and nearly ran into a young lady with a tray of drinks.

"Oh, goodness! I'm quite sorry," Tamara said, stepping out of the way. "I do apologize."

Burg: Day 3, evening
Lawrence Manor

Fortunately for Selena, the drinks were laid out in such a way that the tray was not overly cumbersome. After regaining control of the drink tray, the younger woman smiled and laughed slightly. "No worries, miss! You have to be on your toes if you're serving drinks in a crowd. Just glad we didn't actually hit."

Having momentarily slipped into a more casual demeanor, Selena straightened back up and presented the tray of drinks to the older woman. "Would you care for a drink, ma'am?"

Burg: Day 3
Lawrence Manor

"Ah, thank you," Tamara said, smiling and taking one of the offered drinks. "You seem to be taking quite good care of everyone. This place is beautiful. And amazing, too. I'm surprised it survived with such little damage. Many of the cities I have seen are absolute wrecks. Mr. Lawrence must be a very good man to care for his place and his city so much."

Day 3-Evening- Burg- Josh

"Josh Hunter" came the reply. "I bet there has been a mass increase in people turning themselves in to asylums thinking there have lost their minds."
There was a pause and then he continued, "How do they know it is deadly? It has only been three days since the supernova and I doubt they even know what kind of radiation we got hit with. I mean, I don't think the ordinary kind can give people superpowers."

Burg: Day 3, evening
Lawrence Manor

"Thank you. Yes, it's a beautiful place..." Selena took a moment to look around the mansion before continuing. "Most of the structure is reinforced with carbon alloy rods or something like that, hence why it survived."

The younger woman had to pause for a moment as another guest walked up and asked for a drink. "Lawrence is a very good man. One of the most generous men of his type I've ever come across."

-----

After finishing a discussion on the legal ramifications of the governments new tactics, Lawrence graciously excused himself from the debate and made his way to Selena and the woman she was conversing with.

"One of the most generous men you know, eh? I'm not sure whether to be flattered or slightly annoyed." Malcom teasingly said to the younger girl before taking a sip of his drink. "Pardon me, I'm..."

"This is Mr. Lawrence." Selena interrupted with a sly smile to Malcom. "It was lovely talking with you, miss, but I should probably get back to serving drinks before Jennings gets on to me..."

"Thanks for stealing my introduction, miss." Lawrence grumbled in a goodnatured way. "Ah yes... Jennings does like to run a tight ship." the billionaire nodded as the red haired waitress excused herself and went about serving drinks.

Burg: Day 3
Lawrence Manor

"Ah, good evening, Mr. Lawrence," Tamara said, inclining her head in a greeting. "I am Doctor Tamara Lightwood. I happened to be in the area today to review the...damage from the supernova, and the Ambassador requested that I accompany him to your ball. It is very nice to meet you."

Day 3, Evening, Burg, Lawrence Manor

Lewis chuckled at Josh's asylum comment then pondered his question. "I really don't know. Maybe some people succumb to it faster than others and are already dying. I do have one friend who might know, he's a radiation oncologist, but I haven't seen him since the night after the supernova. I heard he's busy helping the government study this." He felt a little thirsty and noticed a serving lady passing by. He held up his finger to signal her.