Day 7
Burg

Irene glanced over at the computer, widening her eyes and feigning surprise. "Really?! How--" She shook it off. "Never mind, I'd much rather have the power back than anything else. Maybe I can finally find a ride home now or something...." Irene realized too late that that was a mistake. It was supposed to convince the other girl that she had a place to go; she wasn't supposed to remember the real problem with that mid-sentence. She fought to keep her voice even and her facial expressions in check--but she feared it might have been too little, too late.

Burg: Day 7

Xandria crossed her arms and slouched back, studying Irene.

"Why'd you really come here?" she demanded.

Day 7
Burg

Irene sighed; she wasn't buying that at all. Well, fine, she could tell the truth--as long as she wasn't expected to share all of it. "Look, this whole thing with the Supernova has left me with some questions... questions I'd like answers to. This seemed like a good place to start looking."

'Hey, wait a minute! Why do I have to answer her questions? She doesn't own this place any more than I do!' Irene folded her arms right back and countered, "Not that it's any of your business, really. I mean, what are you doing here? I don't even know your name." Irene took a step back, surreptitiously glancing in either direction. If this other girl tried anything, Irene was going to make a break for it.

Burg: Day 7

"And I don't know yours, either," Xandria replied crisply. "But I live here. You don't. Either that or you're the spirit of the computer come to life. I don't see any other reason why you would be here if you weren't breaking and entering."

She studied the girl, realizing that she must be about her age and was probably just as scared. What did she need to look up? And if she lived around here, wouldn't she already know how the library was run and where things were? Xandria softened a bit, realizing that they were probably in the same boat.

"What sort of questions do you need answers to?" she asked quietly. "Do you...have powers too?"

Day 7
Burg

Irene was going to point out that since she doubted that the other girl owned the place, she was also breaking and entering. But that thought died when she asked if Irene had powers... too. That caught her off guard. She stared at her for a few seconds, but... she seemed sincere. Maybe she'd earned a little honesty in return. Besides, Irene was tired of dancing around the truth.

"Well... to be honest, I think I kind of am the spirit of the computer come to life. Sorta." She twirled her hand around in an, admittedly, overly elaborate gesture, and conjured up the image of a working computer screen in front of her. "I can make illusions. Apparently, by accident as well, because I thought the computer was actually working, until... well, until you proved me wrong." She dropped the illusion, and debated what she was going to say next. On the one hand, maybe it wasn't a good idea to play all her cards just now. On the other hand... well, it was nice to have someone to talk to. She may not know her name, but this was still the first person that Irene could actually remember.

"As for what kinds of questions I have... well, let's put it this way. I'm guessing that, if I asked you, you could tell me exactly what you were doing at the time of the Supernova?" The answer was obvious, so Irene didn't give her much time to respond. "Well, I couldn't. I don't remember pretty much anything before the day after the Supernova--even though I know it happened. And... I thought I found something that pointed me to this library, but apparently, I managed to trick myself." Irene shook her head; well, as long as she was giving everything else away.... "I'm pretty sure my name's Irene, but I couldn't tell you for sure."

Burg: Day 7

"Well, you didn't originate in the library, then, so I don't think you came out of the computer. You can just create...things. And Irene's a pretty name--I think you should keep it, at least for now," she smiled at her, trying to make her at ease. "I'm Xandria. I'm...still trying to figure out my powers, a bit."

Day 7
Burg

Well, if Xandria meant Irene any harm, she was certainly taking her sweet time to do anything. That led Irene to believe that she was sincere. She smiled dryly. "Well, I think everyone who got these 'powers' is feeling the same way. I thought I had a handle on things, until today...."

She shook it off. Honestly, she had no idea where she was going to go from here--even finding the library, she was as clueless as she'd always been. But... well, since there was someone else here, and it was a concern.... "Look, um... I've been kind of out of the loop lately, but right after the Supernova, I heard something about 'radiation poisoning'. I kind of figured they meant people like us. So... do you know if they actually mean 'poisoning'? Like, are we going to get sick?" Irene had felt fine since the Supernova happened, but... well, appearances could be deceiving.

At the same time, she started mulling over something that Xandria had said... she didn't "originate" in the library. Hmm, interesting choice of words....

Burg: Day 7

"Radiation poisoning? They mean anyone that's different now. I'm not really sure. I don't think it means real poisoning because I was with a lot of other people when it happened, and all of them were fine. But then again, I jumped ship two days after the supernova, anyway."

Previous Post
Day 5, Quadrant 9
12:39, Q9 time
Evaluation Lounge

Hali's flippant comment about the futility of running brought the doctor's lips curling. "True enough. Though if thinking so made you feel safer, I would of course be happy to make you feel as comfortable as possible." He nodded to Tony, who rose from the arm of the chair and strode to the wall beside the sliding doors. After pressing a button that was the same color cream as the paint on the wood siding, the walls began to slide shut once again. After a brief moment, they hissed together with a faint fluctuation in the room's air pressure, much like when the open windows of a car are suddenly rolled up.

"We're not entirely sure what your powers are, Miss Royce," continued Dr. Steele smoothly. "Your professor was rather vague on that. We were hoping you would be able to give us some hints on what you believe has changed for you since the Supernova. Thus far your readings have given us no cause for concern about spontaneous combustion-" Here, his eyes twinkled in amusement, "-or any other side-effects dangerous to your person."

Tony was back on the arm of the chair, slouched back with one hand behind him to lean against, his gaze switching between Hali and the doctor.

"So tell me, Miss Royce:" Dr. Steele leaned forward slightly, tilting his head and raising a brow with a questioning smile. "Have you noticed anything different about yourself since the blast? Anything could help, even if you do not quite know what it means. We have ways of helping you find exercises to pinpoint it, if only we know where to start."

----------------

11:37 Q9
Dr. Steele's Office

As he shoved open the back door of the office, Tony let out a sigh. He knew where the paperwork was, theoretically. But whether or not it was actually there was an entirely different question.

He stopped short when he realized he was not alone. A man was standing in the room, looking at him.

"O-oh! Um... Hi. I'm Tony, Dr. Steele's assistant." Startled as he was, nevertheless the boy smiled and held out his right hand for the other to shake. "I'm so sorry- have you been waiting long?"

Day 7
Burg

"I suppose unless one of us suddenly feels unbearably sick or has a violent fit of rage, we'll have our answer." Irene responded dryly. Despite her sarcasm, she was relieved to hear it--it was nice to know that at least someone else with her "condition" believed it wasn't fatal. Just really complicating.

There it was again, the voice in the back of her head, asking her, "What now?" Well, she couldn't ignore it any more. She was just going to have to get to the point: "Look... okay, this is going to sound really odd, but... I know you said you live here, so me being here is kind of an invasion. But this library is the only place...." She shook her head, wishing she had some better way of saying this. "This is the only place that feels right to me. And, for some reason, my subconscious apparently lead me here. So, unless--" Irene paused; perhaps mentioning the possibility that she was just going crazy wasn't a good idea "--you have a problem with it... I was kind of hoping I could stick around." She gestured up, pointing out, "The building's pretty big, so I could hang out well out of your hair. And I'm hoping to be gone pretty soon, as soon as... well, when I figure out what brought me here in the first place."

Burg: Day 7

Xandria studied Irene for a few minutes, then shrugged.

"I suppose it isn't a problem with me. I wouldn't mind some company. But...you do know that they are hunting for us, right? They're trying to arrest and get rid of people like you and me. So however it works, we can't stay here long."

She thought for a moment.

"Are you hungry? I bought some food, if you want some."

Day 7
Burg

"Hunting?!" She couldn't believe her ears; wasn't that a bit... extreme!? Maybe she'd underestimated just how far the government was willing to go... or was still capable of. But... maybe now wasn't the time to get into that.

"Are you hungry?"

Irene froze at the question, though she snapped out of it fast enough that Xandria hadn't noticed... or, so she told herself. Hungry... what had Irene been eating since the Supernova? Had she even felt hungry? It had been days, how could she--Irene shook it off. Her head was going back into realms of possibility that were just too crazy.

But she needed to come up with a response, and fast: "Um... I brought some of my food with me. Thanks for the offer, but... I'm intruding enough; I'll carry my own weight." She smiled, but she could almost feel the fakeness in it. Maybe she was just being paranoid...?

Burg: Day 7

"Unless you're hiding it somewhere under your shirt, you're lying to me again," Xandria said flatly. "You don't have a bag or anything to have brought it in."

She turned and walked back toward the break room.

"You might be good at making illusions, but you're a very bad liar. The food's back here."

Day 7
Burg

"I meant this." Irene said, reaching her hand into her pocket. She created an illusion of an apple in her hand, before pulling her hand back out, showing it off. And... that hadn't made her point at all, since that was hardly supposed to last her beyond the day. Still, the last thing she neeeded was Xandria asking questions she didn't have answers to. She still followed Xandria, though, just to avoid making herself look suspicious, or ungrateful.

Though, honestly, she really wasn't sure what Xandria made of her right now. She was right--Irene wasn't much of a liar, in large part because she had no idea how to read people.

Burg: Day 7

"Whatever you just conjured up, you're lying," Xandria said, jumping on the banister and sliding down it, not bothering to look back at Irene. "I already told you--you're a very bad liar and you need to stop lying to me!"