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StormWolf
04-19-2010, 04:16 AM
Surrounded By Secrets

Manhattan - New York

The air of the city was wild with the buzz of life. Horns honking and the hissing and grinding of subway brakes. People moved in milling masses on the sidewalks, yellow cabs and automobiles of a dozen different colors moved in a mechanical way through the criss-crossing streets and avenues of Manhattan.

Beneath the ground, the subways were just as alive as the world above. The subway train Phelam 504 moved like a rocket through one of the many dark tunnels that made the subterrainanian cobweb that united New York, like the veins of some giant beast. On that train, a man sat on a bench by his lonesome, wearing a cobalt grey sweater with the sleeves pulled up to his elbows, sporting some muscular forearms and a nice rolex on his right wrist. The man was obviously well built, his broad shoulders, wide chest, and muscular arms fit into the sweater snugly. the man also wore some sturdy greenish-brown cargo fatigues held up by a thick leather belt. On his feet were non-descript black shoes, the type issued to the operatives in the Third Echelon and the Special Forces. He was a handsome man with cutting dark emerald eyes and dark raven hair with wings of silver at his temples and a dark grey stubble on his stony face.

Upcoming stop: Penn Station

Hearing that, the man stood and walked out of the subway car as soon as the doors opened. The murmurs of the people around him were vivid and crisp as if the person all the way across the station were right next to him. He did his best to but them out, a skill he had been practicing for decades.

Stepping outside and taking a breath of the brisk winter air, the man pulled out his iPhone and went to his favorites tab, clicking on the icon that read "Rosie" before putting the phone to his ear. The phone rang once. Twice. On the third ring, the phone was picked up and the man heard the voice of an angel on the other end of the line,

"Sammy," Rosie eagerly answered the phone at their apartment. "You're coming home now?"

The penthouse apartment was very nice. It overlooked Time Square, which made Rosie love to overlook the people walking about like ants. She had been watching cartoons and drawing all day though. She needed to stay distracted at all times, or she might hear them. The voices. When Samuel finally called her, Rosie was very happy. She missed him when he went out.

Sam smiled as he walked in the brisk New Yorker way down the sidewalk, slipping among the throngs of people relatively unnoticed. "Hey kiddo. Yeah, I just got off the subway. I was calling to see if you wanted anything special for dinner."

"Yes," Rosie replied. "Can we have mac n' cheese? The kind you make is good."

"All right, fair enough. Mac and cheese it is. I'll be home in a few minutes, sweetie. See you then." he said as sweetly as his deep and gravely voice could manage. Hanging up the phone and slipping it back in his pocket, Sam walked to the mechanized parking structure, slipping his ticket and paying his fee. The platforms shifted, bringing Sam's black Austin Martin down to ground level. Sam unlocked the luxury car and sank into the hand-stitched leather seats, running his scarred hands over the wheel before keying the ignition, the fine automobile giving a purr as it woke up.

Sam made a stop by Little Italy, picking up some of the finer pasta that one can buy in New York City as well as some fine Irish Cheddar and Sicilian Parmesan. Samuel fudged and bought a bottle of four year old red wine as well. In his opinion, that was what made an Italian dish, even if it wasn't really Italian.

Pulling up the the Ritz-Carlton in Times Square, Sam tossed the valet boy the keys to the Austin Matin and handed the boy a generous tip.

"Take care of her, Dean. That coat is fresh." Sam couldn't help but chuckle, that care could withstand anything up to a rocket propelled grenade, there was no need to be gentle with that car. Still, it looked pretty and it would raise suspicion if someone dressed as cheaply as Sam didn't give a care about a vehicle like an Austin Martin. Sam wasted no time in going to the elevator and slipping his key card with his free hand, pressing the "Penthouse" button.

Once up at the top, Sam swiped the card in the thick redwood door and entered his not-so-humble abode, the place he had been sharing with Rosie Edison for around a year now. "Hey Rosie. I'm home sweetheart." Sam called out into the penthouse, setting his baggage down on the kitchen counter.

"I know," Rosie said jumping up from the couch. "Your mind is warm and wonderful, I sensed you were here."

She ran up to Samuel and jumped in his arms. Hugging him like he was gone for a long time. Sam hugged back, a half-solemn smile tugging at the corners of his lips. Memories flashed through his head for but a brief moment before he shook them off and concentrated on the adorable little girl who was his daughter now. He picked her up and kissed her on the forehead. She was so light in his arms.

"I hope you're hungry, I got the makings for my Skillet Mac and Cheese, just like you wanted." he set her down on a stool, going over to the fridge and grabbed her a soda, then a beer for himself.

Rosie giggled. Her blue eyes full of happiness. Concentrating, she lifted the Soda with her mind and opened it in thin air.

"See, see?" Rosie said laughing. "I am getting better. I've been practicing, Sammy." Sam smiled and chuckled, twisting off the cap of his beer with his bare hand. He walked over to her and stroked her sweet little head,

"That's great, Rosie! I'm so proud of you." he said as sweetly as his vocals could manage, kissing her on the temple. It was not an easy day today, the job being stressful as Hell and the intel he picked up was all kinds of disturbing. He delved down into things a little too much, sometimes, just a part of Sam's nature. Still, no matter how bad the day got, being with Rosie was always something that lit up his day. Without her, Sam didn't even want to think about where he would be in life, probably six feet under with a headstone marking his place.

The mac and cheese was in the oven, Rosie had her cartoons on and Sam only watched a little bit, every once and a while. He was flipping through notes he had scribbled in his messy shorthand on a steno pad. Something he had heard while doing surveliance. There were two men in Grand Central earlier that day who were talking about some Black Sun. What that was escaped Sam completely, but they said a few words that Sam recognized to be affiliated with Psychers. They weren't Guardians, not by the tone they held when talking about Psychers. Something was not right.

With a sigh, Sam tossed his steno pad on the table and rubbed his eyes. What did he care? Rosie was safe. That was all that mattered. Sam sniffed the air, he could smell the skillet baked meal, ready as it could be.

"Dinner time, sweetie. T.V. off."

Rosie turned to Sam grinning. She looked back at the TV, blinked, and the set went off. The smell of the mac n' cheese was wonderful. Rosie's tummy growled making her blush.

(co-op between storm and yoru)

Drpaynenstein
04-19-2010, 07:40 PM
"Yes ma'am."
...

"No ma'am"
...

"...Mrs. Rainsworth, your husband is not cheating on you, he's been to yoga classes on Tuesdays and seeing a dancing instructor on Thursdays for the last 3 months... No ma'am he's been taking lessons. I'm transfering files to you as we speak to support and prove these claims."
...

"Well ma'am it certainly could be because you critisize him so often. I probably wouldn't tell you either."
.......

"Look Mrs. Rainsworth, you said you were going on a second honeymoon soon correct? ... Right, well Mr. Rainsworth is most likely wanting to surprise you with his newly improved skills ... Yes ma'am you're welcome. Did you recieve the files? Good, please transfer the second half of my payment as we agreed to my account. Thank you Mrs. Rainsworth, enjoy your vacation."

Nathan dropped the phone in the reciever and sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. Resting chin in his palms he stared down at the computer on his desk in front of him. After 4 years he was finally getting used to all the new technology in the world around him. He glanced over to the couch in the living room and saw the back of Lena's head swaying to some rhythm from the headphones she almost always wore. Nathan could see the bright glare from her laptop surrounding her in a flourescent glow.

Glancing back to his screen he punched a button and brought up his accounts, verifying Mrs. Rainsworth's payment had been deposited. Another boring and tedious job finished. Being a private investigator gave him a lot of lee-way and helped out a lot in his search for the answers he sought, but sometimes the jobs to pay the bills were just so..."

"Nathan!" Lena cried, pivoting around to grin at him from above the back of the couch. "I found something! Come look," she said, pulling the headphones off.

Nathan stood from the seat at his desk and strode over to lean on the back of the couch and peer down at her screen. She had a news article up fresh from the night before. A well liked senator had been hospitalized after a freak car crash where his driver was killed instantly. Nathan had worked for the government long enough to know it was a cover up, they hadn't changed their ways even after all these years. Lena brought up another page instantly as if he'd told her he was done reading the first, and he looked it over. A young soldier in Iraq was shot and killed after failing to identify himself and was suspected to be an insurgent. The shooter was part of the private militia protecting supplies being shipped by one of the before mentioned senator's companies.

Nathan ruffled the girl's hair. "Good job Lena, it could be connected. I'm going to go check out that company," and he was reaching for his coat hanging on the wall beside the door in 3 purposeful strides. But Lena halted him with a pout.

"Nathaaaan. You said we could go out for mongolian bbq for lunch today. You promised, Brat!" and she gave him her best hurt puppy-dog look. Nathan glanced at his watch and saw it was almost lunchtime and slowly nodded.

"I did didn't I? Alright, let me freshen up a bit and we'll head out."

Lena grinned with delight and jupmed up off the couch to go do the same.

Higurashi
04-19-2010, 07:42 PM
Oberstleutenant (Lieutenant Colonel) Hains stood at rigid attention. There was nothing in heaven or earth that would have made him move at that moment. He stood at attention because if he moved, he knew that he was done for. His contract would be terminated along with his person. There would be no escape from his superiors. For his superiors controlled everything, secretly, silently. Nearly every major event in history since the Third Reich had been controlled them. They had controll over every decision made in this current world, and they were always watching. It was what they did, watch and wait while he did their dirty work. It didn't really matter to him. He had chosen this voluntarily. Well, if being give the choice of a life in slavery or death a voluntary. He still stood there at attention as this all passed through what little was left of his sane mind. He didn't move a muscle. Not even when sweat trickled down his forehead. He had always wondered why his masters had him do these little endurance tests. He always passed. Finally, as always, his superior officer gave the order and everyone in the column went to the rest position. It was a vast relief to Hains. "Alright scumbags, here is you mission." The Oberst (Colonel) said as a picture of a seven year old girl popped up on the screen. "You will capture and detain here for 'Rehab'. Beware, this is a high risk mission. Most of you will not survive... I know what you're thinking. How could a seven year old brat be that dangerous? Well, it ain't her thats dangerous. Its her Gaurdian." Another picture, showing Sam appeared on the screen. "We don't know much about this guy except that he can detect danger from a mile away. You are finished with this breifing. DIS-MISSED!" Hains looked at his mission pamplet. It was different from the other as always. He would be infiltrating after the other failed.... His new persona was to be the Sixteen year old Richard Kendrick, or Kendrick for short.

RayleighScattering
04-19-2010, 10:34 PM
The restaurant was bit too warm for Lena. She slid off her jacket and tucked it near the backpack that she refused to leave home without. She stood up from their booth and approached the crowded line of the patrons filling their bowls to the rim with noodles, meat, and veggies. Without having to look she knew that Nathan was following close behind. She slipped her headphones down to rest around her neck, able to hear the music still. Her head bobbed to the beat as she filled her bowl with all her favorite ingredients.

When they finally reached the grill she handed her food to the chef who prepared the food by grilling the noodles with a bamboo baton, deftly sweeping it across the hot metal. When he handed her bowl back she grinned deeply and left a few dollars in the tip bucket. She stood back while Nathan's food was prepared. Then they returned to their table and began to enjoy their food. For this she turned off her mp3 player and set the headphones inside her bag.

The noodles where still too hot so she pushed her bowl aside and dug out something from her bag. It appeared to one of the those bubble packed envelopes. She pushed it across the table towards Nathan.

"I almost forgot, I got you this. Its a new bluetooth headset!" She went on for a few minutes about all of its features. "Best part is that it has a radio transceiver so we can listen to all the music I put on your phone in the car!" More happy about that than any of the features, she bubbled with giddyness.

Her smile slowly turned into a blank stare and it was obvious to Nathan what was going on with the teenager.

She stood near the edge of a dock and peered out across a deep blue lake. On the shore was a family. A mother and father with three young boys all enjoying a picnic. Near her a forth child, a young girl leaned down to test the water with small hands. Lena reached down. "Be careful! You'll fall!" The girl slowly turned her small face towards her, gazed beyond Lena as if she thought she might have heard something, but quickly dismised it and turned her attention back to the water.

Something floated up from under the dock. A glimmer just out of the child's reach. Lena panicked, knew what was about to happen. "Don't!" The young girl stretched towards the object and fell into the the blue abyss. Lena's heart skipped two beats. She felt a tug of courage urging her to jump in after. But she couldn't move and watched in horror as bubbles rose from the water. Lena screamed, called out to the family on the beach. But only after a moment did the mother appear to glance around. Then the other's followed suit, all looking for the youngest child.

Lena came back to her table. Nathan was now sitting next to her handing her a napkin. Without question she lifted it to her nose, knowing already that it was bleeding.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize that I was that excited."

Nathan ran a soothing hand over her shoulders.

"Shh its okay. It's a very cool headset." He pointed to right side of his head where he had already fastened it to his ear. Lena brightened a bit, her smile returning. I'm glad you like it."

Nathan nodded and added seriously. "What did you see?"

She sighed. "A little girl fell off a dock, didn't come back up. Her family was looking for her."

Silence fell over them for a few moments until Nathan seated himself on the other side of the booth again. "Eat your noodles before they get cold." She nodded and they both began to devour their meals.

Dual
04-21-2010, 11:31 AM
"Pleeeaaaasseeeee, Sonic?" A young, female voice cried out, pleadingly. People were beginning to stare now. After all, it wasn't an everyday incident that one would see a small-sized nine-year-old girl, dressed in a simple white shirt and a pair of worn jeans, attempting to coax a hefty-sized man, twice the girl's size and in his forties, to let her browse about a crowded-looking dress shop. What made the pair even stranger was that the girl had white hair, and wore what seemed to be a metal headband around her forehead, and the man seemed to be carrying.. some sort of japanese sword..? He seemed to be armed, in ways that the average man wouldn't even dream of.

"Oh, c'mon, lass, really?" Thomas replied, making an expression as though he were in pain. The thought of being dragged into a dress shop was horrifying enough to make him cringe, but as he looked down to see Raja, he simply sighed at her adorable face and nodded.
"Alright, fine... Let's go, little calog."

The scoreboard read Raja:1 and Thomas:0 as the Psycher let out the biggest, attention-catching whoop and immediately proceeded to drag her Guardian into the shop. He didn't seem to be too happy about the fact that he, a former army operative and probably the toughest guy he knew, would be spending the next hour of this new day, keeping track of Raja, as she raced from clothes rack to clothes rack, chasing after her as she crawled through the fore-mentioned racks (something only nine-year-olds can pull off, smoothly, apparently), apologizing sincerely for frequently bumping into the same customers and attempting to keep his cool while Raja tried on a few dresses in the changing rooms.

While she was inside the dressing rooms, Thomas stood just outside the stalls like a sentry, gripping the sheath of his katana and giving cold glares to people as they passed by. His scarred face seemed to have two effects on people: one, the men were intimidated by him; two, the women believed him to have an air of mystery around him, which probably wasn't a good thing in his profession. However, he simply stood in place and kept his mind open to his "beag calog"- his little flake. The girl was like a daughter to him, and he constantly spoiled her, but he couldn't help himself. It was hard to say no to her, if not impossible. So, an hour later, he was sitting on the bench directly across from the stalls with his eyes roaming across the crowd while his mind stayed on Raja. He thought of her nickname for himself, and he smiled, a genuine chuckle escaping his lips.

However, when she emerged from the changing rooms with her dresses, he didn't bother looking at them, already convinced that she had gotten something conservative and suitable for a girl her age. When they got up to the register, he took the dresses from Raja absentmindedly and laid them on the counter while a service representative lowered her face down to Raja. He felt that odd tingling sensation at the back of his neck as the woman got lower, and he turned around with his hand already on the hilt of his sword, drawing the blade out a full two inches and stepping toward his little girl. The woman, surprised and terrified, simply collapsed back into her chair and looked up at him as he glowered at her. He fished out his wallet and took out the amount of money displayed on the register and tossed it onto the counter, taking the dresses in his left hand and Raja's little one in his other. He led her out of the store with an intense scowl on his face, and when the two were sufficiently away, he looked down at the dresses and froze. He had just spent every bit of his money on him to buy... these? Both were silvery white, but that was where the similarities ended. One was strapless and the other was cut FAR too short to go onto his little calog.

"Lass?" He said, holding them up so he could see them better. "W-what is this? Are these the dresses you tried on?"
Raja grinned, and nodded. "Yeppers! They're the latest fashion." She squeezed his hand. "And we can go home, now!" She then began to push him in the direction of their hotel. She had had a feeling he'd have some sort of objection, and though she knew he probably would not try to go get a refund, it was probably best to get him out of here, a.s.a.p.

Needless to say, Raja pushed and dragged her Guardian around on a regular basis. Into clothes shops, into toy shops, into fancy restaurants, out of boring lectures, away from boring-looking people who looked like they knew and wanted to talk to Thomas...
Raja had a good and interesting life. Thomas had a lot of empty wallets and credit cards. Even so, their Psycher-Guardian bond gave them a simple understanding of each other. Raja looked to Thomas like the kind father she never had, and Thomas looked to her like the daughter he always wanted. It couldn't have been a more balanced relationship.

RayleighScattering
04-25-2010, 09:23 AM
The cursor blinked on the monitor for several moments before she began to type without break.

Matthew continues to make progress. His capabilities in pyrokinesis are becoming stronger and is also becoming very adept in his control during our sessions in the facility provided by the organization.

The exception to this this however was an incident occurring two nights ago where he experienced a inflow of extreme fear in the form of a nightmare. In this extreme moment of emotional distress a fire started in our home. I was awake and quickly dispatched the flames without having to resort to calling the fire authority. Neither of us were hurt and nothing substantial was destroyed.

Actions were taken and the incident resolved. Matthew continues to practice his meditative techniques. I will contact the organization when new information is available. -L.O.

Liath hit send and turned off the computer. She rested her forehead in her palms. Closing her eyes, she thought back to a couple of nights ago.

She had been watching a late night television show when she thought she heard a noise coming from the hallway near Matthew's bedroom. She shot up and sprinted down the hall, picking up her baton of the counter as she went. When she opened the boy's door he was writhing and whimpering in his sleep. Liath sat on his bed and put a calming hand over his forehead and speaking in a comforting voice, attempting to put the boy at peace. But it seemed whatever was causing his unrest was not about to be soothed.

The picture above his bed, a drawing he had done just a year ago, suddenly lit up. The flames tearing up the sheet of paper instantly. Liath removed her sweater quickly and using it to snuff the flames before they could catch the wall on fire. Matthew awoke and they had moved to the living room and both had fallen asleep on the couch.

She remembered how shaken he had been and how scared she was the moment she had seen him in his bed. It had taken them both a long time to get to sleep afterwards.

Ding!! Ding!!

She stood from her desk in the study and headed to the kitchen where the smell of a freshly bakes lasagna lofted. She opened the door to Matt's bedroom on the way. Inside he was sitting at his own desk playing his handheld video game.

"Matthew, food's ready. Wash your hands and come to the table please." He responded with a nod and she closed the door, trustful that he would be prompt.

As she she pulled the dish out of the oven she smiled broadly and was happy, ready to move forward from the other night. She repeated the vow she took two years ago and had every day since, to protect her son at all costs.

Yoruyonaka
05-04-2010, 05:31 AM
Oh the meal was good as always. Rosie ate up Samuel's mac n' cheese, though not to quick so she could savor it. After they ate, Sam tucked Rosie in and they went to bed. The day ended peacefully. Nothing went wrong. That is, not yet. Dreaming in her bed, Rosie felt something tug at her. Not physically, but more mentally. Of course she could sense if it was another person, but it felt like she herself was tugging. She was dreaming, or having a nightmare of her mom, who died in front of her.

"No..." Rosie whispered through the dream. "Not again..." She could see the robber. The man who killed her mom, his indifferent stare. Cold eyes looking down at Rosie. The tugging was becoming stronger. She just wanted to get away from it. The horrible memory...the nightmare. And then....Rosie was in her room. Everything was the same. I must have woken up, she thought. However, she was standing in the middle of the room, someone was in her bed.

"Who-who are you?" Rosie asked backing away from her room. "Sammy? Help someone-"

Looking carefully at the bed, Rosie's heart nearly stopped. It was her. Her body sleeping away in the bed. A small scream escaped her lips as she ran for the door. Her hand went right through the door knob making Rosie scream louder.

"Sammy!" She yelled throwing her thoughts out to him. "Help me! I am a ghost! Help me!"

Sam was sitting on the couch in the main living room with the lights off. He had a glass of scotch in one hand and a cirgarette in the other. Little Rosie was asleep and in her room, so Sam allowed himself a smoke and a drink. Cobalt gray smoke wafted up from the butt of his half smoked cigarette, a misty cloud surrounding him, filling his lungs with the woodsy scent. On the table was a picture frame laid on it's back, a young girl with raven black hair sitting on a swing set, a smile of pure ivory. That was Sarah Friessen, Sam's late daughter.

Then he heard it, Rosie's voice echo in his head. Sam dropped his glass of scotch and crushed his cigarette into the ashtray before leaping over the couch and running to her bedroom door. Sam threw the heavy door open as if it was made of cardboard and ran to Rosie's side. He pulled on the golden chain around her neck, pulling Rosie's celtic cross necklace out from under her blouse and held the warm gold crucifix in his hands.

"Come back to me, baby. Daddy's here." he said, eyes wide and almost wild, hand brushing her hair as he laid a tender kiss on Rosie's brow.

Rosie watched Sammy thrust the door open and walk right through her. He ran to her body's side and immediately took hold of her charm. The sensations were beginning to take affect. She was getting yanked back to her body. Tears formed on her body's face as her ghost self cried.

Thoughts flooded the room from Rosie's ghost. "I am so scared Sammy," she said as she was pulled further to her body. "I woke up and I was a ghost."

With one final tug she fell head first into her body. Then everything went black. Rosie's eyes fluttered opened followed by tears. She saw Samuel holding her close and she began to sob.

Samuel held his precious little girl close, her sweet little head pressed against his firm chest, tears putting dark wet spots on his shirt. He rocked Rosie back and forth gently, hushing her in that soothing way children liked,

"Don't cry, baby. Daddy is here for you. Sshh. Sshh." This moment in time brought sad memories back for Sam, images of him doing this with his Sarah mixing with the reality right in front of him. He closed his eyes tight and shook his head, keeping his breathing under control.

"It's okay Sarah.... Daddy is right here." By the time Sam said it, it was too late. He closed his eyes and let a few silent tears make their way down his own face. Rosie knew who Sarah was, she knew Sam's past. All of the pictures and memorabilia he keeps around the apartment, and the fact that she can read his thoughts, she knew the whole story.

"I... I'm sorry Rosie.... Hey, it's okay. I'll never let anything happen to you. You are my baby girl now, remember. My little rose... Daddy's gonna keep you safe."

The tears stopped as Sam rocked Rose. She didn't even care when he called her Sarah. The happiness that he was there for her flowed now. Her fears flushed away. Wiping her face, Rosie's blue eyes looked at Sam. He always liked to call himself Daddy to her. She hadn't felt the need to call him that yet. Well, her mind didn't and wouldn't let her. But now....something changed in her. She needed him more than anything now. Her powers changing and all. So she made a huge jump.

"Thanks Daddy," Rosie said in her quiet voice. "I love you so much. Thank you for keeping me safe."

She hugged him tight, knowing this would shock him. Rosie only hoped he would be happy with what she said.

Sam's eyes watered when he heard her call him 'Daddy'. He sniffed and kissed her on the top of her head, patting her back gently.

"I love you too, sweetheart. Are you okay to go back to sleep, or do you need a glass of warm milk or do you want me to keep watch over you tonight?"

Rosie buried her head into Sam's chest. "Can you stay with me?," She asked. "I am still scared."

With a smile, Sam nodded, brushing some of Rosie's hair behind her ear. "Of course, sweetie. You go back to sleep now. I'll stay up all night to make sure no monsters bug you, okay?" He wiped her cheeks clean with his thumb, smiling down at his sweet little girl. Her safety was worth more than a few hours of sleep. It wouldn't be the first time Sam had pulled an all-nighter.

Rosie nodded to Sam and cuddled next to him. Her little hands rested on his chest. It wasn't too soon until she fell asleep.

(Co-Op with Storm)