1x1?

[pudding]

Hey now, that was a bit much. The core huffed slightly but turned his attention to the robots hidden throughout the ceiling. It didn't take too much effort to send a few down armed with medical supplies. Fine, fine he declared as he honed in on the bots, taking control of their systems all at once. But if you so much as try to touch my mainframe while I'm doing this, I'll power off the entire city for a week. He turned back to Storm and began carefully guiding the robots to remove the shrapnel and patch up her injuries. Her body wasn't at all like Scandal's but, luckily, it only took a tiny bit of illegal downloading to research the proper care for a human.

 

"What are you talking about?" Carlos asked with a smile but respected his wishes. That was fine, that was fine. He wasn't too pushy, you know? "Sure, let's go back to your place," He replied, stepping slightly away from Derek with an enthusiastic smile. "But you've got to tell me everything, you hear? No skimping out on the details or anything like that. We are friends, after all."

[RavenWolf1010]

"Touch." He touched the screen, but it did nothing other than leave a smudge on his computer. "Thank you though." He watched as they patched up. Hopefully now, she could heal, wake up, and get out of there. He felt an incredible amount of guilt. Him trying to play hero had caused it. "Man, she's going to be pissed. Can you give any advice on how to talk to an angry woman? One with superpowers at that?"

[pudding]

The core worked quickly in guiding the robots to patch and heal Storm. He'd have to have her leave the base, of course. No more snooping around, especially considering Scandal was in the room next door being looked after as well. I would suggest a gift, he advised after a moment. But don't take my word on that. I have no idea how I'll deal with Scandal after this. She'll dismantle me for sure. He retreated and sent the bots flying into the roof, leaving Storm all patched up. And the deed is done. Do you have any open communication line with her? I'd prefer if she leave quickly.

[shadow_claw]

Nodding slowly, Derek turned and began to walk back towards his own apartment. As soon as he was inside, he walked straight into the kitchen ad rummaged through the cabinets. He wanted a glass of whiskey, but...He wasn't technically old enough. How old was he anyway? Five? Six? Deciding against having a drink, he instead decided to make himself and Carlos coffee.

Sitting down at the coffee table with two steaming mugs, he set them both down in favor of putting his head in his hands. "I don't know what to think, Carlos. This whole thing is like some sort of whacky story you and the rest of the guys at the office would make up for kicks." He sighed yet again and sank lower into his chair. "I found out why Scandal keeps kidnapping me."

[pudding]

"Don't be silly," Carlos replied with a dismissive wave. "I'm sure it can't be that bad." He wrapped his hands around the coffee that was meant to be his and brought the mug closer to him for a small bit of warmth. He'd only known Derek for less than a year now but it felt like they went back much farther than that. Probably because he kept pestering him until he got his way and had forced a friendship between them. But at this new news, he leaned forward and stared at the other reporter quizzically. "Really? I thought it was because she liked you. Is that not why?"

[RavenWolf1010]

"Thanks. And, I you really worried about it, man," he tapped a large device plugged into the USB. "You can jump the line and come hang with me. Chicks can be a real drag, can't they?" Zeke leaned back. "Closed line system? Unfortunately not. The last one was fried when Storm tried using her powers." On the monitor, Storm was beginning to stir. "I'll chase her out though."

[shadow_claw]

"No." That was so far from the reason why. Everyone assumed it was some sort of romantic tug-of-war with Derek as the prize. It turned out, it was much deeper than that. "I'm...I'm her son. It's...a lot more twisted than that. She designed me to...to destroy the world." It really sounded impossible. It really, truly did. It sounded fake. But Derek had never been this distressed before. "A-And...I'm only, like, five years old or something. I don't know. Neither of them explained very much to me. Only that they both wanted to to agree with them."

[pudding]

I might take you up on that offer, The core replied. From her spot next door, Scandal had yet to wake. It would be concerning but she slept quite often. It had to be a species thing so he just ignored it. Which would be fine, provided Storm decided not to act on the moment of weakness. He wouldn't allow Scandal to be harmed. But no more hacking for you. I'll send her out myself. He turned his attention to the waking human and waited patiently.

 

 

"What?" Carlos asked, absolutely shocked. But that didn't stop him from leaning closer. "That's... totally awesome!" He smiled and took an enthusiastic sip from his cup. "Dude, you could be your own kind of super-person. Hero, Villain, I won't judge. But you've got the power to do that, right? Because you totally could and it would be great."

[shadow_claw]

A pause of silence, and then Derek lifted his head. Carlos was taking this a lot better than Derek was himself. Then again, Carlos didn't have to actually live through it all. Reaching out to his own cup of coffee, he brought it to his lips and blew at the steam half-heartedly. "For you maybe. You're not the one going through an identity crisis." Both his voice and expression growing steely, he took a swig from the scalding hot coffee. Turns out, the heat didn't bother him in the slightest. "I mean, I woke up this morning certain I was a twenty-five-year-old human being. Turns out I'm a six-year-old half-alien! I know this must sound exciting to you and all...but it's a lot for me to take in. But...I don't think Scandal's as big and bad as she lets of. I mean...I remember her takin care of me. A cruel person isn't that...loving." With a shake of his head, he drained the rest of his coffee. His green eyes had turned red again from the contact with heat. Not a terrifying, bloody sort of red. His eyes were wore of a deep, wine color. It wasn't as unsettling as one would think.

[RavenWolf1010]

"Fair enough. Thanks again." He grinned at the screen, typed a few more things, including how to find him again, and logged out. He leaned back and sighed with relief. "A gift... A gift." He snapped his fingers. "Perfect!" He'd heard of the gem called Zicron, and knew Roxanne didn't have it in her collection. He rushed to get ready, sprinted downstairs, and went off to find another gemstone on the east side of town.

 

 

Storm blinked a few times. Her head hurt. She cradled her head and looked around, obviously confused. Her memory was foggy, and the most recent events were shrouded in blackness. "What happened?" She asked aloud.

[pudding]

Hmm.. A bit of manipulating on his part wouldn't hurt. He was already a villain, after all. Why make the poor boy suffer? It was easy to access the speakers as the cameras turned to watch Storm. Ah, you've woken up, he declared, keeping on eye on Scandal in the room down the hall. Do be careful, you had quite the fall after I regained control of that bot and set it to Self Destruct. Then again, it did break up your fight so perhaps I should not apologize. He paused then sighed loudly, letting the sound echo throughout the rooms. Why don't you just leave now? Surely that's enough for now and since Scandal has not even woken up yet, it would be best to put everything on hold for the time being. If you insist on doing something stupid, however, I will be forced to act. It will not be pretty.

 

"Well, yeah," Carlos replied with a smile as he removed what his hands had been fiddling with under the table. "But I'm taking notes," He grinned as he waved the pen and paper before hiding them under the table yet again. "I don't see what the big deal is. Just carry on like you always do. Who cares what you are. All that matters is what you can do. You get it?"

[RavenWolf1010]

Storm blinked, then nodded slowly. She stumbled through the halls; mission forgotten. It took a few tries, but she managed to open a door and head into the tunnels. From their, she wandered towards the light.

 

Zeke grinned, taking the hunk of rock. "Thanks! She'll love this." He opened the door, the bell above him calling out. He jumped into his car and then headed to Roxanne's shop.

[pudding]

Good, that would do for now. The core released the base from lockdown and attached it back onto the grid before turning his gaze to Scandal. After a brief hesitation, he began to cool the entire base. Chilled air formed frost on glass surfaces as the unconscious alien continued to sleep. He'd watch carefully over her until she woke up. But that could take some time.

[shadow_claw]

Things just went down hill the moment Carlos showed off the pen and pad of paper. Red eyes narrowed at the man as Carlos continued to write. The air in the room gradually grew hotter as he remained silent. He was writing it all down. He didn't even care about the fact Derek was in the middle of a serious problem. It hadn't occurred to Derek that he was possibly getting dangerous until he glanced over at Carlos's cup on the table. Eyes widening in shock at the cup's contents, he dropped his own mug. The coffee was boiling. "I-I...I think I need some air..."

[RavenWolf1010]

((Ruh-roh.))

 

The woman blinked, shielding her eyes from the sun. Roxanne rose slowly then, into the air. Unable to do much else, she went back to her apartment. She was rather suprised to see Zeke there. Anger bubbled up, now that her memory was coming back. "What the ?!" Zeke stumbled back. "I was trying to help!"

"You were playing hero." He sighed, wringing his hands. Clouds swirled overhead, followed by a rumble of thunder. "I'm sorry, I was trying keep you from being killed!"

"You were the one that nearly killed me, Zeke!" Roxy glared at him. "Here," he reached back, then handed her the stone. She took it angrily, then disappeared into her apartment. "Wait, Rox-" The door slammed in his face. Great.

 

Unbeknownst to the pair, they were being watched. Jake removed the glasses, setting them on his head. The conversation had been recorded, via a sensitive earpiece that had also roped their words towards him. Now he knew who her affiliations were with, where she lived, and part of her name. Finding out the rest of her name would be easy. But what about the guy? She'd called him Zeke. Did he have any powers? He hadn't been in the paperwork. But maybe he could squeeze out a little extra money from them for bringing in her partner.

[pudding]

Carlos was seemingly unphased by the warming of the room and only chipperly watched Derek declare he needed some air. "Oh, no problem," He replied, standing upright. "I've got to run anyway. After Scandal kidnaps you, she always goes to the same place. I'm going to see if I can see her there!" With that, he walked out and quickly darted off, tucking his papers under his arms.

 

 

[shadow_claw]

As soon as Carlos left the room, the mug of coffee quite literally exploded. Clearly not expecting it himself, he shielded his fave with an arm. As hot coffee and shards of the mug dug into his skin, the room cooled dramatically. Shivering out of fear, he released a small whimper. Why was all of this happening? It wasn't fair! For once, he wished that he was only a target for Scandal. Not her damned son! As blood slowly trickled from the fresh cuts, he curled himself further into his chair.

[pudding]

It took some time for Scandal to finally wake up and drag herself up, off the table. Her head ached terribly but that didn't stop her from stumbling off the table and shooing away the fretting robots.

Oh, good. I was beginning to worry about you. the Core declared as soon as she left the room and started down the hall. I've already had Storm leave and the bots clean up after her. I assume you'll be headed up now. I've already sent the police elsewhere so it should be fine. Scandal nodded thankfully as she pulled her cloak around her and started towards an elevator leading upwards.

[RavenWolf1010]

Zeke sighed and hopped into his car. He didn't immediately start the car. Instead, he looked forlornly up to the store. The sun was beginning to set, casting an orange glow; now that the clouds were moving away.

 

Jake snapped a picture of the liscense plate and started moving. He strolled by, sticking a tracker onto the trunk. Now he could find out where this guy lived.

 

((Short. >.< ))

[shadow_claw]

((I say we need a timeskip.))

[pudding]

((agreed.))

[shadow_claw]

A dull roar of conversation outside his house made Derek awake from his apparent nap. Was it a nap? His red eyes flitted to the clock on the wall... 8:26 AM? He'd slept the entire night! That meant-Oh no. Rolling to his feet, the man darted to the door and threw it open. Instantly, he was overwhelmed by the crowd of newspeople that assembled outside his door. Barraged by questions, Derek stood there in shocked silence. Carlos had typed up an entire article and submitted it in one night...He could hardly believe it.

[RavenWolf1010]

Roxanne awoke feeling drained. Alas, it wasn't exactly normal, she was still hurting from yesterday's experience. She headed downstairs and began to cook breakfast for herself. The pan grew hot and stuff began to sizzle. Taking the handle, she went to stir it. The pot's handle was hot and Roxy cried out in pain as she recoiled. The woman quickly headed to the sink, flipping the handle to on and let the water cool her skin. She furrowed her brow. Roxanne switched the water off and examined it. It was angry and red, and was going to blister. She headed back upstairs for a wrap, taking care not to touch the sensitive skin.

 

The night was uneventful as Jake watched the sun rise over the mountains. He was stationed across the street from Zeke's house, awaiting to see if he emerged again. It appeared he was a fairly normal guy. Damn. He pulled is phone from his pocket and began typing.

Edited July 18, 2014 by RavenWolf1010

[pudding]

((Okay, I'm drawing the line here. Storm cannot have that many powers. Healing was not listed on her original form.))

 

Carlos, as it was, was washing his hands. Grabbing a paper towel, he briefly dried his hands before plucking up his cellphone and dialing a number. He held it to his ear and hummed idly, waiting for the phone to be picked up. It only took two rings before the other line answered and Carlos was quickly chatting with the other side

 

The core was very worried. Scandal has yet to return. She usually did not stray so far for so long. Finally, he decided to reach out. It took little effort to hack into Zeke's phone and send him a message. Maybe he'd seen her.

I can't find Scandal. Help.

[RavenWolf1010]

((Well... Ok. I don't consider being trained in hand-to-hand combat a power, and iI originally meant to put that in there. If you don't want me to, I'm fine with that.

 

I seriously thought I'd put it in there though. oops.))