“You want out?”
Ms. Wilson looked over her glasses at Wyatt. It was a look he was familiar with. It was the “do you really want to be sent back to the North Carolina Juvenile Justice System?” look. Only now it was the “do you really want to be locked in a secure isolation room for the duration of this crisis?” look.
“PLEASE!” Wyatt didn’t mean to roar it, but he wanted so badly to get out of the infirmary.
“All right. I have been assigned the task of making that decision. I’m not going to waste time arguing with you or coddling you. This will not be like a session. You may think you have it bad, but there are other children in much worse circumstances than you. Do you understand?”
Wyatt understood. He’d heard about some of the really bad ones. Sears Cole had gotten Olivia Order’s time-bending powers and he was stuck in an endless loop in the assembly room, reliving the event over and over, flickering in and out of current time long enough for people to hear him scream. Olivia was screaming also since she had gained Sears’s ability to see and talk to dead people. But the person whose situation was most dire to Wyatt was Mia – she was now suffering from Roach Copeland’s damned curse.
“I understand,” Wyatt said in his new deep, growling voice. Lorne hadn’t talked like this, why did he have to?
“I’m going to extract some promises from you, and if you give me the least sense that you’re not going to keep them, then I’ll have you locked away for the duration of this crisis.”
Wyatt whimpered. This was a Ms. Wilson he had never seen. Usually, she was encouraging, nurturing, stern but understanding. This Ms. Wilson was hardcore and he knew she meant every word she said.
“First – no more biting. It took a lot of valuable time to heal poor Dr. Hendricks’ arm, and he was just trying to help you.”
Wyatt recalled biting someone soon after the explosion at the assembly, but the memory was like looking through bloody gauze. He remembered the pain throughout his body – pain like he had never felt before – especially the pain in his hands and feet. It felt like someone was beating his hands with a hammer – no – it felt worse than that. It felt like someone was trying to extract his bones out through his fingers and toes. And then there were hands on him, holding him down and then he’d felt the needle. Someone’s hand got too close to his face…
“No more biting,” he promised.
“Good. Next, and more importantly – you are currently experiencing some powerful primal urges. Correct?”
“Yes,” his voice growled the word, marking her statement like a yellow hi-lighter on a textbook page.
“You seem to constantly be angry, hungry, or aroused, right?”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to be blunt here, Wyatt. You are always angry, hungry, and aroused, even without this… this… power swap. This transformation seems to have had an adverse effect on what little self-control you had before.”
That hurt. She had told him he had poor impulse control before. It was one of the things he was working on; one of the things she was helping him understand and deal with in their regular sessions.
“You’re going to control those urges. You’re going to control them now better than you ever controlled them before. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“You’re going to work with Lorne. He understands your situation better than I or anyone else does.”
Wyatt nodded. Lorne was good. Lorne was smart. Lorne would help him. He would.
“And he needs your help also. That is the only reason why I’m considering setting you fr— Er… letting you out.”
Wyatt nodded.
“So, no more chasing Lauren – or any other girl – like you’re going to… jump on her.”
He hadn’t meant to do that, but Lauren had come to see about him, and when she left the infirmary, something told him to go bring back his female before some other male stole her. He later fought the same urge with Mia.
“Yes, Ms. Wilson.”
“And no more leaping after students who fly past you as if they are birds you’re trying to catch.”
That was Lark. She flew slowly past him and he just had to go after her. He wanted to just swat her down…
“Yes, Ms. Wilson.”
“And you will not eviscerate Roach Copeland and eat his spleen. Nor shall you do so to Mr. Espinosa or any other rival male – or female. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Ms. Wilson. I understand, and I promise.”
“You are not an animal, Wyatt. You are still you. You are still human. Act like a human and you will get through this just fine.”
“I will, Ms. Wilson. I promise.”
“We’re going to help you keep your promise, Wyatt. Someone will be with you at all times. After school, when you are not with Lorne, you are to be assigned to the care of a faculty member. You will check in at the front office or the infirmary according to the schedule that I will provide you. Dalton Rogers will be assigned as your temporary roommate as his powers seem to be unaffected by the event. He has the same schedule as you and during the school day will stay with you and escort you from class to class. If he should become unavailable, you are to report to the office and we will assign someone the task of watching over you. If no one is available, you will be sent to the infirmary to wait until someone is. Should you fail to show up to a class on time, or fail to meet your check-in requirements, then you will be comfortably detained in a secure quarters until we determine what other options you may have. And Wyatt, you are nearly out of options.”
Wyatt whimpered.
“I’m sorry, Wyatt. We are in the midst of an emergency and right now, we just can’t take any chances that you might injure yourself or someone else. And as I said, there are others with far more urgent problems that we must deal with.”
She smiled at him and pushed her glasses back up on her nose. Suddenly, she looked like the Ms. Margaret Wilson who had guided him through one personal catastrophe after another since his arrival at Westbrook.
“Now, Mr. Deathridge is waiting outside for you. If you need me, you know where to find me.”
Nothing's Improbable: Assemble
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Diya Behari
- Former Member
- Posts:211
- Joined:Tue May 17, 2011 1:55 pm
- Contact:
Re: Nothing's Improbable: Assemble
(Warning for cursing. Once.)
There weren't classes today. That was good. Easier for Diya to sleep off her hunger, staying under a couple of blankets rather than joining the other students doing...whatever they were planning on doing today. Lock downs weren't exactly great for adventuring.
Diya went back to the cafeteria near the end of lunch. Fewer people now than at the heart of breakfast time. She ordered a salad. A salad with turkey and hard boiled egg whites. She'd felt better for awhile after breakfast. Food was the key. But just how much was she expected to eat?
Part of her knew she should get that checked by the nurse, but she wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer.
Back in her room after lunch, Diya was contemplating what to do next, when her phone rang. She glanced at the ID and let out a groan.
"Hi, Mom."
"Diya Behari. When were you planning on calling me? I heard from your school yesterday. Yesterday! They say you are fine and yet you can't be bothered to call me?"
Diya sighed. "Sorry, Mom."
"The school said something happened to your...abilities. What is it? Are you coming home?"
'Coming home' was code for 'are you normal yet?' Diya sighed and felt a stab of jealousy for Lauren and her apparent power-loss. It would be so much easier if that had been her.
"No, Mom. My pow- my abilities - have just...changed."
Silence for a moment. "Go on."
Diya threw herself into her desk chair with a sigh. "People have, like, switched powers, I guess. I don't know who has mine yet. I got someone's fire powers. Abilities."
"What does that mean, Diya?" Mrs. Behari was in analytic mode now. Like Diya was just a new piece of evidence that needed to be examined, interpreted, and compared to the hypothesis.
"I don't know yet, really. The school is trying to figure out who switched with who and why. All I know is I fell yesterday -"
"You fell?" Mrs. Behari interrupted.
"Just tripped. I was tired," Diya explained. She wasn't reassuring, Mrs. Behari didn't need reassuring, she needed facts. Evidence. The trip was solid evidence something was wrong, a tangible way for Mrs. Behari to know something was different with her daughter. "So I tripped and when I fell I kind of...caught on fire?"
Mrs. Behari gasped. "Oh Diya. Diya - this could be wonderful! This gives us something concrete to work with. Something observable."
Diya tuned out for a moment and frowned. Was she really...? Yes. Yes, her mom was going there.
"With something like this, they can't say you have any unfair advantages. Studies have been done on the fire abilities, they're understood in ways others aren't."
Diya gritted her teeth and gripped the arm of her chair, steeling herself against her mother's onslaught. Why did she have to do this? This was exactly why Diya hadn't called earlier -
Diya's thoughts were interrupted by a creek and a groan. A crack. The sound of wood splitting. She looked up and around, searching for the cause.
And then she felt a prick against her hand. The one that had been clutching the arm of her desk chair.
A chair that now had nothing but splinters for an arm.
Diya stared at it for a second, then dropped her phone, terrified she was about to crush that too. Her mom was still babbling away on the other end, but Diya didn't much care about that at the moment.
Diya poked at the still-intact chair arm. It was solid. She looked back at the shattered arm and the hand that had been holding it. There were splinters in Diya's fingers - not pressed in deep, and her glove had protected most of her hand, but there they were.
There was a sinking feeling in the pit of Diya's stomach. Suddenly she was pretty sure she could do more than just set herself on fire.
She had fire. She had strength. And as far as she knew, there was only one person in the school with that particular combination.
Someone that thought she had lost her powers entirely. Because they were so subtle even their original owner hadn't noticed them for 16 years.
Of all the people for her to trade with...
"Fuck."
There weren't classes today. That was good. Easier for Diya to sleep off her hunger, staying under a couple of blankets rather than joining the other students doing...whatever they were planning on doing today. Lock downs weren't exactly great for adventuring.
Diya went back to the cafeteria near the end of lunch. Fewer people now than at the heart of breakfast time. She ordered a salad. A salad with turkey and hard boiled egg whites. She'd felt better for awhile after breakfast. Food was the key. But just how much was she expected to eat?
Part of her knew she should get that checked by the nurse, but she wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer.
Back in her room after lunch, Diya was contemplating what to do next, when her phone rang. She glanced at the ID and let out a groan.
"Hi, Mom."
"Diya Behari. When were you planning on calling me? I heard from your school yesterday. Yesterday! They say you are fine and yet you can't be bothered to call me?"
Diya sighed. "Sorry, Mom."
"The school said something happened to your...abilities. What is it? Are you coming home?"
'Coming home' was code for 'are you normal yet?' Diya sighed and felt a stab of jealousy for Lauren and her apparent power-loss. It would be so much easier if that had been her.
"No, Mom. My pow- my abilities - have just...changed."
Silence for a moment. "Go on."
Diya threw herself into her desk chair with a sigh. "People have, like, switched powers, I guess. I don't know who has mine yet. I got someone's fire powers. Abilities."
"What does that mean, Diya?" Mrs. Behari was in analytic mode now. Like Diya was just a new piece of evidence that needed to be examined, interpreted, and compared to the hypothesis.
"I don't know yet, really. The school is trying to figure out who switched with who and why. All I know is I fell yesterday -"
"You fell?" Mrs. Behari interrupted.
"Just tripped. I was tired," Diya explained. She wasn't reassuring, Mrs. Behari didn't need reassuring, she needed facts. Evidence. The trip was solid evidence something was wrong, a tangible way for Mrs. Behari to know something was different with her daughter. "So I tripped and when I fell I kind of...caught on fire?"
Mrs. Behari gasped. "Oh Diya. Diya - this could be wonderful! This gives us something concrete to work with. Something observable."
Diya tuned out for a moment and frowned. Was she really...? Yes. Yes, her mom was going there.
"With something like this, they can't say you have any unfair advantages. Studies have been done on the fire abilities, they're understood in ways others aren't."
Diya gritted her teeth and gripped the arm of her chair, steeling herself against her mother's onslaught. Why did she have to do this? This was exactly why Diya hadn't called earlier -
Diya's thoughts were interrupted by a creek and a groan. A crack. The sound of wood splitting. She looked up and around, searching for the cause.
And then she felt a prick against her hand. The one that had been clutching the arm of her desk chair.
A chair that now had nothing but splinters for an arm.
Diya stared at it for a second, then dropped her phone, terrified she was about to crush that too. Her mom was still babbling away on the other end, but Diya didn't much care about that at the moment.
Diya poked at the still-intact chair arm. It was solid. She looked back at the shattered arm and the hand that had been holding it. There were splinters in Diya's fingers - not pressed in deep, and her glove had protected most of her hand, but there they were.
There was a sinking feeling in the pit of Diya's stomach. Suddenly she was pretty sure she could do more than just set herself on fire.
She had fire. She had strength. And as far as she knew, there was only one person in the school with that particular combination.
Someone that thought she had lost her powers entirely. Because they were so subtle even their original owner hadn't noticed them for 16 years.
Of all the people for her to trade with...
"Fuck."
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Galactic Halo
- Former Member
- Posts:28
- Joined:Thu Aug 25, 2011 10:04 am
Re: Nothing's Improbable: Assemble
Chase frowned as he passed by another set of Skulls getting pounded on by some of the heroes who were doing their evening patrol in King’s Row. Their flashes of fear and anger at being busted by the capes rushed through Chase like a surge of adrenaline mixed in with the warm soothingness of a shot of alcohol.
God, what he wouldn’t do to just blaze away this freakin’ nightmare in a haze of whiskey.
It wasn’t that Chase was an alcoholic, and it wasn’t that he was depressed or anything…but really he just wanted to escape this constant feeling of agitation and frustration that built up in him unless he was around pain, fear, and anger.
==============================================================================
Chase leaned back in the bleachers after laughing at one of Cork’s stupid jokes before stealing a glance over towards Peyton, who was sitting with the rest of the cheerleaders. Thoughts of her in her red dress and Lauren in her blue dress flashed into Chase’s mind with more than the usual amount of good cheer. It was a great night wasn’t it? Yeah, he didn’t win Homecoming King…but he didn’t think he was going to anyways. It was a good run though.
Chase elbowed Cork as one of the teachers from the edges of the bleachers sent a withering gaze their way. One of the teachers that Chase didn’t have. Some woman who probably taught a foreign language class or something…didn’t matter anyways. Instead, Chase went back to daydreaming about a party plan he had in the works before some strange man in a suit walked in…
============================================================================
Chase felt the giddy rise of the Skulls’ fear in his chest and let it swirl around a bit before trying to find some sort of balance point between it all. Some way he could hold onto the giddiness of the fear about him while not letting it drive him into a drunken, giddy mess. Needless to say, it didn’t work. He got about as far as not to feel frustrated anymore, but the distaste in his mouth left after looking at a pack of Hellions off around the corner just sent him crashing back down. Grunting, Chase levered himself up off of the curb and headed towards the gang members with his rage spiking higher and little whisps of darkness escaping from out under his clothing in the process.
========================================================================
The energy wave hit Chase hard in the chest before he even knew what was happening. A sharp pain lanced through the back of his skull and his fingertips went numb as his head smacked against one of the bleacher edges roughly. It would bruise…but Chase had a hard head. It wouldn’t be that bad. The pain wasn’t a concern for him either. He was a football player. He was made of tough stuff. Though his steadily decreasing energy and alertness….the kind he always felt that had coursed through him since he awakened into his powers…that was slowly fading away and being replaced by something new. A stiff metallic tang and rush of icy adrenaline down his spine that only grew stronger and stronger as the entire school body started to panic….
==========================================================================
The Hellions thoroughly thrashed, and his body equalized for the most part, Chase took in a deep, calming breath and tried to hold onto the brief moment of peace for as long as he could. It wouldn’t help much, and he knew it. Lark had told him so herself. It would just keep going, an endless cycle of building up every negative emotion he felt around him inside of himself until he let it out in a powerful fashion. To resist it was to invite frustration, antagonism, unease and anger; which only led Chase into acting like a jerk, lashing out at people when he didn’t mean to, and falling deeper into the power’s whirlpool of negative emotion. Add in Chase’s testosterone and he was sure to be a boiling kettle ready to burst.
What worried Chase the most was that he only had two options: resist the pull of the power and just be satisfied with being grumpy while trying to hide it like Lark normally did…
Or give into it and try to drink in as much of the negativity as he could, passing the time off in a haze of quasi-happiness while those around him suffered.
What was worse was that each time Chase gave in and took another drink of the relief indulging the powers gave him….only got him more and more addicted.
God, what he wouldn’t do to just blaze away this freakin’ nightmare in a haze of whiskey.
It wasn’t that Chase was an alcoholic, and it wasn’t that he was depressed or anything…but really he just wanted to escape this constant feeling of agitation and frustration that built up in him unless he was around pain, fear, and anger.
==============================================================================
Chase leaned back in the bleachers after laughing at one of Cork’s stupid jokes before stealing a glance over towards Peyton, who was sitting with the rest of the cheerleaders. Thoughts of her in her red dress and Lauren in her blue dress flashed into Chase’s mind with more than the usual amount of good cheer. It was a great night wasn’t it? Yeah, he didn’t win Homecoming King…but he didn’t think he was going to anyways. It was a good run though.
Chase elbowed Cork as one of the teachers from the edges of the bleachers sent a withering gaze their way. One of the teachers that Chase didn’t have. Some woman who probably taught a foreign language class or something…didn’t matter anyways. Instead, Chase went back to daydreaming about a party plan he had in the works before some strange man in a suit walked in…
============================================================================
Chase felt the giddy rise of the Skulls’ fear in his chest and let it swirl around a bit before trying to find some sort of balance point between it all. Some way he could hold onto the giddiness of the fear about him while not letting it drive him into a drunken, giddy mess. Needless to say, it didn’t work. He got about as far as not to feel frustrated anymore, but the distaste in his mouth left after looking at a pack of Hellions off around the corner just sent him crashing back down. Grunting, Chase levered himself up off of the curb and headed towards the gang members with his rage spiking higher and little whisps of darkness escaping from out under his clothing in the process.
========================================================================
The energy wave hit Chase hard in the chest before he even knew what was happening. A sharp pain lanced through the back of his skull and his fingertips went numb as his head smacked against one of the bleacher edges roughly. It would bruise…but Chase had a hard head. It wouldn’t be that bad. The pain wasn’t a concern for him either. He was a football player. He was made of tough stuff. Though his steadily decreasing energy and alertness….the kind he always felt that had coursed through him since he awakened into his powers…that was slowly fading away and being replaced by something new. A stiff metallic tang and rush of icy adrenaline down his spine that only grew stronger and stronger as the entire school body started to panic….
==========================================================================
The Hellions thoroughly thrashed, and his body equalized for the most part, Chase took in a deep, calming breath and tried to hold onto the brief moment of peace for as long as he could. It wouldn’t help much, and he knew it. Lark had told him so herself. It would just keep going, an endless cycle of building up every negative emotion he felt around him inside of himself until he let it out in a powerful fashion. To resist it was to invite frustration, antagonism, unease and anger; which only led Chase into acting like a jerk, lashing out at people when he didn’t mean to, and falling deeper into the power’s whirlpool of negative emotion. Add in Chase’s testosterone and he was sure to be a boiling kettle ready to burst.
What worried Chase the most was that he only had two options: resist the pull of the power and just be satisfied with being grumpy while trying to hide it like Lark normally did…
Or give into it and try to drink in as much of the negativity as he could, passing the time off in a haze of quasi-happiness while those around him suffered.
What was worse was that each time Chase gave in and took another drink of the relief indulging the powers gave him….only got him more and more addicted.
WWTD?
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