Chapter 3


[i]A collab with Kirra, BlessedWrath, Ryver et Rhine and ArcanicNeon[/i]

[u]In the Midst of the Gunfire [/u]
Once the ragtag team of Charlies were prepared, Josiah motioned for the group to head towards the truck. Although they gained a new member to the group, it wasn’t hard to see that the woman was on the same boat as the other Charlies. As the first few Charlies scampered into the van, Josiah wasted no time and jumped besides Cameron. “Time to get going.” He said before holding onto Garret and once Daniel stretched his arm towards Josiah and clasped his shoulder, jumped towards the van. As the two headed towards the steering wheel, Josiah jumped yet again towards Cameron. With his vision swimming, it took the man a few seconds before he noticed that he missed his mark. With the TSP's gunmen now focused on the Charlies, he was glad when they gave little attention towards him as some of the TSP personals ran towards the trucks, hoping to catch them before they could get away while a few others climbed into their own vehicles preparing for a chase if it came to that.
 
"Come on Josiah, focus." Cameron said running towards the other man and gave him a slight shake. Although weak, Cameron could see that the man was trying hard to stay upright as he started to edge his way towards complete exhaustion. "One more time Josiah. Just one more time." Cameron continued as he moved the man's arm over his shoulder and tried to help the man walk but ended up mostly dragging the man towards the truck. Reaching the truck seemed impossible to him now that Josiah was out of the game. He knew if he left the man he would be able to defend himself and make it but with Josiah nearly incapacitated, reaching the truck would be disastrous. "We're going to get shot if you can't get us there Josiah. You don't have to reach the truck but if you value your life get as close as you can." That seemed to do the trick as Cameron watched Josiah trying to regain his focus. Moments later, the two of them were at the truck but were seconds too slow as a sharp pain shot through his back as the two jumped in front of the back doors of the lead truck. Taking no time to focus on the scratch that he knew far too well was made from Aaron, the man helped the man up and after getting himself in closed the door behind him. 
 
With the two trucks running and ready to go, the two started back down the road. Injured and behind schedule, Cameron was glad to see that overall the plan was still on track. Pulling out the detonator out of his pocket, he watched the night sky as the remaining vehicles blew up. They wouldn't be following them this time around.
 
[center]~.~[/center]
 
[u]The Reformer's Base [/u]
Keeping true to his promise, Dr. Wilson started to work on the most serious injuries and was glad to find a medical kit stowed away in the truck. Stitching and patching up, Wilson wasn't too phased at the injuries sustained except for Vida who revealed that she didn't need any of his help due to her ability. 
 
As dark skies outside of the truck started to lighten up as morning started to approach, a warehouse came into view. The Reformer's base.
 
The Reformers were not simply a group of malcontents and mercenaries; they were organized and well-funded. That, and not their powers, made them an inarguable threat to their enemies. Being able to teleport had its advantages, but without the assistance of a larger entity, even the most intelligent or powerful Super would eventually find his way into a cell again.
 
The sprawling, solemn building which loomed before them seemed a testament to that organization and funding as the convoy approached. It measured some 40,000 square feet and, presumably, boasted enough amenities to keep the Charlies safe, if only for the moment.
 
This area of the city had been set aside for industrial and commercial use. Much of the merchandise which supplied the major retailers in this state and others came through these warehouses. It was a central nexus of distribution and transport. That suited their goals just fine; no one would notice a few more shipments.
 
Clearly, the Reformers had chosen this area as their base of operations. The building they now approached was not the largest, and certainly did not show the best wear; many of the windows had been smashed out by trespassing teens, and almost the entirety of its walls had been covered over by graffiti.
 
The lead truck stopped, causing a chain reaction of brake lights from the other vehicles. Besides theirs, the parking lot stood vacant. Aside from the weeds breaking through the concrete, being here was like visiting a tomb.
 
"End of the line, folks," Garret quipped, muscling the gearshift into park. "I'd give you the tour, but I'm not really sure where everything is yet." He exited the driver's side and assisted with opening the side and rear doors.
 
"Go on inside, find a place to sit, and we'll try to explain this the best way we know how."
 
The exhaustion of the day was evident as Dr. Wilson looked around at not only the Charlies but the rest of his team. Knowing it would be best to dive into everything after everyone was well rested, he decided to keep the conversation brief and to the point and tie up the loose ends in the morning.
 
"You are all here for the same reason; because you have been fundamentally altered in a way which has enhanced your abilities. You were all taken prisoner as a result of that alteration. We don't think that's right. You're here because we think you deserve a chance to prove you can be a positive force for this world. But before we can figure that out, we have to get you rested and equipped. For those that were hurt but I wasn't able to get to in the truck, follow me to the infirmary and the rest of you can go with Garret and Daniel and they can show you the open beds we have. Once we are well rested we can continue but until then, good night. Or rather good morning, seeing that sun is rising."
 
Sam, who had been rather quiet during the ride and the doctor's introduction speech, simply shrugged and followed after him to the infirmary. Despite her feelings about medical men, she was hurt; she knew it and, by now, so did anyone who paid the slightest attention to detail. She was still uncertain about how she could help these rogues, but knew that her present condition would certainly hinder any effort to do so. Wilson performed a few standard tests. Once he saw the dilation response in her eyes and the difficulty with words and balance, he knew what had happened to her.

"Looks like you've suffered a mild head injury during the crash," he mused, reaching for the medical kit. "I'm going to give you something to help you sleep. Be sure you keep your head elevated and don't do anything unnecessary. Keep still and try to let your brain heal."
 
[center]~.~[/center]
 
[u] 12:54 [/u]

The smell of greasy eggs, burning bacon and charcoal toast filled the makeshift cafeteria. The combination of the atmosphere and the unappetizing smell was enough to turn any stomach. The dented metal tables, the lopsided plastic chairs, the chipped white crockery and the harsh white light made the dining area look like an underground morgue. The huge crates, the black cloth draped over the tables piled in the corner and the broken mannequins lying in a heap in the center of the room helped to reinforce this impression. Callie observed that most of the Reformers would either avoid this place (and live on take out) or they would pile their plate and leave. She stared as a huge group of "old timers" walk pass the cafeteria without stopping to say hello. She quirked an eyebrow and poked the eggs with her assigned spatula. 

"Watch it! You are breaking the yolks!" 

"Sorry!" She exclaimed. "I mean that was really rude of them. Couldn't they at least come in to say hello or check what is on the menu instead of pretending we don't exist?"

The chef on duty coughed and then wiped his nose with the back of his hand. "Most of them are addicted to Chinese." 

"Well, they are missing out on good "wholesome" food." 

"Awww shucks," Garett smiled a little before pretending to frown and wag a finger in her direction. "I bet you are saying to flatter me. I know you crafty newbies always try to sneak more than your assigned portion." 

Cal returned the smile even though she was cringing on the inside. The food was so bad that she would have left to get take out as well, but she was stuck doing kitchen duty today. The rest of the newcomers, who were also assigned to kitchen duty, were nowhere to be seen. "I am a small eater." 

Garret snorted in response. "As if! I saw the way you were packing those chocolates and candy this morning while jogging round the track. Don't worry I always reward my helpers. I give them an extra large serving of eggs and bacon fat. That's the tastiest bits." 

"Oh... erm. Thanks! I do love bacon and eggs," Callie said as cheerfully as she could while trying to change the topic. "So what other duties do we have to do around here?" 

"Well newcomers only do kitchen duty with me or garbage duty. Truthfully you should thank your lucky stars that you are one of my assistants." 

"Are there a lot of people in the base? Like more than what I saw this morning? I mean... you make garbage duty sound horrible. Almost like a death sentence." 

The man burst out laughing. He laughed so hard till tears formed in his eyes. "Coz it is. You will have to shovel the garbage collected over the last few weeks into a barge headed towards the landfill. No matter how you shovel the amount of garbage seems to remain the same. Heck if you aren't careful, you might even step into some of that black liquid collecting at the bottom of the heap." 

Callie wrinkled her nose. "Urgh..."

"That's not all. You will also have to empty and clean out the sceptic tanks. Those containers house everything flushed down the toilet - including dead lab animals." 

"I love you, Garret. You know that, right? I will work hard to be the best kitchen assistant you ever have." 

"Now I know you are bullshitting."

Cal shrugged. "At least I tried." 

As Cal was in the kitchen, Jenna was in her bedroom basking in the pain and soreness that emitted from her body as she laid on her bed looking towards the ceiling. She heard Cal leave earlier to help out with cooking but Jenna couldn't find it in herself to climb out of bed. Her whole body ached from the crash she was in and she was still tired from everything that had happened and wanted crawl deeper under the blankets and fall back asleep. However she couldn't. The thought of what might wait for her as the smell of burnt toast reached her nose kept her awake.

With a sigh, Jenna slowly climbed out as the soreness she felt while laying down intensified. She needed to find some pain meds as well as a cup of coffee before she started her day. Although the Reformers had a few stray pieces of clothing they could use, Jenna decided to stick to her own. However as she headed towards the bathroom to wash her face, she wished she could have gotten out of her grimy clothes when she was given the chance. She hoped that they would supply her and the others clothes besides borrowed shirts and sweatpants sometime soon.

Following the smell of breakfast food, it didn't take long before she reached the kitchen where Garret and Cal were working hard in making breakfast for everyone. "Hey guys." Jenna said to the two as she watched them prepare everything to take to the dining table. Breakfast would be ready in a few minutes.

"Finally the rest of you are waking up." Garret said as he pointed to where the plates and silverware were. "Would you take those out to the table?" However before Jenna could respond a scream came from the direction of the bedrooms. "I guess the silverware can wait. You better check on that before Josiah does. He's not much of a morning person."

[i]Moments Earlier, In the Bedrooms[/i]

Sam's restless sleep took her through uncharted lands. She found herself gliding through a carbon fantasy, moving silently over spark-blue traces etched in a glass-smooth obsidian floor. Impulses streaked by at imperceptible speeds, careening toward the horizon in all directions. She reached out for one of these pulses and, before she could think better of it, caught one in her palm.

She was instantly accelerated by the blue ball of energy, snapping around corners with a speed which should have broken her neck. The ride was oddly devoid of inertia, however, and she could not feel the hold of gravity as she normally should. In the distance, great skyscrapers rose out of the surface of this alien world, composed of integrated circuits, capacitors and light-emitting diodes. At the center stood a colossal computer core, and she was heading straight for it.

Instantly, Sam found herself bolt upright in her bed, drenched in a cold sweat. Her chest was heaving with the effort to catch her breath. A quick inventory of her situation revealed a tiny room of incredibly Spartan decor. Her blanket now lay at the foot of the bed, thrown off by her violent awakening.

Once she had calmed enough, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and allowed her bare feet to touch the cold stone floor. She winced at the memory of the cement flooring of the institution, but blocked it out; there were much more important things to deal with.

She noted that there were no windows in this room. Despite her initial reaction to that information, she didn't feel the same way about this place as she had the TSP holding cell. She didn't get the feeling that a part of her mind had been cut off from the rest, as that room had given her. There was another feeling as well; one she couldn't quite place.

Slowly, Sam allowed her body weight to shift from the bed to her feet. One foot, then the other, and she began a slow pace to the opposite wall, upon which hung a very old electric lamp. She couldn't take her eyes off of the light; it didn't even occur to her. In moments, she was reaching out for it. When she touched it, everything she knew changed.

[center]~.~[/center]

"Hello?" Jenna said as she approached the room, knowing that Sam would be there. "We heard someone scream and was asked to check it out. Are you alright?"

Sam lay on the floor, curled into the tightest ball she could manage, and appeared to be rocking gently. Her eyes were locked on the lamp, which had now gone dark. The occasional spark illuminated its broken frame.

"Oh god, what happened?" Jenna said as her eyes became accustomed to the dark room and saw Sam on the ground. Quickly taking a few steps towards the girl, Jenna crouched down besides Sam. She wasn't sure exactly what happened in the room but whether it was due to the girl's power or something else that causes the lamp to break, she could see that something happened to it by the way the girl watched it. "Are you hurt at all?" 

As Jenna attended the young girl, she became aware that her lips were moving. At first, she made no sound, but, between breaths, began a soft whisper of indistinct words. Still, her eyes would not move from the lamp. As the rocking gradually accelerated, so did her words and so did her volume.

"...of the halogen group of gasses, interacted with a high-voltage surge well outside the normal 120 volt range, causing the quartz envelope to rupture, leading to a cascade failure of the entire enclosure..."

A puzzled expression was written on Jenna's face as she listened to Sam speak. "Hey, are you okay? Can you hear me?" Jenna said placing a hand on her shoulder but with no change from Sam, Jenna knew she needed to find someone to help her. "I'll be right back Sam. Don't worry, I'll be back with some help." Climbing to her feet, Jenna rushed out of the room and looked to see if she could find Dr. Wilson or someone else that might know how to help Sam.

Her speech was hypnotic; as though she were in some kind of trance. She did not blink, did not look away from the lamp. To outside eyes, she was totally unresponsive. Even as Jenna left to find help, her monotone droning about components and repairs continued on.

"...may be possible to replace the quartz component, if the tungsten element is not damaged, but a new environmental seal and low-pressure halogen atmosphere must be established..."

Minutes later, Jenna came back with Dr. Wilson in tow. Finding him in the dining room where the other Reformers were as well a few of the other people like her, or "Charlies" as she heard them be called, having coffee as they waited for Cal and Garret to serve breakfast. "See, I'm not sure what to do with her. She was like this when I found her." Jenna said motioning towards Sam.

Wilson peered through the gloom at Sam, who had continued blathering on about halogen and technical problems. By this time, it seemed her diatribe had expanded to include a range of theoretical adjustments to improve efficiency, though it was well outside the experience of a doctor. 

He used his penlight to gauge pupil response. There was none. She refused to respond to physical stimuli, had no reaction when he waved in front of her eyes. His brow furrowed as he reached for the medical kit once more.

"Samantha, I need you to hear me. If you do not respond to me, I will have to sedate you. You are having an episode and it needs to be stopped before you hurt yourself. Do you understand me?

When no response came, the doctor shook his head and injected her. The effect was gradual, but inevitable, and she drifted off to sleep once more. Wilson gently laid her back on her bed and scratched his head.

"Damned strange," he commented. "Never seen that before. I'll have to do some tests."

"What happened?" Jenna said returning to the room with a spotlight and saw the girl in her bed.

"I don't know. I've seen schizophrenia before, but never this organized or specific. If she was hallucinating, I doubt it would have given her such elaborate detail."

He thought for a moment, tapping the penlight against his palm. "I'll wager my life's earnings that this is something to do with the serum. Have you been able to determine what type of gift she's been given?"

Jenna's eyebrows furrowed for a second as the man mentioned a gift. From what she had seen so far the serum brought her nothing that resembled a gift to her. "No, I am not really sure. She had a notebook of some sort with her in the cell with complicated drawing but other than that I don't know."

"Somehow," Wilson said, looking over his shoulder at Sam. "I get the feeling we're going to find out."

"Yes, I think so too but until she wakes up there isn't anything we can do so let's head back. They should be serving food now." Jenna said giving the girl sympathetic look before heading back to the dining table, with Wilson in tow. The plates and silverware was set and she met Garret on the way with a plateful of bacon.

"I hope you like eggs and bacon. I tried to make toast but they are a bit burnt."

"Yes I think that sounds good." The woman said as she sat down and poured herself a cup of coffee. "Good morning everyone." She said after taking a sip of her coffee. "Or I guess afternoon would be more precise."