Dan shrugged as Chrome left to go... Weld himself. Dan chuckled at the thought of that, presuming it to be a euphemism for self pleasure. A metal man doing such a thing? Dan was about ready to burst with laughter before finally calming himself down. "So, not ta be a downah oah anythin', but we seem ta be attractin' a lotta element fellas to ouah location. That ain't a good thing. I say once we get ta Italy, we get out ASAFP."

Alessa thought back to the radio broadcasts she had heard playing on tge digsite. The paleontologists loved national public radio, and she distinctly remembered hearing about something having to do with some Scottish guy in NYC.

"I heard something on the radio; big story about some guy who could bend bones or something. Then some story about Arsenic poisoning." Alessandra had not really been paying too much attention to the news cast.

Jason snickered in responce, "It was more than that, Alessa. It's the first confirmed case of superhuman abilities." Jason, had in fact been listening to the broadcast. "The other guy was an older man living with fluids filled with Arsenic of all things. Old guy was still walking around with tons if it in his lungs."

Alessa nodded and tried her best to mask the horror that came when she connected this occurance to Tecumseh's questions. She knew exactly what he was implying.

Chloe nodded and tried to just relax. She folded her hands neatly in her lap and closed her eyes. Might as well get some shut-eye before the next crazy event unfolds, right? "So where would be the best place after Italy? Other than Florida. That doesn't seem like a very...remote place to go. Although I suppose they could be expecting us to go hide in Bolivia, or something." She furrowed her brow.

"What about the South? Maybe North Carolina? Its mostly forests and mountains right? That might be better...and I agree with you Dan...when we get to Italy we should only stay for two days tops so we can rest and see if Maria can help us get out and to America safely."

Jaden just hoped that it meant everything would be okay in the long run. If they headed to America they were putting a lot on the line - but they had no more options, and hopping around Europe continuously would only put more at risk and potentially draw more to them. Not that having more people was exactly a bad thing, and they had been doing something right so far by staying together.

"But we have to remember....there's safety in numbers. That's something we can't ignore no matter where we're going....it might not be a bad thing that more people like us are coming to our side....all things considered....we might have a chance of escaping that psychopath if he comes calling again."

There was one thing he could admit that he didn't like right then and that was some of the feelings he was getting from the others. Despite knowing more about one another they still didn't really trust each other did they? He suspected not considering what they were going through at the moment. However, trust was their best chance of surviving. He sighed and looked to Aria before giving her a kind smile - probably the first one that reached his eyes in a long time.

"So, that's my thought - any other opinions for states that are remotely unpopulated?" He kept a small smile to his features despite his efforts to draw back in on himself.

"I need to be careful not to get to attached....if something happens I'll blame myself and then some....I don't need to loose control...that's something we're all in the same boat about."

Aria sighed, trying not to blush at the smile. When Jaden wasn't all scary-iron-vigilante dude, he was really a sweet boy. She shook her head. "Bad for you, Aria, bad for you bad for you bad for you!" she muttered. Aura looked at her sidelong.
"I hope you've come to your senses about that boy. He's just going to be trouble." Aura whispered, trying to elbow Aria but remembering just in time that she'd probably freeze her. She sighed. "Aria, put up a bit of fire or something, because I want to hug you and I don't want to give you frostbite." Aria burst out laughing.
"If you only knew how strange that sounded!" she said, between snorts and giggles. Aura rolled her eyes.
"Aria, focus. Focus shmocus hocus pocus please." Which just made her sister laugh all the harder. Aura sighed and looked to Jaden.
"I vote anywhere not Florida. It's so crowded there and there're tsunamis and hurricanes and things. And DAN FOR CRYING OUT LOUD THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A SKUNK APE!" She shouted.
Aria, having gotten her phone out and her giggles under control, except for a case of hiccups, rushed to back up her sister's point. "Right, skunk apes are classified as "Cryptids" which means that sightings have been reported but no one in the scientific community has been able to validate them." She raised both eyebrows. "We aren't going to florida to try to validate those claims."

Dan stared, slackjawed, at the other passengers in the car. He was incapable of believing what he was hearing. "Ah you tellin' me you don't believe in Skunk Apes? I tell ya, befoah my ma died, we took a trip down ta Disney World. Well, not ta Disney World exactly, we nevah went in, just soahta stood around outside while she bummed smokes off some redneck, but I tell ya. I saw a Skunk Ape that day, walkin' inta a convenience stoah, stealin' a six pack, and runnin' away inta the forest. They'ah as real as you an' me. Don't you EVAH disrespect them." He sounded quite legitimately upset. This was definitely a very important belief to him, that the world was a magical place where Skunk Apes could live. "And I tell ya, Florida is as safe as anywheyah else. You evah seen the Evahglades? Nobody would evah find us."

"Jesus Dan, calm down," mumbled Chloe, silently agreeing with Aria. She listened on in alarm because this amount of passion about skunk apes...it raised a red flag about risking a relationship with him. Not of course that she'd ever considered such a thing! This was going to be a long journey, she thought, looking out the window. Maybe she should give a shot at placating this guy before the shrimpy first two elementals agitated him again.

"There's nothing to say that, assuming a population of skunk apes does exist, that population wouldn't expand into places like, for example, North Carolina, which sounds pretty nice to me." She made a gesture in Jaden's general direction. "I think it's a pretty good idea. Florida...maybe later?" She gave a nervous smile that she hoped would bring down the tension that had risen rapidly over skunk apes.

Dan sighed. "I suppose you'ah right. And maybe I'm puttin a bit too much stock into the whole Skunk Ape thing. You ah gonna hafta be my first priority if I, er, uh..." Dan's face turned a mild crimson. "I nevah meant nothin' bad by it. I want you ta know I nevah meant nothin' bad." He was shaking his head, trying to regain his focus and train of thought.

Kira Nikostratos: Carbon

arrrg, Kira groaned as he surveyed the shelves. He looked back at the list that Maria had given him. Where are the tea leafs at. Maria had sent him to run errands for her as part of the payment for Betts leg. Thinking back, Kira thought She had beds and food prepared for both Bettina and I. Almost as if she was expecting us. It was then that Kira spotted the tea. Before he grabbed it, something caught his eye. A television in the store was broadcasting about some college that had caught fire. Great, he thought with my luck, this will mean more trouble for us gifted ones. He grabbed the last item on his list and looked back to the T.V. Then again, I wouldn't mind joining in on the destruction. With an almost devious grin, he left the store.

Alessandra frowned as Tecumseh posed his question. Part of the girl wanted to deny him an answer at all. What made him have the right to even think he should know something like that. But then something else set in Alessa's mind. How does he even know about the powers.

She thought about her past to see if anything gave a clue as to her element. Obviously the use of electricity, and how well it conducted in her body. That and the one thing that her doctors brought up in two liver biopsies she had done as a child. Her liver had an unusually high level of Silver in it. The silver, however, was not reacting with her body, but was present in her liver, bile and pancratic fluids.

"Silver, my element is silver." She replied, and then posed a question of her own. "And if I may ask, why do you know about this, how do you know that my powers are elemental?"

Lithe was curious of the lady that he was speaking to. He was not sure whether she was being hostile or simply was not a nice person. It didn't matter to him, he was just asking for directions and it would not fit to act in violence in his current situation. Lithe rolled up the window on his car, an expensive Firebird restored from a 1980's model, and continued cruising down the highway. He was heading to a new location to lay low and possibly complete some small contracts while the bulk of an investigation was being pit against him. He was not a wanted criminal and no one knew of who he was or what he looked like, but he wasn't going to stick around and wait for the police to lock him up with some fancy profiling and mugshots to limit his freedoms. In fact, he didn't want anyone with any authority to see him lest the ruin he streak of terror by recognizing the lone kid that could make the Rape of Nanking look like a minor ordeal. All of this was what was on Lithe's mind on the ride to the Resort.

Lithe watched the resort with a sense of unease, he couldn't see the name of it anywhere or he just wasn't being observant enough. He stole glances at other people as he got out of his car and walked into the lobby to check in and confirm booking of a room. As he walked up to the receptionist he pulled down his silk mask, gathering glances born of low-minded curiosity.

"A suite for one" was all Lithe said, then he pulled his mask back up. The receptionist caught his No-Crap attitude and began to lead him down a hallway
"Right this way sir" The receptionist said, leading him to a hallway of sorts, leading him to the room he booked. It was larger than he thought it would be and he was grateful, however promptly, for that.

Lithe walked in, ignoring what the receptionist had to say and began piling his stuff into a corner, finally leaving to take the rest of his luggage to his room. Upon his return he took one single bag and opened it, revealing two dangerous and very illegal weapons. He pocketed the hand gun and moved the assault rifle into a closet, hidden beneath another bag. Finally, he set out of his room, ready to spend a short time enjoying himself before he prepared for work.

((forgive da double post))
Chrome
The Chromium Element
Chrome was aching slightly as he left the bathroom, the welding was pretty hard and his skin was trying to tell him that. He didn't know how much time had past but he suddenly looked towards the sky and realized it was more than a couple hours in the bathroom. If a metal man could blush, he would be right now as he realized the thought's that must've provoked. He also took note of the silence in the-
"Wait a second, the train has stopped!" Chrome exclaimed, not sure if anyone else on the train noticed. He didn't stop at all as he made his way out of the car.
"I've always wanted to go to Italy. Before I considered myself descendant of the minerals, I was an Italian boy, it's interesti... Crap!" Chrome said, realizing that he was not only showing off his metal to anyone watching, but also naked save a few undergarments. His face reddened as he looked around, relieved that no one had seen him except the other elements. Hastily he went back to the car.
"Uh... yeah... that happened... Just a second..." Chrome stuttered.

Chloe had slept for the majority of the trip, after deciding that the metal guy was probably either constipated or...the opposite (however that was supposed to work for a person apparently made of metal), but was woken by the sound of talking. She opened one glaringly-green eye and groaned before yawning, stretching and then bursting into laughter at Chrome. "Dear Jesus!" she exclaimed. "Was I not fully awake to witness you make a total idiot of yourself?" Her moods certainly were rare when she woke up.

Upon realizing the train was stopped, she got up, relieved to be on her feet again, and excited to be out of this stuffy goddamn train where she could kill every person, perhaps minus Mr. Metal, if something freaked her out.

Dan hadn't slept for a second night in a row. He chuckled a bit at the thought, actually. The strange floating objects that now dotted the corners of his vision kept him entertained, the way TV used to before he was caught in this mess. Two whole days with no TV... He wondered if the world had perhaps ended? He wouldn't know, not without the TV to tell him.

He, as Chloe before him, was quick to begin laughing at Chrome's situation. "Hey, metalhead. You realize you'ah not wearin' nothin' but yoah undahweyah?" The laugh only grew louder as Chrome blubbered in an attempt to explain himself.

Jan stretched as the train came to a stop in Italy. It was good to be back in Europe after that hell hole the American's called New York City. The Nitrogen element made sure his white suit was completely in order before putting the gas mask onto the side of his head since it was not needed at the moment. Has Jan was stepping of the train he caught a glimpse of a man completely encased in a strange metal armor which seemed rather odd in this modern era of firearms. "Might be another person like myself." He muttered as he decided that he would investigate the man and headed over to the train car he had disappeared into.

He went to each door in the train car with a friendly smile on his face asking each one if there was a strange man in armor staying in the room. Maybe I could see if he would like to make some money on the side. The Belgian man thought to himself hoping he would find the man soon before the train departed again.

The bathroom was rather stuffy from the heat of the welder, and Chrome tried to hasten his attempts to slide his garments on. He also picked up the sheath for his sword and his sword itself, which was laying on the ground by him. He walked out of the compartment with a poker face that would make Lady Gaga jealous. He looked at round at the compartment and at the faces reddened with laughter. He also took note that their was no chlorine spewing from the Pool Tool ((Chloe)) when she laughed. He chuckled at his silent joke, Pool Tool was a funny way of exclaiming someone else's element. He also liked it because it was making fun of an element that HE wasn't.

"Uh, sorry about that. I'm uh bit drowsy from the welder tool thing... or at least I was... Ya know we should just drop this and never mention it probably" He muttered as he dropped into his seat. It was too late that he caught the distinct scent of danger in the air. He looked around and saw a man at the door, and the first thing that came to his mind was...

"Nitro-(Obscenity)-gen"

Chrome hauled his ass back into the bathroom.

Chloe was just about to reply to Chrome when he got out of his seat and walked away. Her laughter faded as she watched him leave, and one of her eyebrows raised, seemingly of its own accord. What's his issue? He doing drugs? Then though, she jumped in her seat. When the hell did this guy get here? Whoever the man in the doorway was, he made her feel uneasy. Calm down, now, Chloe. It probably isn't some guy intending to murder anyone. She sure hoped so. She wasn't sure how much more of this crazy element stuff she could take. Maybe she'd have to take up Dan's offer on crying on someone's shoulder, although she really would prefer not to.

She promptly slumped forward and pretended to be asleep.