[quote=@c3p-0h]
It took a moment for Aya to realize that although she asked Jake questions, she wasn't [i]actually[/i] supposed to be able to hear his familiar voice. She froze at his words. The Matrix. [i]The Matrix[/i].

[i][color=mediumspringgreen]You've got to be kidding me.[/color][/i]

She sort of hated how much sense it made, as pieces slowly began falling into place. And of course when she turned around, there was the tiki and a polar bear, just as the stranger had said. Aya was fairly certain they hadn't been there before. The stranger – what had Jake called him? Zach? – seemed distressed, desperate even, when he asked if either of them recognized him.

[color=mediumspringgreen]"I'm sorry, but I don't think I know you,"[/color] she replied. [color=mediumspringgreen]"But… the Matrix? That's really the theory we're going with right now?"[/color] Of course she knew it was actually a pretty reasonable theory. Didn't mean she had to like it. [color=mediumspringgreen]"Ok so… that means we're being held by someone, right? We were captured or something?"[/color] [i]Captured[/i]. That sounded familiar for some reason. What had she been doing right before this? She'd been… captured. Yes, that sounded right. But for the life of her, she couldn't remember by whom or when or why. It seemed memory gaps were a shared side-effect.

Aya looked around at the hectic beach. People she'd never met, people she knew, and people she'd rather forget were all here. Who'd want to grab such a random bunch? But then she realized the one thing they all seemed to have in common.

[color=mediumspringgreen]"Zach,"[/color] she asked, turning back to him. [color=mediumspringgreen]"Are you a Meta?"[/color]

[@Gentlemanvaultboy]
[@Subject Zero]
[/quote]

"You can't tell just by l()()King @t meargeh!" He screamed, a fresh pressure building in his head. What the hell? Why had he said that? Why had he said that!? There was no way to tell, was there not? He was a just a guy. A weird looking guy, sure, but a normal guy. He was a normal guy!

"Yes." He croaked out. He couldn't elaborate. He couldn't remember what his power was. He could...hear really well, maybe, but not with his ears. With his, his, his, his face? Yeah, he could hear with his face. What the hell was that supposed to mean!?

He was in pain. He was in pain. Then he was wet. He was wet and he was in pain and he was hysterical and as he thrashed about in his undersized metal prison he realized that his face wasn't his, that he'd never looked like that even when he was still a normal human. What sort of person looked that much like an owl, for fucks sake! The last thing he re,ember, the last thing he remembered, was blood and horrible pain and countless deaths and he was sure the Underground had him and had done something to him.

When the container opened it didn't open gently. Deep holes were punctured in the sides, liquid spilling out as claws scraped long lines into the sides. To door was mostly bent out of the way and a ball of soaked feathers stalked out looking every bit like something out of a nightmare. He looked around the room, spotting all the similar containers around him, and picked the nearest one to let his anger out on. He would have that door scrapped off in two shakes of a lambs tail.

Then, after everyone was safe, he was going to find the people who had put him through this ordeal and there would be hell to pay.