[b]Name[/b]: Niah Bautista [b]Age[/b]: 24 (DOB: 12/26/1987) [b]Appearance[/b]: [hider] [img]http://www.eurovision.tv/save-files/resizes/8c/52/71/41/43/e6/d9/ea/15/3d/e3/b8/24/0d/1a/51/aminata_sadavago.jpg[/img] [/hider] [b]Power/ Talent[/b]: Enhanced Senses (Hyper Senses). Niah’s senses in general are better than a normal human’s, but if she wants to she can hyper focus a sense. When she does that though she loses complete access to another sense. When hyper focused she could see with literal microscopic ability, or hear a pin drop from a mile away. In highly emotional situations she cannot control the hyper focus. When she hyper focuses on Smell she loses Sight. Sight - Sound Sound - Taste Touch - Smell Taste - Touch [b]Biography[/b]: Niah was born in Manila. Her family lived there until 2001, when her father became an Ambassador and moved semi-permanently to America. At the time Niah was in high school, her sister Dalisay was in middle school. They attended a prestigious private school alongside many other statesmen’s children. Niah was a science nerd, and for a good portion of her time at the school attempted to just disappear. When she graduated High School she went to an Ivy league school with the intention of becoming a scientist. In 2006 her sister was visiting the night of the change. The two went to a concert (best band ever! "Abandoned Mattresses"). Niah left with a new *cough* friend *cough* and Daliasy went home. It was an awkward morning before Niah left to go home. Back at her house she could find Daliasy. Her family was already stressed over the loss of their mother in 2004, the disappearance of Dalisay hit her hard. The manifestation of Niah’s power did not help; it was uncontrollable. Niah dropped out of the Ivy league and joined a smaller college to reduce her stress level. The college was the same one her friends that she had met at the concert went to, all with powers, but none like her’s. After she graduated in 2009 Niah was looking at potential jobs and Graduate schools when she was recruited for Sector X. [hider=look we did the thing] Niah Bautista had settled into the happy life she found with her college friends. The group of four were the best friends she could have asked for and now with college behind them things were going to get interesting. Well she couldn’t say with college behind them, she still had grad school to figure out, and a job. The job part wasn’t easy. Her easy college job was no longer available to her, and there weren’t any labs accepting undergrad students (or those pesky inbetweeners like her). That was until she had found a job description. Man it matched almost exactly what she was looking for. She applied, and was called in for an interview within the day. That made her nervous. She hadn’t done an interview in ages. With a good luck from Craig and the rest of Team Gaia, Niah made the crosstown drive. Maybe when she pulled up to the squat building is when she should have noticed something was off, or maybe Niah’s nervousness was just enough that she didn’t notice the lack of cars. There aren’t many companies that would only have four cars in the parking lot on a Wednesday afternoon. The lobby seemed normal, to Niah’s credit, checking in was easy. There was a cool little kiosk that you typed your name into and it printed a sticker. After a little bit, a woman in a lab coat walked over and looked at Niah, then a clipboard, and then back at Niah. “Ms. Bautista? I’m going to be interviewing you today. You can call me Mrs. Nyx, or Doctor Nyx,” she said and offered her hand to Niah. “Hello Dr. Nyx.” Niah paused. “I’m sorry I have a hard time with physical contact.” She gave a bow instead. “Ah, germaphobe? We understand that here at Kronos Labs. Well, if you want to follow me, we will be having the interview in one of the labs. We prefer a bit more of a hands on approach when finding suitable candidates.” Dr. Nyx smiled and went to lead Niah down the hall. It was a bit like a maze as they walked through the building. They finally reached a set of doors and Dr. Nyx pushed them open. Inside was a rather impressive lab, full of the most up to date technology. Niah was impressed. She eyed some of the equipment she had only heard about in theory. “Is that an Erlenmeyer Kiln?” “Good eye Ms. Bautista! Yes, it is.” “I do have very good eyesight.” “So, Ms. Bautista. I do have to interview you while you look around. What qualifications do you have that make you better than other applicants?” “I have two undergraduate degrees. One in Chemistry and one in Biology. I was top of both classes.” “No, Ms. Bautista. I want to know what makes you special.” Dr. Nyx set down her clipboard, and untied her hair and walked around Niah. “So tell me, what gift do you have to offer us?” “Uh, you mean a power.” Niah’s heart pounded. She had heard of people getting beat up or worse. When it came for jobs people were turned down because of their powers. “I have heightened senses.” She admitted. “For example, you have a dog, a poodle, probably standard. That poodle got muddy before you came to work, but you did your best to clean up the stains.” She had picked up her stride, she had joked at least once she was the modern Sherlock. Dr. Nyx grinned. “You are as impressive as we were told. You’ll be perfect.” “Told? By whom?” Niah wondered who had talked to this company even though she hadn’t heard of them until the day before. “By the shadows.” Dr. Nyx grinned and pulled off her lab coat. “You shall join us Ms. Bautista, whether you want to or not.” Niah backed away, internally she was screaming. She had walked into a trap. Nyx worked for the bad guy. However, her thoughts were interrupted by a loud boom from outside. “Shit!” Dr. Nyx pulled something out of her pocket, but it was too late. The window in the lab was shattered by a large rock flying through it. So much for internally screaming. Niah ducked behind a lab table, it seemed like the best course of action. The wall was pulled down, and two figures were looking in. Both were wearing black catsuits, and one was wearing a pair of goggles. Before anything else could happen, Dr. Nyx was slumped down on the ground, a tranq dart in her neck. “Confirm, target Shadow down.” A female voice spoke, and the figure wearing the goggles pulled them down, her eyes scanned the room. “There was another person suppose to be here, correct?” The male spoke, looking around as well. He was rather buff, and had no visible weapons. “Supposedly. We got intel they were using this spot to ‘recruit’ people to join them.” “I’m here.” Niah’s voice sounded far away, even to her hearing. She slid out from under the table. “Please don’t shoot me.” The woman quirked an eyebrow, probably in confusion. “I’m not going to shoot you. You’re screaming too much to be part of them. Your mind is still a bit too open kid,” she said, tapping her temple. “Sorry.” Niah took a couple deep breaths, though she was still freaking out the screaming stopped, for now. “Thanks.” The woman tucked her gun away. “Was it just you here with her?” “That’s all I saw. No one even in the lobby, but there are a few cars in the lot.” Her eyes got big. “Which may be people like me who had come here for the interview.” “I’ll let HQ know. We can possibly trace them.” The male walked outside. The woman looked at Niah. “You’ll be okay now. I’m Cassie, what is your name?” “Niah Bautista, and thank you Cassie.” Her heart slowed to its normal rate, that was nice. “It’s kind of my job, keeping an eye out for a fellow psychic.” Cassie seemed to smile for a moment. “So what all did she say to you before we got here?” Niah recounted her ‘interview’ for Cassie. “Well fuck. I doubt that she’s the only one that knows about you now. Well, now here comes the part where you have options. I’m guessing you have a family? Friends?” Niah nodded to them, though as she nodded about her family she thought of her missing sister. “Shadow doesn’t care about them like you do. We’ve had reports of them killing whole families just to get to one psychic. Now, in those cases, we can offer you help. Protection. A way to start over. However, it is up to you. I’m not going to sugar coat it, but with your powers, you will just keep attracting attention.” “The ability to see microbes never seemed so dangerous.” “They can use you to find others. More people just like you. However, what you don’t know is what they do with you once they catch you. They wipe you. Who you are, your memories. You are their little puppet, and never yourself again.” Niah paled. “I quite like who I am.” “We at Sector X can help you. However, we can only make the offer. Whether or not you take it that is up to you Ms Niah.” “My father? My friends? What will they know?” “Again, that is up to you. For some, they’ve had to fake their own passing, and for others, well, they know they are alive and well, but not where. I know, rough choice Niah, but, unfortunately, one you will have to make.” “What’s safer for my father?” He was normal she had to protect him. “Probably for him to believe you are gone. Dead. Then they can’t pry apart his brain trying to find you.” It made her heart ache, but Cassie was right, and Niah knew it. The way Nyx had spoken about her. Who knew how many knew about her? And what her power was. Niah had never thought it was all that special, but if it could be used to track down others then it couldn’t be a safe thing for her to be in Shadow’s hands. Her friends they’d have to believe she was gone too. Maybe someday that could change, but for the ruse to work. Niah took a deep breath. It was the only option to protect those she cared about. “Then I’ll do it.” “Alright Ms. Bautista. As of this moment, you are dead. Killed in a tragic lab explosion. I know it will hurt for a while, but, honestly it is for the best.” Cassie looked like she wanted to offer some sort of comfort to Niah, but did not know how. Niah nodded, “So what now?” “We catch a flight to Virginia. From there, you’ll become part of Sector X.” “My father lives in Virginia. He’s a diplomat for the Philippines.” “Well. That will make your life interesting.”[/hider] Even though Niah knew she’d have to cut contact with her father she took the job. Niah knew it’d give her an opportunity not only to work on honing her power, but to also find her sister. [b]Hobbies[/b]: Cooking (she’s a hyper taster, even when she isn’t trying to focus on it), dance (Tinkling), anything to do with science (be it reading or doing). [b]Personality[/b]: Niah is shy, and quiet. She is the type of person who focuses completely on what she is doing forgetting the outside world exists (Niah suspects that is why her power is what it is). [b]Role in Sector X[/b]: Investigator, field agent, walking CSI kit. [b]Additional Info[/b]: Niah does not like to be touched, she does not offer her hand for shakes, but bows at introductions instead. She’s also very conscious of what she buys to wear because seams and tags irritate her. Niah doesn't handle loud noises well either, at least without being warned. If she's warned she shuts off her sense of sound. [hr] [b]Name[/b]: Neil Maxwell [b]Age[/b]: 28 (DOB: 11/11/1983) [b]Appearance[/b]: [hider] [img]http://www.aecb.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Neil-May.jpeg[/img] [/hider] [b]Power/ Talent[/b]: [url=http://powerlisting.wikia.com/wiki/Codification]Codefication[/url] [b]Biography[/b]: Neil was born and raised in California. He grew up in the Central Valley in Fresno, where he ended up going to college for his undergraduate degree. He went to San Jose State for his Graduate degree in Computer Engineering. Even while he was growing up he was always good with codes and cyphers. His senior year of high school his CS teacher tested him with some supposedly impossible cyphers. Neil spent months on it, and wasn’t able to solve it until shortly before the change happened. The message his teacher had left was gibberish. The solution to the code gave him nothing. He called the school but the teacher was no longer there. Neil spent the next few months using the cypher anyway. In of itself he believed it to be a perfect cypher. When the change hit he understood that the cypher wasn’t perfect and there would never be a perfect one, but he could make them more difficult to crack now. Neil was recruited by Sector X as he worked for a prominent company already doing their deep level encryption. [b]Hobbies[/b]: Computers in general, D&D (and other tabletop games) [b]Personality[/b]: Neil is, simply put, a nerd. He loves computers and games. He especially loves brain challenges and is always up for a game, be it trivia or something more complicated. He’s surprisingly outgoing, and was in several clubs during his school days. [b]Role in Sector X[/b]: Message coder/decoder