[hr][img]https://i.imgur.com/3CqEyIu.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/K7PMVkx.png[/img] [img]https://imgur.com/158VDfN.png[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/pzvcW5L.png[/img] [img]http://txt-dynamic.cdn.1001fonts.net/txt/dHRmLjcyLmNiYzg2Ny5UR1ZsSUZkMS4w/schreibmaschine.regular.png[/img] [sup][@Surtr] [@Zombiedude101] [@OppositionJ] [@Scarescrow][/sup] [hr] [code]Cafe Sucre[/code] [hr] Jordan was almost glad for proving herself right. But, with the overwhelming weight of death looming over her, resting on her shoulders, waiting for her to fail. Jordan realized the implications of having such a superpower... and the effects it could have on everyone around her. She looked around, there were some people frozen in place. Then... there was the fact that she was rude to Callie. All because she didn't believe something that she had no right to believe. That guilt inside of Jordan welled up, until a small tear fell down her eye. "... Look, Callie," Jordan calmly trailed off. "I'm... sorry for snappin' at you like that." Callie offered little more than a shrug in response to Jordan. Sure, she was definitely weirded out by Jordan's crazy talk, but Jordan getting all nice all of a sudden just offput Callie even further. "Don't worry about it..." Her words trailed off. Perhaps Callie had more to say. She wasn't quite sure, but she knew she would have spoken further if her attention wasn't drawn elsewhere. In the middle of stopped time, someone bravely approached Jordan. Someone who seemed to be immune to the effects of her stopping time. Jordan could see her in the corner of her eye - as a large, white figure. She turned her head, and saw that it was that Britney girl that she heard so much about. Seen so many times. Jordan was curious as to what prompted her to approach her group of all people. Jordan saw the confident look in her eyes, and her swagger. She narrowed her eyes, worried. "Why hello there," Britney greeted Jordan. "... Time froze girl," Jordan flatly said. "The best you're going to say is hello?" "That's because something like this doesn't surprise me, or phase me, even in the slightest," Britney confidently said, as a smirk formed on her face (and at the same time, a frown on Jordan's). "Is that because you're on the shrooms as well?" Nate jibed, breaking his silence. Britney frowned at Nathan as she manifested a small dark-blue mushroom out of the palm of her hand, and flicked it at him as a joke, eliciting a bemused snort as he awkwardly batted it aside. She smirked as she turned her attention back to Jordan. "I'm going to be... honest here," Britney said. "We're both special here... that's why I can move in stopped time and...." She turned to a girl at the adjacent table. "... she can't." "Yeah, figured that much out when you created a shroom," Jordan crossed her arms as she looked at Britney. "So..." Jordan trailed off. "I wanted to ask for your help," Britney said. "Well, it's a mutual kind of help... but let me explain." Jordan raised an eyebrow, as she listened. "I'm looking for the help of anyone who has a strange ability," Britney said as she looked around. Briefly coughing into her hand. "Because there's something coming after us... safety in numbers, they say." Nate shrugged. "And you're coming to the rest of us because... ? I mean, shit - 'strange abilities?' This is beyond strange. She just stopped time," he jabbed a finger in Jordan's direction, "You grow mushrooms out the ass and I'm sure as shit that Hulkster at the party was on more than steroids and daddy issues." "Trust me," Britney said. "You haven't even [i]seen[/i] weird yet." Despite deflecting Nathan with the same humor he displayed the entire conversation... Britney could sense his incredulous attitude towards her. Yes, she was asking for a lot from some strangers. But, she knew they could all benefit from this. They just had to understand for a moment, and think; the situation was a lot bigger than each of them alone. And... She looked between them all... They'd get pulled into the conflict one way or another. "I know this is a lot from a complete stranger... But, I need your help. You don't have to accept it." "What kind of help?" he asked, gesticulating with his fingers, "You're going off the idea that I can actually help you." "I'm running under that assumption because I know you can help," Britney said, with a smile on her face. She reached into her purse and pulled out a photo of her missing cousin, since it felt like she was giving out these photos like they were candy. "I'm looking for this girl, her name is Cindy Keagan, and she is my cousin. She went missing a few days ago, and Sheriff Reese and his goons are too busy looking for his boy to give a damn." Britney bluntly spoke her mind, staring down Nathan. Around this time, time had resumed as normal. Britney only paused for a moment to look from left to right, to notice the shock that the frozen people had on their faces as something happened. "I'm just going have to start being blunt here, you all are something special... or else you'd be like them right now, and scratching your heads right now," Britney nodded her head in their direction. "And you each have a special ability that can be [i]very[/i] useful in finding her..." She looked between the group, and raised a finger up into the air, before asking a very piercing question "... Did any of you have a dream last night?" Britney asked. letting her hands rest, "About some kids in the woods, perhaps?" Callie was just about to reply to Jordan having finally formulated a sane response when the trio was approached. [i]Another one?[/i] It was starting to seem like every kid had superpowers at this point. Callie stayed relatively silent as the newcomer spoke with her two acquaintances. Such was the life of an outsider. Callie didn't know anyone in this god forsaken town where everybody knew everybody. Her strange manifestation made Callie almost roll her eyes. In one day, the world had become storybook, and it was only getting worse as mysterious shroom girl spoke up about recruiting them for her superhero team. [i]You are all special..[/i] It was cliche as hell, but it made Callie realize something. She couldn't be like them... Or maybe she just didn't want to be, but all the nonsense that had been randomly coming to her had to come from somewhere. When the newcomer brought with her talk of dreams, Callie was wholly convinced that even if all the superpowers were insane, they were all batshit insane together. Whether she wanted to help or not, Callie at least had to deal with all this. Maybe Jordan was right, then, and something could be done to stop the maniac axe guy... Her distant gaze finally lifted. "What do you remember?" "Well... where do I start..." Britney said raising a finger to her lips. Looking off to the side, almost as if she was thinking. "I [i]vividly[/i] recall the kids finding their dead dog, getting lured into a shack where they were attacked, and the one girl awakened an ice ability. Then they were saved by people in robes, using magic." She kept that grin on her face, as she rhetorically asked, "But, do you by chance remember things differently?" Callie wrung her hands under the table as the girl continued on. She was surely the most knowledgeable of the eldritch circumstances. "Crazy video game, stuff..." Her words came in mutters, only really audible if one really cared to make out her ramblings as the dream was described. Callie still didn't wholly know where she fit in to this weird superhero nonsense, but things were coming together. "So you think something is coming after us, then? I suppose you're talking about the... thing?" She didn't have a better word for what she witnessed and as time went on, Callie was further deterred from calling it Scott Reese. Callie's mind then wandered to the girl's mention of her cousin. [i]What did that have to do with things?[/i] Callie could only suspect that there was selfish motive behind her 'pseudo-recruitment'. Then again, who was Callie to sit back and not help someone in need? Oh wait... That was exactly who she was... "Yes." Britney clearly said. "There is in fact." It went without saying that Scott is going after them. "And if we're going to stop it and survive this, we need to work together." "And how does that work?" Nate asked, repeating his earlier question near enough, "I mean sure, this is too weird to be a coincidence so I'm gonna come out and say yeah, I saw the same trippy dream as the rest of you, but still." "I already have made a group of... people like us," Britney said with a sly grin on her face. "We'll just work together with them." "What, like the Avengers?" Laughing for a moment, Britney said, "... Yes, like the Avengers." [hr] Lee continued staring at the crumpled piece of paper in his hand as he waits for his food. The newspaper then changes into a small key, a boat, and a paper airplane. And Lee discovered some limit in his power. Different part of the newspaper changed in different amount of time. The more the color or ink presented on that page, the longer it took for him to change and reshaping it. Tearing the bikini model picture into half, Lee placed the piece of paper on his right hand. And slowly, the paper turn into a cube. And Lee repeats this experiment with a different paper with less ink on it. And this time, the paper turned itself much faster. Lee stared at the two paper cubes on the table. It was small and does not turn back yet. Suddenly, Lee's stomach began to rumble, demanding its daily input of food. Standing up from the seat, Lee fixed his grey jacket as he slowly makes his way to the counter. He was planned to ask where his food is at for it seems that the cafe just take too damn long to make bacons and sausages. Of course he could ask the waitress back there, who is still engaging a very long topic with a guest about the same age as him. But common sense and decency tell Lee not to. Pressing the yellow hotel bell laid on the table, Lee patiently wait as he examined the hammer and wall symbols on both of his hands. Since Miriam was on break, Kimberly was the only person working the counter. Not a task that Kimberly wasn't prepared to handle, as she was often the sole person at the counter during the slow days. She noticed someone trying to get her attention. She was a bit... confused, but there was no one at the counter, and she moved over to his table. Hoping to quickly gesture him back to the counter before anyone gets confused, and she gets backed up. "Hey!" Kimberly chipperly said, somewhat annoyed that he didn't just come to the counter... he probably didn't realize that this wasn't a restaurant! But, Kimberly was going to be a bit understanding since this kid probably wasn't from around here. Or this was the first time he's been to a cafe. One of the two. Kimberly gestured towards the counter. "If you come to the counter I'll help you..." She looked at the symbols on his hands, and briefly wondered.... Lee nodded, dragging himself with an empty stomach to the counter. At there, welcoming Lee was a girl about the same age as him. She has long wavy black hair that stretch to her elbows and a pair of glasses that covered one-third of her oval face. And a pair of extremely dark and thick eyebrows above her jade eyes. But what is more interesting is her tattoo, Rex thinks as he looks at the symbol on her forehead. It was similar to the Indian bindi, with the exception is this bindi is black. It took a while for Lee to realize that is not a bindi but a camera symbol. Lee shuddered, ashamed for staring at a girl too long. Just the thought alone was enough to drive make his face to flush. Avoiding to look up at the girl, Lee try to calm himself and wishing that Samson was here. The thought of the waitress' eyes locking on him was enough for Lee to felt his bile in the stomach began to slowly rising toward his throat. Saying while still looking at the wooden floor, Lee said with his low voice and ending here and there due to his discomfort at the woman constant stare. [color=FFD700]"Yes, I... want to... ask where is my bacon and cheese at. Thanks."[/color] The boy was awkwardly staring at her... mostly the symbol that had appeared on her forehead. Kimberly was scared, about to say something. But, she had to remember that she was [i]literally being paid to pretend to be nice.[/i] So, she just awkwardly pulled at her collar before she said, "... You didn't order one?" She noted. At the end of his sentence, Lee bowed with his head move 25 degree forward to show his gratitude. It feels much better for Lee to say those words out, despite the woman that stood in front of him did not do anything. Suddenly, Lee face palmed himself as he just realize what he said. [i]Bacon and cheese?[/i], Lee shakes his head as he is too shy to even look at her. Her green eyes are looking at him, judging or laughing at him. Just then, for no reason, Lee stands straight and talk clear at the waitress who was offering her help while scratching at the back of his head. [color=FFD700]"Yes, Can you delete what I just said and replace it with bacon and sausages please. Thank you."[/color] Lee could feel the blood flowed to his brain begin to inflate as Lee looked at the waitress' eyes. Those jade-like eyes with its purpose that Lee could not tell had pierced his soul. A small vibrant even make Lee to has a goosebump, and it was all about the woman in front of him. Smoke began to form above Lee head as the girl continued to stare at him. Raising an eyebrow, Lee asked with his low voice mixed with a little rushed. [color=FFD700]"Uhhh, do you need me to repeat my order?" [/color] This was fairly awkward... since Kimberly heard it just fine, but it was just the way he talked. "No, no, no, I heard it loud and clear." She said as she wrote down the order on a piece of paper and handed it to the crew member in the back. She went back to gazing at him. "... Are you okay? You seem... uh, y'knooooow..." Lee smiles, shaking his hands to both sides as if there isn't anything wrong with him. "No, uhh.. nothing is wrong," Lee said, cracking another awkward and shy smile. And then, there came silence as there is nothing to be said between the two. Part of Lee urges him to go back to his seat and wait for his portion to come out but the other said that would be rude. In afraid of the silence between the two extended and created an awkward situation, Lee scanned his eyes to see if there is something that he could talk to. And the most noticeable thing was the cafe eerily silence. There were almost no one despite this is one of the few cafes that this store presented. Usually, as Lee imagined, the store should be more crowded. The sound of waiters and waitresses constantly bringing out the foods for its hungry customers should be a common site. But this is nowhere near it, not even thirty percent closed. Of course, Lee knew the reason for the cafe to be like an abandoned warehouse. It was probably due to the mass murderer just happen last week which cause a huge scandal for the chief of the town and raised some demands from the victims' families. Then, Lee shifts his attention toward the Kimberly tattoo. Only now Lee is beginning to question his eyesight as why did he not realize it was a camera lens. [color=FFD700]"That is a very nice tattoo, where do you get it from?"[/color] In his mind, Lee is beginning to pray for his mother to summon Samson from the unknown just to save him at this moment. After all, Lee was never a talkative guy in the first place and talking like this certainly pushed Lee to his limits. Immediately Kimberly's face went rush with embarrassment as she realized somebody finally noticed this mark. She covered it up with both hands, briefly forgetting that Lee was acting very strange. "I don't know, I just woke up with it one night," Kimberly said. "Please don't make a big deal about it, I'll get fired!" Lee grinned, trying to be less awkward by being friendly while extending his right hand. [color=FFD700]"Well, I guess that makes us equal as I also got these about a week ago." [/color]Lee stopped, trying to find suitable questions or something that may carry the conversation. But he found nothing. Looking at his hand that is extending out for almost no reason or uses, Lee slowly pulled it back as he smiled sheepishly and bowed with his head tilted slightly forward before saying. [color=FFD700]"Well, thank you for your listening ." [/color]And with that, Lee returned to his seat, letting his brain to relax after the intense interrogation with the woman. The image of the waitress constantly staring at Lee makes him blush and causing him to let his head to rest on the brown wooden table. Any more of this kind of embarrassment and Lee is going to throw himself off the bridge, Lee thinks while staring at the wooden floor beneath him. Lee doesn't know what he is looking for by constantly staring the floor like that. He just stared at it, hoping there will be something that happens. But what is he hoping for, Lee doesn't know. He just stared at it and hoping for something. Something so obscure and profound that may raise his excitement like what he just did with his power. So Lee waits for anything to happen. Or at least for the waitress to bring out his order because he is starving. Kimberly looked at the strange markings on his hand... [i]sigils[/i]. Kimberly thought to herself. It almost seemed as if they were the same. Same color. Seemingly same ink? There wasn't a lot of things in common between a hammer and wall, and a camera's eye, but Kimberly felt that there was. Before the girl could think on it a little harder, the boy pulled his hand away, and she raised an eyebrow. Maybe she was just thinking too much into it. At this point, the cook in the back announced that his food was prepared, and maybe he'd stop acting weird once he got a little food in him! She grabbed the plate and held it in hand, and went to hand it over... ... then that was when the boom erupted from Jordan's back. Kimberly caught it in the corner of her eye, and when she noticed it, she dropped the plate out of shock. But, after a second, the plate paused - suspended in midair. She gasped for a moment as she looked around. Her attention not even on Lee. As she pushed the latch on her counter door open, she looked around with each step. Everyone was frozen in midair... except for her, Jordan, and [i]many[/i] others. She was confused for a moment, as she adjusted her glasses in the [i]off[/i] chance that she wasn't going crazy. But, it was true. Then she turned her head towards Lee. "Wait..." Kimberly trailed off, piecing things together. "Let me see your hands again!" Slowly lifting his head up, Lee looked at the waitress and confused by what she had to said. Nevertheless, Lee still lets her seeing both of his hands before asking. She took a good hard look at his hands, before determining something. She had the marks, Jordan had them, and so did this guy... and they all could move in stopped time. "What happened?" And that was before Lee saw the floating dishes. Lee is confused about what is happening before his eyes. The silvery white disk with his breakfast on it is floating. There is no hand beneath it, no string attach, or any extremely strong magnetic to pull a prank on him. Eyes opened wide that fill surprised, Lee touch it. The moment when one of his fingers touch the edge of the floating dish, the dish pursue its course of falling toward the center of the Earth. There seems to be no magic, no tricks, or no paranormal phenomenon behind it. To Lee, it was just his eyes and brain become a little bit hallucinate while desperately waiting for his food. And then, once again, the dish stop mid-air as if it is challenging all the thing that Lee knew in his life. Constantly touching and pull back from the edge until the dish finally settle on the wooden floor, Lee look up at the waitress. "So what now?" Lee asked the woman that stood next to him as he slowly rises from his seat and fixing his jacket. "Any idea?" "I don't know..." Kimberly said, she was unsure of what to do next herself. "From the last time this happened... it only lasted a minute at most... but it could be longer." She looked around... until she saw that Jordan's back was glowing - the hourglass symbol that Kim saw earlier this morning was glowing brightly. She realized something else, she looked back at Lee, before gesturing towards Lee. "Follow me." Lee nodded before he carefully places his hand on the bottom of the disk and put it on his table. Despite his growing hunger that is slowly chipped away his stomach and heart, Lee thinks he should not keep the waitress waiting. But his food seems too good, Lee thinks as he pursued the woman before him. His legs feel weird, numb due to starvation. The buzzing sound begins to come back to his ears. Lee knows he ain't die if he skipped a meal, but the thought of having a food that he is not spending his time eating keep stuck in his mind. Besides, those slices of bacon and sausages that are still located on the plate seem to be glowing under the midday sun of Montana. And it just makes them to be more beautiful under the starved eyes. Letting out a small sigh, Lee follows the woman in front of him like a shadow. Head held high and spine straightens up, his mother's words crept into Lee mind. And the steps begin to turn into unity, 1..2..1..2. And like an obedient machine, the little robot will stop as the leader stopped. No questions that need to be answered. No complained to be heard. Just pure actions. [hr] During the whole conversation, Jordan remained quiet the entire time. All because she was giving what this girl was saying some thought. Not dismissing her like Callie or Nathan were, but giving it thought given that she legitimately seemed like a being like her. Not only demonstrating her abstraction, but also demonstrating her immunity to her stopping time. But, there were questions that were piling up... and she had the feeling that Britney knew the answers to them. After the "Avengers" comment, Jordan stood straight up, and stared Britney right in the face. "... I'm going to say yes," Britney smiled, but Jordan raised a finger up into the air as she made [i]another[/i] point. "... But, on one condition." "Oh? What is it?" Britney said. "... That you start giving answers," Jordan bluntly said. "You [i]obviously[/i] know a lot about this - a [i]hell of a [/i]lot more than a rich nineteen-something rich girl should know... so why the hell should I, or anyone else, trust you?" This was a question that Britney knew was coming - in fact, she was prepared for it. She sighed, as she looked away for a brief moment, covering her mouth. She sat down, before she sighed. "Okay, believe it or not, but this isn't the first time I've encountered something like this..." Britney started off, "I'm not sure if you heard about that car accident I got into a few years ago? When my car hit a tree?" "No..." Jordan trailed off. "... But, I did," Kimberly added when she walked up raising an eyebrow. "Well, dunno how to put it anymore simply, but it was no accident... [i]something[/i] knocked my car off road while I was driving and came after us while we were in shock... I still dunno what in the world it was, but it was definitely hungry... it attacked me." Britney said, as she looked around to see if anybody was paying attention. "... That was when [i]I[/i] Awakened," Britney explained. "But, I was saved by a man... John Reid. A farmer who died two weeks ago. I don't know how familiar you all are with him, but he's an Awakened - or was one, but that's just semantics." She trailed off for a moment, as she sighed, trying to hide the remorse for the man.."John Reid knew a lot about Awakened... probably because he was so powerful, but he trained me a bit. Taught me everything I need to know about the Awakened.... and figuring out why he died may be the key to solving this problem." She assumed a neutral posture, and folded her hands together, "Any questions?" [i]Awakened... Damn. How come she got to name it?[/i] As Kimberly and Lee approached the table, Callie finally started to put things together. Perhaps it was something that had to do with the party, but then again, there were way more than a handful of kids at the party. As Jordan conceded to the still unnamed girl's superhero team, Callie furrowed her brow. This was all insane no matter how true it was. [i]Also, what lets her get to lead the superhero team?[/i] Not that Callie could do it herself. Once again, the almost wholly silent girl spoke up, eyes flicking in between the ever-growing party of people in the... time bubble? "What's your plan then?" Callie's voice was determinant. Perhaps this was the best course of action, especially if Callie was able to pull off something like Jordan. "Well... keep this to yourselves, but my cousin knows something about this," Britney whisped, looking over her shoulder for a moment at Dex. "... if we find her, we figure out what the hell is going on, and we stop this." "I like how you just casually talk about this stuff like it's nothing," Nate shrugged, "You think maybe this could've been more help at the party?" "What happened at the party was..." Britney nervously said, as she looked to the side. "... Completely unexpected." She hung her head, her hat covered her eyes somewhat. She wished that she could ha helped, but she had no idea that it would happen [i]there[/i] of all places. They also didn't invite her. "Unexpected," Nate echoed, "For someone who knows a lot about all this shit you didn't know jack about Bruce Banner's younger, inbred cousin hulking out on us. But y'know what? I'm alive, those two are alive and some weird shit is happening so fuck it. Why not?" Britney knew that Nathan didn't exactly get it - and he was unlikely to [i]ever[/i] get it, unless he sawit for himself. Callie didn't necessarily want to help, but she didn't really feel she had much of a choice. She hummed a moment, eyes averting from the onlookers. "Keep me informed. I can at least try to help..." "Same," Jordan nodded. "I'm going to help get to the bottom of this." "Where ever Jordan goes, I go." Kimberly said, "There's somebody I'm hoping to find myself." "Excellent," Britney said as she looked at the group. There was a bit of distrust in the group, Britney could see that. Like she previously thought; once they see the things that Britney had with their own two eyes... they'd change their mindset [i]preeetty[/i] quickly. "I'll definitely keep in touch with you all, just..." She reached into her purse, and pulled out a piece of paper, and then grabbed a pen. She wrote down her phone number, and slid it to them. "... Make sure to give me a call if you need anything." Britney said as she turned around, and walked off..