[color=Silver][CENTER][h1][b]Natalie Ellis[/b][/h1][/CENTER][/color]
[hr][hr]


[color=Silver]"Oh,"[/color] was Natalie's single, sheepish reply as she calmed down. As she calmed down, she began to shrink. [color=Silver]"Sorry, I'm just...frustrated. I had some kind of hope that things would change and it'd be a new start. For some reason, I thought I, [i]I[/i] could live a normal life here."[/color] Nat punctuated this with a dry, bitter chuckle devoid of humor or joy. [color=Silver]"Make friends, go to school, maybe get a job and build a peaceful life for myself. Maybe there's still hope for those things once all this blows over. And thanks for the offer, but I already have a therapist and I like going to see her."[/color]

The Agents' answers to all of Keaton's questions made sense. However, as they were talking about  Salamandra, their wording affected her. It reminded her that she wasn't here to receive help and care. She was here because she had killed several people, and had injured staff at every facility that tried to actually care for her. The only difference between her and Salamandra was their willingness to cooperate and be rehabilitated. That was the sole reason for their difference in treatment. After all, the needs of humans greatly outweigh the needs and rights of parahumans here. The Agents said it themselves.

Snapping her out of this depressing train of thought, Archie had returned without her noticing, and was standing next to her. He must have noticed how she felt because he put his hand on her arm. She looked at his hand, then looked to the floor. What should she do? Should she say something? Address it? Was it even the right time to talk about this? But what if she didn't? Would ignoring him hurt his feelings?

As she was pondering this, he had removed his hand again. She glanced up at his face just long enough to see he was frowning, before returning her eyes to the scene in front of her, trying to play it cool. Had he taken his hand away because he mistook her looking down and thinking for discomfort? Had she hurt his feelings anyway? Was the look on his face even anything to do with her? She didn't know. It was too crowded in here to talk to him anyway, and she decided it didn't feel like the right time after all. Not with Radvi and the Agents here.

One thing the Agents said caught Natalie's attention. Cara's real name was Caroline Fuller. Was she a real person? Or had she been once? Natalie admitted she didn't know all that much about Cara and thought she was simply the station AI software. But if she was a parahuman, or a former parahuman, Natalie wanted to ask her about that, and to talk to her. Most of the time, Natalie didn't really have anybody to talk to. But Cara? Cara was always nearby.

Finally, Radvi signalled to Freaky D, who's helmet turned into a screen and started playing a film depicting a woman standing next to a bloody and battered man in a chair. Nat's stomach turned. That was the teacher. The body they'd found together during their first week. It was only a few seconds, then the clip changed to one of a first-person perspective fight scene against the same woman. Natalie was dismayed to realize that if she was ever cornered alone by this woman, her strength would be next to useless, and she'd be killed. Natalie, though she hated to admit it, was scared of this woman. Especially if Amelia was right and she was coming after them. Hopefully that jar full of goo Radvi had received went towards helping the guards to find and deal with this woman before she found any of them. Natalie was surprised to hear that Archie had met her on the first day. That would be a very chilling experience to remember. But at least they now had a name to put to the face; 'Arianna'.