The_Ninjin

So yea... as of my latest post about Velasco dying and his spirit rising... everyone officially has free reign to do whatever until "The next chapter". I know some of you have a written or half-written dream and were waiting to begin to transition into that....at this point, go for it however you decide to.

About Doc Velasco: The Dream Demon's presence and bringing the demons opened a door to the underworld/hell that possesses a staying power for spirits that have just died. The energy from passing the door or being near it gives spirits the strength to exist in our world. It's also what gives any demon/spirit that passes through the influential and possessing strength to do what it does. At least... for this story. So those who can see him clearly and speak to him might be able to see the originating source of his power to stick around and not be "sucked into the light". For now... the Doc is still around.

A few of you have asked about Averick as well...what can I say, the man juggles, work, signing autographs, and saving the world...all the while keeping up with his favorite DVR'd shows throughout the week ( I actually dont know about that one...but definitely saving the world...) and while I'm sure he's at least reading, RL just... does that sometimes. He'll be back soon enough with Mystic-like grace.


-Nin

So this is going to be where we can make OOC comments about any issues, complaints, announcements, or basic notes in the story and with one another... figured it best to have a thread for it than have a conversation in the actual story that...isn't the story.

If its about a post, be sure to make sure you reference the page number for easy finding. We're only on 21 now, but... one day, maybe... it'll be 211.

Anyway...happy OOCing!

-Nin

((*sigh* my red headed step child of a story...how I miss thee.))

Back in the black cave, numbers II and III watched intently as more heroes arrived to the bank. The situation went from 80% in their favor to 20 in a matter of minutes. II slid his chair to the far left side of the vast machine of screens and proceeded to turn several gray knobs back and forth under a label marked "Portal Frequency". Above each of the knobs were metter that danced along a red-green scale.

"This is not a good look," III started to type in several coordinates on his keyboard that opened up a position in Croatoa. Several creatures with twigs for bodies and pumpkins for heads, like something out of a Halloween special, marched into a forest. III clicked the mouse and a bar gauge popped onto the screen with the foggy and barely lit visual of the near-ghost town of Croatoa in the background. It became deserted due to the invasion of monsters, witches, and gnomes. It became a territorial war for power and greed. Their arrival had brought forth a dimensional barrier that proved to be a vulnerable doorway for crosses between worlds. That was over two years ago. Since the, the barrier had become nothing more than a small slice of interdimensional time and space that could only be felt if someone were to pass right through it. It felt similar to the way wind smacks you directly in the face as it rushed past you. it would only last for a second and if you weren't looking for it, you wouldn't know.

The meter, which ran from 0-100, was filled up to eight percent capacity.

"The rift is still too small. And getting smaller," III just stared at the screen as if something would change if he kept looking.

II stopped turning the knobs and placed his attention on the bar,"It was 12% yesterday," he responded in disbelief.

"Nope, this is not a good look at all," III shook his head and pressed a button on the keyboard that reverted back to another vantage point of the robbery.

"He won't be happy about this," II spoke of the turn of events iat the robbery.

III turned completely in his chair to face II, "So what do we do?"

II sighed heavily and turned in his chair also, "Keep your opinions to yourself and let him do the thinking for us."

Both men nodded in unison and shifted their attention to the floor on the example that was made to them earlier that day.

Newton stopped his slow descent into the Two Six. He touched the button for his comm piece. “Boy, Brian, we can’t leave you alone for three minutes before you start getting into to trouble,” the chubby man said into the mike. “Mustard, you catch that?”

“This was a simple op, Newton. Or it was supposed to be,” Brian spoke as he jogged around the building to find the fiery menace, Pyra.

“Brian, I’m on my way!” With a quick thought, he threw one his singularities out ahead of him, and then threw himself through it. He reappeared a hundred yards away, and then quickly through himself through another one, all the time, getting closer to the bank.

“Just get here asap. Who knows what else might not be here. I just wanna know...,” Brian’s pendant glowed fiercely as he cut himself off and jumped straight up into the air. He bent his body into a backwards swan dive and saw a massive fireball pass under his head. Beyond the attack was the 5five foot, petite framed villain Pyra. The fireball hit a small shop adjacent to the bank and engulfed the front half of the establishment in flames.

“Burn! Burn! Burrrrn,” Pyra jumped up and down, clapping her hands in excitement.

Brian landed on the cement and looked behind him to find Pyra nowhere in sight.

BOOM!

Brian fell backwards and scanned the area in front him. Most of the civilians and police evacuated. The rest of them would remember the sight of Pyra’s evil as the last vision of life. Brian took off around the building’s structure to chase her down, but stopped by a familair sound.

“Woooo,” the exclamation was followed by loud laughs and other various exclamations of the same kind. A group of five men with white paint on their faces and leather jackets with the symbol of a skull on the back walked out of an alley. They carried bats, chains, and lead pipes. Obviously, lackeys. Their leaders held powers.

“HAHAHAHAHA!” Brian looked behind him and saw the former beauty queen prancing about the bank lobby and tossing money in the air. As the money free-floated to the ground, Pyra touched what she could before it reached the ground and burnt it to a crisp.

“Burn, Burn, Burn, burn burn burn,” she kept pointing and pointing until she decided to save time and raised both hands, outstretched, into the air. In moments, there was a cackle of fire pops that ripped across the air. It was followed by small droplets of orange-colored rain. The lobby immediately started to set on fire. Martial Gloom was gone.

Mystic Inferno saw the familiar teleportation signature of Newton growing ever closer to the bank, but due to the urgency of the call, he didn’t wait. He flew directly into the lobby and said in a loud booming voice that commanded respect and announced his authority, “Brian? What…”


“Mysitc!” Brian dashed for the bank entrance and was blown back by an explosion from a molotov cocktail from a Skull. The doors blew off their hinges and laid broken and crushed on the street. Brian popped himself up and looked at the Skulls. The he looked at Pyra.

Someone is gonna pay for this great intel.

Another familiar sound sent Brian’s eyes to the sky.

“Newton!” Brian was still out of earshot so he pressed his comm device, “Skulls just below you. I need containment. Pyra’s crazier than they rumored her to be. I’m going after her with Mystic. If you see Martial Gloom limping around somewhere, port him to a cell or something,” Brian finished and felt his reflexes quicken through his will and power of the Emerald as he ran top speed into the lobby.

3 men sat in large leather roller chairs in front of a wide computer station that spanned about 20 feet across a black rock wall. There were various screens that monitored different aspects of the world. Directly in front of each worker was a different viewpoint of the Kings Row Bank robbery. The station was full of levers, buttons, switches, and three keyboards. They were all wearing black dress shirts, pants, belts, and shoes. The men were all the same height and weight with brown eyes and no hair. Each of them also wore a large black device on their right wrists that were numbered roman style from one to three.. A small lamp light hung from the cave ceiling in the middle of the room and shined on a central area that left everything else in the dark. There was nothing else in the room. No doors. No holes. No windows.

“Master, the hero still lives. The subject, Martial Gloom, failed to detain him,” the man with the device labeled “I” spoke as if more than one person resided in him and spoke all at the same time.

Behind the terminal and the lamp stood a figure on a raised platform that was 3 feet above the ground level. His body was a vague silhouette of a human. His breathing was slow and paced. When the figure exhaled, his breath came out like harsh whisper of voices that flew around his being like an aura. There were slits where his eyes would be the color of royal purple.

“And the other,” its mouth opened slightly, but did not formulate any words. Instead, the harsh whispers took on a louder form of the words it wished to speak

“The other subject is still acting in accordance to the plan. The bank should fall soon. Looking over these specs, there’s an 80/20% success probability. I feel good about this, sir.”

“Did I ask how you felt?”

Number I panicked, “No, your Imminence, you didn’t. I just thought since there’s only one hero that-“

I’s words were cut short as if his larynx were cut off. Choking sounds tore from his mouth in desperation for air. I grabbed and scratched at his throat as his vocal cords tightened inside. The chair fell backwards as he abruptly stood to his feet to look back at his master with eyes full of pain and fear. Red tears streamed down his face from bloodshot eyes as if his tear ducts filled up to the point of bursting. Number I dropped to the ground, one hand on his throat and the other out-stretched to the figure slowly taking his life. Blood poured from the lackey’s ears and everything went silent as the leader’s power surged through I’s body and crushed his neck like a piece of discarded paper. He slumped lifelessly to the floor like a rag doll. His eyes, although still attached, had popped out of the sockets and swung down the side of his face.

Number III watched in quiet detail everything that happened. His face more shock at the power of their boss that shifted into something fearful.

The dark mass of voices spoke directly into the heart of III, “You will do well to remember what you saw,” the words hung in the air as its body dematerialized into a misty haze that was gone sooner than it appeared.

SLAM!

Martial Gloom forced Brian Wincott’s body into the hallway wall of the Kings Row Bank. Brian slumped to the floor; the wind had been knocked out of him. A 5’ 6” man dressed in a black sleeveless robe and matching pants that were tattered at the hem stood over Brian as he tried to control his breathing.

“Freedom Corps scum!” Martial Gloom nearly spat the words through his black cloth mask that wrapped around his entire head save his eyes. He looked like something out of a ninja comic book.

“Freedom Corps…they don’t even acknowledge me,” Brian responded through gasps of air.

“All the more reason to erase you from existence, dog of justice!” Martial Gloom’s eyes went wide as he raised his leg into the air and held it there while a flash of light like a star’s twinkle displayed just before he brought it down on top of Brian’s head.

Brian immediately shifted his weight to his right and rolled over, just missing the enemy’s attack. The kick had landed firmly into the ground and left and sizeable indentation in the bank’s emerald green carpet. Brian didn’t even have time to think about what could have happened before he reacted to Martial Gloom’s second of incapacitation and shot his foot out at the knee of Gloom’s support leg.

“Auuuuuugh,” Martial Gloom folds under the pressure of his body against a now broken kneecap and writhes in pain, “I will destroy you…and the Freedom Corps…,” he said through what sounded like gritted teeth and held his knee close to his chest.

Brian popped himself up and felt the power of his emerald necklace flare up. His body sensed a danger, but wasn’t sure where it was. He dashed to the entrance of the lobby, careful not to step on any of the fallen skulls who had hired Martial Gloom as a Heavy for the robbery. The former cop had just reached the entrance to the lobby when he tilted his head slightly to the left and watched a shruiken stick into the wall. Brian kept walking toward the front door while his hands started to envelop in a black ball of smoke. Martial Gloom looked above him to find a cinderous haze fall over his face. The coughs and screams were enough for Brian to know it worked. The hero reached for the pull handle on the bank’s glass double doors when he heard Martial’s voice.

“Pyra, phase two!”

Pyra? What? Since when was this a two-man operation. Case file said nothing about her being here.

Brian touched the button on the comm device in his ear that switched the already red LED light to green, “Where the hell is anybody,” he said as an explosion rocked the foundation of the bank. Brian steadied himself on the door handle and went outside. Civilians and officers alike were running around crazily. Some weren’t running at all. Never had the chance.

Brian activated his comm again, “Pyra’s here. They’re gonna blow this bloody bank to kingdom come. We need to make moves.”

((This will go quickly. I’ll see how much involvement I get over the next day or so. Welcome all newcomers!!! And welcome back Av and Zeta))

((Hey guys... Regretably so, I gotta freeze things on here. Life, Work, Family, and travelling sort of taking a lot of time. I apologize for not geting back sooner. Love to get back to this eventually. Unfortunately, right now, I can't commit to it anymore. Again, I apologize. If there's anyone who wanted to take it over, that's fine, just let me know and I'll be more than happy to shoot you details and whatnot. ))

[ QUOTE ]
((And for those lookin for a timeframe, its December 18, 2006... a Monday.))

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((Done because snow seemed so unbelievable to some in November, when this was initially set to be right before Thanksgiving.

We were still in the first day of threading and in the first few pages, so I changed it to December 18.

It is now the 19th and the last posting day before we forward to Christmas day))

Ok Lazarus.

NBC

9pm/8pm (central)

Series Premier of Heroes

*BEEP*

Disgusted moans spilled out of Vanessa's mouth as she rolled over to slap the clock alarm off with her hand. She rolled back onto her back and stared at the ceiling. Christmas was in a few days and her shopping still wasn't done. Normally, she would have been done a month ago, but this year had taken a toll on her. Between work, relationships, and night school three times a week, Vanessa's plate had heaping helping.

The phone broke her concentration and she searched under her pillow where she placed it the night before.

"Mm, hello," she answered weakly.

"Hey sunshine, you ready to get our presents," the voice on the other line was cheery and awake.

"Presents, what, ready for... Monica, what the hell?"

"Come on, bossy-poo gave us the day off."

Vanessa sat straight up in the bed, the blanket slowly falling down her body to her midsection to reveal a tshirt and the waistline of a pair of red and green plaid boxers.

"Thats impossible."

"He called you too, check your messages. Now get ready and meet me at the mall. Christmas rush in the Well is no joke. Come on."

The phone made a short click on the other end and Vanesaa closed her phone as she stifled a yawn and plopped back down on the bed. Something wasn't right. A day off. The fiscal year may have been over, but you couldn't tell that to one of the busiest men that Vanessa ever worked with.

No, something wasn't right at all.

Vanessa picked her phone back up and flipped it open. She pressed two on the speed dial and let it ring.

A voice answered. It was deep, but had a soft context to it.

"Vanessa."

"Hey," Vanessa's reaction was of a sweet familiarity.

"Did you get my message?"

"I got it, but I didn't listen to it. Monica called me about it all. Why the day off? Its not like you," Vanessa swung her feet around to dangle off the side of the bed as overturned her slippers to put them on.

"It was... necessary. You both deserve it."

Vanessa could help but laugh, "Yea well we deserve a lot of things, but when did you ever give them to us."

"Just," Clarence's voice began to raise, but he stopped himself and spoke softly again, "take the day off," Clarence's words implemented that he wasn't going to argue with her.

A moment of silence ensued as Vanessa was taken aback by his forcefulness. Mildly offended, Vanessa still understandably knew that something was going on.

"Daddy..." her voice filled with care and concern as she spoke to Clarence.

"Nessa..." he responded after a long silence.

"Whats going on?"

[ QUOTE ]
((wait wait, by new day do you mean it's now 12:00 A.M. now? It will seriously affect those insomniacs still in the hospital after all...))

[/ QUOTE ]

((Why would it seriously affect you...
First off, I said "next" day, as everyone will not consider the start of their day as 12am. Most times the posting will start back in the office in the morning or just waking up for work or their morning exercise regimen or whatever it may be. If your posting carries on into the next day, then by all means let it. And according to previous posts, a couple of your insomniacs are passed out right now in the hospital.

Stay with the flow of the posters, try to at least. This will prevent you from waiting and wondering/complaining about when the next day is going to start. If you feel that you may end up passing everyone, then add a little detail, give a little color, branch off and do some kind of daydream or flashback to your character. Whatever it may take to keep you with everyone else. However, if you so choose to go way ahead of everyone, then don't rush anyone else's tried perfection. Yes, people can take a while, but that can be for a number of reasons. Everyone does not have the same amount of time opportunities as others to post. I wish there was a "posting period" like a siesta, but there's not (at least not for me). Take that into consideration as well.

Questions/comments, as always, feel free to PM

-Nin))

((Next day - for those that go home, when you come back the next day, expect to see no remnants of what happened the previous night. Offices will be restored. Security will be heightened. Due to previous attacks on the company and the followups that came after them, there are now Xray walkthrough stations when coming in through the building. Like the metal detectors... your whole body is scanned. Thanks to advanced technology, no damage will be done to your bodies, for those concerned. Business as usual for today and at the end, we skip to Christmas Day.

New Day:
Tuesday, Decemeber 19th
High 36F
Low 20F
2 inches of snow overnight/no snow for the day
Cloudy
Wind - From W at 7 mph

Enjoy your day))

((Ninjin/Spectral Collabo))

"What are you goin' over there for? Your pet project is in here. You think I'd keep it in a community vault?"

Clarence kept his stride as he approached the main vault in the office, "There is a distinct difference between what you think and what I know. I suggest you learn those differences quickly," he spoke condescendingly.

McCourd shifted aside the fixed books, revealing a smaller vault and after punching in the proper security codes, Ethan opened the vault door. He disconnected the attached device and pulled the Z-chip out, which was held in a transparent box.

"So what do you need this for anyway," Ethan stood up and held the Z-chip in his hand and extended it toward Clarence. He still kept it relatively close to his person, "I plan on giving Tharomar a full demonstration in the morning."

Mr. Thomas' hands were cupped in each other at his back when he turned around with a smile, "My boy, my patience wears thin at this point. As you can imagine, this day did not go exactly according to plan," Clarence started a beeline to Ethan, "However, I have come to welcome the unexpected and be well-prepared. I digress, your concern, at this point, although understandable, is unecessary," Clarence held his hand out in front of him, palm up.

Ethan narrows suspecting eyes at his boss and surrenders the box to Clarence, "And what am I supposed to tell Mr. Tharomar about the demonstration," he asked as Clarence began to walk away.

"Whatever you have to in order to keep your job. And remember," Clarence stopped in front of the elevator and pressed the access button, "there's more than one way to skin a cat."

The elevators doors smoothed open and closed with Mr. Thomas inside.

Ethan rolled his eyes and walked over to his desk. He opened a drawer and pulled out a recorder, pressing the stop button. He cursed under his breath and placed the tape recorder back into the drawer and walked over to the secret safe. Ethan pulled out the blueprints to the Z-chip and clenched them in his fists. He screamed his frustration and threw the model plans across the room. He plopped down at his desk and opened a third drawer to punch in a new set of codes to a smaller safe that he kept to himself. He spotted the glove's blueprints and started at it for a moment. His eyes took a wicked gleam as he removed them from its holding space.

"Why skin a cat, when you can just blow it up," a sinister smile spread across the doctor's face.

The man continued to talk, boiling Nadia's blood. Had it been possible, fumes would have been rising from the top of her head.

“No, I take that back. It would still be your choice on how you respond. You know, I take it all back, chickadee. Everything that’s happened between us so far is definitely your fault.” He paused again. “You sure you don’t want the Mountain Dew.”

Nadia stopped and spun around to face Newton. His floating body held out the soda can. She smiled weakly and grabbed it from his hand. She held the can in between her thumb and middle finger and extended her arm. She stared into Newton's eyes and shook the earth. Almost immediately the ground felt like it was going to crumble apart. Pedestrians ran for cover, not knowing what was going to happen. The earth beneath Nadia broke open and a circular cage of rocks formed and rose around her. The rumbling was fierce and Nadia had not been moved.

After moments of shaking, it stopped on a dime. There was no shaking and there were no rising rocks. The only remnant of her power was a stalagmite that struck the Mountian Dew can with lightning speed and held it like a shishkabob. The green drink, dripped down the rocky spike and drained into the cravices of the sidewalks.

The stalagmite sunk back into the earth, dropping the can. Nadia wiped her hands on her pants and focused back on Newton, "You see," Nadia started to explain, "Regardless of how bad it may get. I always have control. I don't care about your precious precinct, if you hadn't noticed. Bringing it down would have been no skin off my back. It was more, like my dad used to say, neutralizing the threat. Like I would try and kill the only person in this world that loves me."

The young girl shrugged, "Should have called this chickadee's bluff. While we have powers, alot of us are still only human."

"Self-centered? Nah, I love Aidan," She said, walking backwards, "And given our current circumstance, I just don't take kindly to strangers, even in their own backyard. Blame it all on me, thats fine," Nadia smiled bigger, "You must think I was supposed to realize some err of my ways? Get real flyboy. Go through what we been through. You'll know why I could give two craps about what you think or say."

Nadia finally turned around and into the chest of a man in a green business suit.

"Excuse you," Nadia looked up and her eyes grew wide as the man's face put terror in her heart.

"Hello Nadia," the man's voice almost sounded like several.

Nadia looked over her shoulder and smiled at the irony of her situation.

Dr. McCourd narrowed his eyes, "Why not go up to your office? It's more private there. With the cameras and all down in R&D, wouldn't you be worried about people listening in to our conversation?"

"My boy, if you hadn't noticed," Clarence stifled a laugh, "there was an altercation in the upper levels of this building. For investigational purposes, which we just allow the law enforcement to do as simple protocol, there will be no one allowed into the any of the offices higher up. "

A strong wind blew fiercely for seconds before it was just the low evening temperatures that made him mentally kick himself for neglecting to bring his coat. The gorund was still laden with remnants of snow from that day. The moonlight illuminated the few clouds that covered it in the night sky. The star count was scarce, but the ones that were there shined brightly.

Clarence alloted for some distance before he joined up next to Ethan as they walked back toward the building.

"Besides," Clarence continued in a low, but clear voice, "We go where the action is... or was. Your interest and my interests are down in that basement. You came here to do a job and upon completion of that job, you are expected to deliver. I am expected to collect. This is how business is run," Clarence smiled at a passing officer as he neared the front doors of Tharomar Enterprise once more.

He placed his hand on the handle of one of the large glass doors and stopped to look back at the young prodigy to see that he was still following when Clarence opened the door.

"What you must realize, Doctor McCourd," Clarence walked in behind Ethan, "is that life is nothing but give and take."

Both men entered the elevator that took them down into the lower levels of the building. Clarence pressed the one button on the keypad, initiating the doors to close and their descent.

"What you must decide is where you want to be - on the giving end," the CEO held one hand out as if he had something in it, "or the taking end," he held out his other hand and fluctuated the two like a balance.

Clarence placed his hands behind his back, "Although the choice is not always up to you, it is always best to find where you can invest a little giving in order to do alot of taking," he smiled as he thought of several "taking" moments in his mind.

The elevator came to a jolting stop and the doors gave free access to the R&D department.

"Ah, here we are," Clarence stepped out, hands still behind his back, "shall we?"

[ QUOTE ]
Maybe this will cheer everyone up.

>.>

Please don't kill me.

[/ QUOTE ]

The man's got spinoff skill... comical and corny.

~~~~
Troll,
Always sucks when one of the good ones got to go.

((As I pointed out to some in PM's, I will reiterate publicly - this is not a battle thread. This is not the place for ambushes and attacks and crazy alien abductions. There are plenty of those threads surrounding this one. And good ones might I add. This is just not really the place. Now, I understand there will be a little skirmish here and there, but nothing crazy. This is about the writer and being able to develop the character versus the power. Then, with the discovery of this power, we can watch the developments of how one chooses to live with that newfound responsibility and going good or bad. Think your daily soaps (but with better material) meet Marvel: Beginnings (if there was such a thing).

I'll open it up for powers around New Year's Eve/New Years during a planned event at the T.E. Ball that will probably require some usage for some of you to come out of it alive. Those who have made small inclinations as to what you can possibly do - thats fine. Don't give away too much tho. Try to wait untill the "New Year". Alrighty then.

In other news, we're going to have tonights RP day (after the attack... "what kind of evening does your character have normally) and then another full day. After the end of that day, we will forward to Christmas Eve. So be thinking about where your character might be and might be doing over the next few days in case you need to recap in a post. Don't forget to PM those that you write with often for coordination. Less confusion that way. Any questions, feel free to send a PM.

-Nin))

"Go home Vanessa," Clarence took steps down to the sidewalk from the building.

"Ok..." Vanessa quietly replied.

"McCourd," Clarence continued, "its actually you I wanted to speak with. Perhaps we can go somewhere a bit quieter. The bottom level, perhaps, " his voice sounded of suggestion, but it was the raise in his eyebrow that gave Ethan the impression that there wasn't much choice in the matter.

~~~~

"Are you serious? You set off stink bombs in the vents?"

"You should have seen me Trav. It was so cool," the excitement in the girls voice was evident.

"Alex, you have got to calm that crap down," frustration melded with Travis' words.

Travis and his younger sister, Alexandria were driving home from the parent-teacher conference at the school that afternoon. It was the third one this month.

"Whatever," Alexandria folded her arms and sunk a little lower in the car seat.

The rest of the ride home was in silence. Travis continued to think about what the teacher had said and Alex thought about how the last person on earth she thought would be there for her, finally seemed against her.

Alexandria Wester, was eight years old the first time she set fire to a house. The stove had been left on and the red eye was more appealing to her than any doll. She grabbed a chair and placed her hand over the top of the eye to test the heat. it only fueled her curiosity as she watched every object she placed onto the eye melt or burn to a crisp. One of the last materials she used, paper towels, burned and broke apart into small pieces that floated in the air. She grabbed the dish towel and swiped at the black pieces, but it was to no avail. Alex simply shrugged and threw the towel onto the counter behind her as she left the kitchen.

It took almost three minutes to realize something didn't smell right. Thirty seconds later and the damage was already done. Alex had no qualms about losing the house, her toys, her clothes or anything that belonged to her.

She got to see a fireworks display unlike any other she'd ever seen. And that, more than anything, was the stuff her dreams were made of.

Destruction.

Home again, Travis unlocked the door and had barely opened it before the 4' 10", dark brown pigtailed girl rushed up the stairs of their townhome. Her feet were moving so fast, she nearly slipped and fell , but caught herself at the last minute. The next thing Travis heard was a door slam.

"Sounds like he's depressed," Walter said, stating the obvious. "Either that or he's just burning out on the job. I've seen it happen before. Just gets too monotonous for them." He fiddled with his glasses again as he thought.

Travis sighed, "Its possible, I guess. I mean... its only been a couple of years tho."

"How old is he now anyway? Some kids get to a certain age and it's like an early mid-life crisis. Not where he thought he'd be at that age or something." Walter wasn't one to offer advice since he didn't think he had that good a handle on his own problems, let alone other peoples'. But if asked he'd try his best. Even if only to be polite.

"He's about 24, same as me... I mean, is this ever where we wanna be tho. Seriously. I dont think anyone ever thought that they wanted to answer phones for the rest of their lives. Who thinks they want to be somewhere most of the world rejects."

He thought back for a moment, "Well, there was this one girl," Travis smiled, "She's in the military... aspires to be a stripper. Crazy, I know but... boy could she work it," Travis' face froze as the wave of nostalgia hit him hard.

*Beep Beep*

Two blinks later, Travis looks down at his watch and curses silently.

"Hey, Walt I gotta go. Thanks for the talk though," he moved backwards toward the elevator as he spoke, "we'll have to have some lunch sometime and get you a swimsuit calendar or something for that office space of yours," the words got louder the farther away he got.

Back in the elevator, Travis cursed to himself again as he looked at his watch. He was gonna be late. Again.

Back on his floor, Travis rushed to his cubicle and logged out of everything. Preston watched with open curiosity then looked at the time and remembered. Travis picked up his gymbag and stopped in front of Preston's cubicle.

"You still comin over tonight," his words were rushed but annunciated.

"I dont know," Preston didn't look up from his computer.

A deadpan expression filled Travis' face. He had given up for today, "Whatever," he finished and rushed out of the building.

Once he was in his car, he made the drive all the way into Prosperity and down to the front of the local middle school, Rockwell Intermediate. The school had been built before the great expansion, when there wasn't much idea for it. He parked his car in the teacher's parking lot and stumbled out of his car and into the school. He ran down the turns of the corridors and nearly missed the door to the classroom he was on his way to. His hand caught the frame of the door in the nick of time, stopping him from going too much further past it.

A slightly out of breath Travis stood in the doorway and looked at a young girl of about twelve sitting in the middle front seat of the classroom, arms crossed. Her teacher, Ms. Glover was erasing her board of the day's lessons.

"You're late," Mrs. Glover said as she continued to erase the boards, "I was beginning to think you would not show."

"Me? Not show," Travis replied sarcastically, "Course I'd show. I love stuff like this. Makes me yearn for the good old days," Travis stretched as he entered the classroom.

Mrs Glover raised an eyebrow and gave a sideways glance at Travis, "Please have a seat Mr. Wester and we'll get started."

Travis walked past the girl with furrowed brows and mouthed, "What did you do this time," he sat down in the desk next to her. It was a tight fit, but ok for the time being.

The girl rolled her eyes and shrugged.

~~~~

Vanessa heard the small ding of the sliding doors in Clarence's office and walked over as they opened. She stepped inside and went down to the lobby floors.

She saw her boss and the doctor talking right outside. It seemed like things were dying down, at least inside the building.

Her phone rang, "Hello," she answered.

"Hey V, what happened over there. Radio said there was an attack on T.E. You ok," Monica's was full of concern for her friend.

"Yea," Vanessa smiled, "I'm fine. Just got out actually. But yea, I 'll call you about it all later," she said and hung up.

Vanessa held her phone tightly and walked outside to Ethan and Clarence.

Dr. McCourd crossed his arms, looking at the old man, "What the hell is goin' on? Why'd you ask me about the R&D lab? Did something happen?"

"Doctor McCourd, you're better off not talking to Mr. Thomas like that, trust me," Vanessa's emphasized on trust as she burned a look into him from behind Clarence.

The Firefighters moved with extreme quickness and caution as they journeyed up the stairs to the top levels of Tharomar Enterprises. The rescue search was on. The fire itself was being put out as they made their way to Tharomar's office. The sensors in the office detected abnormal heat signatures with immediate response. The job now relied more on cleanup than it did fire extraction.

It was going to be a long night for some.

~~~~


Inside the R&D, Clarence contemplated the room. The fires had been exstinguished by the company's security systems, but the damage was already done. Whoever did this was able to stall the building's defenses long enough for the fire to do what it had to do. The basement area wasn't completely destroyed, but it was enough to remove all offices to another location for the time being.

Except for McCourd. He stays here.

He did notice, however, the proximity of the damage happened in certain places. Captain Obvious didn't have to point out that there was an act of sabotage.

Clarence remembered something about a safe and started searching. Along the back wall, away from the entrance, there was a wall safe. It looked to be the same one that Tharomar had in one of his offices in a much more discreet location. If so, then everything inside should still be safe. It had a 1 hour fire rating, insuring the inside temperature never exceeded 350 degrees. There was also a retinal signature needed along with a passcode in order to get inside. He had one of two.

Clarence Thomas got on the phone. No signal. He couldn't expect much being on the bottom level of the building. There was nothing more he could do here without McCourd and he was going to get to the bottom of this soon. Real soon. Clarence tapped the hidden elevator's access button and the sliding doors opened again to show an empty space. Perplexed, but never one to be caught off guard, Clarence walked out the regular doors of the department and into the lobby.

"Police! Freeze," The moment he stepped out into the open, Clarence had barrels pointed at his face. It did not change the serene look on his face.

"Stand down," one officer said, "Its Mr. Thomas. This way, sir," the officer approached Clarence.

"I'm fine, do your job with someone else," Clarence's attention was outside the building, his eyes scanning past the glass doors.

"Sir, I understand but the situation is critical and-"

"Tell me officer, do you like your job," Clarence asked without breaking his concentration.

"Do I like my... yes sir," the officer replied, confused.

"Do you have a family?"

"Yes sir, wife, two little girls."

McCourd, Clarence thought as he spotted him out in the street amongst the congregation of people outside. It was like trying to find waldo in reality.

"Well, how do you think your wife and daughters would feel when you are no longer able to produce an income... ever," Thomas' eyes pierced coldly into the eyes of the officer.

"I, uhh... uhh... sir, I just," The rookie cop lost the words, hand signals became his new method of communication.

"Your job. Elsewhere," Clarence said and pointed past the officer at nothing in particular.

"Yes sir," the officer scurried away with several others who didn't want to relive what they had just witnessed.

Idle chatter out of the way, Clarence made his way outside to Ethan McCourd in hopes for cooperation. More for the doctor's sake than his. Clarence would hate to have the doctor working on future endeavors with one eye.

((Pre-Explosion))

"There," he adjusted his glasses again, turning back toward Travis. "So, what did you need?"

"Well... honestly, I'm not sure," Travis ran a hand through his hair.

Walter just stared at him, clueless.

"Ok," Travis said, starting from the beginning and told him all about Preston and how he had been acting so strangely lately.

"I mean, he's always so jovial and stuff," Travis emphasized on the word jovial.

"Now, I couldn't even get two words out without offending him. It was like, everything about me just.... made him mad. What did I do," Travis' tone took an offensive, "I mean its not my fault I'm in shape. Its not my fault I can finish puzzles faster than him. Or that I know how to speak up and not be talked down to. I mean... whatever," arms folded, he gave up on trying to figure any of it out.

((Input from Spectral_Bind))

The explosion shook the entire building. This wasn't what moved Clarence Thomas. The reverberation didn't cause panic in him. Then he heard the only two frames on his wall land with a thud and crack. Clarence broke his concentrated glare at Jennifer and gave a blank one to his wall where the frames were hanging.

"And this meeting is done," Clarence smiled.

One button on the computer displayed various camera options about the building. He switched on the infrared monitors and listening beacons and scanned the different areas of the building.

Tharomar was the least of his concerns. It was the secondary explosion in R & D that finally caused him to nearly have a panic attack. McCourd better still be in this building burning in that fire as well.

He pulled out his cell phone and dialed the Doctor. As he did, he walked over to where his frames were and pressed on of three colored buttons that had been behind the million dollar check. Instantly a portion of the wall split open like something out of Star Trek and he stepped inside. He turned to face forward and noticed Doctor Morse still in the room. The door closed and he leaned back against the wall.

He thought for a moment.

The sliding doors opened once again and he beckoned Dr. Morse to join him.

"Merry Christmas," was all he said to her as the doors closed once more.

It was just like any of the other elevators, except this one in particular only whent to certain floors of interest. He pressed two of the buttons and felt a quick jolt as the apparatus made its descent.

"McCourd, what the hell is going on in the R & D section," Clarence's voice was low, but there were subtleties about the anger he was trying to supress.

"What the hell are you talking about? I'm no longer in the building," Etahn's voice emulated surprise

Clarence's thoughts immediately raced with ideas of espionage and treachery, but shyed it away as he figured McCourd for being smarter than that. Thomas was sure he valued his life.

"Where is the Z-chip," his demeanor had changed from anger to simple rushed inquisition

"It's in the safe in my office. The one Mr. Tharomar gave me. What's going on," it was the Doctor's turn to get angry.

He immediately hung up, having all he needed. In the same moment, the elevator reached a secret location on the ground floor of the building near the security shack. Sliding doors opened up and Clarence motioned for the good Doctor to step out.

"Seeing as how the threat's up there, you should be safe down here. I suggest a quick return home," the doors closed on that note and Thomas continued down to the R & D section.

((Also, there is an annual T.E. Ball hosted by Tharomar Enterprises on New Year's Eve... very big event...that, while everyone doesn't have to go (this isn't like any of the RP schools, its work, we have our own schedules to keep), it is still strongly encouraged. Its free to at least the employees anyway... mark that in your RP calendars. More info on that to come.))