the Clinic (Open character-based RP)

Void Blazer was in a battle rage, and the small thuds from the energy guns only spurred him on to fight harder. Raising both fists, he smashed them into the ground, creating a shock wave in attempt to temporarily halt the fire. But when he looked up he saw the white glow of SAP grenades. In an attempt to protect himself he swung one arm forward, knocking one grenade back, when he noticed two more lying beneath him, he clutched his arms around himself to form a shield.

Moments later the grenade exploded, and while he found it did not harm him, he noticed it drained him, and even with the accelerated regeneration of his form, it was still devastating, and brought him to his knees.

Despite that, Void Blazer was desperate not to fail, and still had a small bit of will left in him. Using his arms as a stand, Void Blazer was able to push himself up. Holding his arms out, he muttered to himself, and soon there was a dark circle surrounding everyone, if the circle worked as he hoped, it would give him the strength to keep fighting, if not, it would just leave him further drained.

Despite all that was still going on, Void Blazer said nothing, determined only to focus on staying standing. I..can't...fail...now...or...it's...all...over...

Kruth'T wearily picked him-self up, from a tangle of (now useless) gym equipment. I swear... Days like these... Makes me wish I had gone down with the ship.

Kruth'T took mental stock. He concluded (as he spat out a broken tooth), that all in all, he wasn't in all that bad of shape. That done he then surveyed the battle field.

As far as he could tell, the security team was only winning due to superior numbers, good leadership, and a lot of luck. Grimly, he noted that sooner or latter this would end badly. He wanted to wade in and stop it, but he reasoned that that would only make matters worse. Within a few moments, he decided to ask the one person who could, possibly, end this.

So he turned to Ella. Quickly he made a few mental adjustments to his translator, for a high tech variant of 'trowing your voice'.

"Ella," Kruth'T's voice seemed to emanate from beside her. "Could you please stop this. Your the only one who can. I know you are frightened by what happened at the hot tub. I also know you didn't mean to do what you did. So I do not blame you for it. Please, stop them. If for no other reason, then because I think you are someone who I would like to call... Friend"

Kruth'T watched wearily, hopping that he was right...

((Introduction of a new 'patient' to The Clinic))

Furtive pale eyes watched the darkness longingly. A warm fog silently slinking in on velvety cat’s paws from Dark Astoria to languidly prowl the streets of Talos Island.

It was night.

It was her element.

It was her time.

Through the darkness Orchid would linger by the doorways and windows to observe and evesdrop. Inhabitants went about their nightly routines – some argued, some sat and read, others ate their meals, some lovers kissed and caressed the one they held dear to their heart. She didn't linger long, she was reverently impersonal and silent in her rounds.

Her thoughts momentarily sought a long past memory of a torrid but hopeless love affair and she blushed slightly with the remberance of it's passion. How she longed for a warm human touch to her cheek. How she ached for kind and tender words both to her ears and to her quiet heart. She had reconciled long ago that such was not in her destiny to have - yet she still craved human company.

She continued to observe, silently prowling the warm and sultry night with her paramour of warm fog caressing her cool body and colder night shadow.

The dark lady Orchid paused at the steps of a church. Memories of past Masses echoed through what was left of her shattered mind and soul. The change the day she had become possessed by a warshade had not been a kind or gentle embrace of her. It had been violent and brutal in the heat of battle and not an entirely sane choice. . .

Memories of screams of innocent people the day of the first Rikti invasion reverberated through her now war weary and aching bones. Could it be true that the oracle was correct and the Rikti were returning to finish what they had started so many years before?

As she stood on the steps of the church, her gloved fingers teased the now familiar cork from her hipflask of brew and she took a long, deep drink. The liquid was thick and rich as it crept past her cool dark lips and sharp white teeth, nevermind the stain it would leave as she inbibed. Down her throat it crept like some sweet and saltly liquid, a warm and partially congealed pudding. "Yes, drink Orchid. Drink in the sweetness of this life, it is brief and fragile and only loaned to you for a while..." the voice in her head taunted her. She was at once relieved for the spreading warmth of the drink and yet strangely reviled that she wasn't strong enough to put the hipflask down on the steps of the church and simply walk away from it.

The voices in her head began an all too familiar dance, swirling and taunting her with long forgotten memories of her past. Here the screams, there the scenes of death and pain, carnage. All was fire and blood in slick rivers and sickly pink vapor she could still smell and taste as if it were only yesterday. All in nonsensical shattered pieces like broken shards of glass fallen upon a hard and unforgiving floor the memories spun their disjointed and tangled web.

Orchid reached for the wrought iron railing to steady herself as the moment enveloped her - it would pass soon enough. She had weathered this storm before and would doubtless weather this storm again. Thankfully there were no eyes she was aware of staring at her as in the last incident in Pocket D. She hadn't been back to the club since 'The Incident'.

"Get out of my head!" she growled as her pale eyes looked into the stained glass window above the double doors of the church. "I've paid for my sins many times over - Give me peace, let me find rest!"

Orchid slowly slumped in her tattered and worn trenchcoat to the concrete church steps. A cold sweat caressed her body, icy beads of moisture formed upon her once lovely face and her now damp, long, white hair stuck in strands to her neck and shoulders. As suddenly as they had begun the swirling images in her mind stopped cold. Her grip on the iron railing softened and relaxed.

She closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief, "You do listen. Remember me." She took another slow sip of courage from the flask, replaced the cork and with a slight tremble of her hand slipped it back into her coat pocket. "Give me courage to stand when others around me fall. Teach me what is right and show me the way to my redemption and eternal rest."

Orchid slowly stood, adjusting her worn cowgirl hat, slicking back wet tendrils of hair from her face and neck, smoothing the wrinkles of her pale purple leopardskin print dress, checking the seams of her fishnet stockings and stillettoed heeled boots that matched her dress. She pulled her tattered trenchcoat around her a little tighter and shivered unnaturally as the night's dew began to collect on her spiked shoulder pauldrons. She smiled an almost shy smile with two tiny tips of fangs barely showing as she thought, "Just because my brain's a scrambled mess doesn't mean my broken body has to match."

The night had grown a little colder as Deadly Orchid continued her journey in the fog through the all concealing night on Talos Island. She took the business card from her pocket, the time had come for her to check herself into the renowned Warhawk Clinic.

((new 'patient' continued))

Orchid approached the security office at the gate of the clinic. She was met by a security guard.

"Evening ma'am, do you have your Hero ID card and may I see it?" was the standard greeting.

"Yes, I have it here" Orchid surrendered her card to the security guard.

"Are you visiting someone, using the spa or in need of Admissions?" asked the guard.

"I... I think I need admitted. You see, I'm hearing voices in my head..." replied Deadly Orchid.

"Please wait here while I phone this in ma'am" said the guard as he returned to his gatehouse to phone in the latest visitor to the clinic.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"We have a hero at the gate waiting patiently. Name's Deadly Orchid. She's a warshade."

"There's no record of her in our computers for previous admissions. Odd... there's a security block on her file."

"She seems calm and is waiting patiently. She's being cooperative in surrendering her ID card. She says she needs admitted with some mental problems."

"Better call the interns and security of the Psych Ward."

"What? No she doesn't appear to be in need of sedation, she's dead calm and peaceful as the dead at the moment."

. . . . . . . . . . . .

The security guard returned with Orchid's ID card.

"There'll be someone out to meet you in a few minutes. Have you visted the clinic before? How did you hear about this place?" queried the guard to Orchid.

Orchid grinned shyly as she replied, "There's a chuch I stop at when I walk at night, the priest knew me as part of his congregation many years ago... he referred me here. I need to talk with someone about the voices in my head." She proffered the well worn and faded business card that had been in her pocket for ages.

The guard looked at the card, "I haven't seen those in years. Not since Crimson Warhawk was a resident here. You've had this a while? No matter, the doctors here are experts in their fields of study - you'll be fine I'm sure."

Orchid took back her card as an intern from the Psych Ward introduced himself and asked her to follow him to the Admissions desk.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Once inside they were seemingly followed by security as they made their way to the Admissions desk.

Orchid looked to the intern, "Ya know... security isn't necessary. I'm not here to harm anyone."

"Just a routine precaution I assure you." But the intern was lying - there was nothing routine about kheldians comming in for evaluation and treatment.

Orchid could sense the lie but shrugged and continued until they came to Admissions.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"Hello Orchid, and welcome. We're here to help you but first we need you to fill out these forms. You don't mind too much do you? Just be honest with the answers to the questions and we'll in-process you for your stay at the clinic." The clerk seemed sincere and Orchid took the clipboard with the paperwork and started filling it all out as she sat on a comfortable leather chaise.

She looked at the intern and security, "All this really isn't going to help me relax to fill out these forms... could you watch me on closed circuit cameras instead? Really... I'm fine for now. I don't mind cameras - I understand those for security measures."

But she wasn't fine and the presence of strongmen with needles waiting for her to make a wrong move so they could sedate her was a bit unnerving... even to a warshade. She was in need of help and not looking for a fight.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Besides the routine information on the forms were questions that made Deadly Orchid giggle to herself as she answered them honestly:

Do you have any preferences for your room?

Yes, dim candlelight, room darkening curtains or shades, don't need a view of the outside. Cooler temperatures preferred, firm mattress and bed with sides - like a coffin, lidded preferred. No unpleasant chemical cleaners used - something floral like lavender or rose attar. Perhaps a strong horizontal beam or rafter to hang myself on...

Do you have any food preferences or allergies?

Liquid protein diet preferred - all natural, no synthetics, no preserveatives. Freshness is critical as is high iron content. Meats must be warm and rare with blood still running. Milk and water preferred but must be warm and milk partially coagulated. Food must be 'live'.

What sort of people are you comfortable socializing with?

Any. All. I don't mind the darker types like werebeasts and the undead though I do find zombies a bit on the boring side...

What physical activities to you enjoy?

Hunting, I love a good chase through Dark Astoria at midnight. I'm pretty happy with anything not involving sunlight.

What sort of mental activities do you enjoy?

I can sink my teeth into a good horror movie or novel. Vampire stories preferred - I like to see who gets it right and who just makes me laugh...


. . . . . . . . . . . .

Deadly Orchid reread her answers and fully satisfied she'd answered honestly she handed the paperwork to the Admissions clerk.

The clerk took the papers and after scanning over them took them to her supervisor. Much whispering and looking over to Orchid ensued.

The supervisor came over to Orchid. "Could you clarify this statement of wanting to hang yourself by a rafter in your room, please?"

Orchid caught sight of the Admissions Clerk pressing a large blue button on her desk and began to explain.

"I don't understand what you mean 'clarify'. I merely want a beam in my room to roost on, you know, like a bat does when they hang upside down in a church steeple?"

"So you don't want to do any sort of harm to yourself?", asked the supervisor.

Orchid laughed, "Of course not! I'm trying to understand myself - not kill myself. Not that I could do that even if I tried to..."

"Oh, that's a relief. I'll have to annotate that in your file then", said the supervisor as she returned to her office with the clerk in tow.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

"Code Blue - Psych Ward Admissions"

The announcement blared over loudspeakers as Orchid watched in disbelief at the chaos unfolding around her.

Interns appeared loading up syringes with medications from vials in their shirt pockets. Security blocked any doors and windows in the Admissions desk area.

"No!" shouted Orchid, "It's all just a big misunderstanding! Put the syringes away!"

The room began to close in on the newest patient in the Psych Ward.

"You better put it away and back up. Don't crowd me - it'll get ugly! It's a misunderstanding...." pleaded Orchid to the staff slowly crowding in around her. "I'm not a danger to anyone. I'm not a danger to myself. Put the needles away!"

((please jump in))

[ QUOTE ]
As Sis grasped his shoulders and shook him, Ed’s mind was flooded with confusion partially because the entire building didn’t rip apart like a blown up paper back as well as Sis being largely unaffected. Ed was also perplexed that he was no longer being attacked by the guards or Sis and so his fury began to subside but not before smacking Sis’ hand away from him. It might have been the sedatives in the darts or the dip of mental focus from his confused state but after releasing Sis’ grip on him, Ed lost his balance and toppled backwards and smashed into a wall.

[/ QUOTE ]

"Hey hey...easy now..." Sis started to drop the rocks from her feet and torso, glancing over at the security team as they struggled to their feet. "I'm not the enemy here...I don't think," she added under her breath. Taking a cautious step towards Edward, she hesitated. Would she make the situation worse if she moved him? Or would he lash out at her? Or was he too drained to do any more damage?

[ QUOTE ]
“Don’t….don’t touch me,” he groaned to Sis while rubbing the back of his head. After looking around at the mess he caused and the guards he managed to assault, Ed glided to his feet and started to shuffle away, bracing himself by placing a hand along the wall. He looked tired out but that could easily change if given an incentive.

[/ QUOTE ]

"...oh fer crissakes." Sis let the last of the lava and rocks melt away and stepped forward quickly. Before the security team had time to react, she linked an arm around Edward's waist and picked him up in a fireman's carry. "Men! I mean honestly...don't want any help, don't want to clean up their messes...I don't know how you all survive, I really don't." Sis took a quick step and then leapt into the air, putting as much distance between them and the security team as she could.

"You are in NO shape to be walking on your own, you know. Crazy 'troller-types...seriously, you totally need rest and relaxation. Drugs too maybe. What's in this syringe anyway?" Sis touched down lightly on a shed roof before leaping up again and heading for a far grove of trees. She kept up the banter as she went, hoping to distract him. Good thing I'm tough, she thought. Otherwise, I'd probably have major bruises right about now...

The voices began to speak as Orchid looked for an escape without causing a scene or confronting any of the staff members of the Ward.

"Go on, you know you can be the warrior you've been designed to be... Show them what you can do...." the voices taunted.

"Shut up! These are innocents doing their job. They've just made a mistake in their understanding of me..." Orchid rebutted.

"Come on... show them you're the more evolved species... you know it'd be sooo easy..." the voices encouraged once more.

"I knew this was a mistake!" Orchid screamed as she raised her hands to her sides.

The interns and security stopped as she blinked from their view into seemingly thin air. Orchid was still there though, invisible to human eyes. Warshades had the gift of concealment as a survival adaptation and although she wouldn't remember it Orchid was in survival mode.

The rational Orchid was no more, she was 'blacked out' as the alien entity took control.

"Out, we must get out... We must survive at all costs, that is the mandate..." The concealed form waited for an intern to move just a bit from the doorway.

There was a whooshing sound as the warshade made her escape from the situation that had unfolded in the Admissions area.

"Free! We are free again!" Maniacal laughter echoed through the hallways of the Psych Ward as an invisible form looked for a place to reform itself.

. . . . . . . . . .

"Code Red - Psych Ward"

In laymen's terms that meant they had labeled Orchid as a dangerous escapee and security would have the ward on lockdown.

Security began it's well rehearsed patrol as the interns tended to calming any agitated patients in the ward.

Meanwhile a stealthed alien was on the loose and looking for a secure dark place in which to hide.

. . . . . . . . . .

"Security? We have something here", one of the guards radioed to his teamleader. What he had found was Orchid's cowgirl hat in the middle of a hallway followed a little further by first one boot, then the other boot and her fishnet pantyhose.

As the security team made it's sweep of the area soft humming interspersed with a nursery rhyme could be heard from a locked Janitor's closet.

On opening the door to the Janitor's closet the security team saw Orchid in the dark, curled in a fetal position rocking back and forth seemingly counting her fingers and toes.

"I think you better call for the Doctor on this one", radioed the security Captain.

Orchid rocked back and forth counting her toes, "This little piggy went to market, this little piggy stayed home... This little piggy had roast beef, this little piggy had none..." When she got to the last little piggy, her little toes, she changed the rhyme. Instead of saying the familiar "This little piggy squealed weee weeee weeeee all the way home" for her it became "And these little piggies are gone... gone... gone..."

Upon closer examination the security team saw that Orchid did indeed have no little toes on her two bare feet.

A strangely calm Orchid raised her head to look at the guards looking at her and said, "You know, they took them... They just snipped them right off while I was awake and watched... No painkillers, no anesthesia... I was Eve to their Adam and now I must atone...." She lowered her head back to her knees and resumed rocking and rhyming, "And these little piggies are gone... gone... gone..."

“I’m not a controller type….I’m not a defender type or blaster type either, now put me down!” Edward demanded although he didn’t struggle. It’s not like this is the most humiliating position he’d been in at the clinic.

On Sis’ third leap, she might have noticed her decent slowing down but not dramatically. On the height of her fourth leap, both her and Ed would feel their weight being held in place by some invisible force. Ed looked over his shoulder to Sis, wondering if she could also fly but seemed to be getting the same look from her as his. “Don’t look at me,” Ed grumbled.

It was only a minute before some slender figure came into view in a silvery metallic suit that hugged the contours of her whole body, only halting at the neck, where her long brown feathered hair fell to her shoulders and around the sonic receptors/antennae that covered her ears. The bright yellow circuitry patterns that stretched from feet to torso glowed faintly as her hovering began to gain velocity to meet them. She floated up to the two as if she was being held up by the same force as them. “Hello Edward, Sis. Nice weather today, huh?”

Sandra adjusted a dial on her head antenna and they all began to descend toward the ground slowly. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to ‘turn you in’ or anything. I’m just trying to help you out.” Ed just grumbled to himself as they crept closer to the ground. “Oh, and if you wanted to know what’s in the needle, it’s a drug specifically designed to attack the hypothalamus which is the part of the brain that regulates autonomous functions like your heart beat and digestion. It may seem harsh but I’m here so hopefully drugs like that won’t have to be used.” It may have felt odd that they were all being held up by the combined power of their own minds and Sandra's which was simply tapping into their 'mind's frequency'. “You’re lucky there was a bit of a crowd on my way out. Someone who’s responsible for the entire clinic’s security asked if I could assist. So how is your eye after the operation?” Sandra asked Ed as their destination neared.

“Operation?” He rubbed the bandage that still wrapped around his head and over his eye. He didn’t seem knowledgeable about what had recently happened.


~~

“Would you just slow down for a minute!? She’s not acting dangerous or anything so why are you resorting to unneeded violence,” Ian shouted, still holding his stance but not attacking. “Can’t you see your attacks are provoking that warshade?” He wanted to help the guard to stop Void Blazer but first he’d rather they all stop attacking which would probably stop the warshade’s attack as well.

The doctor soon arrived to see Orchid in the closet, peacefully rocking and humming softly to herself.

"Has she said anything?", the doctor asked of no one in particular on the security team.

"You've got a strange one here, doc. She was reciting a nursery rhyme about piggies while she counted her toes. She's not been violent just calm and withdrawn" replied the security guard holding Orchid's hat, boots and stockings as he handed them over to the doctor.

The doctor entered the closet as the security team answered another call. "Sorry doc, incident at the hot tub..."

"Orchid? I'm a doctor here at the clinic and I want to help you. I have your hat and boots if you'd like them back. Are you ok? Do you know where you are?" a calm and well-practiced voice asked the softly humming warshade.

"They're gone... all gone... I did a bad thing and must atone for it....", replied Orchid as she stared into the dark corner of the janitor's closet.

The doctor sat on the floor next to Orchid and reached out a hand to touch the warshade's face. "Orchid? We want to help you... what can we do for you here?"

The doctor's hand was warm on Orchid's cold face and a pale purple glow enveloped it as Orchid's hand reached up to press it harder to her cheek. The color began to drain from the doctor's hand as Orchid's ashen face began to turn a rich bronze, her pale eyes began to change into a soft golden brown color.

"Please... just a little warmth, a little life....just.. just a little..." whispered Orchid as the doctor's hand went completely numb, the color loss and loss of feeling slowly spreading to the elbow.

. . . . . . . . . .

"Orchid... stop, please stop!" the doctor's voice pleading as the numbness and color drained from the arm up to the shoulder.

Orchid turned with a now horrified expression on a warm bronze and healthy looking face to gaze into the doctor's eyes, "Oh my gawd.. I'm sorry... so sorry..." She pushed herself away as she released the doctor's hand. "Can you move your arm or fingers?"

The doctor did move the now white and icy cold fingers and the greying arm and shoulder with no grimmace of pain or discomfort. "How? What did you just do to m... " but the question was lost as the medically trained eyes looked upon a seeming miracle of recovery.

"Your hair... your skin... your eyes..." clearly a medically trained mind was bewildered and conflicted. "How... What... Amazing..."

Orchid was taking her hat, boots and hosiery from the doctor, "This may be a weird question but...where am I and how and when did I get here? For that matter... where is 'here'? And why were you holding my hat and boots?"

. . . . . . . . . .

The doctor sat looking a bit confused. "You don't remember checking yourself in to the Warhawk Clinic?"

Orchid looked at the floor and wiggled the toes on her bare feet. "Oh... Is that where I am? How long have I been here?" She groaned with the realization that she must have had another black-out and hoped that there hadn't been another 'incident' she wouldn't be able to explain.

The color and circulation was returning to the doctor's arm and hand. "Just what DO you remember Orchid?"

"I remember being in Talos Island... on the steps of a church I like to stop at when I walk at night."

"And when was that, Orchid?"

"What's today's date, doc?"

The doctor told her the date and Orchid's eyes dropped to the floor as she answered, "That was over a month ago..."

. . . . . . . . . .

((Welcome to the Clinic Rakash!))

The security team trained their rifles on Ella. The tell-tale red dots of the laser sight pelted the wall behind Ian, as they tried to find a shot past him and at the small girl that cowered behind him.

Brice was at an impasse, he knew things that he wasn’t allowed to share and couldn’t let the men stand down. On the other hand the situation was bad enough and he didn’t want anyone to get hurt (His team included). Beyond the tactics and training, he rested his hopes on that Ella would comply….

Ella wasn’t listening as Ian addressed the Security Team, as Kruth’T words still echoed in her head. At first his words fell on deaf ears making the woman in Ella smirk at her skillful manipulations, even though outwardly Ella continued to wear the mask of a fearful girl. Inwardly the words reached the real Ella, especially one word in particular…‘Friend’

If there was nothing else that Ella valued above all other things it was friends. She had already made some terrible sacrifices for the sake of her friends. Sacrifices that she was still paying for. Not that Ella could remember what she had done, or even her friends faces that she had made the scarifies for. They were shapeless apparitions that came to her in dreams or haunting feelings of déjà vu. The real Ella knew they were real. She knew that she loved them, and she knew why she couldn’t remember them, and she knew who took those memories. That made her mad and anger gave her the ability to fight back if even against her own mind.

[Ian] …“Can’t you see your attacks are provoking that warshade?”

A pulse of golden light reflected off of the face mask and visors of the Security team, the source of this light cowered directly behind Ian. The warm pulsing light then turned to a brilliant golden glow as Ella wrapped herself in her energy shields. She muttered to herself, her voice had a hard edge to it, but the European accent was gone. Her eyes were shut tight as milky white tears began to flow again squeezing themselves out at the corners of her eyes. Her muscles trembled shaking Ian whose shirt she still clung to…

The Security Team steadied their aim and readied SAP grenades, waiting for an order or for something to happen.

Then suddenly something did…

Ella firmed her grip on Ian and flung him across the room hard and fast and as easily as if he had been a Frisbee. Both halves of Ella knew his acrobatic prowess would keep him from harm.

No sooner than she had thrown away her shield, the lights flared to full brightness. She charged at the guards accelerating with tremendous velocity far faster than her legs should be able to push her. The golden glow of her energy shield faded as she sped across the room.

“Fire!!!” Brice shouted to the team who all complied at once.

The beams of the energy rifles set on stun streaked out to meet Ella in her reckless charge. Ella stumbled and rolled across the floor, but several SAP grenades were already in the air.

Ella slide to a halt a few feet from the guards who hastily backup from her as if she were contagious. The grenades clattered on the floor behind her then flashed, sucking her dry of energy.

Weakly Ella tried to push herself off of the floor. Her arms trembled as her long white hair cascaded over her face. A shimmering blue sphere of light surrounded her as she tried to replenish her energy but there were no soldiers close enough for her to leech from. A second volley from the rifles placed her face down and flat on the floor.

Two team members hurried forward. One covered Ella with a SAP stick. The other the team’s medic readied a shot and quickly injected Ella. A complicated set of custom made restraints were placed on the unconscious Ella, but there was no effort to place a glowie on her.

“Command this is BLUE team leader. Happy Camper is in custody” Brice sighed deeply and wondered what made her surrender. From all reports she was massively more dangerous.

His team looked to Void Blazer to see if he was going to give anymore trouble.

Meanwhile a heavy blast door opened. Several of the standard Security Officers in the everyday cloth uniforms escorted in Doctor Tyler.

Dr Tyler hurried to Ella’s side and checked the young girls eyes, and pulse. She removed Ella’s torc necklace placing it into one of the deep pockets of her white lab coat. A gurney was brought up and Ella was gently placed on it.

---

Hali tucked in a miserable Kia. The doctors had given her something that would help with the pain. She had the glowie off now at least that should help her rest better.

As Hali settled in to read about the Spa’s amenities and schedule some massages and seaweed wraps. Kia slipped out of bed and climbed out the window. Up on the roof hidden behind some large AC units she slipped on her black tights and put her boots and jacket on.

She wanted to find out what the heck was going on. Stealthily she floated down to the ground and headed towards the gym. There was lots of frantic mental activity there, so she figured that was the biggest source of trouble. Reducing her own inertia she made a powerful leap to land lightly on the Gym’s roof, and then stealthily made her way inside. She crawled backwards as she hovered against the ceiling, and watching below.

She saw the giant Warshade and wondered if she hadn’t missed all the trouble yet.

Void Blazer was still exhausted from the SAP grenades, and he could only feel a minor boost of energy return to him, and even then, his vision was beginning to blur. When he saw Ella being pelted with rifle blasts, he took a slow, heavy step forwards, and then a second, he didn't have the energy to go any further. When he saw the doctors come towards her, he relaxed his muscles a bit.

Nonetheless, he took one more step forward, saying in a weak tone, "Just...take...good...care...of...my...friends...u rgh" and with a groan he fell backwards causing a loud "thump". "[i]Well, I'm still alive..." he thought to himself as he looked towards the ceiling, for a few seconds he looked up to it, and everything went black for him, ((Unconscious, not dead)) and in a burst of darkness, he reverted back to his human form.

[ QUOTE ]
“Can’t you see your attacks are provoking that warshade?”

[/ QUOTE ]

Kruth'T nodded at the humans' logic, but suspected that the security leader couldn't comply. Still it was nice to someone else trying to diffuse the situation.

[ QUOTE ]
A pulse of golden light reflected off of the face mask and visors of the Security team, the source of this light cowered directly behind Ian. The warm pulsing light then turned to a brilliant golden glow as Ella wrapped herself in her energy shields. She muttered to herself, her voice had a hard edge to it, but the European accent was gone. Her eyes were shut tight as milky white tears began to flow again squeezing themselves out at the corners of her eyes. Her muscles trembled shaking Ian whose shirt she still clung to…

The Security Team steadied their aim and readied SAP grenades, waiting for an order or for something to happen.

Then suddenly something did…

Ella firmed her grip on Ian and flung him across the room hard and fast and as easily as if he had been a Frisbee.

[/ QUOTE ]

Now that is impressive. Kruth'T thought. He watched as she went down, and winced. He watched as order bringers, and a healer swarmed over her location. It was only when she was placed on the stretcher that he approached the healer.

"When she wakes tell her I said 'thank you for stopping this before people got hurt'." Kruth'T paused for a moment. "Also that I would like to talk to her latter when it is permissible."

It was then he heard a new heart beat enter the room. It was familiar, and it took him a moment to locate it's source. Unobtrusively, he waved hi at it's source. However his attention was snatched away from it when Void fell over.

Kruth'T studded Void for a moment, and watched him revert to his human shape. Kruth'T could see no blood, and his heart beat was slowing to a normal beat. However, he was not an expert.

Turning to one of the security personnel Kruth'T asked "Could you contact a healer for Void Blazer here. He seemed a little confused when he had telaported here."

Finally, Kruth'T turned to the human Ella had thrown, and approached him. "Hello, I am Kruth'T. Are you well?"

Ian would have continued to plead with the guard to try and resolve the misunderstanding some other way but Ella began to shake as she clung to his arm. He turned a concerned eye in her direction before completely turning his back to the guard. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” he *would* have said had she not changed her grip on his arm and tossed him violently away.

Normally, his quick reaction speeds would allow him to counter the throw by gripping his opponent’s arm just before release and toss his opponent with their own strength (a technique he dubbed the Fleeting Tiger) but, for the most part, his reflexes were nonexistent due to his mind being consumed by other emotions.

As he sailed through the air, Ian felt the same betrayal that Ella had felt when he jokingly ‘turned her in’ when he was confronted with the guards. He didn’t even make an effort to change his trajectory and his spinning trend continued. Usually, it was a simple matter to angle himself to take a fall or throw and suffer little damage, but it didn’t seem important at the moment so his back crashed into the wall, causing a definite series of cracks in the reinforced architecture of the wall and his body angled upside down. Ian’s form was stuck in the wall for a few seconds before gravity finally pulled him, sliding his body along its fractured surface. When he reached the floor, Ian was kept propped against the wall and his weight held up by his neck and upper back. He was now at rest from further movement besides his right leg twitching in the air.

[ QUOTE ]
Finally, Kruth'T turned to the human Ella had thrown, and approached him. "Hello, I am Kruth'T. Are you well?"

[/ QUOTE ]

Ian’s mauve eyes were still open but were void of any consciousness. He was still awake though, which was obvious by the words he mumbled. “She….doesn’t….like me…” he muttered several times, his voice raspy due to his odd hunched upsidedown position.

After a few awkward moments of trying to make sense of everything Orchid finally asked, "Doc? You said I'm checked into the clinic... do I have a room? I think I'd like to lay down a few minutes - I feel exhausted."

The doctor paged housekeeping to find out which room was Orchids and escorted her there pointing out the amenities of the ward as they passed them. "We're pretty informal here, you can wander around indoors and out if you'd like as long as you wear your patient ID and keep your appointments we'll be making for you. If you get lost just ask security or the staff and they'll take you where you need to go."

As Orchid walked barefooted to her room she noted the pleasant feel of the cool linoleum floor under her feet. She noticed how clean everything was and the lack of harsh chemical disinfectant smell - a relaxing scent of lavendar and rose caught her attention as she stopped at the doorway of her room.

The doctor went in first then invited Orchid into what was to be her domicile for however long she needed to stay.

. . . . . . . . . .

Orchid got the fifty-cent tour of her room from the doctor.

"You have your own private bathroom with shower, you have a fridge for any snacks or drinks you'd like to keep cold, a coffee maker, a built in dresser for your personal items inside your clothes closet, pamphlets with some info about what activities are available for you on your table there. There's a buzzer by your bed - an emergency button if you will - just in case you need to call a nurse or orderly. The nurse's station is just down the hall if you need anything like housekeeping, meds or information. Any questions before I leave you so you can rest?"

"I can't think of any, doc, I just need to lay down a few."

"Alrighty then, enjoy your stay and I'll be checking in on you from time to time."

The doctor left and Orchid surveyed her room.

. . . . . . . . . .

"I don't know why they assume I like the color black. They've draped my room in it - the blackout curtains on the window, the covering over the mirror, even my bedspread and shower curtain... This has got to go... I need some color in here..."

Orchid put her things away deciding as she hung up her trenchcoat to stay barefooted, the cold floor felt good as she walked to the nurse's station to correct the drab darkness of her room.

. . . . . . . . . .

"We'll get housekeeping right on that, what colors would you prefer in your room?" The nurse was nice enough as she took down Orchid's request for soft pastels in cool tones of pink, blue, gray and white. "I see you need a room darkening liner for your curtains - allergic to sunlight?"

Orchid nodded, "Yes, something like that."

The nurse put the request into a computer on the station desk and waited for confirmation from housekeeping. "They should be up to add some color to your room in about an hour. If you'd like to look around while they work on your room we have a really nice spa and pool where some of the other visitors and patients like to relax."

A nice cool dip in a pool sounded good to Orchid, "I'll check that out then, thanks."

. . . . . . . . . .

She returned to her room and looked in the dresser for the possibility of a swimsuit and struck gold. "Yes! A sunscreen suit - they are thinking of my needs here!"

Orchid dressed in the swimwear which could only be compared to an Indian kameeze top with churidar leggings. The form fitting leggings covered all but her feet, the top which was a modest knee length and form fitting long sleeved covered all but her hands, the matching cap covered all but her face - it was genius!

Orchid slipped on terrycloth slippers and matching bathrobe, grabbed the suit matching gloves and booties as well as a towel and several magazines and headed to the pool.

"Flip flop, flip flop, flip flop", the noise of the slippers ever so slightly annoyed her but she didn't care, she could walk around in relative freedom and that made her content as she followed the signs to the pool.

. . . . . . . . . .

(( Hooray! Now I can finally meet you all ! ))

Void Blazer was given courteous treatment, and was placed on a similar gurney, while a paramedic checked his vitals. His personal doctor was notified in case any specialized treatment was required.

Brice rounded up his team and hurried elsewhere. He left behind two men. One injured and one medical corpsman to look after the fellow. After placing several trauma patches on the downed soldier, he too was placed on a gurney and wheeled off.

The medic made his was over to the upside down Ian.

“Do you need medical assistance?”

Doctor Tyler gave the orderlies a slight nod and they wheeled her away towards a bank of service elevators.

Ella’s all white eyes snapped open, and very briefly she fought against her restrains. A pained expression crossed her face, as she twisted in the complicated metal braces. After a few seconds she gave up and slumped back down to the gurney. In a terrible fury she cursed at the orderlies. They didn’t seem to mind, mostly because the curses were in Portuguese. The string of profanities was ended when the elevator doors closed.

Doctor Tyler turned and looked at the collected heroes that have gotten caught up in this. They were owed an explanation, but how much could she tell them. It was more dangerous if they started snooping on their own (as heroes do), then there could be no information containment.

---

Kia flitted to the ground dropping the last few feet in an acrobatic display that was completely unnecessary. She would have placed an arm on Kruth’T’s shoulder and nonchalantly leaned on him but he was taller than she.

“So what fun did I miss?” She directed at Kruth’T. She then looked down at Ian and tilted her head to kind of line up with his perspective.

“Tough day at the office champ?” She smiled her smile. It was designed to be cocky and slightly light hearted, but you kind of needed to know her to get the light hearted part.

As Orchid followed the signs to the pool she'd step off the sidewalk onto the grass to let first one gurney, then several more that followed, pass. She didn't make eye contact with the people on them as they rolled by, partly out of respect for their embarrassment and partly out of not wishing to appear curious about what happened to them. But Orchid was curious and would doubtless hear all sorts of rumors and rumor control about what happened.

She continued walking to the pool when the entourage had all passed by. As she walked a memory surfaced that she'd thought was long buried. . .

* * * * * * * * * *

"Archon, this one's alive, shall we take her?", a man in a black uniform asked of another man in a black uniform. The 'Archon' merely nodded and the stretcher Orchid was on was put into a truck and whisked off to an underground base in Striga. There she and the other survivors were unloaded into a hospital facility.

"Doctor, this one's in shock. Get the team over here. . . ", the voice became a strange unintelligible drone to Orchid's ears as men in surgical masks worked over and around her to get the machines to stop beeping as their patient slowly stabilized.

They wheeled her into a recovery room where, in time, she regained her senses. As she did so the tubes and lines of fluids were removed, painfully, one at a time from her body.

"You sorry son-of-a. . . If I could get off this gurney I'd rip you a new one. . .", was all Orchid managed to say before she was rather rudely sedated and wheeled off to a holding cell to recover fully.

When she awoke she was in a sparsely appointed cell with only a metal bunk, thin mattress, wool blanket, and combo sink/toilet in her new abode. As she fell out of bed the window in the metal door to her cell opened. A raspy voice spoke to her, "I see you are awake. Good. There is a jumpsuit you may put on and in an hour will be feeding time." The window abruptly closed as footsteps hurried away.

"Great, I'm an animal in a zoo or the inmates are running this asylum. Feeding time indeed.", Orchid shivered as she crawled on the floor to retrieve the jumpsuit. "Why don't my legs work?" She fumbled clumsily for the clothing. "And why don't my arms work?"

As she reached for the jumpsuit she noticed the bandages covering her arms and legs. "What the...?" In a panic Orchid ripped the bandages from her arms and legs and sat naked on the floor staring in horror at what she saw. Her arms and legs were neatly stitched just below her joints - her wrists, elbows and shoulders, her ankles, knees and thighs. Her abdomen had been neatly stitched in an "H" pattern from her sternum to just above her bellybutton.

"You slimy bits of pond scum! What did you do to me?!?", was all Orchid could manage to scream before she started to cry as she pulled on the jumpsuit.

* * * * * * * * * *

Before she realized it Orchid was standing ankle deep in the pool, her slippers now soaking wet as was the hem of her terrycloth robe and a dragging corner of her towel. She closed her eyes thankful to be back in the present moment as she sat down on the dry lip of the steps of the pool. Her hands gripped the items she was carrying as she buried her face in them and started to softly weep. Her tears made the slick cover of the magazines stick to her face, the vegetable ink making unusual temporary tattoos on her bronze colored cheeks. A crossword puzzle was now temporarily tattooed onto her forehead.

--At a council base in Striga Isle

The unknown figure was still sitting in his chair, smiling. He remained quiet for a moment, and then began to speak out loud, cheerfully, almost like he had just seen an animal do something silly, "Ahahaha! Good going Void, good going indeed! So someone managed to pull you out of your mental stranglehold? Impressive. No matter, you're not done yet, no time for rest, you have so much to do at the Clinic, you wouldn't want to waste any more time."

The man paused for a few seconds, then in a quiet, dark voice he said, "Wake up..."

-- Void Blazer began to stir in his sleep, when suddenly he heard, "Wake up..." Suddenly his eyes burst open, and they darted back and forth to see his surroundings. Muttering quietly to himself he said, "Uugh...what happened...?" Void Blazer tried to recollect what happened prior to waking up on a gurney, and he realized all the chaos that happened. Oh no, what happened to the others anyway? I need to go find them!

Void Blazer leaped off the gurney, and began to sprint down the hallways, when he heard the escorts who were pushing him along try to shout to him, he quickly cut them off and yelled, "Don't worry, I'm fine, I'll, uh, check in with the medical office later, and I'll put in a good word for you're hospitality!"

--Back at the gurney in the middle of the hallway

Now, the several medical officers/personnel knew they on one hand, that it would not look good in the files if they let him walk away, but they also knew on the other hand, you don't want to make someone who can turn into a lobster, mad.

-- Back to Void Blazer

Void Blazer was still running down random hallways and turns, all the while recollecting his thoughts Agh..where is everyone? I need to find them... Eventually, he found himself in the middle of the pool area. Void Blazer looked back and forth to see if there was anyone he recognized, but to no avail. However when he looked down, he noticed a crying figure hidden by...magazines? Once again he looked back and forth. Well...I should keep looking for the others...but, this woman looks so...sad! coming up to the edge of the pool, he sat down, putting his boots into the water. Looking up at the woman he said, "Hey, umm...are you okay?" Void Blazer began to move one hand to the floor, a gesture intended to make Orchid take a seat.

At Void's voice Orchid sniffled and lowered the magazines from her face to wipe her eyes. She then nodded her head and replied, "Yeah, I'm just peachy, I'll be ok. This sort of thing happens to me all the time, though usually not so suddenly and not in public." She noticed Void's boots in the water next to her wet slippered feet, "Do you like having wet boots?"

Orchid wiped her nose on her sleeve as she lifted her soy ink temporary tattooed face to look Void in the eyes. "You'll excuse me if I don't shake your hand, mine are a bit full at the moment." She didn't want to touch him anyway for safety's sake. She had a habit of sucking the life out of living beings she touched during recovery from an 'episode'. She noticed him looking between her and the path as if there were something conflicting inside of him to stay or go. "My name's Orchid", she hesitated for a moment then continued, "I'm a patient here... I checked myself in, though I don't remember doing so. I seem to have alot on my mind lately and need a bit help in sorting it all out."

She followed the direction of Void's gaze down the path. "It's ok if you have more important things to do - I know how urgent things can be for heroes these days." Orchid stood and stepped out of the pool, leaving behind her soggy slippers as she walked toward the grass and a table under a shade umbrella. As she walked on the grass she left behind yellow footprints where the grass had sickened and died as she sucked the life from it under the softly violet glowing soles of her bare feet.

Void watched as Orchid instinctively put on her gloves and booties after placing her magazines and things on the shaded table. She hung her towel over the back of a chair and sorted out the things on the table - keeping a watch on Void in her peripheral vision.

She wanted someone to talk with about her 'condition' but was still guarded enough to not know who to trust. She knew the doctors there were trained to help her but how could they treat her if they couldn't relate to her life experiences? She needed someone who had 'been there and done that'. She needed a veteran of the Rikti War, she needed to be able to trust a fellow warshade who had witnessed the take over of the 5th Column by The Council. But who could she trust to unburden her fragmented memories on?

Void Blazer continued to sit by the pool as she spoke,

Orchid:"Yeah, I'm just peachy, I'll be ok. This sort of thing happens to me all the time, though usually not so suddenly and not in public." Crying, all the time? That's...depressing...wait a second, is that a..puzzle on her face?

Void Blazer stood back up to comment trying not to look , but she cut him off with a question,

Orchid: "Do you like having wet boots?"

Void Blazer looked down at his feet, noticing that they were starting to soak. He said in a non chalant tone, "Well...not in particular, but it's okay. They're waterproofed anyway." He then started to stand up, and removed his boots away from the water. But I'd probably be better off not leaving them in there for too long, just in case....

Orchid: "My name's Orchid.I'm a patient here... I checked myself in, though I don't remember doing so. I seem to have alot on my mind lately and need a bit help in sorting it all out."

Void Blazer continued to listen to her, but found that he didn't entirely get it, but for fear of offending her with rough questioning, kept his thoughts to himself. She doesn't remember it herself? Is that even possible...? Void Blazer pondered on what to tell the women till she said,

Orchid: "It's ok if you have more important things to do - I know how urgent things can be for heroes these days."

This caused Void Blazer to feel a little nervous, and he started to move his head, as though he was going to say something, however he spoke no words. Ah man...she knows I'm distracted. Come on, your friends are fine, you've seen the power Ella seems to have. This woman however, seems to need a hero most, say something!

Void Blazer kept his eyes on Orchid as she sat down at a chair, looking down he noticed her feet seemed a tad, strange. But even more strange was the trail of dead grass left behind her every step, this shocked Void Blazer for a few seconds. Whoa...imagine what would have happened if we shook hands...Could that have something to do with her not wanting to? Come to think of it, this sounds like one of the Council projects the soldiers talked about back when I was still a Nebula, could she possibly be one of the....? No, couldn't be, she must have just fell into some toxic waste that put her into a coma or somethin, and so she's here for chem therapy or somethin. Either way, she seems lonley, and while I might not be active heroing, I can still help in different ways.

Void Blazer started to walk over to Orchid, and pulled up a chair next to her, and sat down. Trying to sound cheery as possible he said, " As a matter of fact, I'm completley, and totally, free! Absolutley nothing on my list of things to do. I wouldn't be in the Clinic here if I did!" Void Blazer then stretched his legs out and let his back lie against the chair. After a few seconds of silence, Void Blazer started to question what he was trying to accomplish with this woman. Great...what do I say now? I should probably start conversation somehow...oh, I got it! Void Blazer looked back at Orchid again, and said curiously, "So, you don't remember signing up at the Clinic? So you have some memory loss problems right? Any idea how you lost them, or theories on what lead to you coming here?

Void Blazer looked back at Orchid again, and said curiously, "So, you don't remember signing up at the Clinic? So you have some memory loss problems right? Any idea how you lost them, or theories on what lead to you coming here?

Orchid offered Void a bottle of water and unscrewed the top to one for herself. She took a long languid drink before replying. "Salude... um... who are you? No, I don't remember checking myself into the Clinic - for the last month I've been surviving in a bit of a haze. All I remember is waking up in a closet here."

She purposefully didn't mention draining the lifeforce from the doctor trying to help her back into the land of reality. There was no reason to, the rumor mill would start disseminating the incident from the Doctor's Lounge soon enough anyway.

She looked Void square in the eyes with what she said next as though it were something of importance, "Did you know I had to ask to have my room redecorated? For some odd reason they had everything draped in black. I felt I was in a mortuary instead of a hospital. I had them change it to something a bit more cheery - pastels!"

But Void didn't hear her, he was busy concentrating on the crossword puzzle on Orchid's forehead, "It's Atta. Five across, a troll chief who doesn't know if he's coming or going - it's an anagram. The answer is Atta."

Orchid decided to have a little fun with her new friend not listening, "The nurse said housekeeping would have my room done in about an hour. So I came out to the pool to look for Sally the Croatoa lake monster. Have you seen her? She's really very sweet you know... just swims in the pool and doesn't bother anyone unless they try to feed her suntan lotion... then she eats them."

Void nodded, "Unh huh. Um.... What? Did you know there's a crossword puzzle on your forehead?"

Orchid sighed as she rolled her eyes. "And I thought I was the one with problems that lead to memory loss and time lapses..." She took the wet end of the towel that had been in the pool and scrubbed the ink from her face with it. "Better? Less distracting now?"

Void nodded, still working the crossword puzzle in his mind as Orchid continued talking.

"As for my memory loss, I have been having long buried memories resurrect themselves lately and I find they haunt me like unwelcome ghosts in my mind. I hear their voices chiding me to do... things... I don't want to do." Orchid sighed deeply as she continued, "As for why I came here I think I have a faithful friend keeping a candle lit for me in church."

Another sip of water and Orchid said, "It's warm, I think I need to go for a swim. You're welcome to join me if you'd like. We can talk more in the pool."

* * * * * * * * * *

An easy grin crept across Orchid's face as it met the cool water of the pool. As she began swimming her laps she thought back to a less complicated time in Talos Island. She thought of prayers during Mass in a small church with a caring priest and his parishoners. The Rikti war and The Council had changed everything in her life, it was now so much more complicated. . .

((Sorry all I am traveling and have limited access to internet. I will read the last few post offline to get caught up. With luck I will be able to post tonight/tomorrow...whatever (timezones :/) ))

Void Blazer tried to listen intently as Orchid spoke, but her forehead proved too noticeable for his attention span. It was not until she wiped it off did he start to realize what she was saying.

Orchid:"As for my memory loss, I have been having long buried memories resurrect themselves lately and I find they haunt me like unwelcome ghosts in my mind. I hear their voices chiding me to do... things... I don't want to do. As for why I came here I think I have a faithful friend keeping a candle lit for me in church."

Void Blazer tried to process the information in his mind, but had trouble from his prior distraction. So, basically she's hearing voices...? Hmm...voices, just like me...eerie... But someone has a "candle lit in a church" for her? Basically she has a "guardian angel" or something...? He continued sitting by the chair silently until he heard,

Orchid: "It's warm, I think I need to go for a swim. You're welcome to join me if you'd like. We can talk more in the pool."

Watching her walk off he tried to speak, "B-but I..don't take my costume off in...public!" But she was already too far off to hear. As he saw her swim he found himself walking towards the pool. He took a look at his Galaxy outfit again before muttering quietly to himself, "I so hoped to just come here when no one else was...but I guess, it couldn't hurt right?"

Void Blazer was doing something he hadn't done for years in front of other people. He had always worn his "modified" Galaxy outfit when around anyone, he only took it off when at home, what made him change his mind this time, is anyone's guess.

Slowly, he took off his mask, revealing his somewhat pale skin, brown eyes, and krew cut hair style. He then threw off his boots, and finally started taking off the rest of his costume, showing his mildly tone, thin body, yet his back seemed to be marked with several scars. On top of that, he seemed to have a bathing suit underneath his costume the whole time. No one noticed that...right?

Void Blazer then took his costume, and placed it on the chair he was using, walking back to the pool, he dived in to catch up with Orchid.

Orchid respectfully tried not to be too obvious in watching Void strip to his swimsuit.

"So he is human after all, the Galaxy costume had me concerned. He wears a soldier's haircut - high on the sides, tightly shorn over the ears, short crew-cut on top. He's a bit thin though... unless he's young or a special operative... He bears watching and caution with what you say host", the voice spoke in Orchid's mind as she grew dizzy.

She steadied herself by curling both arms on the lip of the pool. "Not again", muttered Orchid as she put her head onto her arms for a makeshift pillow. "Get out of my mind!"

Void gently nudged her shoulder, "You ok?"

Orchid shook it off as she fumbled with her words, "Yeah, just uh... waiting on you to swim some laps with me. Forgive me for being nosey, but, interesting costume you have there. I'm just asking because I'm always looking for interesting costumes as kind of a hobby of mine. Are you one of them? A Galaxy, I mean."

Meanwhile she was thinking to herself, "It's not a lie... I do notice costumes on people. Don't tell me you're a Council - a Void, a nictual being. That would be the irony in my life - a new friend who's my enemy. Yeah, that sounds just about right for my karma these days..." She glanced up at the sky and continued thinking, "You have a really funny sense of humor about my life..."

Orchid turned back to Void and asked, "So... I'm sorry, I don't remember your name.... How many laps today? Five? Ten? Twenty-five?"

* * * * * * * * * *

As they swam their laps Orchid's thoughts turned back to her confinement by The Council in the underground base on Striga.

She didn't know how much time passed as the wounds from her surgery healed, she only knew she had to escape or go insane. The daily routine was maddeningly the same - lights on, interrogation, breakfast, doctor exam, lunch, intimidation, indocrination, dinner, lights out.

The voices began the third week of her confinement she guessed. At least if they were delusions they were company and a distraction from her wretched reality of captivity.

The Council accused her of being a spy when she was merely a passenger on the ferry. She had been a botanist studying the phenomena of the Devouring Earth in Talos Island. She was on her way to map out the spread of the new lifeforms when the ferry to Striga had been hijacked by what she thought were pirates. She seemed to vaguely recall an explosion, then water, then waking up in her cell.

Since her surgery she also felt something alien within her that moved from time to time as if she were perpetually pregnant. But she wasn't pregnant, her belly didn't grow, she wasn't hungry - there were just the voices...

The voices... fearful at first that they were dying, then growing bolder and stronger over time - and ever more aggressive. The only way she could consciously control them was by reciting prayers as her altered state of meditation.

Why? Why had The Council done this to her? What evil thing had they placed within her body and for what purpose?

* * * * * * * * * *

Kruth'T studied the human for a moment, unable to figure out what was wrong.

[ QUOTE ]
“She….doesn’t….like me…” he muttered several times, his voice raspy due to his odd hunched upsidedown position.

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
The medic made his was over to the upside down Ian.

“Do you need medical assistance?”

[/ QUOTE ]

Kruth'T glanced at the healer, "I don't know. I didn't hear any bones breaking, and his heart-beat is steady."

He was about to say more when Ella awakened. Kruth'T could hear the traces of fear behind her words.

Kia landed next to him. ah no wounder, I thought I recognized he heart-beat.

[ QUOTE ]
“So what fun did I miss?”

[/ QUOTE ]

"I'll tell you in a moment, their are some questions I'm hoping you could help me with, but that is for latter." He told Kia.

Kneeling down, he then spoke to Ian. "My apologies, human. In someways this was my fault. I asked Ella to put an end to this, before someone got hurt or killed."

Kruth'T then stood, and turned to Kia. Slowly at first, he gave he his view of what had happened.

Void Blazer kept swimming back and forth with Orchid, until she asked, "Are you one of them? A Galaxy, I mean." This caused him to stop swimming at first, and he wasn't sure what to say. I probably shouldn't bother telling her...she doesn't need to know...Then again, someone should probably at least know my story in case something happens...

It seemed that Orchid grew tired of waiting for an answer and asked, "So... I'm sorry, I don't remember your name.... How many laps today? Five? Ten? Twenty-five?"

Void Blazer thought to himself for a quick second I need to tell someone...and I think she'd be someone worth telling. Then in a strong tone he said, "You know what, just forget about the laps for a second okay?" He then took a deep breath and said in a somewhat hushed tone, "I'm sorry if I've been ignoring your questions about me, but I try not to talk about things that could relate to my past. I've never told anyone about my past, but I think it's time someone knows. Can I trust you with a secret?" Void Blazer's face turned very serious, and lost his previously cheerful tone.

Orchid merely nodded in return, speaking in his still hushed tone he said, "Look, for one, my name is Void Blazer, and I go by no others. Am I a Galaxy soldier...? No, but in a sense, I was one. Here's the thing, two years ago, when I was 16, I dropped out of highschool after I met a council recruiter. He told me that they would change the world, and help me rid the world of the corrupt. The man seemed so charismatic, it was impossible for me not to beleive him. So I left home, and started living in the council bunkers. Every day I would run through drills to perfect my body, since I was not old enough to be an official member, I never saw combat, I only continuosly trained to be the perfect soldier."

Void Blazer paused for a minute, as he relived the memories once again. Starting up again he said, "Anyway, by the time I was seventeen one of the Vortex Archons told me I would be their subject for a special project. And at the time, I wanted nothing more than to please my superiors, and so I gladly accepted. As a reward for accepting without being forced, I was given a brand new uniform, the very same one I wear today. Bt anyway...they took me into an empty room, and they placed me in a chair. They then strapped me down, claiming it was for "saftey reasons"... After several minutes, they brought in what appeared to be a ball of...darkness I guess. Apparently that was what I was to be tested with. Today, Galaxy councils members are made with either recently dead, or near dead nictus, however since this was their first attempt at fusing one, they used a lively, healthy nictus. Seeing it didn't scare me though, and even now, I don't totally understand why, but somehow I knew I was safe around it. It spoke to me, telling me of it's past lives with other hosts, and it's meeting with the council. It, no, he told me of how his people lived such short lives, and how meeting new hosts expanded their lives, as well as their hosts. The story fascinated me, but I was shocked to hear what else it would say. He told me of how the Council had made a deal with his people, to help empower their soldiers, in exchange for control over said soldiers. He also told me how he, had no intention of doing that, that he had no desire to control the minds of others, but to help stop them, and that he allied himself with a group known as the "warshades", a group of rogue nictus, who hoped to stop their nictus bretheren. Normally, you would think people to be skeptic about something like this, but something in my gut told me he was right, and so I willingly offered him my body, and together we became the Void Blazer. Fusing with him gave me such new found powers, and using them I was able to escape the council complex. The Council had betrayed my trust, instead of trying to fix the world, they only attempted to control it, and used my naive mind to convince me otherwise. Realizing that, I had sworn to destroy them. And now, a year later, I find myself here, taking a break from my war against the council."

Void Blazer looked towards Orchid to see how she would respond, quickly adding in, "I hope that cleared everything up for ya..."

(( [ QUOTE ]
Void Blazer looked back at Orchid again, and said curiously, "So, you don't remember signing up at the Clinic? So you have some memory loss problems right? Any idea how you lost them, or theories on what lead to you coming here?

[/ QUOTE ]

Memory loss will qualify her/them to be in Ella’s support group, but Ella will be indisposed for a while. At least until the specialist arrives))

[Spa, outside hot tub area]

There was a very frustrated maintenance man staring at the hot tub. It seemed it was frozen completely solid. Once it thawed out most of the pipes and internal workings would need to be completely replaced. Hali isn’t psi active like Kia is, but it was obvious that he was very very unhappy.

Hali looked over his shoulder at the damage a worried look on her face. She knew who had done this, and it could be said that it was partly her fault for leaving her behind in all of the commotion. Hali stepped out of the hot tub area and into the pool area. With her fingers she brushed her long white bangs away from her eyes and scanned around the area. She was obviously looking for something or someone.

“Hallo Jaime?” She called out. There was no response. However she saw a pair of people seated over on opposite side of the pool area. She didn’t recognize the female. She had to be another guest/patient. She was speaking with Void Blazer whom Hali had met earlier.

((I can’t really remember what happened earlier, and am writing this offline. I think that she had met Void, either way its easier if we just go with it))

Hali walked around the pool. She took her time. Her eyes searched the shadows of the statues, sculptures and shrubbery looking for her wayward charge. She took a funny zig zag path moving between the poolside lounge chairs to see if Jamie hid behind any . She wanted to summon a Jack to assist her search, but was wary of the maintenance man’s reaction to seeing an Ice Spirit on the prowl this close to where Jaime’s mischief had taken place.

By the time she had reached the far side Void had already disrobed. She half noticed it on her way over, but didn’t watch as she was busy with her search. She did see enough to recognize him again out of costume. By the time she got to the pools edge, Void had just finished relating his story to the young woman. Hali was too preoccupied on her approach to listen.

“Bonjour Void Blazier, ‘ave vous seen the little girl Jaime aboot?” She half turned to Orchid who was getting ready to start some laps. She smiled as politely at Orchid as her current worry allowed “Bonjour”

Hali still had her swimsuit on under her Spa robe, and her feet comfortably in Spa slippers.

---

[Security Center, Captain Roberts Private Office]

The speaker phone buzzed, “The call is on secure line 4 sir”

“Thank you, and get me an update on the Edwards situation. I want the surveillance team in the comms once I am done with this call” Captain Roberts scooped up the handset, and entered his pin for the secure line. It took a second or two for the phone to synchronize the encryption codes it was used.

“Hello, this is Captain Roberts”

“……”

“Yes we have had an incident here, escape attempt. “

“…”

“Subject is currently back in custody, under the treatment of Steward” Robert’s used the code word for Doctor Tyler. Even he didn’t trust secure channels in this day and age, especially around Paragon City.

“…”

“Steward request you here at best speed. We already have a gate prepped at Portal Corp.”

“…”

“Very well, I will me you at the gate in fifteen minutes”

The call disconnected.

Capt Roberts left his office to talk with the surveillance teams. They were utilizing stealth gear and raptor packs to track Edwards and Sis. They stayed a very safe distance away, and were under orders to only intervene if threat to public safety became apparent.

Before he picked up the radio he turned to a lieutenant “Call the Arrival Center, tell them to execute Code E-7, I will be down there in fourteen minutes. Find Brice and have him meet me there”

Capt Roberts turned back to the radio and then took the other call…..

---
[The Gym]

Kia turned her attention away from Ian for a moment. She decided if he needed help getting up Kruth’T looked capable enough.

[Kruth’T] Kruth'T then stood, and turned to Kia. Slowly at first, he gave he his view of what had happened.

While Krith’T updated Kia she locked eyes with Doctor Tyler whose own eyes were lingering on the group of heroes.

Kia’s posture went from relaxed to a slightly confrontation pose. Kia was never good at subtle. Her eyes still locked in on Tyler’s.

Doctor Tyler was still fighting the battle of need for secrecy and a right to know. When her eyes locked into Kia’s as the young defender stared at her defiantly. Tyler’s hand slide down her lab coat and touched the pocket she had placed Ella’s torc necklace in. She just realized that she had made a mistake, and quickly turned and hurried out of the gym.

The lights blink and went on fully as someone from maintenance patched the damage that Ella had done earlier.

Several seconds after Doctor Tyler left Kia turned back to Kruth’T and Ian. She had a’we should talk’ look in her eyes. Kia rocked on her heels a little bit as a mischievous smile spread across her face.

----

[Elsewhere]

Code E-7 was going into affect. Extra security guards were positioned strategically at the arrival station and hospital complex. Security doors were closed creating an isolated corridor from the arrival station’s tram to the hospital. An elevator was allocated and reserved. Only Roberts and Brice would meet the Specialist on arrival with only very select handful of senior supervisors would remain to operate the portals.