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Post by PJ on Jul 8, 2007 7:20:20 GMT -5
Heh. I didn't actually intend for my story to be continued, but that was actually quite good. Interestingly enough, I also considered having Linda see something terrible in 667's future. But yeah, that was well written and interesting; you should write more.
But yeah, I actually thought this was going to be a bunch of vignettes, people discovering their powers, all having small adventures, maybe an overall arc, or something. I'm not sure, now. Maybe we could do both. Like, the next part wouldn't continue Linda's piece, but would, say, be about Robert and how he discovered he had the power to phase through walls. The next piece, then, could continue with Libitina, and eventually Robert would get brought into it. Or something. We could have prequels as well, so that J. doesn't have to be dead. Or maybe she could get resurrected by another power.
Who else wants to write something? I'll probably do another bit, I've been itching to write something, and this fits quite perfectly.
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Post by Sora on Jul 8, 2007 12:53:16 GMT -5
Wa la
Dissolving Into Nothingness
Pandora was topping up her soy latte’s milk, when she felt it. The rushing pain in her stomach, the pounding in her head, and the seizing up of her muscles. Everything around her started to fade into a blur, the reality of the world started to melt, liquefy into an impressionist’s worst nightmare, and eventually she seemed to dissolve. She mentally let out a little sigh, as her body finally settled into its molten form on the Starbucks employee office floor.
A tall girl with black hair looked down at her watery blob of a self and bit her lip. “Sorry, I had to wash my hands Pan. I didn’t realize the water was that loud.” The girl quickly turned off the faucet, and Pandora sloshed on the ground for about a minute before re-materializing, uniform completely soaked with the still hot latte. “Jesus Christ Char! That’s the third time this month! What if Ricky had come in? Or Yavette? I can’t exactly hide in this shack of a staffroom you know!” Charlotte cowered a for a second, but quickly regained her poise. “Look Pan I‘m sorry and you’re right, but you can’t keep getting angry me for setting you’re power off, when you continue to work in a COFFEE HOUSE!“ Pan averted her eyes. Char did have a point there. When Char heard no retort she began to mop up the spilt latte, but then stopped and turned to Pandora. “And another thing. I’m tired of coming along as your ‘support person’ when you go out with Kyle. Just because you are afraid for him to see you have a gay Alex Mack power doesn’t mean you should need me to come with you every time you go to the bathroom or……”
Smack.
Char grabbed her face and reeled away from the flushed Pandora. Pandora glared at her venomously. “Don’t you ever call my power gay you witch! Liquid Metamorphosis is better than no powers at all.” Char scoffed. “Oh yeah, I feel so lowly because I can’t turn into a pile of silvery vomit. Big loss there.” “Oh you’re asking for it Char!” Pandora stuck up her fists ready for what looked to be a cat-fight to end all cat fights, when Char ran to the faucet. “You wanna go? You wanna take it there? How bout I turn this full blast, eh? Yavette’s on her break in two minutes. Let’s see her reaction when she sees you writhing on the…” She never finished her sentence for Pandora lunged at her and grabbed her hair, pulling her from the sink. “What the hell? Get off me you twatty goo pile! Get off! Get off!” The two women wrestled in this manner for another minute, never ceasing until… The door opened at that very moment, and Yavette Summers walked into the room holding a grande Caramel Machhiato in one hand and a cinnamon bun in the other. Char let go of the faucet in surprise just as Pandora gave an extra tug, and both were flung onto the ground. “For god’s sakes girls, the free espresso shots are complimentary, not a forced choice. Chill out!”
Pandora begrudgingly trekked out of the Starbucks later that afternoon on her own, Char having bolted out of the shop as soon as the last customer had left. Pan hated having fights with Char, because Char was the only person she could talk too about how sucky her life was. She reckoned her life was even suckier than the Gary Oldman puppet in Avenue Q, and that was hitting a real low. ‘Why does everyone have to have such cool powers and I get such a salsaty one’ she thought to herself as she walked. What really could she do with the power to melt herself? Unclog people’s toilets? Rescue people’s keys from a drain? Real Wonder Woman stuff there. When she’d first got the power three weeks prior she had felt proud and honoured to be endowed with a gift, but now it felt like the biggest hindrance ever. Whenever she heard any water flowing, she instantly began to morph. What would Kyle, the flier think, when he found out his awesome new girlfriend could transform into a blob? Her power was all but useless. So what could she do?
Pandora was so deep in thought that she didn’t realize she had wandered down the wrong street and was headed towards central plaza. Only when she saw a trolley boy wheeling QFC carts right at her did she realize she wasn’t where she wanted to be. She jumped out of his path, and collided with another woman, who angrily pushed her out of her way, and into the centre of the street.
Plop, plop, plop…..
Pandora’s eyes opened wide in horror as she heard the water fall in the great fountain on the plaza’s roundabout. “Why me?” she cried out, before collapsing into a puddle on the road.
* * *
One of the other disadvantages of being in her molten state was that her hearing was increased ten-fold. So even as she began to slither down the street, she could still hear the rushing water of the fountain loud and clear. She cringed as people stepped on her, even though it didn’t hurt, and tried to move quickly and inconspicuously, which was becoming increasingly hard to do as all the late-night shoppers and store-owners began their exodus towards home. She slipped into the drain-water lane as a rush of people flooded onto the road from a sale-store on her left. She hid there for a few minutes, before taking off again down the lane.
Plop, plop, plop, ploploploploploploploplop……..
Pandora stopped dead in her….well she couldn’t call them tracks, but you supposed she could call them her ‘droplets’….- but that wasn’t important right then because she was suddenly very scared. Water was now falling on to her, not around her, and she realized that now it was beginning to rain. Her life had gone from a zero, to a negative forty. The rain fell slowly at first, and Pandora was able to cross back on the road, but after a few more minutes it began to pour, and the water that came crashing down hit her with full force, knocking her liquid frame to and fro, but ultimately in the direction of her worst enemy. The storm drain.
She tried to fight back, push herself away, panicking! But no, the water took control and swept her up into its hold, dragging her kicking and screaming into the drain. She splashed down into the pit, and then was rushed down through the pipes, and into the sewer. She was blind, a newborn in a crazy upside down world she’d never seen before. The water continued to carry her off towards destinations unknown. She managed, after a few minutes to shift herself in the flow to be able to see where she was going. She was headed down the middle of the sewer lane, and was being propelled forward by a slight steep in the sewer level. On either sides of her was a small concrete pathway, great for rats to crawl in their filth. Above her he could hear loudly the conversations of randoms, giving her some idea of where she was. “But mummy, can’t I PLEASE have the new Bratz doll! I watched the advert, it isn’t as anorexic as my other ones were!” “Satan is coming folks, He’s coming to take us all! Pack your bags now because the trains to hell will be first come first served!” “Looking for a good time sailor? I’ve not had any STDs in over a month you know….”
Pandora finally decided to just go with whatever stop was next and she threw body at the curb. The drain water made her miss it the first two times, but finally she was able to flop onto the little by-lane. She breathed out loudly, causing her body to make little bubbles. She didn’t know where she was going to go, or how she was getting out, but she was safe, for the momen. She looked up and saw she was underneath another grate, and after a few moments of silence, she began to hear voices above.
“You know Robert, I’ve been getting these real bad vibes lately. I saw something terrible again last night.” “What did you see? Did you write this one down for once?” “Yeah yeah, I was worried I’d forget, and this vision seemed important this time. I think one of us has gone….well….rogue.” “Rogue? As in turned bad? What have they done, Linda? More really cool member killings?” “There’s more to come. I think, I think one of the mods is going to die, Rob, and I think somehow we are wrapped up in it all.” “Like, we are meant to stop him?” “I think so. My visions are blurry, but I think I saw you phase into a bank vault, Kyle fly off with a body in his hands, Klaus19 and James laughing manically, and, and a” Linda paused and took a deep breath, “a sign with the words “Shut down” on a 667 background.” “We have to stop it Robert. We have to stop a travesty.”
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Post by A. the Returned on Jul 8, 2007 19:42:41 GMT -5
Ooh, both of the last two installments were wonderful. Good work guys.
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Post by PJ on Jul 9, 2007 1:03:13 GMT -5
Excellent! This fits quite well with what I wanted to write. I'll do the next bit, then. That was really quite good, Sora.
Edit: I think we should also have some sort of set out plan, or at least, discuss what is gonna be written before it is written. This would be to ensure that the plot doesn't jump all over the place...
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Post by Dismay on Jul 9, 2007 13:04:01 GMT -5
I have a bit already written, but you can go first PJ.
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Post by Sora on Jul 9, 2007 15:28:58 GMT -5
Excellent! This fits quite well with what I wanted to write. I'll do the next bit, then. That was really quite good, Sora. Edit: I think we should also have some sort of set out plan, or at least, discuss what is gonna be written before it is written. This would be to ensure that the plot doesn't jump all over the place... Agreed with that. We seem to be on a 'path towards death and destruction and a Sylar type figure' with daily life problems scorning the rest of the cast as the first episodes go by. So we have maybe three more episodes with one cast member focus and a brief mention of the overall arch, then develop into some inter-relation episodes (people meeting and reacting to each other) and then a revelation episode, and then maybe some new charcters, and then an ultimate build up to the cataclysmic event Linda predicted.
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Post by Dismay on Jul 9, 2007 17:36:53 GMT -5
I agree. Would you guys like me to PM you what I wrote (I was kind of inspired, and just wrote something)? I am very open to editing. I had one person discover powers prior to J's death, and a small confrontation between a few people.
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Post by PJ on Jul 9, 2007 22:20:58 GMT -5
Sure! Send it to Sora and I; we seem pretty involved, but anyone who wants to join should say so, so we can discuss the plot and so on (Linda?).
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Post by PJ on Jul 9, 2007 22:40:42 GMT -5
Plot Movement
Robert led a pretty good life. He had a girlfriend, friends, respect, and had recently been promoted to G-Mod. Things were looking up. He liked the new responsibility. He felt it was his duty to make 667 the best it could be. But he also felt that 667 was only a small forum. He was destined for more, he felt. So while he liked the responsibility of his new job, he also felt somewhat disappointed and trapped by his new position. He wanted to get out there, and, clichéd as it may be, he wanted to make a difference. Nothing ever happened at 667, anyway.
And then he got his power. It happened one day, without any warning. He climbed into bed, and suddenly, he fell right through it. Panic rushed through him as he fell through the floor, below the house, and into the earth. He managed to catch himself before he plummeted any further. All was dark. What the hell was happening?
He bobbed up a bit, and his head poked out of the soil outside. He was in the floor. Cool. This has to be a dream, crossed his mind for a moment. But then he realized this was way too real to be a dream. He sort of wafted himself up until he was completely out of the floor, and then suddenly he was solid again. What the hell had just happened? He had never heard of this before. Well, actually, he had. But only in fiction. A grin spread across his face. He tried it again.
It was easy. He sort of had to twist sideways, except while standing still. Then he slipped away sideways and was immaterial again. He sunk into the earth again, but was able to stop himself again. It was somewhat akin to swimming; but he also just had to keep his balance, so that he wouldn’t slip downwards sideways. He wafted himself along the earth, his torso sticking out.
“HELLZ YEAH!” He screamed into the night, exhilarated, and headed back into his house. He entered the wall and wafted up it, through the floor and back into his bedroom. He could move through solid matter. Fly through it, almost. Swim through it. He walked into his wall, and flew upwards through it, up into the ceiling. He flew around inside the ceiling for a bit, until he accidentally flew out of it. For a terrifying second he plummeted down towards the cold, hard floor, but then he passed through it, and ended up back below the house again. He caught himself in the darkness of the earth.
To Robert, the ability to phase was a blessing. Screw just being a G-Mod. He was going to go all-out superhero. Pwning bad guys from behind, through a wall. He was going to use his power for good. He was going to use it to change the world. Awesome.
And so he found himself on the really cool member killing case. A small start, but hey. Other people had developed powers. Robert had been expecting this, somewhat, and had also known that some would use their powers for evil. His purpose became clear; find out who was being badass and kick the bad out of them. 667 became a whole lot more active.
New info on the autopsy. The n00bs’ hearts had just been stopped. Looked quite like telekinesis, but it might be something else. Could telepathy be used to simply kill? Wipe out a mind in an instant? That would explain why J. hadn’t found anything. She wasn’t exactly known for her love of n00bs, either. If it was her, then things would get tricky. Or maybe she just hadn’t found the culprit yet. She’d only investigated a dozen or so people.
He phased through her wall. “J.? Hey, I got some new info on the really cool member case!” No reply. He burst through another wall. “J.?” She was lying there. He froze. She was dead. He stood, unmoving. The silence was roaring in his ears. He didn’t know how much time passed. An hour? 10 minutes? 20? Then he heard a knock on the door. Another. “Hey J.!” A female voice. From the door. Robert ignored it, and turned back to J. He approached her. Put fingers on her neck. No pulse. She was dead. Dead, dead, dead.
No answer. Libitina frowned. Then a devilish grin came across her face. She could turn invisible! So she could do whatever she wanted. Becoming invisible, she snuck around the back of the house, and found an open window. Grinning at her own audacity, she climbed through it. She was in.
She tiptoed through the kitchen, invisible. The place seemed deserted. And she started to feel guilty. She was breaking and entering, after all. Well, not breaking. But still. She entered the living room and saw Robert standing over the dead body of J. She staggered back into the kitchen in shock and bumped into the table. The noise alerted Robert. He looked up, panic in his eyes, and fled through a wall.
I have to follow him! Libitina thought, and ran back to the window. Murderer! She sprinted around the house just in time to catch sight of Robert disappear into the earth. She sprinted after him, careful to stay invisible. Where was he? Suddenly, she saw him appear, up ahead. His head bobbed out of the earth, and looked around quickly, before dipping down again. He was staying low, she figured, but he still needed to come up to see where he was going. She followed him.
Tragedy wasn’t in his office. Linda knew this. So she didn’t bother checking. No, the person she needed to speak with would appear right here, just above this drain. Who this person was, she didn’t know. But they’d appear here. Soon. She just knew.
To her surprise, Robert’s head burst out of the ground. He was clearly in a great hurry to be elsewhere. “Wait!” She shrieked, and he hesitated. “I have important information for Tragedy!” Linda urged. Robert hesitated for another moment, casting wary glances behind him, and then finally surged up out of the ground. “What?” He asked, bitterly. J was dead. One of his greatest, earliest friends. Killed by some psycho with a power. Looks like he really was needed, here. No more fun and games, he thought.
Linda frowned. “What’s wrong?” She asked, suspiciously. “Nothing.” Said Robert quickly. For all he knew, Linda could be the enemy. He wouldn’t reveal more than he had to. He had to get to Tragedy. “So what’s this important information?” “You know Robert, I’ve been getting these real bad vibes lately. I saw something terrible again last night.” “What did you see? Did you write this one down for once?” Linda had been seeing a lot of things, but rarely wrote them down. It was irritating, because she sometimes forgot what she saw almost as soon as the vision had passed. “Yeah yeah, I was worried I’d forget, and this vision seemed important this time. I think one of us has gone….well….rogue.” “Rogue? As in turned bad? What have they done, Linda? More really cool member killings?” His voice become more urgent. Did she have information about the death of J.? “There’s more to come. I think, I think one of the mods is going to die, Rob, and I think somehow we are wrapped up in it all.” J. was already dead. But a mod? “Like, we are meant to stop him?” “I think so. My visions are blurry, but I think I saw you phase into a bank vault, Kyle fly off with a body in his hands, Klaus19 and James laughing manically, and, and a,” Linda paused and took a deep breath, “a sign with the words “Shut down” on a 667 background.” “We have to stop it Robert. We have to stop a travesty.”
Robert considered this for a moment. Could he even stop what she had seen in the future? Was the future interchangeable? “Well, I guess this qualifies as important. I’ll take you to Tragedy straight away. I need to speak with him anyways.” He grabbed her by the elbow, and led her away, quickly. Linda, he decided, needed protection. She was a wild card; she could by all means simply see who the murderer was, and expose them. Thus, she was a target. He’d bring her to Trag’s hideout. He was one of the few who knew where it was. J had known, too. Maybe that’s why she had died? Had she been an accomplice? Maybe?
Pandora, meanwhile, was quite curious about what she had heard. So curious, in fact, that she almost didn’t notice that she had seeped up through the gutter and was now in her normal form again. Libitina then suddenly appeared by her side, and Pandora screamed. “Invisibility.” She explained quickly, a curious expression on her face. “What were you doing here?” Libitina asked, sternly. “I could ask you the same thing!” Pandora replied, caught off-guard. “I was…well, I was following Robert. Why were you here?” Libitina said, cautiously. Could she trust Pandora? “Well…I kinda got washed away down a drain. I turn into a liquid, you see. Involuntarily.” Pandora said, somewhat bashfully. Libitina nodded sympathetically, but still suspiciously. But she decided to trust Pandora. She was a mod, after all. “Well…I was at J’s house…and…she was dead. And Robert was there.” Pandora paled instantly.
“I think…I think that Robert may be the murderer. The really cool member murderer. The Rogue Linda spoke of. He killed J because she can read minds, and would have found out if she’d read his.” Pandora remained silent. “So what should we do?” Pandora’s power was all but useless. But now she had a chance to do something, to make a difference.
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Post by Charles Vane on Jul 10, 2007 0:16:48 GMT -5
I loved Alec Mac, thank you very much. But I'm pretty sure she did other stuff.
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Post by Sora on Jul 10, 2007 5:37:26 GMT -5
Ooh, good chapter PJ. Excellent Robert POV. So, what's next? Did Dismay PM you with anything about her entry? I'll write another POV if we want, but if we want to break it up we could have a 'what everyone we know so far plus extras' entry next. Either or's ok with me.
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Post by PJ on Jul 10, 2007 8:17:33 GMT -5
I haven't been PMed yet. And I like both types of chapters. I'd prefer to have it less linear, like, we'd introduce someone vital to the plot later earlier on, while we're still dealing with the starting up plot. Or something. Whatever you think is best.
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Post by Dismay on Jul 10, 2007 10:09:58 GMT -5
Sorry 'bout that. I'm kind of in the Eastern time zone... I'm sending it to you guys now, as soon as I make one simple edit....
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Post by Triangle Eyes on Jul 10, 2007 14:19:06 GMT -5
I can't wait for the next part.
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Post by Sora on Jul 10, 2007 16:04:18 GMT -5
Dismay's is great here is her next chapter:
Unannounced
Knock. Knock. Knock.
“Urghhhhh” Dismay groaned. She covered her head with her arm and snuggled into the blanket some more, so she was completely covered. “Who is it now? The door’s unlocked.” A late night reading a new book hat hit Dismay hard - harder than she’d ever felt before. She was no night owl. So she thought she’d go to bed a bit earlier tonight. Her eyes jumped in and out of focus as she watched the door open. A girl with brown hair bustled in. “Official 667 business. Trag sent me- oh. What am I doing here? You couldn’t kill anyone even if you tried.” She looked into Dismay’s eyes for a moment, and then rudely slammed the door. “Couldn’t kill if I tried? What was that all about?” Dismay sighed. This was so pointless. J never respected her anyhow, so what use was there wondering what Tragedy was up to when the first person who knew wouldn’t tell her? Maybe she’d go ask Linda, she thought, as she settled back into bed. Yeah, Linda was nice. Or maybe go to that Starbucks Pandora and Charlotte worked for. They might have heard something. They always seemed to be in the loop. Even better, maybe Akbar at the 667er. He would know. As long as someone wasn’t hurt- that would make her blood boil. She stretched and yawned, snuggling back in under the covers. Wait- J. had telepathy. Maybe… oh shoot. Tragedy was looking for the truth about something. Why else would he employ someone with telepathy? She fell asleep wondering.
A loud noise awoke her the next day. She heard Kyle shouting as he flew around the city. I’d love to fly… Dismay thought, groggily. She sighed and tried to push off the blanket on top of her prostrate body. Didn’t work. She wiggled and squirmed out, finally reaching sunlight, regretfully, with the window open. She leaned her head down and meant to put it in her hand, but her hands felt unusual. She looked into the mirror across from her bed. Another trick! Someone with a power (PJ?) messed with her mind. Instead of her two blue eyes staring back, she saw the bright yellow ones of a Great Horned Owl. She shook her head. Wow, this illusion’s good. She looked down. Too good. “I’m an owl!” It was a dream come true for Dismay, who lived, breathed, and worshipped owls. She stretched her wings. Wings. She yawned again. Maybe that’s why I’m so tired, she thought lazily to herself. She attempted to fly over to her gerbils’ tanks, to see their reactions, but somehow, she still felt like a human, despite the fact that she was an owl. They slept peacefully. Dismay wished she could do the same, snuggled with her small gerbil friends. All of a sudden, she felt much smaller. She looked down, expecting to find wings, and instead found tiny paws. She looked down. Large paws for feet. A tail. She was a gerbil. How she yearned to go into her pets’ cage and take a nap with them, but she couldn’t. She had to go work. She was somewhat in temporary charge of a section at 667 Dark Avenue and then she was volunteering at the church with her mother. She sighed and thought of her human form, and found herself lying on the floor. How strange, she thought, and laughed and talked to her gerbils.
Akbar yawned as he went through the large mass of PM’s. He picked up a short article from PJ and read it over. “Good, good. This one’s in” he said to himself. He placed the paper in a small pile and nodded. He picked up the latest issue of The 667er, his weekly periodical and read the headline out loud to himself. “667ers Gain Special Powers, Ten N00bs Murdered”. He looked down the list of possible suspects. Hmm. Three new members had gained powers of late. Kyle, Pandora (although she didn’t know he knew- he loved his sources), and Libitina. He felt there were others, just waiting to be discovered. An excitement spread through him, something he hadn’t felt for a long time. 667 was coming alive, again.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
He sighed and got up to open the door, but someone else opened it for him. Dante walked into the room, his presence filling the room. “I need names, now. All of the members with new powers.” Akbar felt a slight buzzing in his head. Yes, he needed to do this, right now. He picked up the latest 667er and handed it to Dante. He turned out of the room and left, leaving Akbar dizzy, without even remembering what happened. PJ, who had been waiting outside of the office, nodded to Dante as he walked out.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Again. The knocking. Akbar looked up to see J enter the room. “Out! No more interruptions! I’ve already had you enter my mind once, I’m no murderer! And where have you been? Did Libitina find you? Where is she now… I need her to find-” J looked shocked. “Murderer?” Her form became fuzzy as she became Dismay. “Murderer? Someone’s been murdered?” “Yes but - Dismay? You too? Oh dear heav-“
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The door opened again, to reveal Dante once more. “I just saw J enter here- where is she?” He stormed up to Dismay. “Tell me where she is!” “It was me!” Dismay cried, melting in fear. She turned into a rattlesnake on the floor. She hissed. Dante suddenly knocked into the desk, scattering the papers. At the window Kyle looked in. He watched as Dismay seemingly turned into a chickadee and fled the room. He then opened the window and half entered, to the annoyance of the newspaper editor. “Hey all - just wanted to tell you I just saw Robert drag Linda through the street- it was really odd. Maybe a kidnap?” Dante smiled and shook his head. “He’s taking her to Tragedy. I wonder what our little seer saw now….” He turned and left after looking at Kyle steadily. Kyle wavered in the air, feeling faint. Akbar… I think I need to go home. Catch you later. Just so you know - having powers so totally PWNS!” He uneasily rocketed out of the window, making Akbar’s desk a little more disorderly. Akbar sighed and turned back to his disorderly desk, wondering what the world had come to, first the really cool member slayings and now this - people getting powers, a possible kidnap of Linda? His right hand person? He needed help. Fast. And so, he picked up the telephone. He dialed and said- “Hello- Skeleton Key? Can you come over to my offices? Sooner than later? You can? Good.” He hung up and prepared for his guest. Now, he wondered, was Dismay truly able to change her shape, or was it just an illusion? Zzzp! His eyes bulged. “Official notice from Tragedy” the lightning bolt said as it came through the air, “All those with superpowers MUST- I repeat MUST report it to Robert immediately. Thank you”. Akbar groaned loudly and yelled: “STOP” and time stood still. He had a power, after all. This could work nicely for him. He wavered a bit on his hold on time… whatever it was, and let it come back to normal, only now noticing the dark form behind him. “Hello Skeleton Key.” “Hello, Akbar, how can I be of service?”
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