Suzukaze raises her arm halting Frostburn. She stares at her with a darkness in her eyes.

"What do you know of my world. What has happened and what I go through. And if you have word and knowledge of this darker side I've gone to then you and me have to have a talk. "

Suzukaze lowers her arm and smiles at her.

"Now should I just throw you over my shoulder..." She moves closer and caresses Frostburn's cheek. "Or would you like me to carry you like a princess?"

Frostburns skin is cold, and she ignores the overly intimate touch.  The emotion drains from Frostburn's face and eyes for a moment as she says "I've betrayed people, and killed people, for my country and for some idiotic hope I was serving the greater good. I worked for the CIA before I was part of this, and I know the people you're talking to now because I've been part of their ops before.  So, when I say be careful, choose wisely, and act only of your own volition, you might wanna listen."

Suddently Frostburn returns 'Kaze's smile, and wraps an arm around the slight japanese woman.  "And yes, like a princess please.  That was my back up career plan you know, I want to see what I missed out on."

Suzukaze kisses Frostburn lightly before picking her up in her arms. She stares into the other woman's eyes...

"Perhaps my princess you can be of use to me in more ways than one. And in return I'll be your brave knight defending your honor. Your sworn sword and protector."

Suzukaze takes off back to base with Frostburn secure in her arms.

Later that night...much later...after putting in his written report and spending a few hours sitting and thinking, and exchanging a few moves with some of his online chess opponents, he felt he had finally worked through his shock over his final attack on Crimson Dawn.  It frankly wasn't any worse than his first knife kill, he was just so unprepared for it.  Once he had thought all that through and found he could file it squarely under "justified action," he decided to give his tired mind and body some sleep.

He had forgotten about the fire.  He had tuned it completely out of his consciousness.  But his subconscious remembered.  The nightmare...was...intense.

Residents of the area where El Dragon has his quarters are awakened/disturbed at between 4 and 5 in the morning by a low, intense thump that sends a palpable vibration through the floor (those who are awake and have sufficient senses will have heard it preceded by a shriek).  Seconds later the fire alarm begins to squawk and flash, only to be cancelled after about 30 seconds.

[Private to Rydi: He doesn't have any fire associated flaws, but I'm thinking of having fire (at least nova-level fire) be something that triggers flashbacks for him.  He can hold it together when there's an "objective" to think of, after that...]

Imp exhaled, the night really hadn't gone as planned.  He ruefully ran his hand through his much shortened hair, keys on his laptop clicking away without any apparent cause.
Not at all.  What could have made the man go over the edge like that?  He'd always had a temper, but he could be reasoned with.  Now, Imp's powers of suggestion just seemed to provoke uncontrolled rage.  He frowned, and the rapid-fire keystrokes slowed somewhat, this was worrying.  His ability to influence others had always been his ace in the hole, something he could rely on when things went bad.  He'd have to develop his other powers more rigorously if this was to become a recurring theme.  The typing picked up steam again, and pages and pages of text were entered in the time it took him to stretch his arms and roll his shoulders.  Nearing the end of his report he took some time to read it over, then sent it off to the appropriate people before taking a quick shower, changing clothes and getting ready for the next round of conference calls.  His night might have been shot, but there was till a lot of work to be done before the sun came up, and nobody else was going to do it. Nobody else can do it as well as you, whispered a voice in his head.  he nodded before heading out the door and zipping over to the broadcast center.

Frostburn's eybrows arch in surprise at the kiss.  She neither leans into it, nor backs away, and she is quiet on the trip back.  After reaching the base and being dropped in front of her lodging, Frostburn makes her way inside, looking back at 'Kaze as she enters.

"Thanks for the lift.  And the offer.  I'll think on it.  Until then, get some rest and take care of yourself.  Go see Flare for healing if you've got any major burns.  G'night."

Soon after Angelo wakes from his nightmare of fire and pain, he hears timid knock on his door.

"Hey Dragon, Devarga, uhm... It's Binary, you okay in there?  I think we're the only one's in this wing, so I just thought I'd check on you..."
The man was clearly tired, but his concern outweighed his fatigue.  The team had Binary to thank for organizing and coordinating disaster response during and after the battle with Crimson Dawn, as well as his imprisonment and the various media outlets begging for responses (the part requiring paperwork and logistics, as opposed to the smiling and talking part that Impetus normally took care of).  With the complications in the Utopia/U.S. relationship, Utopia staff had far more bureaucratic red tape to deal with when dealing with any nova actions on U.S. soil, and Binary was helping to deal with the increased workload.

---

Impetus' night stretched on, as reporters and Utopia officials both demanded his time.  In the calm preceding dawn he was just about to go to his rooms for a much needed break, when his phone rang.

"It's Frostburn.  Come talk to me before you clock out.  We should talk."  She sounded far more sober than earlier, and somber as well.
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:13, Fri 03 June 2011.

"Oh, hey Binary," El Dragon's expression was equal parts chagrin and hastily repressed horror, "sorry about the ruckus.  A nova with PTSD probably shouldn't have a manual fire alarm in his room."  He tried for a grin but it came across as more of a grimace.  "Go on back to bed, I'll start getting all this cleaned up," he says hooking his thumb back over his shoulder, "after I try to get a little more sleep."

Looking into the room, the corner where his futon was looked like someone had slammed a seven foot diameter bowling ball into it, leaving a distinct semi-spherical impression.  The metal framed futon had been pancaked and a small wooden nightstand reduced to matchsticks driven into the shattered concrete.

Imp strode down the hallway towards Frosty's office, the light was on inside and a waft of cool air spilled out into the hall as he opened the door.  He nodded to her then took a seat.  "Well, that was a disaster." He stated, massaging his temples as the stress of combat and dealing with the media had conspired to give him a pretty severe headache.  That and whatever it was he had done on Car's urging. Evolution...Becoming...Achieving. whispered her voice in his head.  His face gave no sign of the surprise he felt.  Voices in his head. Was he cracking up, or was she out there somewhere?
This message was last edited by the player at 04:05, Sat 18 June 2011.

"Well, it could've been worse.  We could all be dead."  Frostburn was tired, and she was sobering up, which meant she was likely in a far worse mood than earlier. "You're team did a good job Impetus.  And disaster was averted for today.  But that's the thing, it's only been postponed."  Frostburn pulled papers out of her desk, and threw them at Impetus.  "You've got a team of kids with all kinds of crazy waiting to come out and fuck everything up.  Don't give me that look.  We're all crazy, sure.  But some people's crazy comes out in less usefull ways.

Sol', 'Stock, and P' were all crazy in ways that didn't interrupt their day jobs.  'I'm gonna pretend I don't have problems' 'I'm gonna let my problems turn me into a robot' and 'I'm gonna manipulate things so I don't have problems' respectively.  This new bunch is different.  Flare has issues, and she doesn't even know about all of them.  Her file says we had to use conditioning to get her powers under control, and while you may not realize it, that involves a whole lot more than just a friendly therapy session or two.  I'm not sure of all that's involved, but there's a reason she wakes up screaming sometims.  And on that subject, El Dragon has some pretty clear symptoms of PTSD.  We all do, but he was in the middle of Columbia watching his friends die, and he was a baseline at the time.  Then there's meek and socially impaired Binary, and the always exciting 'Kaze... Look Impetus, you've got yourself a pretty daunting challenge ahead of you, and lets face it, you aren't all together yourself."  She gave him a hard stare, followed by a drink from a sports bottle.  It looked like water.

"Yeah, no one ever looks at you do they?  And don't worry, I won't for long, I'm off this job soon.  They don't really need me, and I'm tired of the bullshit.  But some friendly advice?  You need to get your shit together kid.  On a lot of levels you're still that nerd in the lab, happy that people finally took an interest in you.  You've done a good job, you really have, and you've grown up from the guy that spent his off time fucking anything with a skirt.  But you're spread thin between your religion or whatever the teragen is to you, all your publicity crap, and being a team leader for a bunch of people that need some real attention if they're going to turn into worthwhile people.  And you've got shit from your past coming to fuck everything up.  Crimson Dawn could have killed the whole team out there, and that is YOUR MESS."  Her voice rose at the last.  She wasn't happy, and Impetus wasn't used to being talked to like this.  How long had it been since someone had yelled at him, criticized him personally?  He could tell it took great deal of effort for her to hold on to her anger as his eyes locked with hers.  Her hands shook, her pupils dilated, and her breath quickened, but she didn't let up.

"The world is going to hell, and it doesn't know it yet.  Utopia isn't everything we want it to be, but it's holding back the chaos.  Your team is full of messed up and confused novas that will only become bigger problems if you just shuffle them off to someone else, problems that could come back to haunt all of us.  Oh, and your too busy praying for evolution and fighting cuckolded husbands to pay attention to any of it.  So, my advice, get your head out of your ass, stop listening to your own pretty voice, read some of these psych evals, and pay some attention to your people.  Maybe you'll even find some of the answers you've been looking for elsewhere in the process..."  She was harsh, and it probably wasn't fair.  But some of it was true.  And was that last bit an innocent remark about his quest for personal enlightenment, or some kind of allusion to Utopia's inner workings?

Imp continued to be impressed with Frosty, normally people, nova and zip alike, became deferential or downright servile when confronted with himself.  He made a mental note to never underestimate her.  "Guilty as charged," he said quietly.  "I don't think I yearn for the halcyon days when I was a lab rat, maybe for the days when we had a lineup on T2MA that I would trust with my life though.  That will come I guess. Still, they did perform well, tonight. Dragon has the makings of a fine second in command, if we can be sure of his allegiances. Flare has more spunk than anyone has a right too, and Johnny, well, Johnny reminds me of me when I first got here, maybe.  We'll see if he experiences the shamballah required to pull him out of the frat house."  He exhaled and rolled his shoulders, "Dawn is my problem, my mess yeah.  He's become totally unbalanced, I looked into his eyes and that decent gorilla that initially threw me naked through his living room window is gone, all there is in there is rage detached from reality.
I turned him over to the boys in white, he's probably in a the Middle East by now, so loaded up on mox that he can't even light a cigar.  Hopefully they can figure out a way to fix him, none of us deserve to end up like that." He said pensively, then shook himself.  "Alright, enough navel gazing, you're right, I have a job to do.  See you around."  He nodded, stood and left.  As he did so he thumbed his data-slate to life and accessed the secure personnel files he'd only briefly glanced through before now.

It was a clear, cool evening in Tokyo.  After the flight and a stop to drop off the kids things, Phantasm had taken her wards out for some fun.  She currently stood outside of an arcade, watching through the window as they played the latest games, oblivious to the world around them.  Which was perfect for her, because she had a meeting coming up...

As the glowing blur streaked across the sky, Phantasm walked into the building.  Noise, flashing lights, and the press of bodies made it unlikely they would be overheard as they had a long overdue conversation.  She moved toward a cooperative shooting game that provided a convenient view of the children, and started a game for two.  A whisper of sound escaped her unmoving lips, barely audible even to a nova standing next to her.  "So, where do we begin?"

[Private to Impetus: Manipulation club is open.  This is a fairly public meeting place, so Phantasm would have requested Imp wear a hoody or something that covers up his identity to some degree so that they can talk without the crazy Impetus fan club swarming the area.  In case he's wondering why they're meeting in public, his social insight would probably give him the feeling that this is a preliminary interview to see if they can work together, if he can be subtle, and a little bit of a defense against any overly flashy mind-tricks that would awe and overwhelm her (an early warning system of sorts, since his charisma tends to affect those nearby as well).]

Imp landed a kilometer or so away from the meet site. He was wearing an overcoat and hat and he was wearing a latex mask that did a fairly good job of disguising his features. He was obviously a nova (the glow was a dead giveaway) but he looked like a different nova. He slid in beside P and picked up the gun, then started zapping mutant nazi zombie cannibals with an ease that spoke of years of practice combined with nova reflexes. "6 months ago I started looking into a few things, but this is perhaps not the appropriate venue to discuss it, no?"

"Of course it is, that's why I chose to meet here.  We'll have to learn to be discrete, do this stuff under the noses of people watching us all the time.  It would look a whole lot weirder if we always ran off at the same time every other tuesday."  Her last words were punctuated by three headshots on the ghost-death angel-clown Mengele, the 2nd level boss.  Where did Japanese game designers come up with their unholy amalgamations?

"There's a camera behind us, and two kids with phone cams.  Lean into the console, and we'll be out of sight.  The noise in here combined with the close-proximity jammer in my pocket will mask anything but hyper enhanced nova hearing, and the city will protect us from that better than being out in the middle of nowhere since there our voices would be even easier to distinguish from the din.  If you still want to talk somewhere else we can, but it'll have to be later."  Her eyes flashed to a nearby dance game, where her wards were currently stomping on rapidly flashing foot pads. "I've got to watch the kids."

"Fair enough," he leaned forward a bit, "As I said, I started looking into why novas don't seem to have kids, and why so little public funding has gone into that area of research.  I know for a fact, that I am able to father children, both before and after eruption, but there are no other novas I know of who can make such claims.  Why is this so?"

In reply to Impetus (msg #683):

Phantasm thought rapidly.  The birth problem was very obvious to many novas and baselines, and she had even commented to a few trusted individuals on the fact that it could be more than just a quirk of quantum power causing the problem.  But she'd left it alone for lack of proof and instead focused on other long-term plans.  If Impetus had real proof, that could change everything though.

"I'm gonna guess that's a rhetorical question?  I've got theories, but I'm pretty sure you've got an answer planned out... I think it's pretty convenient, in terms of controlling novas, that novas don't have kids.  And if the sterility were a result of sabotage, then there are only a few people capable of that sort of thing.  An unknown nova causing it, Utopia, or some other unknown factor.  But there's been absolutely no evidence..."  She looked expectantly at Impetus then, waiting for whatever he had to add, and got a glance at 'Kaze's cousin's in the process.  Keitaro was still gamely playing the dancing game with his younger sibling.  He seemed like a nice guy, not many guys that age were patient and considerate enough to spend hours with family like that.

Solitaire was a hard woman to track down.  With no pressing responsibilities, and few obvious ties to the baseline world, her movements were difficult to predict. But Slider needed someone to help, someone to carry the burden of information; she needed Solitaire.  Since she sometimes could be found at the Archon associating with her Teragen friends, and a small lead was better than none, Slider disguised her features, slipped Shield a handful of cash, and asked for a phone call when Solitaire was in.

Never one to turn down a paycheck, but still a decent man when it came down to it, Shield made certain to inform Solitaire of the exchange when she was in next, before making his call.  Solitaire was already expecting someone when Slider finally sat down beside her, face obscured by clever make-up and hair disguised by a wig.  But when Solitaire easily pierced the woman's disguise, she was surprised to find that the person looking for her was her old teammate.

Slider looked tired, and she rested her face in her hands before saying anything.  Then, looking up at Solitaire with pleading eyes, "I didn't know who else to go to.  I need help."

Very few things surprised Solitaire, but Slider turning up out of nowhere was one of them. Only the slightest hint of it showed on her face, but that said much in and of itself.

"Help? Sure. What'cha need?" She replied without hesitation as she signaled for another of some drink that was a neon red and decidedly menacing looking. Slider was, after all, one of her people, and she owed the cheery little thing a great deal. Not that Slider looked all that cheery at the moment though. Whatever was bothering her, it had to be serious, and probably more than just Corbin.

That was why she'd come to Sol'.  No matter what, she didn't flinch, didn't think twice, she just jumped in to help when help was needed.  Slider smiled, a bit teary at Solitaire's ready offer of aid, then layed out what she knew, relying on the Archon's sound system to maintain their privacy.

"Corbin. Before he died, he came to me.  He told me he was drinking with a guy one night, found out some things he wasn't supposed to know.  He never told me who, but he did tell me what he'd found out.  Showed me actually.  He had a drive with files on it, files detailing a forced sterilization program for novas, experimental procedures, secret detention facilities, all ran by a shadow organization inside Utopia itself.  Then--"  At that, she squeezes her eyes shut, forcing herself to continue without crying for her lost friend.  "Then they killed him.  I 'ported out in time to save myself, but all the data, all the proof, was gone.  He didn't deserve that Sol'.  He was a good guy.  A show off, but a good guy.  And they killed him to cover up their own crimes.  I want to bring these people down Solitaire, but I can't do it alone."

Solitaire just looked a Slider for a good minute, before finally replying.

"You're serious."

This was impossible, surely... Utopian experiments, secret prisons, sterilization... They didn't do that type of thing. It must be wrong... So why did Solitaire not believe it was? It all made a certain amount of sense, and meshed with odd little bits of new's she'd heard over the years. Utopia loved Nova's, but love was only a step from Envy, and from there Fear. It controlled a significant portion of the Nova population, and had enormous influence over the rest of it. It even had an in with the Teragen thanks to her and Imp and and Grav. It would make sense to do everything thing it could to manage the situation... Why had she never thought of this before...

She was suddenly intensely suspicious of the semi-regular 'psychological evaluations' she'd had to put up with when she was on T2M. It would have been so easy...

"So, let me get this straight, there's a secret 'Project Dystopia' within Utopia manipulating the whole show? It would have to be in charge, people would find out otherwise. Goddammn... And to think today started off so pleasantly."

Solitaire closed her eyes and ran a hand through her hair in her thinking gesture, tapping the fingers of other one on the table.

"All right. I'm in. Tell me what you need and I'll make it happen. I'll start making my own inquiries as well. I have more sources than you would expect.

"There is actual evidence" Imp said, smiling.  He blasted a few more zombies.  "I've got files of data, put together for me by someone I can trust, and I have video of a woman who erupted just after she became pregnant getting grabbed from a fertility clinic by something." Pow, Pow , Pow.  He cheered as the giant necrotic mass of slime, pustules, miniguns, and what appeared to be half of the Swedish bikini team all rolled into one went down in a hail of gunfire.  "We need to look at the big pharmaceuticals on this one, and on any organization that has the pull and connections to do this.  And we need to do it very, very quietly."  He glanced around at the crowd, more and more of them were starting to stare at them.

Phantasm gave the man a blank stare as the wheels turned in her head.  The zombies on the screen died in a hail of gunfire as she stopped thinking about dumbing down her abilities.  "Well then.  That changes everything.  Any targets?  Anything specific you want from me?  I can work on the pharmaceutical companies, but I've personally suspected for several years that Utopia has more going on than it wants everyone else to know about.  It has to really, black ops or something beyond what they've had us doing, to keep things on their current trajectory.  If they didn't we'd be seeing some crazy stuff by now.  But I'm not on the inside anymore, while you are." 

A glance around told her they'd need to stop talking soon, before anyone overheard their conversation. "Tell you what, I'm going to let you take high score on this, and give the 'young nova from Japan' a win.  The crowd should like it, you get an alternate identity out of the deal, and we can talk more next time.  You pick the venue."

After a short wait for possible leads, the location of their next meeting, and any other replies from Impetus, Phantasm will make a show of losing to him.  With an "aw shucks" smile and shake of her head, she takes his hand and acknowledges that she just can't keep up with the Japanese novas when it comes to video games.

In reply to Solitaire (msg #688):

"Thank you so much Sol', I knew that you'd be there if I needed you.  I don't know what to do yet though.  It's so much, so fast...  I just want to forget all of this, you know?  But I know I can't, there's too much at stake.  I think I'm going to start my own investigations, there's a lot of things someone with my powers can do.  I can get in places they can't even imagine.  I'll let you know what I turn up, and you keep me informed on what you find.  But what I need most right now from you Sol', is a friend, someone I can trust and who'll help me carry this burden.  After all we've been through and sacrificed, it's just too much to carry alone."  Jennifer looked relieved, as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
I suck, I lost track of this, thus the belated reply

---

This message was last edited by the player at 07:01, Sat 30 July 2011.

Solitaire leaned across the table and ruffled the disguised Sliders hair. "Don't worry. I"m more than happy to shoulder some of the weight. Its the least I can do, really." She withdrew her hand, but remained leaning forward. "Since you have shared a secret with me, I'll share one in return.  If you ever need help, or even just somebody to talk to, call me, and I'll come. Speak my name out loud, and I'll hear, and come. No matter what. I haven't told anyone else that yet, so keep it to yourself. Just know, if you need me, call and I will come, fast as I can fly."

Now that the serious moment was over, Solitaire sat back up straight and her customary grin was back in place. "So, is there any way to get in touch with you? I can be a little hard to pin down myself, but here's my cell number." She pulled a scrap of paper and a pen out of a pocket and scribbled the number, then slid it across the table. "Then again, it might be safer not to know. Hrmm. Solitaire tapped a forefinger against her lips in thought, then shrugged. "Your call."

"I trust you, it's just communications I don't trust these days.  They almost managed to catch me twice, both times when I was trying to contact people.  The first time I made a call from one of those no-contract cell phones and they must've traced my voice or something.  Then I went on my email account, and they were on top of me in less than 5 minutes.  They've got the opnet under tighter surveillance than anybody knows. Nowadays I just communicate through message boards.  If you want to contact me, post here, and I'll get in contact with you."  Slider pushes a card across the table with an address on it for a forum dedicated to dog breeders.  Apparently she is PuppyLove23, and sells golden retrievers.  It's hard to tell if her paranoia is justified, but she is clearly more than a bit frightened, and if her story is to be believed, Utopia has quite a long reach.

"The last time they came, they had a guy with them in a chameleon eufiber suit.  Snuck up on me, then wrapped the damned suit around me, then dug in eufiber claws.  I almost didn't get away.  Scared the living hell out of me."