A Certain City of Espers

Ren

Ren and Motoharu were still in Cait's room even after Taki and Lena left. After everything that's happened, he felt even more nervous about leaving Cait on her own.

Motoharu gave Ren a pat on the shoulder. "Why don't you go home and get some sleep?" Ren just couldn't get over how friendly Motoharu acted. He was almost too friendly, to the point of coming off as obnoxious.

"But what about Cait?" Ren asked. "Now that we have a new enemy it might not be safe for her to be alone. Maybe I should stay here tonight just to keep an eye on her."

"Tell you what? I'll stay and guard her," Motoharu said as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. "If anything happens, all I have to do is flip this baby open and my friends will be here in a matter of moments. You worry about getting all rested up, you'll have a long day of searching for that orb tomorrow."

Ren paused for a moment, a little unsure if Motoharu was really as reliable as he claimed to be. But in the end he nodded and said, "All right." He turned to Cait before leaving and said, "I'll come to visit after school tomorrow."

Cait

The doctor came in and smiled. "Let's see how our young, beautiful daredevil is doing," he teased, going straight to Cait's side. He examined the stitches and her vital signs, nodding. "You're good and stable, now. I'm going to prescribe you some Darvocet for the next couple of days, and just basic neosporin on the wound to keep it from getting infected." He showed her how to apply the ointment carefully, and the step by step instructions to binding it and taping it up with gauze pads and surgical tape. "Come back in a week for me to take the stitches out."

She smiled. "Thanks, Doc."

He pat the girl's leg and stood, turning to go. "You're free to go." He stopped by Ren. "You might want to keep her with you tonight, just to keep an eye on her. She'll be stiff and sore for a while, and won't be able to do much."

Cait looked over at Ren, smiling softly, and began to shift herself around and try to stand on her own.


Jordan

"His name is Accelerator," Anzhela told him. "He is crucial to us, to find the other orb. Find him."

Jordan nodded. "Da."

"Horosho."

He turned and walked away, out into the night. The alleys were dark and desolate; it was nearly midnight. He smiled, shifting into the darkness and flying through the shadows.


***There, I'm still half asleep but I got SOMETHING for you, Dynamo. :p ***

Ren

Cait winced a little as she began to stand up. Ren started moving forward to help her, but she waved him away. "I can do this," she told him as she moved away from the bed. Her side hurt for a moment, but the pain faded away as she straightened her body. She could see the worry in Ren's eyes, so she told him, "I'm fine, I can walk."

Motoharu smiled and gave Ren another pat on the shoulder. "Look at that, you didn't have anything to worry about after all."

Ren nodded a little before looking at Cait again. "We'll stay at your place tonight, mine's a still trashed from this morning."

"All right." Cait joined Ren at the door, and they were about to leave when Motoharu piped up again.

"Hey Ren, catch!" he said before tossing him a phone.

The moment the phone was in Ren's hand he realised that it was his. He checked his pocket quickly, and sure enough it was empty. He shot the kid a not so friendly look. "Why did you have my phone?"

"That's not important," he told him nonchalantly. "My number is in your contacts list, give me a call if anything happens or if you have any questions."


Jordan

Anzhela had given him a paper with Accelerator's address on it. About half an hour later he arrived at the apartment building where the boy lived. He cautiously entered the complex, making sure to check his blindspot to ensure no one would sneak up on him. If someone like Accelerator lived here then who knows who else does?

When he got to his apartment he was surprised to see the entire place trashed. The door had been kicked in, the windows smashed, some of the furnature destroyed. The bed and couch were ripped to shreds and there was an empty spot in the corner of the room where a large T.V. may have once sat. The walls were completely covered in grafiti, all of which were insulting messages toward Accelerator. It seems the boy had made a lot of enemies during his time spent at the top.

"Are you here to trash the place, too?" Jordan spun around to see a boy with a crutch on one arm standing at the door. He was obviously an albino, with his pale skin and white hair. Around his neck was a flat collar with a small black box on the side. The box had a red LED light and a tiny dial.

"Trashing the place wasn't quite what I had in mind," Jordan told the boy. "I assume you're Accelerator?"

The boy frowned, reaching up to his collar and turning the small dial on the box, which turned the red light green. With the same arm he reached over to the metal door frame, and tapped it lightly with his finger. A chunk of the door frame blasted apart and shot right past Jordan's head like a bullet before hitting the wall on the other side of the room. Jordan's heart was in his throat, his eyes suddenly wide and sweat starting to form in his palms. He slowly looked over his shoulder and saw that the piece of metal was embedded half-way through the wall.

"You have ten seconds to tell me what you're doing here before I do that with your head."

(So guys, how's this for our next antagonist? )

Jordan

He swallowed, staring at the kid in mild shock. The sheer power he held! He probably surpassed even himself...!

He raised steady hands, showing Accelerator his palms as a symbol of peace, "No, I'm not here to trash your place or hurt you, but to offer you something, a deal so to speak. My...employer...is a very powerful woman, with a lot of influence in the Undergrounds and across nations. If you agree to come with me, to see her, and hear her offer for yourself, then you will be rewarded with any means to amplify your talents, to gain your own power in these societies."


Cait

She moved slowly, stiff and in serious pain from her injuries. She was also getting groggy again, with all the medications she was on... Somehow, she managed to lead Ren to her apartment, but she nearly collapsed at the door. She groaned and staggered, stumbling sideways. She felt Ren's hands against her, steadying her. She could only smile up at him.

"Thanks, Ren...for everything."

Jordan

Accelerator tilted his head a little, an irritated sneer starting to pull on the corner of his mouth. "I'm already the strongest in this city, why should I work for you for something I already have?"

Jordan needed to think fast. If he needed to he could slip into the shadows and retreat if things started to get ugly, but from all the horror stories he's heard he doubted he would be able to do it fast enoguh before this kid got a hold of him. He didn't want to reveal too much before he brought Accelerator back to Anzhela, but if it meant getting out of here in one piece he would rather face the woman's anger than this guy's.

"What if I told you there was an item somewhere in this city that has the ability to make anyone who holds it stronger?"

Accelerator started to frown harder. "A lot of scientists have promised me similar things, why would this item be any different?"

"In your hands, it could make you the first Level 6 in Academy City."

A look went across Accelerator's face, it seemed Jordan caught his interest. He took a risk and used his powers to sink into the shadows. The action caught the boy by surprise, and when Jordan reappeared outside the apartement a little down the hallway Accelerator had a look crossed between bemusement and interest. It seemed the boy realised Jordan's powers were different than what he had seen inside Academy City so far.

"I'm not going to force you to come with me, but surely it wouldn't hurt to simply hear out my employer's proposition. After all, there's not much more you can lose at this point. What do you say, Accelerator?"

Accelerator stared at Jordan for a minute, as if weighing the validity of his words in his mind. After a few moments, the boy reached up to the small box on his neck and switched the dial, turning the green light back to red. "Lead the way," he said.

(I'll post for Ren a little later.)

Ren

"It's the least I could do for getting you involved in all of this," he told her.

He waited for her to unlock the door before helping her inside. He was a little surprised at how room her apartment was compared to his own. "I don't think I've ever seen your apartment before," he told her.

"What do you think?"

"It's deffinitely bigger than mine, that much is certain." He spotted the kitchen on one side of the room. "Why don't you sit down while I make you something to eat?"

(Just so you guys know, this storybook isn't dead yet. We're just waiting for Ayumi to post. She's been busy these past few weeks.)

**Yay for a relief in a hectic schedule! ugh **

Cait smiled and eased herself down onto the couch in the living room. She picked up the remote for the television and began to flip through channels. There wasn't much on, except for World's Dumbest, Ghost Adventures, and a few Adult Swim cartoons... She sighed, and turned the VCR on, inserting an unmarked cassette. Laughter and Gaelic words played from the speakers, homemade videos of a little girl and her parents with their various adventures on the small Irish farm. Cait smiled softly, her eyes watering slightly.

"What would you like?" Ren asked from the kitchen.

"I don't care. A bowl of soup is fine..." she answered softly, still watching the screen.

(Let's see if we can get Ren and Cait's bit, as well as Jordan and Accelerator's bit finished so we can move onto the next morning so Kitty and Undertaker can start posting again.)

Ren looked through all the cupboards until he found a can of chicken soup and a large microwave-proof container to cook it in. He opened the can and dumped the soup into the container, along with a cup of water. After reading the instructions he place the container into the microwave and set the timer for five minutes.

As he waited for the soup to cook he looked over at the TV to see what Cait was watching. He saw a young girl with her parents. They spoke with words he didn't understand, but he's heard enough of Cait speaking in her native tongue to know it was Irish of some sort. The girl looked a lot like Cait.

He got out of the kitchen area and moved to stand beside the couch. Cait didn't seem to notice him. He watched the video for a bit before asking, "Are those your parents?"

Cait jumped a little when he heard his voice. She quickly rubbed her eyes with her wrist and said, "Yes."

"The three of you look happy together," he commented.

"Yes, we were happy."

Ren gave Cait a concerned look. "Were?"

Cait sniffled, wiping a stray tear away. "I was seven here. When I turned ten, I started to get my powers," she explained. "Every time I sang or screamed or... a whirlwind would pop up and cause damage around the house. It didn't take me long, just a few adventures out into the hills away from anyone else, to figure out that it was my doing."

She looked at her hands. "I didn't want them to get hurt anymore, cause we were poor and had no money, no insurance... All we had was each other and my Grandpappy's land that he gave us... So I started to look for somewhere to go. As soon as I discovered this city and school system, I packed my clothes, pictures, and these movies, and faked my death by pretending to drown and being swept away in the flash flood, so they could never find me. It took me another year or so to work up enough money to fly out here and start going to school."

She looked at the screen, and then at Ren. She could hear the microwave sound in the background. "I just... I miss them, and I wonder if they miss me, too."



Jordan extended a hand to Accelerator. "If you touch me, then I can warp us all the way there. It would save us twenty minutes or so."

Accelerator watched him, and finally nodded. He touched the young man's arm, and Jordan pulled them both into the shadows, racing through the night all the way back to the warehouse. Anzhela sat on one of the many boxes in the building, and smiled almost sinisterly as soon as Jordan and Accelerator materialized before her.

"Da, very good Jordackho," she mused. "And hello, Accelerator."

Jordan

"Spare me the pleasantries," Accelerator said. "Your friend told me you know where to find an item that can make me stronger."

"You mean this?" she asked as she pulled out the Aries stone.

The white haired boy frowned and said, "That's it?"

"It may not look like much, but these orbs can strengthen the powers of anyone who holds them."

Jordan saw Accelerator's hand start to move up to the small black box on his neck. He quickly used his power, and a part of Accelerator's shadow jumped up and entangled his arm, preventing him from reaching up any further. He gave Jordan a very angry, murderous look.

Anzhela smiled. "Thank you, Jordachko." She looked back at Accelerator and said, "I appoligize, but you'll understand if we don't want you trying to attack us."

Accelerator was not happy. "Call off your dog before I put him down myself."

Jordan used his power again, this time entangling a shadow around his neck. "Make any sudden moves and I'll snap your neck."

"Gentlemen, please. There is no need for violence. Accelerator, we wish only to help you. Won't you put aside your animosity an hear what we have to say?"

Accelerator looked at the orb in Anzhela's hand, then back and Jordan. He was silent for a moment before saying, "Fine, I'll play nice... for now."

"Good. Jordan, you may release him." Jordan was hesitant, but did as he was told and let the strands of shadows slip away. "As Jordan may have already told you, there is another orb like this somewhere in the city. While we don't know exactly where it is, we know where you may start looking for it."

She grabbed a sealed orange folder from the top of the box next to her and lightly tossed it to Accelerator, who caught it with one hand. The boy opened it and pulled out a bunch of photos. Jordan got a good look at some of the pictures, to his surprise the photos were of Ren, Cait, Lena, and Takeo.

"Those children are looking for the second orb in this city as well. Jordan will help you locate them, follow their actions until they uncover the orb. Then you may take it from them and use it however you please."

Accelerator gave Anzhela a knowing look. "You're not giving me this information for free, you obviously want something in return."

Anzhela smiled sinisterly. "There is always a catch, is there not? For you it should not be a problem. These children have been causing me some trouble these past few days." She leaned forward a bit. The look she had sent shivers down Jordan's spine, for the first time he knew there was something dark and sinister about this woman, something more terrifying than even Accelerator could hope to muster. "Once the orb is in your possession, I want you... to kill them."

Ren

Ren stared at Cait for a moment, not knowing what to say. She had never told him about her parents before, he had no idea she had to run away from home in such a fashion. To think she made her parents think she had died, it must have broken their hearts. He couldn't imagine how hard it must have been for Cait.

Ren had discovered his power in a similar way, when he accidentally burned his parent's garden shed to the ground when he was 12. His family lived in Hokkaido, and since Academy City was located in western Tokyo he didn't have to travel very far to move there and attending school didn't cost his parents very much. When he first met Cait he thought she was more well off than he was because she was living in a better dorm than him, but now he knew that wasn't the case. He was able to stay in touch with his own family and visit them on long holidays, Cait didn't have that luxury. She had cut all her ties to family when she came to Academy City.

Ren sat down on the couch beside her and placed his hand on her shoulder. The only thing he could think to say was, "I'm so sorry, Cait."

Cait smiled bitterly, sniffling. "Thanks... There's not much you can do for homesickness, though..." She sobbed, leaning over and placing her head on his shoulder. She cried for a few more minutes, appreciating the friendship he was offering. But it will never be family... It will never be Mama and Da...

She slowly lifted her head when the microwave beeped again. She could smell the soup, and she was a little hungry... She shifted back into a reclined position on the couch, keeping her side straight and unstrained. She wiped at the tears, trying to regain her composure. In the process, she fast forwarded the video to images of her and her little pony, and sledding down the hills in the wintertime, and her father falling into a snow drift. She smiled softly at the more jolly and humorous scenes.

***All I can think of, sorry...***

(No problem. I think we've spent enough time with Ren and Cait right now, so unless you have one more thing you'd like to post for Jordan I'd like to make it morning and get our characters to school after this post so Kitty and Undertakercan start posting again.)

Ren

Ren got up to pour the soup into a bowl before bringing it to Cait. He had made enough for two people so he grabbed himself a bowl soon after. They watched a little more of the home movie while they ate. Most of the meal was spent in silence. Once they were finished eating Ren took both their bowls and washed them in the sink before helping Cait get to her bed. He brought her the pills the doctor had given her along with a glass of water before leaving to let her apply the neosporin onto her wound in private. Cait told Ren he was welcome to sleep on the couch in the livingroom, and soon they were both asleep.

Hey hey! Figured I'd jump in with just a general Taki getting ready for school post

Takeo

School. Takeo could barely remember the last time he went to school despite the fact that it couldn't have been more than a day or two ago. A few at the most. But he just couldn't pin down when it had been or what it had been like. And now here he was, sending his alarm clock smashing into the wall like nothing had ever changed.

Taki yawned and stumbled across the hall to the shower which felt really great. Just being clean and pulling on new clothes was so wonderful! Normal little things. He didn't even miss the orb or not much at least. Maybe a little more now that he'd thought about it but not as much as he would have expected.

Clothes were put on and breakfast was eaten and Taki found he was in a pretty jolly mood. He grabbed his bag and a soda from the fridge before setting off for the bus stop. He wondered what they'd learn today. Probably something terribly dull like maths. Maybe that was next on his schedule or it might be English or... something. Taki wasn't sure, he'd just filled his bag with books and scooped the diary up off the floor. He hadn't wanted to be late and what did a little extra weight matter? It was nothing compared to the burden of looking after that orb. They could keep it! Taki would be happy to never see it again.

"Don't you think it's cool?" A girl at the bus stop who Taki didn't really know was talking to Bianca as he reached them. Man. It had been forever since he'd seen Bianca or sat behind her on the bus! He wondered what boring, normal thing the girls were discussing.

"You're still talking about that orb?" Bianca asked with a roll of her eyes. Taki felt his blood freeze. He let his eyes slowly fall to the object. Was it genuine? What symbold was that, was it... virgo. It looked like the real deal.