The Fundamentals

Lucy Camden:

That night watchman was completely useless. Worse than useless actually, a merely useless person wouldn't have shoved a gun in my face then marched me down to the basement. I must have been in that interrogation room for at least an hour, and I've been walking (damn elevator is out) for like, twenty minutes. I just hope I didn't miss whatever we were supposed to be doi-

The door to the conference room stood before me, hearing voices inside I pushed it open and tried to sneak in unnoticed. Everyone was busy making small talk, well everyone except the boy sitting in a a dark corner, who glowered at me as I walked in. I closed my eyes and tried to get a feel for the room.

They were all so excited, and so. . . young. Most of them seemed to still be in highschool, one of the boys looked like he hadn't even started shaving yet. I looked back at the boy in the corner, he was still staring at me with those dark blue eyes. Marjorie's words sprang to my mind unbidden We chose you to heal. If anyone in this room needed healing it was him.

I saw his body tense up as I walked over. Is it my imagination or did it just get a little colder?

"What the fuck do you want?" He spat.

"Nothing, my name's Lucy, what's yours?" I said.

"Well Lu-cee, take your nothing and shove it up your ass. You fuckers grab me in the middle of the night, hand cuff me, beat me, and now you want to act all friendly?! Go to hell!"

A chill ran down my spine, it was definitely colder over here. I dropped to a knee, so that we were eye to eye. "You think I'm with them? They broke into house, pinned me to the ground and put a gun to my head. Context would only spoil it... Then after I got here, they handcuffed me in a dark room Okay, it wasn't actually that dark. and left me there for hours It felt like hours, and I'm sure any one of these kids would tell you a similar story. They fucked all of us, and-"

"You don't understand, once they see what I can do their gonna cut me open and-"

"Can I show you something," I interrupted.

"Don't interrupt me you dumb bit-"

"I said, can I show you something?"

He glared back at in silence.

I held out my hand, and a tiny pin-prick of light appeared above it. The light grew larger and larger until it was about the size of a grape, as he stared at the light, his glare melted in an expression of confusion. With a wave of me hand the light was gone, and I stood up. "You're hurt, you're angry, and maybe a little scared, but you're not alone." I said, turning to walk away.

"My name's Micheal," he muttered.

"Well it's nice to meet Micheal."

Spoiler

Hello all!! I'll be joining the SB, and yes I already cleared it with Reise. Profile below:

Name: Katara Blackfire

Age: 22

Gender: Female

Fundamental Class: Water. Luna can do absolutely anything when it comes to water, including thunderstorms, and can also turn water into ice, mist, and fog.

Appearance: 6'1. Thick dark auburn hair that reaches down to the back of her thighs and piercing bamboo green eyes that make people nervous when she stares at them. Lightly tanned skin with a beauty mark on the right side of her jaw. Well muscled. Tightly toned body, but not not skinny. Her eyes do tend to glow when she feels any kind of intense emotion. For the most part, you'll find her in a black tank top and black camo cargos. She usually wears running shoes because of how athletic she is.

Personality: She's sweet, loyal, compassionate, and non judgmental.Very intuitive. She's fiercely loyal and won't take crap from anyone.She's the kind of person people would naturally turn to for leadership and guidance. She won't hesitate to tell you what she thinks, which makes her seem like a bitch to others who don't know her, but don't let that fool you. She is. She always keeps a cool head and doesn't loose her temper often, but when she does, people tend to end up with broken bones. She never jumps to conclusions and she never assumes. She's easy enough to get along with. If you don't have a problem with her, she doesn't have a problem with you. Respect her, and she respects you. It's as simple as that. Prejudice people get on her nerves, and she'd rather watch them drown from their own bodily fluids then deal with them, so watch your mouth around her. She doesn't have a problem with violence, so don't think she won't go there. She will. And never touch her. She absolutely hates it. People usually find her intimidating due to her size and eye color. She also loves to laugh. She does tend to act like a smart ass sometimes. Just so you know. Intimidation is something she's used to people using on her, so it work anymore. She's quiet for the most part. She likes to watch and learn. She's not stupid, and she can always tell when people are lying. Katara doesn't like it when people won't look her in the eyes. It aggravates her. You'll come to find a lot of things aggravate her. One other thing you should know about her is she loves to laugh.


History (How’d They Discover Their Gift): Katara was always aware of her gift from the moment she was able to walk. Her mother was the one who told her about it, but didn't get a chance to tell her why because she died before she got the chance. Katara was 5 when her mother died in a bank robbery gone wrong, and since she didn't have any other family, Katara was bounced around from foster home to foster home where abuse wasn't uncommon. She was lucky to go a day without having to do something disgusting for food. One of the reasons Katara had to move around so much was because everywhere she went, she left bodies like a trail of bread crumbs. Most times when it happened, people would drown in the bath tub. The police had always suspected she had something to do with it, but could never prove anything. One foster home after another, same disgusting men. After a while, she just ran away from her foster home and never looked back. One thing she had to learn how to do was fend for herself at an early age. She began doing martial arts from the age of 6 and now has acquired several black belts. She's very fast and agile, even though her fundamental isn't Air. Like it would matter anyway because she doesn't know any better. Her over all speed and reflexes are much faster then most, which makes her stand out, and gives her the upper hand in any fight: She's never lost one.

Katara has a love of the Arta. She can sing, dance, and play. She's always had an unbelievable bond to music from the time she was born. Katara can play almost every instrument there is to play. She loves to write poetry and has always had a knack for it.


Other:Up for love? Straight, and yes, but she doesn't think there's man out there who can handle her.

I had just gotten back to the house after working a double shift at the cafe and was in seriously need of shower. I was the only home, which was why it had been so quiet. There was a note on the fridge that read:

Won't be back for a while. Left #s to be reached at for any reasons on the fridge,
K

I tossed the note onto the counter before grabbing a bottle of water and heading for my room, but before I could get there, a knock sounded at the door.

"Hello?" I called.

No answer. Hm. I walk over to the door and open it to find no one was there. Odd. I close the door only to note the piece of paper that wasn't there before. I pick up the note, unfold, and read what's in an elegant script.



Every hair on my body stands on end as I check and recheck the locks.I start to crumble the paper but stop suddenly when something sharp pricks the back of my neck. Quickly you swat it, thinking it to be a bug of some sort, but instead I come back with another piece of paper.



What the hell? I go back to the kitchen and set the paper down, and stare completely shocked at the words that begin to appear.



That kind of made me laugh. If you can do something like this without being noticed, then i'm guessing you can do pretty much anything. I nod twice.



I nod three times.



The service? What the hell kind of name is that? As instructed, I did as instructed, and waited. They were right on time. They didn't knock on the door and wait for me to answer, and it's not like I expected them to anyway. I actually don't know how they got in. They set down a giant black suit case that looked it could hole and entire body in it, but What I didn't know was that it did until they opened it. Inside lay a mannequin. But not just any mannequin...me? They took my face and put it in something else, my ears, my nose, my eyes, my mouth, my hair, my toes, my fingers, my blood, and gave it to something that shouldn't be. It looked like me. Walked like me. Talked like me. It was essentially...Me.

"So tell me again why all of this is necessary?" I watch as they set up my "suicide"

"We didn't." another one answered.

"Right right." I nod. "So are you going to tell me?"

"All will be explained in time, young one." Say another handling the noose i'll be "killing" myself with.

"Right." I smirk.

It not like I have much choice in the matter anyway. I'm dead either way. Figuratively speaking, of course.

They took me outside where a car lay in waiting, and put me inside. Next thing I knew, I was miles away from what I called home. Now in Washington. They led me away to a huge building.

"Go to the Conference Room," was all they said before they left me standing in an enormous hall way with out any clue as to where the conference room was. Great.
An impossible number of doors lined the wall in each hall, each with a plain golden plaque announcing its contents, most of them locked. It didn't take me long to find it.

"What in the hell...."

I walk into the room and find other people already in their seats, all staring at me.

"If you want, you can take a picture." I say before finding an empty spot and taking it.

Thomas Alexander - Earth
I listened to Antony and Alice as they introduced themselves, and then I watched as the blond woman made Michael calm down a bit. Amazed as I was that the others had powers like me, or kind of like me anyway, I couldn't help but to worry. Were we supposed to be some elite team for the government or something? Superheroes that fought crimes with their powers. When a picture of us all in spandex and capes popped up in my head I began laughing.

I stopped and cleared my throat as soon as I realized the others were staring at me. "Sorry. My imagination is a bit too vivid," I said with a sheepish smile. "My name's Tom.. Thomas, actually, but everyone calls me Tom. I cause earthquakes and landslides whenever I get upset. Guess that's why I'm here." Oh, and those earthquakes and landslides has killed like two dozen people, but instead of saying that I smiled warmly. The tension in the room was already too high, and I didn't want to add to it. It already looked like two of the girls wanted to kill each other. Michael looked like he wanted to kill all of us, and then there was the brooding guy at one end of the table. They all made my brothers' moody teenage behavior seem like nothing. Actually, considering how my powers had affected my life, it was weird that I hadn't turned out like them. Seriously, if it hadn't been for my family I'd be a hermit living in the mountains..

While I listened as the others introduced themselves I made up my mind. If we were going to work in a team, which I assumed we would, then I'd help the others at the best of my abilities. I'd play the same role as I did in my family. Peacemaker, fixer, safe haven.. Basically the one to turn to when in trouble. All teams needed one of those, and from the looks of it Lucy and I were going to be those people. We were the oldest, so it only made sence.

Spoiler

Sorry, it's a bit short.. But seriously, I want people to trust Tom xD

I watched quietly as everyone talked. I listened and then I decided maybe I should share too.

"Hi everyone I'm Chloe," I started off as Tom sat down, "Uh I don't really know whats going on but my hands glow. They started doing this when I was at a track meet this morning and they only stop a little while ago." I took a glace at my hands again realizing they had a dim light coming out of them. I raised my hands to show the other people. "See!" They nodded and I sat back down embarrassed. They boy next to me, Anthony, was making the water in his cup into different shapes by just staring at it. I watched in amazement while the others shared their powers and all that junk. I decided to try to control my lights a little while I was waiting for this to end.

I laid my hands face up on my lap and stared at them. As I closed my eyes my mind drifted off and I felt my hands go hot. I opened them again and they had tiny little flames coming out of my finger tips. I gasped and freaked out and set the table cloth on fire. I screamed and the others did to as Anthony put it out with his water. I blushed as the woman at the head of the table sighed and got a new table cloth.

"Sorry," I said quietly as everyone stared at me. I sat back down blushing. They started to share again and I sat their trying not to cry because they all seemed to know what they where doing while I didn't even know I had powers till this morning. I took my hair out of the braid and slowly brushed it out wit my fingers. I always did this when I was nervous so its became a BIG habit of mine. I finally let my hair go and it fell down my back and barley touched the chair. I stared at everyone realizing I was an outsider. Somehow this would have to get better.

Spoiler

sorry guys, I sorta suck

Antony Cove

Spoiler

New DT

I put out the small fire and starred at Chloe in confusion. I'm sure she didn't mean for it to happen, the fire to start at her finger tips, but that didn't make it any less odd.

"Are you okay?"

"Sorry..."

"It's really not anything to apologize for," I responded nicely, but my words were lost in the air as she put her head down on the table.

The girl who came in with Alice, was it Mari - Marylena, Marlena? -, walked over and glanced briefly at the girl.

"Is she-"

"Fine, I'm sure," I reassured her. Silence fell and I shuffled my feet awkwardly. "My name is Antony."

"I heard."

"And you'll have to forgive me, but your name?"

"Marlina," she smiled. I grinned and nodded back, my hands wormed their way into my pockets.

"Right then. Marlina, right. Okay. It's a pleasure."

She nodded casually and I backed off. This was by far the largest group of people I've had to be around in a very long time. I'm not really the social butterfly, never in any situation, but I was making an effort, and that seemed enough for now. I wandered over towards the end of the table, away from the mannequin who was watching us - could he really watch us? Did he even have eyes? - from the back. Either way, he seemed to be occupied, his head turned to stare at the two girls that nearly fought each other earlier. Didn't really catch their names, but they were still glaring.

I leaned against the wall, my right foot tucked behind my left ankle. The old lady left, so did that mean that we too could leave? What was the point of bringing us here then? There didn't seem to be one... Was it a mistake?

I lay my hand on the door experimentally, and when that didn't cause an alarm I turned the handle. The door creaked open maybe an inch before I was suddenly on the ground. My mouth opened in a scream before I could stop myself. White dots obscured my vision and I cried out again as someone twisted my arms behind my back.

"Hey," I forced out, "hey I'm sorry. Let me go, alright, I'm sorry."

My vision cleared and I saw the mannequin above me, it's head cocked and it's eyes - the only feature on its face - narrowed behind the dark frame of the sunglasses.

"I wasn't trying to escape, I just- Let me up. Please."

It stared down at me for what seemed like forever before letting me up. I sat up slowly, cringing at the pain in my already bruising wrists, and watched as the mannequin stared down at me. Fear jolted my heart and I scrambled to stand up. It's head followed my progression. A cold terror shot through my veins and I felt my knees buckle and nearly give out.

What have I gotten myself into?

"I leave for five seconds and already someone's created a ruckus?"

I turned my head towards the monotone voice, catching the old lady just as she closed the door behind her, an unidentifiable stack of boxes at her feet.

"And from a Water nonetheless. I expected more out of you, Mr. Cove."

"But I wasn't-"

She sent a hard glare my way, immediately shutting me up. I could feel my cheeks heating up from embarrassment and I bowed my head.

"Have a seat, all of you. We have very important and crucial business to discuss."

She clapped her hands twice and the boxes she'd left at the door levitated and one dropped in front of each of us. I ran my hand across the top of my box. It's exterior was plain silver metal, but on the lid my name was engraved in flowing gold letters. I glanced over and saw the others fiddling with their boxes as well; Alice turned hers over quickly in her hands, her eyes wide in confusion.

"How are we supposed to open this if there's no lock," she asked, her voice tinged with worry.

The lady promptly ignored her.

"First of all, to answer a popular question," she started, "you are at The Service Headquarters, located in Washington, D.C." A picture of the building from the outside showed on the wall behind her, and it was only then that I noticed the lights had dimmed. "Second, the reason you've been collected is because you all posses special abilities, as I'm sure you've figured out on your own at some point in your life. You are the Fundamentals, remnants of a great race, and we need your help. The world needs your help."

Angel Raziel

No one honestly peaked my interest in actually talking to, so there I was staring around looking at the people who apparently had committed suicide tonight, it made me honestly wonder weather or if this was really a plot by my father or this was entirely different thing that even he didn't know about. I had retrieved my fake plastic gun and sunglasses from the guy I had given them to, just before I thought I was going to fight that crazy chick who apparently doesn't know manners or have any respect for the elderly. We locked eyes again, she was on the completely different end of the table, but I could tell that she wanted to ring my neck and kill me. Ok maybe that last part is a bit extreme but still, she gave a menacingly look to her that told you she would kill you if you pissed her off.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned my head to look at a girl, who definitly had some natural beauty to her, between her eye liner and nail polish, I also spotted a golden, probably paste, necklace. But what really caught my attention were her eyes, they sparkiled playfully and with some innocence to them, she smiled.

"Hello, my name is Marilena, what's your name?" she asked holding her hand out.

I looked away and back at that chick from before, before turning back to Marilena, better to make friends now, so that way if this chick does go to far someone will at least help me out when I need it.

"Names Angel Raziel, nice to meet you," I said shaking her hand for a quick second.

I waited for a moment for her to bring up my father and mother, anyone involved in World Trade, U.S Military, or MMA would know immediately know about the Raziel family, since we were so successful world wide. But if she knew anything about my family, she showed no sign of it.

"So why are you wearing sunglasses indoors, let alone at night?" she asked.

"To hide my eyes," I replied.

"Why hide your eyes, could I see them? she asked quickly.

"No, I hide them cause I'm told anyone could tell what I was thinking if they look into my eyes," I said.

"Oh," she replied with a frown.

The conversation dies down Marilena taking her attention else where, to another guy who seemed about as nervous as a guy who just met a girl at first time, soon tho that Service Lady comes back, still as old and wrinkled as ever. Boxes for each of us drop onto the table, I look at it carefully, and just at site there was simply no way to get these open, not unless you were the strongest man alive.

"First of all, to answer a popular question," the Service Lady started, "you are at The Service Headquarters, located in Washington, D.C." A picture of the building from the outside showed on the wall behind her, and it was only then that I noticed the lights had dimmed. "Second, the reason you've been collected is because you all posses special abilities, as I'm sure you've figured out on your own at some point in your life. You are the Fundamentals, remnants of a great race, and we need your help. The world needs your help."

I slammed my arm down hard onto the table bringing the tension in the room to me with a powerful authority, "That's all well nice and all, but if there's one person who you owe answers to more than anyone else in this room, it's me, and you know exactly who I am," I said in a threatening tone.

The woman smiled at my authority, which was rare, cause when I demand respect and answers, I normally don't get smiles from old ladies like her.

Katara

"First of all, to answer a popular question," the Service Lady started, "you are at The Service Headquarters, located in Washington, D.C." A picture of the building from the outside showed on the wall behind her, and it was only then that I noticed the lights had dimmed. "Second, the reason you've been collected is because you all posses special abilities, as I'm sure you've figured out on your own at some point in your life. You are the Fundamentals, remnants of a great race, and we need your help. The world needs your help."

So there it was. The world needed our help. Hm. I didn't know what to expect, but that certainly didn't fall into the hat I was pulling from. A hand slammed down on the table, drawing everyone's attention. We all looked toward her. Angel something. I'd heard about her and her family before, but not much. She didn't look happy.

"That's all well nice and all, but if there's one person who you owe answers to more than anyone else in this room, it's me, and you know exactly who I am," she said in a threatening tone.

I almost laughed. Actually I did laugh. Everyone looked at me. Whoops. The Service lady turned her head my way, and since I was sitting right beside her, she didn't have to look very far. "Something you'd like to add, Ms.Blackfire?"

I swiveled in my chair for a moment beforeanswering. "Just wondering the same thing, is all."

She looks at me for a moment, her lip twitching. I thought she would say something, but just turned her head to continue. "As I said, you are all here because I've called upon you all because the world needs your help. I have much to say, and will answer any questions until i'm done. Understood?"

Silence was her answer. I guess she had the green light to go.

Spoiler

Sorry it was so short. If i'd tried to put to put part of the speech in my post, I would've just put the entire thing in.

I watched the others attempt to introduce themselves and break the ice. I remained silent, but listened attentively to each one. Tom sat on one side of me, and without noticing I unfolded my body and moved closer to each other. The main lady reentered, and handed boxes to each of us. I looked down at mine, but didn't dare touch it.

Tom's eyes wandered in my direction, and as I looked up with a panicked expression he smiled reassuringly. "You okay?" he whispered. I nodded, and moved even closer, grateful for the attention. Across the table I watched Antony. He had sent water flying towards the other girl when she set the table on fire. Everyone was special here, weren't they. Antony caught my eyes more than the others, probably because of the way he had played with the water. I wanted to join him in his game, or at least ask him what he felt when he played with the water. I felt power and joy, and in a way, freedom. It was like when I held water in my hands, nothing else mattered...

We all waited expectantly for the woman to speak, but for some reason she remained stubbornly silent. It felt like she was threatening us to think up our own explanations before she graced us with her own.

"Are you sure?" Tom questioned again, and I realized that my fingers were still gripping my legs as tightly as possible. Slowly, I unfolded my hands and watched the red marks grow and then fade on my legs. Tom's eyes showed concern, and I felt almost safe in his brown eyes. What was his power? Not water, I could tell that right away, and he didn't seem to be the kind that would play with fire. Suddenly I remembered him saying something about earthquakes. Earth. I smiled at him and let my body relax ever so slightly. Maybe everything would be okay after all.

Suddenly the woman began to speak, and my eyes shut upwards to absorb every word she spoke. Answers, at last! I drank in the words almost as lovingly as I would have drunken a glass of fresh water. Answers... for a second the joy was almost overpowering my ability to listen, but a secon later I calmed down and gave in to the calm monotone of her voice.

Haylee Knight - Conference Room -

I wanted to laugh, but I didn't have the care to do so, that Raziel chick, back in my stupid foster home my "parents" wanted to send me off to a private military school to whip me into shape. The dean of the school was supposedly under the command of General Raziel, a mean uptight ass who probably hadn't got anything from his wife in a long time. But his son was probably one of the better siblings a mixed martial arts champion, who was one of the meanest MMA fighters to hit the MMA. And if this chick was the sister to this guy, it made me wonder if she knew any MMA, the old woman began to speck again, her annoying scratchy voice bothering my ears.

"The Fundamentals, the original four, were the protectors of this world and their own. There are two worlds that exist, the mortal world and the immortal world. The Fundamentals exist to keep the two worlds at bay, making sure they never cross. They kept the peace by fighting off evil that threatened to hurt the inhabitants of the immortal world and expose their secret to the mortal realm. The Fundamentals were doing a good job of keeping things under control until an evil with great power showed up," she said.

There was a long silence in the room, the woman had paused as if for dramatic effect, everyone in the room hadn't said a word, but that Raziel girl didn't look happy as if she was wanting answers. Well she got them, as absurd as they seem.

"He went by the name of Karzai, Karzai wanted to take over both the immortal and mortal world, wanted to merge the two and become king of it all. He came close once or twice actually, succeeding in leaking a few demons through a forged portal between worlds, but the Fundamentals pulled through and cut down any serious trouble before it could happen. The trouble Karzai was causing seemed to have a simple problem, to just kill Karzai, they could have many times and very easily, but it wasn't that simple," her voice was so ANNOYING, this long conversation was bothering me to no end.

"If Karzai was to die the power resting inside of him would rupture and expand, demolishing both the mortal and immortal world with it's force. They had to find a way to stop him without killing him. They had to put him to sleep. The Fundamentals set out a plan."

"Oh wonderful so they it worked and now that guy is back and the original four are gone and now you want us to go after him, put him back to sleep and then we can all go home and back to our normal lives, would that be correct?" I asked sarcastically.

She raised an eyebrow at me as if she was surprised that I guessed the ending of the story in a matter of seconds which was cool since everyone was looking at me now, I somehow just couldn't keep a grin off my face. I also forgot how long it had been since I last smiled, the last time I smiled was with my mom, my real mom, before I was put into a foster home. We went out to a neighboring park together, we were having such fun, has it really been that long since that time? I felt so nostalgic for that time, and longed for a time like that again.

"Yes, correct Ms. Knight, but please allow me to finish first," she said.

"On their next encounter with Karzai they trapped him and tied him down with chains forged from the strongest leaves of the Earth Continent, and then, when he was restrained, they poured all of their power, energy, and life into a sleeping spell that they hoped to bind the beast forever. The spell worked, but not without a cost. All four Fundamentals died, but with a smile on their corpses.

Usually every Fundamental would be collected at birth, as was the way before Karzai's arrival, and trained to be warriors and protectors once their time came, but after the death of the Four, Fundamentals stopped being born, the race died out. Or so we thought. With Karzai asleep, his "influence" - his dark aura - vanished from the land. The great Four's death resulted in a wash of pure spirit that cleansed the Immortal Realm of all evil, and also created a new Fundamental class. No one knows where Karzai came from, or if his orientation was even of typical birth. Some rumor that he's not man at all, in any sense of the word, but more spirit than being."

She paused, no one said anything, I was near sure that everyone was sinking in, four of us wouldn't be coming back from this, I may not be coming back from this. The more I thought about it, the angrier I became, I was beginning to realize something, just how expendable I was to the world, I wanted to be important.

"The only reason you are all gathered here today is because Karzai is awakening and both worlds are in terrible danger. We need your help, Fundamentals," she said.

~Echo

"We need you, Fundamentals."
Or something like that. I stopped paying attention to the actual words, focusing on the detailed drawing of the woman in my notebook. I got everything right, like I always do - it looked as if I took a photo of the Service lady and transferred it on paper - except for the eyes. I didn't look at the people's eyes, so I didn't draw them either. They were the right shape and size, everything around them carefully done, but left white and empty - or dark and empty, depending on who it was I'd draw.

The box stood on the table in front of me, untouched. I wondered what it is, but didn't plan on trying to open it now.

So, we were magicians. That much I've figured so far, especially with the people introducing themselves. I didn't bother to catch their names, knowing I won't call either of them anyway, but I did remember what they said they can do.
Everyone stared at the Service woman, eagerness to hear more obvious on their faces, but she told us nothing. She mentioned something about us getting to our rooms and going to sleep, and then left the place.
Great. If I get to share a room with someone, I will freak.
It was bad enough to be around them all. I felt too crowded, and it was almost painful seeing the Familiars and listening to their offers. Even if I was one of the four Fundamentals that the woman talked about, that'd make too big of a group. And this.. I was shaking from the inside, as always not letting any of my anxiety show, wondering if I should use my powers.

I couldn't even tell what they were, though. The supposed Informer informed us about nothing, really. I wanted to hear more about that man, Karzai, and what exactly he is. Why us, why now, and where should we be going now. What should we be doing now.. And most of all, under which of the elements should fall the making of deep, freezing dark that eliminated all the feelings but fear and awoke the inner demons - because it didn't sound like something one would use to save the world. More like something the villains were supposed to be able to do.

"Hey, that's really good."
I jumped a little at the girl's voice behind my back, quickly closing the notebook. I frowned a little and, grabbing the box, got up, figuring all the others slowly made their way to the door as well. They all, however, stopped before opening them, probably recalling what happened last time they were touched. I stood right in front of them, and, after a while, turned to look at the puppet guy standing on the side.
He finally moved, opening the door for me, and I let the others exit before me - they seemed desperate to leave that room and I didn't want to be around them anyway.

"Hey." That girl again. With her gracious looks, long white-ish hair and big eyes. She seemed to be less stressed now. "What do you do, besides drawing?"
I shrugged.
"What can you do, with the... powers?"
I shrugged again.
"Why are you here, then, do you know?"
Shrugging the third time, I wondered what the hell she wants and why doesn't she give up on me.
"I want to hear you speak," she answered my unspoken question. "What's your name?"
"Echo," I said, and she smiled a little.
"You do talk! It's an unusual name. I'm Alice."
"It's a nickname," I replied, for some reason not feeling all that bad talking to her. "Nice to meet you." Let's be honest, I will forget your name in less than an hour once you leave me alone.
I considered asking her why she burst to tears before, when Doe found her way out of my pocket and started sniffing around Alice's head. She froze, but at least didn't try to shake her off - Doe didn't like being shook off.
I reached to her, avoiding meeting the girl's eyes, picked up my weasel from her shoulder and let her climb up my arm. Alice stared at me, and eventually a smile came back to her lips.
"She won't hurt you," I said, just wanting to end the conversation and find myself some bed to lie in. Without roommates, pretty please.
"A she? What's her name?"
"Doe," I answered, this time pretty sure my voice let her know I'm not interesting in more talking.

It didn't do the trick.

The rest of the way we followed the puppet guy, towards, I supposed, our rooms, she told me that she took ballet classes - which I actually found logical, seeing the way she moved - that she found out she could do things with air - which went well with the appearance - and how she met the girl named Marilena. She then introduced me to the girl named Marilena, the short Italian who also seemed way to talkative and smiling for my taste.

If I don't end up in a room alone, I thought as we all gathered back together, someone seriously won't see the dawning of tomorrow.
*

Spoiler

(My intrepid leader is letting me create a new character. :3 I will be posting for both of mine shortly)

Name: Olivia Noel Saint-John
Age: 18
Gender: Female
Fundamental Class: Earth

Appearance: Olivia is rather tall and lanky, she does have curves but you'd never notice under the baggy hoodies she's always wearing. Her complexion is pale with freckles over her pert nose. Her eyes are a startling green, like new spring grass. Her hair is the first thing anybody notices about her though. It's all colors of the rainbow- Not naturally, she dyes it- but it's long and certainly makes a statement, and very much is a good indication of her personality. Sunny. Her natural hair color is a mousy brown, which she hated as it made her feel even more the “plain Jane” she was never a “looker” but she hated being so invisible. And dying her hair gives her a confidence boost.
http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2011/ ... 3evkce.jpg
http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2011/ ... 3evdck.jpg

Personality: In a word Olivia is steady. She's a rock to her family and her friends, the one they can lean on and never seems shaken from her foundation. She's PAINFULLY shy on first meeting and has a stutter, but don't let that confuse you, Olivia is one touch cookie. She's stubborn as a mule and the kind of girl to jump into the fray to defend someone. She has the quiet strength that supports from the sidelines. She doesn't need to be in the spotlight or get the credit for the strength, she only wants to be loved and to be safe. Olivia was very sheltered growing up and as a result is VERY naive, the girl has not an iota of self preservation in her and often gets herself into sticky situations and needs rescuing herself. She is far too trusting and always likes to think there is good in everyone if you just look hard enough.

History (How’d They Discover Their Gift): Olivia was raised by her Grandparents, her mother wasn't planning on having a baby and was not in a good place both mentally and physically to raise a child. She ran with the wrong crowd and after Olivia was born she vanished. So Olivia's grandparents raised her on their farm in Upstate New York. Her Grandpa ran a organic nursery and orchard and Olivia grew up surrounded by growing things. From an early age she was shown to have a very green thumb, her Grandma would say Olivia could just tickle the ground and it would laugh flowers.

She was an average student and a busy bee- she was the it girl if anyone needed help and so she somehow managed to have a part in nearly every theatrical performance, science fair, Book club, art festival, bake sale, and prom planning society her school held from elementary through high school.

Olivia was the sort of Middle girl that got along with everyone, she had friends in nearly every level of the school hierarchy. While growing up she helped in her Grandparents store and orchard, and had full intentions on going to school for horticulture and Botany. Her dream was to keep the family business running and let her grandparents retire.

Other: Olivia is terrified of thunder storms, as in frozen, absolutely petrified and unable to think clearly kind of terror. She's old fashioned and is a romantic at heart- she's just waiting for her prince charming to come sweep her off her feet... but secretly wouldn't mind if he shoved her up against a wall and kissed the hell out of her too.

Dante Trenton/Fire:

Dante sat quietly- trying to comprehend all he was hearing and seeing. His mind was boggled and he felt slightly sick and dizzy. All this information struggling to make sense in his mind. The group stood seeming to get some signal from the older woman and Dante mechanically followed- picking up the strange box he had been given.

Out the door he hung to the back of the group and He chewed his lip thoughtfully.

“Crazy isn't it?” Dante started and turned, meeting the eyes of the oldest guy of the group. He smiled in a friendly way offering a hand. “I'm Tom.”

Dante offered his own hand,

“Dante.” He nodded curtly. “And yeah.... insane.” He gave a weak chuckle, “What tricks can you do? I can keep coffee warm.” Tom raised his eyebrows and smiled good naturedly.

“Well that might come in handy depending.” Dante chuckled and looked about the group, lowering his voice he nodded at Tom,

“ Seriously, what the hell is going on? I mean.... this is messed up. There are freaking kids here and they're talking about wars and killing and all that....” Tom nodded back,

“We're going to have to keep an eye on them. Keep them safe.” Dante blinked, this guy sounded like his dad.

“And how are we going to do that? I don't know about you but aside from being a coffee warmer all I can do it light chickens on fire and my textbooks when I get angry at them....”

“Ah.”

“So unless this evil dude is a effed up chicken, I won't be much use.”

“Well for now maybe, but I'm guessing we won't be just thrown into battle like this. That would be really crazy... suicide.” Tom said slowly, thoughtfully- eyes going from one member of their motley group to another with a fatherly aspect.

“But what do you think they're going to do to us then?”

Katara

We all stood up, heading out of the conference room with our boxes in hand. I was curious as to what was inside, but didn't really think it wise to open it yet. I looked around at everyone thoughtfully. I tuned into the conversation two of the guys near me were having without meaning to.

“Crazy isn't it?” one guys said. Tom I believe his name was. “I'm Tom.”

“Dante.” the other guys said. “And yeah.... insane. What tricks can you do? I can keep coffee warm.”

“Well that might come in handy depending.” Tom chuckled, lowering his voice.

“ Seriously, what the hell is going on? I mean.... this is messed up. There are freaking kids here and they're talking about wars and killing and all that....” Dante started.

“We're going to have to keep an eye on them. Keep them safe.” Tom said thoughtfully.

“And how are we going to do that? I don't know about you but aside from being a coffee warmer all I can do it light chickens on fire and my textbooks when I get angry at them....”

I almost laughed at that, but managed to keep it at bay.

“Ah.” Tom replied.

“So unless this evil dude is a effed up chicken, I won't be much use.” I could practically hear Dante shrug.

“Well for now maybe, but I'm guessing we won't be just thrown into battle like this. That would be really crazy... suicide.” Tom said.

“But what do you think they're going to do to us then?” Dante asked.

I slowed down to walk in step with them. "Anything they. Because legally, we're dead."

They both turned to look at me. "I'm katara. Nice to meet you."

"Dante." he held out his hand.

I held mine out to shake his and liked him instantly. He had a firm hand shake. Tom introduced himself and I shook his hand too. Firm hand shake. Instant approval also. They seemed like nice enough guys.

"So what can you do?" Tom asks.

"Water." I answer. "I can pull water out of the air and turn it into fog, mist, and Ice. I can do a few other things too."

"Cool." Dante nodded.

I shrugged, looking at Dante. "So what can you do?"

"I can keep your coffee warm and set a chicken on fire, but that's about it." he shrugged.

"So you're the guy to come to when I wanna fry up a chicken." I smiled. "Dually noted."

They both laughed. I looked at Tom. "What are you?"

"Earth." he answered. "So do you actually believe what she said?"

I looked ahead for a moment and shrugged. "It does sound insane, but what have we got to loose?"

"Hm," Tom nodded as Dante looked at me. "Do you trust them?"

"Not for one damn second. And you shouldn't either." I grimaced.

They They fell into a conversation about something, but I didn't pay attention. I thought about what The Service woman said. My focus went back to the box in my hands. What was in there? Where were we going? I'd find out the answer to both soon enough.

I watched as everyone started to make friends. I followed the group down the hallway, only now realizing I was grasping a box in my hands. I had noticed a girl in the room who seemed pretty nice. I think she said her name was Katara, I walked over to her and smiled.

"hey!" I smiled and waved as I stood next to her.

"Chloe right?" She said turning her head towards me, her piercing green eyes made me a little nervous but I stayed.

"I like your hair," I said nodding in satisfaction.

"What happened at the meeting?" She said gesturing to my hands.

"I don't know, I guess the light spirit must have some fire powers." I said shrugging.

"I'm a Water elemental, by the way." She said becoming a little more open to talk to me.

I looked down at my box again wanting to open it. We walked down the hallway a little more. The hallway ended in a big circular opening. We crowded around the statue in the middle. There was doors all around the walls and I realized this is where we would be living. I looked up to see a giant skylight covering the entire ceiling letting in tons of light. I looked down at my hands again and they had started to grow again. I sighed and tried to focus all my energy into making them turn off. I didn't work. Katara looked over at me in amazement.

"Uh Chloe," She said staring into my eyes. 'Your eyes are glowing,"

I sighed and tried turning them off again. I cleared my mind and breathed letting the skylights sunlight fill me up. When I opened my eyes again they where off, finally. Katara looked at me again and her mouth dropped. I shrugged and started to listen to the lady again.

"This is where you will living during your training. You will each get your own room and supplies. Please be in bed by 10:30 and don't use your powers for silly reasons. For example, don't have battles in the hallways or try to overuse your powers." She paused to tell some other kids to quiet down then she straightened her blazer and gestured to our boxes. "You will open these tonight at the Welcoming Ceremony. Please dress in what is provided to you."

Me Katara looked at each other wondering what the "Welcoming Ceremony" was. I shrugged as the lady read off our room numbers. My room was near the middle of the wall and had tons of light pointed at it. My room was a beautiful gold and had amazing painting of the sun all over the room. It had a huge bed in the center of the room and the carpet was super soft. I looked into the bathroom to see a huge shower. It had a small kitchen and a giant closet. The closet was filled with sleek black jackets and pants. It had combat boots and in the back it a beautiful dress I guessed was for the Welcoming Ceremony. The dress was a gold with a blue ribbing across the waist and tied in the back. It fell to my knee's and was sleeveless. Under it, was a pair of black flats and a pair of heals. I chose the flats to wear not being super balanced. I stepped out of the closet and laid down on the wonderful carpet. I closed my eyes as the carpet sucked my in being 3 inches thick. I guess this wasn't going to be as bad as I though.

Spoiler

Sorry it took a while. I've been busy but now I'm back

Thomas Alexander - Earth
The little blond girl sitting beside me, Clara, looked nervous, bordering on afraid. Not weird, considering the circumstances. She scootched closer to me, and I resisted the impulse to put a comforting arm around her shoulders. I didn't know the girl, but I felt sorry for her. She was too young to go through a thing like this. Heck, I was too young for this as well.

The older woman came back and we were each handed a box. I watched as some of the others tried to open it, but it was clearly impossible. Clara didn't touch her box either. Instead she looked down on her hands. John used to do that when he didn't know what to do with himself. She must've noticed that I was looking at her, for she looked up. The fear was vivid in her eyes. I smiled reassuringly, hoping that she'd calm down. "You okay?" I whispered. She nodded but moved closer. It seemed like she counted on me for protection, and I wasn't going to let her down.

She was griping her legs so hard that her knuckles whitened. "Are you sure?" I asked with a knowing look. She finally let go and seemed to relax a bit as she looked into my eyes and smiled.

I didn't have time to say anything more before the woman suddenly started talking again. The story she told us was hard to believe, to say the least. It sounded like a fairytale. The good heroes sacrificing themselves to slay an evil beast.. Or was Karzai a man? Would we have to sacrifice ourselves as well? These kids, they didn't deserve this. I hade come here under the pretense of paying for what I had done, so I was ready to do whatever it took to save the world, but these kids shouldn't even be here. What gave these people the right to send us all to our deaths?

The manikin let us out, and I followed the group. I had no idea what we were supposed to do now, and I both dreaded and longed to know what the boxes contained. There was a guy walking next to me. About my age, maybe a bit younger.

“Crazy isn't it?” The guy jumped and turned towards me. I smiled apologetically and held out my hand. I hadn't meant to startle him. “I'm Tom.”

He took my hand and shook it. “Dante,” he said with a nod. “And yeah... Insane.” I chuckled. It was good to know that not all people here were angsty teenagers. “What tricks can you do? I can keep coffee warm." Could he? Well, I probably should have been surprised after seeing what that other guy did with water, and the girl who had set the table cloth on fire.. Oh, and the girl who conjured up a glowing orb. Unlike them I couldn't do a thing, not when I wanted to, anyway. When I got upset the ground shook and people died. Not very useful. Not that the ability to heat coffee was very useful either.

"Well that might come in handy depending," I said with a laugh.

"Seriously, what the hell is going on? I mean... this is messed up. There are freaking kids here and they're talking about wars and killing and all that..." I couldn't agree with him more.

"We're going to have to keep an eye on them. Keep them safe." Dante seemed a bit surprised at my statement.

"And how are we going to do that? I don't know about you but aside from being a coffee warmer all I can do it light chickens on fire and my textbooks when I get angry at them..." Well, he was still more useful than me.

"Ah," was all I said. I didn't feel like telling him, or anyone else, that I had absolutely no control of my power.

"So unless this evil dude is a effed up chicken, I won't be much use." That made two of us.

"Well for now maybe, but I'm guessing we won't be just thrown into battle like this. That would be really crazy... Suicide."

"But what do you think they're going to do to us then?"

"Anything they want. Because legally, we're dead." A girl had walked up to us, and she almost startled me with her harsh words. Harsh or not, it was the truth. "I'm Katara. Nice to meet you."

Dante introduced himself and they shook hands, and then I did the same. She looked oddly satisfied, as if we had passed a test. "So what can you do?" I said, trying hard to not sound overly curious.

"Water. I can pull water out of the air and turn it into fog, mist, and Ice. I can do a few other things too."

It took me some time to process what she had just said. She actually knew how to use her abilities properly? Guess I should be happy that someone here actually knows what they're doing. Suddenly they started laughing, and I realized that I had missed a bit of the conversation. "What are you?" She had turned towards me.

It wasn't 'who' anymore, but 'what'. "Earth. So do you actually believe what she said?" The fairytale the woman told us was far from convincing.

Katara shrugged. "It does sound insane, but what have we got to loose?"

"Do you trust them?" Dante asked. Well, how could anyone trust them? I was convinced that they were serious, considering all the resources they had spent on getting us here, but I definitely didn't trust them.

"Not for one damn second. And you shouldn't either."

She went quiet after that, but I and Dante kept talking about this and that. He told me a bit about what he was studying and I mentioned that I worked as a mechanic and came from a small town. Eventually the woman stopped and told us a bunch of things. We were then shown to our separate rooms.

My room was plain, just like I wanted it to be. A bed, a nightstand, a wardrobe and a big old armchair. The colors were warm and earthy. It was almost as if it had been designed just for me... Which was absurd, obviously. Why would they even bother?

I took a look around, and when I checked the wardrobe I noticed that it was full of black clothes, probably for training, and a black suit. The suit itself didn't freak me out (not much anyway), but the sight of a tie on one of the shelves sent a chill down my spine. I hated wearing tie. It was insanely uncomfortable. I snickered and shook my head. In this situation I should be worrying about other things. Like if I was going to survive the day or not, but instead I was worrying that I might have to wear a tie. I took a deep breath as I let myself sink down in the armchair. Really, there had to be something really wrong with me. I should be worrying more. Not that worrying ever helped me with anything, rather the opposite, but still.