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Post by alice on Apr 8, 2011 2:06:50 GMT -5
In recent months, many mutants had gone missing, with a rare few reappearing a short time later with false memories of where they had been. Where the missing mutants went, and what really happened was a mystery. And since January? Alice had been one of them...
No one knew where the girl had gone, just that she'd run off back in January to do who knows what, and hadn't been seen since. Several X-men just thought she wanted time away from other people. Originally, they weren't that far off, for Alice held no love for society. That didn't mean she'd been off on her own the whole time. She'd made a new... Friend of sorts. He'd promised unspeakable things to the Shadows, the insanity in Alice, convincing them to join his cause. Since the alliance, Alice had been in permanent insane mode, unable to break free of the Corruption inside her. After a while though.... With the less contact she had with the mad ally, the grip had wavered... And finally? Alice was free.
... For now.
There was no telling how long she'd manage to stay sane. She didn't even know what she was supposed to do. Could she go back to the school? No.... Cain had told her Xavier was 'disposed of'. She didn't know if that meant dead or just hurt, but she did know it meant that the only person capable of locking away the building Darkness was unable to help.
Alice was curled up on a bench deep in Central Park. Her legs pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped around them tightly, head on her knees. To anyone who saw her she was the image of pure misery. Thankfully it was dark, well past midnight, so no one had seen the girl in hours, no one passing the particular bench she was hiding out on. Absorbed in her self pity she didn't even hear the sound of footsteps approaching.
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Post by rhyme on Apr 8, 2011 17:09:13 GMT -5
Artemis walked slowly through Central Park as he took in the serenity around him. It was nice, so nice he erased any sound he made himself. He didn’t want the crunching of his feet or the sound of his breath or anything really ruining this peace.
As he walked he saw what appeared to be a small girl in pure misery sitting in the fetal position on a cold park bench. If it was anyone else he wouldn’t have cared but he was a sucker for a damsel in distress. Nothing tugged at him more than a hurt women. He would never admit it but it spread back to his creation. He was created to protect Rhyme’s two sisters, and he did so very well blasting the no good bastard to atoms.
He reached into the sleeve of his leather coat as the first sound he made occurred. When he reached in all the metal on his coat jingled gentle. As he reached in he thought in the back of his head what wool was made out of. It was carbon based so probably pretty simple. The carbon was enough to get it into creation with minimal energy. He grasped at the one corner of the blanket in his sleeve and pulled and pulled until a large woolen blanket appeared. He tossed it around the girl as he sat down beside her. He didn’t say a word though, waiting for her to be ready to talk.
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Post by alice on Apr 8, 2011 19:10:18 GMT -5
Alcie hadn't moved in who knows how long. She was so still, in fact, that if it weren't for the subtle motion of her breathing, you might actually think she was dead. Most everything seemed to be completely ignored by her, sadly, the chiming of metal against metal was not an ignorable sound.
Alice's head shot up, as if expecting something bad to happen, her gaze focused intently on the stranger. It was actually a little eerie, the way she just watched him in total and complete silence, her expression void of any and all emotion. Finally though she seemed to decide he wasn't a threat and looked away, forcing her attention to focus on a crack in the cement path in front of the bench. He wasn't doing anything to her, so why bother? He'd be on his way soon enough, just like everyone else had before him.
Or.... Not...
Something was thrown around her, a blanket of some sorts. Alice's first reaction? A rather violent flinch. The girl wasn't used to being touched, by people especially. Even if he hadn't directly touched her, she seemed to think so, and it would be near impossible to convince her otherwise. A few moments passed, and the girl relaxed again, no longer so tense you thought she might run at any given moment. Cautiously she unwrapped her arms so she could gather up a fistful of the cloth in each hand, wrapping the blanket around her even tighter.
More moments of silence passed, the stranger just sitting there with all the patience in the world, and Alice in debate with herself, whether to speak up or just stay silent. Part of her said to stay silent, that if she kept her mouth shut she wouldn't have to worry about the stranger trying to get close to her, and eventually getting hurt. The other part said he was just trying to be nice, any normal person would stop to help out a pathetic looking teenage girl...
".....Who are you...?" That wasn't quite the question she had in mind, but it was an innocent enough question. "Why are you out here so late...?" Okay, that one wasn't so innocent. Alice had an odd way of thinking, that daylight dwellers should be asleep at this hour, no matter how many times people tried to convince her otherwise.
[/justify]
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Post by rhyme on Apr 9, 2011 1:49:30 GMT -5
“Well, the first part is easy enough, my name is Artemis, and truthfully, I am not too sure myself why I am out here. It was a nice night out and sometimes, the dark is just comforting, but who knows, maybe some unforeseen force decided to send me out here to find you before you froze to death.”
His voice was calm and nonjudgmental. He wasn’t one of those people who help the poor and less fortunate to stroke their own egos. He was there when his other half could barely make ends meet so he knows what it was like. The last thing a person really needs at these times was pity. It wasn’t really compassionate either. It was neutral in that matter, neither compassionate nor hateful though still not monotone. It spoke of a person who saw this road many times before in his own life and though the person didn’t notice, she was one of the few who heard his true voice in years.
He didn’t know why but he felt a strange connection to this person. He was deeply saddened when he saw how traumatized she was, noticing the signs clearly. The way she jerked at the smallest touch and how she turned in on herself to protect herself. It was what Rhyme was doing but she didn’t let life crush her and get shoved into her own mind.
Again he waited for her next question. He had all the time in the world. He didn’t have any other pressing engagements and as he said before, the darkness can be relaxing at times. For one who lives in the darkness it just felt releasing to have it surrounding him.
He raised his legs to prop them on nothing and when he did the ground rose silently in a small pedestal for him to rest his feet on.
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Post by alice on Apr 9, 2011 2:11:57 GMT -5
Artemis.
For some reason she thought the name was odd, if only because Artemis was a female Greek God. And this man was most definitely male. It was so odd, in fact, that Alice gave him a funny look, unable to figure out if he was joking or not. She didn't vocally express herself though, as that usually led to the person getting very angry with her. A few moments passed, that odd expression on her face slowly fading away back to that blank stare of hers.
"........" She slowly blinked, looking away from him again, her gaze going upward this time, focused on the stars that were invisible to the normal eye. With eyes like hers, she could spot even the smallest glimmer of light, even that of the invisible stars... "I should freeze to death." That wasn't normal for someone her age, and the way she said the words... It almost sounded like she meant it and for some crazy reason? She didn't sound depressed about it! Talk about a morbid teenager... "It'd save everyone a lot of trouble if I did..."
Alice wasn't someone you'd call 'proud' or egotistical. She didn't even seem like she cared about the workings of the world. After spending so many years avoiding it, she barely understood the world and it's people, and had absolutely no desire to start now. Now, most things said to her were just in one ear and out the other, as if in a permanent daze, never fully aware of her surroundings.
"...." Her attention remained on the unseen stars overhead. Only when... well something unexpected happen did her attention waver. It was a little eerie, how as the ground shifted, moving to Artemis's will in complete silence, that Alice just seemed to know something had different. Her gaze dropped, focused on him with that same, blank stare. "You're a mutant."
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Post by rhyme on Apr 9, 2011 2:48:56 GMT -5
When she looked upon him he matched her gaze with his deep purple eyes. They swirled with a deep power and a great depth. He was created not even ten years ago but Rhyme created him with a great wisdom and age that he didn’t have. When her gaze moved upward, his moved back in front of him to his feet.
“Since when was preventing trouble a reason to die, by that same logic all babies should be put to death for all the trouble they will bring to their parents, all the sleepless nights from midnight feedings, being literally elbow deep in unpleasantness. And yes, I am a mutant.” He said with the same uniquely neutral tone. “And I guess I deserve to freeze out here as well, I caused enough pain and hardship in my short time here. But until the time comes were I end up burning for all eternity I refuse to let my life by inhibited here.”
“Na, na na na na, hey ya… Na, na na na na, hey ya” he sang a short portion of simple campfire song he knew. When he did he strummed as if he had a guitar and the music softly came from the empty space. His voice had a deep richness to it that showed in a strange way his past. All in those short words came all the pain he inflicted on others.
This was the truest form of where his power came from. Music has so much emotion tied into it, and he could use that to fuel what he did instead of his own or with his own. In front of the small bench an empty metal trash bin appeared moved through space somehow, he didn’t really care at the moment and with the second set a black light fire appeared. The flames crackled and popped like normal fire eating the wood and paper within but it burnt purple and black and gave off black light. That effect he did know how to do. The spectrum of fire’s light depends on how the electrons are raised and lowered, it was easy to mess with that without affecting the other properties of the atom and shift the photon’s emitted to the frequency of black light.
With the addition of black light his white t-shirt glowed gently as did the whites of his blue jeans.
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Post by alice on Apr 9, 2011 12:39:08 GMT -5
The whole analysis on parents didn't seem to register with Alice. She just looked down at him with a puzzle, misunderstood stare. "... Don't all parents try...?" The only type of parents she knew were exactly the type he spoke about, the ones that were drunk more then half the time, blaming the child for every problem in their life.
"And it wouldn't prevent trouble... It'd prevent..." Alice looked down then, focusing on the lawn in front of them once again, trying desperately to grasp at the half forgotten memories. "I can't remember... Something really bad..." She hated it, how she couldn't remember most of what happened when the Corruption took hold. How she knew something important happened, that she had to share with someone.... And she couldn't remember!
His last comment, verifying that he was, indeed, a mutant, didn't seem to phase her in the least. She didn't even look surprised. "I'm one too." Maybe he'd understand a little better why she acted the way she did just off of knowing what she was. Well.... understand enough.
His singing attracted her attention once more, her dark gaze traveling from the lawns to him, watching in complete silence. At first? She just looked confused. Why had he randomly just decided to sing? When the trash bin seemed to appear though, she understood..... Well understood enough that she wasn't dizzy with confusion. It had something to do with his power. What though... She had no idea. The moment the fire erupted, the girl tensed, as if preparing herself for something.... Then relaxed, in so much that she let out a relieved sigh. The fire he started wasn't what she expected. She'd thought it would burn normally, blinding her sensitive eyes for a few minutes.
She stared at the odd phenomenon of the black fire with a sense of awe, entranced why it. Why couldn't all fires be light this? Why couldn't all light be like this, so she was never blinded? The more she stared, the stranger she seemed to act. "I hate light. Sunlight, flashlights, fire.... Anything bright. I can't stand it." Why Alice felt in sharing this, who knew? No one really knew what to expect from the girl, as she did whatever she wanted, even if it didn't make any sense to others! Still, the longer she stared, the darker her eyes became, even the whites in her eyes seemed to be dimming. They weren't completely black yet, but even an idiot would see they weren't white anymore.
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Post by rhyme on Apr 10, 2011 4:30:28 GMT -5
“Death? Destruction? The coming of the next apocalypse?” he listed as he shrugged his shoulders. “People die, big whoop, maybe the deserved it or maybe it was planned. And without destruction there can’t be new creation and the apocalypse, boy will that be a trip. Good and evil, right and wrong, is all relative and until we are dead and out of time will we ever know.”
"I hate light. Sunlight, flashlights, fire.... Anything bright. I can't stand it."
Wow, that made him think back. He got burned over and over by light, but never the natural type. It was always the emotional light. It was always what Rhyme used to push him back into the hole he was kept it. And it did make sense now that he was out enough to think about it. From his observations, it was limitless; it was what made him in the first place since it was the love between Rhyme and his sisters that wanted him so badly to help him that Artemis appeared.
“Well, I can sympathize with the whole light business. I am fine with the normal light but I always get burned by that emotional power of love light crap.” He said muttered the last line angrily but not at Alice but at Rhyme and at Sailor Moon by relation. “Though if you really want, I could try and help with those memories, I am no psychic but I got a trick that may work, but sometimes, memories are better lost.” He continued at barely a whisper.
He wasn’t going to make the decision for her but he let her have the option. Sometimes memories were forgotten for a reason and in his opinion they should stay gone, but if someone took her memories away, he would try and get them back.
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Post by alice on Apr 10, 2011 12:16:49 GMT -5
Alice just continued to stare into the black depths of the fire, mind busy at work. None of his 'suggestions' seem to spark any memories, but that didn't mean they weren't familiar. "That's what he promised them..." Her expression was hard to read, as it always was when she mentioned 'them'. The corruption in her.
"Light hurts my eyes. They don't like bright things.." Even though he'd only muttered the last part, Alice still heard it. Finally, she looked at him again, confused. "Love light...?" The way she spoke... It was like she'd never even heard the word 'love' before now! "There are others kinds of light..? How?"
His next comment though wiped her face clean of all emotion, back to that completely blank state. She didn't break eye contact though, not yet. "I don't know. They hide what they do from me... It's always been like that, ever since the first time they came...."
Alice was, most definitely, speaking nonsense now. Or was she? When you started to understand her power, you started to understand her, at least a little. She was actually pretty sane... As long as nothing exciting happened...
[/justify]
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Post by rhyme on Apr 11, 2011 23:00:47 GMT -5
“Well, as you probably guessed, my mutation involves music, the emotions behind it to be more exact. My better half loves to destroy me whenever he can by the positive emotions of music, his favorite is love. And the choice is always up to you since it can make it worse but I got something that is specially made to undo things. Though let me give you an example of the power of emotions.” He began to strum again and with the guitar the rest of the instruments emerged. He pumped some of the power into it but not enough to get anywhere near forcing a change on those who hear it. She would get a level of the effect of the emotions depending on how open she was at the moment to it. The overall effect was simple, just a loosening of emotional blockages and the feeling of safety and security. It would also slightly impel the listener if they were open to it to smile and tap their feet and the other things described. If she embraced it fully it could possibly remove the corruption for the moment it was unlikely to occur. He sang again with the same richness as previously. Do you believe in magic? In a young girls heart How the music can free her whenever it starts
And it's magic if the music is groovy It makes you feel happy like an old time movie
I'll tell ya about the magic It'll free your soul but it's like trying to tell a stranger 'bout rock n roll
If you believe in magic, don't bother to choose If it's jug band music or rhythm and blues Just go and listen It'll start with a smile It won't wipe off your face no matter how hard you try Your feet start tapping And you can't seem to find How you got there So just blow your mind
If you believe in magic Come along with me We'll dance until morning, just you and me and maybe, if the music is right I'll meet ya tomorrow so late at night
We'll go a dancin' baby then you'll see all the magic's in the music and the music's in me, yeah
Do you belive in magic? Yeah. Believe in the magic in a young girl's soul believe in the magic of rock n roll Believe in the magic that can set you free Ohhhh, talkin' bout magic
Do you believe like I believe? Do you believe in magic? As he sang the air rippled slightly to those attuned to reality warping as the universe in the local area listened to this song and reacted to it. Animals in the park crept toward them entranced by the music being illuminated somewhat strangely in the black light. He could have done visuals as well but he didn’t want to spook the poor girl. ((Think of the Lovin’Spoons voices but Aly and Aj’s cover for the actual music))
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Post by alice on Apr 11, 2011 23:55:51 GMT -5
Like all the times before, Alice’s attention was dragged back to Artemis when he started to speak, this time about his own power. His better half? What was that supposed to mean? Destroy him with positive emotions? She didn’t understand any of it. “You’re making less sense than me.” Of course Alice knew barely understood her, and that she barely understood people most of the time. Still, this was a different kind of confusion then what she felt when around others.
He was doing it again, that invisible guitar act. She watched with her usual mild suspicious, but still void expression. What was he up to now? What did ‘Power of emotions’ mean? What sort of example was this supposed to be? It was then…. She felt…. Something…
The darkness that had been building in her eyes retreated, as if fearing the strange but comforting emotions that were building. Safety and Security….. Foreign terms to Alice. She never felt safe, she was always worrying about the safety of others, always terrified that she’d lose control for even a moment. Why… Why did she feel these things now? It suddenly clicked. This was his power. Or… Some part of it. He was the one making her experience these unheard of emotions. But for as foreign and strange as they were… she relaxed.
Alice relaxing was a very bad idea.
Her guard always remained up, so that the corruption wouldn’t be able to get a firm hold on her. Seeing it’s chance now, the insane part of Alice leaped out, taking advantage of her seemingly weakened state. Her eyes turned solid black, as if like black holes, the area around them suddenly growing darker and darker, even the strange black light was suddenly void of all brilliance. Alice didn’t say anything, but the change was unmistakable. Something about her was suddenly sinister and bloodthirsty, but she remained still, not acting on these sudden impulses… yet…
[/justify]
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Post by rhyme on Apr 12, 2011 1:33:50 GMT -5
The hairs raised on the back of Artemis’ neck as he felt the properties of light change within his control of reality. He figured she was causing it but something felt very wrong. Still trying to act calmly he tilted his head down and closed his eyes, immersing himself in his mutation. He let the world come in only through his ears and let it all be sorted out in his brain.
His breathing deepened as he went deeper and deeper into the sounds around him and his consciousness moved itself into the reality that was currently under his control. To an outsider this would seem his most vulnerable but it was his strongest. In this state everything that he deemed his, which wasn’t large about 20 feet in radius around himself was his body.
From this he noticed the animals he brought out acting very strangely. After the song was over they bolted out of the area as fast as possible and normally they would stay. That and the feeling of dread he was getting before he left his body made him very worried so he began to wrack his brain for songs that could get him out of a pinch if need be.
Thnks fr th Mmrs normally always works in a pinch. What else, Real World for if the world around me tries to change, and I guess Sweep the Leg for if she is a hand to hand fighter.
He also prepared to phase his body to dust for safety like with that Stella girl if she tried to attack him.
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Post by alice on Apr 12, 2011 1:56:46 GMT -5
The change in Alice really was something to fear. It wasn't normal, especially for someone her age. Strangely though, she didn't even look coherent, as if in a daze, unaware of everything going on around her.
The more time that passed, the stranger things seemed to become. With the sudden lack of light, the shadows seemed to dance. Squirming, wiggling, crawling, slithering. It was almost like the darkness was alive. In her dazed state, Alice's focus had left Artemis, instead traveling across the shadows, watching the affects of her power. A smile was on her lips, but you wouldn't call it sweet. It was twisted, just as blood thirsty as her gaze. She looked completely mad....
Her black gaze continued to travel, until.... finally settling on the only living thing in the area. Normally, she might have gone after the retreating animals, but with someone so close, and someone that wasn't running, how could she pass up the chance?
"Will you play with me?"
The way she spoke was even creepier then the way she looked, her voice whispery, so quiet and innocent... It was almost childlike. The shadows were moving closer, suddenly stepping out of the two dimensional world and into theirs. The shapes they took were monstrous, stalking closer and closer to the only living thing besides Alice....
[/justify]
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Post by rhyme on Apr 13, 2011 19:48:19 GMT -5
At those words Artemis’ eyes snapped opening glowing with a bright dark purple glow. It was so bright it clearly illuminated all the rings and bars on his eyebrows. “You picked a really bad person to try and fool.” He said in a clichély gay bitchy tone. “One, I can see a fractured mind a mile away, and two, learn to lie better I could hear the fakeness in your voice before you finished.” A voice told much about a person and with such a drastic change he knew something was up and with all the darkness around he figured it wasn’t good. I'm at war with the world and they Try to pull me into the dark I struggle to find my faith As I'm slippin' from your arms At the center of his chest an orb of purple light was flickering about to go out but suddenly it flared into life before it disappeared with him from the bench. Across from the now nearly smothered trash can fire he reappeared with the orb flickering once more. This time though the music came from around him and from everywhere within his sphere of control and if she trusted him and had the strength what was left of the side of Alice he met previously would know the words to the parts sung by a female lead. They could help her climb out since Artemis knew a lot about clawing his way out of suppression. If she chose not sing it would appear in the same way as the music without him singing. Either way during that time of the song he would launch two ribbons of energy a neutral shade of purple. If they hit Alice’s body it wouldn’t hurt it directly but would anchor themselves into the ground from the other side of the ribbon and would enter the psyche of the poor girl and give her something to climb out with and to remind her she was not entirely alone even if they barely knew each other. ((Skillet—“Awake and Alive”))
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Post by alice on Apr 14, 2011 13:07:21 GMT -5
Alice didn't reply. She didn't even seem aware that he'd actually spoken, as if in a trance. There was no sign of shock from the purple glow in his eyes. Actually, there wasn't a sign of any emotion, the void expression beyond eerie.
The next part though.... He just vanished. Instantly the shadows started to fidget, as if angry by his disappearance. Alice herself though still didn't react, just began her search. It didn't take long, he was on the other side of the trash bin. Like before, she just watched him in that eerie silence, the shadows creeping once again. Suddenly though.... They stopped. Her completely black eyes going wide. She didn't do anything else though, just stared wide eyed.
The girl violently twitched when she saw.... well ribbons seemed to be the best word. She didn't move though, didn't try to avoid the 'assault', she just waited, as if daring it to. In her insane moment, she really did expect it to try and hurt her... Not try to dig out her sane self. When she realized what was happening, she trashed, beyond furious. The shadows, following her angry lead, leaped forward to rip him to shreds, stop his attempts....
Nothing happened.
The shadows stopped, then vanished, normal light starting to return. The blackhole eyes of hers had turned gray, then finally back to normal, the whites of her eyes back.
Finally an emotion could be read on Alice's face, pure confusion. Her gaze flickered about, as if trying to figure out what had happened.
[/justify]
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