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 Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 5:11 pm
Shane sighs, "Unfortunately there isn't much you can do. I could do with a witness to the scene Gidget provided us, but I'd really prefer you not have to talk to the boss man. He likes to make pet projects out of people he finds interesting. Needless to say you are quite interesting. If there is anyone you should worry about misuse of power it's that guy. If he had his way Gidget would be made to work here doing what she does best."
He takes his glasses off and rubs the bridge of his nose. After replacing them he says to Annie, "Are you hungry? I haven't eaten since breakfast."
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Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 5:26 pm
"Who is this Boss Man? I think I can handle myself pretty well," she said, smiling, still blushing some. "And, can't you argue that the only reason you are putting up with me is because you find my abilities are interesting? If I can help you by putting up with the 'boss man' trying to make a pet project out of me, it would be worth it."
She tossed her auburn hair over her shoulder and said eagerly about the prospect of food, "Regardless, I am absolutely ravenous. We can talk more over dinner."
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Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 6:35 pm
He smiles and turns, motioning with his hand for her to follow him. "I was hoping you'd say that. The cafeteria should still be open. I think they were serving chicken fried steak."
The cafeteria is just as much hustle and bustle as the main floor. It is clean and white, with colorful motivational posters and drawings from children lining the walls. After getting the meal of the day (chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy) Shane grabs a Sprite from the refrigerator and takes a seat.
He digs into the ice cream scooper served potatoes with a funny look on his face, "You're from the south right? I'll bet seeing crap like this makes you gag."
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Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 6:44 pm
Annie followed Shane and got the latest dinner, which reminded her of something her high school might have served. As she dug into the potatoes- packaged she realized with a smile that she was wrong. Back home at school they had homemade potatoes. It was more like her father's cooking.
She shrugged, "Don't make assumptions. Just because I'm from the South doesn't mean that I can't handle prepackaged food. I was raised by a single father, I'm fairly used to food like this. He could cook, but he just didn't."
She shrugged as she cut the chicken fried steak and took a bite. Wrinkling her nose she wondered why the chicken was gray and tasted a lot like squirrel (which was not her favorite meat by any means). "Anyhow, about what I was saying earlier..."
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Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 8:12 pm
Shane takes a sip of his coke and nods, "Ah right, about lending me a hand. To be honest it probably would help be considerably. The boss man is getting up in arms about Gidget plowing out of here with one of the Valkyrie recovery suits. Like I said earlier, he wants to use her to create more devices that can help us aid meta-humans. At the same time though..." He adjusts his glasses on the bridge of his nose, a look of deathly seriousness in his eyes, "He wants her to make weapons to apprehend or eliminate meta-humans that pose dangerous to humanity. Even when she had the materials to do so, she didn't put weapons into the suit. She may not have complete control of her power, but she's still a girl that believes in peace. I refuse to allow her to become a tool of destruction. The people above him agreed and it was supposed to be left at that. Yet he still holds a grudge over it."
He takes a few bites of food while he ponders. His eyes light up with a grand epiphany, "My god Annie, you were there! You can testify to her ability to create non-lethal tools. That b*****d keeps appealing for the brass to reconsider their position, and you can close the lid on it."
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Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 9:55 pm
Ako did not like the news he was given. He understood the look Tansy gave him, he'd worn the same one many times. She didn't want to go unconscious again, but there was nothing either of them could do. "Are those really necessary, Doctor? What do those drugs really do?"
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Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 11:18 pm
Annie sighed, "Quite frankly, considering my abilities I don't know if I would be the ideal candidate to say, 'hey apprehending or eliminating meta-humans is bad.' Anyhow, unfortunately, Gidget is able to make lethal tools as well. It wasn't like we were able to apprehend Mr. Cortez either, using non-lethal force."
"From what I can tell, meta-humans and humans are equally dangerous," added Annie. Frowning she remarked, "So, this 'boss man' seems like a fanatic bound and determined to oppress a part of the population. Why is someone like that in charge, anyways? Better yet, why are you working for a man like that? He's trying to sink his claws into Gidge and you continue to work for him? That doesn't make sense to me."
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 7:07 am
Shane looks around to see if anyone may be eavesdropping. Once he is confident that they are the only ones privy to this conversation he leans in closer to Annie and says in a hushed tone, "The problem is that the man gets results, and the only person he has shown his true colors to is me. I'm stuck working for him because he is the one in charge of the bio-tech department. I have no way of proving that he is dirty."
He takes another bite of chicken when his eyes light up again,However, I've noticed that you have a way of bring out people's true colors be they good or bad. Think you might be able to smoke out a rat?" He says the last sentence with the same knowingly mischievous grin that his sister has.
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 7:57 am
Annie smiles largely, it was exactly something she could do to help, and that mischievous grin was absolutely adorable. On Gidget it made her worry some, on her big brother it made her want to rub her hands together and plot something.
"Aw, you know all of my secrets already," Annie chuckled. "It isn't exactly that I can bring out people's true colors, but I do have a secondary power that helps in that regards. I don't know how to describe it scientifically, but I can describe it to the best degree on what I have read about it. Basically I can sense a person aura. It really isn't that unusual, and I have always been able to do that to some degree. A lot of children and animals have that ability. However, thanks to the meteor I have a greater control and understanding of my ability. Just by looking or being around someone I can tell what their aura is like. It's my spidey-sense."
She took a bite of her mashed potatoes and after swallowing the bite added, "The only reason I can bring out people's true colors is as many people tell me, I don't know when to shut up, I'm too direct, and I rub people the wrong way. Let's just say that though I am a good actress, I don't like to employ my abilities in my day to day activities, especially when dealing with slime balls."
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 3:06 pm
Shane digs into his chicken and potatoes together and places them into his mouth slowly, "You know, these suddenly don't taste so bad anymore."
Sometime later they find themselves in front of the desk of Leonard Reynolds. He is a heavy set man with dark, beady eyes. It doesn't take more than a single look over to see that this man has the disposition of a bully. On his desk lies a large monitor with a very tired older man looking unamused.
"You had better have a good reason for keeping me up until the ungodly hour Mr. Reynolds." The older man yawns and take a sip of water from a brandy glass.
Reynolds hacks into his hand, a smokers cough without a doubt. He wheezes harshly and points a finger at Shane and Annie, "Sir I have called you to this meeting to prove to you that Mr. Morris' priorities conflict with that of our interests. I have warned you about his conflicting interests regarding his family, and now he has allowed his younger sister to make our R&D into her personal tech playground. To top it all off, it appears now that he has brought one of the girl from the video, a Ms. Annabella Soulsmith, before us to plead his case."
The older man looks from Shane to Annie, "You there, young miss, could you please state your name for the record. As well as why you accompany Shane this evening."
Shane looks to Annie and gives her a confident nod. His eyes tell her to play it cool. His small grin says to wait for the right moment.
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 3:49 pm
Annie glanced from Leonard Reynolds, the monitor, and to Shane, giving her a look to play it cool. She had hated Leonard Reynolds at an instance, he was vain, rude, and downright slimy. Being in his presence reminded her of wading through a marsh. They obviously knew who she was so it was no use lying about her name, but she could easily lie about her reasons for being here.
"My name is Annabella Carina Soulsmith," she said smiling, laying on her Southern accent and manners thickly. Hugging Shane she said, "I am Shane's girlfriend. Is it that weird for a girlfriend to spend the night with her boyfriend? He's been really busy and I missed him. I really didn't mean to cause any problems for anyone: I swear on my mother's grave!"
It was a bold lie, and she wondered if they would buy it. But then again, the story seemed a lot more believable and less troublesome for him then saying that she was here to reveal the Mr. Reynolds's true colors. And technically she hadn't wanted to leave his side so it wasn't a complete lie. She battered her brown eyes at Leonard Reynolds innocently, not letting go of Shane, yet.
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 5:00 pm
Shane's face belies the absolute shock and unease that he now feels. It's not a bad unease, just the type that he isn't familiar with. One of the many differences between himself and Gidget is that he knows how to lie, and really well. He wraps an arm around Annie's shoulder and looks to his superiors.
Reynolds hacks again, "Now you are bringing your girlfriend down to a secret underground facility that is only open to staff and meta-humans?"
The man on the monitor cuts in before Reynolds can say another sentence, "Then that must be exactly why he allowed her down here. All meta-human's desiring a better understanding of their abilities are welcomed in Valhalla. Although Mr. Morris I must say I'm not certain if I approve of having a relationship with a student.
Shane clears his throat, "She is not one of my students. Her major is in art, so biology isn't a necessary course for her. There is no quid pro quo that would cause a problem in the school."
The older man smiles and nods, "Ah to be young and in love. Ms. Soulsmith, would be so kind as to explain exactly what transpired in the recording provided by Agatha Morris?"
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 6:09 pm
Annie smiled, just as she had guessed, Shane Morris was a good actor. Hell, working for a boss you don't like tended to make you one. Bowing her head to the older man she bit her lip and said quietly, "I assume you mean the recording regarding Mr. Leviathan Cortez."
"I confronted Mr. Cortez trying to ascertain his plans and gain a confession regarding the burning of the Dashworth building, when the man attacked my nervous system. In self defense I retaliated with acid rain. That was when Gidget appeared. A friend of mine got caught in the cross fire and sustained minor acid burns, along with a girl that Mr. Cortez was attempting to take under his twisted wings."
"In the end he fired a concentrated blast of electric energy when the girl used some sort of shadow manifestation of her power and managed to save me. Using that amount of power exhausted the girl and she passed out. Mr. Cortez then proceeded to leave the girl in our care and disappear."
Annie knew she had left out some details, such as the fact that she had found herself quite close to trying to kill Mr. Cortez and the names of Lily and Trinity Smith. Sighing, she waited for the questioning to begin, especially from Mr. Reynolds who had already decided he didn't like her (probably because she was 'dating' Shane Morris a man he already didn't like, did not help Annie's cause any with Leonard Reynolds).
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 7:21 pm
The man in the screen looks over at Reynolds, "Has the identity of the other two young ladies been ascertained?"
"Yes sir. The brunette is a Ms. Lily Stinson. Coincidentally she actually is one of Mr. Morris' students. The other one we have yet to confirm due to a facial and vocal filter no doubt put in place by Agatha Morris. Then again, the video was handed to Mr. Morris first. He could have very easily doctored it."
The old man yawns in boredom, "Spare me your vapid mud slinging Mr. Reynolds. Please continue your questioning."
Reynolds wipes the sweat from his brow with a stained handkerchief and wheezes, "Mr. Morris, for what purpose did you bring your sister to the facility with you if not to allow her to develop her power?"
"I brought my sister down here because I did not want to leave her alone in my apartment."
"According to her record she is thirteen years old. Is she not capable of taking care of herself? Come now Mr. Morris, don't you feel you're being overprotective? What about the incident in the Valkyrie development facility?"
"I had no inclination to believe that my sister would sound the klaxon and lock herself in there, let alone modify and commandeer one of the suits."
"Seriously Mr Morris, don't take us for idiots. Agatha Morris is a young meta-human who gained her power from the meteor show a few months ago. It is my belief that she was not in control of herself at the time of the incident, and that you are fully aware of her lack of self control."
Shane squeezes Annie's shoulder unconsciously. Apparently they had hit an inkling of truth.
The man in the monitor looks back toward Annie, "Ms. Soulsmith, you were present at the altercation in the ally. How would you describe Agatha Morris' behavior at the time?"
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