Welcome to Gaia! ::

After the former introductions and being led all around the building, Akila was escorted into the current room. Nothing much was around, the couch and a few tables. Aside from being hurriedly shoved a pamplet of sort Akila felt everything moving so swiftly.

She looked over the files taking in all the information it had to offer. It was a good thing she like to read and soak up information or this would have been boring. However, after going over all the information she found herself alone... there wasn''t anything to do but wait.

Tapping her feet impatiently on the floor she began to grow more irritated by the moment. Soon her boredom had reached its limits and she stood to her feet heading for the door. She opened it but was hardly surprised to find a guard on the other side. "Uh...hehe. Hello." she said and ducked back into the room so as not to cause trouble.

Taking her seat again she flipped through the file given to her and eventually tore a paper out of it. Sitting on the floor in front of a table she began to fold the paper into an airplane and then tossed it across the room, it flew about a few times before making its descent toward the doorway. Akila watched it boredly.

Akila chortled coughing slightly to mask her amusement. She stood up straightening her clothing and bowing politely. "Sorry bout that... bit bored I was." Was all the explaining she would give. It was the truth no less.

She heard the cries coming from outside of the door and raised an interested eye but there was nothing for her to do as the door shut silently. "So... um... any release forms I have to sign or what not? When can I see him?" she asked eagerly. More surprised at herself for wanting to take on this project in fact it wasn't a project to her anymore... no it was something of a mission a call to duty. Her destiny in a sense. She walked past Charles and picked up the paper airplane setting it back on the table with its brethren.

Taking a seat herself she fiddled a bit. "Sorry...so is there some things I should know before hand?" she wanted to be promptly prepared and simply wouldn't allow surprises that were out of her control. More or less she didn't want to surprise the boy past what was probably the shock of his life at current. Being made to live with a complete stranger would have turned any kid bitter. She could only hope Erol wasn't this way and rather more active.

((I'd rather keep what we had since I'm stuck unable to roleplay. I don't like being in limbo for long so I'm just gonna go ahead with what I got. Thanks ))

Akila listend to all that was explained soaking up the information quickly. Her pace was fast and true as she turned a corner just after hearing another scream. Still curious she quirked a brow but there would be no explaination as to what the comotion was all about. She could only hope whomever it was or whatever was okay.

As she was led to the door where they held Erol she mulled over possible ways to come at the boy. He had to have withdrawen within himself, being rather protective of who was around. She stood outside the door chancing a glance at the guard who seemed more interested in small talk then guarding.

She smirked. "If we''ve met you wouldn''t have forgotten." she said simply, her sassiness coming to the surface. Before the guard could reply back Charles returned opening the door.

She stepped through slowly and softly so as not to frighten the boy. He was seated in a chair seeminlgy turned away from the door. ''Here we go...'' Akila thought to herself and stepped over the threshold into the room. She found a chair next to the boy and pulled it up next to him. The chair was backwards so she straddled it leaning against the back end. "So...how are you?" she asked, she wasn''t one for beading around the bush, patience wasn''t her forte but she didn''t want to rush with him.

Erol was still looking down a bit somberly, shy even. He heard the lady next to him and chanced a glance at her. "Hi." was all he said and returned to looking down at his hands. He couldn''t help but muster a slight smirk, 'She's pretty, was his thoughts.

Akila sat up a little leaning back in the chair far enough to cause the front end of the legs to come off the ground. "So you have the ability to rock..." she chuckled. "Shockwave control is it? Do you know how it happened?" she asked again wanting him to open up.

He sighed a bit annoyed or perhaps unsure of himself. "No." was his reply. Akila smirked again, she could see herself helping him blossom. He was only this way on the surface at least that what she liked to believe.

Standing she turned to Charles with a bright smile. "He''s adorable I''ll take him!" as if she hadn''t already agreed to the job. Turning back around she knelt down whispering to Erol. "Well would you like to go home with me and fix your room?"

This brought a slight smirk to his face but he managed to hide it again and ventured another chance peek at Akila. "It''s not like I have a choice." he said bitterly.

Akila chuckled standing up and reaching her hand out. "Honey, you always have a choice in life. It may not be the ones you like but you get to choose nonetheless. So lets go fix up your room then." she paused smiling down at him with a slight wink. "Besides, its a new appartment I haven''t chanced a look at it either, so it will be a new experience for the both of us."

This brought another half smirk to his face as he reached out his hand to take hers. He looked at Charles a moment his smirk vanishing once more, then he returned to looking down. Akila chuckled coming up next to Charles, she whispered. "He''s being brave... I think he''ll come around but its gonna take some time. I got this in the bag. You rest easy." she said softly walking past him out the door. She stopped again giving the guard a slight nod before speaking, "So have we remembered me yet?" she asked and giggled heartily before walking back down the hall and out the building to the waiting vehicle.

Exhausted from having ridden her bike all the way to the HQ, Ruriska had only managed a flat and rather sarcastic sounding 'Hey Charles' when she'd met the man. The rest of the time had been spent nodded occasionally whenever he'd looked in her direction and wishing she had somewhere to sit. Didn't they have any chairs in this darn place? Not being the most active person, admiration had to be given to the woman who'd somehow managed to make it all the way here. So what if she'd got there very late, she had made it and that was what mattered. Got there after stopping for dinner and a supper break. And was there a name for the meal in between them?

Nothing he said as they walked heard at all as she was currently agonizing over the heart the felt like it was going to explode and the kid that was about to shoved into her life. Not that she was bitter about it. During her ride over she'd had heaps of time to think about what taking a 'super' on meant and all in all it seemed very profitable. Even if that profit wasn't going to be given in cold hard cash. She'd actually always wanted children of her own and adopting seemed the perfect alternative to severe pain. It was bonus that this kid she was getting was 'special'. Creates creatures the letter had said. Maybe he'd also be able to fix the microwave.

"Chairs, finally!" Legs aching she sunk gratefully down into the couch, the file she had been given was kept securely in her lap. After all, she didn't know how long she was going to have to wait and she needed something to read. "Argh, I should have got a taxi" After giving the plain room a quick and disinterested glance she turned to the file and began flipping through the pages, stopping at 'About the Agency'. This was quickly read. It raised an eyebrow but other then that gained no other exclamation. Ruriska was taking everything in stride.

Hearing a muffled scream from somewhere within the building Ruriska looked towards the door. They sure were lively in this place, even if they couldn't decorate. Returning to the file she spent the rest of her time reading through it and gaining feeling in her legs again.

Having his knee finally give out, Charles was currently limp-walking towards the place the guardian was waiting. He gasped as one of the creatures came diving straight through a wall and blinked before walking on. Apparently, his guards could not handle these. His face took on a grim look as he thought what would happen when a Villain would be to attack the headquarters. He swalled nervously, letting his eyes dart around the deserted hallway. It would be Neuron City all over again. He paused for a bit, leaning against the wall, while listening to what was going on around him.

The screams and cries had not lessened at all. On the contrary, there seemed to be only more chaos around here now. He thought back to that damn guardian. Why was she so late anyway?! He let out a frustrated sigh as a lound BANG made everything shake around him. The creatures had probably destroyed something. Finding his mood deteriorating he continued on his way.

His knee was aching like hell.

He thought a few vengeful thoughts of that damn guardian. Because she was so late, they were stuck with the boy as well as his creations. His sources told him the boy had been sedated several hours ago, but had it done anything to lessen the attacks? Oh definitly not. Perhaps the kid could create these things in his dreams as well. He didn't want to go as far as to knock out the kid. And he did sort of understand him. Having lived on the street for at least a year, would make one fearful of others.

He grunted as continued on. As he finally reached the door, he gave a tired nod to the guard, who looked even worse than he did. Eyes continually darting around, a tense posture, and a very firm grip on his weapon. Charles could definitly appreciate the humor of the situation so he slightly shook his head when he opened the door to move in when he heard the guard let out a cry and start to fire his gun.

Looking around, he saw a rather large creature come pelting towards them, a vicious look on its face. Charles wasted no time. He jumped in and slammed the door shut. Just in time, as something quite heavy bumped into it. He continued to hear gunfire, gnarls, shouts, anguished cries, growls and more of the like while the door kept shaking like mad. When it finally stopped, he let out an annoyed sigh as he turned and straightened. He gave the woman an angry glare before coughing. His voice wasn't as friendly as it usually was as he greeted her.

They sure hadn't tried to make any of this interesting. It was just facts written down in a matter of fact way. Had the file not been the only interesting thing in the room at the particular moment Ruriska would have put it down ages ago. More frequent and louder screams outside diverted her attention to the door more often the not. "What on earth are they doing out there?" Shaking her head she moved to the next page and then finding it almost exactly the same as the last discarded the whole thing with a flick of her hand. If they wanted her to read it in more detail they would have to make it a little more interesting.

When Charles finally arrived, Ruriska was lounging across the couch half asleep. She startled up with wide eyes as they door began to shake in earnest; the growls outside sounding disturbingly like the stray dog that had attacked her when she was nine. She'd been afraid of dogs for a week after that. Thought thankfully she'd gotten over it and the sounds from only gave her a moment of mild alarm. The gunshots made her blanch but as with the growls and yells she was able to compose herself into indifference.

Turning her attention to the man before her she spoke. "Well gee, you took long enough." Ruriska had always been a blunt speaker, not one for polite chitchat. "Charles right? What one earth is going on out there?" Crossing her arms she wandered over to where he was standing with that unfortunate glare on his face. She glared right back. "You better not be pissed over me being late because that was not my fault. I had to ride my bike here." Rolling her eyes she stood waiting.

He had tried. Really, he had wanted to keep his patience with this woman, but being addressed like that, just made him snap. But, being the head of a national agency demanded a bit of self control, so he took in a deep breath instead.

"What is going on out here, is the same thing that has been going on since we sent you the first letter. Your charge is creating the monsters currently attacking us." Now he smirked. "Follow me, then?"

He carefully opened the door and glanced outside. There was quite the amount of blood on the ground, the walls and even on the ceiling. Glancing up at it and then all around him, he pulled out a handgun and motioned for Ruriska to follow him.

As he carefully limped past several hallways he noticed the state his headquarters was in with great dismay. In several corridors the lights had gone out, save for a few fires that were burning here and there. Growls now came from numerous directions and slightly alarmed he tried to locate the source. Being unable to, he continued on his way while he motioned Ruriska. He kept his voice low, trying not to attract attention from any of the things being here. "If you had just called again, we could have provided you with transport." He shook his head, looking around carefully.

Charles seemed to be loosing his temper, Ruriska noticed with a smirk. She would have said something about that but unfortunately there were more pressing matters at hand to concern herself with. "You mean the kid I'm supposed to look after is creating monsters?" Perplexed and wondering if she'd bitten off more then she could chew she followed Charles out the door.

Coming to a stop she glanced around startled. When she'd mentioned bad decorating this wasn't what she'd had in mind to fix it up. "Ye gads, what on earth happened here?" After one look at Charles' face she quickly said. "Yes, yes I know. The creatures my charge is creating are currently attacking anything that moves." Eyes darting to the gun she fell silent, gaze roving the eerily empty hallways.

Following right behind Charles and looking quite calm, despite the anxious fluttering of butterflies in chest, Ruriska let her mind wander to the boy she would probably soon meet. Raleigh must be pretty strong indeed to just create monsters. She paused for a moment at a small puddle of blood, making a mental note to teach the kid a few manners about attacking people.

Realizing she'd fallen a little behind Ruriska hurried forward. "Well you were all so secretive and everything I didn't think you would send a ride." As if it was all his fault she glared at him steadily, making an annoyed sound at the back of her throat.

Charles turned back at her. "Alright, listen up, lets just try and get along until we have gotten you and Raleigh out of this building. Okay?" He let out another sigh and continued until he came on a crossing. There were four different hallways and none of them looked at all attractive. He finally decided on choosing the one splattered with blood opposed to the one with fires in it and the other one which was completely veiled in darkness.

Continueing on his way, he decided he could just as well inform the guardian of what she was supposed to know now instead of later. "Raleigh has been living on the streets for at least a year before we located him. He will have to get used to you."

He carefully peeked around the corner, and seeing something he obviously disliked, a took hold of Ruriska's hand and quickly made a run for the opposite corridor. Hoping the thing hadn't heard them, he continued. He hoped that it was't what he thought it was the thing was chewing on. He shuddered slightly as he started moving faster.

"What disturbes me most, is that there are no more guards here." He suddenly noticed a big difference in the atmosphere and looked around worriedly. "And why has it gone so quiet?"

"Ok." Ruriska had to admit that in this current situation getting along might be for the best. Although she had yet to call this a dangerous situation it was getting fairly close, especially as the amount of blood seemed to increasing as they walked. At least they had yet to come across a body. She wasn't exactly sure how she could stand up to something like that. Blood was one thing, a body was another.

Charles' next statement put everything into clearer light. "Well that explains a lot. No wonder the poor little guys attacking everything. I'll tell you one thing though, he's damn well not going to be doing that when living in my house." She continued to rattle on in the same vain, using speech to mask her fear.

"You know I think the dark hallway looked better. This one looks sinister." But her point of view didn't seem to matter as she was dragged off down another hallway at high speed. Ruriska's would have sighed had she enough breath to do it with.

The same feeling the seemed to be prevailing on Charles also found her, making her halt abruptly, pulling her companion to a stop as well. "Um... isn't there another way?" She squeaked out, looking behind them. It was that moment that something wet plopped down on her forehead and Ruriska looked upwards. Her face turning a white she managed a small 'O' sound before the creature that was currently hanging from the roof let go.

It looked somewhat like a dog crossed with a porcupine. Small twigs and leafs jutted out of a strange armor-like hide made of an unknown substance that criss-crossed all the way from the head to the gangly tail. With strangely elongated legs it stood awkwardly and would have looked comical had not the claws been at least 20 centimeters in length. The teeth were similar to the claws in being ridiculously long, jutting out in all directions from the jaw.

The creature landed in the middle of the two, Ruriska instantly throwing herself backwards unable to even shriek. Letting out a roar the monster lashed out with the claw, catching her along the left leg. "********!" She fell awkwardly on the ground but immediately scrambled upwards, in time to see the 'thing' take a swipe at Charles.

'Creak'... Puzzled Ruriska looked around for the noise that had made itself known even through her fright. But after looking upwards all her questions were answered and had she been able to turn anymore white she would have. "Ah... Charles... look out!" As if it was needed. Her shout also caught the monsters attention and it swung its head around as with a loud crack the roof gave in, slate and concrete raining down on them all.

Hearing the strange sound Ruriska made, Charles turned around instantly. His eyes widened as he saw the size of the thing. He prayed to God Ruriska would be alright after that hit in the leg. Backing away, he dove as the thing swiped its giant claws at him. He could barely avoid them as they raked the wall. He was cursing as he tried to see Ruriska and see if he was alright.

"Charles... look out!" his head snapped up as the monster focused its attention back at Ruriska. Aiming his gun, he quickly fired off several shots, but they seemed to just bounce of the monster. Cursing he moved forwards, just as the entire ceiling came down.

Coughing and gasping, Charles got up only to nearly fall again. His knee was having some serious support problems and his black suit was... well... white. He knew he was probably covered in chalk and dust, and kept on coughing as the dust was slightly clearing. "Ruriska? Are you alright?"

He gasped as he saw the pile of concrete and rubble blocking the corridor. "Oh nooooooo!" He let out a long moan. "Where did I go wrong? What the hell is going on in here?" He banged on the stones, but didn't dare to move them. "Ruriska?" he shouted, trying to see if she was still alive.

His blood suddenly chilled. What if she was alive and the monster was there too? he sized up the blockage before abruptly turning and moving into a different corridor. The thing that now needed to be done, was to get the boy, and get him to stop what the hell was going on here and if he by chance would run into any guards or Ruriska herself, that would only be for the best.

He kept on running and running and didn't even bother to look at the monsters. Damn, what was his knee killing him. His breath was coming out in short gasps, the chalk on his outfit not helping in the least.

Finally turning another corner, he heard the dozens of clicks usually proving to be the sound of weapons loading and came eye to eye with a highly armed and armoured special unit. He froze for a moment, as did the unit's commander.

Charles was still panting as the unit commander made his unit lower his weapons and moved over to Charles. "Err... are you alright sir?"

Charles shot the man a glare. "Of course I am not. And worst of all, there is a civilian trapped in sector 42A. The entire building is infested with the monsters, they seem to be bulletproof. Half of the corridors lost its light and there are several fires burning." He gave the man an annoyed look as if to dare him to ask another question.

The commander gave a nod as he turned and gave some orders to his men. He turned back to Charles. "There are several other cleaning teams dropped inside the building and a great part has already been evacuated--"
"What about the boy?" Charles interrupted, rather rudely, but he couldn't care less. The commander frowned, "We didn't see a boy, sir?"

Charles gave a nod. "Alright, see if you can find the civilian and continue your way, I will see if the boy is still where I last left him."

He already moved on and paused for a moment, "Are there any paths cleared to the exit?" The commander confirmed and Charles was already on his way.

Taking left and right turns, he noticed the cleaner team had done their work rather effectively. There were several dead monsters laying on the corridor floors. Although, he wouldn't call them monsters anymore. He paused at one. It was a small creature, a cross of a large cat, a hedgehog and a bird. It was almost as if it had been sculpted out of wood. No, not normal wood. He blinked and stared. Could this be? That was the wood that was used in most of the furniture around the base.

Stunned, he continued on his way to the boy, which laid a lot deeper in the building.

Arriving at the door, he was even more stunned to see the guard standing there, looking bored. Upon Charles' sigh, he seemed utterly shocked. "Sir? W-what happened... you are all- are you alright?" He was staring at his superior, his mouth slightly hanging open. Charles stared back at him. "Do you mean to tell me, that you have had no disturbances here?" The guard weakly shook his head. "Everything was just fine sir- what the hell has happened to you?"

Charles shook his head. "No time to explain, I must speak to the boy."

He entered into the dimly lit room and approached the shape laying on the bench. "Raleigh?" his voice was soft as he tried not to startle the boy. "Raleigh, can you hear me?"

Falling back on her butt Ruriska sat coughing violently, white dust billowing around her and reducing her vision to nothing. When the dust finally cleared she could only look around in a daze. Right before a pile of rumble from the roof blocked the hallway, making it impassable. Of the monster only one arm was visible, the claws twitching now and then. With a sigh Ruriska un-tensed her muscles, closing her eyes in relief. In that single moment of the rok collapsing she'd been sure she was about to die. Quite vaguely she heard the sound of her name being called. "Charles?" She asked tentatively into the silence that followed, but if it had been him he was gone.

Looking towards the twitching claw Ruri smirked, the euphoria of knowing she'd survived near death filling her full of false courage. "Ha ha... stupid monster. Can't survive a roof falling on you can ya!" The claw twitched again then suddenly lashed out at her awkwardly. With a yelp Ruriska scrambled backwards. "Ha... haha." Laughing nervously she to rose her feet and with one last backwards glance turned down a random hallway.

"Darn it, I'm all covered in dust. It''l take ages for me to get this out of my hair." Wandering down a hallway that looked pretty much like all the others, blood splattered with flickering lights, Ruriska exclaimed over her current appearance with fair bit of annoyance. It was also an excuse not to glance at the leg sticking bloodily out of one of the nearby doorways. Repressing a shudder she crossed her arms over her chest and began walking at a faster pace.

---

Raleigh lay curled up on a bench, feeling the heavy weight of the drugs they'd used to sedate him. It hadn't been his fault. But they'd brought him here against his will, catching him no matter how many tricks he used to try get away.

As soon as those men had put their hands on him he had fought back with all his strength, his fright drawing out the living power that usually dwelt just beyond his reach. Even after being subdued the results of the combined strength of his terror and growing anger were clearly displayed right across the building. And now, confused and disorientated, he waited in silence.

The door opening startled him and depite the kindness in the words he wasn't at all disposed to be compliant.

Giving Charles a lethargic glare Raleigh curled up further, withdrawing into himself and muttering. "What do you want?" It was an obvious attempt at defiance.

---

Her heart beating wildly Ruriska pressed herself against the wall, closing her eyes and counting to ten. By the time she opened them the monster had moved on allowing her to hurry on down the opposite hallway. How many doors and hallways did this place have? It was a maze all right. Too bad that stupid file hadn't mentioned a way to get out of the darn place. Charles would have... Ruriska gulped. The man was most likely dead. Either caught beneath the fallen roof or ripped apart by one of those hideous creatures. Refusing to think on the matter any further she banished the image from her mind.

Voices up ahead caught her attention. She stopped to catch her breath, and then hoping that ther was sombody nearby who could help her, continued forward around the next corner.

Charles pulled up a chair and sat on it, careful to keep somewhat of a distance between the boy and himself. He thought about what to say for a moment. His voice was kind and gentle as he addressed Raleigh.

"Raleigh, there is a way out of here for you."

"We have found someone who is willing to take care of you," he paused for a moment, "but you will have to stop making the monsters."

He observed the silent form of the boy, anxiously awaiting his response. He absentmindedly brushed some of the dust from his suit, causing him to sneeze and cough. "Sorry about that," he coughed some more, "your creatures have caused quite the chaos," he let out a weak chuckle. "The state of the building is, to be quite honest, an absolute warzone."

He became silent once more, still awaiting a response of the young boy laying there.

---

The elite unit was currently carefully conducting a sweep of the area their superior had pointed them too. They had already encountered the pile of rubble and the remains of the monster, but had not found the civilian in the designated area. They had already conducted searches of the surrounding areas and hadn't found the civilian either. They had found other remains, and a lot more monsters, but no sign of the civilian.

Frustrated, the commanding officer stopped and let out a growl. "This is getting us nowhere, boys. Anyone got any suggestions on where she could have run off to?" The other guards cast several looks around them, keeping a close eye on their surroundings. One of them spoke up "If she has randomly ran off, there is no way we will ever find her." The others let out murmurs of assent, eyes still darting around for any movement.

Seeing a sudden sign of movement out of the corner of his eye, the commander gave the others a signal and they all pointed their guns at the corner of the corridor.

With his mistrustful nature in full force it took a while for Raleigh to take in most of what Charles was saying, and even longer for him to reply. Before any more words could reach past his lips he had to mull over what he had been told, weighing the options with a frown.

Raleigh doubted there was someone out there who wanted to take care of him but the option he was being given seemed much better then the alternative. He could get off the streets, have food, and he wouldn't be sleeping out in the cold anymore.

That would be nice. Raleigh's hopes rose but then came crashing down as he realized Charles' request.

"I can't." He replied in little more then a sob, glaring anew. Raleigh had played around with his powers while living on the streets but withdrawing the life he had no knowledge of how to do. Now that all hope was lost he decided to return to his earlier distrust.

In his new from of mind the news that his creatures were creating such having gave him a small measure of satisfaction.

"Good."

---

Ruriska turned the corner. "Thank God, I - Don't shoot, I'm innocent. I have a child." Her hands rising into the air she cringed back. When a minute past and she realized she hadn't been riddled with bullets she opened her eyes and lowered her arms, letting out a ragged sigh of relief.

"Jesus, you scared the life out of me." Heart still fluttering in her chest Ruriska took a few steps forward. Relief began to spread through her. She was alive! "You've got one hell of a problem back there. Haha." Taking one more step she promptly collapsed.

The adrenalin that had filled her through her flight around the building had worn off with the knowledge she was safe, leaving her to feel the full affects of the wound the creature had inflicted across her left leg and exhaustion.

Now seated awkwardly on the floor Ruriska let out a stream of colourful curses.

Charles frowned but made sure to keep his voice light, and kind still. "Why can't you stop them? You have also created them."

Even though his voice did not betray his worries, they were still there, possibilities and worst case scenarios were all mulling through his head, from a completely destroyed building, to a completely wiped out city, country and even an entire world swarming with monsters.

"Well, can you at least stop creating more of them? I promise you we will let you once all the creatures are cleared out of the building." He shifted slightly on his seat, hoping, no, praying, that Ruriska was alright. He held back a sigh as he kept on gazing at the still form of the boy.

--

The team immediatly sprung to action. As the first moved to secure the hallway, another on moved forward to Ruriska, quickly looking over her injuries. "It is nothing serious, we will treat these as soon as we are outside." He scooped up Ruriska in his arms and moved backwards, still keeping his eyes out for any more threats. The others quickly surrounded them and they started moving towards the exit, or at least somewhere away from the destruction.

Next moment, the walkie talkie of the commander started cracking and a distorted voice came out "...east....north wing....ly.... secure."

The commander quickly grabbed it and pressed a button "Roger that, the south wing is also secure, we are halfway through the west wing and have found the civilian. She will be evacuated as we will continue to liberate the HQ." He put back the talkie and made a hand motion towards the other guards. They all quickly moved into the next corridor, all the while watching their backs for any sign of trouble.

This left the guard holding Ruriska standing there all by himself. "You comfortable, miss?" He started to walk back the way they had come, passing by remains of monsters and bloodstains and splatters on the walls and floors, he kept on turning left, right, through doors, half destroyed walls and even more monster remains until, finally, they arrived at the emergency post. It had been set up in the great hall near the exit and was currently packed with victims from the monster attacks. Nurses and doctors were everywhere, trying to tend to the worst victims first.

The guard put Ruriska down on an empty bed and started to take care of her injuries. "Just stay still, it'll probably hurt somewhat. One of the doctors will probably drop by later to check up on your injuries."

The life could not be taken away if he had no knowledge how to do that. No, that was lying. He had done it once before and he could recall the moment so easily.

The dog, it's newly revived flesh a perversion of true life, had laid it's head on his knees and glanced up at him with wild eyes. The woman the dog had ravaged was still screaming as Raleigh had placed his trembling hands gently on its head and withdrew from thelife he'd given it. As it had fallen limp Raleigh had been filled with unimaginable sorrow and it was only with determination that he managed to rise to his feet and escape down an alleyway as paramedics arrived.

Raleigh nodded. "I think I can do that. I was only making 'em 'cause I was scared."

With nothing else to say he fell silent, still distrustful but at least hoping that there was a brighter future ahead... even if he was a bit skeptical.

---

The leg was painful if not that bad, but of course Ruriska wasn't about to complain about being carried. From the guards arms she watched the others run back and forth. The civilian they'd called her. It seemed they'd been looking for her. Somebody must have told them she out there and with that knowledge she could be fairly certain Charles had made it. Just knowing that her earlier companion was alive made her feel a whole lot better.

"Quite comfortable thanks." She patted his arm. "You sure have a lot to clean up."

Looking around the hastily made infirmary she cringed slightly. There were people with gapping wounds, the doctors trying to stitch them all up as fast as they could. It was a horrible sight.

"Do your worst. The fact that I'm actually alive to feel it is making feel great." Still, she gritted her teeth when he began to work on her leg and her eyes wondered to the morphine.

"Excellent," Charles smiled before standing up, "I will see if your guardian is still alive and hopefully not too injured." He moved towards the door and opened it slightly, exchanging several words with the guard.

He nodded satisfied, "Good thing too, otherwise we would have to find yet another guardian for the boy. If you could radio someone to have her come here?" Charles closed the door again and went to sit on the chair again.

"It is quite the impressive power you have there," smalltalk obviously wasn't Charles' strong point.

--

The guard was just about done with bandaging and taking care of Ruriska's injuries when another guard, seemingly looking for someone, spotted them and quickly came walking over.

"Are you alright miss?" he looked over her damaged and bandaged form and exchanged a worried look with the other guard. "Are you able to walk? Charles has requested your presence at the boy's chambers. He's finally stopped making the monsters, but can't kill those that are still wandering around."

He stopped talking "Er... I'll cary you then, shall I? It'll go faster and won't strain your leg so much." He didn't even wait to receive confirmation or permission for that matter, but, like the other guard had, easily scooped her up and walked towards the entrance of the maze of corridors again.

"I reckon it'll be a week or so before everything's back on track," he chuckled, "Charles is very persistent." He nodded and grinned. "There aren't even that many casualties, only five actually." All the way, he kept on going straight, made a few turns until they finally arrived at the unscathed corridor.

The guard standing there, lazily nodded his head as he opened the door, motioning for them to get in.

If she was still alive? Raleigh frowned. The possibility of her being dead... it didn't exactly make him sad but it certainly didn't make him happy. Dead? That would leave him with no hope at all. Thankfully the news quickly came back that she was alive and Raleigh steeled himself for the meeting that was sure to come within minutes.

---

Ruriska was watching the guard bandage her leg, talking to him on some random subject that involved pickles. How she'd reached the subject was a mystery, but she was finding it quite interesting and wasn't too happy to find herself interrupted. But she bore it with good humour, though she was little put out at not being given chance to protest over being carried. Her leg felt fine after all. Well... sort of.

Wrapping her arms around the guard's neck to make it easier for her to be carried, Ruriska tried to memorize the route they took but was almost immediately left disorientated. It was take months or even years to learn this place off by heart.

"Considering all the blood and damage around the place you'd think more people were killed." She remarked, glancing down at her own leg. It would heal up all right. Well at least she hoped.

"Oh goodie, we're here."

They were motioned to through the door, Ruriska lifting one hand lazily in greeting. "Hey Charles. I think you need a new suit." Yes, she was glad to see him alive, but she wasn't going to get all gushy about it. Next her gaze darted over to the small figure lying on the bench. Ordering the guard to put her down she took a few steps froward, placing her hands on her hips and tilting her head to the side with a smile.

"He sure is cute."

Raleigh only glared at her.

With a 'tsk' sound Ruriska looked over at Charles. "So I am getting paid... right?"

Charles merely rolled his eyes. Even though his initial reaction to this woman was severe dislike, he was actually starting to appreciate her. How many others in her position would have survived down here all by themselves? Probably not that many.

Charles pulled out a few things out his pocket and handed them to Ruriska, "Here you've got the key to your new appartment, a credit card with no limit..." at this he paused and gave her a warning look, "Just don't go wild and start buying houses, boats, planes and any of that nonsense."

"All of your belongings should have been transferred to the appartment already. The guard standing at the door will escort you to the exit, where a driver will take you to the house." He paused for another moment, not really sure if he wanted to do what he was now planning.

"...we've also restored your driver's license." he picked the piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Just... don't get into too much trouble. Alright?" He was actually regretting this already. The woman was probably reckless when driving a car.

Not really wanting to be another moment in the presence of the woman as well as the boy, he started ushering them out the room, at the last moment pressing a card in her hands. "Here's my phone number, I'm available twentyfour seven, so don't hesitate to call." He gave Ruriska a strict look, "As long as it is not for smalltalk or any of the sorts, but for serious things, understood? Good."

He pushed her out and closed the door, breathing a sigh of relief.

The guard was already standing at the end of the corridor. "Just follow me, and ya'll be out of here in no time."

Again, they went through the maze of corridors, taking a completely different route than before. Taking random turns, they suddenly arrived into the reception room. The guard pointed outside, where a large black car with tinted windows was waiting for them. "There is your ride. Good luck lady. You too kid." He nodded and went into the long corridor leading to the great hall/temporary infirmary. "You'll probably need it." he smirked, as he walked further, happy to have nothing to do with this 'raising of superheroes thing'.

While the two adults were talking Raleigh had wandered over to stand nearby, looking dejected and sleepy. His arms were crossed across his chest, his bright brown eyes watching them and waiting.

"Whooo, a credit card!" Ruriska was quick to snatch all the lovely items up in her arms. "Don't worry Charlsey, I don't want a boat." Charles obviously wanted them out as quickly as possible and Ruriska would be happy to oblige. With a wide grin on her face she nodded to what the man was saying while not taking in a word. She was getting a new apartment, a limitless credit card and... had she just heard him right?

"Oh yeah, my licence! You said no planes but I can get a new car right? Ooo, I'm feeling giddy." Giggling rather insanely she grabbed for an unwilling Raleigh's hand and prepared to drag him out the door. Snatching up Charles' number as they passed she gave him a salute. "See ya Charles."

With Raleigh being pulled along behind her Ruriska followed the guard at a brisk pace, ticking off in her head all the things she could go and buy. With some moderation at course. Some.

"Thanks." With a bright smile Ruriska waved goodbye to the guard and then ushered Raleigh into the car. "Come on kid. We're going home."

It was now several days after the rampaging creatures of Raleigh and, as usual, Charles was sitting in his office. Still surrounded by stacks of files; probably even more so than before the entire fiasco. All the paperwork was such a bother. He grunted and with a sudden lash of the arm swept everything on the floor.

"Ah, that's much better." Standing up, he limped to one of the file cabinets on the side of the room to find the necessairy files. As he limped back to the desk, he opened the file.

"Elsa Larson, 11 years... Hmm..." Rather absentmindedly, he scratched his chin and jotted down a few notes. "Guardian response sent out this morning, no reply yet." He cast an anxious look towards the red phone in the corner as if willing it to ring.

He leaned back in his chair and fiddled a bit with his pen. The sounds of construction still reached his office. The headquarters had been an absolute mess. As he leaned back in his chair, his thought strayed back to that particular day. Hour, actually. The entire thing had only lasted several hours.

Charles was currently leaning backwards on his chair so much he was in danger of falling over. He paid it no mind as his thoughts strayed back to the events that had happened several days ago.

Now it just so happens that bad things happen to you when you're distracted; and this was no exception. Being so distracted, he was completely caught off guard when the phone rang; causing him to lose his balance and fall backwards out of the chair.

Letting out a curse, he quicly sat up. Damn. That had been unprofessional. Standing up, he rubbed his head. "That's going to be a damn bump." He kicked the chair in frustration, hurting his toe in the process. As he kept on cursing, he could vaguely make out the last of the words. "....I'll do it then. Bye."

Now limping with both legs, he wobbled back towards the desk and pressed a button on his phone. "Charles here. Send out the secondary letter in the Larson case."

He let out a grunt as he sat back on his chair. This was so not his day.

--

As the messenger approached the house of Karen Smith, he decided to deliver this letter in a more unusual way. He grinned mischieviously as he grabbed a brick out of the yard, tied the letter on it and threw it straight through the window.

"Bwhaha, I'm so good." His eyes lit up red as he vanished in a puff of red smoke...

The secret letter



It had been a normal morning thus far, not counting the letter. (Karen was by now convinced that it was a spook, to set her off. Truly, no-one who meant stuff like that seriously sent a letter. It just weren't very professional, now, was it?)

This was, perhaps, the reason that it came as a rather large surprise when a brick came flying through Ms Smith's window. <********!" was said Ms Smith's reaction to the brick on her (now ruined) table. Glaring at it, Karen considered throwing it out again. And hopefully hitting someone, especially the someone who had THROWN it in the first place.

Taking a few meditative breaths, the blonde closed her eyes. Perhaps, if she ignored it, it would all just go away - the spook letter, the brick, the ruined table and the shards of glass littering her floor.
It didn't, as she found out when opening her eyes again. Yup, still there. So there it hurt.
This was about the time Karen noticed the letter tied to the brick.
Her eyebrow gave a small twitch.
She sighed.
And resigned herself to her inevitable curiosity.

Mouthing the words as she read, the woman was amazed. So this was how they played, eh? But at least they gave her an address. She'd turn up, and demand them to explain (and preferably pay for her window and table, too).

---

As she secured her bike, the woman surmised that the building looked ordinary enough. If she was lucky, well..
As she rang the doorbell, Karen Smith wondered what she'd done to deserve this. Really.

Disturbed, the woman sitting in the first room looked up. Who in their right minds would ring the doorbell when the door was open? Sighing, she got up and made her way to the door.

"Yes?" she was rather annoyed.

Oh, this was not boding well. She was being polite (EVEN after all she had been through!) and this woman just snapped at her.
Straightening her back, Karen tried to look intimidating. It had always worked back in third grade..
"Excuse me?! First you, you, PEOPLE send some kind of spook letter to me, and don't even have the decency to take the phone yourself, oh no, throw a brick through my window, and then you act all high and mighty!" she stopped to take a small breath, "well, curb this, I'm just here to get the money to pay for my ruined table AND window!"
Ha, that'd show them.

The woman raised a single eyebrow. "So you received your letters then. Good." She turned and walked back to the desk, expecting the woman standing by the door to follow her. "Close the door please." She opened a drawer in the desk and a perfectly manicured hand reached in to take out a visitors pass.

Smirking at the disgruntled woman standing there she tossed the pass towards her. "There you go. Now, just go through this door and keep on going until you reach a hall. You'll be assisted by someone else there."

She sat back down behind her desk, pressed a button, causing the door behind her to slide open and went back to work.

Dumbfounded, Karen followed the woman's orders, too caught up in her surprise and inner conflict to protest.
"But.. what about my window.. and my table..?" but her legs were already leading her through the door.

The woman didn't acknowledge Karen's words at all and instead just reached to press the button to close the door.

((You need to continue to meet up with Charles now. xD ))

Jumping a bit when the door closed behind her, Karen teetered. Well, it DID seem quite.. serious, now.
Carefully edging her way down the corridor, she tried to ignore the guards. It weren't going too well, but she seemed to have reached the end of said corridor.
Yay..?

Karen nestled into the couch a bit more - at least SOMETHING was right in the world.
"So.. you were serious when you said I'm to adopt a child..?"

Charles sat down on the edge of the couch and smiled at the woman sitting there. "Yes, I was. Right as we speak, children from all over the world are developing their powers and those that seek evil are rising. It is only a matter of time before an all-out war breaks out. This is why we seek out the children and place them with guardians to provide adequate training."

His face had taken on a grave look. "Only a few days ago, a mere boy managed to destroy most of the headquarters. You can see we are still rebuilding." His eyes strayed to several painters on the left before focusing back on Karen. "And this worries me greatly. If we can not hold our own against a mere ten year old, then how will we hold up to adult Villains with great control over their powers?"

He shook his head sadly, "This is why it is of the utmost importance these children are trained!" He smiled again. "Is there anything else you would like to know?"

Her brow wrinkled, "But how can you expect normal people to train these children? We have no experience!"
Quite frankly, it seemed like a huge miscalculation on the Agency's part, to Karen - the poor children wouldn't be able to control their powers because some smart-a** agency thought they'd be tra�d sufficiently by normal, un-power people.

He chuckled at the woman's shock. "You don't have to worry. The Agency will provide you with absolutely everything you need. If you need help with the training, training officers will be provided. What we need now is the dedication of a parental figure. One that does not scorn them for who they are." He paused.

"These children... they need to know that they are loved." He gave her a sad look, "We have many of them that were rejected by their parents, just because they were different. Our research on you has proven you to be quite openminded and perfectly capable of taking care of a child. Even though you yourself might not see that yet."

He smiled a weary smile at her.

"Oh.." she felt pity for the children, her latent mother instincts showing themselves, "I.. I can do that. I can love her."
She would, she was sure of that. She'd do her best, too. But it wouldn't be easy..



Charles smiled "I'm very glad about that. Is there anything you'd like to ask? Because Elsa should be arriving soon."

He stood up but changed his mind again and picked out a few items out of his pocket. "Here you've got a creditcard with no limit, for everything you need, my phonenumber, available 24/7 and a keyring. The keyring contains a key to your new appartment and a new car. All of your belongings have already been transferred to the appartment."

"Shall we go now?" Charles walked slowly towards one of the doors. Reaching it, he looked back at Karen, waiting for her to follow.

"Well, umm.. what's she like?" Karen reckoned that'd be a nice thing to know, among others, "What's her background? Does she have any family?"

Taking the items in a daze, the woman followed Charles to the door.
"Thank you, mr... Charles.." she smiled faintly, a bit too overwhelmed to manage being polite.

Charles grimaced a bit "Well... she's very scared. Terrified actually and we haven't really been able to calm her. Her powers seem to terrify her even more than we did. She's got quite a bit of control already and managed to summon up a few decent illusions." He looked a bit apolegetic towards the guardian. "But I'll leave the rest up to you to find out. It's best if you just got to know her. If she really doesn't open up to you, just give me a call and I'll have the file sent to you."

"Not a problem at all." Charles grinned and went through the door. "Be sure to keep up with me, this place is horror to get lost in."

They crossed corridors and took random left and right turns, all the while passing painters and carpenters. The smell of constuction and fresh paint still hangs into the air. Finally, Charles stops in front of a door. "This is it." he nods, "I will introduce you two and then give you two some privacy to get to know each other."

He softly opened the door and moved inside the room. "Elsa? This is Karen Smith. She will take care of you. You don't have to be afraid." He smiled warmly at the girl before turning to the guardian. "Karen, this is Elsa Larson." He seemed to melt away in the shadows before sofly slipping from the room.

"Sure. I'll get to know her the good ol' fashioned way.." though she WAS a bit unsure about the whole powers-thing.
Karen peeked into the room, taking in the fetus position of the girl, Elsa.

They were here again, the weird man and.. this one was new. Whimpering slightly, she tried to curl in even more.
So she didn't have to be afraid, eh? They'd lock her up, she just KNEW it, and.. what was she doing?

Meanwhile, Karen had inched into the room and had knelt in front of the scared girl.
"Hello, I'm Karen - I'm going to be taking care of you from now on," her voice shook a little, it was a rather terrifying prospect. Taking care of a child, and without any real introduction to the girl, too.
"I promise I won't harm you..?" at least not on purpose.

She wouldn't..? Perhaps she WAS different; to Elsa she seemed to radiating a certain amount of.. motherlyness. Elsa's mother had never really been there a lot, but the girl hadn't missed having a mother since she was 5. But all of the sudden, she really, really needed her mother.
And this woman seemed to be the closest thing to a mother she'd ever get.

"Omph!" to say that Karen was shocked when the little girl launched herself at the woman was an understatement.
"Shh, shh," petting the girl's hair, the woman laid her cheek on top of Elsa's head, "shh, my dear, shh."

Clinging to the woman - Karen? -, Elsa reveled in the warmth of her new guardian. This was nice, actually.

The two just sat there, woman comforting child.

Awaiting patiently outside the door, Charles checked his watch. It had been almost eight minutes and he hadn't heard a thing. That was usually a good sign.

After almost ten minutes he decided this should be enough. If they needed more time they could do so at their new appartment.

Bracing himself for whatever sight might follow he slightly opened the door and stuck his head in. He smiled as he looked at the two. "Hey there, are you two ready to move into your new appartment?"

"What do you say, Elsa?" Karen smiled at the girl still in her arms, waiting for an answer.

Nodding slightly, Elsa latched on tighter to her guardian. NOTHING would make her let go, short of the apocalypse itself.

Hoisting up the girl (she WAS rather thin, Karen noted concernedly), she turned and smiled at Charles.
"I think we're ready."

"Excellent. I'm glad." While they had been talking, a guard had appeared outside of the door. Charles turned to him, "please take them to the exit."

Charles turned towards Karen and Elsa. "Well, good luck to the both of you. I have faith in you Karen, and of course in you, Elsa." He gave the girl a pat on the back before he turned and vanished in the maze of corridors.

The guard shrugged and beckoned. "This way please." And he too turned corridor after corridor. When they finally arrived at a different exit, there was a black car with tinted glass awaiting for them. "G'luck." The guard gave a nod before retreating back into the building and leaving the woman child standing by the car. To start a new life.

Opening the door of the passenger seat, Karen carefully sat Elsa (who had fallen asleep sometime around the fourth corridor) down and buckled her in.
"So, this is it.." the woman sighed, before closing the door and walking to the other side of the car.
Now, to find their new home and get to know her charge better..