[Persephone Dean]

Side Effects May Vary

With a solid plan to meet in the morning with the other survivors in place, Persephone’s mind had been at rest. She managed to grab a good few hours’ sleep before the morning rolled around and had a fairly leisurely start roaming around, fixing a quick breakfast with the minimal supplies she had left in her kitchen and eating out on the balcony surrounded by her impossibly invigorated plants. Honestly, she hadn’t done all that much, but they just looked so much better.

There was work to be done, naturally. The mental list seemed never-ending – she’d definitely need to swing by a garden supply store in that window of time before work. Some of the solutions her new ability had suggested to her were a little less accessible and would require more tracking down, but overall she was feeling quite confident about the situation.

She wondered if it was too early in the day to have a quick smoke. After the stress of the hospital, she couldn’t blame herself for wanting it. There were some buds currently curing in glass jars, almost to her satisfaction but not quite. Persephone could wait and, in any case, probably wanted to remain focused for the meeting.

Dominic had agreed to pick her up outside her apartment building. Technically, it was the building across from hers, but he didn’t have to know that. Much as she appreciated his generosity and go-getting nature, she certainly didn’t trust him just yet. At least she hadn’t made her fake location a whole block away… right?

He was a few minutes early in arriving – closer to punctual than anything else. Persephone was pleased with her decision to wait outside a full fifteen minutes in advance. No one would have suspected a thing.

“Good morning,” she greeted breezily, scooting into the car with a well-practiced air of congeniality. “Thank you so much for the lift, I really appreciate it.”

Her good mood was only partially embellished. Persephone was genuinely quite excited to see what other talents had developed in the aftermath of the doctor’s work, especially since she’d googled that blue-faced bad guy from the Spider-Man movie.

Thankfully, they managed to make it to Claire’s without getting themselves into another monstrous crash. As much as she was enjoying her newfound powers, Persephone wasn’t so sure that lightning would strike twice.

“Well, here we are… Let’s see how the six of us are reacting to the doctor’s medicine.”

And maybe, in the process, they could get a step closer to finding out just who that doctor really was.

ψ

[Dominic Weaver]

Surge The best part of “believe” is the “lie”. + Mason Warner + Will Chase + Claire Elliot + Persephone Dean + Alice Morrow

Dominic had opened the door for Persephone as she approached the car. He glanced up at the apartment building as she got in, it seemed nice enough, and he wondered how exactly she could afford to live here. He’d picked up the fact that she worked as a waitress, and it was obvious that she wouldn’t be able to afford the rent on a place like that. He surmised that she had either inherited it, or paid for it with less savoury means that she wasn’t willing to disclose. Not that Dominic cared. As long as her past didn’t prove to be a major issue in his plans, he couldn’t see what it mattered. A past as an escort might prove difficult, but as long as there wasn’t video evidence, anything could be explained. He relaxed back into the driver’s seat as she climbed in beside him, feeling for all the world like a High School kid on the way to the prom. Not that many High School kids would be driving a Chevy Corvette. Dominic was fairly wealthy, the car was not a lease. It fitted him perfectly, flashy and powerful, and he demonstrated that as he gunned it down the road. It didn’t take them long to reach Claire’s apartment, Dominic drove as though he was wishing for another crash like June 3rd. He pulled up smoothly beside the apartment building, showing an unusual control for such a young and wealthy man. They got out and he slipped his card into the parking meter. A moment later they were in the elevator. They had been relatively friendly in the car, after all, the only thing that could stop Dominic talking was actual death, as the near death experience hadn’t even slowed him down. Still, he knew enough about people to let Persephone talk when she wanted to and not to push too far, he was very good at his job after all. They burst dramatically into the apartment, Dominic with sparks jumping between his fingers, about the only trick he’d managed to perfect without scorching the walls and shorting his TV. “Guys! We have hit the big time!”

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[Deleted]

WORDS: 339

TAGS: Pretty much everyone.

Claire was pretty silent during breakfast but spoke when she was spoken to. Mostly, even though she tried not to, she just stared at the fork levitating from the plate and watched the spokes disappear as Mason took bites of pancake that vanished into thin air. It was nice having home-cooked meals for a change even as cheap as they were thanks to the lack of things she had in her kitchen. Alice definitely made the most of it. Claire's cooking began and ended with boxed macaroni and cheese.

It was awkward sitting across from someone she couldn't see and to be fairly honest she was worried about Mason's state. Though he seemed perfectly calm about it and Alice was excited more than anything, Claire couldn't help think of what problems this would cause. How on earth would he live his life? Do anything like he used to? In perspective, she was suddenly grateful that she had 'fork-proof skin' instead.

While the dishes were being done, Claire straightened up the living area by folding the blankets Alice used and setting them where they were before, straightening pillows on the sofa, and-- "Guys! We have hit the big time!" Claire practically jumped out of her skin like a cat, having been only a yard or so from the door, and backed up and into the arm of her couch which caused her to tip backwards and land on the cushions behind her. She stared at the ceiling, eyes wide with a hand on her chest, and then looked to Dominic's buzzing hand.

Was knocking.. not a thing?

"Geez," she whispered to herself and swallowed before sitting up and still catching her breath. She didn't want to cause any conflict - awkward duck and all - so she just stared at Dominic rather than inquiring why on earth he'd burst into her home, then looked to Persephone, and remained speechless for a bit until trying to think of something to say. "That's.. not the word choice I'd use but.."

NOTES: Uh, come in I guess?
WEARING: Here. Ahh.. much more her element.

＃ENY ADOXOGRAPHY

[Mason Warner]

Side Effects May Vary

“I mean I’m not saying that I should use my powers for evil but I bet robbing a bank would be ten times easier now,” Mason was saying, in between shovelling over-sized mouthfuls of pancake down his throat. He was doing a stand-up job of keeping the positivity going and was currently in the middle of a rant about how he could take advantage of his invisibility. Alice was very engaged with the conversation, unsurprisingly. Claire was less so – something was worrying her.

He hoped she wasn’t worrying about him. She was entitled to, of course, but she had her own new abilities to think about… plus whatever that phone call had been about. Mason wasn’t sure when he’d get the opportunity to check up on her about it now, but that could roll around in time. Maybe it’d be easier to discuss as a distant past event. Alternatively, he could be reading too much into things. It was hard to tell with Claire.

“People rob banks without invisibility so it’s definitely achievable, but I think they use guns and I don’t have any of those,” he pondered. He wasn’t remotely entertaining the idea of staging a hold-up but it was fun to pretend, even if just for Alice’s reactions.

Claire’s face was still pretty serious as they finished breakfast and started on washing duties. It was weird assisting Alice with the task when she had very few clues as to where his hands were but fortunately he didn’t break any of Claire’s dishes, although there were definitely some close calls. Claire was busying herself in the living area – tidying – and Mason kept an eye out as he dried plates just in case she showed signs of what was going on in her busy mind.

Then she was flying through the air to the soundtrack of Dom’s loud, genial announcement.

Okay, it was more of a gentle stumble into a load of cushions, but Mason rushed out to check she was okay anyway. It seemed like there was nothing bruised, except perhaps her ego, so he turned to Dom and extended his hand jovially.

“A shocking entrance, man,” he grinned.

Mason swiftly remembered that he was invisible and dropped the hand, feeling only a little upset about the missed handshake. Dom could have accidentally lit him up like a Christmas tree anyway, so it was probably for the best. Plus, he couldn’t feel too upset – he was still feeling pretty smug about that pun.

ψ

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Claire Elliot + Mason Warner + Dominic Weaver + Persephone Dean + Will Chase

Alice may not have quite picked up on Mason’s jovial tone. In her defence, it was more difficult now that they couldn’t see his impish grin. Even so, she was horrified when he suggested robbing a bank with his new found power. She spluttered through her pancakes when he first suggested it, trying not to choke on her breakfast. “You can’t do that!” She managed to awkwardly swallow her mouthful of syrupy goodness before she put her knife and fork down. “Mason! That is so not funny! You’re not serious are you?” Mason’s lack of response, in every possible way, was not helping the situation. It was only Mason’s chuckle, still coming disturbingly from mid-air, that prompted the realisation that he was just teasing her. She scowled in the vague direction of where she thought he was, and picked up her plate to flounce into the kitchen. Not that it was a very effective flounce, she didn’t have the figure or the personality for it. It was a little unnerving to watch the plates drying themselves off as though they were a leftover prop from Harry Potter. She managed to forget about them after a while and concentrate on scrubbing the pan to a point of cleanliness that likely would have made it very embarrassed were it sentient. It was clear that Claire didn’t spend much time in this kitchen, which only made Alice more jealous. She would have killed to have an apartment like this, and she found herself wondering how exactly Claire managed to pay for it while at College. She turned as the door flew open, her eyes widening in amazement as soon as she spotted the sparks leaping between his fingers. He looked like an advertisement for Tesla Coils. She tried to glare at Mason again as a terrible pun was once more announced from thin air. It was a pointless endeavour, as try as she might, she couldn’t even spot a shimmer in the air. She came back into the main room, drying her hands on the apron she was still wearing, trying not to show her disappointment that she seemed to be the only one without powers. Mason was invisible, Claire seemed to be super tough now, and Dominic was using his hand as a replacement light source. Persephone didn’t seem that different, and she felt a flash of guilt as she realised she was hoping that she didn’t have powers either. “Hi guys! Dom… that is awesome… Can you like throw lightning now? What about you Persephone?”

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[Will Chase]

Will had barely slept at all the previous night, too busy thinking about what he had learned. About what Harry had told him. This was.... This was big. So many things he'd thought he'd known proved wrong in an instant. In a single conversation, his world had suddenly expanded. Even the hour of sleep he had managed to grab had been poor; he'd woken up with a raging headache, and the sudden, bizarre, conviction that the neighbour was cheating on his wife. It didn't make sense, all he could remember were flashes of words. That bitch he's so nice I wonder what I'll have for breakfast I'm gonna be late for work that was the best thing ever dude I'm like totally stoned oh God she's so much better than Carol I missed the bus mom's gonna kill me I'm gonna kill him everything's gone wrong and it's all that's the spot I'm so tired. He knew where to go thankfully, Dominic had been kind enough to tell him where they were meeting. He wondered how they'd react to what he'd learn. Persephone would probably be pissed; the doctor had turned up mere moments after she'd left after all. Will still didn't know why she'd waited, why she'd held off till he was alone. With what he'd learned from Harry, he doubted it was because she hadn't arrived in time to catch them both. No, it had been deliberate. But why? He took the steps up to the second floor of the apartment block two at a time, The door definitely wasn't locked, he could tell from the way it was wide open, and he could hear talking. He made sure to knock, it was only polite after all, before stepping inside and shutting the door behind him. He took a few paces forward so that he could see everyone, even as he heard Alice speak. He was confused for a moment, and then he saw the electricity crackling around Dominic's hand. There was a fork suspended in the air as well, the sight so incongruous that Will found himself stunned for a moment. That had to be Mason, he was the only one missing from their little group. He remembered what Elaine had said about Persephone's headaches. That stuff about 'changes' and 'birthright'. Shit. So that was what she'd meant. He coughed to get their attention. "Guys, there's something you need to know." Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. Will Chase 404 Words

♛

[Persephone Dean]

Side Effects May Vary

There was definitely no Mason where a Mason should be.

His voice was there, giving life to that awful, awful pun, but his irritating, permanently plastered grin was nowhere to be seen. Persephone kept her expression neutral as her eyes searched the rest of the apartment for anything weird. Claire seemed to be the same awkward girl that had tried to take the role of leader back in the hospital, while Alice was the picture of domesticity in her apron.

So, the situation seemed fairly positive – the biggest apparent change was a lack of idiotic grin in the room which Persephone decided quite quickly was the biggest positive of them all. Otherwise, there didn’t seem to be any urgent large-scale repairs required and the two that she could still see hadn’t sprouted any kind of monstrous appendages in reaction to the doctor’s work. Boringly normal, compared to Dominic’s situation, but comfortingly so. After all, it wasn’t like Persephone herself seemed to be exhibiting particularly impressive powers.

“Hello again,” she greeted cheerily, moving further into the apartment. She wondered how Claire would want her to act in here. The girl was pretty closed off herself, so Persephone decided on the much more comfortable option of not immediately making herself at home. Instead, she leaned casually against a free wall, trying her best to look like entering other people’s homes was something she did regularly.

She turned to Alice. “Me? Oh, nothing very exciting,” she said with an apologetic shrug. “I seem to have an uncanny way with plants now. Difficult to explain. It’s definitely something new and weird, you get me?” She laughed and shook her head. “No lightning bolts here though, I’m afraid.

“If you have any greenery you need tending to, by the way, I’m happy to help.” This was directed straight at Claire. It was partially to strengthen the friendly image she was portraying currently – until she figured out whether she needed this group or not – and partially because she enjoyed the rush that came with her new supernatural intuitions. Any chance to practice was surely a good thing, right?

It was difficult to decide quite how to address Mason’s new… condition, so she left that opportunity to somebody else. The ability was certainly effective though. Not even the faintest shimmering outline framed his form. Useful, potentially. She quite envied it.

Suddenly, the PI was there in the room with them, a serious tone to his voice. Persephone stared at him intently for a moment – had he cracked the case already?

The others might not be aware of her assistance in the attempt to track down the doctor, however.

Again, Persephone was finding it difficult to decide exactly how to react. Again, she opted for silence. She couldn’t help but gravitate towards Will, eager to discover just what it was they needed to know, but she wasn’t quite ready to openly admit just how involved she was with unravelling the mystery of their impossible recoveries.

ψ

[Dominic Weaver]

Surge The best part of “believe” is the “lie”. + Mason Warner + Will Chase + Claire Elliot + Persephone Dean + Alice Morrow + I'm so excited!

Dominic revolved as though on a turntable as Will entered the room behind him. He’d stopped the sparks flickering between his fingers, but seemed to radiate that new found energy even so. He smiled as the final member of their little group joined them. Will, however, seemed far more serious than the rest of them. “Don’t tell me. You’ve had some weird side effects from the doctor too?” It made sense, everyone else seemed to have, except, he guessed, for Alice, judging by the look on her face. She certainly seemed to be less and less of her normal excitable self as more people announced the changes they had experienced. The war on her face was evident, at least to him. In an act of kindness he drew attention back to himself. “This is huge. Let alone the scientific implications, which I won’t pretend to understand, think of the marketing opportunities.” The excitement in his voice was palpable, and infectious, it would have taken a strong will indeed to resist the passion in the PR exec’s voice. “We could be celebrities overnight, all we need to do is get it out in a way that can’t be called a hoax. We’re going to have to get this stuff all over the news, the only question, is how?”

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[Will Chase]

Dominic had a rare force of personality, and Will almost found himself nodding along with the man's words. He shook himself, irritated that he had allowed himself to be swept along. "I haven't noticed anything different, but that's not what I wanted to say. We can't go public, not yet. Maybe not ever." Will took advantage of the moment of silence that followed his words to continue, talking before anyone could respond, whether to agree with him or to refute what he was saying. "Those new powers you're demonstrating aren't the first of their kind. Not by a long shot. I found the doctor. I spoke to her. And, after she vanished simply by stepping through a doorway, I spoke to the men who are hunting her." Dominic had charisma in spades, but there was a special kind of gravitas in what Will was staying, the conviction in his tone. None of the others spoke as he took a breath. "One of them told me the truth. People with powers, super-humans or meta-humans or magical beings or whatever the hell you want to call them, they've been around for a while. He said that they went into hiding a long time ago, that the last time they tried to reveal themselves they were hunted, and those caught were burned. That has to mean the Witch Hunts, so they've been around for hundreds of years at least, maybe as long as there have been humans on Earth." "He said that all our tales of werewolves and aliens and ghosts are based on people who lost control of their abilities." "He told me that the doctor wants to reveal them to the world. That is probably why she saved us. But it sounds like she's in the minority, that many of them would prefer to hide." He spoke directly to Dominic now, where before he had been addressing the whole room. "I can't stop you from publicising what you can do. I don't even know if I should try. But if you want to do that, then you need to know that it is not just going to be some kind of publicity boost. This will not be painless, it may not end well, it may tear this world apart." "People can do terrifying things, when they're afraid. And what is more frightening, than change?" You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water. Will Chase 349 Words

♛

[Deleted]

WORDS: 588

TAGS: Pretty much everyone.

While Mason was speaking and Alice stood by his invisible side to compliment Dominic and inquire about Persephone, Claire went averting her embarrassed eyes to correct herself on the couch and sit on its edge on the side further from the front door in case one of them wanted to sit down - but Persephone opted for leaning against the wall. Claire guessed she was just trying to be respectful, but she was more than welcome to the living area. It never had anyone but the art student for company and, well, it should be used for more than her quiet style of living. This was the most life it'd ever seen and she felt good that it was getting used, even if it was incredibly awkward to host.

When Persephone looked over to her and gave her an offering of tending to her plants it actually piqued her interest. There was a Bonzai she'd been trying to take care of sense the whole 'zen' aspect was her thing, but she was horrible at it and had absolutely no idea what she was doing.. It wasn't growing as fast as it should be and trimming was a lot harder than it sounded/looked. Gardening; definitely not her strong suit. 'Nothing exciting' in her opinion was Claire's opposite. Could they trade 'side effects'? It was clear that she was more than attentive and responsive to Persephone but Will walked in to the already very-populated living area and caught everyone's attention.

"Guys, there's something you need to know."
"Don’t tell me. You’ve had some weird side effects from the doctor too?"

"We all are. Well-..." she gave a quick, corrective look to Alice and was about to say something about it until Dominic continued. Claire wasn't very loud anyway. "This is huge. Let alone the scientific implications, which I won’t pretend to understand, think of the marketing opportunities. We could be celebrities overnight, all we need to do is get it out in a way that can’t be called a hoax. We’re going to have to get this stuff all over the news, the only question, is how?"

Claire's expression quickly turned from awkwardly introverted to a tense look of careful disagreement. "Why would we do anything about this publicly? This isn't something that we should be making money off of. If anything, it's dangerous. People will see us differently. Law enforcement, the government.. We can't just announce it. It's not some toy or product, it's serious," she shook her head and kept her tone, as always, soft.

Then Will opened his mouth about his discoveries and the room went silent. All of them just stared and listened, taking it all in. Claire's face went white just as it had in the hospital and when the needles started breaking in the bathroom against her arm. She stared out at the coffee table in front of her to try and catch both her thoughts and her breath that seemed to not want to move out of her lungs; just staying there like she'd been punched in the chest. They were pawns in someone else's master plan. A plan that'd been in motion for decades.

"People can do terrifying things, when they're afraid. And what is more frightening, than change?"

"Things that people don't understand.." she answered quietly in an almost-whisper and looked up at all of them from the couch. "They'll be terrified of us."

NOTES: New perspective.
WEARING: Here. 

＃ENY ADOXOGRAPHY

[Mason Warner]

Side Effects May Vary

The young executive was painting an intoxicating image of glory in Mason’s mind. He could see himself standing boldly atop a building, grateful damsel under one arm, his other raised to shield his eyes from the blazing flames that he had just rescued every single resident from, cape billowing, shoulders broad, charismatic grin catching the flashes of paparazzi cameras…

Except they’d catch nothing, because Mason was invisible now.

He was quite pleased that no one could see him snap out of his blissful reverie with a jolt. There was no way he could explain his sudden drop without it seeming ridiculous. He may have decided that invisibility was pretty damn cool, but that didn’t mean that it came without its disappointments. The image in his head was just a whole lot less majestic when he couldn’t actually see his physical form as the centrepiece of the picture.

Will proceeded to put a complete downer on the situation, embracing the role of the bearer of bad news. Claire’s protests had seemed sensible, urging caution rather than completely dismissing the grandeur of Dom’s vision, but Will was here with brand new, scary information that challenged what Mason thought he’d already known.

So there were others out there with powers? People who had stayed predominantly underground for centuries? That didn’t seem a fair life. Even if Mason was capable of finding an off-switch for his ability – which was remaining assuredly non-existent – he wasn’t sure that he’d like to deny what was now a part of himself. For all that Will’s words concerned him, Mason wasn’t quite ready to deny that delightful dream that Dom had planted within him. Maybe this was destiny? Maybe Mason was about to discover what it was like to feel purpose… He couldn’t let go of this so easily.

“You can get past fear.”

Mason tried his best to attract everyone’s attention as he spoke. Being unable to catch anyone’s eye made conversational cues difficult.

“It’s like when you’re a kid learning to ride a bike. It’s scary when your mom first lets you go and it’s scary when you get your first scraped knee.”

He was getting lost in the metaphor, not quite so accomplished at making speeches as the other two men were. A nervous chuckle was enough to get him going again.

“Just cause you get one scraped knee doesn’t mean you stop trying to ride the damn bike,” he said slowly, looking from face to face. It was interesting viewing reactions when people weren’t consciously looking at you. The emotions were closer to the surface. “I’m not saying that these people haven’t suffered but… what, they just decided to give up and hide forever?”

His brow furrowed as he concentrated on what he was saying. Man, this speech stuff was real hard.

“I’m not trying to tell any of you guys how to live your lives now that you’ve got these powers, and I’m not saying it’s wrong for you to wanna hide but… I won’t. We can work out a way of using our powers, come out in the open without terrifying normal people. Maybe it was wrong of the doctor to mess with us like this but maybe it'll come to something good.

“If we show the world that we’re not afraid of these powers then maybe we can help others like us to be a little less afraid as well.”

He shrugged, running out of steam, and dropped into the comfy-looking empty space on the couch beside Claire. Had he been rambling? He wasn’t even sure what his initial point had been, but he hoped that the room was a little less doom and gloom now.

ψ

[Alice Morrow]

Paladin Am I more than you bargained for yet? + Claire Elliot + Persephone Dean + Mason Warner + Will Chase + Dominic Weaver

Alice was disappointed, heavily disappointed. It was fairly obvious at this point that everyone other than her had developed some sort of interesting reaction to their miraculous recovery. The only one that wasn’t displaying something obvious was Will, but he seemed so entirely unsurprised by everything that was happening that he had to have some sort of power. He’d met the doctor it seemed and was now pouring out so much new information she struggled to process it all. So there had always been people with powers? How could they have hidden away like that? Alice might have been called weird by most people, but she was no conspiracy theorist, and the thought that Spiderman could have been living down the street the whole time was a little hard to swallow. Alice stepped forwards. “No.” She was shaking her head, “why is it just about money? Why do you think that people will just be terrified? This is amazing!” She looked around at the whole group, “maybe some people will be scared, but just as many will be amazed! What about all the people who dream of having someone they can look up to? Of a hero that might sweep in and save them?” A shrug, “besides, I don’t have powers, and you guys don’t scare me…” She sat down, her part said. It had been obvious in her last words how upsetting that had been to admit as well. It was petty, almost childish, but she couldn’t help but feel left out. Again.

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[Will Chase]

Mason and Alice were so hopeful, so sure that everything would be fine. Will hadn't experienced that in a long time. He was too cynical. Claire, on the other hand, appeared to have to come to the same realisation that Will himself had reached. As nice as it was to imagine people accepting them, rejoicing in the existence of people with powers, he found himself unable to believe it possible. Even with his hatred of lying, he could see why Harry would consider this a secret worth keeping. "I said before that I don't know whether this secret should be kept, and I still don't. I don't know if concealing the truth from the world in this matter can be anything other than a travesty. But that's the problem, I - we - don't know." "These abilities, you've not even had them a day. I only found out this much last night. How can we possibly be qualified to make such a decision? What gives us the right to make that choice for all the many others who are even now hiding their abilities from the world? People may dream of heroes, but who will be the hero for those poor people who will be dragged into the light against their will?" "You speak of overcoming fear Mason, and you think people will look upon them with wonder Alice. I hope that, should you decide to go public, you are right, and people welcome this. But I doubt it." Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment. Will Chase 249 Words

♛

[Persephone Dean]

Side Effects May Vary

Well, that was a little dramatic.

Persephone had no intention of becoming a majestic champion of the weak and vulnerable. She wasn’t remotely pulled in by the more romantic ideas that Mason and Alice were putting forwards. Her own personal attitude to life had never included wishing for some hero to come swoop in and save her from her troubles. Hard work and a tough manner had kept Persephone going this far and she was under the impression that she’d been at least somewhat successful.

Regardless, she couldn’t bring herself to agree with Will either. He was obviously very passionate and obviously had information that they themselves did not. Yet, here was making a narrow-minded, fear-filled statement and expecting that to persuade the room?

Persephone was moderately offended that he thought she could agree with such an argument.

“Who are we dragging into the light?” she asked simply.

She hesitated to continue, unwilling to seem like she’d picked sides just yet, but she couldn’t let this slide. She was far more interested in uncovering details of the doctor in order to understand exactly what her motives and intentions were – this question of revealing the existence of powers was strangely trivial in her mind.

“Just because Dominic wants to show the world that he can shoot lightning bolts and exploit that, doesn’t mean that those in hiding are in any imminent danger. For all the world knows, he’s an anomaly, and if they don’t believe that, fine. Those hiding can continue to do as they know best.”

Persephone shrugged. “My ability seems pretty concealable, so I could be biased. But I don’t think you should be quite so frozen in the headlights of progress, Will Chase.”

ψ

[Dominic Weaver]

Surge The best part of “believe” is the “lie”. + Mason Warner + Will Chase + Claire Elliot + Persephone Dean + Alice Morrow

“What gives them the right to decide for us?” Dominic seemed perplexed. In reality, he had picked up on the doubt in Will’s voice, and was playing that for all he was worth. “We’re not going to force anyone to reveal themselves. This is our life; these are our bodies, our powers. I’ve never let anyone else make my decisions for me, and I’ll be damned if I start that now.” He looked kindly at Alice, “maybe yours is just taking a little while to wake up, what are the odds of everyone else getting one and you not?” He began to move around, making himself once more the centre of attention, just how he liked it. He spoke again with an innocent smile, “Alice and Mason might seem idealistic, but why?” He paused for effect, “maybe they’re right, I mean, I can’t quite see you in tights Will, but maybe we have a responsibility now, to paraphrase Uncle Ben. This Doctor gave us our powers to do what we choose, if she turns up and starts telling me what to do with them I’d tell her the exact same thing.” His irresistible charm was making his words sound even better, selling the dream that Mason and Alice had hinted at. “And if you don’t want to advertise that you’ve got these powers? What’s forcing you to? Certainly not me. I might find it pretty disappointing, but I wouldn’t hold it against you.” Even so, his words managed to heavily suggest that they would be more disappointed in themselves if they didn’t end up agreeing with him. It was hard to resist, just as it was always hard to resist anything Dominic Weaver might suggest. He had that infectious enthusiasm that was almost impossible to avoid, and made it easy to brush aside any concerns you might have. He shrugged apologetically at Will, “it’s been some time since we last burned someone for witchcraft. Times have changed since then, they might come for us with pitch forks and torches, but I doubt that they’ll be backed up by the cops and the army.” He frowned, “anyway, you never said, what is your power?”

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