[Jack Fontaine]

Nobody Don't you know who I think I am? + CBE-177/"Anna"

So Anna could control any new powers they gained through blood, but struggled to do so when she had more than on ability. Metahumans that could imitate or replicate the abilities of others were extremely rare, and Anna's experience demonstrated why Mother Nature may have taken a pass when it came to that specific evolution. Jack resisted the urge to rub their various sore spots. It would have taken some time for a start. They didn’t bother collecting the various scattered bags of blood or sheets of paper from the floor. They paid Anna a substantial salary, so collecting those items should really be included in that. They turned their attention back to the diminutive soviet super weapon. Jack shoved a hand into their pocket, producing what most would call a phone, or if older, a smartphone. In truth, the object was far beyond what any normal human could call smart. Still, it was capable of recording a lot more than your average iPhone. They pointed one of its many sensors in the direction of Anna, holding it for a moment before bringing it closer to their face to inspect the results. That done, they placed it carefully on the leaning table, before hunting around the room for the items they had brought with them. Eventually they found the blood kit they had brought. Fortunately it was in a hard case, and only one of the needles seemed to have received any damage. They closed it again and tossed the case to Anna. "I need four vials." Jack went back to their phone, picking it up and click through a few different sensor suites before running it over the table leg that Anna had frozen. They muttered to themselves, glancing in the direction of the scattered blood bags. They clearly wished to continue immediately. That seemed unlikely however, so they would have to settle on other avenues of exploration for now. "How much does the ice affect you? Can you feel the cold?" Their notes indicated that the metahuman the blood had come from no longer seemed to feel the effects of extreme cold, and as such was totally immune to their own ability. Did that immunity extend to Anna? Or did she only gain part of the power?

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[CBE-177/"Anna"]

The mess was really quite bad. She felt a little embarrassed at causing it, but on the other hand she doubted Jack would have preferred to have the ceiling frozen off. It was an interesting thing to discover about herself, the fact that she could do this. During the days when she had been on the peripheral edges of metahuman society in the Soviet Union, she had never had the blood of another metahuman. No one had ever quite said it aloud, but there had been an unspoken understanding that those other people were beneath them- and suitable for food in a way that metahumans were not. She wondered, just for a moment, what would have happened if that part of her powers had been discovered then. Would she have grown powerful? Or would she have been made into someone else's tool? Certainly she would not have been sent to Laboratory 1- but would where she would have gone otherwise been any better? And, she thought, she would never have come here, to this place. Outside of her box, she would have grown old. She didn't like that idea, losing this place and the people she had met. Even Jack, who was not the easiest person to like, she felt some amount of affection for. It was not only for money that she would defend Jack in the midst of danger.

Right now Jack was using a sensor of sorts to gather data about her. She stared straight at it, almost defiantly, forcing her gaze to remain steady. She was not defying Jack, but her own memories. When Jack pushed the vials for blood towards her she gave a small hiss; this was her least favorite part. Still, she removed the needle, and, carefully selecting a vein in her other hand, extracted the required amount of blood. She put the filled vials back in their container and pushed the container towards Jack. At Jack's question about if she could feel the cold she went and placed her hand on the table leg she had frozen, frowning. She focused and added some more cold to it, then signed to Jack,
I feel cold, but not when making cold.

She set the table upright again and went to the corner where several of the bags of blood had fallen. This was probably the most valuable thing Jack had brought. The thought made her mouth water but she managed to restrain herself long enough to gather most of the bags (one or two had burst) and set them on the table in front of Jack.

Jack Fontaine

[Jack Fontaine]

Nobody Don't you know who I think I am? + CBE-177/"Anna"

Jack had watched carefully as 177 had collected the bags of blood from the corner. They didn't comment, but they could read the hunger from her face. The woman was normally so controlled that it was surprising to see her reaction to the plastic bags. Jack had suspected that the blood might be a potential control for the woman, but not to this extent. The feral rage she had displayed during the attacks had been out of character, at least up until that point. They had suspected that there might be a savage side to her, but her origin had proven difficult to divine. It was as if she had simply appeared. What little they knew of her history came predominantly from the woman herself, and only sparse reports they had managed to gather. That made them uncomfortable. Jack was used to being the one with information at their fingertips, and in this data-driven world it was an unusual situation indeed to find someone without a data trail at all. Old soviet records were famously opaque, but even so they had hoped to make more progress by this point. A few of their leads seemed to be panning out, but it was slow going, and they found such ponderous progress frustrating. Gathering the blood bags together, they returned them to the plastic crate they had carried them in originally. They paused at a thought. "It seemed that you used up the last blood fairly swiftly. Can you feel how much power you have left?" Stepping smartly away from the table with the box of blood, they gave it a nod, their intent clear.

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[CBE-177/"Anna"]

She tilted her head, frowning as she considered the question about her remaining power, then made a so-so gesture with her hand. She could tell the cold power was still there, albeit diminished, but she couldn't have said exactly how much she had left. The rule seemed to be that she could copy powers for a short while while drinking blood. How long it lasted seemed to depend on how much she used the power (and presumably, how much blood she drank), but the details seemed to differ from power to power. Some left faster and some stayed longer. She would have to try each ability to learn its details. That would be a disadvantage in combat, but she would always have her other skills. To Jack, she signed, It takes more practice.

Jack nodded at the box of blood. Anna frowned. Jack wanted her... to drink more? She wasn't sure that was a good idea. She might lose control again. The room was already a mess, but suppose the next one was worse? More destructive, and harder to get rid of? Well, she supposed Jack was the boss.

She hefted a bag of blood, looked at Jack questioningly, then tore off a corner and drank. She closed her eyes as she swallowed the last of the blood. Waited a moment. Nothing seemed to have happened.

She opened her eyes and glanced at Jack. It took her a moment to notice that the world seemed... bluer. It was fuzzier on the edges of her vision as well. Strange. She held out a hand, and her eyes went wide. Her body was different. It was semitransparent in places, greenish tinted in others, and sort of... simmering, as if she was made of very dim lights.

She opened and closed her hand. Nothing seemed different, except that she felt the cold beginning to seep around the edges of her control, beginning to make mist in the air. She glanced at Jack, but there was no help there. She tried to take a step, and nothing happened. She frowned, and tried again. Once more she did not move.

She tried again. This time she watched her feet as she did it. And she saw her foot- instead of touching the floor to push her through it- go down through it, as if there was nothing there.

She crouched down and tried to touch the floor. Instead her hand passed directly through, with only a slight tingling sensation. She stood up again and gave Jack a, “Well, shucks,” expression.

She signed, The first one was the most fun.

Jack Fontaine

[Jack Fontaine]

Nobody Don't you know who I think I am? + CBE-177/"Anna"

Jack smiled in amusement as Anna apparently tried to walk forwards, without actually making any progress. They noticed her feet dipping through the floor before she did. Some sort of physical phasing ability. It must be something that could be controlled, otherwise they would never have been able to extract the blood. The strange effect had extended visually. Clearly this strange phasing was also affecting light, not just physical objects. A wave of cold was rolling off her, the faint frosting in the air making it clear just how cold things were growing about her. They cock their head in interest, "I wonder if the lack of ice growing about you is something to do with your inability to make physical contact." Looking around, they found what was left of a chair, picking up the broken pieces and carrying them back across the room so they lay on the floor between the two of them. Perhaps more consciously activating the cryokinetic power would allow her to have some effect on the physical world, it was simply a matter of working out which instincts could trigger the different abilities. If they weren't linked anyway. Perhaps this could trigger one ability, thereby overriding the other. It was just a matter of finding the right lever.

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[CBE-177/"Anna"]

She didn't feel the cold she was generating. She didn't feel anything, really, except perhaps a slight tingling that grew worse when her foot entered the floor. How was she supposed to move like this? If she couldn't touch the floor, she couldn't walk, couldn't jump... she wondered if she was doing something wrong, if there was some part of the power she was missing. She tried what she had done before to move to the ceiling. Nothing happened. She frowned.

Hmm... maybe that wasn't right. What she had done before had felt like... like tearing a connection that pointed to the earth and pointing it somewhere else. This power didn't feel the same way. It didn't feel like a string, it felt more like floating in water.

She concentrated, imagining the world around her as a river that was flowing past her. She tried a step forward. This time it worked. She felt a flash of cold against her skin and the mist that was forming around her hands briefly flickered out. Then she was tingling again, having become nothing. She tried again and managed another step. She frowned and shook her head. She didn't like this. This one was much harder to use for some reason.

Jack came forward, placing pieces of a broken chair in front of her. She understand what they wanted. Reaching forward, she tried to imagine her arm extending outward, the cold stretching out to touch the broken fragments... for a moment she felt her feet solidly on the floor again, and a sudden burst of ice formed on one of the broken chair legs. Then she was the nothing and the tingle again and the ice stopped. She held out her hand again, tried to stretch the cold. Nothing.

She looked up at Jack and shook her head.

Jack Fontaine

[Jack Fontaine]

Nobody Don't you know who I think I am? + CBE-177/"Anna"

CBE appeared to have become entirely immune to the effects of physics. Gravity, friction, all of it seemed to just pass her by, clearly her body was even responding differently to light. Metahuman abilities often broke or circumvented the laws of physics, but rarely so many all at once. As before she slowly seems to come to terms with her new ability. Clearly there is something instinctive about the way she masters the new powers she develops. Jack jumped, surprised by the sudden burst of ice that covered the chair leg. Something about the multiple abilities was clearly interfering with how much control CBE had over them. Perhaps the energies contrasted and interacted in unusual ways, or perhaps her own ability certainly didn't allow her to control them with great precision when she possessed more than one. It was unfortunate that mimics were almost unheard of, even post-Event. Having another with a differing power to compare CBE's to would certainly have made this process easier. "The power is gone? Or you've simply lost the ability to control it now?"

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