Paladin

Am I more than you bargained for yet?

+ Ashley McKenna-Chase

+ wearing

Alice couldn't help but stare as Ashley ferried what looked like half of her entire fro-yo into her mouth with her first spoonful. It took a moment for her to drag her attention away and back to her own fro-yo which she was considerably more sparing with. She probably wouldn't be having another for a while, so she intended to enjoy this one for as long as possible. It was difficult.

She put her hands up in surrender, "Hey. I never promised anything less. Anyway, you've been wasting your time with all that other fro-yo, just be glad your life has actually begun."

Alice shrugged at the next question and took another mouthful of fro-yo, a blueberry balanced delicately on top. "Not really, I'm not in college, just making ends meet really."

Although that really was actually more of a sort of. With the hospital bills and her rent Alice really wasn't sure how she was going to keep it up for more than a few weeks. She helped herself to a slightly larger scoop this time, the flavour and texture helping to drive away those thoughts.

"I just cook, it's not all that interesting. What about you?" Alice gestured at the petite girl with her spoon. "Are you in college? Or maybe Police academy? You don't seem that like Will but you never know…"

Paladin

Am I more than you bargained for yet?

+ Ashley McKenna-Chase

+ wearing

At least Ashley had brushed over Alice's embarrassment, and she felt the heat leave her face rapidly as the conversation moved onto the million dollar question, if only. It was awkward as well, Alice really didn't know how much Ashley knew. Had Will told her about the powers that they'd manifested? About the Doctor? Did she even know about the accident?

Alice assumed that it was safe to talk about the accident at least. That had been on national television and they'd been in the hospital for a week. Surely Ashley knew that Will had been involved somehow?

"I uh… was in that accident, we ended up in neighbouring wards so uh…. That's how we know each other. No secret daughters or questionable relationships. Just coincidence I guess."

Then at least they could talk about something far more important. Fro-yo.

"Pfffft. Please. They've got strawberries, blueberries, cranberries, raspberries. Any kind of berry you could imagine. And loads of other stuff as well… It is the single greatest fro-yo shop ever. Just saying."

She led the way, and in only took a few minutes for them to reach the store. It was small, and clearly not the most expensive property, but even so it was lively, vibrant and immaculately clean. Currently it was populated by a young couple waiting for their order and a swarthy middle-aged man who flashed a toothy grin at Alice as she entered.

"Alice! It's been a while!"

His accent was thick, but he spoke almost perfect English. It was also evident that Alice was something of a regular here, and that the man had a good memory for his customers.

"Who is your friend?"

Paladin

Am I more than you bargained for yet?

+ Ashley McKenna-Chase

+ wearing

It had been an odd request.

That was probably a fair way of putting it, if not entirely accurate. It had been outright strange. Will had called her and asked if she was busy, thinking that it might have something to do with powers of course she'd said yes. It hadn't, as it had turned out. Will's sister was in town and he was running down a lead. She'd asked if he had any friends she might like to hang out with.

That in itself must have been a strange experience, a twenty year old asking her forty year old brother if he knew anyone her age. Alice smiled at the thought; this Ashley really must have been desperate. Still, Alice hadn't really had any plans today other than practising with her powers and playing a few video games. She'd hit a wall with her powers anyway. She was sure she could do more, had the feeling that there was a potential bubbling away under the surface.

It was locked away though, so much of her ability seemed instinctive, automatic. She hadn't managed to fully extend control around it though. She couldn't hold onto any energy, she was a one trick pony. All she did was absorb it and then fire it back out again. There seemed to be no limit to what she could absorb, at least not yet, but she was hesitant to step out in front of a car to see if she could absorb that. Dominic could control how much voltage he released, why couldn't she do the same with kinetic energy? There had to be some key to it.

Maybe things would make more sense if she spent some time thinking about something else. Alice was yanked out of her reverie by the buzz of the apartment phone. It only took her a moment to reach over to plastic device mounted to the wall. She hit the button to answer and listened as an enthusiastic voice burst from the tinny speaker.

"Yeah I'll be right down!"

She hung up and grabbed her bag, taking a moment to look around the small apartment. She would rather not show it off. It was tiny and old, with cracked walls and flaking paint. It was home, but it wasn't a particularly pleasant one. About the only things it had going for it were its tiny kitchenette and the low rent.

She stepped out of the door to greet the girl who looked vaguely familiar.

"Hey! I'm Alice, you must be Ashley..?"

Paladin

Am I more than you bargained for yet?

+ wearing

A few hours and a plate of fresh cookies later and they had a few ideas. Sort of. Stephen's sketch pad was full of various half-formed ideas and unfinished sketches. Stephen's mom had mostly left them to their own devices, content simply to ferry cookies to the two friends and check that they didn't need anything else. She wasn't the stereotypical nosy or overprotective mom of American sitcoms, she knew when she was and wasn't needed or wanted.

They hadn't settled on anything, none of it had seemed quite right. This had to be right as well. Peter Parker had made his own suit, Superman had inherited his from his parents. Alice might have no skill with needle and thread but if she was going to wear a superhero costume then she was damn sure she would have a hand in it. It was just like her power; a direct representation of her, part of her even.

It was probably why Stephen frustratedly threw down his pencil as she ummed and aahed over his latest efforts.

"OK I need to take a break from this now."

Alice was instantly apologetic but he waved her off. "It's ok, I totally understand why. That said, my artistic pride can only take so many snubs, so I'm going to let it recover before I do anything else."

She nodded in understanding, "Sorry, I guess I just want it to be perfect."

"I would if I were you, but I've got to go soothe my ego before I try again."

He dropped the thick pad onto his desk, turning back to his best friend.

"You want food? We could get pizza or something?"

Alice nodded, Stephen was right, they had been going for a while, and though it didn't feel anything like work, it was still mentally draining. That and the thought of pizza made her mouth water. The cookies had been a whole hour ago and she could feel her stomach crying out for more sustenance.

"Pizza sounds good!"

Paladin

Am I more than you bargained for yet?

+ Mason Warner

+ Claire Elliot

+ Persephone Dean

+ wearing

Alice's hand was uninjured, mostly. They were a little red, and they stung a little, but it was no real lasting damage. She sucked on them gingerly. At least until Claire grabbed her other hand to inspect it. She allowed Claire to, eager to return to their previous level of friendliness.

"I'm fine, just friction burn I think."

She shrugged apologetically, "I think it just wanted to go a bit faster than I could, you know… like metal bars normally want to…"

She looked at the damaged brickwork at the opposite end of the building, it was nearly a hundred feet away. The now less than straight metal bar was lying on the floor, having rebounded and clattered to the floor. She looked back to Persephone, glad that her demonstration had at least impressed.

She nodded vigourously, wanting to explain, but not wanting to take the opportunity away from the artist.

"It is so cool, it was the first one we saw, and there's something else that's really pretty, it's like…"

She caught herself, "Sorry, I shouldn't, it's not my power."

It was weird, but these powers were clearly a part of who they were, they were personal, and they should be treated as such. She couldn't tell someone else about them, it was like outing someone before they were ready.

Paladin

Am I more than you bargained for yet?

+ Mason Warner

+ Claire Elliot

+ Persephone Dean

+ wearing

Alice watched Persephone carefully, she had become a little aware over the last few days that not all of the others shared her enthusiasm for this idea. Persephone at least did not seem opposed, and once she had looked about the warehouse, she seemed positively excited about it. Her deception flew straight over the blue-haired girl's head.

Even better, Persephone had asked about something that Alice had been dying to talk about. It had taken long enough to convince Stephen that she actually had powers. Mason had seen everything she could do, and Alice was still trying to tread carefully around Claire. Here was someone who seemed interested in her powers! She almost bounced with excitement.

"Mine is soooo cool! I sort of need some to help out though."

She looked around anxiously for something that could be sued to help out. It wasn't as if there was a shortage of wrecked shelving units around here, including a few with entirely separated legs. She crossed to the nearest pile, one that had been used as target practice by both her and Dom judging by the scorch marks on the crumpled metal. She yanked a metal leg free and held it up. It was about three feet long, jagged at one end where it had snapped.

She turned back to Persephone and held the bar out. "Mason?"

The invisible man responded as she wished, and the bar was taken gently from her grip, the jagged end clearly being used as the handle. They might be confident in her powers but it was clear he would rather avoid the possibility of stabbing her.

She took on a strong stance looking a little like she was squaring up to a fight. This time she didn't flinch as the bar whirled towards her. Once again it stopped dead with barely a sound, once, twice, three times. It should have been vibrating in Mason's grip, but it had simply stopped as if it had never been moving in the first place.

She looked at the metal bar, a thought occurring to her.

"I'm going to try something new. Can I get that back Mason?"

She took the bar back and held it with both hands, turning to face the opposite end of the warehouse. She could feel the energy dancing inside of her, vibrating along her bones, eager to go somewhere. She focused on the metal between her fingers, and then raised it over her head. She took a step forward and flung the bar forward.

She felt the energy flowing out of her fingers as the metal left her hands. For just a fraction of a second before she let go the metal felt warm, as if it was alive. Then it accelerated, tearing itself free from her arms like a bird of prey. The metal bar flew across the warehouse at far greater speed than she should have been able to throw it, Mason's strength compounded by the weight of the metal bar adding up to much more than Alice could have attempted.

It clattered against the wall, chips of red brick splintering off such was the force of it's impact.

"Ow…"

Alice sucked at her fingers. Clearly the bar had not enjoyed having its kinetic energy multiplied exponentially while it was motionless. If she wanted to try that again she would have to let go a little earlier. The pain didn't stay on her mind for long.

"How cool was that?"

Paladin

Am I more than you bargained for yet?

+ Coryelle Wilde

+ wearing

So it seemed like she'd said the wrong thing. Very much the wrong thing. When she'd continued telling her story to 'Punk' then things had gotten awkward. It was as if she'd suddenly revealed some great government secret. Except… maybe she had. Punk had looked… hunted.

Maybe this group Will had been talking about was something even bigger. It wasn't just two men, maybe it had influence stretching across the world. It sounded like the Illuminati. Were they secretly running the government? The whole world?

"No wait! Don't go! I'm sorry…"

That plea at least seemed to have some effect on Punk, if she'd heard it. She came towards the heavily 'disguised' Alice, reaching into her pocket.

Instinctively, Alice, or Paladin as she supposed she was supposed to be now, shrank back. Had she finally said too much, was Punk not willing to take the risk of her talking? The people Will had talked to hadn't seemed willing to go so far as to kill someone, but maybe they weren't the only faction in this mysterious organisation.

It was something of a relief to discover that what Alice had thought might be a knife or a gun was in fact a mini-sharpie. She stared in surprise as her sleeve was pushed up and her arm inked with a phone number. She was tempted to make some sort of joke, but couldn't quite get the words out.

"Wait. Please can't you explain?"

She really didn't want to be left alone in this alleyway while the only person she had met who seemed to know what was going on walked away. If this was really a secret that had been kept for centuries then she didn't want someone to explain it over text.

"Things are happening that I don't understand. I've got powers! And no one has told me anything! You are the only person I've met who seems to know what has been going on! You can't just leave!"