manipulation madnessss (open (2/2))

[Shinji Vulpes]

A light chill wind brushes through the teenage boy's hair, caressing his messy locks as it rustled the leaves in the great oak tree upon which he leans against. The boy wears a slightly worn grey shirt and brown trousers, but most prominent is a make-shift red 'cape' he has tied around his neck. The edges of the cape billow, but most of it is contained under his weight. His eyes coldly observe the environment, the grass beneath his body seeming to glow with life. He raises his right hand, and one of the blades of grass pops up from the dirt. He gazes at it, before clenching his hand into a fist. The grass instantly turns brown and writhes, a wrinkly remnant of it's previous existence. The self-proclaimed godchild smirks, and allows the dead sedge to drop to the floor.

How did Shinji come to be in this park, in this city? The child had been wondering since his thirteenth birthday, and this was merely his latest stop. At times he had blacked out, and he wasn't even sure of the country he was in any more. It was no matter to him - they spoke his language, and all he needed to survive was food and water. He wasn't so holy as to not need to eat, after all. He had learnt that after a painful few weeks. So, he tried his best to stick to the cities. He was travelling with several purposes - to test his powers and to train himself to use them, and to find his destiny. He knew his fate would be to rule over this world, felt the truth in his heart; but to do that, he would first need followers. He couldn't rule alone, nor through fear - that would not be righteous.

So, Shinji continues to rest in the park. He picks himself up, and now his cape definitely begins to billow in the strengthening breeze. He looks to the south, and notices that the clouds have begun to gather. They looked dark, angry. A storm brewing?

"How fitting for my entrance!" The psychopath purrs, a small grin stretching across his face. He begins to walk down the hill from the oak tree, his shoeless feet being stroked by the blades of grass. In the middle of the park was a lake. It was still early morning, crisp sunlight shining and twinkling on the surface of the water.

The young man stops by the side of the lake, watching the water slosh gently against the sand. He unconsciously raises one hand, and a arc of water droplets rises from the body of liquid, causing a miniature rainbow to sparkle in the morning light. It all globs together, several arms lengths away from Shinji's head.

[Amita Bosko]

Amita was once again wandering. In fact, she didn't do much else. She stopped her bike by a lovely lake with a glassy surface. As she watched, small white waves sprinkled throughout the blue, and her long brown braid tossed in the breeze. The sun was rising, there were big, colorful clouds in the sky, and Amita felt sure that this was one of those beautiful days where she could actually relax. It might even rain later, something she would look forward to.

She walked her bicycle through the emerald grass down to the water, the wet grass sticking to her flip flops. She sat underneath a shady tree, not caring if her shorts got wet in the early morning dew. She stretched out her legs. Ever since she graduated high school a few months previously, she had been roaming the area. Occasionally she would find herself back in her home town, but right now she was the furthest she had been. She didn't have parents to worry about her; her father had died when she was young, and her mother recently passed as well. Being an only child, Amita had become very independent. To give herself a purpose, she promised herself that if someone was in danger nearby, she would do anything to help. She hated it when people got hurt.

As Amita looked around in the chilly morning air, she noticed something peculiar. Across the lake, she spied a rainbow above the water. It flexed and writhed as though alive. As it fell away with a splash, Amita noticed a young man on the shore.

Abruptly, Amita stood up and grabbed her bicycle. She had to talk to him. After first discovering her powers, she had only met a few others like her, and she always wanted to know how they dealt with it. Amita needed a calling, a purpose. She had wandered so long; maybe this man would be able to help her. She wheeled her bicycle up the shoreline and sped off towards the stranger.

[Shinji Vulpes]

Shinji catches an abrupt movement out of the corner of his eye, just as the water is fully gathered above his head. He twists, his concentration broken, and the water goblet disintegrates, splashing into the water, broken apart as if an exploding water balloon. It was someone. Someone else. Shinji frowns. Had this person seen his ability? He lowers his hand, and thinks, a crease appearing on his rather large forehead; should he take flight, or stay and risk confrontation?

Hn. He had to reveal himself soon. He would stay. His body tenses slightly, as his breath quickens. He smiles as the person approaches rapidly; it was a girl, on a bicycle. She was approaching pretty fast. The young prodigy forces himself to smile, his teeth glistening in the morning light. He looked somewhat eccentric, standing in dirty clothes and a crimson cloak that billowed in the slightly cool wind.

"Hello," he announces, with a wave, as the girl approaches. He is unsure what she wants with him, so merely tries to smile naturally, which always seems a bit suspect if you're unrehearsed. His mind is whirring; as she had approached at such a speed, she must have seen what he was doing. Would she suspect that he was actually the cause of the phenomenon, or merely an observer?

[Amita Bosko]

"Hello."

Amita skidded to a stop, causing a small shower of mud ahead of her. All she could do was stare at the boy. Would he be able to answer her questions?

"You're like me..." She softly whispered. She realized he didn't hear her, and so she tried again. "That was you, wasn't it? Moving the water?" She saw it in her mind, clear as day: the water was hovering above the surface of the lake, then falling, shattering the rainbow and causing a brief splash. How was he able to do that? Or a better question was, how was she able to phase? Were they really alike, or completely different? Amita controlled herself, while he influenced the world around him.

She finally noticed his cape. Did he think he was a hero or something? Amita certainly knew that sometimes she was a heroine, but she would never go to such extremes as an outfit. She wondered if approaching him had really been a good idea.

Tilting her head, she waited for a response.

[Shinji Vulpes]

The boy frowns as the girl whispers something mostly inaudible. Eh? He opens his mouth to speak before being cut across. He smiles as she asks him the question he knew she would. The cape seems to billow in response to the question (he did wear the cape as a 'superhero' outfit, he wore it as a sign of his own importance), and the child raises his hand to face the lake once again. He curls his fingers inward slightly, and this time a larger globule of water forms in the air, this one about the size of a beach ball.

"Do you think I could draw all of the water out of the lake?" He ponders aloud, in a way answering the girl's question. Of course, he wouldn't do so - Shinji knew their was aquatic life in the lake that wouldn't take too kindly to the absence of their chosen habitat, but the question remained - could he? And if he could, then why not a sea? An ocean? And why stop at liquids? Could Shinji move mountains?

He looks to her. Something about her seemed... different. She didn't seem all too surprised at his power. This causes a frown; perhaps he was not the only human being capable of acts of God. Still, he had to be the chosen one - he was the only one with the mix of power and motivation to bring justice to a cruel world. He had pondered for a while, and realised it wouldn't ruin his dream if he was not the only one capable of great things. It was just another means of accessing it.

Yes. He postulated that this girl had either met, or was, another human being capable of great power. Was she as strong as him?

[Amita Bosko]

When he asked the question, Amita paused. She didn't know him well enough to know if he could do it or not, but she had a logical answer.

"If you can move even a small amount of water, I'm sure that with practice and concentration, it would be possible to do anything with that power."

Amita briefly took a moment to imagine all the water in the lake rising up into the air, waves still tossing, and still in the perfect shape of the lake. It would certainly attract a lot of attention.

"I can't imagine you wanting to, though. Not unless you wanted everyone to know your power. I personally don't like using mine unless I have to." She squirmed a little at the thought of people screaming and calling her a freak. Her mother always said it was a gift, but Amita's father left when she was five. Amita guessed why. Nowadays she only used it when she thought people were in trouble. So far Amita had stopped several robberies, a mugging, and a couple kidnappings. She didn't think much of it. She just hated seeing people get hurt, and she could prevent that with her power. She couldn't imagine why anyone would want to use their powers to harm others. Surely some did, but as to their motivation for doing so, Amita was lost.

[Erik Severin]

[style=background-color: 36648B; width: 390px; padding: 1px 1px 1px 1px; border: 1px dashed; color:36648B; font-size: 9px; font-color: black; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 11px; text-transform: uppercase;]"MANIPULATION MADNESSSS."

It was a nice day to go to the park, or so Erik had assumed when he came out today. Then as it turned out, clouds started rolling in just as he got to the park. But that was the kind of luck he tended to have lately. He had just been going about his business as calmly as anyone else, walking around, chewing his gum and observing the scenery. After all, him being new to town? This was his first chance to observe this place thoroughly. He was dressed rather casually in a pair of sunglasses, black t-shirt that happened to show off his varied tattoos down his arms, and a pair of old looking jeans. Nothing too special. Brief gusts of wind hit him now and again as he went through the park, though it was somewhat refreshing considering his only other option was to spend this time pent up in a hotel room. He passed a couple of trees, until he laid his eyes upon a lake somewhere in the distance. Though instead of heading towards it, he remained in the shade of the tree for a moment, resting.

It was at this time that Erik observed something peculiar nearby.. He looked near the lake and there was a kid, at least, he looked like a kid. He then observed nearby and glanced upon a girl as well. Normally, if things were still normal, he'd probably be paying more attention to the female in this scenario. But that was just ir, things weren't all too normal anymore. But someone or something else had caught his attention.. Clearly a person there had an ability as he saw the trick with the water. From what he could perceive from such a distance away, it was the male doing it from his gesture in the direction of the water. "... Hmm." Erik said to himself in a rather curious manner. These were the first other mutants he had seen, so he was somewhat flabbergasted in that regard.

Ah what the hell, was the thought that rain through his mind as he slowly approached through the park. His eyes locked on them both rather curiously. He wasn't sure exactly what to expect, as he didn't know exactly what kind of people these individuals were. Eventually, Erik trekked his way near them and spoke. "You must be a wiz at party tricks with powers like that." He gave a cheesy grin in the direction of both the girl and the male. His statement was not by any means a jab at this boys power, as it seemed quite impressive. It made Erik somewhat jealous because of the power he was born with.. But he put all that ouf of his mind, simply because he was somewhat excited to see another person such as himself. While he knew more existed, he was simply excited at the prospect of actually meeting another. Though he did start to wonder what exactly was up with the female though? Maybe she was in on this whole people with powers thing to? His mind was excited to explore all these possibilities..

TAGGED FOR: ??

[Shinji Vulpes]

Shinji smiles, dark iris' twinkling in the morning sun. "You mean it might attract some attention? I'm not going to keep my strength a secret." He looks to the sky, and offers up a laugh, bordering on a cackle. "With my power, I can change the world. For the better!"

He twists around; another human had approached. How many people were out this early in the morning? He certainly looked fairly casual, but how casual could you be at a time before seven? The ball of water drops once again into the lake - he still couldn't maintain his power without a large amount of concentration... but it was getting easier. If only he could tap into the power that he could when he was angry! Forget changing this world, he could create his own; or so he believed. At the very least, he could manipulate many forms of matter with ease in his frenzied state. Shinji thought it was possible he could eventually get to that state, or better, when he was feeling normal - it would just take a lot of practice and understanding.

The man made some sort of jovial, banterous comment. Wiz at party tricks, eh? Shinji merely smiles, his red cape billowing. "Do either of you need anything in particular? I would quite like to continue practising for another hour or so, before the crowds arrive." He murmurs, his voice pleasant enough, but there was a slight edge in his eye, a dark rumbling. Neither of these two were exactly making their aims' known straight away, and he needed to practice. He could feel that his time was coming soon, and he needed to be ready - he couldn't waste a minute.

[Amita Bosko]

The smell of spearmint tickled Amita’s nose when the newcomer spoke. She raised her eyebrows at him. Party tricks? She wasn’t sure how serious he was. If he really was joking, then he was acting very casually for someone who had just seen what he had. Perhaps he had met someone in the past that had powers, or even better: maybe he had powers himself. Amita had never been in the company of more than one mutant at a time before. This was rather exciting; she hoped he did have powers. He had intricate tattoos that circled around his muscular arms and disappeared beneath a black t-shirt. He looked quite the opposite of Amita, who was wearing a simple blue-knit sweater, jeans, flip-flops, and had her long brown hair up in a braid. An expensive-looking leather satchel hung across her body and sat on her hip.

"Do either of you need anything in particular? I would quite like to continue practicing for another hour or so, before the crowds arrive."

Amita threw cape-boy a look. He seemed particularly snotty and full of himself, a trait that Amita was anything but fond of. She thought it was strange how he had spoken of his powers, almost like they were a divine gift. What a crazy kid, she thought. His powers must have gone to his head. Amita’s power wasn’t as flashy as his, but in her mind, it was more useful and unnoticeable. On the other hand, he acted as though he knew everything there was to know, and Amita had so many questions for him. She ignored the tattooed young man for now. She would deal with him later. He had already seen cape-boy’s power, so she figured it would be alright if she didn’t wait for more privacy before asking him her questions.

“How did you do that? I can do, uh, tricks as well.” Amita glanced at Tattoo to see his reaction to what he said before spewing more. “How many of us are there? Where did we come from?” Amita couldn’t contain herself as questions spilled from her lips. Cape-boy obviously wanted to be left alone, but Amita felt like she deserved some explanation. If she didn’t get answers from him soon, she might never get them. “Is that the only thing you can do? How many others have you met that have powers as well? How long have you had your powers? Have you always had them? What do you use them for? Have you ever used them to save someone’s life before?” Amita was strangely quiet for a nineteen year old, but right now she felt like she was about to burst. She knew she was being rude, but she was desperate. Of all the mutants she had met, none of them had given her satisfactory answers. She felt like the universe was holding out on her on purpose, mocking her and laughing behind her back. She didn’t appreciate it at all. She would get to the bottom of this.

[Erik Severin]

[style=background-color: 36648B; width: 390px; padding: 1px 1px 1px 1px; border: 1px dashed; color:36648B; font-size: 9px; font-color: black; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 11px; text-transform: uppercase;]"MANIPULATION MADNESSSS."

Erik observed these two individuals, one whom had been identified as a fellow mutant via the powers he used. And the other, a female whom he had yet to identify anything special about. Erik observed them closely only for him to hear the boy who had manipulated the water speak, asking if either of them needed anything. And that he would like to continue practicing.. Erik thought to himself that this kid had a bit of an attitude, but hey, so did he so he figured that was of no concern at this moment. But before he could let a single utterance escape him, the girl started to speak. Instead of cutting her off, he listened to her, trying to figure out just what interest she had in all of this. But then he heard something quite excellent, that she was 'capable' of tricks as well. And while he wondered what kind, he continued to listen for any clue as to what her ability might be.

Once this girl had finished speaking, Erik decided to throw in his own two cents. "Sorry for the interruption on my part.. As strange as it sounds, I've got an ability of my own." He didn't care to tell, he was open with it. It was a part of him just as much as anything else, it was something he had been born with. "And coincidentally enough, both of you are the first others I've met with abilities." And there it was, his explanation for why he had came up and helped hinder this guy and his training. He sighed to himself as he stretched, letting out a bit of a yawn. It was far too early for him, it seemed.

Once he had finished yawning, he turned his gaze back to the boy with the strange powers. He was somewhat surprised at just how nonchalantly this guy was using his powers, in the park of all places. "If neither of you mind answering.. I can see you're pretty good with that water thing. But is there more you can do? And what about you miss, what can you do?" Erik was a bit rude himself, though the happy go lucky expression on his face made it apparent he meant no harm by it. He bore no ill will towards either. He simply wanted to learn about these abilities everyone had came up with.

TAGGED FOR: ??

[Shinji Vulpes]

Shinji frowns. "I am the only person so far who can perform special abilities. I had postulated that their might be others. However, that will not stop me from enacting God's will." He chuckles darkly. "I can manipulate all forms of matter," he says, rocking his head to the side. "I've been able to manipulate my powers from around the age of ten, I cannot remember my specific age as I have been wandering the world ever since. I have saved lives with them, as I have ended lives of the cruel."

He begins to walk away from the duo, aiming to go back to the tree to rest. "Would you care to join me?" he asks offhandedly, looking over his shoulder as he walks away.

His mind is whirring; did these two truly have powers?

[Amita Bosko]

Tattoo confirmed Amita's hypothesis as he admitted to having a power himself. She was a little surprised that she was one of the first people he had met with powers. She had met several after graduating, and he didn't look much older than her. Then again, Amita hadn't exactly been keeping it a secret. She was often trying to rescue people by using her power, because she knew that her power was probably the most useful in such situations.

When Tattoo smiled crookedly and asked her the question, she stuck out her hand and promptly said, "I'm Amita Bosko, and I've been able to phase since I was a toddler. What about you?" She figured that if he didn't know what phasing was, then he could always ask. She assumed he didn't.

Before he could reply, the Caped Wonder butt in, and he didn't even answer her questions. He just ranted about "God's will" and how he believed himself to be the only one. Of course there were others! Two were standing right in front of him!

Amita decided she would wait for Tattoo to join Cape-Boy before she did. She wasn't terribly fond of him and his overly large forehead. Apparently he had traveled the world; Amita hadn't even left the state, let alone the country. Tattoo also had a nice smile, and Amita was prone to trust people with nice smiles. She decided then and there that she wouldn't mind getting to know this boy.

[Erik Severin]

[style=background-color: 36648B; width: 390px; padding: 1px 1px 1px 1px; border: 1px dashed; color:36648B; font-size: 9px; font-color: black; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 11px; text-transform: uppercase;]"MANIPULATION MADNESSSS."

More mutants.. That was a first. And it just kept going through his head as he stood there waiting for them to make a move, speak, or otherwise, just what kind of powers would these people have? It was then that this boy, a peculiar boy at that, spoke, not giving Amita the chance to respond for the moment. Erik listened closely to what he had to say, Gods will? That was funny to him, as Erik wasn't the least bit religious. What kind of God would give people powers to potentially hurt one another with? And then the boy asked if they'd care to join him? It was all a bit odd. Erik was still uncertain as to whether these people were friend or foe. And he knew how easily one could cross that line in some circumstances.. None the less, he ignored the boys comment about joining him for a moment and spoke to the girl.

He turned to the girl who identified herself as 'Amita Bosko'.. And she could phase? Which he assumed meant move through solid objects. That alone brought on Erik's curiosity. "Like, phase through objects and stuff?" Erik said as a curious look appeared across his face. Why exactly? Well, because there was a certain similarity with his own power. "Weird coincidence I guess.. I'm intangible. I can walk through anything.. Or technically phase through?" He had yet to master long term use of the power, and seemed to be more comfortable using it in short bursts. But he wouldn't let other mutants be aware of his limitations. It was a weakness, and not a good one..

Erik turned his gaze upon the young man who had been walking away, still trying to figure him out. Nothing seemed to wrong with the girl, but this boy.. Something just seemed off to him. Maybe it was the previous 'God' comment. "I guess I'll be joining him.. Oh, I'm Erik by the way. Erik Severin" Erik introduced himself to the girl as he started walking in the direction of the male mutant. Though he wasn't exactly sure what he was getting himself into by going along with this one. After all, Erik was more than aware that a lot of senseless violence occurs in the name of God. But he avoided making any snap decisions for the moment, and simply went along with the ride.

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