Interlude 1

Though her eyes were watery, Juno didn't cry as she stormed out of Kleisner's room and down the hall to the stairs. Humiliating fragments of the past moments spun in her head. From Michael's constant overprotectiveness, to everyone either ignoring her or trying to get her not to get involved, to what was worst of all; her growing realization that maybe they were right.

What GOOD was she?! She couldn't fly or walk through walls or shoot lasers or do ANYTHING! Why was she even here?!

They were bad thoughts. They cored her out; made her feel empty and hollow. Her anger started to dissolve into self-pity. By the time she was leaving the building with the infirmary, Juno was pretty firmly in its grip.

She got outside before she realized...London's pretty far off. Juno didn't get tired anymore, but Javier...did she really want to leave him? Hector was here though! He wasn't gone most of the day like before. When you came right down to it, no one really -needed- her anymore.

As Juno crossed into the large parking area, she thought about how awesome it would be. She could just go out into London. She had that two-fifty hundred grand to live on, right? Change it to pounds, get a little flat under an assumed name. Get a job, make friends and actually keep them. Go to a real school where there were other people instead of taking lessons from some British goon working for Aeon. A whole new life was out there for the taking.

All she had to do was give up this one.

In a sudden burst of frustrated anger, Juno punched the driver's side window on a car she'd been walking by. She wasn't super-strong, like Michael...but she was stronger than she was used to. The glass broke, admitting her fist while taking a toll of blood as it gashed her hand and wrist.

The fact that it didn't hurt, and that the slashes closed up as fast as they were made, only made Juno madder. She knocked out the rest of the glass, but by that time her arm had already grown a protective covering, and she couldn't get through her own skin again. Finally she unlocked the door and got inside, giving up. She had no idea how to hotwire a car, and if she was honest with herself, she didn't want to go. That was the worst part.

They might not need HER, but she needed THEM. It was like a trap.

She laid down inside the British car...she had no idea what it was called, and that realization made her miss the States and its instantly recognizable brands. She missed American radio too, and American restaurants...now that she had the money to go to them.

After an hour or so, Juno was half-dozing on her back, draped over the two front seats and staring at the sky through the skylight. Something flickered past...something man-shaped, with huge wings made of light. Juno hesitated, but in the end curiosity and a desire to see Michael again...even if he'd only enrage her...get her moving out of the car and back towards the place she'd left earlier.

(OOC - She'll get in a little after Michael and Jay...I'll post it as she comes in.)

Fang was filled with a cold dread as Caryn disappeared. "I need information," she mumbled, pushing her way out of the room. She went to the security room and pounded on the door until they let her in. "I need to see the hospital room footage," she said. "I need to figure out who this light is, and how to stop him or her."

For the next two hours, she went from room to room, seeking information where it could be found, amassing the data that might help them.

(Nathan will assist Wei Fang in searching for clues. He will copy her abilities in order to facilitate this.)

In a much more controlled landing, Michael touches down on the Æon grounds, roughly two hours after he had departed. As gracefully as he can, he allows Jay to drop from his carry and the two walked at a buisiness pace into the compound.

Michael had gotten the story of the events with the other nova, Buzzkill, early in the trip, before the two had stopped trying to shout at each other over the shriek of the wind.

Michaels tone is clipped and formal.

"If something is striking or abducting New People, we need to coordinate, protect each other. What's your opinion of the situation?"

Jay's response is calm, "Your right about that Michael. We've got to take steps to protect ourselves by any means."


Still feeling a bit of blood lust his tone takes becomes more serious. "I don't like the idea of friends turning up missing, or even dead because I failed to act, that's not gonna happen on my watch!"

Michael nods, reassured by the fire in his tone.

"Good to hear. For now, I think we should find Juno, Fang and the others and put our heads together. This way."

He leads Jay to the medical wing, straight to what was recently Kleisner's room.

Nathan- In response to your detailed report, Margaret Mercer's reaction is stunned silence, then:

"Ra? He actually... I- I have to- *click*"

+Wei Fang- The video from the hospital room is mostly unhelpful, but after cleaning up the image and subtract much of the glare, you get a fair picture of the guy. He is large, barechested, and wearing a wrap skirt of some kind. He is wearing eye makeup, and holds a rod of some kind in his left hand. On his chest, faintly, is what appears to be a tattoo of an ankh. In no less than six rooms on this floor, you can detect his quantum residue, passing through, usually...

"Can't say that I missed this place", Jay says to himself as the two make their way inside. There are various people running around in what seems like a controlled panic.

Jay spots Dr. Go as their about to enter Klaus room. "Ah Mr. King, and Mr. Peters we have been awaiting your arrival, please head to the briefing room downstairs, their's been a few umm... developments that you two need to caught up to speed on."

On getting inside the medical building, the place is transformed from when she left it. People are up and awake, the lights on are on full, and there's a feeling of hustle and bustle that reminds her of her visit to the Emergency Room once.

Befuddled and bemused by the human traffic and sense of disarray, Juno makes her way towards what she's pretty sure is the last place she saw everyone.

Nathan stares at his phone somewhat balefully. I wish she would give me a straight answer.

(also, gonna game with this login from now on)

Juno finally arrives in the room Kleisner was in, only to find it well and truly empty. Not sure what else to do, she drifts back into the hall just outside and tries to get someone's attention. A nurse walking by, pushing a cart of weird round metal objects pauses when Juno manages to wave her down.

"Hey, do you know where the people who were here went?" she asks.

The nurse tilts her head and says, "That's the room where they're keeping that Novus who..."

"No, I know," Juno cuts her off. "I mean the people, the other...the other 'new people.'" It occurred to her anew how much she hated that term.

"I'm sorry," the nurse said, shaking her head. "I just started my shift..."

Juno rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, right. Sorry."

"I think I saw 'em," an orderly pipes up from across the hall. "They went over to the elevator there. Said something about a briefing room?" The orderly grinned. "Vince, the guy I relieved...he said something about that crazy novus disappeared overnight."

"Tell Vince he talks too much," Juno says with a nod. "Thanks for the tip."

She turns and runs off to the elevator, then heads for the briefing room. She's the last one in, but makes it there before whatever the presentation is starts...though she stays against the back wall rather than tromping down into the seats.

Jay nods at Dr. Go's words and sees that Michael has done the same. Turning to to Dr. Go he asks, "Where did you last see Fang?"

Go replies rather annoyed by the question, "I believe she went to the security room, though you may just want to wait for her in the briefing room." he says before heading off himself.

"Well Michael, let's head down there, I don't want to keep Fang and the others waiting."

Fang was in the briefing room. She looked tired - like everyone else, she had been up for several hours and put through a stressful, tiring situation. She was bent over a laptop, working at something on the screen. So intent was she on what she was figuring that she failed to notice Katalyst or Michael enter the room.

Jay saw Fang huddled over a computer and realized she didn't see him and Michael come in.

Ha, this should be fun. Holding a finger to his lips telling Michael to be quite, Jay sneaks over behind Fang and in a loud voice goes "BOO!"

Fang was working on the upcoming presentation, pulling her notes together. She wanted to have it all in order when the time came to tell the others the facts. She also needed something to do with herself until Jay arrived.

The thought of the American who was so nice to her made a blush cross her cheeks. Jay was not the kind of man she'd ever consider dating seriously, yet she found she liked him.

She realized that she was daydreaming. With effort, she pulled her head back to the task at hand. This 'Ra' character was very dangerous, in a way that Klaus hadn't been. The thought of that poor New Person in the hands of someone deluded into this Egyptian motif made Fang sad. Just thinking about what might be happening to Klaus caused her shoulders to tighten with nerves-

Someone shouted, sudden and right behind her. For a second, Fang knew she was under attack. Reflexsively, she jerked away from the voice, but instead of moving around the room, she moved the room.

In the briefing room, Fang disappeared with a soft pop and the smell of cherry blossoms.

"What the...??" King is startled by Fang's disappearance. He had tried to be funny but now Fang was gone now to. "What the hell was I thinking shit! I knew I shouldn't have tried to play a joke on her." Scratching his head he tries not to look embarrassed as the folks around suddenly start yelling at him.

King is suddenly on the defensive. "Hey now folks I didn't do anything, I swear. I was just trying to scare her a little not make her disappear."

[Wei Fang's story will continue in the 'Throne Room' thread...]

Juno enters the briefing room at that moment and watches from the wall near the doorway, wondering to herself what's going on. After a second, she shrugs and goes in to say hi to Jay.

"Hey, welcome back soldier," she says to him, coming up behind him in unconscious emulation of what he'd just done to Fang.

"Couldn't stay away, huh?"

Now it's King's turned to be startled. "Oh Juno, hey there. Yeah I came back to see if I could lend a helping hand. Did you see what just happened?"

"This is the second time today I've had someone disappear on me" the frustration in Jay's voice in very evident.

"No, I just heard you yelling something," Juno replies with a raised eyebrow. "I just came in. What happened?"

She frowns then, a puzzled look on her face as she sniffs the air.

"Do you smell flowers?"

"Flowers, umm now that you mention it I do, that's weird."

King's voice is calmer as he goes on, "Well Fang was just here and I was trying to be cute, so sneaked up on her to scare her a bit and boof! she's gone."

"The flower smell must be an after effect of her disappearance."

Juno squinches up her face, a little annoyed that everything about Miss Neat Little Perfect Asian Chick smelled so peachy keen. Even when she disintegrated, it left a fresh floral scent. She probably pissed Pine-Sol too.

Experimentally she waves her hand in the empty seat in front of Jay, then shrugs.

"If she can leave, she can get back. What's the worry?"

King had to admit that the kid was right. "Hm I suppose that she may have left on her own, so I guess I shouldn't worry."

"So what's the big deal with this Klaus guy? I didn't get the whole story from Fang, maybe you can fill me in on that?"

Michael settled down heavily into a chair. He was tired and cranky. It had been a long rough day filled with ups and downs... and, he reflected upon examining the wall clock, it wasn't even close to over yet.

Resting his head in his palms, he watched Fangs dissapearance with little interest.

People are appearing, dissapearing... it's all so surreal.

He looks up when he hears Juno's voice.

"Hey Juno."

He pulls out the seat next to him.

"Sorry about flying off like that, I need to prioritize better."

He tries to smile at her, but it looks a little wilted at this point.

"He was someone like us," Juno answers. "He went batshit in a hospital...started saying he was Death and killing people. The cops couldn't stop him, so they walled him up in a room and called for help. We got up in the middle of the night, flew out there in a copter, and Fang knocked him out just like that."

She claps her hands together to illustrate how Fang knocked him out.

"Then we took him back, oh, and the British cops sent a guy back with us to make sure we didn't torture him or anything."

She looks around the briefing room for the liaison officer and shrugs. On seeing Michael accost her, she smiles sunnily at him and waves.

"Hey."

Then Juno remembers Jay. "Uh...where was I? The...right. So we brought him back, and then some weird glowing guy went through the walls and took him away, and everyone freaked out and...here you are."

"Wow Fang did that! I didn't think she had any real powers, but now come to find out she's got a real useful power."

"This Death stuff though...I get the feeling that it's somewhat related to the stuff that I just went thru. When this other guy I had met earlier disappeared there was a voice I heard say "Pestlince" kinda of reminds me of this passage in the bible."

It's Revelations 6:8 "And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

"Kinda of creepy ain't it."

Juno stares at Jay.

"You can quote that from memory? What, are you some kind of Bible nut? Church camp going, rattlesnake handling...guy?"

Her tone is light and teasing though, and she's got a smirky half-smile as she says it.

Jay laughs at Juno's little comment. "Hell no I'm no Holy roller at all. The only reason I know that verse cause it was in one of my favorite X-men comic books. Apocalypse and his 4 horsemen Death, Pestilence, War and Famine. See the connection?"

As if speaking his name summoned him, Officer Sheffield, stuck his head in the door. "Well, I'm going to be off. I reported in to the Lieutenant, and he agreed there wasn't any point in my staying." He frowned then contintued, "Understand that there is still and open investigation and that Kliesner fellow is still facing a trial. We expect that if you lot find him that you will notify the local constables so they can resume the watch on 'im." Sheffield wandered off down the hall muttering under his breath about suspects disappearing into thin air.

"Yeah, I get it. Everyone knows the four horsemen thing," Juno chides him. "So what, you think this guy's trying to get four Novus together to destroy the world?"

She shakes her head and folds her arms. "Fang wiped this guy out just by squinting at him. If that's supposed to be 'death,' I don't think we've got anything to worry about."

King shrugs "Well I don't know if he's trying to destroy the world, and I don't intend to let that happen if that is his plan. Isn't that the reason Aeon has gotten us together, to prevent something like that from happening?"

"As for Fang, if she has that kinda of power then that will surely help our cause right?"

"I guess," Juno replies noncommittally. "I've been pretty much out of the loop though, you know? Like, until I got a call last night, I had no idea I was on call. No one ever explained I might get thrown in to take down a guy who kills people by touching them."

"Don't get me wrong...it went fine...and God only knows if his touch thing would even work on me. Nothing else does. But my POINT is that I've got the feeling that Aeon is kind of still trying to figure things out. Which is bad, because this Ra guy seems like HE knows exactly what he wants, and how to get it. So he's ahead of the game."

Jay frowns, man this kid is a quick one, I'll give her that. "Yeah I kinda get that same feeling, but we've got to a least give Aeon a chance, maybe they'll get things figured out."

Turning to Fang's notes, "Let's see what Fang was working on, maybe she found something that will help us out."

Michael sat there, listening, becoming interested despite himself. He stands and moves over to Juno and Jay, looking at Fangs laptop over their shoulders.

As Michael and Juno look over the computer a sudden burst of brilliance comes over Jay. Slapping his head, "D'oh, why don't I just see if her phone is still working!"

Picking up the phone he dials in Fang's number once again, and listens as the phone begins to ring.

By the forth ring King is starting to get impatience. "Come on pick Fang!"

[from Throne Room]

Fang popped back into the briefing room, shivering, crying with relief, and the phone in her hand still ringing. "He changed Caryn," she whispered and broke into hysterical tears.

"Holy shit, that really worked!" Juno exclaims on seeing Fang appear. She grins and slaps Jay on the shoulder.

Her grin fades almost at once though when she registers Fang's emotional state and words.

"He...hey..." Juno looks at Jay helplessly, not sure what to do.

This damm disappearing reappearing shit has got to stop! I'm gonna have a heart attack, wait can that even still happen?

Shaking his head "Fang thank god your alright!" the sound of relief in his voice at Fang's arrival is evident, but then is quickly shattered at the news of what she had just seen.

Putting and arm around Fang in comfort, Jay smiles and says in a calm voice "Hey it's going to be alright now Fang, your here now, safe and sound and I'll not be letting you out of my sight again. Ok?"

Fang smiled a little; she was nervous about Jay showing so much affection to her in public, but she was shaken enough to tolerate the display. With a shaking voice, she told them what she knew of Ra, what she had seen and what he'd done to Caryn. She tried not to, but she was crying by the time she finished describing, in detail, what had been happening to their comrade. "He's building an army of us, and we have to find out how to stop him," she finished, sniffing.

Looking at frightend Fang, Jay came to realize that his feelings for Fang were stronger now than they had ever been. Even with all the craziness that had been going in the world last few weeks, she had been steady, and calm. Now to see her shed tears made Jay's heart skip a beat.

Wiping away the tears Jay whispers in her ear "Ah don't cry, we'll work something out okay? I told you before that if you needed someone to be their for you I would be that someone."