The food had been prepared, the area of the park booked, a small cover band hired and security arranged. The nova known as Rapture stood in the middle of the dozen or so tables, all covered in white cloths, and waited for the guests to arrive. It was a small area, decorated with floral arrangements done by Anne herself and cordoned off with ivy-wound trellises. She hoped everybody would come and behave - this was her first major interaction with other novas.

The door buzzer to her hotel room rang, and Knockout sighed. Always when you were in the shower...

"Coming, I'll be right there." She stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around herself. She took a step and groaned as it fell off. "How the hell do women do this... ah, screw it."

She towelled and dressed in seconds, moving at superhuman speeds, and when she opened the door it was in a bulky sweater and loose jeans. She stared at the room service cart, and at the bellhop. The bellhop stared back, eyes wide.

"Uh, I didn't - order any - "

"It's compliments of - uh - my God. Wow. Uh, compliments of the man in 304. He says he saw you come in."

"Oh. Oh, it's free?"

"Yes."

"Wow, okay, I'll take free then. Thanks." She pulled the cart in with one hand. "Do I still need to tip?"

"No, no, it's quite all right."

"Thanks then. Seeya!" She closed the door and wheeled the spread inside. There was Jello and salad and ribs, and a covered silver platter in the center with a note attached.

She read the note. It said, I'm in 304 wearing the other half.

Then she lifted the cover.



A few minutes later, Danielle was flying towards Central Park, trying not to go too fast.

I hate men. I hate men. Fuck them all, not literally but figuratively fuck them. Jesus Tapdancing Christ. How would that thing even work?

She forced herself calm. Nova parties were a place to leave all that behind for a little bit. Maybe Flicker would be there. Maybe something more would come of that. She felt her toes curl a little.

She spotted Rapture, and landed, waving. "Hi. I'm not too early, am I...?"

He moved through the terminal easily, giving the customs and immigration officers no trouble other than favoring a cute brunette with a wink as she told him to have a pleasant stay in New York. She blushed slightly as she watched the broad-shouldered figure walk away. His tall khaki-clad frame was tanned from a harsh sun, which had also served to highlight his already-blond mane with streaks of platinum. His South African passport had listed his name as 'Einherjar', but the woman was familiar enough with Novaphiles to know the man's true name was Peter Nord. As she turned back to her work, she wondered at the reasons a person would have for changing their legal name.

Duffel bag over one iron-hard shoulder Einherjar exited JFK, smiling slightly at the nova-chasers both professional and hobbyist that always hung around airports as a small arsenal of cameras was aimed his way. With a slight pulse from his node, he soared upwards surrounded by small flares of brilliant blue-white light, taking care to stay below 500 feet this close to the international airport as he angled himself towards Manhattan and Central Park. He didn't push himself too fast: supersonic speeds in built-up areas were to be avoided, as flying glass and imploded eardrums could often offend. Roughly ten minutes later, he spotted the sprawling greenery of the park below him.

He focused, warping his eufiber to a shape an texture less-suited to the veldt and better suited to an afternoon/evening of relaxation. Khaki jacket and pants morphed into a loose linen shirt and slacks, his feet becoming bare. Unfastening the lightweight shirt so that it hung open over his tanned torso, he touched down inside the roped-off area and smiled at the two women that had already arrived.

"Hi." His baritone voice a leonine rumble, he came over to Anne. "You must be Rapture." He shook her hand courteously. "I'm Einherjar. Thanks for the invite. And you..." He turned to the stunning blonde next to her and blinked his sky blue eyes as he took her in. Whoa! "Um... You have to be be Knockout. Please excuse me for staring." A self-deprecating grin crooked at one corner of the nordic god's mouth as he tore his eyes from her with some difficulty, talking to both women as he continued. "I haven't gotten out much recently, so this is a nice opportunity."

Ryusei smiled as he began his second trip to North America. His first jump took him from Japan to Hawaii, then to California, and the final jump to The party's location on the East Coast.

He wore fairly casual grey button-down and a pair of jeans. He appeared a scant fifteen meters from the others. He smiles as he recognizes Danielle from the Chicago party. "Hello everyone I hope I'm not too late for the party." His English is perfect, without a traice of an accent.

He looks to Danielle and smiles. "It's a pleasure to see you again Danielle."

His clear blue eyes stand out as a very uncommon feature for a Japanese male, butt hey don't appear to be related to any form of quantum backlash syndrome. He took in the setup and smiled to Anne.

The man present was unfamiliar to him, and as such he walked up to him and extended his hand. "It is nice to meet you sir, I am Ryusei Hideyoshi."

Tobias took a plane, and then the bus!

He wasn't really one to frequent 'nova-only' type parties, despite his Teragen sympathies and despite his more or less high-profile job as a nova bartender. His powers, being primarily internal and mostly unglamorous, did not garner him a lot of fame outside obsessive novaphile circles, and he played up the imagine of a boring, amiable everyman in a sea of interesting heroic faces.

But most such parties were not hosted by his only sister, so for this event he made an exception.

They hadn't seen each other face-to-face in a rather long while, and when they did they often had difficulty getting along for any extended period of time, so Sampa had decided to do 'cautious and conservative' for this get-together. Black slacks, brown hooded jacket, charcoal-gray shirt barely visible underneath, and nobody at all hanging off his arm.

Sampajanna's eyes scanned the others, taking in the amazingly beautiful blond who he was very thankful he felt no physical attraction to (Knockout?), the more appealing Einherjar, and some kid he was unable to place, though he looked very vaguely familiar. Sampajanna had probably seen him on TV at some point.

And then there was Anne. Tobias nodded to the others as he walked near them, stopping in front of Anne. He raised his eyebrows and smiled in that amiable, vaguely puzzled way he had, and said, "Hey sis. Been a while."

The private message she'd gotten on the forums had indicated a slight change of scenery for the party being thrown by "Rapture": instead of Atlantic City, she'd apparently had an easier time getting things set up in Caitlin's home turf of Central Park. Even so, it wasn't easy to get away. "Gus" and "Ida," the resident polar bears, were expecting a new addition any day now, two of the Tamarins were sick, and "April," the middle of the three sea lions, had chased one of the trainers out of their habitat. So it was that the CPZ's resident nova stood grumbling to herself under the spray of the shower as she rinsed off the accumulated sweat, dirt, and muck (a fairly general term for the substances that couldn't be described politely) earned in a day's work with wild animals and the beasts they kept captive in landscaped enclosures.

Fortunately, it had only taken most of the morning to convince Dr. Ford that she would be just a hop, skip, and a jump from the zoo in case of emergency, and after much hemming and hawing, he'd agreed to let her go with the caveat she absolutely, positively, not turn her cell phone off at any point during the little soiree.

Most of her nervousness at meeting other novas for the first time gurgled quietly down the drain, replaced instead with the excitement of meeting other novas. Not for the first time, she glanced admiringly down at the quantum-honed body that had emerged, subtly altered, after her eruption; no workout regimen in the world could've given her results that quickly, and she took especial delight in wearing the form-fitting eufiber she'd been given to use at work. Today, however, after towelling off and pulling her hair back in an elastic, she opted for something a little more casual.

Dressed in khaki shorts, sneakers, and her favorite "Go Green" t-shirt with a shamrock emblazoned across the chest, the fresh-faced young woman began jogging across one of the few remaining green areas left in NYC. It didn't take long to find the location Anne had described, and at the sight of the white tables, flowers, and tastefully-decorated trellises, Caitlin reluctantly slowed her pace. It looked like a picture out of a high society magazine's tea party issue, and she glanced surreptitiously about for a string quartet.

Okay... So maybe I'm a little underdressed? she wondered apprehensively, making her way around the ivy and crisp white latticework to look for the hostess.

"Oog. Uhm." Knockout stares at Einherjar for a long moment. "Woog."

Oh God, he's hot. Oh God, I'm actually thinking about - arg. No. No, I like girls. Girls are great. But holy hell, if I liked guys I'd be all over his - arg.

"H-hi! Einherjar, right! Hi. Yeah. Knockout. You can call me Danielle - " You can call me anytiNO NO NO "If you want to of course. Yeah. Woah, I'm hungry. Hmm? Oh, Ryu, hi, didn't see you - uh... show up. Hi again. Been a while, huh? Oh, who's she?" She cranes her head to the side at Fianna.

A fiery comet burned through the sky, arcing on a path very similar to Ryusei's. High above the city, it flared with sudden light, as if the sudden stop caused more fire. Out of this bright light, a form fell, rapid but under its own control. It became a young woman, who came to a hovering stop inches above the earth. After a moment, she settled to the ground, smiling.

She was Chinese or Japanese - it was hard to tell exactly. But her smile was soft and sweet, and she was not hard to look at, in the least. She was also probably in high school.

"Hello, I hope I'm not intruding." She did have an accent, but it was simply sexy. "But this is a nova party, hai? I can leave if I am causing offense."

((Has activated First Impression))

When another guest actually drops from the sky Ryusei turns around to regard them. He isn't quite prepared for what he finds as he looks at Saori. He nods once, and offers her a bright smile. "I don't see how you could cause offense."

Considering the natuure of her greeting he bows slightly and greets her in traditional Japanese fashion. "Konichiwa, watakushi-wa Hideyoshi Ryu, desu. Namae-wa?" He maintained the quiet politeness that had always served him best as he introduuced himself and fished for a name from this stunning young newcomer.

Saori's dark eyes widened as she caught the name of the very first person to introduce themselves to her. Hideyoshi - how provential, she thought with wry amusement. She bowed and replied in traditional Japanese, "Hello, my name is Xiao Saori. It is a pleasure to meet you."

She watched him to see if he recognized the name. She also watched to see what reaction he had to her family name. She didn't care what he - or anyone thought - but it was always good to see the bigots coming before they got to you.

Ryusei smiles. The family name was Chinese, and immediately he thought of Kaien. Contrary to the norm, Ryusei wasn't someone who believed in the inherent superiority of the Japanese. Indeed he actually had issues at times with his fellow students because he was friends with a half-chinese guy like Kaien. That Saori was chinese didn't bother him in the least. He'd come to follow Kaien's line of thought. "If they're nova Ryusei, where they were born doesn't matter at all."

"The pleasure is mine Saori. Come on over I think we're all still going through the round of introductions."

He pauses a moment as he catches a glimpse of red hair weaving through the surroundings and smiles when Fianna appears. He waits patiently for the other newcomer to come up and turns back to look at Rapture.

"It's beginning to look like we're going to have a nice little group for your party. That just makes it all the more fun."

He notices the other new nova who'd shown up and called Anne "Sis." This must be her brother Sampajanna. Ryusei smiled and greeted him the same way he greeted Einherjar. "Hello, I am Ryusei, I belive we've talked in the Chatrooms, you're Sampajanna right?"

"I'd love to call you... Danielle." Einherjar grinned wickedly at the young woman, enjoying the evident effect he was having on her composure as much as the effect she was having on his. But politeness required he turn to greet others present.

"Pleasure to meet you, Hideyoshi. Einherjar." The Elite tore his eyes away from Danielle and shook Hideyoshi's hand in a friendly fashion, smiling. As he cast his gaze around the area, he spotted a young redheaded woman slipping past the tables and trellises. Green and red? That's Fianna or I'm Vile Bill.

Then his attention was drawn upwards by a falling star which quickly resolved into a young girl of startling beauty and Oriental features. He eyed her appreciatively as she flirted with Hideyoshi. She knows how to make an entrance. But a tad on the young side for me, I think.

Anne was clearly overwhelmed as the reality of so many novas in one place became clear. Then she visibly squared her shoulders and went about greeting the others in her soft, pleasant voice.

Everything was soft and pleasant about Anne in a nova way: she was small and sweet-faced, dressed in a beige blouse and tan denim skirt, and it was obvious she was using quantum effects as the pale haze around her body seemed a little stronger. When she passed, the atmosphere seemed calmer as tension seeped out of others.

She went to the front of the crowd and said, "Thank you for coming and celebrating with me. May I say it's an honour to meet you all and I hope to get to know you more."

(OOC: Rapture is using First Impression and Soothe in tandem).

Saori took Ryusei's arm, enjoying the bit of discomfort that this would cause him later - assuming that he ever found out. It was interesting, having this secret power over him. It made her wonder about the power of other secrets. Maybe she should stop wiling Gucci handbags and E-T3 phones out of her boyfriends and go for something less material. Saori quietly logged that thought away for later as she touched her red wrap-around shirt to make sure it was still in place.

Saori smiled pleasantly as she was greeted Rapture -pretty, but not too pretty, so I'll be her friend- and Sampajanna -handsome, but not interested in ladies unless they are Thai lady-boys. However, her attention was caught by the blond man and woman talking. "Ryusei," she whispered softly, pressing herself to her half-brother's side so that she could whisper in his ear, "who are those people over there?" The woman was dangerously beautiful - probably not a good potential friend - but the man was handsome and virile, and just about the age she really liked. She very much wanted to meet him.

Any further festivities were halted when the hostess spoke. Saori listened politely, mentally willing her to hurry up already. But before she could get down to meeting the intriguing man, she had another thing to do.

She let go of Ryusei to approach Rapture. "Hello, I am Saori," she said with a pretty smile. "It is nice to meet another nova. I brought you a gift for your celebration." She extended the small, wrapped box with a graceful bow.

He appeared on the grounds as if dressed for a formal function. His face was a little nervous, but he held his head high and immediately began walking toward the hostess. His features had an angelic countance that only a nova could have and his movements were equally fluid and refined. Only a nova.

Tessio approached Ann "Rapture" Joy and he bowed ever so slightly. He held forth a tiny Blackberry-like box and it began speaking.
"I'm Tessio Nerospina. I'm afraid I forgot to reply to your gracious invitation. I didn't discover this oversight in my office until today. May I still attend."

Blackthorn stood there with a one hand behind his back and the calm confidence of seasoned professional. From the presentation of the box, it was clear that he was mute.

Einherjar moved off to one side with a grace surprising in such a large man as he unslung his duffel from it's perch over one shoulder. Faint clinking noises heralded the appearance of numerous bottles as well as a linen-wrapped package tied off with a green silk ribbon.

He arranged the bottles (red wines, ales, and a few Guinness that he set back from the rest) neatly on a nearby table, then slung the empty bag under the table without a care. Approaching Rapture as Saori moved away, the tall blond man smiled politely as he, too, proffered his gift.

"It's not much: an example of true Masai worksmanship. But it's said to bring luck in endeavours." He passed the package to her and moved away, allowing the sweet young woman her room. He gave every evidence of taking great care not to loom or be too imposing, but the overall effect was one of restrained and harnessed power nonetheless.

Not being a novaphile herself, all the flash and glitz that went along with being one of the quantum-blessed still left Caitlin a little starstruck- especially when people were appearing at the party in such flamboyant ways. The rest of the group seemed to be either impossibly good-looking (the majority) or completely but pleasantly ordinary (the minority), and it was difficult for the normally extroverted girl not to hang back and just watch the others mingle.

Still, something in her rebelled at the sight of these well-primped hyper-pretties, and she instantly regretted not stopping by a package store before she came. ...Or the pub, she growled mentally as the pretty little Asian girl detached herself from the pretty little Asian boy to fawn over Anne.

That left only Saori's former companion unattached, and if she had to make a reasonable guess, it was probably the same nova who'd offered her a ride to the party. He was one of the implausibly attractive set, unfortunately, but at least it meant she wouldn't have to interrupt either their hostess or the stunning blonde couple.

Her bright red ponytail bounced around her shoulders as she made the short jog over to the blue-eyed young man, offering him a brilliant smile and a lightly-freckled hand in greeting.

"Hey there. Ya must be Ryusei, righ'?"

Her accent was subtle, but unmistakable, and faintly lyrical; it was almost charming enough to compensate for the bizarre sound of a Japanese name being uttered by the American offspring of two Dubliners.

After exchanging a few slightly tense pleasantries with his sister, Sampajanna let her go to greet the other guests. He stood off to the side, watching them for a few moments. He'd pegged the big guy as Peter Nord, though the names of most of the others escaped them. He idly wondered how many of them he'd already met in the anonymity of the internet.

Sampa had never seen quite this many inhumanly beautiful people in the same place, and he couldn't help but subtly admire them, his face a pleasant, vaguely puzzled mask like it almost always was. But his eyes were drawn back to Nord.

Maybe later.

For now Sampa zeroed in on the redhead (Fianna?) and the Asian kid, whose name was on the tip of his tongue. "Hello." He smiled brightly. "Let me guess. Fianna," he said with a hint of question to his tone, "and..." he thought he had it now, "Ryu?"

Anne smiled, the expression genuine, as she was presented with gifts. "Thank you," she said to Saori, setting the present aside to be unwrapped.

"Oh, thank you, Mr. Nord, the elephant's quite pretty!" she exclaimed.

"It was an open invitation," she assured Tessio.

After meeting and greeting folks, the sweet-facd brunette smiled and gestured to the seats. "Would everyone like to take a seat? I apologise for the ... formality... but this was how I was taught to run a party. I'm sure you lot can turn it casual rather easily."

(OOC: Anne is Appearance 5 (Luminous) with Mega-App 1.)

Having been accepted at the party, Tession steps back and watches the guests and hostess ebb and flow. He spots the somebody who is currently alone and walks over to here. As he approaches he gives her a friendly smile and tries not to oggle her majestic, stuptifying form too much. It's hard, so hard. He types up a quick message and steps up.

A mechanical voice comes out of his little black box,
"Hello Ms. Waters. I'm Tessio. It's a pleasure to see you at the party. I must say I admire your choice of careers."

"Novas like us Saori, and that's the important thing."
She left to greet the hostess and he smiled, knowing that it was important to do so.

When Fianna approaches he smiles back and shakes the offered hand in traditional western style. "Yes that would be me, and you must be Fianna, or do you prefer Caitlin?" Her voice was unique and enchanting in that she didn't speak in the perfect enunciation the rest seemed to.

Before he could say more Sampajanna approached and he nodded. "Yeah, that's what most people call me by." It was a small lie, most people in Japan wouldn't address him so familiarly, but for the party he was fine. As Kaien had told him, "Slavish adherence to the rules of others is a sign one has nothing better to think about."

When Anne calls for them to be seated he smiles and turns to Fianna. "Shall we?" It's abit chauvanist, but he does hold out a seat for her at the table.

"Em... Thanks," she smiled at the azure-eyed nova, wondering idly if the coloration was some side effect of the quantum he channeled, or Caucasian ancestry. "Caitlin's fine, or Fianna. Either's good. Sorry, I've never been to one o' these nova parties before."

She took the offered seat, smiling curiously at the other young man who'd addressed her, one who certainly didn't look at all familiar.

"Pleasure to meet ya both," she tried tentatively, hoping he'd introduce himself so she wouldn't be forced to either guess (and be wrong), or pretend to know him all afternoon.

Ryusei nods and takes the seat just to Fianna's right after seating her and waits for the next cue from their hostess.

Einherjar nodded to Rapture and took a seat across from Ryusei and Fianna. It was a strange mixture of formal and informal, flashy and quiet, this gathering of novas. Other than mealtimes with his fellow trainees at Windhoek, the Elite hadn't really associated with his own kind other than professionally. He found himself examining the others present with a detachment that would have been unlikely for Peter Nord. Those blue eyes were not exactly cold, but there was a coolness about his gaze that belied the easy grin and warm rumble of his voice.

He sat back and waited to see what happened next, a faint smile on his lips as he watched.

Saori, all smiles, sat down across from her half-brother, who had found an older woman. Odd that we are so similar, Saori thought, though hadn't she heard he had a girlfriend in school? She didn't really care; she was busy pretending that she hadn't purposefully sat next to the blond giant. "Hello," she said to him and Fianna both. "I don't think we've met - I'm Saori." As she spoke, she tossed her blue-black hair over her shoulder, knowing it would fall across her back and shoulders attractively.

[OOC: First Impression is still active.]

"Nice to meet you, Saori." He offered her a sun-bronzed hand as he flicked his gaze over the table, including Fianna in his introduction with a smile and a nod before returning his sky-blue eyes to the engaging young girl seated next to him. "Einherjar."

She's cute. Okay, she's hot. But cute too. Yeah. And waaaay too young.

"Saori," Caitlin nodded as she found herself smiling at the enchanting young woman. "Pleasure."

It wasn't really a pleasure to meet her, of course; she couldn't stand pretty, giggly, breathy little girls and their ploys for attention. She hated the mind-games they played with people, the sense of entitlement they felt, and, most of all, how completely useless they were beyond looking nice and smiling vacantly.

The males weren't much better, and the fact that this was a real, bona-fide nova gathering slapped her briskly in the face. Every attendee she looked at was prettier or more engaging than the last, and she wondered how much of that was their quantum gifts. That she continued to smile at the delicate little Asian girl even after her hair-flipping hinted at the latter; she literally couldn't bring herself to dislike the girl, and that should have pissed her off more than anything.

Ryusei might've been a male model, Einherjar could've stepped straight off the set of a Hollywood action blockbuster, the blonde woman he had been speaking with (Is that Knockout? Geez...) looked like an incognito porn star... And the young man at their table she still didn't recognize was the one, single other person she'd seen at this whole party who looked relatively normal in terms of beauty.

She did her best to focus her attention on their hostess, instead, groaning inwardly as Anne's own luminous, quantum-enhanced loveliness and pleasant aura washed over her.

Fuck, but this was a bad idea.

"I'm Tobias, better known as Sampajanna," Sampa continued smoothly. "It's a pleasure to meet you all," he said, nodding to Einherjar and Saori to include them in that statement. Sampja's face was blank and pleasant, and his whole manner seemed somewhat detached from the present, as though he was inclined to join in the festivities for a moment, but found them no more impressive or meaningful than feeding his cat.

"Einherjar?" he added, showing a sudden spark of interest. "You were also known as Peter Nord, if I remember correctly?" Sampa cycled through his ragged assortment of nova-centric gossip and decided that Nord was probably straight, and opted not to make a fool of himself. His face was a study in polite interest.

He snapped shut the palmtop computer and rose from where he had been sitting unnoticed on a bench. It was time.

For the last two weeks he had been working his way towards Manhattan. For two weeks, the young nova with ancient eyes had been preparing for this. And now that the moment was at hand, a delicious frisson of fear and excitement caused him to hesitate as he savored the sensation. He was one misstep from destruction or imprisonment, yet like a moth to a fascinating flame he had come to Central Park, there to meet others.

Other novas. The thought absorbed the eerily beautiful young man as he stepped lightly towards the meeting place. He had been here all day, now and then spying on the one called Anne Joy as she moved about making her preparations. She seemed wholesome, pleasant and nice, and he smiled like a cruel angel as he considered whether that grace would stay with her in the face of his temptation. He would have to be careful, of course. His understanding of his own powers was growing, but the novas coming today would be unknowns to him. It would be best not to treat them as if they were human apes. Still, a certain thrill coursed through his body at the thought of the pleasures and pains he might experience and inflict with one of his own kind.

Dressed in black jeans, sneakers, and a white shirt open at the collar, Tomas moved through the trees surrounding the party area. With not even a thought, he dropped the semblance of normality and 'look the other way' vibe with which he had cloaked himself. An ethereally beautiful, fragile figure, he stepped lightly over the grass towards the table around which the others were taking seats. He kept his eyes low, not wanting to see the looks on their faces until he was nearer. He looked as though he was resolutely afraid, as if even though a loudly-spoken word or a harsh blow was expected any minute, he was still determined to see this through.

He came to a stop a few feet from the table, green eyes of surpassing beauty, yet somehow tired-seeming, gazing up at the assemblage from under softly tousled dark hair. Perfect lips parted, and the apparition spoke.

"Hel- Hello. My name is Tomas." His eyes met those of everyone else present. "I read about the party on the OpNet and I thought..." His voice dropped in volume slightly as his eyes lowered. "I thought I should meet others of my kind. I hope that's okay."

As the newcomers arrived, Knockout sort of drifted off into her own world, snapping back moments after Blackthorn approached her. "Oh! Hi! Hi. Uh, hello. Tessio? Hi, yeah, Danielle. My choice of careers? The civic defender thing? Yeah. I kind of like it so far, but hell, there's a lot of laws to learn about. Oh, I think I need to be seated now - wow, we have a lot of people here." She waves to Tomas as he walks up. Huh, everyone here's so pretty...! I better not lose my head.