Peers & Pressures [Complete]

[Malachite]

Deezy rolled her eyes and theatrically wobbled backwards.

 

"Oh gee, guys, if only we had some paper and pens, like clipboards or something..."

 

Her foot kicked a clipboard as if by mistake, and she looked down.

 

"Hey, that's convenient. Everyone grab a thing and fill out what foods you like. I'm gonna guess they won't give us a KITCHEN, so if you like it prepped a certain way, write that too. You prima donas."

 

She herself wrote, 'donuts, M&Ms BUT ONLY BLUE ONES, pizza; any kind. Caffiene.'

 

As Deezy wrote, she called up to the speakers, "Still rocking HAZMAT around us? When are you going to have people actually start doing examinations and samples and air analysis and all that? C'mon, lets get with the SCIENCE!"

[Malachite]

Shaking her head at the unutterable weirdness of it all, Renata stooped to pick up a clipboard and started jotting a few things down...keeping her list simple and safe.

 

It was also kind of funny seeing how suddenly people were trying to keep their distance from Karrie. Nothing about her had changed, but they were suddenly treating her like she had a disease. Ugh.

 

Catching Karrie's eye, Renata sidled closer as she finished writing out her food order.

 

"If you ask me, it's good someone can do that," she said. "You know, shut off powers. If I could have done that, it would have made the whole zombie thing a lot easier. Maybe could have saved more of those people."

[Malachite]

Emily sat down on the floor and watched as other started making list. "We aren't contagious and they know that. If whatever this was that caused this were a biological agent it would have affected many many more. I think they are just stalling trying to figure out what to do with us."

  On 10/6/2019 at 6:54 PM, Renata Hodges said:

"If you ask me, it's good someone can do that," she said. "You know, shut off powers. If I could have done that, it would have made the whole zombie thing a lot easier. Maybe could have saved more of those people."

"I agree."

[Malachite]

The chance to not be eating MRE's was enough to make Ryan stop eating and take up a clipboard, pen and paper and get to writing.  He made an orderly list, asking for Cokes, donuts (glazed, unfilled) and since they couldn't really get restraunt food, he asked for Some Milk, Scrambled eggs and bacon in fairly large amounts, and white bread and peanutbutter for a snack food, along with plastic cutlery.  He didn't need it, but comfort food would put him in a better mood.

Watching Renata and Emily comfort Karrie, he smiled.  He looked up at the Camera.  "Seriously, You guys realize I can help facilitate us getting what we want, without ever having to leave right?  If you're going to keep us here, let us work with you for however long this is going to take.  I don't need to be the one using my gates.  If we were as hazardous and contagious as you seem to think you'd have everyone we interacted with locked down like us."

 

He looked at Karrie, and nodded once.  "I'll third that opinion, though there are some warnings about such abilities, hell, all superhuman abilities,  firmly in-place in nerd culture."   His smile was friendly.  He didn't know how old everyone was, but most seemed to be younger, much moreso than him.   

[Malachite]

Donald quickly took the opportunity to begin making his list: burgers, hot dogs, spaghetti and meatballs. Plenty of protein and carbohydrates that he was going to burn off. Hopefully they'd get some space so he could do some laps or other exercise. And he heard Emily's comment. "Well, it did affect others and they lost their minds. But if we were gonna go crazy, we'd have done so by now just being in this place."

 

"They can't hold us for too long though." Donald went on. "There's a thing called habeas corpus and my family's probably going to have their lawyers on the feds' necks if this drags on."

[Malachite]

The speaker came to life again. "That's a good point, Major Hawke," the woman said and you could hear the grin in her voice. "I'll talk to the base commander about it. Also..." there was a slight pause and the sound of paper moving, "uh, Mr. Wallace, you're not under arrest. You're in quarantine, completely different set of rules. I don't know how long you guys are going to be here. The CDC people are doing their thing, but it's up to them first when you get let out of quarantine. Name's Wendy, if that helps, and I'll be doing a lot of the day-time observations. A little weird, I know, but if you need something or want to ask if you can have something, just let me know. I may not be able to get it, but I'll do my best. Leave your lists by the air-lock when you're all done and I'll have instructions for whomever brings breakfast to pick them up."

[Malachite]

Karrie smiled at the subtle support. She’d seen a couple of people take a second look at her, and she had been prepared to be a pariah. It was good that some people here could look past the immediate sense of “not my powers” to see their use. 

 

“I think I’d be perfectly happy if I never had to stop someone from using their powers ever again,” she said. “If I need to intercept someone’s use of powers, I probably means someone is getting hurt.”

 

“Wow, do you have a list of the safest responses you can give?” The blond in the corner dropped her magazine with a flick of her perfect wrist. Bored blue eyes stared at Karrie as she rose and claimed her own MRE, tucking it under her arm in a clear claim of holding it for later. “Live a little. We’re so much more, so much better than we used to be. Sound more interesting.”

 

Mean Girl. Karrie couldn’t stop the label, mostly because the woman looked like she could have filled that role on any soap opera. Meeting the other woman’s eyes, she shrugged. “I like how I am, thanks,” she said, not bothering to argue the benefits of not being noticed. 

 

Turning back to the group, she wrote chips and salsa, hummus and veggies, anything chocolate on the clipboards going around them.

[Malachite]

"Not all of us," Renata retorted to the 'mean girl.' "At least one of us was turning college kids into extras on The Walking Dead. Definitely not better than he used to be."

 

"And that's just that one guy, you know? What happens when Iran has people who can do sh...stuff like that?" she went on. "Or Russia? Or whatever? We're all going to be really happy we have people who can shut that down."

[Malachite]

"When?" Donald asked, suddenly thoughtful. "That assumes the Storm isn't going to be a one time event. Or at least, people are going to pop up with powers in a month, a year from now." He remembered the ominous comment the woman leading the soldiers had made: he and Renata were the only ones encountered who hadn't lost their minds. "And if so, are they gonna be like us or like him?"

 

And even if they had their heads on straight, Donald didn't like the idea of people like that working for Iran or Russia anyway. Now, he found himself a little less bothered about the quarantine. If the doctors found an answer that would help keep others from going psycho or stop them, that sounded well and good. If not... "Personally, what I've got is awesome and I wouldn't give it up."

 

The only issue with living a little, they were in quarantine. And Donald had the sense some lucky bastard in another country was having a much better time than they were.

[Malachite]

"Nope, she's right," Deezy replied to Evo's observation. "If the USA and Britain are rounding up their Stormies, you can bet more repressive states are doing it too, only more and worse. Assuming it's a straight up numbers game about who changed, we can assume China's got most of the world's Stormies, for better or for worse. If they can get a grip on them, break them train them organize them, etcetera blah blah blah...bam. The People's Army of Supermen."

 

She dropped her clipboard off by the door.

 

"I would hate to be in Taiwan or Hong Kong right now. Just saying. Which sucks, because I would honestly love to be visiting either of those places."

[Malachite]

"None of that's wrong, I'm sure."  Ryan added.   With any real luck, however the more repressive regimes didn't get that.  Perhaps it's years of service and all, but I trust our government a hell of alot more than I trust China, Russia, or anywhere in the middle east.  And I say that given our current conditions.   They could be much worse."

He smiled  "I mean hey, they are at least trying to do better on the food."   He looked to Deezy and gave her a smile.  "I don't know if they're gonna permit international travel for anyone like us for a good while.   It sucks, but I can see us all being added to watch and no-fly lists, at least with regards to international travel.   No country is going to want to let go of any of its citizens that have gained these powers, or risk them traveling and disappearing on said travels."

[Malachite]

"And use us." Emily had not liked the reality check the conversation was giving her. "They will try to control us and use us that what they always do, isn't it. And here we are just sitting in their quarantine zone which could easily become a prison or worse. while they figure out how to control us."

 

Emily hugged herself, she had been a victim and had just gotten a measure of freedom and now here she was right back where she started.

 

"There is nothing wrong with us and this quarantine is bull shit. we save a ship load of people, hell we saved the ship. Do you see any of them in here they didn't catch anything from us because we aren't contagious. 

 

"Ryan you can get us out of here."

[Malachite]

"Emily, calm down.  Of course, I can.  I know how things can go, but I'm willing to wait, and see how they're going to play this.  They know We don't have to stay, but at the same time, running from them across the country isn't viable, even for me.  Eventually someone will catch us, only they won't put us in accommodations like these, but an actual prison, and they won't be asking for cooperation, but demanding it."

He knew they were watching and listening.  "I don't like being cooped up like this, I wager no one here does.  Now, they're aware of our discomfort, and can probably feeling the heat from outside too, It's hard to keep incidents like the Storm quiet, and there's tons of witnesses  They probably want to know where we are.   That means sooner rather than later, the powers that be will need to make a statement, and release us."

"They know we're not stupid, and that we've played along for now.   Situations like this are give and take."   It was obvious he wasn't speaking purely for her benefit.  

[Malachite]

"And so far, we're the only ones doing the giving."

 

She stands up and looks at the walls and ceilings, looking for the cameras. then stalks over to the food box and grabs another MRE.

[Malachite]

Over the speaker, Wendy's voice came again just as Emily reached the hallway down to the rooms. "The quarantine is for two reasons, Ms. Thompson. The first is that those of you here represent a very very very small number of people that have been altered by the Storm and didn't start attacking others or wreaking havoc on the landscape. We want to make sure you're going to be okay, psychologically. You all do have superhuman powers. Second to that-"

There was a sound in the background, a deeper voice, interrupted her with murmuring. The speaker clicked off, but the Latino boy squinted at the speaker and it flickered back to life. Wendy's response to the intruder carried over the microphone, "Withholding medical information from them is not a good idea, Colonel. Not if you want them to trust you or stay put here when most of them certainly could leave." The male voice said something again and Wendy's voice carried over again. "Well, this is quarantine, not prison. The CDC has jurisdiction, not the military. I don't work for you. Bring it up with the Congressmen you've been complaining about. These people haven't been charged with a crime and Thompson is right, most of them are heroes. They're confused and getting angry. Understanding the situation will help them calm down and not fight their way out."

They could hear the door slam and then the click of a button as Wendy though she was turning the speaker back on. "Sorry about that, everyone. As I was saying, the other reason quarantine is not 'bullshit' is because you're all still some sort of radioactive. You don't seem to be getting sick, but we need to make sure you aren't going to make others sick. So, please bear with us. I promise I will keep you updated with whatever the CDC doctors discover as I get reports from them. For now, perhaps try to get to know each other? You all belong to a rather unique and small club. Even after you leave here, I think it'd be good to keep in contact with others that can empathize with what you've been through and how your lives have changed."

[Malachite]

Emily puts her hands on her hips and gives Ryan her best 'I told you so' look.

[Malachite]

"Everyone relax," Deezy sighed. "We're obviously not radioactive in the normal sense of the term." She scowled at the speaker. "That was careless ''for laypeople' talk."

 

"Now...it IS interesting if we're radiating some kind of particle. Hey, speaker-lady! What kind of radiation? Is it localized to a particular part of the body? I'm gonna guess the BRAINZ, or maybe wherever mutations are...case by case basis...huh."

 

Then her eyes swiveled to give a sidelong look at Renata, who had gone rather still and quiet in the wake of the overheard conversation.

 

"Old man giving them trouble, you think?" Deezy asked with a little grin

 

Renata shot Deezy a glare and flipped her off.

 

Deezy giggled and shook her head, waving her hands in mock surrender.

[Malachite]

The sound of paper flipping came over the speaker. "They're not entirely sure where it's coming from. They want to take some more samples and have apparently ordered an MRI to be flown in, along with a list of a lot of other medical equipment. As for the radiation, it's the same that came with the Storm. Everyone's got some of it now, but you all have just more." She made a small sound as a thought occurred to her. "Some of you talked about having better sense or just different new ones. Can any of you sense things about each other? Or different from the soldiers at the doors? More information gets the science done faster and the quarantine lifted sooner."

Several notes to some random song sang out over the speaker and Wendy sighed. "I've got to step out for a minute, everyone. If you all think of anything else, please let me know when I get back." The speaker clicked off and this time the Latino man didn't squint it back into life. He was standing with his arms crossed, a pensive and distracted look on his face.

[Malachite]

The sound of paper flipping came over the speaker. "They're not entirely sure where it's coming from. They want to take some more samples and have apparently ordered an MRI to be flown in, along with a list of a lot of other medical equipment. As for the radiation, it's the same that came with the Storm. Everyone's got some of it now, but you all have just more." She made a small sound as a thought occurred to her. "Some of you talked about having better sense or just different new ones. Can any of you sense things about each other? Or different from the soldiers at the doors? More information gets the science done faster and the quarantine lifted sooner."

Several notes to some random song sang out over the speaker and Wendy sighed. "I've got to step out for a minute, everyone. If you all think of anything else, please let me know when I get back." The speaker clicked off and this time the Latino man didn't squint it back into life. He was standing with his arms crossed, a pensive and distracted look on his face.

[Malachite]

"The HAZMAT suits the doctors have been wearing do have badges built into them, Mr. Stone." Wendy said. "It's how the differing level of radiation was detected initially, according to the report. I can ask for more information in it, if you would like. I have what's effectively a synopsis of what they've discovered or theorize right now. It's only been two days since the Storm - everyone's scrambling to try to figure this all out. If you'd like to write a letter to your folks, Ms. Klatta has made clipboards and pen and papers. I can get a letter taken out tomorrow morning when the shipments come in."

[Malachite]

"Ma'am, with all due respect, when I'm ready for home, I'll go there myself, not send a letter."  He said calmly.  "My courtesy to you and this place is currently as enduring as my patience.  So, you might wanna work a little faster."

[Malachite]

Deezy poked at the inside of her mouth with her tongue, then said, "You know, I could probably speed things up for everyone if you brought me on board," she suggested.

 

"Just need some equipment, access to whatever data you've already gathered. That, plus a little Klatta know-how and we'll be able to give everyone a clean bill of health in no time!"

 

"...and probably save some costs on patching up angry person-sized holes in the walls at the end of the day."

[Malachite]

"What are you suggesting, Ms. Klatta? Making equipment inside the quarantine? Do you have any medical training?" Wendy sounded intrigued by the idea and maybe a little relieved at a suggestion that might prevent people from fleeing the base. "I'll have to run things by by Dr. Ballard, but anything that gives the CDC more data - well, I can't imaging that being seen as anything other than good."

Deliah, Emily's roommate in quarantine, piped up with, "I'm not a doctor, but I know my way around most medical equipment. I'm all for whatever will get us out of here faster." She gave Bastion a glance that said yeah, I don't believe her either. "I've got kids to get home to."

[Malachite]

Ryan nodded.  "Any help I can be in transporting equipment here, I'll gladly give.   No one wants to extend this quarantine, and if you'll trust us as much as you want us to trust you, then we can all be out of here faster, and get on with our lives."  The Former Air Force pilot nodded.   He understood how the others felt, the desire to leave, but he knew the government would only let them go when they were certain they weren't an immediate danger to those around them.   He also understood, that no matter what, from now on that they'd be watched and scrutinized quite closely, because of their new abilities.

[Malachite]

"Do you have the doc on speed dial?" Donald asked Wendy. "You probably should." Honestly, it wasn't like he had any way to know for sure if the CDC was spewing nonsense or just jargon nobody save perhaps Deezy here understood. Donald felt he could afford to be patient about it, at least for a little bit longer. What mattered was that others weren't so patient, and everyone here knew there was no way to stop them.

 

"Actually, maybe you can lend a copy of that report to Deezy now?" Donald suggested. If Deezy read it and agreed there was something legit, well, that might help tempers a little. If not, or they refused. "Might help speed things up even more since you're waiting for the equipment anyway." His tone suggested great care should be taken before saying no.