paradisa | 01 DNA Strands

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[Anyone unfortunate enough to be in the lobby tonight is in for a bit of a light show. An armored figure seemingly appears out of nowhere surrounded by fiery energy, as he instinctively looses his powers on whatever it was that had caused this sudden shift in equilibrium. The last he knew, Evan had been flying with Miss Braddock, Mr. Deadpool, and Professor Logan on their way back from the Brotherhood's secret stronghold, the body of his "father", Fantomex, in tow. Wherever he was, it wasn't the inside of E.V.A., and considering what he'd experienced at the hands of Mr. Farouk, he wasn't about to take any chances...until he realizes that the Shadow King can't touch him with his powers any more, causing him to panic, growing his hands to several times their normal size to pat out the fire he unintentionally created.]

Ohhhh shoot, what'd I do this time? Stupid powers going out of control when I don't want them to, because of this stupid suit Daken wanted me to wear...

[One of his massive hands brushes over the journal as he struggles to put out the fire in the lobby, which catches his attention.]

Huh? What's this thing?

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[Jane's taking a walk around the castle today! She decided to go through the lobby because, well, why not?

This kind of stuff is why not. She'll be gaping at you from the stairs.]

What in the world is going on?!?

[Evan looks up at the stranger, a look of panic and embarrassment plain on his face, and continues to try to pat out the flames on the carpet and Christmas tree with hands as big as he is.]

I...umm...I wish I knew. One minute I'm flying with my teacher back to school, the next I'm falling through the air. I tried to fly so I wouldn't hit the ground, but...I think I made a mistake. Is there a fire extinguisher somewhere nearby? We need to put this fire out before it spreads.

[As nervous as he is, there's a small amount of confidence to his voice, which otherwise sounds as though it's been run through a vocal modulator, which sounds a little silly with the Kansas accent he's sporting.]

[Oh gosh he's new. Jane sort of feels bad for him, he's not trying to cause trouble or anything.

...A fire extinguisher in an emergency is an alright use of a wish, right? Right. With a couple of whispers one appears in her hands and she hurries down.]

Um, hang on!

[How do you even use this thing??? Grasp this, point that - oh there it goes!]

[With the addition of a fire extinguisher to Evan's efforts, the fire is soon stifled, and Evan shrinks his hands back down to normal size. He looks at the mess he's made a little sheepishly.]

So...uhh...I suppose you can't tell me what's going on, can you? I know this place isn't an illusion, and it...actually kinda reminds me of school in a weird way, but...I get the feeling I'm not in Kansas any more, am I?

[AW NO BUT HE DIDN'T MEAN TO.....]

Gosh, I can try, but it might not be easy to believe.

You're right about one thing though. This is definitely nowhere near Kansas. This is a castle called Paradisa. It likes to bring all sorts of people here.

[He smiles a little at "not be easy to believe". Considering he was a gray-skinned teenager in ostentatious blue armor.]

Heh, you'd be surprised at what I'll believe.

[And he listens. It sounds a bit like the World, the artificial reality he'd been born in.]

So it's kinda like a pocket dimension? I've been in one of those before.

[He rubs the back of his head.]

Anyway, my name's Evan Sabahnur. Thanks for your help, Miss...?

I suppose it could be one of those? I'm not sure what it is exactly, other than very inconvenient and an utter mystery.

[She gives you a smile.] It's nice to meet you, Evan. I'm Jane.

Yeah, sure sounds like it. Isn't there a way to go home? I mean...places like this aren't usually one-way, otherwise whoever made it would be stuck here too.

[He nods, smiling.]

I'm sorry if I startled you before. I'm still learning about my powers, and this suit makes them even stronger, so I'm kinda like a bull in a china shop everywhere I go, you know?

[He taps a finger against the neckguard of the armor, thinking about how he might take it off.]

[She shakes her head.] If there's a way home, no one's found it yet. The castle is...erm, it's alive. It brings people here and sends them back on a whim.

Oh! Gosh, don't worry about it. It's not your fault. What kind of powers are they, though? I've seen a lot of things here, but not anything like that.

[In a weird, way, that makes him smile.] Alive? This place is sounding more and more like home. We have a...student...I guess you'd call him, named Krakoa. He's kind of a...living landmass, part of a bigger one that's a whole island by itself. He lives on the grounds, and does stuff for the teachers and students in exchange for being allowed to stay.

[He holds a hand out for Jane to back away.]

Well, I can do this...

[His whole body grows proportionally until he's something like 7 feet tall, and he waves at Jane from up above.]

I think Professor McCoy called it "molecular cellular rearrangement and manipulation". It means that I can shape my body into just about anything I want, or give myself just about any special power I can think of, as long as I know how it works.

[He shrinks himself down to normal, shivering a bit as his body returns to it's normal dimensions.]

Ugh, I've never tried a full-body growth like that before. Felt kinda tingly. I can also shoot energy out of my eyes or hands, that gets really, really hot. That's how the fire started. I was trying to make myself fly, but I guess my powers thought I wanted fire instead. I'll have to be careful until I can figure out how to take this armor off.

[She listens and watches with growing wonder, and when you finish she just sort of nods like she understood all that.]

Wow. Gosh, that's...that's a lot to take in! You're awfully special, Evan.

Thanks! I mean...I don't even fully understand everything myself yet, but I'm learning more all the time. My friends and I...we're kinda like super-heroes in training.

[And now you've got him blushing, adding a reddish tinge to his gray pallor.]

I try to use my powers to help people, but it's hard sometimes, knowing what the right thing to do is, you know?

Really, now! What's that like?

[Aw, she's only telling the truth.] Mm, I think I do, especially when you don't know what the outcomes might be.

It's a lot of fun, but some of the classes are really tough. There's "Fighting Without Fighting" with Professor Grey, "Coping With Physical Changes" with Professor Starsmore, Ethics with Professor McCoy, Modern Economics with Professor Drake, and Phys. Ed with Professor Proudstar. There are a bunch of other classes, but those are just the ones that spring to mind. It's kinda like...they're teaching us to be heroes, but they're teaching us to be regular people, too.

[He particularly liked his classes with Professor Starsmore, since, with what recently came to light, Chamber was the only "real" family he actually had. At Jane's comment, he nods.]

Yeah. I mean...just before I came here, the guys who'd kidnapped me were trying to make me kill them, so that they wouldn't kill other people. I...I couldn't do it. I tried to stop them, but...I just couldn't bring myself to take a life, even as strong as I am. I'm...still not sure if I did the right thing or not.

[Now he's got a confused look on his face as he thinks about his experience with the Brotherhood. Sabretooth urging him to kill him, to prevent Sabretooth from killing innocent people, and his most recent predicament, putting on Apocalypse's armor so he'd have the strength to save Wolverine from his son. He's had a pretty tough life the last few months.]

[Holy cow. This is a lot to tell someone you just met, and it's a little dizzying for Jane. She's just going to listen and nod quietly as you talk.]

Hm...well, I don't know if I could tell you whether or not you did the right thing for that last bit. It sounds awfully tough.

[Evan is nothing if not trusting of people, particularly of those who don't flee in terror of his odd appearance, considering who most people think of when they see it.]

Yeah, it was. Mr. Deadpool and Professor Logan ended up doing all the killing so we could leave. I know they did the right thing, but...they also lied to me about a lot of things. I'm...still kind of sorting everything out.

[He sighs.]

I'm sorry to be dumping all of this on you after we only just met. I shouldn't be. I'm just...I've got a lot on my mind. Why don't you tell me more about Paradisa, since I'm gonna be here for a while?

Uh-

[Wow, he's sort of an innocent, isn't he? Still, this is a lot of heavy stuff for anyone. She can't blame him for being confused.]

Gosh, it's not your fault. I can try to tell you what I know, but keep in mind that it can be pretty ridiculous.

Thanks, Jane, and don't worry about how ridiculous things might sound. I'm a kid with gray skin who can shapeshift, and I just came from a living spaceship that used to be the external nervous system of my Uncle Cluster. Weird and unbelievable is kind of every day for me. Hit me with your weirdest, and I'll believe you.

[He smiles. For as normal as his "childhood" had been, he had adapted pretty easily to life with X-Force, and at the Jean Grey School. He had his Uncle Cluster to thank for that, preparing him for his destiny.]

[esrhtergef Wow man give her a minute, everything you say just bowls her over even more.]

Um...well...the castle itself is alive, like I said, and it likes to do things to us. It drops us into new places, and sends monsters towards us - oh, and when we first arrive, it takes something from us. That's known as a loss and we can't get it back.

[Just wait until he tells you about his classmates. Aliens and mutants of all shapes and sizes.]

Heh, sounds a lot like home. Maybe being here won't be so bad? I don't like the "loss" thing though. Doesn't seem fair if you ask me, to bring us here against our will, only to take something away from us...

[Now he's thinking about what his could possibly be. Could he have lost his ability to fly, and that's why when he tried to, he set the room on fire instead?]

[She shrugs.] It certainly isn't fair, but what can we do? Unless our losses are all strung up in a secret room somewhere that we just haven't stumbled upon, we've got to make due.

[He nods. Can't really argue with that logic.]

You've got a point, I guess. I could be wrong, but...I think my loss might be my ability to fly. I...I'm not sure how I feel about that.

[Though he was an unskilled flyer, his ability to fly had been one of Evan's favorites. It made him feel like a real Superhero, being able to leap up from the ground with only the wind able to touch him, and had come in handy the time he'd had to catch Angel in midair, when he'd tried to fly to "heaven". Now that he got thinking about it, it felt like a piece of him was missing, having that gone.]

Well you don't know that for sure! You could always try.

I suppose I can. How should I do it? I could grow wings, or I could make my boots become rocket boots. What do you think, Jane?

[To demonstrate, he closes his eyes and concentrates for a few seconds, causing a pair of metallic-feathered wings to grow from his back, and his boots to suddenly become bigger, bulkier, and he raises a foot to reveal the holes underneath for the rocket propulsion.]

I suppose you could do it in whichever way you liked-

[Wow Jane is never going to get used to that. She watches, her mouth hanging open a little.]

Oh wow...

I'll...do it later, I think. It's a little too confining in here to really get any altitude, and I'm not very good at flying anyway, so all I'd probably do is crash before I got anywhere.

[Just as suddenly as they'd come, his wings shrink back into his body, his boots return to their former state.]

If you think that's something, you should meet my friend Angel sometime. He's like...what you'd picture a real angel to look like, but his wings are made of metal. He's a really nice guy.

[Jaw drops a little more.] Can everyone do things like this where you're from?

No, not everyone. Mutants like us are kind of rare I guess. There used to be a lot more, until a mutant with magic powers took a lot of people's powers away. A lot of people died. Some of my friends are some of the first mutants to discover their powers after it happened.

[Not mentioning Apocalypse's attempt to get baseline humans to kill off 90% of their population so that mutants and humans were on even footing. He doesn't like to think about that.]

Hopefully not a nutcracker.

[Hi Evan, the journal is now talking to you. And apparently is female? What do?]

Do you need some help over there?

[That gets an eyebrow raise. He hadn't heard it speak yet, and so with one massive hand, he takes hold of the journal and reels in his arm so he can get a look at it, tracing the words that appear on the page with a finger.]

Uhh...yeah, yeah I do. I kinda...set fire to this...lobby? I didn't mean to, I swear.

[...OK, yeah. Hiding from nutcrackers will have to wait.]

Hang on, I'll be right there.

[He's trying to pat out the flames still, wishing he knew how to turn his arms into fire extinguishers right now.]

Any help you could give would be really appreciated, thanks.

[A pause.]

You...are a real person, right?

[Ahh... newbies. This is going to be fun.]

You bet. Just give me a sec.

[There's a loud POP! of displaced air as a very real person appears near the entrance of the lobby. A rather young, thin teenage girl with bright red hair and an expression that means business. She's carrying a biteless Apple laptop. What for he'll see soon enough.

Dairine makes a quick scan of the room, trying to get a clear idea of the damage. She'll need to keep the fire from spreading. And oh hey, that must be the new guy. She offers him a quick wave.]

Yo.

[Was that Mr. Wagner? No. No blue fur, and his teleports always made a *BAMF!* noise. Evan looks over at the source of the noise, and waves at Dairine with a hand that's roughly 4 feet long, looking unintentionally very much like a supervillain, his red eyes glowing with the concentration he's putting into maintaining his shape.]

Hi there. As you can see, pine needles are stupidly flammable. I swear I didn't mean to. I was trying to break my fall by flying, but my powers are a little unstable right now.

[Probably not the reaction she was hoping for, but Evan's more used to weirdness than most, and doesn't bat an eye at teenagers appearing from seemingly nowhere.]

[Dairine wasn’t hoping for any reaction, though his response is a welcome change from people jumping and telling her not to startle them like that.

Evan’s appearance is certainly… different, but Dairine isn’t going to jump to conclusions. Sure he looks villain-like by Earth's cultural standards, but there are no doubt plenty of worlds where his appearance would be considered normal. Therefore, she’ll hold off judgment until (or rather if) he attacks her. Right now she’s more concerned about the fire.]

So I gathered. Now, let's see what we can do about it... [She flips the laptop open, and it whirs in response. After a moment scanning the screen, Dairine looks back up at Evan.]

If you don't mind, can you... [She motions away from the fire. Please move out of the way so she can fix this mess.]

[Evan looks at Dairine's laptop, then at Dairine, and trusting his instincts, he nods, shrinks his hands back down to normal size, and steps out of the way. In hindsight he should have grabbed a fire extinguisher, but he didn't know if there were any nearby, and he panicked a bit.]

It's all yours, and thank you.

No problem. Now, let's see... [What spells does her have for putting out fires, preferably in enclosed locations... Dairine runs over her options until she finds one that looks promising. Setting the parameters of the spell, she spares Evan a glance.]

You might want to stand back.

[Dairine gives Spot the RUN command. Just like that transparent domes form over the burning areas, keeping them contained. Then, the fire slowly begins to peter out as the spell removes the oxygen from the contained areas, limiting their fuel. Soon enough, all that's left of the fires is the remaining scorch marks.]

That should do it. [Satisfied, Dairine ends the spell run, and the force fields disappear.]

[Not knowing what to expect, Evan does indeed take a step back, slightly embarrassed by the carnage he's caused. When all is said and done, all Evan can think to do is hug the young woman who's helped him out.]

Thank you so much! I wasn't...sure what to do. My powers...aren't really good for much other than destruction. It's something I'm working on.

[Woah, woah!! Personal bubble! Hugs are the last thing Dairine wants during kissing season, which the new arrival obviously knows nothing about, so she waves her arms in front of her frantically.]

No, wait! No need to thank me, it's...!

[Too late. She's already starting to feel the Nutcracker's influence. Might as well brace herself for the inevitable.]

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01 DNA Strands

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Dictated - Placeholder

Dictated!

Late post is laaate

It's all good =3

1/2 :D

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She can make a *BAMF* noise if he’d prefer. ;)

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Terribly sorry, this is so late

It's all good. I've been atrocious about tags lately myself, lol

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She can make a BAMF noise if he’d prefer. ;)