My Super Secret Life…Potentials-10 The Start.

*Vanir/Vana…………

I’m still holding hands with Cody as he’s devouring the weird bacon and granola bar that this Sam girl gave him. I’m…I’m not sure how to think or react really since he’s nice and he’s sort of cute in a way that is so freaking me out and she’s friendly to him and he’s friendly back like they already sort of know each other and…

And dammit if she ain’t one of them pretty ones.

Oh I’m not homely I know that and when I do that whole defensive healer me I actually sort of get more good looking and an my boobs grow and I’d hafta say that I’m really pretty then kinda like those cheerleader girls back home but this Same she’s already looking like one of those teen fitness models or one of the super over achieving models that y’see now a days with the job doing stuff like surfin or snowboardin she’s really hot and athletic.

And she had these really odd looking eyes that are this mixture of silver and blue and these soft kissable lips.

What?

What, what no…I’m not lesbian! I ain’t gay…but feeling her against me would be…Oh…oh damn I’m feeling my muscles itching like I wanna go all into my offensive side and that’s where I lose curves and I bulk up and get all like freaky muscled and stuff.

Me sort of being a guy kinda….what it it’s butch-guy-whatever enough to make me gay!?

An then she’s intraducin us to that fella that Daystar was talking about this Avery…it’s a cute name too sort of one of those rich boy names but on him it fits.

He’s got this longish blue hair and this killer smile and these ears with the slight points to it but he’s…oh holy molley he’s good looking.

Sam calls shotgun and I get in the back seats with the others helping Cody in and we lift off in the air-van. Now I’ve been in flyin stuff before mind you just the shuttles and the space ship I came in with but this is a everyday sized mini-van but it’s New Haven and it can frigging fly.

Now we’re only on Sanctuary island but at the same time it is a town sort of or it’s going to be after everything and I really can’t help but to rubberneck and there’s part of me that’s all enchanted and such.

I love this.

Then we’re headed to The Ark.

Even on the TV y’never get this close to it not like this and he circles us twice and it’s huge. I’ve never seen anything like it and it’s just amazing.

We land actually down underground in a huge parking garage and the doors open and we all start getting out and I’m nervous. I mean well its one thing being the way that I am but I’m still from The Federation and this here’s the center of all evil on New Haven and its mutie central.

Ah know; ah know mutie’s not a good word. I guess all of this is bringing the Fed out in me being all kinds of nervous.

Cody takes my hand and he’s looking at me. “Hey, it’s okay it’s not as bad as it seems these are the good guys remember.”

“Not home they ain’t.”

That get’s me a nasty look from Drew.

Cody turns and blocks him with his back and says. “Sam you want to show us where to go?”

*Cody…………

Dammit I’m sore and I’m hungry and I’m a animal based mutant so I get growly when I’m both. Sam’s energy bar barely took the edge of and I’m feeling my healing factor gnawing away at my reserves.

I’d be a lot more of a bastard if I didn’t learn while I was running for my life out in the world to pull in my temper.

Drew’s being a dick, or a bitch whichever the case might be since they’re sort of in-between things.

Vana’s actually helping me more than she knows with her being freaked out it’s giving me someone else’s problems to focus on.

Dad’s working for the AA’s now so it’s been a few times that I’ve been in here. While the school’s being built a lot of the faculty offices are in here. I’m sort of not as impressed with stuff here as the others just because some of this stuff’s pretty showy.

Sam’s dad Ryan might be a super genius but he’s also kind of a showboat even if he’s a nice guy.

I follow Sam to the staff elevators with the elf-boy Avery. He’s one of those fae-kind mutations and he might even be a mage.

I’m not sure about magic since there’s a bjillion theories on it and the most common is…it’s majik and the second is that it’s quantum manipulation but like in the way the psionic types can do with astral stuff and all that.

The fae-kind mutants are an actual group, a subset of mutant kind with a large group of them claiming they’re not metagenic humans but they are the returned fae to the world now that mankind has spread out to the stars.

Personally to me they’re using it as an excuse to form their own society but hell what do I know.

He’s fae and he’s pretty and he can pass as long as people don’t freak over the ears. I’m not a fan since the few times I’ve met with fae-kind they’re kind of elitist snobs most of the time or they use being fae as an excuse to just act like a bunch of weirdo’s.

Actually I’ve never been much of a joiner, having been asked a few times especially by several of the feline groups. Well gangs is more to the point really.

We get to the place were we should be and it looks like any usual police bull pen where they detectives are at only there’s Halo agents here.

Halo is a sort of joint task force between the police and federal marshals and the Homeworld security agency and the AA’s. They police the powered and what they call MG’s which is short for metagenics. They’re also responsible for our safety too since there is a very anti-mutant anti non-human hate front that has the normals eager and ready to commit hate crimes and exercise extreme bigotry.

Halo academy is a whole new thing for them to be involved with us on a grass roots level and it’s good for Galactic and Alliance PR.

The Vishanti, Avari, P’hari and N’yai plus I can imagine others are all looking at things here on NH as the hinge place for how humanity will treat new evolution in their midst or will they go and kill us all off eventually like they did to their primitive competition.

Sam leads us past there to a conference room where there’s some other kid there kind of regular looking and a bit chubby and tired too he waves a few fingers a bit shyly and he’s in a halo track suit and looks like he just showered I can smell blood on him in scratches he still has.

Drew leans over. “I think that’s the stretchy kid from the bus thing at the bridge.”

Sam offers her hand all smiles and stuff and introduces us and he quietly says. “Mark, Mark Sheridan.” Drew actually seems like their calming down and being less of an ass or maybe it’s just being here but they offer a handshake too and I follow and so does Vana who does this thing with her hand like?

I don’t know but he does sort of and he lifts it up and down gently and nods his head to her and she’s smiling and their both sort of blushing because the rest of us are stopped there just staring.

Sam sits and she gets this psi-shimmer going in her eyes and the large table holo screen and keyboard pops into being making us jump a little and Drew bitches. “Give a guy some effing warning first okay?’

Sam looks at his boobs and raises an eyebrow and Drew shuts up and gets even more pissy than me and crosses his arms over his breasts.

“Just…fuck off.” Being in the middle of gender has to suck and from what Drew’s ‘tude is like it’s not by choice.

We all kind of ignore him when I smell something!

Saber…that’s Daystar’s wife and the AA’s street samurai weapon’s genius and martial arts mistress comes in and she has this big set of plastic tubs big enough to hold like three loaves of slice bread each and I can smell cold cuts right through the plastic.

She sets them down.

“You guys have at it. And eat as you get stuff down for the record okay?”

She’s really a beautiful woman and I’m not saying that because she’s bringing food. But early thirties martially athletic body and long black hair and she’s from what’s been said Japanese and Polynesian mixed and put her in black leathers and swords on her back and hot looking weapons.

A friendly smile and food really doesn’t hurt either and she’s opening things and there’s. All kinds of cold cuts in one of the boxes and condiment and bread in another plus one with paper small plates and veggies cut for the sandwiches and cheeses and the last one is cans of juices and pop and chocolate and candy bars and even some bags of chips.

It’s funny Vana’s the only one that thanks her without her mouth full and I’m starving and I’m shoving slices of meats into my mouth as I’m making a sandwich.

Then she joins us after Saber leaves and she’s shaking her head looking at us. “Y’all’s never made a sandwich before in your lives?’

I’m eating and grab a bag of chips as Vana is taking bread and she’s putting a skiff of butter on it like not even enough to taste then salt and peppers it and then she adds mayo and puts a good amount of it on both sides the leaf lettuce on one half and thin slices of tomato on the other and then mustard on the lettuce and I watch her as she takes roast beef slices and she folds them and lays the meat in rows of folded over beef with half a slice of cheese between each bit of the meat and she puts it all together and she cuts it in half and puts an handful of chips on the side of the mini-plate.

Then she passes it to me.

“I..uhm…thanks this looks great.”

She smiles at me and blushes a little. “It ain’t nothin special just how you’re supposed to make a sandwich with fixins like this.”

Then she makes one for that Mark fellow and one for Avery and another for Drew. Sam’s actually doing stuff on the computer and I can see the fight and stuff showing up on screen with the demony thing and the evil wizard old dude.

Drew’s looking too.

*Drew/Faith…………

Yeah I’m in a bad mood, I’ve just been through stuff that I…

I’m still trying to wrap my head around and then there’s just everything else. Cody who’s kind of an ass but he’s kind of I don’t know…a friend? I friend that I saw get impaled and I thought that I lost.

Then there’s Vana/Vanir who during the fight was so awesome and she really out classed me there too but she’s such a girl…and that’s not bad but she’s so not like any of the girls in my family either or the few I know and she’s so damned federation it’s getting sort of on my nerves.

Like her and the sandwiches doing the whole Suzie homemaker thing and I don’t know she’s like Sam Chase in a whole other way I guess.

And Sam Chase…Cheerleader…jockette, popular, powerful and not just with her mutant stuff but she’s family she a goddamned AA legacy and just the way that she’s so cavalier about being here.

Maybe I’m just being an insecure jerk.

But honestly there was war gear…power armor terrorists and machine guns and all this other stuff…

I’m trying not to fall apart here and cry like a girl.

My powers might have shifted me into this whole in between thing but I don’t have to be happy about it either.

Vana makes me a sandwich and I have to admit Dixieland can make a ready for TV bit of food. Mine’s turkey with tomato and lettuce and some sliced ham and Swiss sort of a real sandwich version of a Cuban minus the pickles. It’s actually really good. “Thanks this is really good.”

“Y’welcome anytime y’want I can show you how.”

“Okay…” Wait…why’d she?

She never said that to Cody or to that Mark kid.

Grrrr….she thinks I’m a girl.

I chew on my sandwich and go over to Sam. It’s so weird seeing someone typing on a table into an image of a keyboard and she’s so fast. Like inhumanly fast or something and she’s somehow got the footage there from the fight from a POV that’s…it’s her POV.

“You had a camera?’

“Better I was there.”

“I don’t follow.”

“I’m a Telemechanic which lets me link up directly to machines like telepaths do with people.”

Oh…shit…yeah powerful…this and some kind of sonic powers too and she’s like a model and she’s rich.

She’s looking at me.

“It’s not that cool.”

“No?” I know I’m sounding like a bit of a bitch.

“No…try actually being able to catch a computer virus, having to walk through anywhere blocking signal noises all the time. You think telepaths have it bad do you know how many times we’re scanned in a day? Pinged by commercial devices? I get to feel all of that and I’ve super developed hearing too from my sonic powers.”

I say softly since she’s got super hearing. “Well at least your powers aren’t changing you into a girl.”

“Sorry if it’s something you don’t want then I totally get it.”

“Bullshit.”

She stared at me. “Not in the least, I’m transgendered Drew I’ve wanted to be a real girl my entire life.”

“What…..” But she looks so…so…

*Sam Chase…………

And right there cue the look.

You’d think after this long that people would be less shocked about finding out and it’s gotten to the point where I’m not even offended anymore when they stare at me and then they say just like Drew.

“But you’re so pretty?”

I sigh but put a smile on. “Thank you some of its good genes and some of it’s helped out.”

“Oh it’s just…”

I can see the gears turning in his her or her head I wonder how far Drew is along in their change. He’s trying to figure out just how to be around me now when he’s not been that friendly towards me since we met…there’s all these tones of anger and resentment towards me that have been in his voice.

I’m a Vox or a vocal empowered person my mom’s the Ark Angel Songbird and I got my powers form her in part and my dad in another way with my psi abilities.

It sounds like I’m one of those power house types and yeah sort of I’m a legacy so I’ve got lots of both but I’m not as strong as either of them but I can do things they can’t do either.

I’m a much better verbal analyzer than my mom is and I’m a much better radio or com transmitter and manipulator. I can’t use my powers to levitate large scale machine parts like dad but I’m like a walking radio station and telecommunications system.

It all sounds cool right?

Well I’ve been targeted since birth by bad guys labelled as soon as I was born by hate groups calling me assuming I’m a mega-mutant.

No seriously add in the fact I’m transgendered and I’m fully open about it to being a psi and a mutant…HfH or Humans for Humanity have a magazine article that pretty much makes me out to be Magneto…That’s an ancient comic Marvel Villain, kind of funny because they say Victory is well Dr. Doom.

Well I will agree that she is pretty much “Big Sister.” She even has the ear of the colonial presidents…yep everyone since she’s been the official NH hero of heroes.

Anyways…

I’m going over things the way that I went through them and stuff and what I could see and tell and include all the footage I can find into the computer.

And this is why Uncle Chris asked for Avery.

He sit’s with the others and he psi-reads them as they’re telling their story only with Avery it’s not like telepathics but he does telegraphics…he can’t actually read your mind but he can convert what you’re saying and thinking by touch into holographic images. Only since his psi bubble this is psi-energy it’s really killer quality super high definition.

He gets only the stuff you can picture and not thoughts you have or even had then just what you can picture and what you remember that you seen or heard. It’s still super useful and Avery is trained in getting people to remember things like any good police interviewer. He’s also the most sought over criminal sketch artist in the whole city he could work 24/7 if he wanted to.

We’re looking for more people with his talents…and since I’m watching things with the others and doing the stenographer thing too I’m downloading all of it into visual video files for them here.

But Mark…wow what he did…and…he admits to being freaked out and then we find out about this other kid, the one who walked into his body during the thing on the bridge.

Quinn…Quinn…I think that’s the kids that’s paralyzed living over at Uncle Chris’s house.

Wow…even to me that’s kind of freaky and kind of neat.

*Mark…………

It’s so messed up me being here and with these other kids but…Oh god I’m so not ready for this stuff. I’m…I mean it’s bad enough when I turned out like my brother and started being a mutant but being a messed up shape changer…that really sucks.

Yeah I can shape shift but it’s sort of people only based and it’s better if it’s like small alterations and stuff but my biggest freaky thing is that I can stretch….like…I don’t know but it’s just all kinds of freaky.

Like being the chubby guy and a cops kid wasn’t social stigma enough.

Oh it’s not that bad being a cop’s kid but everyone thinks you’re going to tell on them, be a rat or that you’re a goody two shoes and stuff. I’m just friggin normal or I was.

But I was learning to deal.

Then I got accepted into this new school and it’s my first time away from home which is Bay City and I got on the escorted bus with all these other meta kids and as if all of it wasn’t bad enough the attack happened…and Quinn jumped into me and we worked together and he kept me from browning my shorts and stuff.

I’m so freaking lost and scared right now I just want to go home, I just want to lay down somewhere and hide.

God thought I was staved and Vana? I think that’s her name…she made me this really great sandwich and stuff…I really like her she’s really pretty and I love the accent….

Whoa…I’m seeing her in that holo thingy and she shape changed too sort of…busty and super hawt she’s this shield making healing type and then she butches out and gets flatter and all ripped with muscles and she’s this hard core warrior…I think her personality changes too…that’s got to be hard to deal with.

Is she with this Cody guy? Likely he’s actually kind of hot…not that I’m gay or that there’s anything wrong with that but he’s dark velvet furred muscled elf…with a tail…c’mon he looks human the rest of the way.

Dude will never have to worry about finding a girl.

Then there’s Drew? I think that this is Faithe from like TV and the internet, she was on hero watch and then there’s Sam…Okay she I know about and stuff because she’s like famous and stuff but you can’t tell you can’t even see it y’know all you get from Sam is an extremely pretty girl.

Okay…she’s also really cool like actually a cool person and brave and really, really nice person too so maybe that’s part of her appeal to me…I’m not sure a regular girl that pretty and rich would be even remotely that nice.

And she’s actually smiling at me after I’m done with everything in the report…okay transgendered or not she’s making me blush.

I think we might have been going to say something when Victory herself comes in.

*Victory............

I’ve been reading and watching things as they’ve been coming in from Avery and Sam with these kids. I had the debriefing and lunch with the others before that and the talk with Scarlet and gave Shroud the official go ahead to look for this Rook person and to try and bring them in.

He’s been warned though.

Again.

Nick has a thing where he’ll go overboard…he’s…he’s damaged.

Yes I know who he is; I started the Ark Angels with him all that time ago when he was going by Knightshade.

Nick’s a clone, well a half clone. He’s the son of the mercenary assassin Trask…Taskmaster, or The Mechanic…and that man is a eugenic killing machine from a long line of eugenic killing machines called The Brotherhood.

The Brotherhood are the killing hand of the Illuminati….

Yes they’re real too but not what people think.

But later on that stuff.

Nick, Nick was raised in a lab, he was to be this second gen version of his father who turns out cannot be cloned…so the crossbred him with a suitable candidate which was Nick’s mom one of the researchers at the company that made him.

Chimera-Corp.

Long defunct after we shut them down they’re responsible for a lot of the anthrosapiens that are here on New Haven…their first projects were animal based soldier weapons.

Well Trask somehow found out and he came loaded for bear and he wiped out the whole facility and he murdered Nick’s mom.

So anything that has to do with his old man he had blinders on and its war…and his scruples tend to go out the window. That’s part of what happened with Terry in Paradise City.

Damien Trash is Nick’s half-little-brother and Trask’s actual kid. They have a hate on for each other really bad.

But Nick’s always had a rough time putting the brakes on. Ruthless is literally built into him and so was the fact he’s been trained to be a soulless killer in that Chimera lab until Trask came…Nick’s mom was the sole humanizing influence on him in those early years.

So yeah I had to talk to him about not going to far.

But I’m also as intrigues as he is that this Rook contacted him.

So I’m going to play ball for now.

I head inside and I’m getting stared at by the kids except for Sam and Avery, those two I know a lot better than the others and Cody I haven’t met yet but we hired his father to work here and mostly at the academy but the others are all new.

Mark Sheridan’s here.

Strangle’s little brother.

That’s something I hope we can deal with. His brother was a cop too, ten years older than mark he’s got the same power set until he went vigilante and faced down some corrupt cops.

We have hundreds of millions of people here in this Mega-city there are always going to be cops that aren’t good guys.

Steven his brother killed four police officers and he fled and has become a mercenary for hire, a killer and an assassin. He’s definitely on our wanted list but it’s hard to nail down a police trained shapeshifter.

I don’t think that his family has told Mark that yet.

“Afternoon everyone please don’t get up I won’t be here too long.”

They all sit down of course they had all gotten up. I get that a lot.

“I was looking over everything and we’re going to take over the details from here but what I can say is that we’re all really proud of the whole bunch of you. You faced some stuff today that you shouldn’t have had to face and you did so with bravery and distinction. I had to come and thank you myself for that.”

I look at each one of them. “It never should have came to this not in a world that we should be living in but it did. And you all, all went above and beyond you saved lives.”

It might just be me here but I clap for them and they’re all blushing and smiling even the really shy ones.

“It’s just a token and don’t think that I or any of the staff or the police here think that you kids going out and doing this is a good idea but this isn’t a thing for medals or trophies but well here…”

I pass them out Halo Academy debit cards with a pre-paid thousand dollars on them each. They’re all trying not to be excited about it and I’m smiling a little, well a lot. I really mean it if they turn out that they want to do this then fine we’ll train them to work the job and to do it right but I’d never endorse doing this like they are now.

I started out doing this at their age a long time ago…I’ve buried so many that it’s…it’s why we’re doing this, why I’ve fought tooth and nail to get this place off the ground.

But…seeing them happy and excited will always be something that I will enjoy. I can’t ever have kids my body it’s…everytime…well.

“Spend it in good health but don’t go too nuts too fast okay, we’re actually planning to get bands and stuff to come here and play for us too so leave something there for concert tickets okay.”

Okay they’re really excited now and it’s true I’m looking at trying to get some bands and stuff to put us on they’re tour dates but there’s always the mutant thing.

“Samantha, you and Avery get everyone home and let mark vid-call his folks so they won’t be worried over the stuff on the news. Drew…if you want give my office a call okay? I knew your grandmother worked with her if you ever want to ask stuff okay?’

He’s blinking… “Uhm…yes…sure…?”

I leave waving goodbye to them and headed to my next thing for the day and that’s the meetings with the city reps over what happen and the police and NHDF.

I stare at the closed door.

If we get even one in ten that are as good as these kids are heart wise this will be so worth it.