The Pandemic: Gifted vs. the Government

[Mismagius]

Brookelynn nods. "Why are you so afraid of him, Melanie?.." she asks, checking her clipboard. She'll have to get her tests done soon.

[Gifted]

"No, no it's got nothing to do with you." Xander assured her.


Roseanne hadn't had superpowers for very long. Developing them had come as a shock to her, as nobody in her family was gifted. Nevertheless she'd immediately packed up and left, not wanting to put her family in danger. Well, 'packed up' being a relative term, since she was barely carrying anything. There was no point in carrying food since she didn't eat, or water for the same reason. Basically all she had was a pillow, a sleeping bag, and all her money, well over $500, which had accumulated as her parents kept giving her money for food. With her miraculous self-control and quest to lose weight she'd managed to save it all. She'd made a video for her parents explaining she'd left them because she loved them and didn't want them to get hurt, what with the government hunting gifteds and all. She'd left several weeks ago. Other than her sleeping bag, pillow, and money, the only thing she kept with her was her most pried possession; a calculator, one of the really expensive ones, which she used to count calories. Thank goodness she had most of the numbers of calories burnt by certain activities memorized and could estimate, since she couldn't look that stuff up online anymore. She'd lose those bits of fat she could see around her hips eventually. All the activity she got while running from the government could only help, anyway. She walked alone.

[Raven]

Adam had only used his powers once before. Well, once that mattered. He'd used it countless times on the maids or strangers he passed on the street. That time, it had been his brother. He'd been trying to get Kenny to stand up to their father, making him braver the not-technical way. He hadn't foreseen the results. Adam had given Kenny the nerve not to stand up to their father, but to run away. The young drunk had never felt worse in his life. He went out looking almost every day. Almost being the qualifier since some days he was too out of it to remember he had a brother, let alone that his brother was missing. One of the good days, he was undoubtedly drunk as he walked down the street. He couldn't really remember what he was looking for, only that he was looking for something. He thought he had an idea of what it might have been when he saw a girl walking towards him. He grinned and caught her wrist.

[Gifted]

Roseanne remembered Adam from highschool, an older boy who'd been held back two years and was in her math class. "Adam Clark?" She asked, disgusted. He was a junkie who didn't take life seriously at all, a player who spent more nights partying than days attending class. When he did attend, he seemed to be perpetually hungover. Of all the familiar faces she could've met...

[Raven]

Adam peered at her. "Do I know you?" he asked. "I'ven't slept with ya have I?"

[Gifted]

"No." She pulled away from him. "I'm a virgin. I was in your math class." though she was disgusted by him, she did not get angry at him.

[Raven]

It took him a while. Either there had been a lot of girls in his math class who had been virgins, or he just didn't care about the few who were. "Roseanne," he finally said. "Good t'see ya." He started feeding her happy vibes.

[Gifted]

Roseanne smiled. She could have a good conversation, at least. Even a sick-minded individual like him from her past was better than no one at all, right? "Good to see you too, I haven't seen anyone from school in... weeks. Why're you out here?"

[Raven]

"I'm looking... For... my brother," Adam said, surprised and relieved he remembered. How could he have forgotten his twin? "He ran away."

[Gifted]

"Kenny? He ran away." Roseanne was slightly surprised Adam cared. "I haven't seen him... I'll tell him I saw you if I do though." She promised. "I'll tell him you're worried about him."

[Raven]

Adam shifted to attachment. "You will? Thank you... Maybe you could help me look?"

[Gifted]

Roseanne nodded. She felt touched by his pain, and it made her feel like she understood him a little more underneath the drugs and the booze. "Sure. We can look together." She agreed.

[Raven]

And a bit of attraction. "Thank you, Roseanne. I really miss him," Adam slurred, taking her hand and leading her down the street.

[Gifted]

Roseanne questioned that last feeling as she walked down the street by Adams side. There was no way she liked this guy... was there? Whatever good looks he'd once had were ruined by drugs, and he certainly wasn't very mature. By all accounts he was a horrible human being.
She must just empathize with him. That's all it was.

[Raven]

"Why haven't you seen anyone from school?" Adam asked, scowling. He'd heard it from Kenny that she never missed school. That didn't follow. Himself, he understood. He probably had seen Roseanne all of twelve times during almost a year that they had had class together.