Could it be? PART 8!! Pink Pony riders club. Insanity is welcome, sanity is not.

[Mika4Life13]

What's that?

 

Sorry my post is so short. I couldn't think of what the lights are for.

 

Nice! Sam wants us to make a character for him...I don't know where he'll fit in. Maybe he can be a villain?

 

Yay! We always welcome new members, and if you can keep up, you're in!

A movie .. it's french with english subtitles... its about coco chanel.

 

Its OK! pOSTINGK!!!!!!

 

[MissPie]

What's that?

 

Sorry my post is so short. I couldn't think of what the lights are for.

 

Nice! Sam wants us to make a character for him...I don't know where he'll fit in. Maybe he can be a villain?

 

Yay! We always welcome new members, and if you can keep up, you're in!

 

Cool

 

 

I'll be going after M then...

[Mika4Life13]

I sat up and looked out the window. M was right, out in the back gardens behind the house, there were strange lights wobbling and flashing. Was that why the lights in the house had gone out? I sighed, starting to feel that familiar mixture of curiosity and suspicion that we lived with nonstop in the old days. I looked down at the man in black, now clothed in white pajamas and sleeping. I knew him now as Calvin Harris, the other person in the team who had animal DNA fused into his system like me. I remembered now that we had had a relationship before the "Nap" as I thought of it. But it felt strange to look at him in a romantic capacity now, as my memories were coming back in bits and pieces. I remembered another man whose name I couldn't place, a man I would give my life for, a man I had planned to marry. Somehow, I knew that man wasn't with the team in this house. He had died long ago, though I couldn't remember how or why.

 

I slid out of bed, careful not to wake Calvin, and M and I made our way out of the house towards the lights. We tiptoed through the perfectly manicured gardens, around the topiaries and statues without making a sound. We approached the source of the lights, which were behind a large, high hedge. I pointed to M, directing her to go one way to see around the hedge, and I went the other. I crept around the edge of the large bushes and peeked at the lights.

The lights turned out to be flood lights, and they were swirling and moving because men were carrying them up ladders and attaching them to the tops of high tripods, and the field of grass below was slowly becoming illuminated.

 

As I edged closer to the men, I heard one of them shout something.

"Hey you, what are you doing?"

My eyes widened and I backed away slowly, men dropping lights and running towards me.

"ARTSSSSSSSSSSSSYYYY!!" I shouted, the men slowly approaching me.

She grabbed my arm and dragged me back into the mansion, we propelled up the spiral staircase and into the dorm room, locking the door behind us. Everyone sat up and watched as we paced around the room, checking the window every now and then.

"Do you think they're still coming?" I asked Artsy, biting my lip with anticipation.

She shook her head and we climbed into our beds, preparing for an uneasy night of sleep.

 

* 6 hours later *

 

I woke up to the butler announcing where we were going to dine for breakfast.

"The east wing of the manor, don't worry about attire, we have a closet for you to choose from."

And as quickly as he came, he dashed out of the room. We all looked at eachother, not sure where this closet would be.

"Shall we go look?" Asked soa curiously.

Nico walked up to the wooden door on the opposite wall and slowly turned the knob, unaware of what she might find on the other side.

[MissPie]

As I edged closer to the men, I heard one of them shout something.

"Hey you, what are you doing?"

My eyes widened and I backed away slowly, men dropping lights and running towards me.

"ARTSSSSSSSSSSSSYYYY!!" I shouted, the men slowly approaching me.

She grabbed my arm and dragged me back into the mansion, we propelled up the spiral staircase and into the dorm room, locking the door behind us. Everyone sat up and watched as we paced around the room, checking the window every now and then.

"Do you think they're still coming?" I asked Artsy, biting my lip with anticipation.

She shook her head and we climbed into our beds, preparing for an uneasy night of sleep.

 

* 6 hours later *

 

I woke up to the butler announcing where we were going to dine for breakfast.

"The east wing of the manor, don't worry about attire, we have a closet for you to choose from."

And as quickly as he came, he dashed out of the room. We all looked at eachother, not sure where this closet would be.

"Shall we go look?" Asked soa curiously.

Nico walked up to the wooden door on the opposite wall and slowly turned the knob, unaware of what she might find on the other side.

 

I had got up early and snuck out of the house. Last night had been an especially bad one; I'd had fights with my parents on a regular basis recently, but this was too much. Depending on my parents, going to school and being bored all day - I just didn't want to have it anymore. Sometimes, I felt my cat actually was the only one to be at my side.

Music had helped me to keep it up for a long time now, and my iPod was one of the few things I had stuffed into the bag that was dangling from my shoulder, occasionally flying behind me as it was so light with just some changing clothes and a bit of money. To be quite honest, I wasn't expecting myself to stay on the street for long anyway, but to give in and return home sooner or later. But as I turned around another corner, slightly out of breath for I had been jogging a few times, I spotted this big old mansion. It seemed somehow magical. Nothing describable, but it drew me in, and I couldn't help but slowly approach it.

When I was just about 3 metres away, the hedge blocking my view into the garden, I heard voices. Quiet voices, people who were hiding somewhere. Inside the hedge maybe? I took another step, then another three, listening closely. But it was a stupid idea, I realized a moment later, as a figure emerges from the hedge, quickly pulling me into it and grabbing my arms tight. My face got a few scratches, and I let out a reflex-scream, shouting at the person that was holding me to release me. But the man, who was only slightly taller than me, was stronger. A very skinny woman tied my hands together, a flash of blond hair falling from under her hood. She was very tall and, by the looks of it, she was the boss.

A second man cursed loudly, and started to whine. He hastily rummaged through a bag, getting out a band-aid and putting it on his knee. The woman hissed at him, "Be the **** quiet, you're supposed to be a professional!" He aplogized in a whisper. Then, a sudden noise made us all start.

[MissPie]

Hope that was good enough I have to go now, supposed to be going to bed

[artsyfartsy17]

Hope that was good enough I have to go now, supposed to be going to bed

 

It was great!

 

*looks around*

 

Everyone seems to have disappeared while I was out to lunch. Postingk!

[artsyfartsy17]

I had got up early and snuck out of the house. Last night had been an especially bad one; I'd had fights with my parents on a regular basis recently, but this was too much. Depending on my parents, going to school and being bored all day - I just didn't want to have it anymore. Sometimes, I felt my cat actually was the only one to be at my side.

Music had helped me to keep it up for a long time now, and my iPod was one of the few things I had stuffed into the bag that was dangling from my shoulder, occasionally flying behind me as it was so light with just some changing clothes and a bit of money. To be quite honest, I wasn't expecting myself to stay on the street for long anyway, but to give in and return home sooner or later. But as I turned around another corner, slightly out of breath for I had been jogging a few times, I spotted this big old mansion. It seemed somehow magical. Nothing describable, but it drew me in, and I couldn't help but slowly approach it.

When I was just about 3 metres away, the hedge blocking my view into the garden, I heard voices. Quiet voices, people who were hiding somewhere. Inside the hedge maybe? I took another step, then another three, listening closely. But it was a stupid idea, I realized a moment later, as a figure emerges from the hedge, quickly pulling me into it and grabbing my arms tight. My face got a few scratches, and I let out a reflex-scream, shouting at the person that was holding me to release me. But the man, who was only slightly taller than me, was stronger. A very skinny woman tied my hands together, a flash of blond hair falling from under her hood. She was very tall and, by the looks of it, she was the boss.

A second man cursed loudly, and started to whine. He hastily rummaged through a bag, getting out a band-aid and putting it on his knee. The woman hissed at him, "Be the **** quiet, you're supposed to be a professional!" He aplogized in a whisper. Then, a sudden noise made us all start.

 

Inside the room, it was completely dark. Nico groped along the wall and flipped the light switch. We slowly walked into the room, our mouths dropping open in wonder. The room was large and rectangular. It had hardwood floors and would have seemed like a warehouse if it weren't filled with glass cases of every size, containing all kinds of attire imaginable. A couple of the girls squealed with delight and I ran to the wall lined with cases full of shoes. There were plain shoes and beautiful shoes, flats, heels, slingbacks...

My mind was spinning with all of the options and I knew it was going to take me forever to choose what to wear. Luckily, or unluckily, as the case may be, I didn't have to worry about taking hours to choose. The choice of clothing was quickly narrowed down for us.

"Oh, they're all locked!" exclaimed M, and I sympathized with her pout. There was a pair of violet stilettos that had caught my eye in particular, but the lock on the glass case wouldn't budge.

"We could always break the glass?" Mika suggested, eyeing a rack of skinny jeans in a rainbow of colors with a glimmer of desperation in his stare.

"Wait!" said Soa, "The butler wouldn't have directed us here if he wanted us to destroy the cases, that would just make more work for him. Check all the cases, maybe they aren't all locked."

We spread throughout the room, tugging on the silver handles on each glass closet, but continued to find all of them locked. Then, when we were starting to think we'd never get dressed, a shout came from the very back of the room. We all ran to the back to find Finn standing next to a case that was filled with plain black jumpsuits. His hand was the handle and the doors were open.

"With all of these wonderful clothes, we have to wear those?" I asked, looking at the suits with disdain, "They look like glorified wetsuits. I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't want to be covered in head to toe Spandex."

"Well, it's all that's available," said Nico, "We don't have much of a choice."

"Hey, they've got name tags!" Calvin pointed out. He was right. Each suit had a paper tag with a name written on it hanging from the hanger. We passed out the suits and walked back to the dorms to change. Strangely, mine fit perfectly. I looked at Calvin, who looked quite dashing in his suit, like some sort of James Bond character. His suit fit like a glove. We walked back to the main room and discovered that everyone else's suits also corresponded to their correct sizes.

Our host walked in and smiled. "Ah," he said, looking at us in approval, "I see you found the training suits."

"What about all the other clothes?" Mika asked, tugging at the neck of his suit.

"Those are for when you are ready to enter society again. You noticed there were many different disguises available. There will also eventually be suits for you to use when you go on various missions. If you are superheros, you should dress like them," he replied, smiling again, "For now, however, you will wear these suits while you conduct your training. You need be in something comfortable while you each regain control and familiarity with your respective powers and talents, and all of you have lost muscle mass and coordination from the years in cryo. Basically, you need to get back into shape."

We looked at each other. I wasn't personally feeling all that weak, but I didn't know what I was supposed to feel like normally, so I didn't argue. The host continued.

"Each of you is wearing a suit that is specifically tailored to help you become accustomed with your powers. For some of you, that means fabric that can't be torn or ripped, for some, fibers in the weave of the suit tap into your neural network and respond to signals your brain sends or amplify signal waves you send to others. They will aid you in training. But that you will discover later today. Is anyone hungry?"

I nodded as I remembered that we had been awake for a couple of hours now and still hadn't eaten. Our host guided us back to the dining room where a large spread of delicious food was set up on the table.

[Mika4Life13]

*is reading*

[Mika4Life13]

*claps* I love this, ames.

[soangel]

Posting if anyone comes in

[soangel]

Inside the room, it was completely dark. Nico groped along the wall and flipped the light switch. We slowly walked into the room, our mouths dropping open in wonder. The room was large and rectangular. It had hardwood floors and would have seemed like a warehouse if it weren't filled with glass cases of every size, containing all kinds of attire imaginable. A couple of the girls squealed with delight and I ran to the wall lined with cases full of shoes. There were plain shoes and beautiful shoes, flats, heels, slingbacks...

My mind was spinning with all of the options and I knew it was going to take me forever to choose what to wear. Luckily, or unluckily, as the case may be, I didn't have to worry about taking hours to choose. The choice of clothing was quickly narrowed down for us.

"Oh, they're all locked!" exclaimed M, and I sympathized with her pout. There was a pair of violet stilettos that had caught my eye in particular, but the lock on the glass case wouldn't budge.

"We could always break the glass?" Mika suggested, eyeing a rack of skinny jeans in a rainbow of colors with a glimmer of desperation in his stare.

"Wait!" said Soa, "The butler wouldn't have directed us here if he wanted us to destroy the cases, that would just make more work for him. Check all the cases, maybe they aren't all locked."

We spread throughout the room, tugging on the silver handles on each glass closet, but continued to find all of them locked. Then, when we were starting to think we'd never get dressed, a shout came from the very back of the room. We all ran to the back to find Finn standing next to a case that was filled with plain black jumpsuits. His hand was the handle and the doors were open.

"With all of these wonderful clothes, we have to wear those?" I asked, looking at the suits with disdain, "They look like glorified wetsuits. I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't want to be covered in head to toe Spandex."

"Well, it's all that's available," said Nico, "We don't have much of a choice."

"Hey, they've got name tags!" Calvin pointed out. He was right. Each suit had a paper tag with a name written on it hanging from the hanger. We passed out the suits and walked back to the dorms to change. Strangely, mine fit perfectly. I looked at Calvin, who looked quite dashing in his suit, like some sort of James Bond character. His suit fit like a glove. We walked back to the main room and discovered that everyone else's suits also corresponded to their correct sizes.

Our host walked in and smiled. "Ah," he said, looking at us in approval, "I see you found the training suits."

"What about all the other clothes?" Mika asked, tugging at the neck of his suit.

"Those are for when you are ready to enter society again. You noticed there were many different disguises available. There will also eventually be suits for you to use when you go on various missions. If you are superheros, you should dress like them," he replied, smiling again, "For now, however, you will wear these suits while you conduct your training. You need be in something comfortable while you each regain control and familiarity with your respective powers and talents, and all of you have lost muscle mass and coordination from the years in cryo. Basically, you need to get back into shape."

We looked at each other. I wasn't personally feeling all that weak, but I didn't know what I was supposed to feel like normally, so I didn't argue. The host continued.

"Each of you is wearing a suit that is specifically tailored to help you become accustomed with your powers. For some of you, that means fabric that can't be torn or ripped, for some, fibers in the weave of the suit tap into your neural network and respond to signals your brain sends or amplify signal waves you send to others. They will aid you in training. But that you will discover later today. Is anyone hungry?"

I nodded as I remembered that we had been awake for a couple of hours now and still hadn't eaten. Our host guided us back to the dining room where a large spread of delicious food was set up on the table.

 

I tugged at my jumpsuit nervously, fidgeting seeming to be a habit I had picked up since being awoken from the sleep. Suits that could not be ripped, and suits that can tap into neural networks.... all that stuff was impossible. Then I remembered that we were living 20 years into the future.

 

Outside

 

The Blonde woman turned her head towards the dining room of the mansion, gesturing to her partner to keep the hostage quiet.

"I told you they were up to something. The Consortium has been hiding something, a weapon the Confederation can use against us and I will find out what"

"But the Consortium doesn't exist, thats what everyone knows," her partner protested.

"Thats what the Confederation wants you to think," snapped the Blonde woman, her voice a hostile whisper.

 

Meanwhile back inside

Nobu, our host glanced around at us as we took our seats and piled our plates. Most of the food was high in protein, or in other such nutrients we would need to return to our former selves. He smiled as he noticed that we were sitting slightly more comfortably with each other after the nights sleep. Sleep had allowed some memories to return though we all still had gaps. The chatter at the breakfast table seem to comprise of our telling each other events we had all been part of but couldn't remember.

"And then there was another kidnapping, by some psycho fan who was in love with one of us. I can't remember which one though," said Artsy, gesturing

"This is weird. It still doesn't feel like it was me who did all those things," added Nico. "I mean most of them were down right dangerous and insane."

"Ah but it was you, it was all of you," interrupted Nobu. "and it will be you again"

He paused as a man in what appeared to be security wear, with weird flashing sunglasses on his face appeared and whispered something to him

"Did you direct them to the lawn area," whispered Nobu back, in a voice only inaudible to us

"Yes, they had no idea we were shepherding them to where they want to be. They think their going to uncover a great secret" whispered the security man

"Their early. We planned for this part of the training to be after we had introduced them to their powers again. You know I don't like interruptions"

"The blonde seems be uh cleverer than expected. Are they ready?"

Nobu sighed "Well they'll have to be. I'm not wasting all that setting up and planting a leak to let security take them. We'll just have to see if they can use their powers in a practical training exercise. Go and make sure the pair out there are in position, and ensure the jammers are working. We can't have the Nation learning more than we leaked to them to get that pair here, especially that the PPR are back"

 

During all this whispering, we had at first regarded the whispered conversation with suspicion, then turned back to our food and conversation. There had been much whispering in our time here. Suddenly the security man headed off and Nobu turned to us.

"It seems that a training exercise has been prepared a little earlier than I expected.." he began

 

 

(the sunglasses are a computer hence the flashing)

[Mika4Life13]

Oh I love it

[artsyfartsy17]

*twitches with excitement*

 

This is awesome! And we've managed to avoid the cliches pretty well so far!

[Mika4Life13]

*twitches with excitement*

 

This is awesome! And we've managed to avoid the cliches pretty well so far!

You come on as soon as I go to bed

[Mika4Life13]

Anyways , I would post but I'm sore and tired and I'm going to sleepy byes.

 

Tah tah!

[Mika4Life13]

P.S

 

HOW JEALOUS AM I??!!

[soangel]

Night Mzee

 

I'm about to head off to uni myself for my 1 class today.

[artsyfartsy17]

Aw....I missed you because I was looking at old posts deep in the archives.

[artsyfartsy17]

Night Mzee

 

I'm about to head off to uni myself for my 1 class today.

 

Well, hopefully I can post in time for you to read, but if I don't, I'm sorry in advance. I'm such a slow poster.

[soangel]

Well, hopefully I can post in time for you to read, but if I don't, I'm sorry in advance. I'm such a slow poster.

If not I'll be back in 2 and a half ish hours (since I'm walking)

 

*directs attention to aussie thread and my proclamation of gaining employment*

[artsyfartsy17]

I tugged at my jumpsuit nervously, fidgeting seeming to be a habit I had picked up since being awoken from the sleep. Suits that could not be ripped, and suits that can tap into neural networks.... all that stuff was impossible. Then I remembered that we were living 20 years into the future.

 

Outside

 

The Blonde woman turned her head towards the dining room of the mansion, gesturing to her partner to keep the hostage quiet.

"I told you they were up to something. The Consortium has been hiding something, a weapon the Confederation can use against us and I will find out what"

"But the Consortium doesn't exist, thats what everyone knows," her partner protested.

"Thats what the Confederation wants you to think," snapped the Blonde woman, her voice a hostile whisper.

 

Meanwhile back inside

Nobu, our host glanced around at us as we took our seats and piled our plates. Most of the food was high in protein, or in other such nutrients we would need to return to our former selves. He smiled as he noticed that we were sitting slightly more comfortably with each other after the nights sleep. Sleep had allowed some memories to return though we all still had gaps. The chatter at the breakfast table seem to comprise of our telling each other events we had all been part of but couldn't remember.

"And then there was another kidnapping, by some psycho fan who was in love with one of us. I can't remember which one though," said Artsy, gesturing

"This is weird. It still doesn't feel like it was me who did all those things," added Nico. "I mean most of them were down right dangerous and insane."

"Ah but it was you, it was all of you," interrupted Nobu. "and it will be you again"

He paused as a man in what appeared to be security wear, with weird flashing sunglasses on his face appeared and whispered something to him

"Did you direct them to the lawn area," whispered Nobu back, in a voice only inaudible to us

"Yes, they had no idea we were shepherding them to where they want to be. They think their going to uncover a great secret" whispered the security man

"Their early. We planned for this part of the training to be after we had introduced them to their powers again. You know I don't like interruptions"

"The blonde seems be uh cleverer than expected. Are they ready?"

Nobu sighed "Well they'll have to be. I'm not wasting all that setting up and planting a leak to let security take them. We'll just have to see if they can use their powers in a practical training exercise. Go and make sure the pair out there are in position, and ensure the jammers are working. We can't have the Nation learning more than we leaked to them to get that pair here, especially that the PPR are back"

 

During all this whispering, we had at first regarded the whispered conversation with suspicion, then turned back to our food and conversation. There had been much whispering in our time here. Suddenly the security man headed off and Nobu turned to us.

"It seems that a training exercise has been prepared a little earlier than I expected.." he began

 

 

(the sunglasses are a computer hence the flashing)

 

I looked up from my plate. A training exercise? But we weren't ready! I was still "out of shape" as Nobu so kindly pointed out! I took a deep breath as we all stood and walked out to the back gardens.

"This exercise must be what we saw last night," M whispered to me, and I nodded. It made sense they panicked when they saw us the night before. We must've been a little too early to the party.

"In this exercise, there are going to be two attackers," Nobu said, "You must locate them somewhere in the gardens, disarm them, and incapacitate them. And you have-" he stopped when the man with the strange glasses returned and whispered to him. He looked at the man with a glare that made me feel uneasy and the man shrugged in return.

"Ah...hmm. It appears that our two trained demonstrators have gone above and beyond what we paid them to do and brought along a third person to play the part of a hostage. Bring back the hostage unharmed and do it in 5 minutes. The buzzer will sound when your time is up. You time starts...now."

 

We stood for a moment, uncertain of how to proceed, when I heard a rustle in the bushes. Don't ask me how I could hear a rustle from 300 yards away, much less place the exact location, I just could. From the way Calvin turned his head, he had heard it as well. I pointed to the origin of the rustle.

"They're over there."

The other members of the team turned to look at me incredulously. Nobu watched me thoughtfully, then glanced to see the others' reactions.

"How can you be so sure?" asked Nico.

"Don't ask, just go," replied Cal, who started running in that direction. Soa, who seemed to believe us more readily than the others, followed. We ran through the gardens, Nico opening holes in the hedges for us to pass through when we encountered them. Just as we were about to come upon the demonstrators, a speaker system inconspicuously hidden in the garden turned on and we heard a mechanical voice say, "4 minutes remaining."

I peeked around a bush just as I heard a muffled scream. I saw a girl on the ground, tied up and gagged, the source of the scream. The large man bending over her slapped her in the face, and she gasped. The tall blond woman standing a few feet away barely paid them any attention, she seemed to be looking in the direction of the mansion.

I glared at the man. Fake attacker or not, that had been a real slap, and to slap a woman, one who was tied up, no less, was unnecessary and cruel. I was about to strike, but Calvin beat me to it. He leaped on the man, shoving him to the ground. I saw that he had sprouted fangs and was about to rip the man's throat out. My anger over the man cleared. We weren't actually supposed to kill anyone! I lunged at Cal, knocking him off the man, and he snarled at me like a lion who's just been challenged for superiority. I growled back, suddenly locked in a battle of wills with my own teammate.

In the meantime, the woman was about to shoot at us with a gun that was probably filled with pellets or blanks instead of real bullets, of course, but Nico lifted the gun out of her hands and Finn charmed her into giggles while Soa turned to the man and the hostage. Her and M grabbed the disgruntled man while the others got the blond woman's arms and picked up the captive. The mechanical speaker voice said, "3 minutes remaining."

Nobu came running out from the mansion and grinned.

"Excellent," he said, a grin on his face, "Excellent. Now, Soa, if you would, please change the memories of the two attackers so that they believe they are escaping this attack with barely their lives intact and then let them be on their way."

When Soa understandably gave him a confused look, he smiled wider and waved away her concern, "No need to worry, we have medical officials on the sidelines who will explain everything to them. They will understand it was for training purposes."

She did what he asked, then the two attackers ran off into the bushes without a backward glance.

Calvin and I were still staring each other down and it was about to get very ugly when Nobu called to us to stop.

"The full moon is tonight and you are not thinking rationally. You'll have plenty of time to rage and ravage all night, so calm yourselves now. Exert control over your animal sides."

I reluctantly got up off of Calvin and, giving him one last dirty look, followed the others back to the mansion. While we were on our way back, engrossed in conversation about our apparent victory in the first training mission, we didn't notice Nobu signal to two burly men in suits, or the "rescued" hostage looking terrified as they brusquely escorted her away.

[soangel]

I'll post now I'm back from uni

[soangel]

I looked up from my plate. A training exercise? But we weren't ready! I was still "out of shape" as Nobu so kindly pointed out! I took a deep breath as we all stood and walked out to the back gardens.

"This exercise must be what we saw last night," M whispered to me, and I nodded. It made sense they panicked when they saw us the night before. We must've been a little too early to the party.

"In this exercise, there are going to be two attackers," Nobu said, "You must locate them somewhere in the gardens, disarm them, and incapacitate them. And you have-" he stopped when the man with the strange glasses returned and whispered to him. He looked at the man with a glare that made me feel uneasy and the man shrugged in return.

"Ah...hmm. It appears that our two trained demonstrators have gone above and beyond what we paid them to do and brought along a third person to play the part of a hostage. Bring back the hostage unharmed and do it in 5 minutes. The buzzer will sound when your time is up. You time starts...now."

 

We stood for a moment, uncertain of how to proceed, when I heard a rustle in the bushes. Don't ask me how I could hear a rustle from 300 yards away, much less place the exact location, I just could. From the way Calvin turned his head, he had heard it as well. I pointed to the origin of the rustle.

"They're over there."

The other members of the team turned to look at me incredulously. Nobu watched me thoughtfully, then glanced to see the others' reactions.

"How can you be so sure?" asked Nico.

"Don't ask, just go," replied Cal, who started running in that direction. Soa, who seemed to believe us more readily than the others, followed. We ran through the gardens, Nico opening holes in the hedges for us to pass through when we encountered them. Just as we were about to come upon the demonstrators, a speaker system inconspicuously hidden in the garden turned on and we heard a mechanical voice say, "4 minutes remaining."

I peeked around a bush just as I heard a muffled scream. I saw a girl on the ground, tied up and gagged, the source of the scream. The large man bending over her slapped her in the face, and she gasped. The tall blond woman standing a few feet away barely paid them any attention, she seemed to be looking in the direction of the mansion.

I glared at the man. Fake attacker or not, that had been a real slap, and to slap a woman, one who was tied up, no less, was unnecessary and cruel. I was about to strike, but Calvin beat me to it. He leaped on the man, shoving him to the ground. I saw that he had sprouted fangs and was about to rip the man's throat out. My anger over the man cleared. We weren't actually supposed to kill anyone! I lunged at Cal, knocking him off the man, and he snarled at me like a lion who's just been challenged for superiority. I growled back, suddenly locked in a battle of wills with my own teammate.

In the meantime, the woman was about to shoot at us with a gun that was probably filled with pellets or blanks instead of real bullets, of course, but Nico lifted the gun out of her hands and Finn charmed her into giggles while Soa turned to the man and the hostage. Her and M grabbed the disgruntled man while the others got the blond woman's arms and picked up the captive. The mechanical speaker voice said, "3 minutes remaining."

Nobu came running out from the mansion and grinned.

"Excellent," he said, a grin on his face, "Excellent. Now, Soa, if you would, please change the memories of the two attackers so that they believe they are escaping this attack with barely their lives intact and then let them be on their way."

When Soa understandably gave him a confused look, he smiled wider and waved away her concern, "No need to worry, we have medical officials on the sidelines who will explain everything to them. They will understand it was for training purposes."

She did what he asked, then the two attackers ran off into the bushes without a backward glance.

Calvin and I were still staring each other down and it was about to get very ugly when Nobu called to us to stop.

"The full moon is tonight and you are not thinking rationally. You'll have plenty of time to rage and ravage all night, so calm yourselves now. Exert control over your animal sides."

I reluctantly got up off of Calvin and, giving him one last dirty look, followed the others back to the mansion. While we were on our way back, engrossed in conversation about our apparent victory in the first training mission, we didn't notice Nobu signal to two burly men in suits, or the "rescued" hostage looking terrified as they brusquely escorted her away.

 

As we made our way back inside, a man in a white lab coat emerged, and handed Nobu a clear piece of plastic with numbers and words flashing across it. It appeared to be another form of computer.

"Hmmm yes, I see," he said glancing over what was our vitals from the training exercise. "They are quite extraordinary, just as our forefathers always said. Still they're not ready. We shall begin the real training. Are you dealing with the intruder?"

"The girl is in the lab. We will find out if she's a Nation plant or if there is some other reason she wondered here," the man said, taking back the piece of plastic.

"Good, good. I shall set them to regaining their muscle tone. Let me know if there is any change in their vitals I need to be aware of," Nobu ordered, dismissing the man.

 

By this stage we were all in the lobby, where we had stopped, unaware of where we should go now. Nobu turned to us.

"You all did very well in that training exercise. As could be expected of the famous PPR. But before we can have you do more of those type of exercises we need to begin some training, to bring you up to the shape you were before the long sleep,"

At this stage, a woman entered the room. Her hair was bright blue, and she was wearing what classed as fitness clothes from our era.

"This is Cloud. She will be in charge of getting you in shape. You will spend the rest of the morning with her. Then you will come back here for lunch, where you will be given specialised meals, based on a rundown of your nutritional requirements. After which you shall work with me on power training. There will then be a brief introduction to 2030 lesson, followed by brief recreational time. We will discuss the special needs of tonight in that time. I shall see you at lunch,"

And with that Nobu departed, leaving us in the hands of Cloud.

"Come with me," she gestured, leading us back outside. "I need to see what kind of state the cyrogenics has left you in."

By this stage we noticed her hair was more a purple than the bright blue it was when we first saw her.

"Ah, your hair.." I began, pointing it out.

Cloud tugged on a lock, noting the colour. "Oh right. You guys didn't have mood hair back in your day. Its a simple cosmetic surgery. Its very in at the moment," she said dismissively, "but we're not here to talk about me or my hair. You can discuss things like that in learning about our society later."

 

We learnt throughout the exercise that Cloud wasn't one for talking. She had us going through various exercises, some torturous like the beep test, others less so, but all designed to give Cloud an idea of where we were at. She had on a pair of those weird flashy sunnies, which would flash more as she spoke our results out loud.

Finally she called a stop to the exercises. "Very well I can see the level your at now. I've developed some training programs which we will discuss tomorrow. Let's just say that luckily there isn't too much for us to do, thanks to you all being in shape before the sleep. However, there is still a lot of work to do. You will meet me here at the same time tomorrow morning. Dismissed."

 

We headed inside, weary and hungry and glad for some food, though Artsy and Calvin were a little on edge. The others were shooting them weird looks, depending on what they had remembered, but I was taking it in stride. It was after all a full moon tonight.

[soangel]

Just a suggestion - it might be an idea for Misspie (is that her name, - the one who got taken hostage) to be one of the children since they'd all be grown up now, and have no idea of their past identities (so could have any name)

[racinghorse83]

pink pony riders is alive once more? and bec is posting somewhere other than the australian thread? what has happened to this place? *gets all teary and motherly*