A Rise aNu (Alpha)

It was dim and damp, the air slightly chilly, and the sound of a leaky faucet broke the silence. A confused and saddened Nu sat on her cot looking at a worn out photograph of her, and the only human being that had bothered to care for her....or so she thought. Though the note on the back was sincere and heartfelt, Nu was angry that Jack had left her. He left her in this shabby hideout, all alone and the loneliness was getting to her. A single teardrop hit the photo prompting Nu to whip away her tears and leap out of her bed. She patted herself on the cheeks trying to pump herself up.

Nu had spent too much time moping around, if Jack had been there he would have dragged her out of their hideout for a breath of fresh air. Nu placed the photograph down on a desk next to a computer, before retrieving her coat from a nearby countertop. Before Nu reached the door to the hideout, she stopped in front of a busted mirror, it was the first time she had taken a good look at herself ever since Jack had left her. She was a mess, her two-tone hair was all over the place, her eyes were bloodshot from all the crying, and her nose was red from all the sniffling brought on by the tears.

Nu had decided she could not go out like this, hell she was even still wearing her training gear. She disappeared into the depths of the hideout and emerged several minutes later, all cleaned up, and in fresh clean clothes. It was her favorite outfit, a white long-sleeved dress that ended just above her knees, a pair of stripped leggings, brown boots, and a brown leather jacket. Now happy with her reflection, Nu opened the door to the hideout cautiously, She was still a bit in shock from the whole ordeal at the Project Perfection facility. The young woman took in a deep breath and exited the hideout.

Nu had barely timidly walked to the edge of the alleyway that led to the hideout, before she almost broke down in tears again. All the sounds and passing people were almost too overwhelming for the small reclusive girl. She took several small breaths trying to calm herself down, before finally walking out onto the sidewalk. Nu assimilated herself into the crowd of people as they moved down the sidewalk, she was shaking a bit, she felt uneasy with this many people around her.

Nu had only made it about three blocks before she ducked into the nearest ally to recompose herself. AS she took the time to regain her composure, she heard someone crying for help, turning her head just slightly she saw a group of people huddled over someone who was on the ground, while they kicked and pounded on him. She heard several in the group spout the word freak as they continued the beating. Nu looked down and saw a small metal rod laying on the ground, she picked it up, and banged it on the dumpster to her right. The loud bangs got the attention of the group. They turned and tried to shoo her off, before returning to their beating. Angry that she as ignored and that someone was being attacked right before her, she quickly sprang into action.

Before the group could turn and react to the sound of her footsteps, she lifted one of the men with her telekinesis and threw him into the building next to them, knocking him out cold. As soon as the others turned around, She had moved through them like a snake, landing fast, but powerful blows to the men as she passed through them. Nu stopped before hitting the last thug, she could see utter fear in his eyes, as the bodies of his comrades all hit the floor in unison. Nu's fist slowly opened up a bit as her heart raced a bit, she couldn't help but feel like she did something wrong, even though she saved the person on the ground from most likely death.

The fear in the man's eyes actually scared Nu a bit, he was looking at her like she was some sort of monster, it was the same look that all the scientists had on their faces when she woke up in her birth chamber. The flashbacks of that day were enough to cause Nu to throw a quick jab to the man's gut, knocking him out. She turned to the person on the floor and helped them up, she received thanks from the person and waved him off. As the person walked away, Nu stood there feeling good about herself, as she stood amongst the bodies of the unconscious thugs.

Montreal was not too far from the main branch of Master Pharmacueticals and it was a small point of interest for Alpha. It had been through a small bit of infromaton given to him really, something about a metahuman that he would ve interested in learning about, or rather a power they possessed anyway.  From what his information had stated, they would be able to help him with a more personal dillema he was dealing with, but then again that was a rather heavy maybe. It was the only reason really that he had moved from his lab aside from all that was required of him, from Samhain to his public life that went on as usual despite his nearing deadline. That was in part why he was going out, though he did think ahead to bring a little back up should he need it, in the form of Delta and Zeta.

Seperatly they were not that useful, but togeher he found the two to be very useful in most situations. That was mostly why they wete coming along with him, well it was that and Delta had begged to come along to prove himself in some inane way. It appeared that he had gotten it within his head that Alpha did not have much use for him anymore, and within their mind that explained why they were not going on as many missions as usual. Making himself part of Lucius' little movement made things even more annoying really, but then again things were as they were. The metahuman was a more useful ally than enemy, so he would do what he needed to keep them as such, and Alpha had found himself growing fond of them in his own way. Perhaps it was in part the childre, but then again it might have also been more.

”So we're hunting down some meta?” Zeta would asked, dressed in usual black mission attire save for the shorts which were something he almost always wore. If aything, it made one assume that he did not take his job too seriously and people would have been right in assuming that. Still, he did his job well enough for Alpha to let him keep his position as the Zeta of their group anyway.

”Well duh, that is sorta what Alpha said like three times before.” Delta explained with a roll of his eyes while playing around with his personal mask while the vehicle drove through the streets slowly, windows tinted enough to hide the faces behind them. His target operated in a small gang somewhere within this city actually, and that was something that Alpha found easier to deal with. In gangs like these people tended to follow easy to predict behavior and so he just had to follow that scheme to find his target. Once they got to the location in question, all three of them would put the black masks over their faces and step out into one of the many convinient alleyways that fileld the city. What the three ended up walking on was interesting really, a female displaying what looked like a form of telekinesis to disable a few thugs with ease, though they weren't exactly who he was looking for.

Among the unconscious bodies this person stood, and none of them were the one he was looking for. Likely she would then begin to hear the clapping reverberating through the alleyway, the sound of leather gloves clapping together. ”Impressive. Quite the daring act of heroism really, color me impressed.” Alpha noted through a voice filter built within the mask.

Nu stood still, trying to comprehend what she had just done, was it a good thing to beat up all those thugs? Should she have held back a bit? No matter the case, Nu now had something else to worry about. The sound of clapping filled the alleyway, barely audible over the sound of the passing traffic and passing bystanders. Nu turned to see a group of three men approaching, their attire and numbers made Nu feel uneasy. The running thought in her mind was that these people could be from that facility that she had escaped from, the other was that they could be some sort of law enforcement, after all she had never been out alone, or in such a situation.

The young girl could feel herself begin to shake from anxiety. As the men approached she put on a look of innocents and confusion. Nu tried to play things off as if she was the one that had been attacked, waving her hands back and forth through the air trying to signal that she wasn't the one who had incapacitated the pile of bodies at her feet. Nu was unaware that the men had seen her make short work of the group. She took a step back out of hesitation and fear of the unknown events that were about to unfold, after all she had only ever been around one other person ever since her escape, so gauging people was not one of her strongest skills.

Their reaction upon seeing the three of them was one of apprehension, though that was to be expected considering how they were dressed. Something from their body language showed that they were afraid of them and it had something to do with the people they knocked out.  ”I think there's something up with her.” Zeta noted in his usual obvious fashion, pointing out the females rather frantic behavior but their lack of overall speech. Something about it was strange really, but then again Alpha had dealt with stranger things really.

”She's scared, that much I can tell.” Alpha noted with a smirk beneath his mask, undoing the class that held them in place before letting the mask slip into his hand. Don't worry, i'm not here to hurt you. He sent the telepathic message out to them, letting them know more than anything he had no ill intentions towards them. Afterall, something told him they would in the end be useful in some fashion for him. His expression was even one that displayed more than anything how nonthreatening he intended to have himself look.

He would make sure his mind was open, maybe enough so that they knew they could broadcast their thoughts to him should the inclination hit them. ”My name is Alpha, this is Zeta and Delta.” He would introduce, pointing one finger to himself and then to the other two. Hopefully they could understand that they could use his telepathic connection to respond should they be up to it.

Nu shot one of the men a dirty look when he made the comment that something was wrong with her, it wasn't her fault that she was born this way, and there wasn't much she could do about it. That being said, her attention shifted to the man at the groups center. He hit the nail right on the head, she was scared for sure, these strange men had appeared from seemingly out of nowhere and were now making their way towards her. She tensed up as the man in the middle raised his hand, which then undid the clasps to his mask, as he let it slip softly into his hand.

There was something about him, that made her feel a bit more at ease, she was still wary of the men, but her apprehension had shifted to that of calmness, as she loosened up a bit, noticing that calm, kind look on the guys face. He then proceeded to introduce the group, and Nu nodded her head, as he said each of their names and pointed to each one as he did so. Each one of their names were strange, much akin to her own, which made her think that maybe they were just like her in some way.

Nu though of how she could introduce herself, as she had never had to do so before this moment. She quickly pointed to her throat and waved her finger back and forth, signaling that she couldn't talk. Her eyes then lit up and she raised a finger prompting the guys to wait, as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. Nu then opened a blank document and wrote the words |(My name is Nu)| which she then slowly approached the group and flashed the message at Alpha.

It didn’t really take a genius to tell that either she was far too shy to really talk or maybe the female could not talk at all, which also was possible. The latter possibility seemed the most likely when she seemed to prefer motions rather than just saying something. His telepathy did him no good as it felt more like he was trying to batter against a wall than anything else. ”Can’t talk? Well that makes things difficult.” Alpha muttered to himself, stroking his chin with a free hand while Zeta sort of just stood back to watch whatever happened next. Granted, the meeting people who seemed immune to his mental influence was not common, but then again even to communication was something else entirely. However they had thought of a way to bridge the communication gap by using their phone to type things out.

”Nu, that’s an interesting name you have there.” Alpha noted, clipping his mask to his belt to keep from having to hold it all of the time. ”Now the question is what are you doing out here in this part of the city. It’s not exactly safe.” Which was true enough, even if he was not trying to really save them from anything. Perhaps their display of power had been enough to catch his attention, as it appeared to be at the moment. ”There are much more dangerous men around, ones that could do things like you and...well me.” Makin a demonstration out of it, Alpha leaned back and appeared to sit upon nothing, holding himself in the air with nothing more than a thought.

”So NU, now I have a question that begs an answer. What exactly were you doing out here of all places?  From that display of yours, I doubt it was some heroic act, or it wasn’t that to begin with.” How they responded would decide much.

Nu nodded in agreement when Alpha made the remark about having difficulty communicating with someone like her, she even went as far as to hang her head down in a bit of disappointment. It wasn't her fault, but she felt bad not being able to fully communicate with others. She gave Alpha a look of confusion when he asked what she was doing in this part of town, and that it was dangerous. To be honest, she never thought the neighbor hood was that bad, then again she rarely left the hideout, and when she did, Jack was at her side. Just thinking about Jack made her a bit sad, as it made her think of how truly lonely she now was.

In order to answer Alpha's question she began tapping away at her phones screen. |(I live nearby)| She typed, before then pointing at herself and flexing her right arm quite proudly, to display that she was tough, and could handle herself. Nu nodded once again, agreeing with Alpha's assertion that there were much more dangerous people, than the thugs she had just laid out. Her eyes then widened in excitement and awe as Alpha leaned back and appeared to be sitting on the air itself. Nu gave a slight hop up and down and clapped with amazement. Alpha then asked her again why she was here, and why she had helped out that innocent civilian from the thugs. Nu raised her finger, signaling for them to hold on, as she thought of a response.

Nu turned away from the three men, while placing a hand on her chin, in deep thought, thinking over just exactly why she sprang to that civilians aid like she did. She then straightened out and raised a finger again, as if the thought had hit her like a bolt of lightning. Nu began tapping away once again at her phones screen before flashing it once again at Alpha. |(It seemed like the right thing to do)|

The female seemed impressed by his display of power, clapping in excitement after showing a message that said she lived around here. ”You live nearby? Well that sounds even more interesting.” Alpha noted to himself with a nod, considering what that meant as far as things went. That made him wonder how someone could live around here but not know about the criminal elements that were at work within this section of town. It meant either she was blind as well as mute or maybe she had not actually left wherever she lived before, though in the end there were many other things that could explain why she was acting like that.

Maybe she’s just dumb. Zeta suggested through telepathic communication with Alpha, who just responded by cutting Zeta off from the telepathic link.

As for why she had helped people, the reasoning had been that she just thought it was the right thing to do. ”Felt like the right thing to do? How heroic of you.” Alpha noted not sounding the least bit sarcastic as he made a directing motion with his hand. ”I would suggest we get out of here however, the police will be here soon enough to apprehend these men. I’m sure you don’t want to be around when they arrive, that will just look bad on you.” Should the female decide to come along with him, then Alpha would let his mask fold up along with the others as they slipped them into their pockets, removing their jackets and overall making themselves look less conspicuous. ”Perhaps we could….talk more in a place with less unconscious people.”

Was it heroic? Was it brave? Or was it stupid? Nu gave him a shrug, she couldn't really make a definite distinction weather it was heroic or not, truth of the matter was, it just felt right. The girl thought for a moment, what Alpha was saying, made sense, someone was bound to have seen what happened in the alley way, and it was only a matter of time before some law enforcement showed up. Nu was unsure of what to do, on the one hand she felt like she could trust Alpha, but the other two had really yet to show their true personalities, let alone talk. Alpha's comment about going somewhere that wasn't littered with unconscious bodies, made Nu feel a bit sad, she didn't mean to be that rough, but she just didn't know her own strength.

As the three men all slipped their masks into their pockets and removed their jackets, Nu gave the prospect of going with them a hard once over. She weighed the possible outcomes in her mind, and figured if things went south she would be able to take care of herself, after all, Jack wasn't there to hold her hand anymore, and it was up to her to make her own decisions now, and for her to experience things on her own. With a slight nod and a thumbs up to Alpha, she agreed to accompany them, where ever they were going.

The police interference had been something he set up, to make sure that the criminals were dealt with while he walked away with the female in question. What her powers were, he would learn about later when they had time to themselves and if she would be willing to tell them, well if she would be willing to show them. Delta was mostly quiet, looking around with those curious eyes of his while he silently hummed. In the distance the sound of sirens would sound off, showing that they had exited the alleyway and walked forward long enough to separate them from the crime. ”Here’s our ride.” Alpha noted as a black limo would drive up to them, a door opening as Travis would motion for the female and then his siblings to climb into it. The seats were comfortable looking and upon sitting down, she would likely find that it was true.

Once everyone was seated, the door would close and then the vehicle would go into motion again. With that done, Zeta would reach down and pull a small compartment under his seat and removed a small clear glass bottle full of a dark colored fluid. ”Here, now we can talk more plainly with less unwanted ears to hear. It appears that your inability to talk may make conversation difficult, but i’m sure we can get around that.” He stated while Zeta seemed to nurse down whatever it was he was drinking, though he did nothing to interrupt the conversation ”So, I assume you’re some manner of metahuman aren’t you? I know that may seem like an obvious question, but it's more important than you think.”.

Nu followed the trio out of the alleyway and into a rather very comfortable backseat of a limo. Must would think this was sketchy, and hell Nu would be lying to herself is she didn't have any doubts about climbing into the vehicle with three people she had just met. Call it intuition or whatever, but Nu also felt like she could trust these people, it was a nagging feeling in the back of her head, their outward appearances and actions gave off a creepy vibe, but being around them, also brought a bit of peace and security. Maybe it was just because Nu felt lonely, after all, Jack left and she hadn't received any more information from that strange alien world mind thing had been helping her with her powers.

Nu sat with her hand in her lap, eyes wandering around the interior of the limo, and biting the inside of her lip out of nervousness. Her attention darted between the three men she was accompanied by, before finally resting her eyes on Alpha, who had begun to speak. He brought up a very confusing subject for Nu, as she had no idea what she was. According to Jack she was a metahuman, while the world mind that she had briefly communicated with claimed she was an alien, then there was her personal opinion, from what she remembered, she had woken up in a liquid filled tank of some kind, which made he believe she was some artificial life form.

Nu scratched her head as she stared at the screen of her phone, trying to think of the words to describe the very strange predicament she was in. Finally her fingers got to tapping away, before she flashed the screen at Alpha while shrugging |(I'm not quite sure, I was created in a lab.)| It was a very personal matter to Nu and she was uneasy as to how Alpha would react, especially if her genealogy was important.

The female seemed to be awkward within the new situation, but that was not something that was unexpected really. It was rare men in black masks walked up to a person, especially in a world of metahumans where people could burn things with their minds or things of that nature. In the least they would be a metahuman, though there were always interesting things to find around the world. Alot of thinking happened after his question, but in the end she came up with a response to it. From what the message said, the female was born within a lab much like himself. Just thinking about it brought back memories of coming out of the tube, covered within the strange nutrient rich substance he had been incubated within. That was followed by memories flowing through his mind at an accelerated speed, until Alpha snapped back to the situation at hand.

”Well isn’t this quite the surprise. Looks like we have more than I thought in common.” Alpha responded with a smirk, reclining within the comfortable leather seat while Zeta turned his attention towards her.

”Wow, looks like we aren’t the only artificial people.” He noted with a smirk, wiping away a small amount of moisture from the side of his mouth with the back of his hand.

”Yes, we were made in labs ourselves. The details are a bit blurry but those are unimportant right now.”

Nu arched a bow with intrigue in response to Alpha's claim of being born in a lab as well. She could see that he was a bit lost in thought, prompting her to think that maybe his awakening or whatever you wanted to call it, was just as tragic or unforgiving as hers, then again, she knew nothing more about the man other than the fact that they shared a similar origin. She flashed a thumbs up at Zeta after his remark, it was meant to be more of a, cool we have something in common, than a cool your artificial to. Nu flashed a smile at him hopping he wouldn't take it the wrong way.

Nu turned her attention back to her phone, as it was the only way she could communicate most effectively. Her fingers tapped the screen with remarkable quickness, showing that she had been doing this sort of thing for a while and had gotten quite proficient with it. After typing a message she flashed the screen at Alpha as she had been doing |(Where are we going exactly? And what's so important about being a metahuman or not?)|. Assuming she had held the phone up long enough for Alpha to see the message, her hand returned to her lap, phone clenched firmly. She hoped by asking questions she could learn a bit more about the trio of men that she was in the company of.

Alpha could tell through facial expressions that the female was slightly interested in what he had to say or perhaps at least there was simple curiosity at play. Zeta responded to the thumbs up with one of his own, before lapsing into what appeared to be him thinking to himself. Just as soon they would return to their phone and begin to type another message before flashing it at him. ”A safer place. My personal base in the city. Somewhere we could talk, unless that would be unsatisfactory.” Alpha explained as he reclined within his seat, waiting for another of their cellphone answers.

Nu shook her head at Alpha's comment, she didn't feel threatened by these men, she was in good company, at least as far as she had judged up to this point. Any doubt or fear she had earlier, had subsided and she was fine with accompanying the tri to their base. Though she had no voice or any means of communication she imagined a song in her head and bobbed back and forth to its melody, while tapping her feet back and forth, her actions definitely seemed odd, but she was just keeping herself entertained while the limo moved through the city streets.

Nu occasionally shot a glance at Alpha, Zeta, and Delta, slowing down her actions or stopping them altogether if she noticed she was being stared at. Her gaze also often wandered as she peered through the tinted windows at all the pedestrians that lined the streets, there were so many people, out there, she wondered how many of them were like the trio of men and herself.