A New Life

[Elias Donovan]

Whatever the teams were seeking, it seemed the Chancellor didn't know.

Tony was inclined to take the Chancellor at his word, but Elias was skeptical. The Dean at Victoria University was similarly withholding. There was fear in the man's voice. Fear of what, though? That the wrong people would discover his free-tongue? Or was he afraid of the artifact itself?

There wasn't time to find out. Tendrils of light and color ripped through the Chancellor's mind while Elias bore witness. Tony attempted to explain what hew as doing as he did it, but it was all Eli could do to keep up with the pattern he created. Eli was a blank slate, concerned, perhaps, but dormant.

Until something warped, and power rebounded wrongly. The resulting vacancy on the Chancellor's expression made the hair on Elias' arm stand on end.

Tony grimaced like he hadn't intended to destroy the mind of likely the sharpest leader at the University. It seemed the price of failure was a fate worse than death. Already a glob of drool pooled at the corner of the Chancellor's mouth.

He followed Tony from the room, but while part of his mind looked to the river ahead, he glanced at the man abandoned behind them.

On the journey, he snapped a picture of the destination and put it through search engines. With a minimal amount of effort, Eli was reading about the area, the river, news stories, anything of significance that might stand out.

There was nothing.

[Tony Soloyov]

In his periphery Tony saw Elias hesitate and look back towards the Chancellor. He did not fault the man his feelings, but if he wanted to pursue the objective to the end, it was something he would need to come to terms with. "There is no shame in regret, Elias."
He decided to talk about himself, rather than the man directly. "I failed and for that I am sorry for the Chancellor. Sometimes we must take chances to achieve our goals. Something I am sure you are already acquainted with."


Tony led them back through the front entrance, explaning as he was wont to do. "Best be seen exiting the way we came. If anyone saw us go in, sneaking out would look suspicious."


A brief scan of the area revealed no onlookers, only the occasional student or Professor going about their day as usual in the distance. It seemed like it was a good thing the Chancellor's precinct was not frequented often these days.

Tony turned to face Elias, who seemed to be seraching the area laid out on the piece of paper. "Any luck?"


Elias shook his head in the negative, seeming frustrated. Perhaps he thought Tony had acted to quickly with the Chancellor. Well, he would have to deal with it. It was in the best interests of the man, although he doubted that telling Elias that would lessen the frustration.

Tony gleaned somewhat of an understanding of Elias. He had felt it himself before. The man's attire and attitude was likely far less a statement of rebellious impetuosity than it was a calculated decision. The world he knew had turned it's back on him - just as it had on Tony - and he had found a solution. Or Tony was completely wrong, but did not think so. He had experienced a decade of change in himself and seeing it through others like him. He knew what it could do to men and women, Elias' disposition was far from the worst he had known.

"Then we must regroup. I shall take you to my home to meet others like us. If these people are truly that dangerous, we will need their help."

---

Hours later Tony introduced Elias to the men he had gathered in the apartment Claire was forced to carry him to. Thought of the fiery young woman made him smile and he made a mental note to check on her when he could.

"This is Elias Donovan, he is one of us."
Tony said with an unusual bluntness. It was not necessary to cajole these men. They all nodded , they all understood what it meant. "He needs our help, and we shall give it to him."
Again the four men nodded. It had been the same with each of them, they would not hesitate. "Now introduce yourselves!" he ended with a cheerful smile.

First among them was Veso Yashliv, a bald man in his late twenties who had become something akin to Tony's second in command. The other men looked up to him and his level head made him a fast learner. He was already as powerful as Tony was, and he suspected the man could go further, if not as far as Michael. He took Elias' hand in a firm grip with a steady gaze. " A pleasure to meet you, I am Veso Yashliv."


Next was a stork of a man, little more than a boy despite his 24 years. He gave Elias a confident grin. "Always ready to help out a fellow magician. Hans Sherroer at your service."
He finished with a flourish of power induced glamour.

"I am Dan,"
the quiet dark-skinned man said with a flash of white teeth. His accent suggested African decent but he kept his past close to his chest. He was not particularly outstanding, but he listened and took his training extremely seriously.

Last of all came the towering figure of Yuri Schaklinov whose scarred face belied a more temperate nature. His face was not the worst of his scars. "My name is Yuri, I will do what I can."

[Elias Donovan]

Elias was motionless in the doorway to Tony's home. Four men gazed back at him. There was nothing particularly outstanding about any one individual, and neither could Eli sense anything from them. It seemed his kind were wont to hide until they revealed themselves: sharks swimming in deep waters until it was too late. He assumed that likewise Eli was hidden from them as well. If they were sharks, he was the Great White lazily surveying his kingdom. He entered and greeted each man.

They were all older than he, but Eli met each handshake confidently. He was taller than both Veso and Hans, whom as Eli greeted the latter, stirred the waters of the shark's lair with power. Eli did not react but to move on. Dan was gritty, his affect serious. Eli immediately liked him. Eli studied the final man's scarred face, Yuri, and could not help but wonder how a man of such pleasant nature was once so badly wounded.

"Thank you,"
Elias said to the group for their help. "I'm Elias. Or you can call me Eli if you wish."
They immediately took to his American accent, for which Eli explained his origins in Utah. This of course led to the conversation about his time in Wellington and the disappearance of his uncle. He pulled out his Uncle's Wallet, which likely by some oversight was still active and the account still paid in full by the University.

With it, Eli threw multiple images to the air. The guys gathered around.

"This is my uncle, Paul. A scientist and marine biologist, on the team's vessel,"
Eli said, pausing to look at his uncle's smiling, warm expression. He moved on.

"This was their destination, north of Antarctica, well within arctic waters. My uncle said they were tracking a subthreshold heat and energy signature that some members of the team argued as volcanic, but he disagreed."


Eli then swiped to a radar-like grid of the ocean that upon spinning turned into a 3d cube of the sea viewed from the side. The floor of the ocean was positioned below, the surface above. The waters pulsed with a color coded signature that Elias had to enhance the settings just to make them visible to the naked eye. Once done, the waters rippled from oceanic blue to a deathly red. "'The signature was wide, but the source was focal', he said."
To demonstrate, Eli zoomed in on a small part of the sea floor. "His calculations couldn't determine the exact size, but he argued the signature originated from an area no larger than the rug under the couch over there."
Eli pointed at Tony's living room.

Dan, frowning, or perhaps thoughtful, spoke up. "What could do that? Was it radioactive? Or was it a fissure of a volcano as assumed?"


Eli shook his head. "If Paul had a guess, he didn't tell me, but he was very excited. This is the extent of my knowledge. Their destination, the time they left, and these particle signatures. The rest was classified and the data files were removed from his account. I can't access any of it from his Wallet. The Dean at Victoria University claims it was a volcano. He even showed me seismograph activity taking place the day they lost contact with the team, but I think it was forged."


Veso snorted. "Why would a volcano thousands of meters under the sea have anything to do with a science vessel suddenly disappearing?"


Hans swung around to answer him. "Maybe they found a new Bermuda Triangle?"
Despite his snide remark, Eli grew grim. Perhaps they had.

"There's an old man in the Guardian that I went to visit. There was a similar experience almost fifty years ago. They thought there was something radioactive in the waters. They went to investigate. He was the only survivor. He claims there was an earthquake that opened a cavern."
The men looked confused, so Eli lifted a finger while he pulled up a map of the world's oceans.

With it he highlighted the warmest waters, those latitudes above and below the equator. "The greatest abundance of sea life exists in this region, where there is warmth, sunlight and abundant food."


With a few deft movements, the area of the sea shifted to highlight the waters around the Antarctic continent. "What you may not realize is that the Deep Antarctic Waters is the cradle of marine life of the marine species on the planet. This is the Macquarie Ridge,"
Eli traced his finger along an 870-mile-long underwater mountain range that stretched from New Zealand to the Antarctic Circle. "The peak of the mountain range stretches so close to the surface that it creates massive underwater currents that constantly circulate food for larger predators to flourish."
Finally, he did a quick image search to demonstrate his final point. "And deep sea octopuses trace their origins back to relatives that swam in the waters around Antarctica. The closest known descendant of those species is called the Megaleledone setebos, which feeds by drilling small holes through mollusk shells and then injects its poisonous saliva."


The men's expressions were slowly turning into shock while Hans' approached horror. With everything they'd seen in their days, the idea of the existence a giant sea monster was within the realm of possibility.

"The old man in the Guardian was locked away because he claimed a giant, Cthulhu-like creature emerged from the open cavern and capsized their vessel."
Eli shrugged.

"The Antarctic sea is largely unexplored and still boasts the capacity for giant sea life to thrive. I might have believed him, until Tony and I met the Chancellor. This is a larger conspiracy, boys. One involving governments and institutions across the globe."


Finally, he showed them the Chancellor's river map. His uncle's Wallet was of course configured to portray any large body of water in the world, and the Moscow River was one such body. This was the first chance Eli had to study the river in 3d view. With the Wallet on the table, the golden city of Moscow, and the blue river plunging through its heart, hovered above.

He chipped away with knife-like swipes of his hands at the city until only the river remained, a streak of pale blue. He turned it on its side like a Rubik's cube, twisting it this way and that until it was a straight line. All the various depths and canals breaking in and out of it were displayed. When he punched in the GPS coordinates from the Chancellor's map, a red target pointed out the location.

"And this location is our only lead. I would be willing to bet that if we had the software that could detect the subthreshold particle signature, we'd find a striking similarity to what my uncle was after."


Eli paused, studying the area, and wishing he had a greater education to draw upon than his mere semester at Victoria University, but with the six of them, he had every confidence they could discover the truth together.


Edited by Elias Donovan, Jul 12 2014, 09:31 AM.

[Tony Soloyov]

After the introductions, Tony stayed silent allowing Elias and the four other men to test the waters. It also gave him the chance to think about the situation without distraction.

He trusted the four to keep on their wits about them, even Hans, but the danger was all too apparent. Talk of sea monsters and Professors disappearing was troubling to say the least.

Tony searched his mind for a lead, a spark of an idea, anything that could ease their passage, but from what Elias was saying, their options were limited. The MSU research division had trouble with it, never mind a group of desperate fugitives.

Their only option weighed heavily on his mind. The possibility of death or worse was very real, and despite what some of the others might believe, Tony felt the burden of responsibility for all of their lives. Veso was little more than two or three years younger than Tony himself but he felt ancient as he taught them how to control their powers.

Despite his hesitation, he was only avoiding the obvious outcome. He was far too curious to let this slide. He would forever regret the opportunity lost, and any opportunity to gain an advantage was worth his life ten times over.

"We don't have much choice,"
he said in the silence after Elias' report on the situation. "We will search the area indicated by the missing Professor."


He did not have to think about his delegations as he spoke. "From what we know it will be extremely dangerous. We will stay together for the most part, but form groups of two."
The first was as it had always been, gravity to temper extravagance. "Veso and Hans."
The elder man nodded in understanding while the younger rolled his eyes. "Dan and Yuri."
Dan's intent devotion to his new gift would compliment the more soft-spoken Yuri.

He turned to Elias with a smile. The reasoning was plain, and he doubted Elias would appreciate the sentiment, but he was by what Tony had gathered inexperienced and his fixation on his uncle's recovery could lead him to consider something extremely foolish. "You shall have the pleasure of my company,
" he said lightly, then changed his tone to convey the level of danger they faced. "Stay together at all times. Remember what you have been taught, and do not try anything idiotic."
Veso grinned and ruffled Hans' hair much to the latter's annoyance.

Tony turned back to Elias. "We will follow you,"
he didn't need to say he would be keeping an eye on everything, ready to step in at any moment. "Lead the way."



Edited by Tony Soloyov, Jul 15 2014, 09:04 AM.

[Elias Donovan]

"And a pleasure it will be,"
Elias replied flatly.

Tony's quickness to action was surprising, but a welcome turn of events. Finally, Eli felt as though he were gaining traction. Elias transferred the digital location on the map to the dashboard of their SUV so Yuri had turn by turn directions. Within the city, traffic was congested, and Elias did not lament his traveling by metro. The concentration of people piled in one spot, like the center of a dartboard, unnerved him slightly until he felt trapped by concrete and glass. So he busied himself with working on his Uncle's Wallet in an attempt to understand some of the more complicated applications. Once they arrived riverside, he would be at a loss for how to search the area except by on-foot. Hans brought a Wallet-activated drone, but Elias did not trust anything he couldn't control, and his lack of experience with the scientific technology at his fingertips frustrated him endlessly.

They rode for more than an hour. Meanwhile, Elias and the others used public database maps to study the riverbanks up and down both sides of their destination. The imagery was likely more than six months old, given that the banks were covered in grass and the trees filled with leaves.

He leaned forward and swiped the image on his personal screen to the SUV dashboard.

"There's a path just to the left of this bridge that runs along the river for a quarter-mile. I say we park out of sight of the road and continue the rest of the way on foot."


Yuri agreed.

The spot along the bridge was open as he'd predicted, but the path was covered with fresh snow. They would leave tire tracks but there was nothing that could be done about it. Tony gave the word that they continue anyway, and they all suddenly swayed in their seats as the car drove off road.

The path was wooded on the right, but open to the river on the left. They were essentially in the country. The nearest town was miles away, but Elias was not certain if he liked the idea of isolation or not.

They parked. He pulled out his gloves and wrapped his throat with a heavy scarf to shield him from the elements. Who knew how long they would be out here?

[Tony Soloyov]

It had been a very long time since Tony had felt the country breeze across his face. More often than not in the past ten years he had been mired in the Undercity's filth dulled by alcohol or sharpened by impending doom.

To say it was nice to feel the free air again was an understatement. It almost overcame his reflexive paranoia. There was no cover, no tunnels to escape down like rabbit's down a warren.

His hands were clenched tight in his pockets when they disembarked and he had to resist the urge to fill himself with power. Hans was already filled near to bursting - a ways short of what Tony could hold, but enough for the young man who had only recently discovered his talents.

Veso, ever steady placed a hand on the boy's back and the strain lessened to a more tolerable level. Dan pushed forward towards the far side of the bridge without so much as a word, leaving Yuri trailing in his wake reluctantly. They both emanated the steady menace of power.

Tony had no clear sense of direction. Try as he might, he could not keep up with Hans or Elias, even Dan, when it came to the search. Once, he had been bathed in all sorts of cutting edge technology only money could buy but it seemed like - as with almost everything - so much had changed in ten years.

Tony grunted to himself, annoyed at that line of thought. He could not lament the loss of time forever, and he had five men to look after. "Alright, let's get this search under way,"
he said somewhat less composed than he usually was.

Veso and Hans nodded and set off to the west of the bridge, which left Tony and Elias with the East. "They'll let us know if they find anything,"
Tony said to Elias, then realised he had not thought to explain to him earlier.

Tony used a simple weave of red light, showing Elias. The light hovered at eye height. It was bright enough to make him shade his eyes with one hand. "Can you remember that?"
he asked, not sure how much Elias knew. "It's very simple, but the fastest way to communicate. It is like a flare signalling to the others your position."


Anxious to be done with this as quickly as possible, Tony moved towards the riverside.

Every minute they searched went by at an excruciatingly slow pace so that Tony could not tell how long it had been and the sky was overcast. In truth, he did not know what to look for, so he followed Elias more or less and kept his eyes sharp.

"Hold up,"
he said suddenly, spying something odd in the frozen grass at the side of the river. Tony moved forward, the power within surging. He knelt down beside the water's edge and ran a hand along icy green. The ice had kept the red stain fresh, so he could not tell how long it had been there. "This is blood,"
he said, holding his hand up for Elias to see.

Almost by wrote, a red light flashed overhead. Dan and Yuri.

Tony looked at Elias with concern. "I think we have found something, and I don't like it. Let's hurry, those boys might be in danger."

[Elias Donovan]

Red light formed before his eyes, and Elias knew instantly he could recreate its form. If he could shield himself from being swept away by the rage. Instinct summoned the rage like tuning one's ears to hear water dripping in the distance, but he was unsure if he wield the torrent at will.

But if he dared the attempt, he'd be damned sure he could create the red light.

His gaze followed Tony's gesture to the frozen blood. "Lets go."


They hurried back to Dan and Yuri. The snow crunched underfoot along the riverbank, and despite the unsure footing, they made quick speed. They rounded on the two that signaled for aid at the same time as Veso and Hans.

Dan and Yuri stood back to give the others room to see. What was discovered were the remains of a body. Male probably, by the size, but Elias had no intention to rummage through the remains to seek confirmation. It was like discovering a vulture-ridden carcass in the desert. The face was all but picked off by animals. The gloves of his hands were eaten through by rodents, probably rats. Elias hated rats. They'd been working at the boots as well, but had yet to make it through the tough leather. "There's another one about ten meters that way," Yuri said.


"It could be worse,"
Dan added.

The others looked at him in disbelief. "How so, Dan?"
Hans asked.

Dan shrugged, "Ever smell a body laid out the sun to rot?"


Elias was glad nobody answered.

They were all searching the area for clues as to what could take down a stout man like this. He didn't appear to have been shot.

Such was when Eli knelt and plucked something out of the snow. "Looks like he tried to defend himself."
He held a brass casing in the palm of his hand for the others to see.

Hans frowned. "From who?"


Everyone's eyes scanned the silent river. The only witness. Veso added one additional question they were all thinking:
"Or what?"

[Tony Soloyov]

Tony surveyed the body with a grim face. He had seen a lot of bodies, some of them ripped apart by a failed weave in front of his eyes. The flesh did not bother him, what bothered him was the unnatural circumstances. On closer inspection it seemed as if the body had been torn apart by some kind of shark. Probably a big one that Michael used to tell him about.

Of course it went without saying, there was no such creature in the Moscow River. The mysterious disappearances had him on edge. Veso was right - this did not look like human work.

He remembered Michael's account of monsters and Jensen's warning of the end of the world, which served to increase his paranoia. Something was not right. Something was very, very wrong.

He turned his head towards the river. It was frozen over with no sign of any disturbance to the ice. Could it have been something on land? A bear?

No. There were at least two corpses - both along the riverside - and it did not look like they were eaten. "It looks like these men were murdered,"
he said eventually.

"Murdered?"
Hans asked with a quiver in his voice.

Dan nodded. "These marks. I do not recognize them. I don't think a human could do this alone, but a beast does not leave it's prey so...whole."


Hans grimaced. "Unless they ran him through a meat grinder."


Nobody laughed.

Tony turned back to the frozen river. "They were searching the river,"
it was more for his own benefit than the others.

He made his way towards the edge and bent down to look out over the ice. He could see nothing but a vague murky blue underneath a layer of fresh snow.

With a gloved hand, Tony carefully brushed away the white flakes. The river became clearer but it was still a haze of dark blue.

Tony frowned, leaning closer and pressing his palm against the ice, careful not to break it. Even with his senses sharpened he could see nothing. He cleared a wider area, his brows drawn down.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Tony. You don't want to fall in."
Veso said, but his concern was ignored.

"What..."
he muttered under his breath. The river grew harder to see. He leaned closer. It...darkened...

What the fuck is this...

The water turned black before something flashed before his eyes. Ice erupted in his face and pain lanced through his right hand. Tony scrambled backwards and wiped his eyes in reflex. Blood dripped red across his vision and he could smell the metallic bite as it ran down his nose. He swore and used his left hand this time.

Nothing came from the broken ice, but Tony's attention was drawn to the river. The water...rippled like a wave at sea but the ice remained disturbingly untouched. The silence made the sight more disturbing and Tony could do nothing but watch as it disappeared, travelling away from the city.

"Tony, your hand,"
Veso said. The man was at his side while the other three remained frozen further up the bank.

Tony looked down to find a red mess, pain swelling to replace shock. "I will heal it,"
Veso continued, weaving a complex pattern. Tony did not have the time or the will to object to the dangers and felt the shock of healing wash over his body, leaving him exhausted.

For once in his life, he found himself speechless.

[Elias Donovan]

All eyes were on Tony as he knelt along the riverbank. Like his companions, a growing unease gripped Eli's chest. They suddenly realized how very alone they were in the country. They were six men capable of great feats, but off road and untracked, they were trapped on their island of self-imposed isolation.

One by one, swarms of power grew shadowing menaces around him as each of the men turned to Rage for aid. Eli himself resisted for the time being. Tony was swiping the snow from the ice and suddenly tensed. A moment later ice erupted in a fountain of shards and Tony fell backwards. The others rushed to his aid, but Elias rounded toward the riverbank.

Whatever broke the ice was gone, but he continued to stare into the hole left behind like he might view some other secret world through the watery portal. Veso radiated power that warped Eli's senses to stand so near wielded Rage.

Elias ignored their use of the power as light grew in the back of his mind. A volcano, long dormant, stirred.

He heard his name called from a far distance.

"Elias!"
It was Hans' voice. Distant. Why had the man ran away? Was he truly that cowardly?

Eli turned in a slow circle, confused. He was surrounded by a flat plain of undisturbed snow but the others remained on the riverbank.

He'd walked into the middle of the river. The other men were gaping at him.

Dan was poised as through ready to run out and get him. "Come back, kid! Before you fall through."


A bit of wind stirred the powdery snow around Elias' feet like a white dust devil and sparked the recognition of an idea. Eli's soul suddenly blazed in the cold air as he finally snatched the power of Rage by the throat and wielded its fury all around him.

A great wind came up and caught the snowy powder in enormous ropes of white that cycled away from their master as though pulled back into the clouds from whence they came. The crystals stung his face as the flakes roared upward and outward clearing the ice inch by inch.

His coat whipped away from his legs, and his hair lifted weightlessly on the erratic storm. But when it was over and the Rage subsided, the river was a perfectly clear sheet of glass.

Eli looked down but did not move. Without the snow, there was little traction to maintain steady footing, but his eyes darted none the less, seeking the darkness hiding beneath the ice.

"I sense you,"
he said quietly. "Show yourself."

[Tony Soloyov]

Tony's head turned at the concern in Hans' voice and what he found washed the exhaustion away. Elias stood in the middle of the frozen river, alight with the tenacious beat of power. His gaze was intent and no calls reached his ears.

While the Hans, Dan and Yuri attempted to persuade Elias to come to his senses, Tony seized the power that he had lost in the shock of the attack and remained seated. The snow below him melted into a damp patch of grass. Veso seemed torn between checking up on Tony and making sure the others did not get themselves killed.

"Don't,"
Tony warned the bald man. When he drummed his fingers against his legs it meant he planned to do something he knew was dangerous. "The ice can be unpredictable, and I don't want to save two drowned rats."
The last was said with a tired grin.

Luckily, Veso was level-headed and nodded. "But what on earth does he think he's doing?"


He would very much like to have known himself, but Elias was oblivious to the warnings. "We'll soon find out. Keep an eye on the river."


Veso didn't argue and immediately turned his vigilant gaze to the frozen water. It probably wouldn't do much good - it was barely visible - but a second could be the difference between life and death.

And then all thoughts of the river were banished from his mind as Elias began to weave. Tony sat with narrowed eyes as snow began to spin around Elias' body, his black hair fanning out like a cape behind him.

I can't even follow...

The weave was deft and precise. Just how much did Elias know? His earlier behaviour suggested knew almost nothing about his abilities, but now he acted like a man possessed.

It was a perplexing mystery, but this was not the first time he had experienced something like this. Michael had acted in the same way at times, sudden bursts of power that seemed impossible given his experience. It reminded him of the grim fact that there were still many mysteries surrounding their powers.

Caught up in watching the weaves, Tony was late in realising the purpose. The other three looked stunned, and Elias whispered something he could not make out.

It did not take long to see what had happened, and Tony was similarly flawed. The murky ice had smoothed over and the water could be seen underneath polished clarity.

He stared for a moment before gathering himself. He flexed his healed hand, the pain, though gone, fresh in his mind as he looked towards Elias.

"Hans, Dan, Yuri, Veso! Eyes on the water!"
he called while he kept his eyes fixed on Elias.

Don't do anything stupid, child.