Memoirs of a RAFian

[Underseen]

Reality warping and body snatching. I am not even sure if the mark protects us from that.

[Cloak]

From one, and partway the other.

Sorry, no more chapters today, I think. My neighbor's been drinking again and been banging on my wall no less the three or four times in the last hour or so -- as if he's punching it. I swear he's an overgrown spoiled brat. I don't want to call the police on him, but *sigh* it looks like he's gonna force my hand.

*rubs temples, praying for patience*

[Gaz]

Think he might be the sort to do stuff because he knows it annoys people? That's the idea I'm getting.

[Cloak]

Well, I'm nit the only one whose complained. That's a distinct possibly, Gaz, but I think it's more that he hasn't a very high I/Q. He's killed a lot of brain cells with alcohol, I surmise. Its just the way he talks. . . .

EDIT: Chapter later today.

Nearly finished planning out "You Are What You Read", based off an episode of "Smallville".

EDIT: Tired. But I'll try to get this chapter up.

CHAPTER FOUR:
RAFians, Assemble!

Yarin gathered the every RAFian -- the veterans of many years, the yearlings, the half-yearlings, the newbies -- and told them to meet in the auditorium in five.

It took a further ten minutes to calm people down, and get down to business.

"A being of incredible power has been released," Yarin said without preamble. "It has a telepathic power unparalleled by any species or individual I ever met."

That got their attention.

"And, I've received some video from General Pepper Ann Mills --" Aquilai said, glaring a few newbies who snickered before continuing, "and the incidents are not encouraging."

Then Aquilai allowed the videos to speak for themselves. The first one showed Malice examining Cylinder X and popping the top the container, unleashing Proteus.

"Uh, why was that thing trapped in a soda can?" Under asked the rom at large.

"He was contractually obligated by Pepsi?" Abby suggested in an offhand way.

"Proteus . . ." Estelore said quietly. She recognized it as she was the one who designed the canister as a last resort against him, 'bout twenty years ago. However, she didn't design the pop top. It irked her to see it, as it was the sergeant on duty at the time's idea.

What was his name? . . . Oh, yes, Cannon. Louis Cannon. The one who tried to force himself upon Helen.

Then, realizing Underseen's question, she replied, "It wasn't supposed to have a pop top."

"How . . . how can you be so sure?" Saffa asked, having a shrewd idea of the answer.

"Twenty years ago," Estelore answered, "I designed it. Designed as a last resort. He has the power to," she gestured to the second video, the one of Proteus demonstrating his powers, making it to the mainland, taking a teenager with an unusually pointed nose., "to warp reality itself and snatch bodies . . . for a time."

"What do you mean 'for a time'? Dino asked, quite seriously.

"The bodies would eventually . . . uh . . . burn out." Esty said, looking down.

"You knew him," Cloak said, gazing at her shrewdly.

"Proteus . . . that's his name, Proteus." Estelore said. "But his real name was Adam Furst. He was ripped away from his family, and experimented on by a government splinter group. Checkers or Checkmate or something."

Then her tone turned regretful. "They gave him the powers, and he wasn't the most selfless, harmless person to begin with," she explained. "I had to use the canister to contain him. I . . . I didn't notice the pop top. I . . . couldn't destroy him. It wasn't entirely his fault that his powers drove him mad. His mind is still that of a child."

"So he's a teenager whose finally free and quite capable to do whatever he likes," Richard summed up. "Not a comforting thought."

"The Mark should protect you from the body snatching," Cloak said thoughtfully.

"'Should'?" Phoenix noted.

Cloak shrugged.

[theyoungphoenix]

The title reminds me of Avengers.

[Cloak]

It's suppose to, Abby. That's what it was referencing.

EDIT: WOOT! 2000^th post!

CHAPTER FIVE:
Experiencing the Human Experience

"-- Our top story tonight, the epidemic that's sweeping our city." said a clipped and polished news anchor in a brilliant red blazer, ruby red lipstick and teased blonde hair, "It seems to be chararcterized by intense weakness, severe internal trauma, unusual out-of-the-ordinary behavior, delusions, and, some reports state, glowing yellow eyes. There are no cures known at this point and the cause is as of yet unknown. Five deaths are confirmed at this time."

Then the screen shifted to show the photos of the victims, against a greenish-blue background.

"Bambi Townsend, 42."

The pictured showed a woman whose dark hair was in disarray, and who had a face rather pockmarked face

"Tricia Third, 38."

Tricia's picture looked rather like the stereotypical image of a homeless woman who looked like the most defeated person in the world.

"Teddy Forsyth, 12."

Teddy looked like an ordinary vivacious, lively, energetic boy with a bright smile.

"Kenta Pennyworth, 28."

Kenta appeared to be a fairly well-off man with an understated sort of handsomeness.

"Hector Slix, 45."

Hector looked to be the stereotypical money-grabbing, thrifty tycoon.

"It is believed . . ."

Suddenly, camera shorted out, and when it came back on, the anchorwoman had glowing yellow eyes and began to comfort the populace. The gullible would easily believe it.

***

Click!

"Why is he doing this?" Abby asked.

"Isn't obvious? He was trying to experience all the decadence and depravity of human existence." Cloak said shrewdly.

Estelore nodded, " He probably wants to experience it all -- again -- after being contained for two decades."

"That should make him easier to track, then." Faerie said. "And we need to act fast."

[theyoungphoenix]

All of those poor victims.

[Cloak]

Right, Abby.

Now, just a warning, if I can post a chapter tomorrow, it'll come late. Got a lot to do. And I'll be exhausted.

And, as far as the chapter-planning goes, I'm about halfway through "Wrath of the Colossuses".

EDIT: Finished planning out the chapters of "Wrath of the Colossuses", ending in what looks to be 22 chapters, assuming i don't split on in two. Started on "The Year Without RAF", which will kind of be out-of-continuity, and yet in-continuity.

And I've procured some earplugs, which I'm gonna use as an auditory defense against my neighbor.

Now, the rather brief chapter.

CHAPTER SIX:
Telepathic Tracking

"This is a danger we cannot ignore, it is true," Richard said.

"I believe that I can track this Proteus creature down, telepathically," Yarin self-advocated.

"Very well, then," Richard nodded heavily. "Yarin, take Cloak, Faerie, Parker, and . . . and Aquilai."

"As you wish, Richard." Yarin said at once, immediately heading for his ship, gesturing briefly to the others to follow his lead.

"Godspeed," Richard muttered as they went off, genuinely and sincerely wishing them luck.

***

"I believe the place to start is where we saw Proteus come ashore in the video," Yarin said.

"Swell, Brainiac," Faerie said with her usually acid sarcasm. "But wouldn't a more obvious location be the Channel Six station where we saw the newscaster being body-snatched?"

Silence.

"Yes . . . well . . . that would be the most prudent course . . ."

"Stop babbling, Yarin," Parker said. "Just get this this mission going. We're wasting valuable time here."

"Setting course," Yarin said.

"You do realize he's probably already abandoned the newscaster's body, right?" Aquilai pointed out.

"Or has killed her," Cloak added.

"No, it would have been reported on," Parker disagreed.

"Couldn't he just warp reality so it is so?" Faerie asked.

"Unlikely -- warping is not rewriting." Cloak said. "But I am not a reality-physicist."

"Is that a thing?" Faerie said, teasingly.

Cloak said nothing.

"We're approaching the coordinates of the . . . the . . ." Yarin gazing incomprehendingly at the screen.

The Channel 6 building was just fine. But another building in the . . . the background. It was a rather objectionable new shape.

"Well," Parker grunted, "he is a teenager."

Faerie curled her lip in disgust, "Boys are gross."

"Well, at least we know where he is," Cloak pointed out.

"Right," Yarin said, coming out of his stupor, "the manipulations to reality are only maintained as long as he's applying consistant concentration on them."

[Underseen]

I found an awful lot of humor in the chapter.

[Cloak]

Well, it was intended to be humorous, mostly as a treacle-cutter, I suppose, given the bluntness of the deaths in the previous chapter.

And sorry, no second chapter today.

[redtailedsaffa]

Funny chapter This is getting good!

[Cloak]

Well, I've nearly completed the chapter planning of "The Year Without RAF", obviously a direct parody of "The Year Without Santa Claus". And I came up with a couple more ideas: Books CLXXIV ("Kidnapped"), CLXXV ("Lockdown"), and CLXXVI ("Exhile").

Now, the chapter.

CHAPTER SEVEN:
Overindulgence and Body Hopping

After he spent about four hours in the newscaster, he quickly abandoned her body -- leaving her in a coma with moderate internal damage. She would survive.

He leaped into a 34-year-old man , a studio gofer. He didn't stay long before getting bore, doing some rather inappropriate things with the body before leaving his body (which fell into a coma for an hour or so).

Then Proteus left the studio wall, momentarily turning it into a piscine building, basically defying all known physics. He heard a giggle and, without a second thought, now wore an eleven-year-old redhead girl. Like his other hosts, he treated the body very carelessly and inappropriately. But eventually he got bored again, and leaped out of the girl and into a 24-year-old man with a blonde buzz cut, clean-shaven and army fatigues.

The mischievous, childish grin that grew upon the army man's was, in a word, disturbing. Proteus did some exploring of the army man that . . . well, he was a teenager mentally.

But he soon got bored and left the young PFC in a rather . . . compromising position.

Then he jumped a 21-year-old woman with long black hair and brilliant green eyes. He quickly bored of her body and left, causing her to lapse into a coma, like the others before.

Then he took a 46-year-old woman and professed "psychic" (as much of a fraud as Yuri Geller). Proteus was disappointed when he discovered this, and made her look like a lunatic before he "stepped out" violently.

Then he took a six-year old boy in a ninja getup. He spent more time wearing this body than the others, having no proper childhood of his own. So he thought he could steal some of this boy's childhood, well aware of would happen if he overstayed his welcome. Eventually, he did, sad as it was. The boy's body burned out. But Proteus was remorseless.

Proteus just hopped into a nearby 38-year-old, bald man with an auburn walrus mustache with a penchant for riddles. He spent a few minutes wearing him, but soon got bored, and leaped into a 27-year-old man, with rumored mob or Knight connections. Proteus found out, via the man's own memories, that this was a lie. He was disappointed at this duplicity, but focused the nearest building into the form that the RAFians had noticed.

But Proteus had lost his focus and concentration when the body he was wearing had died. Proteus, of course, survived, but he was in his transcorporeal form.

[Cloak]

Okay, chances are this'll be a long chapter.

CHAPTER EIGHT:
In Search Of . . . Proteus*

"That guy was just shot," Parker pointed out. "Yarin, are you sure --"

"The man carries Proteus's psionic fingerprint," Yarin said, as they examined the body after the paramedics declared him dead on-scene.

"But why was he shot?" Aquilai asked, genuinely concerned. "Did someone suspect he was hosting Proteus?"

"Somehow, I doubt it." Faerie said, thoughtfully. "I believe what we have here is a dementor, threstral type of situation. Not everyone can see old Yellow Eyes's glowin' peepers."

"Then why can we?" Aquilai asked. Then he answered his own question, "Oh, right, the Marks."

"And the Marks allow you because I can see them plain as day," Cloak said, scanning the crowd. Why must humans crowd a calamity? He clearly needed to learn more about humans. "And, from what I can see he didn't linger."

***

Cloak's assessment was right, Proteus didn't linger. He hopped into a 31-year-old falconer, but quickly bored of him within ten minutes.

Then he hopped into an androgynous 49-year-old. Then the novelty wore off quickly, and he jumped into an plain-looking 45-year-old woman. He quickly bored of her and then hopped inside the body of a thirty-year-old man with a foggy memory.

Proteus didn't like that so he abandoned his body, leaving him momentary weakened like the aforementioned. Then he decided to wear a genteel and gentle 23-year-old woman.

After engaging in some risque behavior, atypical for the woman in whose body he was currently joyriding, he dumps her fir a cold, cranky 16-year boy with platinum-blonde hair.

Now he engaged in a few lude acts, under the name of the boy whose body he currently purloined, although it mattered very little. When Proteus left him, his internal damage was severe enough to lay him up for many years, if not life. Proteus didn't care. Although Proteus gave away his position to the RAFians when he made the streets turn into an asphalt grayish-black stream, until he got bored with that too and hopped inside an arrogant 24-year-old woman who refused to admit defeat or fault.

In the end, Proteus found this rather pathetic, and took the nicer, more gregarious 19-year-old girl.

***

"This poor boy," Faerie said. "My healing magic is rather subpar, compared to Kelly's healing abilities."

"Pity that she had familial responsibilities to attend to," Cloak sighed, "or we could callher in on this. But give it your best go, Faerie. You might be able to give him a chance."

"But no pressure, right?" Faerie replied drolly.

"Where could he have gone?" Aquilai asked.

"I have a feeling this monster went north," Yarin said. "We needto stop thinking of him as a teenager. Just look at the pain and anguish he has caused in the last four Earth hours."

"I agree," Cloak said, quietly.

---
*Referencing the old show, "In Search Of . . .", on Scif-Fi . . . erhm, excuse me, SyFy.

[Underseen]

Proteus is one of my favorite villains so far.

[Cloak]

Huh. Didn't expect that, Underseen.

'Kay, since it's Thursday, remember the chapter'll be later than usual.

As far as the chapter planning goes, I've finished "The Year Without RAF" and started on "Kidnapped".