Normal...maybe

[Io]

((Normal...maybe Is a thread for when someone loses control while not on patrol or in danger. For those normal situation that don't turn out so normal for some reason or another. Really its for anyone. Just because we are in paragon doesn't mean everyone won't be weirded out by your powers or looks. It's not important for this to be all that important to your character or resolve anything. Oh yeah, this doesn't have to be One continuous story. While it can be, it wasn't made to be one.))

[Io]

Io sneezed as he waited for the crosswalk light to turn. He didn't know whether it was a normal cold or the magic stuck to him was causing it, either way he wasn't feeling all that great. To make things even worse the magic was acting up and messing with the shadows. For now if seemed content with putting his shadow 15 feet behind him and making it look like he had no shadow.

After arriving at his destination Io ordered coffee. As he was going to sit down Io tripped on a shadow. He managed to catch himself only to have the ground suddenly turn very slippery causing him to fall and spill his coffee everywhere.

“Don't worry about it, I'll clean it up” Io said to the cashier as he got up.

Things didn't work out well at the closet with the mop in it. As soon as he opened the door the shadows rushed out of the closet at Io, causing him to fall and be pushed back to the opposite wall.

“Not always so cool huh?”

“What?” Io said as he looked for the source of the voice.

The voice came from a male about his age with black hair. “You know, calm and under control. I've heard people have stuff like that happen to them because what they can do is tied to their emotions. Anyway I'm Zack nice to meet ya.”

“Yeah same here, I'm Io. My stuff isn't tied to my emotions, I feel normal except a cold.”

Io left to go clean up the coffee he spilled and Zack followed him. “So is that why you are here? I mean beyond cleaning something up.”

“Nope, that doesn't happen normally, I”m just here volunteering mostly, said Io. “That hasn't happened to me in while.”

“I had a friend that did something like that once,” Zack said with a nod. “He was called to say what he had on something and then he poofed. Next thing we know he showed up in the gym. Look at the time, I should get going. See ya Io.”

With that Io returned to the mess he made. After he was done cleaning it up a small girl came up to him hold up her cup. After saying “Peach pop” in a very determined way she walked off to do the same thing to several other people. While Io was standing wonder why the girl had just done that, the shadows under his jacket expanded flipping it over his back and into his face. He fixed it with a sigh wondering when the day would get over and why people seemed to want to talk to him today.

[Mercy Strike]

Aura was so happy that she was nearly throttling the bag of popcorn. She hop-skipped up the slight incline, the black patterned carpet under her sneakers absorbing the sound. Next to her, Sam was smiling, still arguing with Caitlin about some version of the comic but Aura wasn't really paying attention. Joni had disappeared into the washrooms, her ears safely tucked under a jaunty stocking hat borrowed from somewhere.

"This is going to be the greatest!" Aura crowed. Sam grinned down at her roommate, her own long stride eating up the distance to Theatre #12 and the weekend showing of Iron Man.

"You know it, bud! This is an awesome movie."

"Thanks so much for inviting me."

On the other side of Sam, Caitlin smiled at the enthusiasm. "It's about time we all went out, isn't it? And this is supposed to be quite accurate to the original as well as being... "

"Oh, would you just stop already?" Sam snorted. "It's about as accurate as busted watch from the sixties and besides, they got it all wrong at the end."

The friendly argument continued as they found their seats, jostling to get something close to the center. Joni caught up while they were trying to decide whether to go up or down. Eventually they flipped a coin, lost it on the carpet and ended up sitting not quite as high as the tanker girl wanted but not as far down as Joni was angling for. Sam immediately slouched to put her knees against the seat in front of her. Caitlin carefully opened the bag of chocolate candies and passed it around.

When the movie started, Aura was entranced. She squeaked, nearly losing her grip on the popcorn when the Jericho missile went off.

"Hey, cut out the flashlight!" somebody yelled from behind them. Aura didn't pay attention, her eyes glued to the screen. She closed her eyes during the torture bits, peeking until she was sure it was over. But when they were racing to complete the download and the bad guys were almost on top of them, Aura was near squirming in her seat from agitation.

"Hey, I said cut it out with the flashlight!"

A handful of popcorn rained down on them. Aura ducked, then looked back with a frown on her face. She opened her mouth to yell. Really, how rude! She was trying to watch the movie.

The rumble of an explosion swept through the theatre from the Dolby Surround Sound system like an earthquake and Aura whirled around. The man on screen in the rough iron suit staggered under the hail of fire and Aura couldn't help the burst of the light emitting from her skin as virtual fright became real emotion.

"Aura!" Sam hissed finally.

"I'm sorry!" Frantically she tried to damp the glow but she was too flustered to get it to stop. More people started to grumble. Aura flushed scarlet in the darkness and scrambled out of her seat, dashing to the door.

A few minutes later, her quadmates actually followed. Sam was even holding onto her half a bag of abandoned popcorn.

"You okay, Aura?" Joni's voice was soft.

Standing in the middle of the hallway, Aura burst into tears with the unfairness of it all.

---------------------------
with apologies to Sam, Cait and Joni for messing up their characters.

[Vesper Fiend]

The crowd in the mall was light for a Saturday. Sam and Ves picked their way through the racks of clothing, as Ves sought out something in the sea of dyed fabrics that she liked. She usually did all her shopping on her own, but she was glad for the company. Somehow it became more fun, less of a chore as the two talked and laughed together.

It also helped that Sam didn’t seem to mind sifting through shirts in the girls’ section. Of course, nothing ever seemed to fit. Petite sizes were too long and girls’ sizes were generally too tight in all the places that would at least guarantee the boys’ attention.

A voice called her away from some baggy sweaters. “Look at these.” Sam was holding up a pair of jeans like she’d just uncovered buried treasure. “These pants are awesome! And they’re low rise, so they shouldn't bug your tail.”

Ves caught the sudden motion as several patrons who overheard turned to look in their direction. For an instant, she wanted to shrink underneath the protective ring of wire and cloth she was standing next to. Instead, she pursed her lips for a moment as she took a few steps closer and looked them over. “I dunno, they might be too long.” Finally she nodded. “Alright, I’ll try ’em on.”

She took the pants and a couple of shirts she had been hanging onto to a dressing room. A quiet sigh and a single shake of her head were offered in accusation to the fabric she was still standing on after sliding into the jeans. They were several inches too long at least. She took her mind away from their length long enough to scrutinize herself in the mirror. Otherwise, they weren’t a perfect fit, but they would do. They hung so low on her hips, though, that Ves found herself wondering for the first time if the school had a dress code outside of class, since she’d sort of skimmed that section of the handbook. Still, it would be nice not to have to cut a hole in them.

After rolling up the legs a bit – she’d have to hem them, of course – Ves left the dressing room to get Sam’s opinion. As she stepped back into the store and started searching for Sam, she nearly collided with a boy, maybe around ten years old and not much shorter than she was.

“Oh, sorry. ’Scuse me.” She offered a polite smile, but the boy simply stared at her. Ves side-stepped past him and gave him a little wave.

“Cameron! Get back here!” a voice hissed.

Ves half-turned to see a woman tugging the boy away. She saw the look, that same one she’d seen in others, the widened eyes and the brows drawn together, even the hairs standing upright on the woman’s arm as she maneuvered the boy protectively behind her.

“She does have a tail!” Ves heard whispered from her right. She shot a look in the direction of the subsequent snicker just in time to catch a glimpse of two children as they turned and darted away among the racks.

She stole a glance back at the woman, who was now refusing to make eye contact, just as she found Sam. “What’s a matter?” her friend asked. “Did you forget something in the dressing room?”

“It’s just…” she stopped, thinking “Don’t let it bother you… Don’t let it bother you…” to herself over and over. “It’s nothin’ at all.” Ves tried to shove the incident to the back of her mind, and pulled up a smile that might pass for genuine. "I'm not sure ’bout the jeans, but I'm starvin’. How ’bout I change back and we get out of here?"