Aberrant

Previously, on Aberrant: Six teenagers -- Vanessa, Gillian, Alexa, Sean, Jared and Olivia erupted, transitioning from being

homo sapiens

to

homo sapiens novus.

Now blessed with astounding power and unexpected responsibilities, they struggle to find their place in the world.

Starring

Lucithana

as Vanessa Stacks

Kitty

as Gillian Haynes

NathanRavenwood

as Alexa Fairchild

Jason

as Sean Toulman

Guardsman Griffin

as Jared Vance

"I don't care who gets it to her, I just wanna get freaking paid!"

The voice that rang out over the front entrance hall of the San Francisco Rashound Facility was tired and annoyed and came from the mouth of a lean Asian man who was holding up a sleek Duraflex duffle bag with a double strength strap, extra pockets around the edges, two water bottle containers, and almost five square feet of storage space via extendable flaps and zippers and other fancy materials. The put upon woman behind the front desk held up her hands.

"Listen, when a nova comes to us for treatment, only their family or spouses are allowed to visit them, if you want, you can wait and-"

"There she is!" The Asian guy said, pointing at Gillian J. Haynes, who was walking with her friends Vanessa, Alexa and Sean out to the front lobby. The Asian guy walked over and held out the duffle to her.

"I was hired to drop this off, and so, I have dropped it off, here you go, good bye, I have more deliveries to get too." The Asian guy said, then turned and jogged outside, where a bike had been parked. As the door opened and shut, leaving Gillian holding the new duffle bag - one that would more than easily replace her bag, whose strap had broken when she had first demonstrated her newly enhanced strengths - the receptionist shook her head and sighed.

"I really hope it isn't one of those days..." she muttered.

"Surprise-" Sean offered to Gillian as she held the duffle.

"Honey! Honey! Honey!"

The excited female voice was familiar to each of them as Mrs Toulman and Mr. Toulman came in through the front door. Mrs. Toulman was in many ways the exact opposite of her son - she was round and curvy, with full breasts and short brown hair. She had aged gracefully, though said grace was attained via some makeup and perfume and a few other bits of vanity. Her husband, Mr. Toulman, had once been shockingly similar to Sean...but now Sean looked a bit more like his father as cast by the N! Entertainment channel or some Bollywood hacks. All of Sean's old imperfections and gangly awkwardness was writ larger and older and with a balding pate on his father.

And so, Sean was buried under his mother as she cooed and hugged him and excitedly patted his shoulders, beaming at him as he found himself kissed on the forehead, cheek, and cheek, forehead, and nose. He handled it as well as any normal teenager would. By being annoyed and rolling his eyes at his dotting mother.

"Jeez mom, stop it. I'm fine-" He groaned.

There was an uncomfortable side-truth to the Toulman's being the first to arrive...unlike Vanessa, Alexa and Gillian, Sean's parents didn't need to worry about being fired for leaving their jobs, and Sean's mom didn't even have a day job...

Vanessa quietly waited by the side, knowing a.. well.. sort of side effect of her eruption sort of would probably draw too much focus, so she was happy to just let Sean enjoy himself. Also, she didn't want to highlight the fact odds were good her parents weren't coming at all. They had always had a.. cool relationship. And not in the funky cool sort of way.

Alexa wasn't entirely sure if her father would show up. Not that she would've been despondent if he didn't - she and her father had always had a chill relationship. She'd already called to let him know she was okay, so he had no real reason to come if he didn't want to.

Gillian let out a sigh, giving her best smile towards the man who dropped her package off. "Thank you; sorry for the difficulty," She offered before taking the pack over to a seat in the corner so she could zip the duffle open and investigate the inside. Gillian found that the inside was...well...empty. It was just a really nice dufflebag.

Sean, meanwhile, was ruffled over by his mother's hand, who mussed his otherwise perfect hair.

"You're looking...good, son! All of you are!" Mr. Toulman said, nodding as he looked at Alexa and Gillian, then started as he saw Vanessa, his eyes widening as he saw her chalk pale skin, blood red eyes, and brilliant blue hair.

She waved casually, "Sup, Mr. Toulman." She said casually as Alexa offered the Toulmans a jaunty wave.

"...If this is a chip-in gift, I swear." GIllian said to herself, staring at the bag. She let out a frustrated little sigh, zipping the duffle up before hugging it to her chest. She offered the Toulman's as best a friendly wave she could muster at the moment.

"Well, one in a million- so there are six thousand exactly like me." Sean joked as he tried to gently break the embrace. Looking over at Gillian, he added: "The bag is to replace the one that got busted today. Everything else considering a broken bag just adds to the annoyances." He said, admitting to be the buyer. "Don't worry about it."

"Ah-Oh-Uh." Gillian blinked, staring at Sean with a pause. She had always heavily disliked it when, in the past, people bought things for her that she'd have never been able to really afford. Though she found it hard to bite Sean's head off right then about it, Gillian just continued to smile after a moment while tugging the duffle embarrassingly over her shoulder. "T-Thanks, Sean."

"..Man, I was going to make a joke about totaling my Maybach, but I might actually be able to afford one of those by the end of the month-" Vanessa started as Sean, being considerably stronger than he used to be, was able to squirm free from his mother's grasp. As he did so, the PA chimed on. "Alexa Fairchild, Vanessa Stacks, Sean Toulman and Gillian Haynes, please report to examination room B...repeat...Alexa Fairchild, Vanessa Stacks..."

Vanessa blinked, then turned, bolting for the exam room. The receptionist sighed, turning to Sean. "Do you want me to show your parents to a waiting room?" she asked, sounding like she was already dreading what Sean would say and, thus, leave her to handle.

"Wait for me!" Alexa called, hurrying after Vanessa. She deliberately kept her steps light to avoid springing off too hard and crashing into - and possibly through - a wall on accident. Gillian blew out some air and offered a polite grin to the Toulman's, wishing them a good day before turning to jog down the hall to the examination room.

Sean just nodded to Gillian and gave a "You're welcome." He was a bit oblivious to how he spent his money in some ways and never really shied away from just spending. Turning to the receptionist, he said: "Well, they could wait here but there is a lot around the city they can see. Go out and pick a good restaurant, I'll catch up with you later." He asked of his parents, not wanting to have his mother being fussy to everyone else while she waited. With that and giving him mom a kiss on the cheek he started to follow the rest.

His mother pouted - but then Sean was off and down the hallway. As the last of the novas rushed off, the two parents stood there, alone in the receptionist hall.

Then Mr. Toulman did a quick double take. "Wait, Rache, did Vanessa just speak?" He asked, sounding shocked.

###

Jay Vance slept under the harsh white lights of the medical facility, his body wrapped in blankets, his thoughts thankfully lost from conscious reflection. Then...he woke. For a few moments, pain hammered into his mind as he felt something like a migraine on turbo. He sat up with a groan - and then a beautiful, blond woman took hold of his shoulders, looking into his eyes. "Mr. Vance?" she asked, her voice sounding thundering loud as Jay felt his senses go screamingly sensitive...and then, suddenly, the pain and sensations faded and he felt halfway normal. "Mr. Vance, do you feel like you need painkillers?" she bit her lip slightly, the light glinting off her glasses.

"Ugh, fuck... " he groaned, clamping his hand to his eyes for a few moments. Then the assault passes, and he blinks a few times. "Uh... no, actually. Not after getting a look at you."

He fell back on the charm. At least until he figured out what the hell happened. "Where am I?"

The doctor chuckled, her cheeks darkening slightly. "Well, then...I can see your tongue is working." She stepped back - in the background, Jay could see another girl...but whoa. Her skin was chalk grey and her hair was raven black, and she looked ten times hotter than any girl he had ever seen in school. But then he recognized her! She was Octavia, from band!

The other girl was also being checked over by a doctor - that doctor was taking a blood sample from her. Before Jay could speak, the blond doctor pulled out a syringe for herself. "Do you mind if I take some blood tests?" she asked, quietly. "It's all standard procedure." That didn't answer where he was or why he was here.

Internally, Jay purses his lips. This is getting really weird, and he's dealt with some weird people before. Outwardly, he smiles and asks, "Why don't you catch me up to speed first? You know, so I know I'm not in a secret vampire farm in Transylvania?"

She snorted, loudly. "Well..." She sighed, slightly. "We normally like to break this more gently, but...there's never a way to do so." She looked right into his eyes. "Jay...you erupted. You're a nova." She nodded slightly. "It's...okay to feel a bit overwhelmed."

"... Shit, that's cool." He goes to swing his legs over the edge of the table and stand up, displaying no more worry or concern than someone who got an extra candy bar from the vending machine. "This is Tavi, right?" he asks, redirecting attention away from himself and over to Octavia. "What happened to her?"

"She, uh, also erupted, that's something we're trying to figure out - in total, six students from your school erupted..." The doctor blinked, taking his wrist. "You're not...more excited? You just won the genetic lotto, you know." She smiled. "One in a million shot, and you won it."

Jay shrugs. "Yeah, but I mean--shit, aren't there novas who just straight up... erupt, when they erupt? Guess I'm just trying not to get too excited 'till I know what all this amounts to, you know?"

"And... " he offers, cautiously, "I still don't know where I am?"

At that moment, Vanessa - being the first to set off - was nearly beaten by Alexa, whose superhuman speed was only beaten by Vanessa's ability to fly. Still, they were soon joined by Gillian and Sean at Examination Room B, where Octavia and Jay Vance were being examined. There, they saw Jay - looking remarkably calm considering his situation, speaking to Dr. Marzin.

"You're in the San Fransisco Rashound Facility," Dr. Marzin said, while the doctor who was checking over Octavia nodded.

"You're a hundred percent, Miss Brunt," she said, smiling - then blinked as Octavia squealed, ran out of the room, and leaped onto Vanessa - her reserve and more stern attitude washed away by the excitement of her moment. Earlier that day, Octavia had worried about kissing in public. Now, she almost bore Vanessa to the ground, kissing her eagerly and happily, almost crying with excitement and happiness. It made the contrast against Jay all the more remarkable.

"Let us all know if the clothes are coming off, you two," Alexa snarked, looking down at the happy couple. "We'll leave."

Gillian edged out of the way of Vanessa once Octavia kissed her to the ground. She 'huh'd aloud before leaning around to wave, "Hey Jay."

Vanessa caught her lover easily, swinging her around and kissing her back, "You're even more amazing now, love!" She said excitedly, hugging her tight and laughing at Alexa, "Oh Lexi, I'd never be that selfish, of course you can watch." She laughed, hugging her lover more.

"So long as you two are happy." Sean jested as he walked into the room. "Hey, glad to see you up and about," he offered to Jay.

Alexa snorted, but she was grinning like a loon. She likely would've stayed if the offer had been made.

"I'm not gonna leave if they're putting on a show," Jay volunteers candidly. Other than some sharper lines and a slightly more striking appearance, Jared Vance was the same short hair, light mocha skin and jeans-and-a-t-shirt fashion as always. The strangest addition to him, if anything, was Doctor Marzin's hand on his wrist. "Hey Jill, hey Sean, how- Holy fuck, you can talk?" he says abruptly, staring at Vanessa.

"Dragons." Gillian said. The perfectly vague explanation.

"You know, Dragon resculpted my vocal chords." Vanessa said casually, smirking at him.

Sean grinned like a cat, amused at that reaction. As if recalled to herself, Octavia drew back, her olive dark skin blushing darker still. "Vanessa! W-We'll get over the whole Opnet if we carry on like that..." She shook her head. "I don't want to end up like the poor London Fog..." She shivered at the memory of the Opnet frenzy that had exploded over the nova defender of the greater London area a few months ago.

As she spoke, Dr. Marzin took that moment to try and stick the needle into Jay's wrist. The other doctor leaned against a counter, slipped, bumped a tray with her hip. The tray clattered to the ground, skittered along the floor, slammed into a lamp, swung the lamp around, and knocked the needle from Dr. Marzin's hand, shattering it on the ground before it could touch Jay's skin.

"...okay...that was odd..." Dr. Marzin said.

"You guys really should move your trays out of the way," Jay observes, blinking as he looked at the shattered needle.

"To be fair, I have no desire to keep us secret, unlike her." Vanessa said, frowning slightly at her lover's reaction. She blinked slightly at the Buster Keatonesque display, "Well.. that.. was indeed something.." She said, tilting her head slightly.

"I'm fine with being open..." Tavi said. "I just don't want the paparatzi digging into our...love life." She shook her head slightly.

At mention of dragons, Jay just considers for a moment before offering a thumbs up.

"Okay did someone get Looney Tune nova powers?" Alexa said, looking at the shattered needle.

The amusement had faded into thought at what Sean had just observed. "Doctor, try asking for permission and keep him informed of each step being taken." Sean offered, curious.

Dr. Marzin sighed. "May I have your permission, Mr. Vance?" she asked, looking at him with a mixture of exasperation and amusement.

Vanessa smirked playfully, "You know, we could keep them from digging by just making everything open. I'm sure people would lose interest after the six or seven hundredth video." She purred. She looked at Sean curiously for his reaction as Tavi blushed even darker than her already slate grey skin.

"Well, I mean I think Jay may be exerting some power over the situation but not consciously-" Sean started at how Dr. Marzin asked, trying to point out that it would be best to ask for permission to take a sample directly and expressively-

"Uh... no." Jay flashes his stupid, easy grin. "Because I want to see what happens the next time you try and poke me with the needle now that the counter is cleared off."

Sean cut himself off with a sigh at his friend. "You know you're an ass Jay." He ribbed.

Dr. Marzin scowled. She moved over to grab up a needle - which slipped from her hand and slammed into a wall. She blinked. "My hand isn't even slippery!" She squeaked.

"Jay, be nice. You can play with your powers later. We can even have a set up like Balder minus the mistletoe." Vanessa said, frowning slightly.

"You get like forty cheeseburgers if you work with them," Gillian offered after a moment, "Hungry pangs are a bitch.'

Alexa patted her stomach. "Aaaaaaand now I want cheeseburgers."

Jay watched the needle fly against the wall with a snort, then finally snickers. "Okay, okay. Fine, take a blood sample."

"An asshole...and a player, if the rumors are true..." Octavia whispered to Vanessa, shaking her head disapprovingly. Meanwhile, Dr. Mrazin had swept up the debris.

"Well, we're almost out of needles..." She said, shaking her head, then retrieving another one. Soon, she was drawing blood from Jay's wrist. The wound sealed up almost immediately -one of the upsides of being a nova. The mention of cheeseburgers get a sudden hand to his stomach. More of a reaction than the needle got, all told.

"Holy shit, I just realized how hungry I am," Jay said. "I don't even think I ate breakfast before I passed out."

Vanessa kissed Octavia's cheek, "Be nice, dear. Not everyone can be as lucky as us." She said a bit smugly, "Is he going to be a while? If so I can grab some food and bring it back." She said cheerfully.

"We literally just ate and I'm already hungry again," Alexa said. "After we're done here guys, we're getting more food."

"Yeah, and using your power might have exacerbated the issue." Gillian said with a small snort, "Already had nine and i'm still hungry, yeah.

"I didn't -do- anything, though," Jay tried to defend himsef.

Sean shrugged. "You missed a meal and won the lotto. You've got eating to catch up on."

"I'm feeling about... twenty double quarter pounders."

As they spoke, a jovial voice called out. "Is that the pang of a nova's hunger I hear?" Turning around, they saw a woman bounding down the corridor, dressed in the most fabulously tacky outfit they had ever seen. Sequins gleamed like chains on chainmail across a bikini that stretched across a midnight black skintight under-suit. Her hips had a pair of large golden hoops to provide "armor" around them, while her face was concealed behind a domino mask, and a long, rainbow colored cape fluttered behind her.

"Never fear, Captain Style is here!" she said, putting her hands on her hips. Then, laughing, she shook her head. "Nah, sorry, just a regular old nova." She held out her hand, her clothes shifting and warping, fibers shifting and withdrawing, cape rolling up, colors changing, even the texture of her clothes altered, until she was wearing a T-shirt and jeans. That didn't hide her muscular form, her blond hair, or her sharp canines.

"The name's Alaska! Alaska DeWitt, and I was told to get my butt down here and get ready to train six newbie novas. Normally, Rashound Facilities get one new nova every few months, not six in one day, so Utopia bussed me here lickety split."

Alexa sized up Alaska. "You uh, really like wolves or something?"

"I dunno, I think it works for her." Another shrug, then he sticks his hand out to shake. "I'm Jay."

Alaska snickered slightly. "My teeth were actually like this before I erupted." She said, taking Jay's hand.

Alexa beamed at the newcomer. "Oh, I like you. Name's Alexa."

Gillian spun at the arrival of the new Nova, and blinked in confusion as Alaska changed to a more toned down form of dress. She pursed her lips before bobbing her head lightly in greeting, "Hello Alaska."

"Speaking of us.." Vanessa frowned, "I.. was thinking we all might want to talk future plans together at some point before any of us commit to anything.." She said, gently squeezing her lover, then pulling Octavia up on her shoulders. "Sup, I'm Vanessa, this is Tavi. She's mine." She grinned playfully.

"What about the rest of you?" Jay asks Alaska, shooting her an appreciative look up and down before finishing the handshake.

"Nova lottery hit a new jackpot." Sean teased as he offered his hand. "Sean Toulman, a pleasure." He said, introducing himself.

"Maybe you should just call me Ska, then..." Alaska muttered, shaking her head. "And understood." She said, holding up her hands to indicate her lack of interest in Tavi. "Besides, you're all a mite young for me..." She shook her head. "Still, get your butts to the caff and get another meal in your guts, because I'm going to be running you through a crash course in managing your powers safely right afterwards."