taxonomites | System Glitch: In The City

The artificial sun rises in the artificial sky... just like every day in Taxon. For some of the inhabitants, this has been going on long enough to be very routine.

This morning, though, the light shines over quite a few gaps in the city's architecture. There is no Oxford library, no Hedge Maze. A number of the private residences are simply gone, those that people brought with them to Taxon. And the streets are very empty, indeed: no Extras on the sidewalks, no Extras driving cars. No smiling faces in the corner coffee shop. The trams rattle around the city with nary a soul on board. The streets are silent.

But it's not just the Extras who are gone. Most of the familiar faces are, too. The tablets show only a very short list of 'Contacts'-- those few citizens left in the city proper.

Save for a small handful of Taxon's prisoners-- left rattling around like the last pills in a nearly empty bottle-- the city is deserted, and silent as the grave.

[ OOC: The first of two log posts to kick off the event! For reference, these are the characters who are remaining in the city: Azkadellia, Briar Moss, Charles Xavier (AU), Daphne Powell, DG, Drusilla, Eanes, Illyria, James Holmes, Jenna Sommers, Martha Jones, Remus Lupin, and Wyatt Cain. ]

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Cars weren’t entirely familiar to Azkadellia. She had seen a couple in the city, and had worked to try and familiarize herself with the motorbikes of the sort that DG had built there within Taxon. That still didn’t mean that she thought about them, definitely hadn’t been paying attention.

Even as she leapt back, her hand came up, palm flat and facing the car. There was a shimmer between them, a bright sparkling on the air that disappeared a moment later when Azkadellia had realized what she had done.

“I… I’m sorry,” she murmured, all gold corset and red rimmed eyes and certainly still not having managed a modern look about her. “I’m still adjusting to motorized vehicles like this,” she said, thankful she hadn’t reacted offensively rather than defensively. That was definitely the thought on her mind, that she could have hurt the other girl if she had reacted badly. “Thank you for avoiding me,” she said, definitely off kilter and worrying who would be next to be snatched.

Every time Daphne met another super she felt even smaller. She didn't miss that crackle and she definitely didn't miss the thought oing along with it. The outfit was a bit... unique, but fashion was rapidly progressing toward the future, which had equal parts medieval Europe and colorful bird plumage. The term motorized vehicle was a bit unusual though.

"Right, with the town mostly empty it makes sense not to watch for cars," Daphne looked around, feeling like she was in some post-apocalyptic movie right now. This would be the time some sorta monster shows up and they have to leave quickly. "I'm Daphne. And I'm glad I avoided whatever you put up when you spotted me." Force Fields were a standard Super power, right, they hadn't run into those yet.

"Are you... going anywhere in particular, I could probably get you there faster than walking?" Daphne hadn't closed her mind off yet, she wasn't exactly ready to shut down her best defenses with that thought of offense ringing in the back of her mind.

For Azkadellia it was hard realizing that most had similar or equal abilities, and yet when she did, it was exciting for her. The entire experience was one that she was mostly enjoying. At least until this proof that anything could be gone at any moment. Including her sister.

"It wasn't like this before," she said with a heavy sigh. "Were you here then," she asked, not having gotten through all of the past logs the tablet seemed to hold.

"I just couldn't stay home. There's... a poor reminder there I can't face," she admitted. "Where were you going?"

"With more like us," brandishing her involuntary bracelet, "and all the creepy not people? Yeah, a few days before... this." The lack of the creepy mindless folks was actually a relief, they were everywhere and... noise. No thoughts, no desires, no comments just... empty shells that looked like people.

"A poor reminder?" Daphne tilted her head, studying and waiting to hear more. Spoken and not spoken, it all mattered right now, especially with things suddenly different. "Well, I'm not heading anywhere exactly. I was trying to see if the people were here just... trapped, or something. But if there's somewhere you want to go I can probably get you there. ... If it's still here, I mean."

She nodded. "Then," she agreed. "No one ever mentioned anything like this. There were some that disappeared and many assumed, hoped even, that they went home but this..."

This was nothing anyone had prepared her for and Azkadellia was terrified.

She thought of the room, of the brain, of poor Glitch after what had happened to him.

"When I came through, I brought something taken from a friend but I'm not sure how to fix it. Kind of depressing."

She shook her head. "I checked the places I know. The palace is still here so I know my sister is somewhere but the maze... That came through with Glitch and now it's gone."

"I didn't exactly get a detailed tour or anything. This is a prison, we can't go home, no guys with guns." She figured this was weird, but she had no scale to judge weird here. She was trying to play up the flippant teenager, but there was no helping being scared too. Especially while this woman was scared.

Also, ew, what's with the thoughts about brains. That's kinda... Daphne was glad she didn't get a visual on that thought process.

Daphne still didn't fully get how the object to people interaction worked, but could tell the lack of the maze was bad. "You checked the places you know, could you sister be looking in places she knows? Like friends she has that aren't yours?" It was worth a shot.

"Some go home," Azkadellia said in a low, hesitant voice. "A girl named Willow recently left. When you go, everything you brought with you, whatever it is..." She eyed the car at that. "Disappears. Why I know my sister is still here somewhere and Glitch isn't."

Which just sent off another moment of sadness for her, worrying for the man she'd spent her childhood idolizing.

"Other buildings are missing too. There's just gaps where they had been."

She nodded to that, sniffling and straightening her shoulders. "Oh I definitely have every belief she's still here. Just so much has happened suddenly. I just... I keep wandering, seeing who is here and who isn't and who all has gone missing. Not that I know everyone. Not even close to it but I just can't sit there and wait."

"Oh..." So the empty points in the skyline were missing people. Guess sometimes people just get out of here or something. Whoever's in charge gets bored with them and gets rid of them. Daphne looked around trying to figure out what to do, "Do so many people usually vanish at once?"

"I meant if you want to find her now, maybe you should look for where she might go," Daphne wondered if this woman's sister wasn't so much a goal or an excuse. Something to do to not think about everyone else gone. Daphne was muttering to herself now, "Why did the city have to get all creepy? I was almost comfortable with this place."

"Oh." She repeated the word with a nod as if that said so much more than it did. Just a single word, an expression of emotion but, in the end, it gave them nothing. She shook her head. "After Willow disappeared and I was talking to people about how it happens and how often. No one seemed talked of so many at once."

Which she hated. It was new and different. "I keep helping it is one of the stunts they speak of the aliens playing. If it was that, then they might come back." Which she wasn't sure if it was good or bad. Was it cruel to wish for that?

"I've looked at the palace, and then where the maze was. I admit, I don't know much about her life here. I only just arrived. Those that I know she knew, I've either spoken to or aren't here now," she admitted.

System Glitch: In The City

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