S.O.S Chp 2. The Base

A small glimmer of light peeked through as Roberta eyes began to open. She stretched  her arms and legs before realizing she wasn't in her own bed. She suddenly shot up, the white sheets that had covered her falling to her lap. Eyes wide, she quickly began scanning the room, wondering where she was. What was this place? What happened? Why am I here?
Memories soon began to race through her mind. Her friend murdered, the two women, Shardstorm and Anna, chasing her, the giant woman who saved her. Wait! That was it. She remembered the last words that Grace had said as she had drifted to sleep. Don't use too much sleep powder. They had drugged her. How could they, and more importantly why did they.
Her emerald eyes slowly began to survey the room. It was dimly lit, but she could make out a blood red couch to her left, a matching loveseat  at the end of the bed. To her right looked like some sort of monitor,  similar to one used to watch heartbeats. Strangely enough it was not turned on. Next to the non working monitor was a small tray, wood colored top being held up by 4 spindly metal legs. On top of it was her blue top hat. She looked down seeing that she was still in her costume. This now begged a new question. How long had she been out?   
She leaned back slowly breathing, taking in all that the dim light would allow. This was not a typical hospital room, it reminded her more of a birthing room, one that she had seen when her friend Myra had given birth to her little boy a few months back.Even the bed she laid on was not one typically found in hospitals , it was much too comfortable. She leaned back, looking up at the slowly turning ceiling fan, trying to figure out just where she could be. She turned onto her side and soon her eyes widen.
In front of her hovered a small metallic object about the size of a football. It had four tubes jutting out the back end, small flames showing what was keeping it aloft. A small pair of sickle like wings adorned  the sides, most likely  meant for stability. On the front end of the ovular robot was a thin, serpentine like neck ending with a cylindrical head.  The head  seemed to carry a camera, almost making it look like the eye of some curious creature.Even with the lights low, she could tell it was painted a vivid shade of pink.
It slowly  snaked it head along  the bed, as if searching for something. Roberta remained motionless. Instinctively she remained still, as if hoping that it would overlook her. She slowed her breathing as  a small light emitted from the head, moving over her body running from her head to her toes before drawing the light back in. It slowly moved over the bed making a beeline for  the left side of room. Her eyes followed it, as it soon stopped in front of a wooden door. She remained still  not knowing if she should try to make a break for the door or just remain still. Still seemed the best choice, as she did not know who or what could be outside the door.
The large wooden door cracked open slowly.Light flooded inside the dimly lit room, causing a bright rift in contrast to the darkness. From this rift, a small young woman approached the awaiting robot. She was wearing a strange,skin tight pink and purple jumpsuit that was covered in small nodes. Small spikes also adorned the elbows, knees, and shoulders of the young woman. Her eyes were covered by a strange gray visor with a pink light emitting from it. perhaps the biggest thing that Roberta noticed was her shocking pink hair, two large locks coming done from the main patch, curling around the ears. She reached back to close the door, never once taking her view off the robot in front of her. Soon the rift closed leaving the room once again a dim room and a new visitor.
"Greetings Mistress Ann Kyla,  I have been watching the patient as you have commanded." came a small feminine voice that seemed distorted by electricity and static from the pink UFO
"Well done Compy," responded a cheerful, almost childish tone from the girl as she smiled widely. Display results screen."
Suddenly the eyes of the robot seemed to split open, a long, transparent screen appearing as the two pieces moved away from each other. After spreading about a foot apart, words began to flash across the screen, zipping  upward at a incredible rate of speed. Roberta remained motionless, watching in awe. Was this girl actually  reading what was going across the screen? How could she read that fast? Just who the hell was this girl?
Ann Kyla nodded, before she reached up and touched the screen. The words stopped. She seemingly stared at the paragraph in front of her. She was smiling  from ear to ear before she exclaimed."I KNEW IT"
Roberta shirked into the sheets, as if trying to hide. Ann turned to her attention from the view of Compy's screen, taking a couple of steps toward the frightened girl.
" Don't be afraid DarkMagick Girl" She said in a  soothing tone.
Roberta soon looked up, a little stunned. How did she know?
"My name is Roberta..: she said, shyly
" Ah. well I didn't know your name, but I do recognize the costume. DarkMagick Girl from Yugo-No-go.. right?"
"Yes." said Roberta said, smiling for the first time in what seemed like an eternity. "You are a fan?"
Ann moved over to the loveseat, plopping down onto it, Compy slowly  rolled the screen up, pulling its head together before hovering over before stopping at the foot of the bed
"Huge fan, I even got the latest episode from Japan. It air just last night!" Anna chirped, puffing out her chest, "And I got a universal translator I created , so don't have to read all the subtitles!"
"You created a universal translator?" Roberta looked at her curiously
"Oh where are my manners? My name is Ann Kyla, and this is my creation Compy" She said moving her hand in the direction of the pink hovering bot
"Pleased to meet you, I hope we can be very best friends. " Compy said in her metallic voice, turning to have her eye meet with Roberta's
Feeling a little creeped out, she smiled  uneasily before turning her attention to Ann." Where am I exactly. I really need to call My parents"
Ann kinda fell back onto the loveseat more, her smile fading away. She looked up at the ceiling before she said in a more serious tone.
"I'm afraid I cannot tell you where we are, least not at the moment. As for your parents, its probably best you forget about them for the moment. There ar emore pressing matters at hand."
Roberta sat there shocked. How could this cheerful person be suddenly so cold. Why was she saying these things? She couldn't  just forget about her parents. How could she even insinuate that?
"I know that may sound like I'm being a bit of a bitch, but right now the Influx is after you. The less they see you around your parents, the better it is at the moment." Ann said looking back over at Roberta
"Who in the goddamn hell is the Influx? And why the hell would they want me?" Roberta exclaimed as she jumped out of the bed, her small boots echoing on the concrete floor.
Ann slowly sat up in the chair, her hand reaching up removing the visor. Her  light blue eyes seem to pierce through the room, staring straight at Roberta She took a couple of deep breathes before she began to speak solemnly
"The Influx is a group of women who are on the wrong side of the law. They have been involved in everything from armed robbery, mugging, kidnapping, and as with your friend Milenna,....murder. "
Roberta stood there in shock as her knees began to buckle. She slowly began to sink to the ground as tears streamed down her cheeks. Ann picked herself off the love seat, moving over to place a gentle hand on the weeping girl. She looked up at Compy  and made a nod and the robot's eye turned a deep red
"Right now all we know is the Influx is after you and they will do whatever to takes to get you. They will go after family, friends, even your goldfish if it would mean getting a chance to have you. Why they want you I am not one hundred percent sure why, but I do have a possible idea."
Roberta slowly looked up, streams of water cascaded down over rose colored cheeks as her eyes looked up, almost begging to hear the answer
"From the scan that I read from Compy, you seem to have a hint of magical power running through you"
Magic power? Was she for real? Magic didn't exist. It was  just something used to amuse kids, or something that was in fairy tales or anime. Now this girl in front of her was telling her she had magical powers. She didn't know how to react. After everything she had been through it was hard to think at all.She wish that something would make sense. Why was this happening? Why to her?
As these thoughts ran through Roberta's mind, the door once again opened again. Her head jerked up upon hearing the door creak open, seeing a new figure emerge from the light through her blurry eyes. As her blue gloved hand wipes away tears, she could make out the figure of a familiar face, one who had helped bring her here to this place of mystery.
" I'll take it from here Ann. Thanks for informing Me that she was  awake. You and Compy  should go see Oscelot. She is having armor issues ...again." Grace said in a somewhat annoyed voice.
Ann huffed as she heard this news, raising to  her feet, turning to the door that was being kept open by Grace's shoulder. "Damn shape-shifter! I should have know that plexydermic Kevlar combo was gonna be too rigid. Damn! Damn! Damn! Compy, to the lab, its back to the drawing board."
"Yes Mistress Ann Kyla." Compy beeped.
Ann raised up quickly, running out the door as Compy hovered past Grace, swiftly trying to keep up pace. Grace chuckled a bit as she moved forward letting the door close with a small thud. Even in the dark room, Roberta could see her clothing had changed a bit. She seemed more casual in a white tank top and gray sweatpants. Her white hair seemed a bit damp. Her  flip-flops  echoes in the room as she took a step forward before looking back, her hair braided up stretching to the middle of her shoulders whipping wildly in contrast to her movements.
"Always enjoys a challenge that girl does." she chuckled before looking at the wreck of a girl before her, reaching down with one arm. " Come, let Us sit on the couch."
Roberta reluctantly took Grace's hand. She remembered the the last words she heard, the ones of Grace saying not to put her to sleep too long. Right now though she seemed a ray of light in a world of confused darkness. She needed answers, and this woman, she seemed so trusting. Why was that so? Her tears began to  dry up, her sight becoming more focuses now as she made her way to the couch, sitting down on one end as Grace sat on the other. Roberta gathered her composure best she could. reaching down to smooth out her blue mini skirt. Grace smiled as she leaned down, placing her elbow on her knee as her chin came to rest on her hand, eyes moving along the frightened girl
"I know you have a lot of questions you need answering" Grace said in a honey sweet voice
"YES!" exclaimed the girl, almost breathlessly.
"Well then ask away I will do what I can to answer them." Grace said, eyes closing as she smiled.
"Where am I?
"You are at an top secret base located in the city. At the moment that's all I can give you on that as you are not a member of the team."
"What team? Who are you people?" Roberta looked up confused.
"We are called The Sisters of Salvation, or S.O.S for short. We're a group of extraordinary people who display unusual abilities that differ from other people of the world."
"Unusual as in being able to throw a dumpster with out touching it?"
"Precisely, although I rather not do things like that. It takes a lot of mental power and can leave me wiped out."
"You're a psychic?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"Where you born with it?"
"Yes and no " chuckled Grace
Roberta looked a bit confused. " What exactly do you mean?"
"Well turns out We all here have a gene in us. We call it the Gtae Gene. It's hard to explain, but it lies in only a few people, and on top of all that, it takes a radical change in environment to actually open it. When opened, it allows for the full potential of human beings to be realized."
"Full potential?"
"Lots of people say We only use 10 percent of our brains, so why is it not thought that our genes are not the same way?"
"You say a radical change did this? What was it?"
Grace's face now did a 180 as her smile now  turned belly up as she looked down at the ground. "We were all at the explosion a year ago. Katt, Ann, Me.. We were all at the epicenter, along with one of the women you met today, Shardstorm.
A lot of people lost their lives in that explosion, somehow, 7 of us survived. The blast also affect you as well."
"How? I wasn't even near it when it happened."
"You were in the city, at the anime convention last year?
Roberta nodded. The memories of all the chaos had been pushed back with all the events that had happened recently. She had always considered herself lucky to not be in the building, even thought her and Mileena had wanted to go.
"You are just now beginning to have your gene open. Since you were so far away, it has taken a year for the residue of the explosion to finally kick in."
"But they said that was only a gas leak that caused that. Those happen  and surely they don't cause people to have supernatural powers?"
"Officially it was a gas leak. That's just something that was said to quiet the public. We still really have no clue what caused it"
Roberta sat in silence, letting what she had been told sink in. Genes that allow for superpowers? Coverups to explosions? Why was this not making any sense?
"Who is the Influx? Ann said they were a group of women out to get Me?"
"They are our greatest enemy, and left unchecked, they would most likely take over the world. We are here to try and bring them in. SO far its been a stalemate. We have stopped them from many schemes, but have had no luck catching them. Shardstorm is one of their seasoned vets and probably one of the weakest, except for that new girl. What she makes up though in strength, she makes up with ability and cold bloodiness"
Roberta's eyes opened wide. Shardstorm was the weakest of them? Was that even possible? With one hand the pale woman had froze her to the wall effortlessly. How strong was the strongest? This was all just so crazy.
"So that's why Ann said to forget about My parents." Roberta said as her eyes moved to the concrete floor.
"I'm not gonna lie, this is not easy living this life. I have lost many friends and my family thinks I am dead. Even so, there are a ton of people I have saved by stopping the Influx and their plans. But the big question is what are you gonna do?"
Roberta snapped her head up, looking surprisingly at Grace.
"What you mean? There is nothing I can do!"
"Actually there is. The Influx wants you, apparently for your now blossoming power. Why though I am not for sure, but I do know that they will stop at nothing to have you. You have a choice ahead of you," Grace said solemnly as she moved to face Roberta, her strange white eyes looking deep into Roberta's. "You can stay here and learn about the power that is developing inside and use it for the greater good, or you can return to your life, wondering if today will be the day they come for you. You seen what they will do first hand. They will not hesitate to kill anyone that gets in their way."
It didn't sound like much of a choice to Roberta. Somehow though she knew that Grace was being as realistic as possible. True, she had seen  her friend killed by these women. But did she really have some hidden power. And should she join, would her family be safe? The answer  seemed obvious, but yet she clenched her fist, hesitating to say anything.
"I know its hard on you, so I will let you think on it." Grace said as she  stood up slowly making her way to the door.
"Wait," came a now serious voice from the frightened girls lips.
Grace turned around  slightly, her hand on the shiny doorknob.
"If I help you, will My family be protected?"
"They will be placed in a witness protection facility, given new names, and new lives. I know it sounds like a lot, but its the only way to make sure the Influx will not find them.. or you."
Roberta stood up, moving over to the table on the bed, reaching out for her blue top hat. Under the dim light she could see a few smudges. She brushed them away before putting the hat tightly on her head, looking  at Grace. Her eyes were still frightened, but she was sure she knew what had to be done.
"I will help you. All I ask is protect my family. I don't want to see them harmed."
Grace turned back, smiling a bit. "I will give the word as soon as we are done here.
Roberta smiled bravely. She felt a huge weight lifted off her shoulders, but she still knew it came with a heavy price. Not seeing her family ever again.. it was hard, but if those people could kill her best friend without batting an eye, she could only think of the torture that would befall her family. She couldn't let that happen
"One more thing, Roberta." Grace said  as her hand left the doorknob.
"Yes? What is it?" Roberta ask as her heart began to beat fast. This had better not be like some bad horror film, one where the villain jumps out after tricking the beauty.
"I can actually help boost unlock your power a bit quicker, but I must have your total permission first. It involves me accessing a part of the brain that will full unlock the Gate Gene. I never use My powers to actively spy on people, unless the situation demands it or I have full permission. We could  wait until your powers develop on their own, but that could take weeks, months, even years"
"Years? It could take years to develop this? And how is it that you can unlock such things?"
Grace chuckled as she raised her hand, Roberta feeling her head a bit lighter. She looked up to see her hat floating in the air, spinning a little before she looked at Grace, her white eyes glowing.
        "You're telekinetic?" Roberta said amazed.
        Grace slowly lowered her hand back to her side,the hat slowly stopped spinning and lowered itself, placing itself back on the excited girls head.
        "I am also telepathic. As I said before I don't wish to intrude on the privacy in ones own head. So what do you say? Do I have your permission?" Grace asked her inquisitively.
She looked deep into Grace's eyes, a feeling of trust washing over her, as if releasing all doubts she had on everything. She felt that this woman had been straight with her, and everything she said was indeed true. If she could help her get a hold of this power, she knew it would take some expert help.
"You do," Roberta exclaimed, a brave look now etched on her face.
"Excellent. just lay down on that bed there. I don't want you to collapse or anything after this is done. It can be quiet overwhelming."
Overwhelming? The last few hours had been overwhelming. What was a little more, Roberta joked to herself. She laid down on the ruffle sheets as Grace moved over  to her side, leaning down over as her forehead touched Roberta's.
"Close Your eyes and clear your mind. I will do the rest. Oh! and Roberta."
"Yes?"
"Welcome to S.O.S"