The PIA (The Real Bucky and darkangel76)

[The Real Bucky]

It's hazy. The clouds above me are grey, but the air feels cool. Crisp on my skin. It's not like a crappy grey day. It's more like a calm. Soothing. Melodious grey day. But I was always fond of the rain. I find it...relaxing...

My nanotech charcoal suit is supposed to match everyone else's, and it does...minus the golden tie next to everyone else's red one.

But hey. It's not every day your initiation ceremony for a company that looks interesting on the outside but is probably as banal as all the other ones out there are happens. You know. Memories!

But...Why exactly am I even qualified? ...I just don't think I'm the kind of person they're looking for, judging from the info given to me about the People's Intelligence Agency. You have to be responsible! A people's person! Have a passion! All that bull!

There are about 100 other people sitting in front of me. But hey! I get to experience the joys of sitting way in the fucking back.

At least I get to pass the time before the boring speeches start...

"Bro, for all the time we waste showing up to this shit, you know what we could be doing?" I say to my left.

"Getting lap dances in VR?" He even had a golden tie matching mine. "I'm not copying you!" he tells me. "I just thought we could be unique together!" Yeah. Compared to everyone else. Except when we're together, we're not unique. But that's why we hit it off so well.

"Bingo, man. Bin fucking go."

At least I have something worth looking at next to me. Just until she notices...

I break the ice to the girl to the right of me, where there is another girl to the right of her.

"What would you rather be doing right now?"

 

[darkangel76]

Rain. It looked like rain. Mikayla Brandon hated rain. In fact, she hated bad weather in general. It just wasn't overly appealing and made her irritable. Sitting in her seat, the chair uncomfortable as she shifted trying to find a way to alleviate the ache forming in her lower back, she couldn't help but overhear the guy sitting next to her. She kept her brown eyes fixed on the speaker at the front way far away—too far if she was allowed to state her opinion on the matter. After all, she'd seemed to be hand picked. So why shove her back here with this—her eyebrow arched and she let out a soft, exasperated sigh—rabble?

It had been a day like most days, uninteresting and ordinary, when someone from the shadows suddenly approached and handed her a card. She heard a voice, rumbling and low, full of purpose and promise. He'd clearly told that she was meant for more, that more was out there, that they'd been watching...that they always watched. The shivers that crept along her spine in that moment, she knew that everything from the past had been true, that she hadn't been crazy or seeing things. Her gut had been right and she wasn't about to let the opportunity slip through her fingers.

Now, here she was. Mikayla was sitting in an uncomfortable chair, worried it might rain and next to some guy who clearly rather be somewhere else. Did he not get the importance of what they all were about to embark upon? For a moment, her gaze went distant, she remembered the wave crashing over her head, the tumbling water pulling her down, down, down...

Shaking her head, clearing her mind, Mikayla turned toward the guy who'd addressed her, her expression one of annoyance. "I'm trying to listen, as should you," she stated in a harsh whisper, her one hand moving up so that she brought her index finger up to her lips as if to say 'shh'. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm already straining my ears." Fluttering her eyes, she turned away, irritated at being interrupted and annoyed at having overheard the remarks of where he'd rather be. Just where did his priorities lie? Clearly not on the agency! Letting out a tiny huff, she shifted once again in her seat. How she wished these seats were more comfortable.

Meanwhile, in another part of the city, the sound of a piano filtered out from the depths of a studio apartment. Fiona Caldwell loved how the music sounded even if the instrument took up most of the room. Oh, it was worth it! And it took her mind off of...

No, Fiona wouldn't think on that. It was too dangerous so best to leave it alone as much as possible. Of course, she knew that was impossible. Unfortunately, it was a part of her...that cursed power that wreaked havoc ever since it reared its ugly head. And how she hated it, wished it would somehow go away. But, try as she might, it just wasn't something that could be and that meant she had to hide, stay alone and do what she could to merely exist.

Just live.

It was the way of things. So music was the only joy in Fiona's solitary life, though how she longed for more. But it was an impossibility. How could she tell people what she could do? The last time she tried she was nearly locked up, declared crazy. No. She'd never do that again. Not ever. It was a mistake she'd never repeat. Staring at a glass of water sitting on the end table, she swallowed hard, tiny ripples began to form and soon it lifted, forming a thin column as it raised out of the glass and began to spin into fine ribbons in the air.

"Oh no," Fiona whispered as she watched, knowing that it was she who was doing it. Her thoughts had drifted to the water, watching it, imagining it ebb and flow and suddenly... Shaking the thought, the water fell, splashing and forming a puddle on the floor. Biting down on her lower lip, she quickly got up to mop up the mess, her blue eyes prickling with tears.

Fiona knew it was stupid to deny what she was—a Water Elementalist. Every time she did, it ended in disaster. But, every day, she had to try. It was the hope that she'd be able to tamp it down enough so that she could feel comfortable around humans for longer periods of time, letting them into her life, getting close.

But each time, it was a failure. Like now.

Fiona let out a sigh and tucked a lock of blonde behind her ear. "Damn," she whispered and she furious wiped at her eyes.

In yet another area of the city, Ariel Faust paced back and forth, her dark eyes fixed on the painting that was set on the wall.

"No. Just...no," Ariel stated, her hands on her hips. She flicked her mousy hair and turned on her heels, skirt swishing as she walked a few more paces away. Again, she turned to face the painting. "Try moving it a bit to the left. Then bring the right corner up about an inch." She squinted slightly, her eyes narrowing as she stared at the men adjusting the painting. Finally, her full lips quirked up into a smile. "Perfect."

Ariel was pleased. Finally, the painting was exactly where it should be and about time too! She'd finished the painting days ago, the thing having been dry for quite some time. But it had taken them days to get it up per her request. It was a painting of a woman surrounded by half rotted corpses, crawling and walking to the one who called. The longing in those corpses faces...it only showed the strength of the caller and it filled Ariel with an emotion she couldn't quite explain. But it was raw and real and... She'd have to paint more just like it!

Giving the men a nod, Ariel walked out of the room and went to sit down at her computer. She twisted some strands of hair about her finger as she began to do a search, the feed coming from a special server.

"How interesting," Ariel muttered to herself as her dark eyes scanned the web pages, images of angels, demons and planeswalking filling the list. She tapped her chin, her thoughts reeling, her ambitions growing. More investigation was definitely going to be needed. If only there was someone she could trust enough to talk to, to work with.

 

[The Real Bucky]

Eesh...

What are you? My fucking primary school teacher?

"Jayden! You must listen as if someone were talking to YOU and YOU alone!"

It's not that I'm not focusing! I am! Just not on you...

Her ears are strained? Oh please. Suck it up, you little drama queen.

I decide to cerebrally text instead.

(Bro. Talk about a fucking ice queen, right?)

(So you like the taste?)

(What?)

(The taste of REJECTION, BEATCH!)

(Fuck you. When we get into VR, your ass is gonna get a taste of Mr. Foot here, which is gonna get shoved into that mouth if you don't shut the fuck up. Oh; and when we get back in the game, stop driving the Humvee off the cliff. WITH OUR ENTIRE FUCKING SQUAD IN IT.)

(Hey! It's an experiment in physics!)

(Yeah, well we aren't going to be your fucking control variables.)

Seriously. Every time Keaton is in my squad in Battles of History VR, he always either ends up being the last one alive and commits suicide, or accidentally kills everyone in our squad when we ride together. And he always wants to do the Islamic State raids of the early 2020s. "Shit's more fucked up than in the late 2010s!" What the fuck ever.

But we've been friends since the 4th grade, and at the end of it all, he's still my Roman to my Niko. It may suck fucking up, but if I were to fuck up, I'd rather it be with him.

"Hey look. I'm sorry. I just don't fully understand why I should be here. What do you see in this? I'm Jayden, by the way. Jayden Carter."