RPG BeatleMania: ReDux [PG - LV]

[Ozymandius Jones]

[CENTER][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v641/ozyssite/Salvador_Dali_The_Persistence_of_Memory_1931.jpg[/IMG]
[B]Prelude: A Beginning
[/B][/CENTER]


[COLOR=Navy][FONT=Courier New][B]?The ICDC has just released their statements for the final quarter of two thousand, one hundred and four??[/B][/FONT] The reporter?s cheerful voice rang through the underground laboratory, but no one paid it any mind. No one dared to?not while [I]he[/I] was here?lackeys and sub-supervisors panicked alike when Julius Rathbone was on the prowl?tonight, however, Julius didn?t do much. He just?typed.



[I]Tap. Tippity-tap. Beep.[/I] The computer screen flickered in his darkened office alcove, darkened so he wouldn?t have to see the portraits. Father, Grandfather, Great-grandfather, all stared down at him in disapproval. Him?the last of the Rathbones?he took a drag on his cigarette as outside his alcove the vid-screen reporter went on. [FONT=Courier New][B]?The reports are positive?there have been no new cases of the Plague reported since last August.?[/B][/FONT] They were wrong, they were all wrong. This wasn?t the way things were supposed to be?at least, not without him being their cause?them and their misguided cheer?he?d show them. He?d show them all?



[I]Click. Clickity tap. Beep.[/I] Some lab-coated technician came hurrying into his alcove, clutching a clipboard of papers to his chest like a shield.



[B]?Uh, s-sir?? [/B] Julius raised red-rimmed eyes from his computer screen.



[B]?Whaddya want??[/B] The tech shoved the papers onto his desk.



[B]?R-reports from the temporal possibilities department, sir. I ? um. Y-you know it could mean my j-job if they found out about this, s-sir.?[/B] Julius glanced up from his eager perusal of the papers.



[B]?And you want my assurance they won?t?? [/B] The young man swallowed, blinking furiously.



[B]?I?er?yessir.?[/B] There was silence in Julius?s alcove. Almost. His vid screen still blared; reporting the findings in further detail. Julius brought his hand out from beneath the desk, clutching a handgun. He smiled.



[B]?Don?t worry?I won?t tell if you don?t.?[/B] The tech paled. Julius glanced at the gun.



[B]?Oh, don?t worry about this. This isn?t for you. Run along now.? [/B]



[B]?Yessir.?[/B] The tech disappeared.



[I]Clickity, tappity click. Beep?whirr?[/I]Julius stood up, stretching the sore muscles in his back. He?d gotten what he needed?the text on the screen now read ?[FONT=Lucida Console]compound self destruct initiated?alarms deactivated?? [/FONT] He walked out of his alcove, whistling.



[FONT=Courier New][B]?So with the Plague finally in remission, it appears Earth owes a great debt of gratitude to?? [/B] [/FONT]




[SIZE=4]BANG![/SIZE]



The perky reporter, her charts, and the vid-screen disappeared in an explosion of smoke, sparks and glass. The lab went silent ? completely, utterly silent ? for the first time in years. Staff stood, stunned, staring at Julius as the smoke from the gun barrel rising to mingle with the smoke from his cigarette and the vid-screen. Julius smirked.



?[B]Happiness is a warm gun??[/B]

[/COLOR]


[B]Prelude: Stage Two[/B]



[COLOR=Purple]The sun was out; the grass was green?it was a beautiful day. Prudence Jones didn?t realize it, but she came perilously close to having a rather foolish grin on her face. It felt [I]good[/I] to be out in the sun?she had never realized how much she missed this?



It was her first day off in weeks. Research was working on a fairly major project, and Bulldog had been pushing everybody. [B][I]Just a few more hours, c?mon, what?s food, really? Who needs sleep?[/I][/B] Fortunately, just hours ago, they?d made the breakthrough they?d been needing?and as such, been sent out to do all the tasks Bulldog had deemed unnecessary. Like eat?



Prudence shook out her hair, freeing it from its confining braid as she reached her destination ? a small, outdoors café in the downtown Harrisburg. She sat down at one of the tables with a sigh, and waited for the server to realize she was there. It wouldn?t take long. They knew her here.



She smiled slightly as she watched the people walk by. There had been such a change in the last few months?no longer were people dressed in isolation suits; gone were the horrible coughs, the hideous sick-smell that had been almost everywhere?maybe the news this morning had been right. Maybe the Plague [I]was[/I] in remission. It wouldn?t be too soon?



[B]?Prudence!?[/B] Prudence turned halfway in her seat to see the owner of the café rushing towards her. Her smile grew as she climbed to her feet.



[B]?Rocky!? [/B] The rough name did not fit the little old lady who embraced her, babbling.



[B]?Did you hear the news, Prudence? They think they?ve found the cure! They had the reports this morning!? [/B] Prudence sat back down.



[B]?I did hear?that?s wonderful. Maybe now you?ll get that cruise??[/B] Rocky?s husband, Edward, had been promising his wife a cruise since their wedding, 47 years earlier. They had been prepared to take it 7 years ago ? the year that the plague had started, and the ICDC had forbidden all unnecessary travel.



[B]?Oh, I hope so, dearie, it seems so long since we?ve been-?[/B]



[I]Beepbeepbeep Beepbeepbeep Beepbeepbeep ?[/I] Prudence jumped half a foot into the air, hand going to her beeper automatically.



[B]?Sorry??[/B] She smiled apologetically, about to switch it off, when the beep merged into something else?something she?d hoped she?d never hear?a single, shrill tone that just went on and on, rising in intensity and volume until it sounded almost as loud as a fire siren.



[B]?What is it, Prudence?? [/B] And Prudence shook her head, cursing herself for letting her fear show on her face.



[B]?I?m sorry, Rocky, I have to go.?[/B] She tore off down the street, not even bothering to shout an apology to the pedestrians she bowled over in her mad rush. She had hoped to be out of sight before hitting the button that would shift her out of this dimension, but when the alarm switched tone once again, she did it without thinking. Just like it had been pounded into her brain?[I]you hear this tone, you get out of the timeline immediately?[/I]she could remember the urgency in Professor Araby?s voice. [I]You don?t wait to hide; you don?t stop to get anything. You get out of there as fast as you can hit that button?and even then, sometimes, it?s too late.[/I]

Her thumb depressed the button ? and like that, she was elsewhere. She bent over, panting, in the Arrival Room of the TCD, bent over, panting to regain her breath. All around her, fellow agents and employees were doing the same?this wasn?t a local event, then?



Something was changing. This wasn?t buttons and shoelaces, either. Something was changing, and it was[I] big.[/I] [/COLOR]










=========
OOC: There you go...where were you when the alarm went off, how did you get back, etc. Doesn't have to be even half as long. Ready? GO!

[Skye]

[color=pink]Penny was reading, a very good novel. Okay, so it was pretty typical for fantasy; princess is captured by evil wizard, prince goes to save her ? but it had a nice twist you didn?t often see. It was this: the princess didn?t exactly want to be saved, and the prince was very glad to join the evil wizard (and wizardette) when he found out being a knight in shining armour was not all it was jigged up to be.

Penny was just reading about when the young princess decided to take over the evil domain for herself when her beeper when off. She cried out loudly, and was about to switch it off when she heard the other sound ? the emergency sound. People in the park turned to look at her in annoyance, and she tossed the book to the ground.

Penny stood, and dove behind some bushes, and pressed the button before she hit the ground. She soon was sitting in the Arrival room, and coughed loudly, shutting her eyes against the sudden light change.

?Jeez??

OOC: Kinda short, hope it?s okay.[/color]

[Angelus_Necare]

[size=1][color=darkslategray]Asbury park was rather serene in the early afternoon. Children swung cheerily on the swings and chased eachother about over the spring grass. Young adults either walked side by side or took residence on a park bench, pairs oblivious of the world around them. A flock of pigeons took bread from a kindly old woman in an overcoat and hankecheif cap, peering gently at the birds through her aged horn-rimmed glasses. Jude often forgot how beautiful the natural world around him could be.

[i]Tick. Tick. Tick.[/i]

"Oi Lad, You gonna take yer move?" A graying old englishman seated across from the younger TCD agent.

Jude blinked being harshly withdrawn from his gentle daydream to face the task before him. The reason he had ignored his duties as he did every so often was to come to Asbury park in search of a challenge. Once a week, Jude Hayes was a comander of an army, an army of tiny white and black chesspieces. It was a refreshing break from the monotony of the TCD agency that he seemed damned to for a good portion of his life. Thus, he snuck out once a week to this haven of his, to releive his tired body yet give him the opertunity to keep his mind sharp.

His playmate today was an old geezer of a man. A wiry senior who seemed penchant for tweed trousers and columbian cigars with patience that lasted just about as long as a snowflake in hell. He tilted his head back to gaze through half rimmed glasses at the board below him, occasionally running a hand through his balding patch of gray situated near the back of his head. He cast another impatient gaze at the TCD agent, who was merely a bit more than a stranger before pulling the stub of his ciggar from his yellowed mouth.

"You still 'ere?" He asked gruffly in his lazy english, promptly replacing the stogey to his lips.

[i]Tick. Tick. Tick.[/i]

Jude reached across the board set between him and his opponent to slide his black Rook over to an unwary white Bishop then taped the top of the ticking chess clock, now switching the time away from his turn.

Arnold McKenzey glared at the young man seated opposite him. He didn't really know who the spry stranger was, but was bored enough to decide upon challanging the renowned Asbury park chessplayer. Still, he couldn't understand how a shabby-looking punk of a man could possibly hold the skill required for such a sophisticated game. Arnold carefully looked over the man across from him, sneering a bit at what he saw. The young man was dressed rather lazily, his white dress shirt loose in the front yet meticulously tucked in the back of his black trousers. He also noted the young man wearing a long black jacket, the lapels of which had a vauge deep blue stitching that seemed bizzare and unnescesary. A loose and crooked tie finished the shabby ensambel that mattched a rather shabby person. Arnold sneered at untidy black hair and the boy's deathly pale skin that sported an unshaven face. The stares on Arnold's behalf stopped when he met blazing green eyes that were intently focused on him, The lazy posture across from him slumped as the young man smiled.

"Time's ticking Sir..." He spoke slowly, smoothly. One of the few sentences that he actually spoke since they began playing.

Arnold hastily set forward his Queen in attempt to capture the opposing King, muttering "check" as he slapped the button on his side of the chess clock, once again switching times. A ghost of a smirk fluttered across Jude's face as he saw the final move towards his victory. He reached for his Rook, grasping the riged castle-like top as his hidden beeper blew into a violent explosion of noise.

Before Arnold, or anyone within a ten foot radius realised what was happening the sound suddenly began to diminish as it moved farther away, Jude running with it.

"OI!" Arnold spat the ciggar from his mouth and stood shouting, "You fergot yer chess set!"

The noise had spooked Jude terribly and sent him to his feet running before he realized what he was doing. It seemed that he was prone to loud noises as he removed himself from it more often than not. Regardless, he ran as fas as his lungs would take him from normal eyes before he fished for the red button that would bring him back to headquarters.

With a loud pop and a flash later he had found himself skidding into the arrival room, physically coliding with someone who had arived not a moment before he did. He cursed silently to himself gazing bemusedly from the floor, it seemed today was not going to be his day.[/color][/size]

[4815162342]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue][B]"Auntie, El, Auntie, El, lookit that! Looky, looky!"[/B] Eleanor looked up at the towering roller coaster. One of her nephews (Jojo...she thought...it was so hard to tell sometimes)...tugged on her hand.

[B]"I'm looking, I'm looking....what am I supposed to be looking at?"[/B] One of the others latched onto her other arm.

[B]"Come ON! Take us on it NOW!" [/B] Ok...easily identified...bossy...definatly Johnny.

[B]"And why would I do that?"[/B] Eleanor grinned. " I wanna go on THIS one." She dragged the two boys towards the Teacup. The third nephew, Robert, latched onto the back of her shirt, attempting to drag her the other way; all three boys howling in protest.

[B]"Auntie El, we can't go on THAT!"

"That's for BABIES!"

"BORING!"[/B] Eleanor stopped dragging before Robert stretched her shirt. It was one of her favorites -Watch me!- on the front -I Talk!- on the back, with "R. Dorothy Chatdoll" scripted across the sleeve.She looked down at three indentical, indignant faces.

[B]"Well, what DO you want to go on then?"

"We already TOLD you!" [/B] Johnny was exasperated now, stomping his feet. Eleanor hid a smile.

[B]"I don't remember very well...what one was it?"[/B]

[B]"AUUGH!" [/B] Jojo sighed, as if he was talking to a little (or littler) child.

[B]"The Wildcat!" [/B] Eleanor pouted.

[B]"I don't wanna go on the Wildcat...it looks scary..." [/B] Robert rolled his eyes.

[B]"What, you're a scaredycat?"[/B]

[B]"Auntie El's a scaredycat, Auntie El's a scaredycat..."[/B] The other two danced around Eleanor, siging that. Eleanor sighed. Now people were beggining to stare at them. She began walking towards The Wildcat.

[B]"Oh, yeah? I bet I'll be able to ride it more times in a row than you..."[/B] She stuck her tongue out. Her nephews giggled, placated now that they were getting their ride. She bent down. [B]"'s Johnny's turn for the piggy back...Up, up..."[/B] Johnny wrapped his arms around Eleanor's neck.

"[B]Upupupupupup!"[/B] She turned her head slightly to glare at him

[B]"Silence, ingrate..."[/B] She stood, then picked up he other two, one under each arm...they looked rediculous, but they didn't care. Eleanor was just greatful her nephews were still so small...there would have been riots had she been only able to carry one...

The que line to the classic wooden roller coaster wasn't long at all, most patrons prefering to go on the newer, "faster" coasters. But Eleanor and her nephews knew a secret...the wood creaked and rocked, the cars had lap bars to speak of...and "speed", after all, was mostly an illusion...

[B]"Ok, which one's riding with me?" [/B]

[B]"My turn!"[/B] She arranged Jojo and Robert into their cars, making sure the seat belt was tightened, and fixed them with a firey glare.

"[B]You try to undo that this time, and we're going straight home. No more rides, no water park, no dinner. Capice?" [/B] Two nods. She sat in her own car, helping Johnny fix his belt as the ride started moving.

Five times...that was all they got before Johnny needed to get off...

[B]"Auntie El, I don' feel good..."[/B]

"Auntie, is this a normal color?" Eleanor turned in her seat. Jojo was leaning away from Johnny, who was faintly green.

[B]"Ah...no, I'd have to...no. Don't worry, we're off as soon as this one's done."[/B]

Disaster was averted, and soon all three boys were happily munching corndogs, candy apples, popcorn and peanuts that they had mooched off of her. She didn't mind really...[i]At least they're happy...and not dying my hair...[/i] she fingered the blonde streak. [i]little twerps...[/i].

[B]"Hey, John me lad...how is it that you're eating twice as much as those two put together? You were sick just a minute ago!"[/B] Johnny grinned, his mouth full.

[B]"We're off it now..." [/B] She grinned, opening her mouth to reply when her beeper shrilled off, barely heard at first in the general bustle of the amusement park.

[B]"Auntie El, that thingie's making noise..."[/B] Eleanor grin disappeared. It was. She grumbled as she took it off her belt to see what the beeping was for.

[B]"Ingrates...work for three weeks nonstop, an' do they give me a day with no fuss?"

"NO!"[/B] Her nephews were quite familiar with this rant.

[B]"That's exactly right...they have to make the fiendish thingie go...off..."[/B] Eleanor's voice trailed off as the tone changed. Her nephews all stared.

[B]"That's a new noise, Auntie El..."[/B]

[B]"What's that one mean?"[/B] She drew the three boys together so she could stare at them.

[B]"Remember that plan we made? The one with the old lady?"

"What, the "The Fiendish Doom Beeper" plan?"[/B] Eleanor almost laughed.

[B]"Yes, that one. I need you to do that right now, ok?" [/B] Three pairs of big brown eyes blinked up at her.

[B]"Is everything ok?"[/B] She kissed the top of Jojo's head, then the other two, just to be fair.

[B]"Everything'll be ok, sweetie...really."[/B] She and the three boys ran over to the corndog vendor.

[B]"Look, I'm really, REALLY sorry, but can you PLEASE watch them for just a minute? They have money to call their momma, but I reall have to go, watch 'em till she gets here, please?"[/B] She was off before she got an answer. They'd planned for this. [B]"I'm really sorry!" [/B] She called back. [B]"Be good!" [/B] She dodged into an empty tent, and hit the button, arriving in the TCD just in time to rebound off of...someone...looked like Jude. She collided second with the wall, turning to glare at the world in general. [B]"This had better be something important!" [/B] she announced to the vicinity, trying to blink the lights out of her eyes. [B]"There is a civilized thing known as a "day off"..." [/B] Her voiced trailed off as she saw just how many people were crammed into the hall...the arrival room was just as crowded as the amusement park had been, overflowing into the hall. She sighed.

[B]"Gonna be one of [i]those[/i] things, ain't it?"[/B][/COLOR]

[Muse]

[COLOR=indigo][SIZE=1]The sunlight warmed Julia Stanley?s long, stretched out legs, covered by her psychedelically bright bellbottoms, as they were the only things sticking out from underneath the large tree she was resting her back upon. Her long-sleeved, brightly colored and flower trimmed shirt, a little baggy on her slim frame, was blowing just a bit in the breeze. Her head was tilted back comfortably, and the trash from a long-forgotten lunch was still scattered around her, but she was paying half attention to the garbage to make sure it didn?t fly away into the perfect blue lake that the park skirted.

And to think she might?ve had to work all day today! She smiled, her eyes glittering behind her trademark rectangular sunglasses that she wore whenever she wasn?t working on something challenging. Her eyes were focused on the playground nearby, the little children giggling as they fell off the monkey bars and slides. There were a few kids staring at her no too far away and not to well hidden. Julia was used to getting stared at, and was actually enjoying the fact that a few mothers were glaring at her most disapprovingly. Just to make them angry (or angrier) she waved at the two little girls who were gawking at her. In the sunlight, Julia saw their mother?s faces flush with anger and herd them away like sheep to the other side of the playground.

Julia giggled, her usual kind of laughter, and brought her legs into a cross-legged position and watched the pretty sailboats on the serene lake. Julia didn?t know what timeline she was in, and she never bothered to find out. She liked to be oblivious to specific problems in some towns, which is why she only visited her family to visit her family and friends, then either back to work or somewhere nice.

Julia messaged her fingers gently, remembering with a slight smirk the means why she was so happy to be here. Lately, she had been working as a researcher at work, and weeks had been spent researching the new project. Bulldog had been working them like cattle, not allowing breaks and everything. Julia was usually very serious and worked hard at her job, but she had exploded at Bulldog after another hour of straight working. She had never seen him look so angry, and she vowed she never would.

[B]?BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP?!?[/B] Julia could?ve sworn she jumped about five feet in the air, and then scrambled to her feet. The beeping was so loud that all the children on the playground stopped what they were doing to watch. A little boy fell clean off the monkey bars and looked around, confused, as to what the noise was. Julia looked at them, amused, before going to her beeper. She frowned at first, then the incessant beeping became one, long sharp noise that grew louder every second. Lessons from the academy flashed back to her, her teacher, Professor Loretta Martin, yelling at her the same thing over and over; [B]?IF YOU EVER HERE THIS NOISE, RETURN TO TCD!?[/B] Loretta had a strange way of teaching, but it got the job done, for sure.

Without another thought, Julia pressed the button on her beeper, fully away of all the stares and the astonished gasps she barely heard as the world vanished into a swirl of colors and into a dark, crowded room. There were some, [B]?Oh great, just who we need.?[/B] but Julia paid no attention, as she was suddenly knocked into by a familiar face. Jude Hayes.

[B]?Hey Jude.?[/B] Julia sighed, and turned around to see if she could figure out what was going on. Bulldog was not very far from her, so she (mustering up needed courage) asked him meekly,

[B]?Hey, Bulldog. What?s goin? on, huh??[/B][/COLOR][/SIZE]

[Ezekiel]

[COLOR=SeaGreen][SIZE=1]Lucian sat in an Internet cafe, old by the modern day standards that he had grown accustomed to. The sound of his feather light fingers dancing across the keyboard cheered him up greatly, the [I]Tick Tick Tick[/I] was a sound he had grown up with, something he had practically been raised on. The young man brushed back some hair from his eyes with the back of his hand; the summer heat of Liverpool was starting to get to him in this stuffy room. He clicked a link and followed through to a web page advertising guitars and drum kits. He was considering buying one here, knowing that something form this time line would be worth a lot of money if he were to be shifted to another time in the future.

His pay was good, but why ignore an easy pay out? He chuckled to himself and shook his head, closing the page down. He checked his mail and then his AIM Buddy list. A friend was online, one that he had met last night at Stamps, a bar that had a weekly band night and introduced new bands to the music scene. He had met the lead singer of one form the night before and the two of them hit it off great, Lucian had even been invited to one of their practices to see how the band were coming along. He smiled proudly at the fact that even after only being in this timeline of 2000 for one week, he had already become known to some younger musicians as a talent.

But his personal gloating didn't last for long as a shrill [I]'BEEP BEEP BEEP!'[/I] sounded from his jeans pocket. It certainly had a habit of turning heads, Lucian himself had been foolish enough to whip his head around to see what the noise was, this after a whole month of being told [I]'If you ever hear this noise, return to TCD!'.[/I] he groaned and jumped up form the computer, pounding the Restart button before he sprinted from the cafe. He turned a corner and jumped over a small wall, hitting his bleepers button in mid air.

He never touched the ground and within a few second he realised the mistake of porting during mid jump.

He landed on someone, and by the tone of their swearing, they weren't happy. Lucian laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head, [B]"Sorry about that, mate. My mistake!"[/B] He left, quickly.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Billy Shears]

Bill was taking a pretty light job today; he was out helping the police under a false name. They said they found some kind of murder linked to a bunch of songs with subliminal messages. Sort of unordinary for him, being stuck in the reasearch department most of the time. Bulldog was in the library looking up the song lyrics when...

"BEEP BEEP". That beeper is too loud, Bill thought.
"Oh come on, you've got to be kidding", he grumbled. Every single person responded to the beeper with a long, drawn out stare.

"Mind yer buisness, you folks!". His voice boomed throughout the whole library. Bulldog ran as fast as his stubby legs could carry him. He practically killed a man as he barreled into a bathroom stall and vanished to the TCD lab.

He saw Julia. He was just as confused as her, when she asked him, "Hey, Bulldog, whats goin' on, huh?" Bill replied, "Dammit, kid, my name is Bill! I ain't no bulldog!".

Everyone was staring at the monitor where [I]he[/I] was. Rathbone.

[COLOR=DarkRed][SIZE=1]OCC: Go ahead and wing it from there, I guess. I don't really know what to put.
-the one and only[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Shy]

[font=trebuchet MS]?Here we are again,? Abby stared down at the small computer screen she held in her palm, ?834 Pepper Lane.?

The year was 2093, and at one point in the timeline, this point, 834 Pepper Lane belonged to Miss Abigail Rhodes. The humble London flat was the closest thing she ever knew to a home, and Abby just wanted to see it one more time on this, her day off. In less than a decade a massive electro-hover transport would derail, killing hundreds and destroying this entire neighborhood. It was one of the saddest says in Abby?s life, which is why she didn?t make a point of visiting it often.

Technically she wasn?t supposed to interact with parts of the timeline that effected her, since with any time travel there is a risk of paradox and contamination. Although she lived by the rules, this was one of the few occasions in which she would deviate. And she would deviate often, interacting with old schoolmates, people who had been rude to her on the subway, anyone whose path she had crossed during her formative years. It was her mission, her real mission, trying to overcome the losses she had sustained as a child.

The T.C.A. paid the bills, and made her ?therapy? (as she called it) entirely possible. More importantly, what she was doing was illegal. If Abigail were to ever create a noticeable disturbance in her own timeline, she would be tried to the fullest extent of the T.C.A.?s authority. She was playing with fire just standing there and admiring her childhood home.

?Abigail,? a voice called out from afar, ?You know you?re not supposed to be here.?

Abigail froze, turning her head slightly to see who had discovered her whereabouts. There stood an older woman in a sun dress, staring down at a young girl - Abby as a child. Little Abby sat there quietly in the distance, picking a bright yellow flower that was growing in one of the planters. Abigail let out a sigh of relief, and watched the small scene play out between herself as a young girl, and her elderly caretaker, Ms. Porter.

?Why are you outside, Abby? You know your parents wouldn?t want you playing outside. It?s not safe.?

?I wanted to pick flowers,? Abby replied, ?I?m very safe!?

The older woman glared.

?No, not at all. You know in East Africa someone made a special kind of flower that makes you sick when you pick it, people are getting ill all over the nation. In this day and age you don?t know what to trust anymore, not even the flowers.?

?But a flower is just a flower, Ms. Porter. I don?t understand.?

Ms. Porter grabbed Abby?s small hand and began pulling her towards the flat.

?Your parents have a lot of enemies, Miss Rhodes. It?s safer for the both of us if we keep you inside.?

The two went inside the flat, Abby still struggling to stay outdoors. Oddly enough Abigail Rhodes, T.C.D. agent, didn?t remember this exchange ever happening. She picked up the flower she had dropped so many years earlier, and sighed.

[b]BEEP! BEEP![/b]

Abby?s T.C.D. beeper blared as she pulled it from her pocket.

?Time disturbance, 1965. England? read the beeper?s alert screen.[/font]

[size=1]-Shy[/size]

[Ozymandius Jones]

[COLOR=DarkOrange][center][SIZE=3]Chapter One: Yesterday[/SIZE]
[/center]


Prudence's first impression after she got used to the various changes that came with sudden teleportation was that everyone was staring. But not at her - at the vidscreen behind her. Curious, she turned and stared at the screen.

[I]Dr. Rathbone? What's he doing on the vid screen?[/I] The doctor was well known to most employees - after all, his father had founded the TCD. But....he looked strange today, scruffy, his normaly clean cut appearence thrown off by a five o'clock shadow and red-rimmed eyes.

[I][B]By the time you see this[/B], [/I] the vidscreen said, [I][B]I will be long, long gone. As you should've been...as all mankind should have been...[/B][/I] Prudence looked around her, confused.

[B]"Anyone know what he's talking about?"[/B] One of the techies from the monitering department shook his head.

[B]"He showed up on the screen twenty minutes before we started getting alarms. Everything's gone haywire, but we can't figure out what's changing."[/B] Pru blinked.

[B]"Can't?! B - but - I don't..."[/B] The techie shrugged.

[B]"Don't ask me how, but he's overridden the empathic tracking for the machine system, as well as the..."[/B] The techie went on describing all the machinary, safegaurds and failsafes the doctor had managed to get through, but Pru tuned him out as she stared at the other moniters...normaly these screens picked up any broadcast from the normal timeline; vidphone calls, news broadcasts, reports from agents...but now, the screens were flickering, blinking and the pictures were bouncing, shifting from one broadcast to another at an insane speed; reflecting the rate things outside were changing...they wouldn't know what had happened until time stopped shifting. She sighed, sliding down the wall. She was out of her element, and she knew it.



[B][center]Six Hours Later[/center][/B]

Time had stopped shifting, finally...the awful hyperactive flickering of the screens had stopped..but the image it had settled on was not good. The Plague - the horrible bane of everyone's existance for the last 7 years - was back. And worse than ever...according to the broadcasts the TCD were recieving, the death rate was skyrocketing - a seventy five percent fatality rate, as apposed to the 25% it had been in the worst times of the "original" timeline. Whatever Dr. Rathbone had done in the past had changed things dramatically enough that the even the Te'tani ships that had been in orbit the last 5 years were gone; satilittes picking up no trace of them having ever been there...

Pru absorbed all this from her seat in the auditorium, her eyes burning from watching the moniters so much. Professor Araby, her old Temporal Emergency trainer, was reporting all known facts to the agents. The Auditorium hadn't been this full since it's conception. Every single agent was here; crammed into this one room...every agent except those from the Dallas devision.

[B]"And so, in closing..."[/B] Araby gathered his papers into a neat stack. [B]"Until the cause of this temporal shift has been discovered, I'm afraid all agents will be staying here."[/B] Most of the younger agents groaned. This meant that they would have to share quarters. Most newer agents bunked in the dormitories, while older ones tended to have their own homes in the timeline. Araby glared over his glasses.

[B]"Yes, I realize this is an inconvienience for you...but the altenative is much less pleasant." [/B] The old man made as if he was going to leave the stage, but returned to his podium seconds later.

[B]"And I almost forgot...would agents Diamond, Forsythe, Hayes, Henderson, Jones, MaBelle, Maxwell, Rhodes and Stanly please report to Director Riggs immediatly." [/B] Pru sat up straight, staring at the Professor. She exchanged a worried glance with Eleanor Maxwell, who happened to be sitting nearbye. This did not bode well....[/COLOR]




[SIZE=1]OOC: I posted some chapter discriptions in the Underground thread, but this is supposed to be somewhat free-range. Basically, this chappie is just how we figure out what's missing. The next post, however, is just getting to the conference room. Any of you how've been in any sort of meeting know what it's like before the meeting actually starts...everyone talking and whatnot...

Also, Grammar Panzer is not feeling well currently. I have given her permission to post her intro in part of her next post. Sorry about the delay.[/SIZE]

[Muse]

[COLOR=indigo][SIZE=1]

Julia twiddled with her sunglasses anxiously, biting her lip as she listened to Professor Araby talk about God knows what. She was a serious worker, obviously, but she was also rather claustrophobic, and being in an extremely crowded room like this was not a good thing. So, instead of freaking out, she thought about what she had seen earlier to keep her mind on something that didn't make her look up and see everyone.

[i][b][u]Six hours before[/i][/b][/u]

Julia was still standing next to Jude and Bulldog (much to Julia's distaste, as he had yelled at her just seconds before, but there really wasn't any time for trading partners, as soon after everyone's attention was on the vid screen.) Julia's sunglasses slipped down her nose naturally, and her mouth opened in silent astonishment as Dr. Rathbone looked back at her. She had seen him before, as she had worked as a techie many times, near his department. He was a scary bastard. Luckily, she managed to transfer to the main building.

[B][i]"By the time you see this, I will be long, long gone. As you should've been...as all mankind should have been...[/B][/i] He droned, and Julia's hand came up to her mouth, trying to drone a gasp. It frightened her, but she couldn't tell why. Her eyes caught movement of the other screens, changing rapidly. Normally, she thought the time shifts were cool, but she didn't know why this was happening now. Some techie was explaining something, loud enough for all the agents to hear, but Julia was transfixed on the monitors.

[B]"Bulldog...should I be scared?"[/B] She whispered, knowing full well that he didn't like her calling him that. He glared at her, then shrugged,

[B]"Probably."[/B]

[B][i][u]Present time[/i][/u][/b]

The death rate had increased by the plague...the one that the Te'tani were supposed to cure. But, as luck would have it, the Te'tani were no longer there. Julia sighed, relaying this information in her head. Rathbone screwed up something serious.

[B]"And so, in closing. Until the cause of this temporal shift has been discovered, I'm afraid all agents will be staying here"[/B] One huge groan swept the full auditorium, and Julia joined with. She was a newer agent, but more experienced than many, but she still had her own dorm. Sharing wasn't a good thing, especially if it was one of those serious Holiday kids. Professor Araby dismissed them, and then said something that really caught Julia's wandering attention.

[B]"And I almost forgot...would agents Diamond, Forsythe, Hayes, Henderson, Jones, MaBelle, Maxwell, Rhodes and Stanley please report to Director Riggs immediately."[/B]

Julia's head snapped up painfully, looking incredulously at Bulldog, who was seated nearby. How much time did she have to [i]spend[/i] with this guy?[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[4815162342]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue]Eleanor hated having to sit still, and here she was having to, and she didn't even have anything to keep her hands busy so her mind wouldn't wander. As usual her mind decided to take a different course than Professor Araby's, and go back six hours.

[I][B]"By the time you see this," the vidscreen said, "I will be long, long gone. As you should've been...as all mankind should have been..."[/B] Eleanor had been standing behind the taller Julia when she had heard that, so she had not really been able to see the screen. But Rathbones' voice had been enough to send shivers down her spine.[/I]

[B]Ok...He's a pyscho, mankind was meant to be, you can't just wipe us out like we're a math problem you solved wrong. I mean, you see all the ruins of ancient civilizations, yet we're still here.[/B] [I] Eleanor wasn't so sure she wanted to know how he was going to get rid of mankind.

[B] "Bulldog...should I be scared?" [/B] Julia was speaking to Bulldog.

[B]"Probably."[/B] Eleanor leaned forward

[B]"Well then. If you don't mind, I think I will join you."[/B] [/I]

Eleanor was suddenly jerked out of her remembering by her chair making impact with the floor. She had forgotten she had tipped it back.

[B]"Sorry!"[/B] She whispered to the few people she had startled.

[I][B]Better start paying attention to what he's saying I guess...[/B] [/I] Eleanor sat up straighter and began to actually listen to Araby.

[B]"And so, in closing..."[/B] Araby gathered his papers into a neat stack. [B]"Until the cause of this temporal shift has been discovered, I'm afraid all agents will be staying here."[/B] Ugh! She'd tuned in for this? She was supposed to be visiting her parents this weekend. Oh well. Safety of the whole world was more important. Much more important.

[B]"Yes, I realize this is an inconvienience for you...but the altenative is much less pleasant."[/B]

[I][B]Cor, that was an understatement, I for one, do not want to go out of existense...[/B][/I] Another thought occured to her.

[I][B]What if I have to room with Angel Godiva... [/B][/I] Angel had graduated when Eleanor had but they did not gotten along well at all. But since they were the same age and had been in the same year. They might stick them together since they "already knew each other" so well.

[I][B]Yuck. If I'm stuck with her I'll be arrested for murder![/B] [/I] Eleanor went back to listening to Araby. It was a good thing she did too.

[B]"And I almost forgot...would agents Diamond, Forsythe, Hayes, Henderson, Jones, MaBelle, Maxwell, Rhodes and Stanley please report to Director Riggs immediatly."[/B] Eleanor went through the list in her head.

[B]"Know, Don't know, Sarcastic, Grumpy, Don't know, Don't know, Me, Don't know, Talked to her once, this will be fun..." [/B] When was the meeting at again? She looked up to see the same baffeled yet worried look on Prudence Jones' faceas she knew must be on her own... it wasn't very reassuring.
[/COLOR]

[Angelus_Necare]

[color=darkslategray][font=tahoma]Jude glanced around the auditorium boredly, his attention drifting nearly every five minutes. Hell, he didn't need Araby of all people to tell him something was wrong. All logic of the situation could have been pieced together from what went on earlier in that damned arrival room.

[i][u]Six hours before[/i][/u]

Jude pulled himself upright from the floor shortly after a collision upon his arrival. He glanced to his left, catching Eleanor's perturbed glare as she demanded to know what was going on, not speaking to anyone in particular. He smirked slightly at the irritated collegue, feeling quite the same about the sudden interuption. Jude hunched his posture and shoved his hands into his pockets while donning a snarky grin on his face, "Thanks for seeing if I lived through the landing Miss Maxwell." He called to the girl who turned at mention of her name.

"You'll get an appology when when it's NOT my day off..." She answered with a snide yet friendly smile before turning away again.

Jude shrugged before another person collided with him, Julia Stanley. She was someone he vaguely knew, but he put a hand on her shoulder and nodded to her regardless as she greeted him. All attention was then drawn to the vid screens and even worse news. The kind of news that would ruin your day off and make you piss yourself in the process.

Nope, this wasn't going to be a good day at all.

[u][i]Auditorium[/i][/u]

Jude yawned behind his palm, shuffling down furthur into his chair as he caught random phrases and comments from Araby. He sighed when Araby brought up quarter accomodations. It wasn't that he had a home outside headquarters, it was just that he had been used to living alone in the dorms for nearly two years as his previous roomate decided to leave the TCD. Oh well, easy come easy go, he was sure that whoever he was placed with would make his life moreso interesting rather than miserable. Hell maybe he'd be bunked with a woman...

"...Diamond, Forsythe, Hayes, Henderson, Jones, MaBelle, Maxwell, Rhodes and Stanley please report to Director Riggs immediately." Araby spoke from the podium.

The mention of Jude's name made his ears perk and his random thoughts of female roomates diminish as his brain began to work at a new currious question. Why was he being assembled with other agents under Riggs jurisdiction?[/font][/color]

[Ezekiel]

[SIZE=1]Lucian had made damn sure that he was late for this little announcement, he knew it was urgent, he also knew, by the bored look on Jude's face, that it was something they would be reminded of. So, he casually strolled to the Auditorium, already able to hear Araby's voice as he walked around the corner.

He sighed and opened the door, ignoring the annoyed look from Araby as he stopped in mid sentence before continuing on again, rolling his eyes. Lucian gave the now distracted doctor a sarcastic thumbs up, before noticing the warning glare from Jude who was seated two rows from the front. Lucian hung his head and sat down, he didn't like pissing Jude off, one black eye from him was one too many, Lucian would always remember that.

He slipped into thought and pushes his glasses up his nose, sliding down in his chair. Memories attacked him but he merely smiled, he liked remembering old times, even if some of them weren't the best of things. he loved his job and was good at it, no mad scientist would take that away.

[B][U]Six Hours Earlier[/U][/B]

Lucian had managed to hide himself from the agent he had landed on, he didn't think that being out in the open was a good idea at that point in time. He leaned against a wall, a black TV screen in front of him. He swore he saw it flicker and walked closer, squinting at it. Bad mistake. It instantly turned on in a brilliant burst of white, the large face of Dr. Rathbone glaring into Lucian now stinging eyes. he cursed and rubbed at them furiously, the Doctors voice sounding stern and serious. he taled of humans dieing, his genius plan. Lucian couldn't believe his ears. he didn't want to hear this and he left quickly, hoping not to bump into anyone.

[U][B]Present[/B][/U]

Lucian was pulled from his thoughts by someone?s hand around the back of his neck, he jumped and looked up into the face of Jude Hayes, Eleanor and Prudence behind him, exchanging worried looks. Lucian smiled and waved to Jude, [B]"Something the matter, mate?" [/B] his Liverpool accent showed through, he had always prided himself on sounding like one of the legends, John Lennon, whom he had modelled himself on since he had first read about The Beatles.

Jude gritted his teeth and yanked on Lucian?s collar, drawing a yelp from the shorter man. Lucian gasped and turned on Jude, [B]"Now come on, was that really necessary?" [/B] he demanded, a hint of anger showing through in his usually calm voice.
[B]"Yes, it was."[/B] came Jude's reply. Eleanor stepped forward and touched Lucian?s arm, he turned to her and smiled, [B]"What is it?" [/B]

[B]"We need to go."[/B] the urgency in her voice worried Lucian and he simply nodded, bowing his head in respect to Jude.

[B]OOC Trying to show the relationship between Jude and Lucian, they seem like the kind of guys that love to hate each other. Hope this is okay with you, Angelus.[/B][/SIZE]

[Billy Shears]

Bill got there first, and asked Araby, rather impatiently, "What do you need?". Araby replied with a small smirk "Please, Bill, I'll explain when everyone gets here". Araby was always fake to Bill, just because Bill was older. Yeah, yeah, fake bastad.

Bulldog was a little teed off that he was dragged from his work to this stupid little gathering with all these young idiots. He wasn't paying much attention to the Doctor, though he looked straight ahead into the monitor. He let Rathbone slip out from under his nose. Damn, this is my fault he thought. Whatever...don't let it dawn on you too long, old Bill. You'll get the madman in no time.

Ok ok, compose yourself, Bill. Play it off as if nothing happened. Routine shift in time. No big deal. Come on, Bill, you've done this before. He couldn't get his mind off of Rathbone. God, how did he manage to get away?

SIX HOURS EARLIER:

Arrogant. Araby is arrogant. What is that Julia doing here? Didn't I just tell her off? Jeez, she is strange. Any thought to keep his mind from wandering. The little Julia Stanley girl asked him, "Bulldog...should I be scared?" He just managed to shrug the "Bulldog" off (since Dr. Stuckup was still flapping his flipper, no scene was needed), and replied, "Probably". What he really wanted to say was yes, he is a madman, a vicious human, always the lowest of low.

PRESENT:

Screw Riggs. He can wait this is urgent.

Bulldog stormed int Dr. Stuckup's office, fuming. " How did you let him go?!", Bill yelled.

"Bill, please, calm down"

"No! You let him mess with time! You let him go!" Bill slammed Araby's desk, red with fury.

"Please Bill..."

"No!, Listen, that plague is back! Those aliens, they aren't there! This is your ass, Araby! You may have put him in my department, but he is your problem! Where are the aliens, Araby?!" Bill threw a chair against the wall. "Henderson!". Sonofabitch, it is Riggs, Bill thought. "Follow me RIGHT NOW". Bill mustered up some courage and yelled "Listen, you pompous jerk! I ain't gonna take to kindly to your crap, you hear me?!". "Do you wanna fight me, old timer?!", screamed Riggs. "No, but you better watch your tone! You may be some haughty officer, but I am sure I'm a valued member to that little team you got working this problem! And why isn't [I]he[/I] helping?! He let Rathbone go!". Riggs got face to face with Bill. His breath was cold from his nose. "You better follow me, or your ass is gone." Riggs replied, malice in his voice. "I'll go when I please." Bill stormed to his living quarters to calm down, and left about an hour later to the meeting.
[COLOR=DarkRed][SIZE=1]
OOC: Ha, this was fun! Bulldog likes to fight, he's stubborn, like me! He does'nt care for Riggs or Araby as you can see.

-the one and only[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Skye]

[color=pink]Penny listened with her head cocked, slightly confused at all the information she was receiving. She blinked a couple times, getting mixed feelings as she listened to the people around her talking.

[b]"And so, in closing..."[/b] Araby gathered his papers into a neat stack. [b]"Until the cause of this temporal shift has been discovered, I'm afraid all agents will be staying here."[/b] Penny knocked her head on the table with a groan. She left her head resting on the table, saying things under her breath.

[b]"Yes, I realize this is an inconvienience for you...but the altenative is much less pleasant."[/b] Penny let out a very audable sigh as he said this; yes, yes, they all knew this. Would he get on the with the obvious and tell them something they needed to know? Penny was quiet as she heard Araby go back to the podium.

[b]"And I almost forgot...would agents Diamond, Forsythe, Hayes, Henderson, Jones, MaBelle, Maxwell, Rhodes and Stanly please report to Director Riggs immediatly."[/b]

Penny sat straight up as she heard her last name called, and looked at Araby with eyes wide in disbelief. She blinked a couple times, standing automatically at the command. Then she shook herself, and headed for Rigg?s office. She stepped sideways as Bulldog went barreling past, and raised an eyebrow quizzically at Riggs.

?[b]Sonofa? Ah, Forsythe. My apologies for his? behavior.[/b]?

Penny did not question, and just smiled. ?[b]None needed, sir.[/b]?

OOC: X3 I am so sorry, Ozy! *clings* Please forgive me! ;_;[/color]

[Ozymandius Jones]

[COLOR=DarkRed]Director Riggs stared over the tops of his glasses at the group assembled at the table in his personal meeting room. They were all fairly young agents - with the exception of Henderson - and all of them looked nervous - with the exception of Hayes, who had his typical bored expression. Two of the specifically mentioned agents weren't there yet...Riggs smirked. [i]It never fails, with these kids...late for everything...[/i]. He didn't really care...they had plenty of time...he let the blinds snap closed. Let the other agents stew in their nervousness... [/COLOR]

[center]***[/center]

[COLOR=DarkOrange][I]Tap...tap...tap...[/I]

Prudence sighed. She felt like pounding her head on the table. Between listening to Eleanor's nervous babbling, Bulldog's almost sub-audible griping and Lucien and Hayes' subtle sniping, she was beginning to feel the burn in her eyes spreading towards the back of her head...never a good sign.

[I]Tap...tap...tap...[/I]

She knew why [i]she[/i] was here...the devices had been able to pick up at least the general time altered...The Nineteen Sixties had been one of her majors...why Bulldog was here was another question. Head of Research didn't normally get called out for anything. As for Agent Rhodes...Pru shook her head. She didn't even really want to think of the possibilities of why one of the most expirienced profilers was being called out for this...

[I]Tap tap tap...[/I]

[I]Ok. Enough is enough.[/I] She spun in her chair to glare at the other agents.

[B]"Would whichever one of you is doing that please cut it out?!"[/B][/COLOR]



OOC: Er...yeah. Sorry about the delay (again), and for the shortish post...I want to kinda start getting character development going without getting too far ahead of Shy (who has RL things that have to take priority) and Grammar Panzer (whose computer has apparently crashed.) So...any of youse guys got the habit of finger tapping? Also, sorry for bugging you, Mouse...all is forgiven...you can stop clinging now...

[Ezekiel]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue][SIZE=1]Lucian grinned playfully and waved to Prudence, his pen poised for more tapping. She gave him a warning glare, then looked at Jude who had casually plugged his ears with headphones. Lucian smirked and continued tapping, his bangles jangling with the slight movement of his hand.

Prudence looked reading to climb over the desk and throttle him.

[B]"You look cute with that annoyed expression, Pru."[/B] Lucian spoke up, blowing a kiss to her. Her face turned red with anger and a slight twitch developed under her right eye. She growled slightly and stood, her chair grinding against the floor.

[I]Tap Tap Tap[/I]

Lucian's grin grew wider as he readied himself for a hit, Prudence advanced slowly and slammed the palms of her hands onto Lucian's table. He leant back and threw the pen at Jude who immediatly whirled around to hit him, Lucian dodged and the side of Jude's fist slammed into Prudence's arm. It bent and she fell onto the top of Lucian's desk, a red mark forming on her chin.

Lucian laughed softly and stood up, winking at both Jude and Prudence, [B]"Just some fun, eh, mates?"[/B] both of them shook their heads. Prudence stood up straight and cracked her knuckles while Jude pulled out his ear phones.

Lucian gulped, [B]"Aw, come on..."[/B][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[4815162342]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue][I]Looks like Lucien's gonna get get in a fight again.[/I] Eleanor sighed. Yes, tension was high but that was no reason to fight, was it? Lucien always seemed able to get on other people's nerves...she didn't quite understand why...he was normal...to her, anyway...

[I]Ok then...for right now I have another mission: "distract people so they don't kill each other".[/I] Eleanor walked over to the electronic equiptment in the meeting room, looking for a certain type...

[i]Ah! There it is.[/i] Eleanor turned the volume all the way up on both of the microphones, bringing them together.

The speakers emitted a [i]horrible[/i] screech. Eleanor winced, but kept the mics together until everyone was looking at her. She smiled sweetly.

[B]"Ok, now that I have your attention...I find I have nothing to say. I will now NOT return you to your regularly scheduled program, due to the potential for bodily harm.Thank you for your time."[/B] She sat back down, keeping an eye on the potential combatants...[/COLOR]

[Billy Shears]

[COLOR=DarkGreen]Bulldog was reading the "procedure forms" that Riggs handed out. Well, he more or less "handed" them to everyone else. He basically threw one to Bill, hitting him in his chest. He just stared as Riggs left the room, a slight smile on his damn face.

[I][B]Tap, tap, tap, tap...[/B][/I]

[I]Dammit, who is doing that?[/I], Bill thought.

[I][B]Tap, tap, tap, tap...[/B][/I]

[I]Alright, I fed up with these young idiots[/I]. Bill drew a "I'm ready to scream at you all" breath but he noticed that Prudence had gotten up and was fuming at that little punk Lucien. Good for her, he thought. But, it didn't work. He went back to that innecent tapping.

[I][B]Tap, tap, tap, tap...[/B][/I]

Prudece got up and slammed his desk. Lucien muttered something that flushed Pru's face redder that a fresh summer tomato. He threw his pen at the other kid Jude, who turned aroud and accedentally slugged Prudence in the arm. This made Bulldog furious.

Then that Eleanor girl brought the two microphones together to make a horrible feedback to stop the fight from happening and that just made the wick of Bill's temper shorten about 2 more feet.

[B]"Alright, you little brats! Stop all yer bickering or I'll break all yer necks! Do you hear me?![/B]", Bill yelled. Everyone glared at him, even Pru. He quickly glanced at her and a small smirk formed on her face. [I]God, how she looks like my baby girl[/I], he pondered. He went back to reading the useless procedure forms. [I]How are we all gonna survive this mess? What the hell did I do to deserve being stuck here with all these kids? How am I gonna work for Riggs? I pray to God he doesn't go with us.[/I][/COLOR]

[Skye]

[color=pink]OOC: But me lurves clinginess! *clings more*

IC: Penny stood abruptly, slamming her hands down on the table. ?[b]Get a hold of yourselves! You act as if you have no more manners and patience than a group of six-year-olds! Honestly![/b]?

They all looked at her in disbelief and pure shock.

Her dark eyes danced with hidden amusement warring with annoyance as she righted her chair, which had been unsettled when she had stood suddenly. She snorted, and then sat back down, arms crossed over her chest. ?[b]I dislike being yelled over by a group of adults who really should make responsible actions.[/b]?

Penny gazed at Lucian levelly, and received a sheepish grin. Rolling honey-brown eyes in exasperation, she turned her gaze to each one of the other occupants. Last she looked to Bulldog, who seemed very annoyed, but glad someone had gotten then attention of the ruffians.

?[b]Thank you. Now, could someone please tell me where Riggs is? I?m beginning to get bored.[/b]?

OOC: Tag no one in particular.[/color]

[Ozymandius Jones]

[COLOR=DarkOrange]Well. If she hadn't felt like pounding her head through the table before, she sure did now. First Lucian and his tapping - her chin still stung, she could tell it was red - then Bulldog snapping, then Penny...man. Things were not boding well for this mission so far...not to mention three of the other agents weren't even [i]there[/i] yet...Pru tried to keep from scowling. This day just kept getting worse. She could [i]entirely[/i] understand Jude's strange annoyance....she'd worked with Jude before...normally, he was unrazzable. But this...this whole situation was different. She rested her forehead on the table. [B][i]Whatever I did to deserve this, I'm sorry already![/i][/B] Penny loooked awfully smug...of course she did...she was so nice nobody minded if [i]she[/i] yelled. Unlike herself....[B][i]wishing you weren't so uptight, ey, Pru?[/i][/B]...it's funny, but the little voice in her head sounded an awful lot like Lucian.

[B]"Could someone please tell me where Riggs is? I?m beginning to get bored.?[/B] Pru sighed.

[B]"Join the club...wish [i]I[/i] knew where he was, too...then we could get this over with and get out of here...I want to see if Rocky's alright. This whole thing's making me nervous." [/B]

[B]"As well it should, Jones."[/B] Pru jumped. She hadn't heard the Director come in, arms loaded with clipboards, data chips, and stacks of paper. Lucian snickered. Pru did her best to ignore that. "[B]One should think that a time shift this dramatic would make anyone nervous." [/B] Riggs paused at the head of the table, right next to Bulldog. He smirked as he dropped most of his papers onto the table, where they cascaded into the papers Bulldog was reading. [B]"Oh, sorry about that, Henderson." [/B] Pru rolled her eyes. Bulldog looked seconds away from murdering the director, and Riggs was just adding fuel to the fire.

Riggs straightened his papers, and looked around the table at the agents. Pru was pleased to notice the small furrow that appeared between his eyebrows. "[B]Er. I see not all of us are here yet..." [/B] He shrugged. "[B]If they haven't arrived, we'll just have to start without them. If you'll all turn to page three in the papers you recieved..." [/B] Pru stifeled a groan. Surely he wasn't sticking to standered procedure in a situation like this?

He was. Twenty minutes later, Riggs was still droning, basically recapping everything that had happened in the last going on 9 hours...[I][B]as if we didn't know all this![/B] [/I] Out of boredom and increasing frustration, she flipped further back in the briefing. There was a rough timeline sketched out and scanned, with a list of major dates; much like the ones she'd become so familiar with in history. There was a small red circle around the first half of 1965, with a large question mark scrawled over it. Pru frowned. So something was missing from then...strange...keeping an eye on Riggs and feeling strangely like a highschool student again, she leaned over towards the others.

[b]"Did any of you take 20th century history?"[/b][/COLOR]

[Billy Shears]

[COLOR=DarkGreen]Bill sat there. [I]Where in God's green earth is Riggs at? Is he purposley making me angry?[/I]

Penny had just finished snapping after Bulldog just got done, and annoyingly asked [B]"Could someone tell me where Riggs is? I'm beginning to get bored."[/B] [I]Heh, you are such a victim[/I], Bill wanted to say.[I] I just got done fighing with the bastard, so more time I don't see him the better[/I]. But, he caused enough trouble, and digging himself a deeper hole won't help.

Prudence mumbled something to Penny when Riggs walked in.[B] "As well as it should, Jones"[/B]. They all gave a glare at him. He walked up to the table and "dropped" his papers all over Bulldog. [B]"Oh, sorry about that, Henderson"[/B]

[I]Well...[/I]

[U]WHAT BILL WANTED:[/U]
*BANG*. A shot from a revolver. End the problems quick enough.

[U]WHAT BILL DID:[/U]
Bulldog didn't shoot daggers with his eyes, he shot atom bombs. He wanted to kill Riggs, right on the spot. But, he concentrated every single tiny piece of hate in his body, in that room, hell, in the entire universe into that one glare. Even Riggs seemed a little suprised, and quickly picked them up.

Riggs started blabbing on with the procedures, while Bill knived him with imagination. Everybody looked bored out of their minds. Bill looked up to see Prudence flash a quick grin at him, sort of telling him "Hey, I hate Riggs as much as you, do whatever you want". Bill nodded, with a small grin of his own.
---------------------------------------------------------
[I]"Dad, dad! Look! I made state in tennis!"

"Oh, my baby doll, thats so great!"

"Where can we put it?!"

"I'm gonna show it off to those bums at work, heh. Show them whose kid is the best. C'mon, you deserve a prize. Let's hit the department store, I'll buy you that shirt you wanted."

"Dad, you are the best!"[/I]
----------------------------------------------------------
[I]"Michelle...they...they want me to help build the temporal lab in a week. I know I told you before...I'm so sorry. I'm...I'm gonna be gone for...a while...I don't have a choice. It's to monitor the past...what I get for picking a profession with the government."

"Bill...oh my God, Bill, how are we gonna tell her?!"

"Michelle, calm down, she doesn't need to know now yet."

"Bill, you're leaving us! You're abandoning me, and more importantly, your daughter! How could you do that?! You were always so selfish!"

"Hey now! This ain't a choice, goddammit! You think I wanna just up and leave the most important things in my life?! I have to, Michelle! Have to!"

"Bill, I have to leave. I'll go stay with Margie. I'll come back when you learn to except peoples' feelings."

"Michelle! Jesus, I told you, it isn't a choice!"
*door slams*

"Dad....where is mom?"

"I'm goin' to the pub...make sure the doors are locked."

"Dad...what happened?"[/I]

The tears swelled in Bill's eyes. He couldn't relive those memories without breaking down.

Then, Prudence looked up and asked, [B]"Do any of you know about the 20th century?"[/B]

Bill sniffled and said, [B]"I know a little bit about it. Why? Are we going there?" [/B] He looked at the paper with a red circle around 1965.[B] "I see..." [/B] His sentence trailed off.[B] "I know some historical events, like the Vietnamese war and such...but it's all trivial. Sorry."[/B]

Bill looked down and tried to keep his mind off of Anna.
[/COLOR]

[COLOR=DarkRed][SIZE=1]OOC: It seems kinda cheesy, sorry, but it'll be introduced again soon.

-the one and only[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Ezekiel]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=SandyBrown]Lucian perked up; 20th century history was his best subject. Well, late 20th century history. He looked at the page and in dismay, pushed it aside, seeing the date '1965' circled. Then it hit him, [B]"The Beatles!"[/B] he shouted, excitement clear in his voice, [B]"We're going to see the bloody Beatles!"[/B]

Eleanor blinked and looked at Lucian who had a rather sizeable grin on his face at this point. Julia smiled and leant back in her chair, hands clasped behind her head. [B]"Sweet."[/B]

Riggs rolled his eyes and managed to hit Lucian with a rolled up paper ball, quieting the man down. [B]"Please...let me explain."[/B]
Lucian grumbled and rubbed his forehead, slouching back down at his desk. His parents had always talked about the Beatles and how amazing they were, now he would finally be able to meet them. He couldn?t' help but smile.[/COLOR]

[B]OOC Short, but it saves me from death by a Blue [I]Meanie[/I]. *coughs*[/B][/SIZE]

[Muse]

[COLOR=indigo][SIZE=1]
A silent Julia, who had been close to dozing in her chair, looked up quickly at the mention of the 20th century. She had her trademark sun glasses on, one of her tricks to not let Riggs know she had her eyes closed.

[B]"Yeah, I was sort of a 60's freak growin' up..."[/B] She stuttered, still tired, and was partially ignored as Riggs continued. She lowered her head again, making a chapel with her fingers and placing them on her lap. She knew all the crap Riggs was droning out...then, [B]"The Beatles! We're going to see the bloody Beatles!"[/B] Lucian shouted. For the second time in minutes, Julia's head snapped up.

[B]"Sweet."[/B] She grinned, trying to hold back her obvious excitement. Being a huge 60's fan, she had obviously listened to the Beatles, and had to admit she had a major crush on Paul McCartney and thouht John Lennon was a genius. She felt honored that she had been somewhat named after a Beatles song, as well, although technically she had been named Julia beacuse of the awful cutness of saying [B]"Our children, Julia and Julian."[/B]

Again, however, Riggs brushed off the interruption. Bored beyond relief and not entirely thinking about her actions, Julia spoke up.

[B]"Look, Riggsy, I think we know all this stuff already, y'see, so why don't you get on with the [i]new[/i] information?"[/B][/COLOR][/SIZE]

OOC: It's short, bite me : ).

[Ozymandius Jones]

[COLOR=Purple]Riggs just glared at Julia.

[B]"Miss Stanley, if you would be quiet for a mere moment more, I will explain..."[/B]

Pru groaned. Outloud. She froze when the director's glare turned to her.

[B]"Um. Sorry, sir..."[/B]

And he was off again. [I]Blah, blah blah blah blah...[/I]beside her, Julai was rolling her eyes, Lucian looked moments away from flinging the wad of paper back at the director, and Eleanor was clearly bored...Pru's gaze traveled to Bulldog,...he seemed shaken up about something...she smiled gently at him, then let her gaze travel back to the paper.

[I]What was missing?[/I][/COLOR]



ooc: Just a little fillerness...it lives!