Forums » General Roleplay » Core Wielders (1x1 w/Amber)

Five years ago, an incredible event occurred that would forever change the face of human history, an event that would come to be known as the Bombardment. On that day, hundreds of asteroids, all of strange shape and material, fell to earth all at once, causing planet wide panic, many believed it to be the end of the world, but in truth, it was only the beginning of humanities next chapter. Almost immediately after landing, some unlucky bastard would approach the crash site and be imbued with a strange energy that the asteroid held, giving them strange and unique powers. This happened in every single case, turning hundreds of people around the world into superpowered abominations, as some would describe them. The event is still shrouded in mystery to this very day, only recently have they made a startling discovery, all of the asteroids were once a single, spherical object that has been dubbed the Core. Now, the victims of the event, referred to by the media as Core Wielders, must now adjust to their new lives, in a society that doesn't fully understand them. Some believe them to have been mutated by some form of radiation held by the Core Pieces, others believe the Bombardment to be an act of God, that he chose these people for a specific purpose. Either way, they were outsiders now, the only question was, how would they deal with this fact, will they cling on to the humanity that society no longer is sure they even have anymore, or will they embrace their power and unleash it on the world.

Nick was completely silent as he was escorted into his own home by intimidating armored guards. They were all armed with heavy duty machine guns, their fingers on the trigger ready to fire should he try anything funny. It seems they had finally come for him, he was always told this day would come, but he prayed that it wouldn't be so soon; he was currently visiting his family for the summer, hasn't been home for even a day before he was detained after a run to the grocery store by a military escort. He entered the living room, met with the sight of a military official talking to his distraught parents. The man stood up from his seat when he saw him, signaling the guards to back off.

"I'm sorry for the heavy artillery, it's not that we don't trust you, its just that in our experience it's better to be safe then sorry." The official said before reaching his hand out to Nick. "You must be Nick, I am General Marcus Kane, it's a pleasure to meet you." Nick looked at the hand apprehensively, deciding against taking it.

"What are you here for?" Nick asked, though he had a pretty good idea already.

"Straight to the point I see, ok, that'll make things easier." Kane said as he was handed a file by one of his associates. "Nicholas Kell, age 20, Male, currently unemployed, studying physics at university... and a Core Wielder since the age of 15." He read out loud. Once he read the last fact Nick's hand glowed with purple energy, causing the guards to point their weapons at him, only for Kane to try to calm them down.

"...So this is it, you've come to take me, bring me to some government lab to be tested on... honestly I wouldn't really mind, if it's to find out... what the hell happened to me." Nick lamented, looking at the pulsating sound waves in his hand. Moments later they dissipated, he had no intention of resisting, the world already thinks he was a freak, the last thing he needed was to prove them right.

"That's all we really want Nick, to find the truth, but it won't be from dissecting you." Kane assured, much to Nick's surprise. "We're here to help you Nick, help you control your gifts, master them, maybe even relieve you of them one day, but it will be through practice, training, and any experiments performed will only be done under your consent." He assured, but Nick still seemed apprehensive. "I promise you will not be treated like a lab rat, or a freak like you are out here... the truth is, we need your help just as much as you need ours."

"What do you mean? Nick inquired.

"The fact of the matter is not all Core Wielders are like you, some don't bother trying to live a normal life, they just let loose and have fun with their powers, without any regard as to who gets hurt in the process. That's why we need people like you, to help us deal with them." Kane explained.

"Deal with them, you mean fight them, you want to turn me into a weapon." Nick said, his voice becoming more and more distraught.

"No, we want to turn you into a hero." Kane corrected. "I assure you if you come with us your powers will only be used to protect people from other Core Wielders, no politics, no acts of war, just... public defense."

"...Why should I trust you?"

"Because if you couldn't they would've shot you by now." Kane replied, referring to the gunmen. Nick looked over to his parents, they seemed rather distraught, probably even more than he was, but nonetheless his father gave him a nod, giving his approval. "So, what do you say Nick, will you come with us?" Kane asked one last time.

"...Ok."

Amber was at her home, in her room, reading a comic book peacefully until a voice that seemed to be her father's told her to get up and come in the living room. She hadnt questioned herself and stood up as she closed her comic book and carefully putted it away. She walked out of her room and walked to the living room. There, she saw her father, 4 gun men and an officer of the army. Amber gulped, not really aware of what and why they were here for.

''Miss Amber?'' ''Yes?''

''We've been aknowledged that you are one the 'special ones'... One of the so called.. Core Wielders.'' The man said, getting up and clearing his throat. ''Y-yes, and? What do you want from me?'' She asked, anxious and obviously, a bit scared. ''We don't want you any harm or any bad. We are here to help you.''

''If in exchange you help us.'' ''And what do you mean b-by 'us'?'' Amber asked, raising an eye brow and becoming a bit more relaxed when she knew they werent here to kill her or anything. ''The gouvernment, the people, the citizens.'' He said, then getting a file from one of the gunmen. He readed it aloud: Amber Riley Dallas, 19 years old, Core Wielder since 16 years old. Student on the Energy Transfer project at University, partially works as a pizza deliver.''

''You see, there's alot of people like you. With powers given by the Core. But not all of them are pacific and quiet: they do harm to citizens, cops, destroy buildings and cause chaos. And we need YOU to help us.'' He added. ''And what do i get in exchange?'' She asked, raising an eyebrow. ''You will get to learn about your powers and control them.'' ''But wont i do more harm then peace?'' ''No, do not worry. And you will not get any crime files. You will be considered as a hero.''

Amber looked over to her father with a look that meant: 'are you sure you want me to do this?' Her father slowly nodded and smiled a bit. ''Let's go then.''

Nick looked out the window of the chopper he was riding, his anxiety rising as he saw his home town pass by. He had quickly packed his things and before knew it he was being transported to some military base for "evaluation", whatever that meant. Riding with him were General Kane himself as well as two gunmen, both staring at him just as cautiously as they were in his own house.

"Uh, are those guys always gonna be around?" Nick asked, aware that it very is a legitimate possibility.

"I told you before, it's just precaution, once we are at the base the security will lighten up." Kane assured, a comforting smile on his face, or as comforting as he could muster. Nick was still a little worried about trusting him, so far the government has been taking a very neutral stance on Core Wielders like him, twiddling their thumbs due to the delicate nature of their existence, they wanted to recognize them as humans, victims even, but they never hesitated to call in the troops when things got "out of hand". Either way, he had agreed to work with them, so he figured he should trust him for now.

Eventually, they made it to the base, landing on a helipad on top of the largest building in the area. Nick and Kane exited the helicopter, the general leading the Core Wielder into the building, the two gunmen following.

"We'll get you settled in first, then when your partner gets here we'll start the evaluation." Kane stated as they walked down the halls of the base's main building.

"Partner, you mean I won't be the only one here?" Nick asked curiously.

"That's right, you will be working with one other Core Wielder, I wanted to gather a full team, but I could only get clearance to house two here, oh well, it can't be helped." Kane explained before finally making it to his intended destination. "This will be your room, you get it all to yourself since there will only be two of you, so silver lining I suppose." He opened the door revealing an empty but comfortable looking room, there was a single bed ear the back wall, as well as a desk on one side and a dresser on the other. "Make yourself comfortable, we'll come get you when we're ready to begin." Kane said before taking his leave. Nick tried to get himself situated, unpacking his bag and moving his clothes to the dresser. All the while he was thinking about what Kane said about a partner, he was never really good with meeting new people, he wondered what they would be like.

Amber had packed her stuff and said her goodbyes to her father Marc-Antoine before leaving for the military base in a big army truck. The ride had taken about 20 minutes at full speed and the gunmen we're still there for the whole ride. Once arrived, the Energy Core wielder left the vehicule and followed the man from earlier into the 'quarters' where she would install herself.

''Your partner will be waiting for you for the evaluation. You'll be shown a room where you can put your things and unpack.'' He said, as he led her to a room, the one he just mentionned.

''Wait, i have a partner? Like, another Core Wielder?'' She asked, raising an eyebrow.

''Yes, of course. The full team idea didnt work and we only had you two as solution. Now you can unpack, we'll come get you when it's time for the evaluation.'' The man answered, smiling and leaving her alone.

''Nice. I dont like working alone so this is perfect! Plus, it's stronger.'' Amber thought, smiling to herself as she made quick to unpack all of her things and stuff them in her dresser. She putted all of her stuff where she wanted them to be and when she was done, just had to wait for the man to come get her for the evaluation. She layed on her bed, looking at the ceiling and twirling her hair around her fingers, waiting and thinking about what her partner was gonna be like. Both mentally and physicly.

Nick had finished unpacking and was currently passing the time by playing a video game. He found it difficult to relax considering the situation, but there wasn't much he could do about that, except wait for him to be called. Surprisingly, that didn't take very long.

"Nick." He heard Kane's voice after a knock on the door. "It's time for the evaluation." He said. Nick closed his game and stood up from the bed, he took a deep breath before walking to the door and exiting the room, once again he was met with the sight of gunmen and the army general. He was then led to a large meeting room, the gunmen standing at the door as Kane took a seat at the head of the conference table.

"Please, take a seat." Kane said. Nick obliged, taking a seat in the relative middle of the ride edge of the table. "Your partner will be arriving shortly, I'd like to start with a brief explanation of what you will be doing here before we get started on the evaluation." He explained.

"Ok." Nick replied. He was a little relieved that he wouldn't be flying blind, but he was still incredibly nervous about meeting his parter. What if they didn't get along, he knew he probably wouldn't be comfortable around them at first, but what if they just couldn't stand each other, not really beneficial for team that's supposed to fight other Core Wielders. The clock in the room ticked on, the waiting was probably the worse part, he just wanted to get this whole thing over with.

Amber walked into the room where her new partner was supposed to be and where the evaluation was supposed to be held. The blue haired girl knocked on the door and peeked her head before silently entering.

''Um... hello.'' She said, not finding anything else interesting to say. ''This is where the evaluation for the Core Wielder team is, right?'' She asked, raising an eyebrow; she didnt want to be at the wrong place. It would have been very much awkward for her. When Kane nodded to her question she sighed in relief. ''Good... Did i miss any information?'' Amber asked, still hoping she didnt miss any important information that could save her life, perhaps.

She looked around the room to see an untaken chair at the table. She quietly sat and tried to not be too weird. She looked at Nick for a moment and looked back at Kane, waiting for instructions as she thought. He looks nice! I wonder what's his name. Is he my partner? Probably... Wait, that means he's a Core Wielder too! I wonder what's his Core ability... She thought.

Nick's gaze immediately turned to the door when he heard it crack open, his anxiousness skyrocketing as he saw the girl that entered. In the back of his mind he was hoping it was just some intern or something that was lost, but that hope was crushed when he saw two gunmen entering the room with her.

'Oh crap, it's a girl.' He thought to himself, Nick was never comfortable around girls, just girls in general, and now he had to work with one. '...why me.'

"No, in fact we were waiting for you arrive." Kane said in response to her question. "Nick, this is Amber Riley Dallas, wielder of the Energy Core Piece and your partner for the program." He introduced to the awkward youth. "Ms. Dallas, this is Nick Kell, the wielder of the Sound Core Piece, you two will be working together from now on." He said after the introduction.

"Energy, what do you mean by that exactly?" Nick inquired. As a physics major "Energy" meant a lot of things to him, Kinetic, Potential, Thermal, Nuclear, if she could control all of those then she would be incredibly powerful, why would they even need him when they had her.

"Well, that's precisely what we want to know." Kane said. "In a few moments you two will be undergoing a series of trials in order for us to properly gauge your abilities, as it stands we only have a vague idea of what you two are capable of, but we need a proper measurement so we can train you accordingly."

''Nice to meet you Nick.'' Amber said, a big smile plastered on her face as she held out her hand for a handshake. When Kane mentioned the energy core piece, she nodded.

''It also gave me this weird colored hair. Unlike you may think, it's not dyed. I dont know why my body reacted like that towards the Core piece.'' She added, sighing. This flashy-blue hair wasnt her choice. She liked her old brown colored hair and she wouldnt have changed it for no other thing in the world. Of course she tried dyeing her hair back to normal, but it weirdly didnt work.

''So.. how do we start this 'evaluation' and what will we do?'' The blue haired girl asked Kane, impatient to already start and be a 'hero' just like in comic books.

"Well, like I said, you will be put through a series of trials during which we will measure the output of your powers." Kane repeated. "Once we have a proper measurement of your power level we will then begin creating a training program that will appropriately promote your growth."

"So, it's like an aptitude test?" Nick replied.

"To an extent, yes." Kane stated. "You two will be taking the evaluation at the same time but separately, after it's over, you'll have the rest of the day to yourselves, do with it what you wish."

"Ok, doesn't sound too bad I guess." Nick said, somewhat less nervously. However, he still had his doubts, he didn't really use his powers very often, usually only in self defense and for practical purposes like listening to people who are out of hearing range, he never considered himself a fighter.

''Alright... sounds great.. When do we start?'' Amber asked with a grin. She was impatient to make this 'aptitude test' and see what powers her 'Energy Core piece' had.

''I mean... not like i'm super excited or anything...'' She added, gulping and looking down. She was definitly excited, but tried to not show it: she was in a military base with gun men everywhere and maybe her Core powers could 'leak' if showing too much emotion. Well, that, they were about to know. With the test, they would surely know more then ever about the core pieces. She was definitly glad that her father letted her go.

She adjusted her coat and tie and sighed. ''Okay, yes, i am definitly excited for this aptitude test, please dont kill me.'' Amber admitted, kind of joking on the 'please dont kill me' part. But not completly.

Kane let out a slight chuckle at her reaction. "It's ok, I appreciate your enthusiasm if anything." He said before standing up. "If you two understand the situation then we can start right now, follow me." With that he led the two Core Wielders out of the room and through the building, eventually reaching the area used for testing purposes.

On the way there they could see a multitude of experiments and devices being tested, many of them seemed to be weapons of some sort, whether or not they would used by them or on them was still up in the air. Kane led them into a locker room of sorts, pushing a button on the wall causing a panel to open and reveal two black form fitting suits of an unknown material.

"You two will be wearing these for the Evaluation, they have special sensors in them that are connected to the main computer that will gauge how much power you are using and what effects it has on your body." He explained, handing the suits to them. "Nick, you change over there, Amber, you may change over there, come out when you are ready." He said, pointing to the ends of the rooms with more private changing areas. Kane then left the room, Nick only spared Amber a nervous glance before going to his changing room. He took a moment to take a good look at the suit.

"How do I even put this on?" He said, it didn't seem to stretch, maybe there was a zipper somewhere. After a few moments of searching he eventually found a futuristic strapping system on the back and so he undid the strap and began to undress. He then slipped into the tight looking suit, it was surprisingly comfortable, though it chaffed a little bit in... areas.

Amber nodded when Kane told them to put those weird sensor-suits on. She didnt bother to worry about the suits, even if Nick did look a bit nervous about them. Well, atleast, that's what his glance said. The blue haired girl grabbed the remaining suit and walked into the second, empty changing room.

At sight, the suit didnt look very comfortable and obviously, not stylish, but Amber quickly found it to be more comfortable then she thought after she putted the suit on. Sure, it was a bit hard to breathe but in a matter of seconds, the girl quickly adapted herself to the suit and was able to breathe normally again.

She walked out and stretched her arms, waiting for Nick. Althought, right now, she didnt really understand how he was not yet done putting the suit on, since he got the suit a bit earlier then her and was in a cabin before her.

Nick stepped out of the changing room only to find Amber already out there waiting for him. he couldn't help but feel his cheeks heat up at the sight of the girl in the form fitting black suit, his own suit was not getting any looser that's for sure. He tried to avoid her gaze as he walked out of the locker room and into the hallway where Kane was waiting for them.

"Ah, there you two are, did you put the suits on ok, any trouble?" He politely asked.

"Uh, no, not really, just kind of chafes a little, that's all." Nick replied.

"I apologize, but please bare with it for the examination." Kane said. "Now, if you two are all set please follow me to the training room." With that the two were guided down the hallway and down a flight of stairs, into a more fortified hallway with a row of heavy duty doors each labeled with a number 1 to 5. "Nick, you'll be using room 1, Amber, room 3, wait in there for further instructions." Kane instructed before taking his leave.

Nick did as he was told and stood in front of the door labeled 1, a few seconds later the door slid open allowing Nick to enter. The gunmen stayed outside as the door closed on him, locking him in. The room was very bright, the walls were pure white, he could barely tell where the walls actually began until he looked up to find a long glass window with a bunch of scientists looking into the room. This made him feel like an animal at a zoo, he just hoped he wouldn't be treated like one.

''The suit itches a bit.'' Amber complained to Kane before he told them to bare with it for the examination. ''... Amber, room 3, wait in there for further instructions.'' Kane said. The blue haired girl nodded and silently walked to the third room.

The guards infront of the door letted a passage for her to enter the room and blocked the passage again when she had entered and the door had closed. The room was completly white and almost seemed glowy. Amber was almost blinded by all the white light when she thought seeing a window with scientists taking notes. But it wasnt an illusion.

Once the blue haired girl had finaly got used to all the light, her eyes were fixed on the scientists as she waved her arms in the air. ''Hey! I'm not an animal from a zoo! Dont look at me and take notes like that! I know it's for science and to understand my powers, but i'm still human!'' She said, still waving her arms in the air. She then realised. They probably didnt even hear her, but she still felt like an animal in a cage. ''I'm still Human... right?''

Nick sat cross-legged on the floor as he awaited the promised instruction, he felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest, if something went wrong during the examination, somebody could really get hurt, most likely him.

"Alright, we are about to begin the examination of Subject CW1 and Subject CW2." A voice said over some sort of intercom, making Nick jump to his feet. "Now, the following test is a simple one, in a few moments a series of targets will appear before you, destroy them using any method you'd like, the test will be over once all the targets are destroyed, do you understand." The voice explained, pausing for the response. Nick figured they couldn't hear him speak so he just nodded his head. "Very well, the test will begin now."

As soon as the voice said this, a yellow and black target appeared from the floor on the other side of the room from Nick, just waiting to be struck. Nick, took a deep breath, calming himself and beginning to focus his powers. His eyes glowed a bright purple as he focused on the sound the target made when it appeared, collecting the sound waves into his right hand. Compressing them into a purple sphere, Nick shot his hand forward, shooting the Audio Bullet towards the target, destroying it on impact. As soon as it was gone, two more came up to replace, it, this time half way up the left and right walls. Nick shot two more from both of his hands, destroying them and causing three more to appear, one right in front of him, one on the wall behind him, and one on the ceiling. Nick leaped back a safe distance and shot the one in front of him, he then turned around and shot the one on the back wall and finally, the one on the ceiling.

This went on for a little while longer, every time Nick destroyed all of the targets more would appear in their place, always with one more than the previous batch. Eventually Nick destroyed the absolute last target, causing a buzzer to sound that signaled that he was done. He panted heavily, it was much more tiring to use his powers so continuously than he thought, it was quite the work out. He wiped the sweat from his brow and waited for further instructions, wondering if Amber was having as much trouble as he was.

''... The test is simple. Targets will appear and you will have to destroy them with the method of your choice. The test will be over after all of the targets are destroyed. Understood?'' Amber nodded and yawned. She walked over to where she thought the targets would probably appear and purposly letted herself get hit by the first target when it came up. She rubbed her cheek in pain and sighed.

''Time to destroy some targets.'' She muttered under her breath, as her usually hazel brown eyes turned a bright and flashing blue and she thought about the power and mechanic energy it took the target to hit her so hard. As she soon as she thought of that, a kind of, floating blue dust started floating out of her fingers and paum. She punched the air, and the same dust as earlier created a giant fist, hitting the first target. And as the others appeared, Amber punched again and again so that the weird blue dust would attack for her. Once done, she sat on the floor and closed her eyes to calm herself. Once calmed, she felt a pain in her cheek and arm, where she was hit by the target earlier.

''Ouch.'' She groaned, rubbing her arm and standing up. ''Are we done? My arm really hurts...''

"Subject CW2 claims to be injured, should we stop the examination?" One of the experimenters said to the rest of his colleges, shutting the microphone off so the Core Wielders wouldn't be able to hear them.

"I'm sure she's fine, besides part of this experiment is to see what kind of stress is put on their bodies when they use their powers, this seems to qualify." Another man answered, the rest agreeing to continue the examination. After a few moments of preparation, they were ready to resume.

"Alright, we are about to proceed with the second part of the examination, are you prepared?" The testers said through the microphone. Nick nodded his head, wondering what Amber's reply would be.

Amber sighed and stood up, moving her injured arm a bit. ''Yeah, let's get it on.'' The blue haired girl answered with a nod. She stretched her arms and yawned. This training/examination test was making her tired. She never actually used her powers that much and wondered if Nick was also tired. Right now, she could sleep for 24 hours and still feel tired. But if was probably a side effect of her powers.

''Can you tell me what we're doing before i fall asleep?... I'm really, really tired...'' She yawned again, forcing herself to keep her eyes open and to not collapse on the ground to just sleep. This first examination test was important and it was going to help her. Whatever was going on, she had to continue it.

"Alright, we are ready to begin the next test." The experimenter said through the intercom. At that moment some of the panels on the walls opened up, revealing what seemed to be small projectors. they all lit up and a small squad of gunman materialized in the room. Nick jumped at the sudden event, looking up at the window.

"Fret not, these are only holograms that we developed for general training purposes." The man explained. "Your next task is to do battle with these holograms, to see how you do against more... active opponents. But be warned, they may be holograms, but your suits have been equipped with special sensors, so that if you are ever hit with a bullet or a melee attack you will be shocked."

"Shocked!" Nick exclaimed.

"It isn't anything that will cause permanent damage, but it will be painful enough that you would want to avoid getting hit." The experimenter replied, though it didn't make Nick feel any better. Just then, more objects raised from the floor, things like slabs of metal and tables. "We have provided cover for you, to make this exercise more realistic. Each enemy takes about three hits to be destroyed, good luck." With that, a count down was initiated, and once it hit zero, the holograms opened fired. Nick quickly rushed to one of the barriers, but was hit with two bullets, causing the areas that were hit to be painfully shocked.

"GAH!!" He screamed as he ducked behind the barrier, the holograms spreading out to try and get a clear shot. Nick took a moment to recover from the pain and then looked over the barrier, there were about six holograms, all aiming for him, some taking shots as he peaked over. He immediately ducked back down, preparing his Audio Bullet to attack. He took a deep breath and peaked over the barrier again, raising his hand over it and firing the Audio Bullets at his foes. He was fairly accurate with the projectile, killing two of the holograms with ease, however, as he was working on the third, one of the holograms snuck behind him and began firing.

The first shot thankfully missed, allowing Nick to notice it, but as he turned to run towards a new cover, he was pelted with bullets, his suit shocking him appropriately. Nick nocked down one of the tables in the corner and leaped over it, quickly firing Audio Bullets at the hologram that forced him away from his cover, killing it. He took a minute to recover from the onslaught, his whole body was in pain, but strangely enough, the worst of it was already over, but he was still sore. He heard the holograms still firing at the table, they certainly were as loud as real guns. With that though, Nick got an idea, focusing on the sound of the gunfire. He collected it all in his hands, compressing it into a single sound wave, and finally, he leaped out of cover and fired a single powerful sound wave at the holograms, knocking them all down. As they recuperated, Nick quickly picked them off one by one until there was only one left, who had fully recovered. It aimed its gun at Nick and fired, but instead of running for cover, Nick merely took the hits, firing his own Audio Bullets at it until it was defeated. Nick fell to his knees in both pain and exhaustion, breathing heavily at how much energy he exerted.

The man of the intercom clearly explained that holograms were going to shoot at her and each time she would get touched, she would get shocked because of the sensors in the suit.

''Shocked huh? Pain is good...'' She said as she snapped her knuckles and smirked. But she then returned to her earlier pose. ''I mean, pain is really not good for me but you know, it's good for my powers... Understand? No? No, okay..'' She tried to explain but kind of failed.

The holograms appeared and objects to hide behind popped-up from the ground because of whatever- or whoever- triggered it. As soon as they saw her, the hologram gunmen started shooting at her. She letted herself get hit on purpose a couple times, just to build up power. And as similar to earlier, blue dust started coming out of her fingers and hands and floated around until she clenched her fist and the dust turned into arrows, shooting each soldier one after the other. The pain of the electric shocks was big but Amber tried her best to ignore it. Well- she couldnt really ignore it, otherwise she wouldnt be able to use her 'Core Wielder abilities'. It was weird. She had to feel physic pain to use her powers. For some reason, emotional pain almost didn't affect her powers: she could only do little things with emotional pain.

Once the holograms desipated, Amber sighed and yawned. She fell on the ground face first but was too tired to even care about where she would sleep or if the ground was cold and hurt at impact.