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Post by SuperKamiGuy1 on Sept 25, 2020 18:45:28 GMT
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Post by SuperKamiGuy1 on Sept 25, 2020 18:56:11 GMT
The long shadows of the evening dissolved into the gathering darkness of the nighttime. The air cooled and the crickets sang while the Howland Family prayed and played together in their home. From the outside this house looks nice and traditional. It has been built with tan stones and has fir wooden decorations. Tall, squared windows add to the overall look of the house and have been added to the house in a very asymmetric way. The house is equipped with a small kitchen and three bathrooms, it also has a warm living room, four bedrooms, a cozy dining room, a game room and a roomy basement. The building is fairly rounded in shape. The house is surrounded by a tranquil garden, with various flowers, a long pond including a small waterfall and various rock formations. This was the beautiful house of the Howland Family: Anderson Howland, Maddox Howland, Daphne Howland, Aubrey Daisy Arleen Howland and Cullen Conway Raleigh Jonah Howland. "But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD. AMEN!" Cullen declared and took a bow. "Amen!" His children echoed with big smiles on their faces as they applauded their father's recital. "Wonderful job honey." Aubrey clapped. "What can I say? I have wonderful motivators." Cullen walked over and kissed his wife and hugged his children one by one before taking his seat on the sofa. "Alright, it's getting late, so that will be all for tonight. But I'll tell you what, everyone gets their choice of bedtime story. Choose wisely my children." The children walked behind the couch and they whispered to one another for a couple of minutes before they walked back around and sat down. "Snowdrop!" Daphne declared! "Wild Things!" The brothers declared at the same time. Their parents had a good laugh over this. "Alright, alright, what do you say honey? I'll read the boys their story and you can read Daphne her Snowdrop story?" "Splendid, dear! Now children, you run along now and get dressed up in your PJ's and get those wittle toofies brushed and we'll be there to tuck you in okay?" "Yes mom!" The children ran off to the bathrooms, giggling and laughing. After they brushed their little teeth and got dressed in their pajamas they got settled into bed and their parents walked in and tucked them in. "Comfy?" Cullen asked his children. They nodded vigorously. "Good. Now hold onto your hats." He pulled out his vest."Because it's storytime." He cleared his throat and walked in front of their beds where he acted out the entire book while reading it to them. "It was the night Max put on his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind and another." Max reached up and grabbed onto invisible ropes and then he turned around and pretended to hammer a wall and then he began chasing an invisible dog while making comical rawring noises. "Then! His mother called out him: wild thing!" Cullen said the last part in an overthetop comically feminine voice, making his children laugh. "Daddy you sound like a girl!" Aderson giggled. "So did some of the greatest Shakespearean actors. You can look this up, men actually dressed up like women for his plays back then." "No way!" "Way!" Cullen countered and continued. "And ye did Max yell back at his mother 'I'll eat you up!'....so he was sent to his room without supper." Cullen walked across the room and sat down on a chair and crossed his arms and pursed his lips like a pouting child. The brothers burst out laughing. He waited until they were done to continue. "That very night, in Max's room, a forest grew and grew and grew until his ceiling hung with vines and the walls became wild all around." Cullen pretended to wander around a fantastic forest and then he stopped. "And an ocean tumbled by with a private boat for Max and he sailed off through night and day and in and out of weeks and almost over a year to where the wild things are! And when he came to the place where the wild things are, they roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws till Max said “BE STILL!” Cullen declared and held up his hand out in front of him. "Max tamed them with the magic trick of staring into all their yellow eyes without blinking once and they were frightened and called him the most wild thing of all and made him king of all wild things!" Cullen declared and put a pillow on his head and tied a sheet on the floor around his neck like a cape to the laughter of his children. Maddox laughed so hard he fell out of his bed but his father was already there and caught him before he could hit the floor. He lifted up his son and spun him around and set him down on the bed and tucked him back into bed and kissed his son on the forehead and then he sat down with his children again. “And now,” cried Max, “let the wild rumpus start!” Cullen jumped up, walked to the middle of the room, tapped one foot to the side, closed his feet back together, stepped backwards, took three steps, repeated the cycle and punctuated every few step cycles with a figure. He danced for awhile before twirling and holding up his hand. "'Now stop!' Max said and sent the wild things off to bed without their supper. And Max the king of all wild things was lonely and wanted to be where someone loved him best of all. Then all around from far away across the world he smelled good things to eat, so he gave up being king of where the wild things are. But the wild things cried, “Oh please don’t go, we’ll eat you up, we love you so!” Cullen said in a cheesy monster voice. "And Max said, 'No!' The wild things roared their terrible roars and gnashed their terrible teeth and rolled their terrible eyes and showed their terrible claws but Max stepped into his private boat and waved goodbye and sailed back over a year and in and out of weeks and through a day and into the night of his very own room where he found his supper waiting for him and it was still hot." He closed the book and took a bow as his children applauded and cheered for their father. "Alright boys, bed time. Goodnight, sleep tight, sweet dreams." "Sweet dreams dad. Love you." "Love you both." He turned off the lights and walked out. Aubrey sat down with her daughter and hummed as she tucked her in and Daphne got comfortable as her mother held up the book and they read it to together. "It was winter-time; the air was cold, the wind was sharp, but within the closed doors it was warm and comfortable, and within the closed door lay the flower; it lay in the bulb under the snow-covered earth. One day rain fell. The drops penetrated through the snowy covering down into the earth, and touched the flower-bulb, and talked of the bright world above. Soon the Sunbeam pierced its way through the snow to the root, and within the root there was a stirring. “Come in,” said the flower. “I cannot,” said the Sunbeam. “I am not strong enough to unlock the door! When the summer comes I shall be strong!” “When will it be summer?” asked the Flower, and she repeated this question each time a new sunbeam made its way down to her. But the summer was yet far distant. The snow still lay upon the ground, and there was a coat of ice on the water every night. “What a long time it takes! what a long time it takes!” said the Flower. “I feel a stirring and striving within me; I must stretch myself, I must unlock the door, I must get out, and must nod a good morning to the summer, and what a happy time that will be!” And the Flower stirred and stretched itself within the thin rind which the water had softened from without, and the snow and the earth had warmed, and the Sunbeam had knocked at; and it shot forth under the snow with a greenish-white blossom on a green stalk, with narrow thick leaves, which seemed to want to protect it. The snow was cold, but was pierced by the Sunbeam, therefore it was easy to get through it, and now the Sunbeam came with greater strength than before. “Welcome, welcome!” sang and sounded every ray, and the Flower lifted itself up over the snow into the brighter world. The Sunbeams caressed and kissed it, so that it opened altogether, white as snow, and ornamented with green stripes. It bent its head in joy and humility. “Beautiful Flower!” said the Sunbeams, “how graceful and delicate you are! You are the first, you are the only one! You are our love! You are the bell that rings out for summer, beautiful summer, over country and town. All the snow will melt; the cold winds will be driven away; we shall rule; all will become green, and then you will have companions, syringas, laburnums, and roses; but you are the first, so graceful, so delicate!” That was a great pleasure. It seemed as if the air were singing and sounding, as if rays of light were piercing through the leaves and the stalks of the Flower. There it stood, so delicate and so easily broken, and yet so strong in its young beauty; it stood there in its white dress with the green stripes, and made a summer. But there was a long time yet to the summer-time. Clouds hid the sun, and bleak winds were blowing. “You have come too early,” said Wind and Weather. “We have still the power, and you shall feel it, and give it up to us. You should have stayed quietly at home and not have run out to make a display of yourself. Your time is not come yet!” It was a cutting cold! The days which now come brought not a single sunbeam. It was weather that might break such a little Flower in two with cold. But the Flower had more strength than she herself knew of. She was strong in joy and in faith in the summer, which would be sure to come, which had been announced by her deep longing and confirmed by the warm sunlight; and so she remained standing in confidence in the snow in her white garment, bending her head even while the snow-flakes fell thick and heavy, and the icy winds swept over her. “You’ll break!” they said, “and fade, and fade! What did you want out here? Why did you let yourself be tempted? The Sunbeam only made game of you. Now you have what you deserve, you summer gauk.” “Summer gauk!” she repeated in the cold morning hour. “O summer gauk!” cried some children rejoicingly; “yonder stands one—how beautiful, how beautiful! The first one, the only one!” These words did the Flower so much good, they seemed to her like warm sunbeams. In her joy the Flower did not even feel when it was broken off. It lay in a child’s hand, and was kissed by a child’s mouth, and carried into a warm room, and looked on by gentle eyes, and put into water. How strengthening, how invigorating! The Flower thought she had suddenly come upon the summer. The daughter of the house, a beautiful little girl, was confirmed, and she had a friend who was confirmed, too. He was studying for an examination for an appointment. “He shall be my summer gauk,” she said; and she took the delicate Flower and laid it in a piece of scented paper, on which verses were written, beginning with summer gauk and ending with summer gauk. “My friend, be a winter gauk.” She had twitted him with the summer. Yes, all this was in the verses, and the paper was folded up like a letter, and the Flower was folded in the letter, too. It was dark around her, dark as in those days when she lay hidden in the bulb. The Flower went forth on her journey, and lay in the post-bag, and was pressed and crushed, which was not at all pleasant; but that soon came to an end. The journey was over; the letter was opened, and read by the dear friend. How pleased he was! He kissed the letter, and it was laid, with its enclosure of verses, in a box, in which there were many beautiful verses, but all of them without flowers; she was the first, the only one, as the Sunbeams had called her; and it was a pleasant thing to think of that. She had time enough, moreover, to think about it; she thought of it while the summer passed away, and the long winter went by, and the summer came again, before she appeared once more. But now the young man was not pleased at all. He took hold of the letter very roughly, and threw the verses away, so that the Flower fell on the ground. Flat and faded she certainly was, but why should she be thrown on the ground? Still, it was better to be here than in the fire, where the verses and the paper were being burnt to ashes. What had happened? What happens so often:—the Flower had made a gauk of him, that was a jest; the girl had made a fool of him, that was no jest, she had, during the summer, chosen another friend. Next morning the sun shone in upon the little flattened Snowdrop, that looked as if it had been painted upon the floor. The servant girl, who was sweeping out the room, picked it up, and laid it in one of the books which were upon the table, in the belief that it must have fallen out while the room was being arranged. Again the flower lay among verses—printed verses—and they are better than written ones—at least, more money has been spent upon them. And after this years went by. The book stood upon the book-shelf, and then it was taken up and somebody read out of it. It was a good book; verses and songs by the old Danish poet, Ambrosius Stub, which are well worth reading. The man who was now reading the book turned over a page. “Why, there’s a flower!” he said; “a snowdrop, a summer gauk, a poet gauk! That flower must have been put in there with a meaning! Poor Ambrosius Stub! He was a summer fool too, a poet fool; he came too early, before his time, and therefore he had to taste the sharp winds, and wander about as a guest from one noble landed proprietor to another, like a flower in a glass of water, a flower in rhymed verses! Summer fool, winter fool, fun and folly—but the first, the only, the fresh young Danish poet of those days. Yes, thou shalt remain as a token in the book, thou little snowdrop: thou hast been put there with a meaning.” And so the Snowdrop was put back into the book, and felt equally honored and pleased to know that it was a token in the glorious book of songs, and that he who was the first to sing and to write had been also a snowdrop, had been a summer gauk, and had been looked upon in the winter-time as a fool. The Flower understood this, in her way, as we interpret everything in our way. That is the story of the Snowdrop." "That was amazing mommy!" "I love you honey." She kissed her little girls' forehead and hugged her goodnight. "Love you mommy!" She smiled at Daphne and turned off the lights. Time passed and the house quieted down as everybody went to bed. An hour later, Daphne was awoken by the sound of tapping on her tapping on her window. The nightlight in her room just barely illuminated a small figure standing outside of it. The figure tapped the window again and waved to her. "H-h-hello? C-c-can you....help...m-m-me?" A crying voice asked softly. "P-please...please help...I'm all alone...help me please." Daphne rolled over in her bed and she fumbled around until she found her nightlight and she switched it on. It took Daphne a few seconds for her eyes to adjust and once they did she turned around to look at the trembling, crying girl who had her hands pressed against the window. She wasn't much older than Daphne herself with flowing blonde hair covering one of her sobbing eyes, a red bow in her hair, shining blue eyes and a bright pink shirt. Her lips quivered as she looked behind her as if she was searching for whatever could be coming after her. "P-please...let me in please...help me. I'm so scared. Help me please." She pleaded. She was crying hysterically now. It was the sobbing of a child who had no one to save her from the bogeyman chasing her. She sank to her knees and looked up at Daphne pleadingly. "Please....c-can't....can I please come inside?" Daphne inched ever closer to the windows and looked out at the sobbing girl who was pressing trembling hands against the glass. "Please...help me." She pleaded. "I-I s-should go ask my mommy and daddy." "No please!" The girl insisted. "Please let me in. Don't leave me alone. I'm so scared. You have to help me please." Daphne placed her hand on the window. "H-how...how can I help? I'm just Daphne." "Please let me in." She looked back behind her once again and then back at Daphne. "Please. There's no time. You have to save me. Please let me in." "Ummm o-okay I'lll ummm...okay, I have an idea. Just wait one second." She grabbed the pillows off of her bed and she piled them up in front of the window tog give herself some extra height and she climbed up on top of the windowsill and she fiddled around with the locks until she could finally unlock it and she pulled and pulled and pulled until it finally opened up nd the cool night air belew into her bedroom and chilled her to her bones. "There now." She held out her shivering hand. "Alright, hurry, hurry, come inside." The girl finally smiled. "You mean it? I can really come inside?" "Yes. Yes you can." Daphne smiled. Her parents would be so proud of her. The girl's smile widened until it almost split open her face as she grabbed Daphne and pulled her right out the window and then she reached up with her left hand and covered her mouth. Her hand was blisteringly cold. So impossibly cold that her touch alone was sending chills down Daphne's spine. Daphne tried to scream and struggle but the fingers of the girl became elongated as her jaw was gripped tightly. Daphne kicked and struggled and squirmed but the hand was so cold! The biting cold of her fingers chilled her fingers into undexterous paralysis. Then the girl became taller and taller and Daphne heard the horrific symphony of the popping and snapping of joints and ligaments as the little girl changed. Her pink shirt became a long, flowing black dress, her ribbon disappeared as her hair became midnight black, her skin white as snow and her shining blue eyes became blazing red, surrounded by an outline and sharper and more narrow in shape as her forehead and eye ridges became larger, revealing a more prominent brow ridge. The horrific transformation completed, she lifted Daphne up into the air and looked her in the eyes. "Thank you. For letting me in." She whispered in a child's voice. In Daphne's voice! Her bloodthirsty, malicious smile spread wider and wider and her teeth became razor sharp as both her upper and lower jaws moved and she dragged Daphne close, tilted her head to the right and bit into her neck. Her fangs pierced her flesh without effort and dug straight in. Daphne tried to scream but her body went rigid. A searing pain flared from her throat, consuming her in agony and made her mind go blank. Her vision blurred as tears lined her eyes as she felt the blood being sucked out of her body. Her body began to shrivel up as 0.7 gallons of blood were drained out of her and soon Daphne knew no more. The woman slithered into the bedroom through the window and Daphne's lifeless body was tucked into the bed. She turned off the light next and faced the cross on the door. Smirking, she kicked a pillow over to the door and then reached out with her right hand and focused on the cross. The cross shook and trembled and bubbled and soon it was ripped right off of the door and silently fell onto a pillow. She then moved it out of the way and the door was opened and closed just as silently. She walked with catlike tread, so silent nobody in the house even knew she was there. She moved through the shadows as she approached the parents bedroom. Aubrey Howland stretched out in her luxury silk nightgown on the bed as she read a book with a light attached on top of it. Her form-fitting nightgown was a pristine white. It pooled around her like liquid silk. The silk caressed her skin like a cool autumn breeze. She fell into the bed and pulled the thick, plush comforter to her chin. She looked up as the door creaked open but there was nobody there. "Honey? Is that you?" "Come find me mommy." Daphne's voice replied from the hallway. "Daphne, honey, you need to go to bed." "Come find me mommy." Her daughter's cheerful voice replied with a giggle. "Alright, alright. Here I come." She closed the book and approached the hallway . "Mommy's coming to get you." Aubrey leaned into the dark hallway but she didn't see her daughter anywhere. "Daphne?" She whispered. No response. She stepped into the dark hallway and looked around for her little girl. "Daphne? Sweetie? Come on out now, it's bed time." Her nightgown was flipped up as the air chilled around her. She yelped and stumbled backwards, frantically pulling it back down when a hand reached around and covered her mouth while another one twisted her arm behind her back and her head was tilted to the side. She felt a tongue lap at her neck before two fangs pierced her neck. Aubrey spasmed briefly before the paralysis stole the freedom of her body and her lifeblood flowed out of her. Cullen yawned as he washed his hands in the sink. He really had drank way too much water before bed. Oh well, at least it was good for him. While he was at it he also washed his face and then dried off and then he walked back into his bedroom and lied back down in the bed with his wife and he nuzzled her neck and he listened for her breathing. Except he didn't hear it. He listened and listened but he didn't hear her breath and he didn't feel the rise of her chest or her soft breathing as she slept. "H-honey? Honey are you okay?" He gently shook her. No response. He tried again to the same effect. "H-honey? Please wake up. Please." He rolled her over and he felt for her pulse...only to discover what felt like holes in the side of her neck. Before he could examine this further Cullen Howland was yanked off of the bed as a frigid hand covered his mouth. "Hello Holyman. It's been awhile." The voice that whispered into his ear was soft, soothing and yet at the same time dripping with malice. Cullen's eyes widened as he recognized the voice and frantically grabbed at her arm and tried to pull it away but her grip was like cold steel. He tried to scream out but no words came out of his mouth. "Guess what your daughter let in?" He didn't have time to answer before two sharp fangs pierced his throat and drained away his blood. The door to Anderson and Maddox's room creaked open and the cross upon the door fell off and clattered on the carpet. Maddox groaned as he opened his eyes and looked out into the hallway. Thanks to the nightlight their parents had set up, Maddox could just barely make out a figure standing in the dark hallway, barely illuminated by the room's nightlight. "D-dad? Daddy?" He asked. No response. "Daddy? Mommy? Is that you?" "Hello little one." "Mmmmnngggh....Mad? What are you talking about?" Anderson asked and yawned as he sat up, having been awoken by his brothers' commotion. He looked around for his brother but he didn't see him anywhere. Anderson turned around and turned on the lamp by his bed. It switched on and illuminated the bedroom in light. Anderson recoiled and rubbed his eyes to get rid of the spots. Once his vision cleared up he took another look around the room but he still didn't see his brother and the bedroom door was open. Anderson got out of bed and began walking around the house as quietly as a mouse while whispering for his brother. "Maddox? Maddox? Where are you? This isn't funny." He felt around in the dark as he headed to the bathroom. Anderson fumbled with the doorknob until he got it open and he peered inside but all of the lights were out. He backed out of the bathroom and turned around just in time to see his bedroom light turn off, plunging the house into darkness. "Maddox? I-is that you?" He ran as fast as his little legs could carry him towards their bedroom, holding his arms in front of him, lest he run into a wall. He still bumped into one though and he felt his way along it back into their bedroom. "Maddox? Maddox?" He asked in a louder voice, feeling scared now. There was a sudden thumping noise in front of Anderson as his brothers' corpse was dropped down on the bed in front of him. Anderson fell over and crawled backwards. "M-m-maddox? I-I-Is th-that you?" He pleaded. "Hey little brother. What are you doing up? Come here. It's time for bed." Anderson smiled as he heard his brother's reassuring voice and he stood up and ran over to the bed to hug his big brother. Anderson climbed up onto the bed and hugged his brother. "Where'd you go? You scared me." Silence. "M-maddox? Maddox, cut it out." He grabbed his brother's arms and tried to shake him but his skin felt...different, colder looser. He let him go and grabbed his brother's face and he felt the coldess of his skin. He was about to talk to him some more and he felt a comforting hand on his shoulder. "M-mommy? Mommy is that you?" "Sssshhhh it's okay young one." A sugary sweet voice spoke to him. Anderson froze. That wasn't his mother's voice. "Mommy's dead. And so is daddy. And so is your sister. And so is Maddox." She reached out and Anderson started to scream but her hand suddenly covered his mouth and he felt a piercing sensation in his throat. She gathered the bodies together in the living room and propped them up on the couch, posing the parents with their arms around one another and then their other arms around the shoulders of their children's bodies. Finally, the little girl was lain across her mother's lap. This accomplished, she took her time hunting around the house for something to wrap them up in. Eventually she discovered the family had sleeping bags squirreled away in the parents closet. They would work perfectly. After ensuring she hadn't left any signs of her visit, she started unzipping the sleeping bags and tucking them in one by one. Finally, she returned to the parents bedrooms, shifted through their belongings, found their wallets and took them with her. The improvised body bags were piled up in the trunk of Cullen's truck and then it was slammed shut. She tossed the keys up and down as she got in and started it up and drove away. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ CHAPTER 1 THIS QUIET YET FANTASTICAL LIFE.
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Post by SuperKamiGuy1 on Sept 25, 2020 19:29:35 GMT
TRINITY UNIVERSITY, WHITEHAWK CITY,AGAMEMNON. FALL The air is so cold yet the trees are on fire. Scarlet and gold licks at the blue sky, no rain clouds today. The chill in the post-dawn air is the first hint that winter isn't far behind. Then these trees will stand naked, bereft of their color. But for now they line the avenue and his morning run from and to the University was more vibrant than any carnival parade. Only weeks ago the air was warm and the streets in the wide avenue were deep summer green, the whispering rustle of the leaves only audible once the daytime traffic petered to an almost stop. Now they are tinged with red and gold; not yet deserting their lofty branches in the gusts that pushed against his white and gold jogging suit. He couldn't help but muse on the fact that he went to sleep when it was dark and woke up to jog in the dark, his only light source was the shining lights emitted by his suit. He had it on a lower setting right now but if someone were to try and mug him he could turn it way up, blind them and then kick their teeth in. Derrick Blackburn didn't develop his insane workout regimen just for fun after all. You had to be ready if one of those self styled Super Criminals attacked after all. Granted, he was certain he could handle the low level guys, he beat Volatile The Clown and Sonic Shriek after all, granted the latter was due to ambushing her and checking her throat before she could scream, but a win was a win in his book, but if someone like The Annihilator showed up, it was run or die. Caroline North and The Diamond Roses barely defeated Annihilator after all, and they were a team of Gamma-Ranked Superheroes, a normal fighting him would be suicide. He pushed it out of his head and resumed jogging. The city of Whitehawk was built atop the steep facade of a mighty fjord and is truly a leading-edge metropolis. Its elegance is matched by the backdrop of green, fertile fields which have helped shape the city to what it is today. The resources these fields brought were of great importance, but they were also influential when it came to architectural designs as the vast majority of buildings are slim and tall, which mimics the grasses and openness of the fields around them. The skyline is packed with giant skyscrapers and they clearly show what they represent to the city itself. Life is great in Whitehawk and it has attracted a lot of attention. A few new cultures have left their mark not just on education, but also upon the city's identity. What historically was a city of no variation has grown into a multicultural hub, a large melting pot that unites 9 million people to this day. It's this multicultural identity that has truly left its mark. Hundreds of diners, take-outs and ethnic restaurants offer a plethora of culinary choices and those who feel hungry for something else can enjoy sightseeing, an amusement park, the national park, theaters, musical activities, adventure sports, photography, musical activities, arcades or one of the many other recreational venues. Derrick soon finished his 8.07783 Mile run and returned to the grounds of Trinity University, a massive, sprawling, campus covering 23,000 acres of land with the latest of advanced technology. Derrick pulled back his hood and unzipped his suit to reveal his University uniform underneath and his ID held by a Black Lanyard Key Ring Necklace as the invisible checkpoints around the scanned him. Anyone caught by the scanners not wearing an ID or Visitor Pass would be reported to security. Fortunately Derrick did so he was fine. He crossed the campus until he arrived at Male Dormitory A and walked inside. Derrick pulled back his hood and unzipped his suit to reveal his University uniform underneath and his ID held by a Black Lanyard Key Ring Necklace as the invisible checkpoints around the scanned him. Anyone caught by the scanners not wearing an ID or Visitor Pass would be reported to security. Fortunately Derrick did so he was fine. He crossed the campus until he arrived at Male Dormitory A and walked inside. Derrick entered the doorway between the inside and outside doors and had his ID Scanned. The doors lit up and he could see his reflection in the glass. Derrick is a tall young man with short, dark brown, spiky hair and emerald eyes that gleam interestingly. He has a muscular build. Derrick smiled and ran his fingers though his hair and unzipped his jogging suit fully as he stepped through the sliding doors. With the upper half of his suit hanging off back, his uniform was more exposed: A long sleeved solid silver shirt is neatly tucked into the darker cyan blue trousers and covered with a darker cyan blue blazer with black trim that lines the cuffs and collar and has gold buttons for decoration. A broad metallic gold tie rests neatly in the middle. Derrick walked up the short stairs into the main hallway. He took a minute to bathe in the starlight streaming in through the windows before he strolled across the red and gold carpet covered porcelain stoneware floor tiles, taking a moment to wave to the security guards stationed on either side of the hallway, and then walked up the luxurious staircases and slid his hand along the rails. For a moment he thought he saw something dart out of the corner of his eye but he quickly forgot about it. After traversing 21 floors as quietly as possible Derrick finally arrived and walked around the railing and down the right hallway to the room on the end and swiped his ID to unlock the door and he stepped into his dorm. The dorm was massive, being molded after a five bedroom apartment, with tons of room for each of them. Derrick entered as quietly as possible and locked the door behind him. Derrick finally slipped off the rest of his tracksuit and set it on a chair and then walked to the middle of the dorm, did some breathing exercises and began his next workout: 2-sets of 200 Push-ups, 2-sets of 200 Sit-ups and 2-sets of 200 Squats. Derrick rested for a minute and then stood up, grabbed his tracksuit and walked to his bedroom, walked in, tossed his tracksuit onto a chair and then took his uniform off, revealing his chiseled, musclebound physique he's spent years sculpting. A combination of a nanite-treatment as a kid and years of proper diet, fitness training, working out and MMA Training had turned his body into rock solid steel flesh. Derrick smiled and stretched and then he folded his uniform, placed it in the basket and crawled into bed for a nap before classes. Derrick always found it easiest to compare the sensation of drifting off to sleep as being caught in a carousel of thoughts. Every idea, notion and event from the day would replay in your mind, demanding analysis before you would be allowed to sleep. Then, when the carousel finally came to a stop, your mind was able to meander freely in the random thoughts that is the precursor of sleep, as you would often realize that you're close to drifting off and then the anxiety would start the carousel up all over again. Innnn Derrick's case he tossed and turned as he ruminated on his classes at the university, his dormwork, his exams, his workouts, the super-criminal reports, hanging out with his friends and more. This continued until the bedroom fell away and Derrick found himself walking up a staircase...for hours. No matter if he went upstairs or down, he kept coming back to the same spot. A light bulb overhead shown down on him and it was his only source of light. Derrick tried to step forward only for the light to immediately switch off and leave him in the darkness. Derrick quickly figured out that this left him with only two choices: To get back in place or walk to the next floor in the darkness only to find himself in the same spot again. After thousands of attempts at escaping the stairs, he chose to stay in place. He took a few deep breaths trying calm himself while he sat down to make himself comfortable while he waited to wake up. The light slowly moves from him to a door a few feet to his right. She stepped out and slowly walked over to him. He stepped back and the light went out immediately. She walks in his room and time slowed down, pacing with her slow footsteps. She stopped beside his bed, and her hand slowly reached for his arm. He did everything he could to move his arm but it stayed still. It felt like it was pinned to the bed with tons of weight on it. Her fingers caresses over his forearm, while he lay still, paralyzed. He wanted to scream, but he couldn't find the strength to so much as move! It wasn't her, or her touch, that scared him, but his inability to move. In the darkness of a dream the mind would conjure up magical beasts with jaws that were home to razor teeth. They would move in an unnatural ways maybe a limp or be severely hunched over. Soon the breathing would increase rapidly and become gasps of breath. On awakening, despite the nightmare ending, a ghastly feeling of being watched by invisible eyes prolongs an uneasy feeling. Können Sie sich an mich erinnern?
Liebst Du Mich?Derricks' eyes opened and he sat up as his alarm went off and sunlight shined in through the windows. He could feel the sweat drench his skin, the throbbing of his eyes, the ringing screams vibrating in his ears, and the thumping of his heart against his chest. His fingers were curled into a fist, nails digging into his palm. He couldn't hear his rapid breathing, but he could feel the oxygen flooding in and out of his lungs. Fear. Fear is shackles, fear is a knife in the gut slowly twisted, fear is a constant hammer on the head. Yet fear also evaporates like water under the light of the early morning sun. When fear comes walk with confidence right past, because like the ghosts of children's nightmares, fear is an illusion. Derrick sat down on the bed and performed breathing exercises as he calmed himself. Once he'd calmed down, Derrick got undressed and stepped into the bathroom to wash up with its gleaming granite counter tops, gold framed mirrors, jacuzzi tub, walk in shower room with multiple shower heads, fluffy towels neatly arranged, tile floor with under-floor heating, fluffy bath mat and a wicker laundry basket. The University showers have panels with more than a hundred options you can choose regulating water temperature, pressure, soaps, shampoos, scents, oils, foot massagers, full body jets, LED lights, radios, ventilation fans, speakers, a cleaning function and massaging sponges. When you step out on a mat, heaters come on that blow dry your body. Instead of struggling with knots in wet hair, you merely place your hand on a box that sends a current through your scalp, untangling, parting, and drying your hair almost instantly. The shower turns on at the press of a button, the perfect pressure and temperature. Derrick set the pressure, soaps, scents, oil and massaging oils to his usual setting and let it wash away his nightmares with a big smile on his face. Finished cleaning up, he turned it off and walked out and grabbed a towel. He'd just finished dressing when there was a knock on his door. "'Comin!" Derrick walked over to the door to unlock it only to discover it was already unlocked. "That's...weird. Could've sworn I locked up." He shrugged and opened the door to be greeted by Hubert Hunt. This contemplative gentleman has hooded brown eyes that are like two drops of chocolate. His luxurious coffee-colored hair is worn in a mushroom cut weave. He is very tall and a wide-chested build. His skin is cream-colored. He has an elegant nose. His mannerisms give you an impression of a thoughtful scholar "Mornin' Bro!" "Hey man, just checking in on you. We didn't hear you come in last night." "I affectionately refer it to as "Stealth Mode"." Riiight, stealth mode." Derrick chuckled and stepped out. "Hey do you know if anyone else came in?" "Not that I'm aware." "Hm." Derrick walked across the dorm and double checked the door. Sure enough it was still locked. "Is everything okay, Derrick?" "I'm fine. I'm fine." Derrick assure him. "Just a weird dream." "Yeah, well, that's what all night horrorthon will get you." Clyde Crawford joked. This man gives you the impression of a clever fox. His eyes are like two blue sapphires. He has long blonde hair worn in a spiked mullet with a ponytail. He is very tall and has an athletic build. "Noooo that's this weekend." Derrick smiled. "Nocturnal Nightmare 666 is a masterpiece and I'm going to prove it to you." "Challenge accepted." "Is Diego awake yet?" "Still doing his pullups. He'll be up in a sec." "Diiiid someone call for God?" Diego Davidson asked while stepping out of his room. "Present!" Derrick called back. Diego Davidson. This man puts you in mind of a regal ruler. He has round blue eyes. His fine, silky, shoulder-length, golden orange hair is worn in a style that reminds you of a puffy dandelion. He is very tall and has a powerful build. His skin is tanned. He has thick eyebrows. The two friends slapped their palms together with enough of a boom that it echoed around the room as they grasped one anothers palms and squeezed. After a few seconds of struggle Derrick slowly forced his hand down with a smile on his face. "You guys gonna need the room tonight?" Clyde asked. "As attractive as Derrick is, my heart belongs to Cairistìne. Sorry man." Diego laughed as they let go. "No problem Diego. Are you two still going steady?" "Yeah. She's keeping busy up at Millennium University's Department of Applied Multimedia Networking Mainframe Application Development Division. once she graduates she's planning to put in a few more years and then land a cushy job at KhrysosCorp." "Good idea." Hubert complimented. "Are you going to be working there with her?" "Nah, I'm studying Cytology. I'm aiming for working at Gabrielle Enterprises once I get some experience in." "Oh you guys are going to be rich." "Right?! I think working there would be the coolest job ever." "I can imagine." Hubert agreed. "What about you 'Rick?" "I...don't know. I'm consideing joining the military for awhile and maybe becoming a police officer or something afterwords. There's a lot of lunatics out there, someone's gotta stand up to them, The Capes won't always be in the area and who are you gonna call?" "Officer Blackburn: Super Cop. I can see it." Derrick laughed with his friends. "Come on, let's get some food, I'm starved." Derrick and his friends grabbed their bags and waked out of the dorm. "Are we taking the elevator?" Diego joked. "Do we ever?" Derrick smirked. The four friends laughed and joked as they descended the staircase. "Look, all I'm saying is, I don’t like to use the term “triple threat,” because it suggests that I’m limited to only three skills, but the fact is, in addition to pranking and drinking, I’m a rather phenomenal singer." Clyde laughed. "Seriously. Karaoke night this Saturday. We're gonna blow some minds." "I'm in. The world needs to hear our angelic voices." "I'll be sure to practice." Hubert said. "Hey guys! What's up?" They looked up to see Joshua Angelo, a young man of tall height, with golden colored hair and hazel eyes with a golden cross necklace around his neck. Derrick high-fived him and he started walking with them. "Singing. We're hitting a karaoke bar this weekend. You in?" "Sounds like fun. Who's our driver?" "We'll decide later by way of rocks-paper-scissors." "I'll take that challenge." "My man!" Diego fist bumped him. Even the cafeteria of the University was beyond fancy with large mullioned windows, long embroidered curtains, dark walnut tables, flowers on each table, delicate live piano music, flagstone tile floor, a lounge area with embroidered couches, oval coffee tables with splendidly proportioned cabriole legs, tea served from silver trays in white teapots. Students and faculty alike would come here often for fine dining and relaxation so it wasn't unusual to see people just chilling inside at any point during the day. One student in particular was enjoying a salad while reviewing her math work. It was a kitchen sink salad. Everything was in it but the kitchen sink. There was lettuce, cucumber, tomato, apple, walnut, toasted seeds, fresh herb leaves, cheese, celery and radish. The salad was tossed in a rich creamy dressing and served with fresh bread. Delicious. "Okay let's see here: sec(θ)=cos(θ)... Play with the point on the unit circle to see how cosine and secant change together. Notice how when cosine is small, secant is big, and vice versa. It turns out they always multiply to exactly 1111. We can also see this identity using similar triangles. Slide the dot below the graph to see one triangle transform into the other. Watch carefully to see which segments correspond to each other. csc(θ)=1sin(θ)\csc(\theta)= \dfrac{1}{\sin(\theta)}csc(θ)=sin(θ). Play with the point on the unit circle to see how sine and cosecant change together. Notice how when sine is small, cosecant is big, and vice versa. It turns out they always multiply to exactly 1111. We can also see this identity using similar triangles. Slide the dot below the graph to see one triangle transform into the other. Watch carefully to see which segments correspond to each other. cot(θ)=1tan(θ)\cot(\theta)= \dfrac{1}{\tan(\theta)}cot(θ)=tan(θ). 1cotangent, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, equals, start fraction, 1, divided by, tangent, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, end fraction. Play with the point on the unit circle to see how tangent and cotangent change together. Notice how when tangent is small, cotangent is big, and vice versa. It turns out they always multiply to exactly 1111. We can also see this identity using similar triangles. Slide the dot below the graph to see one triangle transform into the other. Watch carefully to see which segments correspond to each other. tan(θ)=sin(θ)cos(θ)\tan(\theta)= \dfrac{\sin(\theta)}{\cos(\theta)}tan(θ)=cos(θ) sin(θ)tangent, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, equals, start fraction, sine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, divided by, cosine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, end fraction. We can see this identity using similar triangles. Slide the dot below the graph to see one triangle transform into the other. Watch carefully to see which segments correspond to each other. cot(θ)=cos(θ)sin(θ)\cot(\theta)= \dfrac{\cos(\theta)}{\sin(\theta)}cot(θ)=sin(θ)cos(θ)cotangent, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, equals, start fraction, cosine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, divided by, sine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, end fraction. We can see this identity using similar triangles. Slide the dot below the graph to see one triangle transform into the other. Watch carefully to see which segments correspond to each other. Pythagorean identities: sin2(θ)+cos2(θ)=12\sin^2(\theta) + \cos^2(\theta)=1^2sin2(θ)+cos2(θ)=12sine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, plus, cosine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, equals, 1, start superscript, 2, end superscript. This identity comes from writing down the Pythagorean theorem. tan2(θ)+12=sec2(θ)\tan^2(\theta) +1^2=\sec^2(\theta)tan2(θ)+12=sec2(θ) This identity comes from writing down the Pythagorean theorem for the triangle. cot2(θ)+12=csc2(θ)\cot^2(\theta) + 1^2=\csc^2(\theta)cot2(θ)+12=csc2(θ) This identity comes from writing down the Pythagorean theorem for the triangle. Identities that come from sums, differences, multiples, and fractions of angles. These are all closely related, but let's go over each kind. Angle sum and difference identities. sin(θ+ϕ)=sinθcosϕ+cosθsinϕ\sin(\theta+\phi)=\sin\theta\cos\phi+\cos\theta\sin\phisin(θ+ϕ)=sinθcosϕ+cosθsinϕ sin(θ−ϕ)=sinθcosϕ−cosθsinϕ\sin(\theta-\phi)=\sin\theta\cos\phi-\cos\theta\sin\phisin(θ−ϕ)=sinθcosϕ−cosθsinϕ cos(θ+ϕ)=cosθcosϕ−sinθsinϕ\cos(\theta+\phi)=\cos\theta\cos\phi-\sin\theta\sin\phicos(θ+ϕ)=cosθcosϕ−sinθsinϕ cos(θ−ϕ)=cosθcosϕ+sinθsinϕ\cos(\theta-\phi)=\cos\theta\cos\phi+\sin\theta\sin\phicos(θ−ϕ)=cosθcosϕ+sinθsinϕ The figure shows a way of proving the angle sum identities. The left and right sides of the rectangle are equal, giving us: sin(θ+ϕ)=sinθcosϕ+cosθsinϕ\purple{\sin(\theta+\phi)}=\blue{\sin\theta}\red{\cos\phi}+\blue{\cos\theta}\red{\sin\phi}sin(θ+ϕ)=sinθcosϕ+cosθsinϕ The top and bottom sides are also equal, giving us: cos(θ+ϕ)=cosθcosϕ−sinθsinϕ\purple{\cos(\theta+\phi)}=\blue{\cos\theta}\red{\cos\phi}-\blue{\sin\theta}\red{\sin\phi}cos(θ+ϕ)=cosθcosϕ−sinθsinϕ. It's easiest to make sense of this diagram if you start with the right triangle in the middle of the diagram and build outward using the right triangle definitions of the trig functions. A similar diagram could show the angle difference identities. (Technically, this isn't a proof for all possible values of θ\thetaθtheta and ϕ\phiϕ, but the identities do apply for all values.) tan(θ+ϕ)=tanθ+tanϕ1−tanθtanϕ\tan(\theta+\phi)=\dfrac{\tan\theta+\tan\phi}{1-\tan\theta\tan\phi}tan(θ+ϕ)=1−tanθtanϕ tanθ+tanϕ tan(θ−ϕ)=tanθ−tanϕ1+tanθtanϕ\tan(\theta-\phi)=\dfrac{\tan\theta-\tan\phi}{1+\tan\theta\tan\phi}tan(θ−ϕ)=1+tanθtanϕ tanθ−tanϕ The figure shows a way of proving the angle sum identity for tangent. This one is a little bit tricky to make sense of. It's all about building up to the triangle in the upper-left part of the diagram. When you apply the right triangle definition of tangent to that triangle, you get: tan(θ+ϕ)=oppositeadjacent=tanθ+tanϕ1−tanθtanϕ It's easiest to make sense of this diagram if you start with the segment at the bottom of the diagram and build upward using the right triangle definitions of the trig functions (SOH CAH TOA). A similar diagram could show the angle difference identity. Technically, this isn't a proof for all possible values of θ\thetaθtheta and ϕ\phiϕ, but the identities do apply for all values. Double angle identities: sin(2θ)=2sinθcosθ\sin(2\theta)=2\sin\theta\cos\thetasin(2θ)=2sinθcosθsine, left parenthesis, 2, theta, right parenthesis, equals, 2, sine, theta, cosine, theta. We can get this identity if we take the angle sum identity for sine, but make both angles the same. sin(θ+ϕ)=sinθcosϕ+cosθsinϕ\sin(\blue\theta+\red\phi)=\sin\blue\theta\cos\red\phi+\cos\blue\theta\sin\red\phisin(θ+ϕ)=sinθcosϕ+cosθsinϕ. sin(θ+θ)=sinθcosθ+cosθsinθ\sin(\blue\theta+\blue\theta)=\sin\blue\theta\cos\blue\theta+\cos\blue\theta\sin\blue\thetasin(θ+θ)=sinθcosθ+cosθsinθsine, left parenthesis, start color blue, theta, end color blue, plus, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis, equals, sine, start color blue, theta, end color blue, cosine, start color blue, theta, end color blue, plus, cosine, start color blue, theta, end color blue, sine, start color blue, theta, end color blue sin(2θ)=2sinθcosθ\sin(2\blue\theta)=2\sin\blue\theta\cos\blue\thetasin(2θ)=2sinθcosθsine, left parenthesis, 2, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis, equals, 2, sine, start color blue, theta, end color blue, cosine, start color blue, theta, end color blue cos(2θ)=2cos2θ−1\cos(2\theta)=2\cos^2\theta-1cos(2θ)=2cos2θ−1cosine, left parenthesis, 2, theta, right parenthesis, equals, 2, cosine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, theta, minus, 1 We can also get this one from the angle sum identity, but we need to do a little extra manipulation. First, let's make both angles the same. cos(θ+ϕ)=cosθcosϕ−sinθsinϕ\cos(\blue\theta+\red\phi)=\cos\blue\theta\cos\red\phi-\sin\blue\theta\sin\red\phicos(θ+ϕ)=cosθcosϕ−sinθsinϕ cos(θ+θ)=cosθcosθ−sinθsinθ\cos(\blue\theta+\blue\theta)=\cos\blue\theta\cos\blue\theta-\sin\blue\theta\sin\blue\thetacos(θ+θ)=cosθcosθ−sinθsinθcosine, left parenthesis, start color blue, theta, end color blue, plus, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis, equals, cosine, start color blue, theta, end color blue, cosine, start color blue, theta, end color blue, minus, sine, start color blue, theta, end color blue, sine, start color blue, theta, end color blue cos(2θ)=cos2θ−sin2θ\cos(2\blue\theta)=\cos^2\blue\theta-\sin^2\blue\thetacos(2θ)=cos2θ−sin2θcosine, left parenthesis, 2, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis, equals, cosine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, start color blue, theta, end color blue, minus, sine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, start color blue, theta, end color blue. Now, we can use the identity sin2θ+cos2θ=1\sin^2\theta +\cos^2\theta= 1sin2θ+cos2θ=1sine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, theta, plus, cosine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, theta, equals, 1 to put the right-hand side in terms of just cosines. cos(2θ)=cos2θ−(1−cos2θ)\cos(2\blue\theta)=\cos^2\blue\theta-(1-\cos^2\blue\theta)cos(2θ)=cos2θ−(1−cos2θ)cosine, left parenthesis, 2, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis, equals, cosine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, start color blue, theta, end color blue, minus, left parenthesis, 1, minus, cosine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis cos(2θ)=cos2θ−1+cos2θ\cos(2\blue\theta)=\cos^2\blue\theta-1+\cos^2\blue\thetacos(2θ)=cos2θ−1+cos2θcosine, left parenthesis, 2, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis, equals, cosine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, start color blue, theta, end color blue, minus, 1, plus, cosine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, start color blue, theta, end color blue cos(2θ)=2cos2θ−1\cos(2\blue\theta)=2\cos^2\blue\theta-1cos(2θ)=2cos2θ−1cosine, left parenthesis, 2, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis, equals, 2, cosine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, start color blue, theta, end color blue, minus, 1 tan(2θ)=2tanθ1−tan2θ\tan(2\theta)=\dfrac{2\tan\theta}{1-\tan^2\theta}tan(2θ)=1−tan2θ 2tanθtangent, left parenthesis, 2, theta, right parenthesis, equals, start fraction, 2, tangent, theta, divided by, 1, minus, tangent, start superscript, 2, end superscript, theta, end fraction. This one also comes from the angle sum identity. tan(θ+ϕ)=tanθ+tanϕ1−tanθtanϕ\tan(\blue\theta+\red\phi)=\dfrac{\tan\blue\theta+\tan\red\phi}{1-\tan\blue\theta\tan\red\phi}tan(θ+ϕ)=1−tanθtanϕ. tanθ+tanϕ tan(θ+θ)=tanθ+tanθ1−tanθtanθ\tan(\blue\theta+\blue\theta)=\dfrac{\tan\blue\theta+\tan\blue\theta}{1-\tan\blue\theta\tan\blue\theta}tan(θ+θ)=1−tanθtanθ tanθ+tanθtangent, left parenthesis, start color blue, theta, end color blue, plus, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis, equals, start fraction, tangent, start color blue, theta, end color blue, plus, tangent, start color blue, theta, end color blue, divided by, 1, minus, tangent, start color blue, theta, end color blue, tangent, start color blue, theta, end color blue, end fraction tan(2θ)=2tanθ1−tan2θ\tan(2\blue\theta)=\dfrac{2\tan\blue\theta}{1-\tan^2\blue\theta}tan(2θ)=1−tan2θ 2tanθtangent, left parenthesis, 2, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis, equals, start fraction, 2, tangent, start color blue, theta, end color blue, divided by, 1, minus, tangent, start superscript, 2, end superscript, start color blue, theta, end color blue, end fraction. Half angle identities sinθ2=±1−cosθ2\sin\dfrac\theta2=\pm\sqrt{\dfrac{1-\cos\theta}{2}}sin2 θ=±2 1−cosθ sine, start fraction, theta, divided by, 2, end fraction, equals, plus minus, square root of, start fraction, 1, minus, cosine, theta, divided by, 2, end fraction, end square root cosθ2=±1+cosθ2\cos\dfrac\theta2=\pm\sqrt{\dfrac{1+\cos\theta}{2}}cos2 θ=±2 1+cosθ cosine, start fraction, theta, divided by, 2, end fraction, equals, plus minus, square root of, start fraction, 1, plus, cosine, theta, divided by, 2, end fraction, end square root tanθ2=±1−cosθ1+cosθ= 1−cosθsinθ= sinθ1+cosθ\begin{aligned} \tan\dfrac{\theta}{2}&=\pm\sqrt{\dfrac{1-\cos\theta}{1+\cos\theta}}\\ \\ &=~~~~~~~\dfrac{1-\cos\theta}{\sin\theta}\\ \\ & =~~~~~~~\dfrac{\sin\theta}{1+\cos\theta}\end{aligned}tan2 θ=±1+cosθ 1−cosθ = sinθ 1−cosθ= 1+cosθ sinθ We can get all of these by taking the double angle formulas and making the substitution: θ→θ2\blue\theta\rightarrow\red{\dfrac{\theta}{2}}θ→2 θstart color blue, theta, end color blue, right arrow, start color red, start fraction, theta, divided by, 2, end fraction, end color red. Then there's some rearranging to do. For example: sin(2θ)=2sinθcosθ\sin(2\blue\theta)=2\sin\blue\theta\cos\blue\thetasin(2θ)=2sinθcosθsine, left parenthesis, 2, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis, equals, 2, sine, start color blue, theta, end color blue, cosine, start color blue, theta, end color blue turns into...sin(2θ2)=2sinθ2cosθ2\sin(\cancel2\red{\dfrac{\theta}{\cancel2}})=2\sin\red{\dfrac{\theta}{2}}\cos\red{\dfrac{\theta}{2}}sin(2 2 θ)=2sin2 θcos2 θ And then we need to solve for sinθ2\sin\red{\dfrac{\theta}{2}}sin2 θsine, start color red, start fraction, theta, divided by, 2, end fraction, end color red. Give it a shot, and see if you can figure out how to show the other identities. Symmetry and periodicity identities. sin(−θ)=−sin(θ)\sin(-\theta)=-\sin(\theta)sin(−θ)=−sin(θ)sine, left parenthesis, minus, theta, right parenthesis, equals, minus, sine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis. We can see this by looking at a unit circle diagram. cos(−θ)=+cos(θ)\cos(-\theta)=+\cos(\theta)cos(−θ)=+cos(θ)cosine, left parenthesis, minus, theta, right parenthesis, equals, plus, cosine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis We can see this by looking at a unit circle diagram. tan(−θ)=−tan(θ)\tan(-\theta)=-\tan(\theta)tan(−θ)=−tan(θ)tangent, left parenthesis, minus, theta, right parenthesis, equals, minus, tangent, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis. This one is harder to see on a unit circle diagram, but we can get it by writing tangent in terms of sine and cosine, then applying the sine and cosine identities for negative angles. tan(θ)=sin(θ)cos(θ)\tan(\theta)= \dfrac{\sin(\theta)}{\cos(\theta)}tan(θ)=cos(θ) sin(θ)tangent, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, equals, start fraction, sine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, divided by, cosine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, end fraction. So, tan(−θ)=sin(−θ)cos(−θ)=−sin(θ)cos(θ)=−tan(θ)\tan(-\theta)= \dfrac{\sin(-\theta)}{\cos(-\theta)}= \dfrac{-\sin(\theta)}{\cos(\theta)}=-\tan(\theta)tan(−θ)=cos(−θ) sin(−θ)=cos(θ)−sin(θ)=−tan(θ)tangent, left parenthesis, minus, theta, right parenthesis, equals, start fraction, sine, left parenthesis, minus, theta, right parenthesis, divided by, cosine, left parenthesis, minus, theta, right parenthesis, end fraction, equals, start fraction, minus, sine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, divided by, cosine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, end fraction, equals, minus, tangent, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis sin(θ+2π)=sin(θ)\sin(\theta+2\pi)=\sin(\theta)sin(θ+2π)=sin(θ)sine, left parenthesis, theta, plus, 2, pi, right parenthesis, equals, sine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis cos(θ+2π)=cos(θ)\cos(\theta+2\pi)=\cos(\theta)cos(θ+2π)=cos(θ)cosine, left parenthesis, theta, plus, 2, pi, right parenthesis, equals, cosine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis tan(θ+π)=tan(θ)\tan(\theta+\pi)=\tan(\theta)tan(θ+π)=tan(θ)tangent, left parenthesis, theta, plus, pi, right parenthesis, equals, tangent, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis. Cofunction identities sinθ=cos(π2−θ)\sin\theta= \cos(\dfrac{\pi}{2}-\theta)sinθ=cos(2 π−θ)sine, theta, equals, cosine, left parenthesis, start fraction, pi, divided by, 2, end fraction, minus, theta, right parenthesis cosθ=sin(π2−θ)\cos\theta= \sin(\dfrac{\pi}{2}-\theta)cosθ=sin(2 π−θ)cosine, theta, equals, sine, left parenthesis, start fraction, pi, divided by, 2, end fraction, minus, theta, right parenthesis tanθ=cot(π2−θ)\tan\theta= \cot(\dfrac{\pi}{2}-\theta)tanθ=cot(2 π−θ)tangent, theta, equals, cotangent, left parenthesis, start fraction, pi, divided by, 2, end fraction, minus, theta, right parenthesiscotθ=tan(π2−θ)cot\theta= \tan(\dfrac{\pi}{2}-\theta)cotθ=tan(2 π−θ)c, o, t, theta, equals, tangent, left parenthesis, start fraction, pi, divided by, 2, end fraction, minus, theta, right parenthesis secθ=csc(π2−θ)\sec\theta= \csc(\dfrac{\pi}{2}-\theta)secθ=csc(2π−θ) cscθ=sec(π2−θ)\csc\theta= \sec(\dfrac{\pi}{2}-\theta)cscθ=sec(2 π−θ)"Getting lost in Trig again I see." Nicole Noble smiled as she sat down with a plate of chocolate chip pancakes. Nicole was a relatively petite young woman, fair almost to the extreme of golden blondness. Her features were small and perfectly related; her nose deliciously interrogative at the tip. Blue eyes, long, wavy blonde hair, so smooth and silky, almost as if it was tailored from gold fabric. A confident, sexy strut that tells the world, "I'm beautiful.". She wears a silver necklace and Basket-Set Round Ruby Studs. Her friend, Dolores Palazzo, was like a Victoria's Secret model and looked very much like she could have graced any billboard or magazine cover. She has that movie star look. Her muscle definition was perfect and she walked with the confidence of someone a decade older. She wasn't just flawless in her bone structure, her skin was like silk over glass and she radiated an intelligent beauty. Her eyes were the glimmering color of emerald, sparkling in the light of the morning sun like a fresh sheen of morning dew and when she lifted her pale face to the sky, emerald shifted into the color of deep ocean shimmering in the moonlight. Her thick, wavy, scorching, red hair, was worn in a complex, elegant, sleek ponytail style. She is tall and has an amazonian build. Her skin is light-colored. Both are wearing the Women's Uniform of The University. "Come on now. You have to be diligent if you're gonna make it here. The Professors are nice but they can be cutthroat when it comes to grading. Especially Pearl Parks." Nicole giggled. "I warned you. Advanced Superhuman Studies is fun but Mrs. Parks doesn't hold back. Those surprise tests will keep you on your toes." "Says the girl who aced it like the rest of her courses." She had some salad, chewed and swallowed. "You little brainiac." "Hate the game not the player DP." "Uh huh, have you even figured out what you're going to do with all these skills after you graduate?" Nicole shrugged. "To be honest...I just want a quiet life. We live in a world where busyness is king. We’re so busy glorifying how busy we are, we miss out on experiencing the moments that matter. That's how I see it. I'll move some place quiet, away from the noise and villains and become a writer." Nicole dug into her pancakes. "That's deep Nicky. Me...I dunno yet. I'm trying a bit of everything." They were soon joined by Dawnesha Collins and Regina Adams as Derrick and his friends were entering. Dawnesha, a tall, leggy, lean young lady with light hair, sat down next to Dolores and Regina, a beautiful young lady with short dark blue hair, sat down next to Nicole. Dawn had chosen bacon and eggs and Regina had gravitated to chicken waffles. Regina alternated between eating her waffles and flipping through the news on her holo-phone. 5 Simple Steps To An Effective Superhero Strategy Piper Khrysos: Genius Or Skynet? Crimson Avenger Captures Rock-Paper-Scissors Gang! Douglas Terrel Continues To Speak Shakespearean While Campaigning, Quote: Mine own supp'rt'rs knoweth yond i shall protecteth our right to exploit vile ov'rseas lab'r, our right to beareth arms and our iphones!" Victoria Volkov Acquitted! All Charges Dropped! She flipped through a few more articles before setting it down. "What a world we live in." Regina noted in an amused tone. Dawn looked up from her Chemistry Notes. "Anything interesting today?" "Crimson's a fighting machine, Volkov is innocent after all and more conspiracy theories about Piper." "Cool. I'll be checking out the Crimson News later." Nicole checked the news herself and smiled. "Kids these days." Derrick waved to the group as they walked by to get their own breakfast and Dolores wiggled her fingers to wave back. "You know, if you need the room tonight, you can just tell us. We'll get a hotel." "Don't make me reach over there Regina." Dolores whispered back with a smile on her face. Nicole and Dawn giggled at their two friends. Derrick and the team selected their own meals: A Berry and Yogurt Smoothie for Clyde, A PB&J Waffle Sandwich for Derrick, A Berry Breakfast Parfait for Hubert, Banana Peanut Butter Chia Pudding for Joshua and Healthy Banana Bread for Diego. They sat down at a table together and held a moment of silent respect as Josh silently prayed before beginning his breakfast meal with the others. "So, hey, Derrick, what was that dream you were telling us about?" "I'd say it was more of a nightmare honestly." Derrick replied and described his nightmare quietly to his friends. "That's freaky." Josh agreed. "But I'm sure it was just a dream. You know how good the security is here. Unless she had the Security Guards Passes or the specific badge to your dorm room, there's no way anybody could've gotten across the campus. Much less into your room." "He's right man. It's either that or she was a ninja." Clyde joked. Derrick shrugged. "I doubt it. I've fought some real psychos but I've never done anything to tick off the Foot Clan. As far as I know. I don't think she was even wearing an animal mask like the last bunch of sickos." "Animal Masks? What?" Josh asked. "I'll tell you about it later. When we're not eating." "Trust us Josh. You're going to want to let your food settle before you hear about this." Diego assured him. Nicole continued eating her meal but turned her head slightly to their direction. "I'll take your word for it then. Just remember Derrick: The Lord is always with you. Through thick and thin." "I can believe it. Mary's my homegirl after all." Josh raised an eyebrow. "I'm kidding Josh. But, I can believe it, why not? Superhumans are real, aliens are real, who's to say all religions can't be real? Just because Loki hasn't come down leading an alien army yet doesn't mean it can't happen." "My man!" Josh fist bumped him. "Don't worry about a bad dream or two 'Rick. You were probably just working out too hard or something." "There is no such thing and you know it." The friends laughed together. "Something wrong Nicole?" Dolores asked her friend. "No. It's fine. These are really good panackes though." Nicole replied and resumed eating.
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Post by SuperKamiGuy1 on Sept 25, 2020 21:06:23 GMT
RINITY UNIVERSITY, WHITEHAWK CITY,AGAMEMNON. FALL The air is so cold yet the trees are on fire. Scarlet and gold licks at the blue sky, no rain clouds today. The chill in the post-dawn air is the first hint that winter isn't far behind. Then these trees will stand naked, bereft of their color. But for now they line the avenue and his morning run from and to the University was more vibrant than any carnival parade. Only weeks ago the air was warm and the streets in the wide avenue were deep summer green, the whispering rustle of the leaves only audible once the daytime traffic petered to an almost stop. Now they are tinged with red and gold; not yet deserting their lofty branches in the gusts that pushed against his white and gold jogging suit. He couldn't help but muse on the fact that he went to sleep when it was dark and woke up to jog in the dark, his only light source was the shining lights emitted by his suit. He had it on a lower setting right now but if someone were to try and mug him he could turn it way up, blind them and then kick their teeth in. Derrick Blackburn didn't develop his insane workout regimen just for fun after all. You had to be ready if one of those self styled Super Criminals attacked after all. Granted, he was certain he could handle the low level guys, he beat Volatile The Clown and Sonic Shriek after all, granted the latter was due to ambushing her and checking her throat before she could scream, but a win was a win in his book, but if someone like The Annihilator showed up, it was run or die. Caroline North and The Diamond Roses barely defeated Annihilator after all, and they were a team of Gamma-Ranked Superheroes, a normal fighting him would be suicide. He pushed it out of his head and resumed jogging. The city of Whitehawk was built atop the steep facade of a mighty fjord and is truly a leading-edge metropolis. Its elegance is matched by the backdrop of green, fertile fields which have helped shape the city to what it is today. The resources these fields brought were of great importance, but they were also influential when it came to architectural designs as the vast majority of buildings are slim and tall, which mimics the grasses and openness of the fields around them. The skyline is packed with giant skyscrapers and they clearly show what they represent to the city itself. Life is great in Whitehawk and it has attracted a lot of attention. A few new cultures have left their mark not just on education, but also upon the city's identity. What historically was a city of no variation has grown into a multicultural hub, a large melting pot that unites 9 million people to this day. It's this multicultural identity that has truly left its mark. Hundreds of diners, take-outs and ethnic restaurants offer a plethora of culinary choices and those who feel hungry for something else can enjoy sightseeing, an amusement park, the national park, theaters, musical activities, adventure sports, photography, musical activities, arcades or one of the many other recreational venues. Derrick soon finished his 8.07783 Mile run and returned to the grounds of Trinity University, a massive, sprawling, campus covering 23,000 acres of land with the latest of advanced technology. Derrick pulled back his hood and unzipped his suit to reveal his University uniform underneath and his ID held by a Black Lanyard Key Ring Necklace as the invisible checkpoints around the scanned him. Anyone caught by the scanners not wearing an ID or Visitor Pass would be reported to security. Fortunately Derrick did so he was fine. He crossed the campus until he arrived at Male Dormitory A and walked inside. Derrick pulled back his hood and unzipped his suit to reveal his University uniform underneath and his ID held by a Black Lanyard Key Ring Necklace as the invisible checkpoints around the scanned him. Anyone caught by the scanners not wearing an ID or Visitor Pass would be reported to security. Fortunately Derrick did so he was fine. He crossed the campus until he arrived at Male Dormitory A and walked inside. Derrick entered the doorway between the inside and outside doors and had his ID Scanned. The doors lit up and he could see his reflection in the glass. Derrick is a tall young man with short, dark brown, spiky hair and emerald eyes that gleam interestingly. He has a muscular build. Derrick smiled and ran his fingers though his hair and unzipped his jogging suit fully as he stepped through the sliding doors. With the upper half of his suit hanging off back, his uniform was more exposed: A long sleeved solid silver shirt is neatly tucked into the darker cyan blue trousers and covered with a darker cyan blue blazer with black trim that lines the cuffs and collar and has gold buttons for decoration. A broad metallic gold tie rests neatly in the middle. Derrick walked up the short stairs into the main hallway. He took a minute to bathe in the starlight streaming in through the windows before he strolled across the red and gold carpet covered porcelain stoneware floor tiles, taking a moment to wave to the security guards stationed on either side of the hallway, and then walked up the luxurious staircases and slid his hand along the rails. For a moment he thought he saw something dart out of the corner of his eye but he quickly forgot about it. After traversing 21 floors as quietly as possible Derrick finally arrived and walked around the railing and down the right hallway to the room on the end and swiped his ID to unlock the door and he stepped into his dorm. The dorm was massive, being molded after a five bedroom apartment, with tons of room for each of them. Derrick entered as quietly as possible and locked the door behind him. Derrick finally slipped off the rest of his tracksuit and set it on a chair and then walked to the middle of the dorm, did some breathing exercises and began his next workout: 2-sets of 200 Push-ups, 2-sets of 200 Sit-ups and 2-sets of 200 Squats. Derrick rested for a minute and then stood up, grabbed his tracksuit and walked to his bedroom, walked in, tossed his tracksuit onto a chair and then took his uniform off, revealing his chiseled, musclebound physique he's spent years sculpting. A combination of a nanite-treatment as a kid and years of proper diet, fitness training, working out and MMA Training had turned his body into rock solid steel flesh. Derrick smiled and stretched and then he folded his uniform, placed it in the basket and crawled into bed for a nap before classes. Derrick always found it easiest to compare the sensation of drifting off to sleep as being caught in a carousel of thoughts. Every idea, notion and event from the day would replay in your mind, demanding analysis before you would be allowed to sleep. Then, when the carousel finally came to a stop, your mind was able to meander freely in the random thoughts that is the precursor of sleep, as you would often realize that you're close to drifting off and then the anxiety would start the carousel up all over again. Innnn Derrick's case he tossed and turned as he ruminated on his classes at the university, his dormwork, his exams, his workouts, the super-criminal reports, hanging out with his friends and more. This continued until the bedroom fell away and Derrick found himself walking up a staircase...for hours. No matter if he went upstairs or down, he kept coming back to the same spot. A light bulb overhead shown down on him and it was his only source of light. Derrick tried to step forward only for the light to immediately switch off and leave him in the darkness. Derrick quickly figured out that this left him with only two choices: To get back in place or walk to the next floor in the darkness only to find himself in the same spot again. After thousands of attempts at escaping the stairs, he chose to stay in place. He took a few deep breaths trying calm himself while he sat down to make himself comfortable while he waited to wake up. The light slowly moves from him to a door a few feet to his right. She stepped out and slowly walked over to him. He stepped back and the light went out immediately. She walks in his room and time slowed down, pacing with her slow footsteps. She stopped beside his bed, and her hand slowly reached for his arm. He did everything he could to move his arm but it stayed still. It felt like it was pinned to the bed with tons of weight on it. Her fingers caresses over his forearm, while he lay still, paralyzed. He wanted to scream, but he couldn't find the strength to so much as move! It wasn't her, or her touch, that scared him, but his inability to move. In the darkness of a dream the mind would conjure up magical beasts with jaws that were home to razor teeth. They would move in an unnatural ways maybe a limp or be severely hunched over. Soon the breathing would increase rapidly and become gasps of breath. On awakening, despite the nightmare ending, a ghastly feeling of being watched by invisible eyes prolongs an uneasy feeling. Können Sie sich an mich erinnern?
Liebst Du Mich?Derricks' eyes opened and he sat up as his alarm went off and sunlight shined in through the windows. He could feel the sweat drench his skin, the throbbing of his eyes, the ringing screams vibrating in his ears, and the thumping of his heart against his chest. His fingers were curled into a fist, nails digging into his palm. He couldn't hear his rapid breathing, but he could feel the oxygen flooding in and out of his lungs. Fear. Fear is shackles, fear is a knife in the gut slowly twisted, fear is a constant hammer on the head. Yet fear also evaporates like water under the light of the early morning sun. When fear comes walk with confidence right past, because like the ghosts of children's nightmares, fear is an illusion. Derrick sat down on the bed and performed breathing exercises as he calmed himself. Once he'd calmed down, Derrick got undressed and stepped into the bathroom to wash up with its gleaming granite counter tops, gold framed mirrors, jacuzzi tub, walk in shower room with multiple shower heads, fluffy towels neatly arranged, tile floor with under-floor heating, fluffy bath mat and a wicker laundry basket. The University showers have panels with more than a hundred options you can choose regulating water temperature, pressure, soaps, shampoos, scents, oils, foot massagers, full body jets, LED lights, radios, ventilation fans, speakers, a cleaning function and massaging sponges. When you step out on a mat, heaters come on that blow dry your body. Instead of struggling with knots in wet hair, you merely place your hand on a box that sends a current through your scalp, untangling, parting, and drying your hair almost instantly. The shower turns on at the press of a button, the perfect pressure and temperature. Derrick set the pressure, soaps, scents, oil and massaging oils to his usual setting and let it wash away his nightmares with a big smile on his face. Finished cleaning up, he turned it off and walked out and grabbed a towel. He'd just finished dressing when there was a knock on his door. "'Comin!" Derrick walked over to the door to unlock it only to discover it was already unlocked. "That's...weird. Could've sworn I locked up." He shrugged and opened the door to be greeted by Hubert Hunt. This contemplative gentleman has hooded brown eyes that are like two drops of chocolate. His luxurious coffee-colored hair is worn in a mushroom cut weave. He is very tall and a wide-chested build. His skin is cream-colored. He has an elegant nose. His mannerisms give you an impression of a thoughtful scholar "Mornin' Bro!" "Hey man, just checking in on you. We didn't hear you come in last night." "I affectionately refer it to as "Stealth Mode"." Riiight, stealth mode." Derrick chuckled and stepped out. "Hey do you know if anyone else came in?" "Not that I'm aware." "Hm." Derrick walked across the dorm and double checked the door. Sure enough it was still locked. "Is everything okay, Derrick?" "I'm fine. I'm fine." Derrick assure him. "Just a weird dream." "Yeah, well, that's what all night horrorthon will get you." Clyde Crawford joked. This man gives you the impression of a clever fox. His eyes are like two blue sapphires. He has long blonde hair worn in a spiked mullet with a ponytail. He is very tall and has an athletic build. "Noooo that's this weekend." Derrick smiled. "Nocturnal Nightmare 666 is a masterpiece and I'm going to prove it to you." "Challenge accepted." "Is Diego awake yet?" "Still doing his pullups. He'll be up in a sec." "Diiiid someone call for God?" Diego Davidson asked while stepping out of his room. "Present!" Derrick called back. Diego Davidson. This man puts you in mind of a regal ruler. He has round blue eyes. His fine, silky, shoulder-length, golden orange hair is worn in a style that reminds you of a puffy dandelion. He is very tall and has a powerful build. His skin is tanned. He has thick eyebrows. The two friends slapped their palms together with enough of a boom that it echoed around the room as they grasped one anothers palms and squeezed. After a few seconds of struggle Derrick slowly forced his hand down with a smile on his face. "You guys gonna need the room tonight?" Clyde asked. "As attractive as Derrick is, my heart belongs to Cairistìne. Sorry man." Diego laughed as they let go. "No problem Diego. Are you two still going steady?" "Yeah. She's keeping busy up at Millennium University's Department of Applied Multimedia Networking Mainframe Application Development Division. once she graduates she's planning to put in a few more years and then land a cushy job at KhrysosCorp." "Good idea." Hubert complimented. "Are you going to be working there with her?" "Nah, I'm studying Cytology. I'm aiming for working at Gabrielle Enterprises once I get some experience in." "Oh you guys are going to be rich." "Right?! I think working there would be the coolest job ever." "I can imagine." Hubert agreed. "What about you 'Rick?" "I...don't know. I'm consideing joining the military for awhile and maybe becoming a police officer or something afterwords. There's a lot of lunatics out there, someone's gotta stand up to them, The Capes won't always be in the area and who are you gonna call?" "Officer Blackburn: Super Cop. I can see it." Derrick laughed with his friends. "Come on, let's get some food, I'm starved." Derrick and his friends grabbed their bags and waked out of the dorm. "Are we taking the elevator?" Diego joked. "Do we ever?" Derrick smirked. The four friends laughed and joked as they descended the staircase. "Look, all I'm saying is, I don’t like to use the term “triple threat,” because it suggests that I’m limited to only three skills, but the fact is, in addition to pranking and drinking, I’m a rather phenomenal singer." Clyde laughed. "Seriously. Karaoke night this Saturday. We're gonna blow some minds." "I'm in. The world needs to hear our angelic voices." "I'll be sure to practice." Hubert said. "Hey guys! What's up?" They looked up to see Joshua Angelo, a young man of tall height, with golden colored hair and hazel eyes with a golden cross necklace around his neck. Derrick high-fived him and he started walking with them. "Singing. We're hitting a karaoke bar this weekend. You in?" "Sounds like fun. Who's our driver?" "We'll decide later by way of rocks-paper-scissors." "I'll take that challenge." "My man!" Diego fist bumped him. Even the cafeteria of the University was beyond fancy with large mullioned windows, long embroidered curtains, dark walnut tables, flowers on each table, delicate live piano music, flagstone tile floor, a lounge area with embroidered couches, oval coffee tables with splendidly proportioned cabriole legs, tea served from silver trays in white teapots. Students and faculty alike would come here often for fine dining and relaxation so it wasn't unusual to see people just chilling inside at any point during the day. One student in particular was enjoying a salad while reviewing her math work. It was a kitchen sink salad. Everything was in it but the kitchen sink. There was lettuce, cucumber, tomato, apple, walnut, toasted seeds, fresh herb leaves, cheese, celery and radish. The salad was tossed in a rich creamy dressing and served with fresh bread. Delicious. "Okay let's see here: sec(θ)=cos(θ)... Play with the point on the unit circle to see how cosine and secant change together. Notice how when cosine is small, secant is big, and vice versa. It turns out they always multiply to exactly 1111. We can also see this identity using similar triangles. Slide the dot below the graph to see one triangle transform into the other. Watch carefully to see which segments correspond to each other. csc(θ)=1sin(θ)\csc(\theta)= \dfrac{1}{\sin(\theta)}csc(θ)=sin(θ). Play with the point on the unit circle to see how sine and cosecant change together. Notice how when sine is small, cosecant is big, and vice versa. It turns out they always multiply to exactly 1111. We can also see this identity using similar triangles. Slide the dot below the graph to see one triangle transform into the other. Watch carefully to see which segments correspond to each other. cot(θ)=1tan(θ)\cot(\theta)= \dfrac{1}{\tan(\theta)}cot(θ)=tan(θ). 1cotangent, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, equals, start fraction, 1, divided by, tangent, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, end fraction. Play with the point on the unit circle to see how tangent and cotangent change together. Notice how when tangent is small, cotangent is big, and vice versa. It turns out they always multiply to exactly 1111. We can also see this identity using similar triangles. Slide the dot below the graph to see one triangle transform into the other. Watch carefully to see which segments correspond to each other. tan(θ)=sin(θ)cos(θ)\tan(\theta)= \dfrac{\sin(\theta)}{\cos(\theta)}tan(θ)=cos(θ) sin(θ)tangent, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, equals, start fraction, sine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, divided by, cosine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, end fraction. We can see this identity using similar triangles. Slide the dot below the graph to see one triangle transform into the other. Watch carefully to see which segments correspond to each other. cot(θ)=cos(θ)sin(θ)\cot(\theta)= \dfrac{\cos(\theta)}{\sin(\theta)}cot(θ)=sin(θ)cos(θ)cotangent, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, equals, start fraction, cosine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, divided by, sine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, end fraction. We can see this identity using similar triangles. Slide the dot below the graph to see one triangle transform into the other. Watch carefully to see which segments correspond to each other. Pythagorean identities: sin2(θ)+cos2(θ)=12\sin^2(\theta) + \cos^2(\theta)=1^2sin2(θ)+cos2(θ)=12sine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, plus, cosine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, equals, 1, start superscript, 2, end superscript. This identity comes from writing down the Pythagorean theorem. tan2(θ)+12=sec2(θ)\tan^2(\theta) +1^2=\sec^2(\theta)tan2(θ)+12=sec2(θ) This identity comes from writing down the Pythagorean theorem for the triangle. cot2(θ)+12=csc2(θ)\cot^2(\theta) + 1^2=\csc^2(\theta)cot2(θ)+12=csc2(θ) This identity comes from writing down the Pythagorean theorem for the triangle. Identities that come from sums, differences, multiples, and fractions of angles. These are all closely related, but let's go over each kind. Angle sum and difference identities. sin(θ+ϕ)=sinθcosϕ+cosθsinϕ\sin(\theta+\phi)=\sin\theta\cos\phi+\cos\theta\sin\phisin(θ+ϕ)=sinθcosϕ+cosθsinϕ sin(θ−ϕ)=sinθcosϕ−cosθsinϕ\sin(\theta-\phi)=\sin\theta\cos\phi-\cos\theta\sin\phisin(θ−ϕ)=sinθcosϕ−cosθsinϕ cos(θ+ϕ)=cosθcosϕ−sinθsinϕ\cos(\theta+\phi)=\cos\theta\cos\phi-\sin\theta\sin\phicos(θ+ϕ)=cosθcosϕ−sinθsinϕ cos(θ−ϕ)=cosθcosϕ+sinθsinϕ\cos(\theta-\phi)=\cos\theta\cos\phi+\sin\theta\sin\phicos(θ−ϕ)=cosθcosϕ+sinθsinϕ The figure shows a way of proving the angle sum identities. The left and right sides of the rectangle are equal, giving us: sin(θ+ϕ)=sinθcosϕ+cosθsinϕ\purple{\sin(\theta+\phi)}=\blue{\sin\theta}\red{\cos\phi}+\blue{\cos\theta}\red{\sin\phi}sin(θ+ϕ)=sinθcosϕ+cosθsinϕ The top and bottom sides are also equal, giving us: cos(θ+ϕ)=cosθcosϕ−sinθsinϕ\purple{\cos(\theta+\phi)}=\blue{\cos\theta}\red{\cos\phi}-\blue{\sin\theta}\red{\sin\phi}cos(θ+ϕ)=cosθcosϕ−sinθsinϕ. It's easiest to make sense of this diagram if you start with the right triangle in the middle of the diagram and build outward using the right triangle definitions of the trig functions. A similar diagram could show the angle difference identities. (Technically, this isn't a proof for all possible values of θ\thetaθtheta and ϕ\phiϕ, but the identities do apply for all values.) tan(θ+ϕ)=tanθ+tanϕ1−tanθtanϕ\tan(\theta+\phi)=\dfrac{\tan\theta+\tan\phi}{1-\tan\theta\tan\phi}tan(θ+ϕ)=1−tanθtanϕ tanθ+tanϕ tan(θ−ϕ)=tanθ−tanϕ1+tanθtanϕ\tan(\theta-\phi)=\dfrac{\tan\theta-\tan\phi}{1+\tan\theta\tan\phi}tan(θ−ϕ)=1+tanθtanϕ tanθ−tanϕ The figure shows a way of proving the angle sum identity for tangent. This one is a little bit tricky to make sense of. It's all about building up to the triangle in the upper-left part of the diagram. When you apply the right triangle definition of tangent to that triangle, you get: tan(θ+ϕ)=oppositeadjacent=tanθ+tanϕ1−tanθtanϕ It's easiest to make sense of this diagram if you start with the segment at the bottom of the diagram and build upward using the right triangle definitions of the trig functions (SOH CAH TOA). A similar diagram could show the angle difference identity. Technically, this isn't a proof for all possible values of θ\thetaθtheta and ϕ\phiϕ, but the identities do apply for all values. Double angle identities: sin(2θ)=2sinθcosθ\sin(2\theta)=2\sin\theta\cos\thetasin(2θ)=2sinθcosθsine, left parenthesis, 2, theta, right parenthesis, equals, 2, sine, theta, cosine, theta. We can get this identity if we take the angle sum identity for sine, but make both angles the same. sin(θ+ϕ)=sinθcosϕ+cosθsinϕ\sin(\blue\theta+\red\phi)=\sin\blue\theta\cos\red\phi+\cos\blue\theta\sin\red\phisin(θ+ϕ)=sinθcosϕ+cosθsinϕ. sin(θ+θ)=sinθcosθ+cosθsinθ\sin(\blue\theta+\blue\theta)=\sin\blue\theta\cos\blue\theta+\cos\blue\theta\sin\blue\thetasin(θ+θ)=sinθcosθ+cosθsinθsine, left parenthesis, start color blue, theta, end color blue, plus, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis, equals, sine, start color blue, theta, end color blue, cosine, start color blue, theta, end color blue, plus, cosine, start color blue, theta, end color blue, sine, start color blue, theta, end color blue sin(2θ)=2sinθcosθ\sin(2\blue\theta)=2\sin\blue\theta\cos\blue\thetasin(2θ)=2sinθcosθsine, left parenthesis, 2, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis, equals, 2, sine, start color blue, theta, end color blue, cosine, start color blue, theta, end color blue cos(2θ)=2cos2θ−1\cos(2\theta)=2\cos^2\theta-1cos(2θ)=2cos2θ−1cosine, left parenthesis, 2, theta, right parenthesis, equals, 2, cosine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, theta, minus, 1 We can also get this one from the angle sum identity, but we need to do a little extra manipulation. First, let's make both angles the same. cos(θ+ϕ)=cosθcosϕ−sinθsinϕ\cos(\blue\theta+\red\phi)=\cos\blue\theta\cos\red\phi-\sin\blue\theta\sin\red\phicos(θ+ϕ)=cosθcosϕ−sinθsinϕ cos(θ+θ)=cosθcosθ−sinθsinθ\cos(\blue\theta+\blue\theta)=\cos\blue\theta\cos\blue\theta-\sin\blue\theta\sin\blue\thetacos(θ+θ)=cosθcosθ−sinθsinθcosine, left parenthesis, start color blue, theta, end color blue, plus, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis, equals, cosine, start color blue, theta, end color blue, cosine, start color blue, theta, end color blue, minus, sine, start color blue, theta, end color blue, sine, start color blue, theta, end color blue cos(2θ)=cos2θ−sin2θ\cos(2\blue\theta)=\cos^2\blue\theta-\sin^2\blue\thetacos(2θ)=cos2θ−sin2θcosine, left parenthesis, 2, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis, equals, cosine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, start color blue, theta, end color blue, minus, sine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, start color blue, theta, end color blue. Now, we can use the identity sin2θ+cos2θ=1\sin^2\theta +\cos^2\theta= 1sin2θ+cos2θ=1sine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, theta, plus, cosine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, theta, equals, 1 to put the right-hand side in terms of just cosines. cos(2θ)=cos2θ−(1−cos2θ)\cos(2\blue\theta)=\cos^2\blue\theta-(1-\cos^2\blue\theta)cos(2θ)=cos2θ−(1−cos2θ)cosine, left parenthesis, 2, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis, equals, cosine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, start color blue, theta, end color blue, minus, left parenthesis, 1, minus, cosine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis cos(2θ)=cos2θ−1+cos2θ\cos(2\blue\theta)=\cos^2\blue\theta-1+\cos^2\blue\thetacos(2θ)=cos2θ−1+cos2θcosine, left parenthesis, 2, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis, equals, cosine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, start color blue, theta, end color blue, minus, 1, plus, cosine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, start color blue, theta, end color blue cos(2θ)=2cos2θ−1\cos(2\blue\theta)=2\cos^2\blue\theta-1cos(2θ)=2cos2θ−1cosine, left parenthesis, 2, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis, equals, 2, cosine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, start color blue, theta, end color blue, minus, 1 tan(2θ)=2tanθ1−tan2θ\tan(2\theta)=\dfrac{2\tan\theta}{1-\tan^2\theta}tan(2θ)=1−tan2θ 2tanθtangent, left parenthesis, 2, theta, right parenthesis, equals, start fraction, 2, tangent, theta, divided by, 1, minus, tangent, start superscript, 2, end superscript, theta, end fraction. This one also comes from the angle sum identity. tan(θ+ϕ)=tanθ+tanϕ1−tanθtanϕ\tan(\blue\theta+\red\phi)=\dfrac{\tan\blue\theta+\tan\red\phi}{1-\tan\blue\theta\tan\red\phi}tan(θ+ϕ)=1−tanθtanϕ. tanθ+tanϕ tan(θ+θ)=tanθ+tanθ1−tanθtanθ\tan(\blue\theta+\blue\theta)=\dfrac{\tan\blue\theta+\tan\blue\theta}{1-\tan\blue\theta\tan\blue\theta}tan(θ+θ)=1−tanθtanθ tanθ+tanθtangent, left parenthesis, start color blue, theta, end color blue, plus, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis, equals, start fraction, tangent, start color blue, theta, end color blue, plus, tangent, start color blue, theta, end color blue, divided by, 1, minus, tangent, start color blue, theta, end color blue, tangent, start color blue, theta, end color blue, end fraction tan(2θ)=2tanθ1−tan2θ\tan(2\blue\theta)=\dfrac{2\tan\blue\theta}{1-\tan^2\blue\theta}tan(2θ)=1−tan2θ 2tanθtangent, left parenthesis, 2, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis, equals, start fraction, 2, tangent, start color blue, theta, end color blue, divided by, 1, minus, tangent, start superscript, 2, end superscript, start color blue, theta, end color blue, end fraction. Half angle identities sinθ2=±1−cosθ2\sin\dfrac\theta2=\pm\sqrt{\dfrac{1-\cos\theta}{2}}sin2 θ=±2 1−cosθ sine, start fraction, theta, divided by, 2, end fraction, equals, plus minus, square root of, start fraction, 1, minus, cosine, theta, divided by, 2, end fraction, end square root cosθ2=±1+cosθ2\cos\dfrac\theta2=\pm\sqrt{\dfrac{1+\cos\theta}{2}}cos2 θ=±2 1+cosθ cosine, start fraction, theta, divided by, 2, end fraction, equals, plus minus, square root of, start fraction, 1, plus, cosine, theta, divided by, 2, end fraction, end square root tanθ2=±1−cosθ1+cosθ= 1−cosθsinθ= sinθ1+cosθ\begin{aligned} \tan\dfrac{\theta}{2}&=\pm\sqrt{\dfrac{1-\cos\theta}{1+\cos\theta}}\\ \\ &=~~~~~~~\dfrac{1-\cos\theta}{\sin\theta}\\ \\ & =~~~~~~~\dfrac{\sin\theta}{1+\cos\theta}\end{aligned}tan2 θ=±1+cosθ 1−cosθ = sinθ 1−cosθ= 1+cosθ sinθ We can get all of these by taking the double angle formulas and making the substitution: θ→θ2\blue\theta\rightarrow\red{\dfrac{\theta}{2}}θ→2 θstart color blue, theta, end color blue, right arrow, start color red, start fraction, theta, divided by, 2, end fraction, end color red. Then there's some rearranging to do. For example: sin(2θ)=2sinθcosθ\sin(2\blue\theta)=2\sin\blue\theta\cos\blue\thetasin(2θ)=2sinθcosθsine, left parenthesis, 2, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis, equals, 2, sine, start color blue, theta, end color blue, cosine, start color blue, theta, end color blue turns into...sin(2θ2)=2sinθ2cosθ2\sin(\cancel2\red{\dfrac{\theta}{\cancel2}})=2\sin\red{\dfrac{\theta}{2}}\cos\red{\dfrac{\theta}{2}}sin(2 2 θ)=2sin2 θcos2 θ And then we need to solve for sinθ2\sin\red{\dfrac{\theta}{2}}sin2 θsine, start color red, start fraction, theta, divided by, 2, end fraction, end color red. Give it a shot, and see if you can figure out how to show the other identities. Symmetry and periodicity identities. sin(−θ)=−sin(θ)\sin(-\theta)=-\sin(\theta)sin(−θ)=−sin(θ)sine, left parenthesis, minus, theta, right parenthesis, equals, minus, sine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis. We can see this by looking at a unit circle diagram. cos(−θ)=+cos(θ)\cos(-\theta)=+\cos(\theta)cos(−θ)=+cos(θ)cosine, left parenthesis, minus, theta, right parenthesis, equals, plus, cosine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis We can see this by looking at a unit circle diagram. tan(−θ)=−tan(θ)\tan(-\theta)=-\tan(\theta)tan(−θ)=−tan(θ)tangent, left parenthesis, minus, theta, right parenthesis, equals, minus, tangent, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis. This one is harder to see on a unit circle diagram, but we can get it by writing tangent in terms of sine and cosine, then applying the sine and cosine identities for negative angles. tan(θ)=sin(θ)cos(θ)\tan(\theta)= \dfrac{\sin(\theta)}{\cos(\theta)}tan(θ)=cos(θ) sin(θ)tangent, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, equals, start fraction, sine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, divided by, cosine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, end fraction. So, tan(−θ)=sin(−θ)cos(−θ)=−sin(θ)cos(θ)=−tan(θ)\tan(-\theta)= \dfrac{\sin(-\theta)}{\cos(-\theta)}= \dfrac{-\sin(\theta)}{\cos(\theta)}=-\tan(\theta)tan(−θ)=cos(−θ) sin(−θ)=cos(θ)−sin(θ)=−tan(θ)tangent, left parenthesis, minus, theta, right parenthesis, equals, start fraction, sine, left parenthesis, minus, theta, right parenthesis, divided by, cosine, left parenthesis, minus, theta, right parenthesis, end fraction, equals, start fraction, minus, sine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, divided by, cosine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, end fraction, equals, minus, tangent, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis sin(θ+2π)=sin(θ)\sin(\theta+2\pi)=\sin(\theta)sin(θ+2π)=sin(θ)sine, left parenthesis, theta, plus, 2, pi, right parenthesis, equals, sine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis cos(θ+2π)=cos(θ)\cos(\theta+2\pi)=\cos(\theta)cos(θ+2π)=cos(θ)cosine, left parenthesis, theta, plus, 2, pi, right parenthesis, equals, cosine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis tan(θ+π)=tan(θ)\tan(\theta+\pi)=\tan(\theta)tan(θ+π)=tan(θ)tangent, left parenthesis, theta, plus, pi, right parenthesis, equals, tangent, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis. Cofunction identities sinθ=cos(π2−θ)\sin\theta= \cos(\dfrac{\pi}{2}-\theta)sinθ=cos(2 π−θ)sine, theta, equals, cosine, left parenthesis, start fraction, pi, divided by, 2, end fraction, minus, theta, right parenthesis cosθ=sin(π2−θ)\cos\theta= \sin(\dfrac{\pi}{2}-\theta)cosθ=sin(2 π−θ)cosine, theta, equals, sine, left parenthesis, start fraction, pi, divided by, 2, end fraction, minus, theta, right parenthesis tanθ=cot(π2−θ)\tan\theta= \cot(\dfrac{\pi}{2}-\theta)tanθ=cot(2 π−θ)tangent, theta, equals, cotangent, left parenthesis, start fraction, pi, divided by, 2, end fraction, minus, theta, right parenthesiscotθ=tan(π2−θ)cot\theta= \tan(\dfrac{\pi}{2}-\theta)cotθ=tan(2 π−θ)c, o, t, theta, equals, tangent, left parenthesis, start fraction, pi, divided by, 2, end fraction, minus, theta, right parenthesis secθ=csc(π2−θ)\sec\theta= \csc(\dfrac{\pi}{2}-\theta)secθ=csc(2π−θ) cscθ=sec(π2−θ)\csc\theta= \sec(\dfrac{\pi}{2}-\theta)cscθ=sec(2 π−θ)"Getting lost in Trig again I see." Nicole Noble smiled as she sat down with a plate of chocolate chip pancakes. Nicole was a relatively petite young woman, fair almost to the extreme of golden blondness. Her features were small and perfectly related; her nose deliciously interrogative at the tip. Blue eyes, long, wavy blonde hair, so smooth and silky, almost as if it was tailored from gold fabric. A confident, sexy strut that tells the world, "I'm beautiful.". She wears a silver necklace and Basket-Set Round Ruby Studs. Her friend, Dolores Palazzo, was like a Victoria's Secret model and looked very much like she could have graced any billboard or magazine cover. She has that movie star look. Her muscle definition was perfect and she walked with the confidence of someone a decade older. She wasn't just flawless in her bone structure, her skin was like silk over glass and she radiated an intelligent beauty. Her eyes were the glimmering color of emerald, sparkling in the light of the morning sun like a fresh sheen of morning dew and when she lifted her pale face to the sky, emerald shifted into the color of deep ocean shimmering in the moonlight. Her thick, wavy, scorching, red hair, was worn in a complex, elegant, sleek ponytail style. She is tall and has an amazonian build. Her skin is light-colored. Both are wearing the Women's Uniform of The University. "Come on now. You have to be diligent if you're gonna make it here. The Professors are nice but they can be cutthroat when it comes to grading. Especially Pearl Parks." Nicole giggled. "I warned you. Advanced Superhuman Studies is fun but Mrs. Parks doesn't hold back. Those surprise tests will keep you on your toes." "Says the girl who aced it like the rest of her courses." She had some salad, chewed and swallowed. "You little brainiac." "Hate the game not the player DP." "Uh huh, have you even figured out what you're going to do with all these skills after you graduate?" Nicole shrugged. "To be honest...I just want a quiet life. We live in a world where busyness is king. We’re so busy glorifying how busy we are, we miss out on experiencing the moments that matter. That's how I see it. I'll move some place quiet, away from the noise and villains and become a writer." Nicole dug into her pancakes. "That's deep Nicky. Me...I dunno yet. I'm trying a bit of everything." They were soon joined by Dawnesha Collins and Regina Adams as Derrick and his friends were entering. Dawnesha, a tall, leggy, lean young lady with light hair, sat down next to Dolores and Regina, a beautiful young lady with short dark blue hair, sat down next to Nicole. Dawn had chosen bacon and eggs and Regina had gravitated to chicken waffles. Regina alternated between eating her waffles and flipping through the news on her holo-phone. 5 Simple Steps To An Effective Superhero Strategy Piper Khrysos: Genius Or Skynet? Crimson Avenger Captures Rock-Paper-Scissors Gang! Douglas Terrel Continues To Speak Shakespearean While Campaigning, Quote: Mine own supp'rt'rs knoweth yond i shall protecteth our right to exploit vile ov'rseas lab'r, our right to beareth arms and our iphones!" Victoria Volkov Acquitted! All Charges Dropped! She flipped through a few more articles before setting it down. "What a world we live in." Regina noted in an amused tone. Dawn looked up from her Chemistry Notes. "Anything interesting today?" "Crimson's a fighting machine, Volkov is innocent after all and more conspiracy theories about Piper." "Cool. I'll be checking out the Crimson News later." Nicole checked the news herself and smiled. "Kids these days." Derrick waved to the group as they walked by to get their own breakfast and Dolores wiggled her fingers to wave back. "You know, if you need the room tonight, you can just tell us. We'll get a hotel." "Don't make me reach over there Regina." Dolores whispered back with a smile on her face. Nicole and Dawn giggled at their two friends. Derrick and the team selected their own meals: A Berry and Yogurt Smoothie for Clyde, A PB&J Waffle Sandwich for Derrick, A Berry Breakfast Parfait for Hubert, Banana Peanut Butter Chia Pudding for Joshua and Healthy Banana Bread for Diego. They sat down at a table together and held a moment of silent respect as Josh silently prayed before beginning his breakfast meal with the others. "So, hey, Derrick, what was that dream you were telling us about?" "I'd say it was more of a nightmare honestly." Derrick replied and described his nightmare quietly to his friends. "That's freaky." Josh agreed. "But I'm sure it was just a dream. You know how good the security is here. Unless she had the Security Guards Passes or the specific badge to your dorm room, there's no way anybody could've gotten across the campus. Much less into your room." "He's right man. It's either that or she was a ninja." Clyde joked. Derrick shrugged. "I doubt it. I've fought some real psychos but I've never done anything to tick off the Foot Clan. As far as I know. I don't think she was even wearing an animal mask like the last bunch of sickos." "Animal Masks? What?" Josh asked. "I'll tell you about it later. When we're not eating." "Trust us Josh. You're going to want to let your food settle before you hear about this." Diego assured him. Nicole continued eating her meal but turned her head slightly to their direction. "I'll take your word for it then. Just remember Derrick: The Lord is always with you. Through thick and thin." "I can believe it. Mary's my homegirl after all." Josh raised an eyebrow. "I'm kidding Josh. But, I can believe it, why not? Superhumans are real, aliens are real, who's to say all religions can't be real? Just because Loki hasn't come down leading an alien army yet doesn't mean it can't happen." "My man!" Josh fist bumped him. "Don't worry about a bad dream or two 'Rick. You were probably just working out too hard or something." "There is no such thing and you know it." The friends laughed together. "Something wrong Nicole?" Dolores asked her friend. "No. It's fine. These are really good panackes though." Nicole replied and resumed eating. "Hey guys. I was wondering, since we're here and all, could you quiz me?" Josh asked. "I've got an exam coming up and I wanted to be prepared for it." "I'm game if you are man." Derrick said as he set down his fork. "Cool." He and Joshua wiped their hands and Joshua pulled a set of holo-cards out of his pocket and handed them to Derrick. "Alright. Let's see what we got here. Ohhhh I get it. You're taking Mrs. Sasha Rockingham's class arent you?" "Yeah. Have you taken it?" "Last semester. You're in for some real brain busters with her class. Don't let your guard down or her exams will bury you." "I know. I managed to ace the last one but I had to study like crazy for it. The pop quizzes keep me on my toes too." "Oh yeah. She loves those. Alright. Name Ampère’s law." "Ampère’s law, one of the basic relations between electricity and magnetism, stating quantitatively the relation of a magnetic field to the electric current or changing electric field that produces it. The law is named in honor of André-Marie Ampère, who by 1825 had laid the foundation of electromagnetic theory. An alternative expression of the Biot-Savart law, which also relates the magnetic field and the current that produces it, Ampère’s law is generally stated formally in the language of calculus: the line integral of the magnetic field around an arbitrarily chosen path is proportional to the net electric current enclosed by the path. James Clerk Maxwell is responsible for this mathematical formulation and for the extension of the law to include magnetic fields that arise without electric current, as between the plates of a capacitor, or condenser, in which the electric field changes with the periodic charging and discharging of the plates but in which no passage of electric charge occurs. Maxwell also showed that even in empty space a varying electric field is accompanied by a changing magnetic field. In this more general form, the so-called Ampère-Maxwell law is one of the four Maxwell equations that define electromagnetism." "That's right." Derrick replied without needing to look at the answer. You remember the things you learn in Ms.Rockingham's class. For fun though, Derrick slid his finger down the holo-card and the answer popped up. He switched to the next card. "Like I said. Studying like crazy." Joshua laughed. "My turn!" Hubert chimed in and took a card. "Ooooh. Gauss's Law." "The total of the electric flux out of a closed surface is equal to the charge enclosed divided by the permittivity. The electric flux through an area is defined as the electric field multiplied by the area of the surface projected in a plane perpendicular to the field. Gauss's Law is a general law applying to any closed surface. It is an important tool since it permits the assessment of the amount of enclosed charge by mapping the field on a surface outside the charge distribution. For geometries of sufficient symmetry, it simplifies the calculation of the electric field. Another way of visualizing this is to consider a probe of area A which can measure the electric field perpendicular to that area. If it picks any closed surface and steps over that surface, measuring the perpendicular field times its area, it will obtain a measure of the net electric charge within the surface, no matter how that internal charge is configured." "That's correct." Hubert said and activated the holo-card and it emitted the answer along with several equations. "Alright. Try this one." Clyde smiled. "Faraday's Law?" "Any change in the magnetic environment of a coil of wire will cause a voltage (emf) to be "induced" in the coil. No matter how the change is produced, the voltage will be generated. The change could be produced by changing the magnetic field strength, moving a magnet toward or away from the coil, moving the coil into or out of the magnetic field, rotating the coil relative to the magnet, etc. Faraday's law is a fundamental relationship which comes from Maxwell's equations. It serves as a succinct summary of the ways a voltage (or emf) may be generated by a changing magnetic environment. The induced emf in a coil is equal to the negative of the rate of change of magnetic flux times the number of turns in the coil. It involves the interaction of charge with magnetic field." "You are killing this!" "I prefer crushing it but thank you very much. What else do we have?" "Coulomb's Law." Diego Davidson challenged. "Like charges repel, unlike charges attract. The electric force acting on a point charge q1 as a result of the presence of a second point charge q2 is given by Coulomb's Law: where ε0 = permittivity of space. This satisfies Newton's third law because it implies that exactly the same magnitude of force acts on q2 . Coulomb's law is a vector equation and includes the fact that the force acts along the line joining the charges. Like charges repel and unlike charges attract. Coulomb's law describes a force of infinite range which obeys the inverse square law, and is of the same form as the gravity force. A negative force implies an attractive force. The force is directed along the line joining the two charges." The four friends continued quizzing him while another student walked into the cafeteria followed closely by a giant who entered through the extra tall side doors which had been designed for bigger students as he entered into the cafeteria. The first student, Randall Sharp, was built like a linebacker with a smart goatee and dark brown hair in a buzzcut. He was one of the taller students in the University and just as tall as Diego, who himself was slightly taller than Derrick. He only looked small next to his human tank classmate Owain Thomas. While Derrick and his group were tall, Owain towered over everyone in the school and he was almost as broad as he was tall. Being a brick naturally lead to muscular builds but Owain was one of the few who were described as Boulder-Bricks, extra large super strength type supers. He had to have his clothing custom made, including his school uniform. He was also one of the few truck drivers at the school as normal cars just didn't suit him. The reason behind his increased build, aside from his Advanced Gene, was because he'd gotten into a rough spot during the Invasion Of 2031 and threw himself into an intense workout program ever since. Derrick could relate. He looked up from the quiz and high-fived Randall and Owain as they walked by. Owain paused and looked at the card for a second. "The constant of proportionality k appearing in Coulomb's law is often called Coulomb's constant. Note that it can be expressed in terms of another constant, ε0 = permittivity of space. When describing the electric forces in atoms and nuclei, it is often convenient to work with the product of Coulomb's constant and the square of the electron charge since that product appears in electric potential energy and electric force expressions." "That's right man. I didn't know you took her class." "I'm currently taking it actually. Joshua and I. He's a lifesaver." Joshua smiled at his roommate. "Happy to help Owain." "Good idea. He's a bit of a genius himself." "A bit? I'll have you know I'm one of the highest scoring students here." Joshua smirked. "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches." "Jeremiah 9:23. Oh man you set me up again. Besides which, are you really one to boast about any of those?" "To be fair: I'm right up there with you guys in smarts, my family's pretty damn rich and I'm the strongest on campus next to the tank." " Keep tellin' yorself that." Randall quipped as he walked by them. "Anytime buzzcut." Derrick joked. Nicole looked up and beamed as Randall Sharp sat down at the table next to her. " Good mornin' beautiful." "Good morning yourself handsome." Nicole replied. " Did yer sleep well, eh?" "I always do. Because I know tomorrow is going to be another beautiful day on campus." " Every day on campus wiv yer is a beautiful one." "Awwwww you're so sweet babe." "You know we're eating here right?" Dolores smirked. "Oui, pardon!" She replied with a cartoonish shrug. The friends had a good laugh and Randall pulled out his phone and forwarded a poem to Nicole's E-Mail. Nicole's phone beeped and she pulled it out and looked over her E-Mails until she found the one from Randall and she opened it up. Param( [Parameter(Position=0, Mandatory=$true, HelpMessage="How Does She Answer?")] [string]$SheSaid) If($SheSaid -like "yes") { Function Get-Married { $SheSaidYes = Get-Date $TheBigDay = $SheSaidYes.AddDays(364) #A year would be too far! $FriendsandFamily = Get-Content -Path ".\friendsandfamily.cfg" ForEach ($LovedOne in $FriendsandFamily) { Send-MailMessage -To $LovedOne.Address } $DaysLeft = New-TimeSpan -Start $SheSaidYes -End $TheBigDay Do { Start-Sleep -s 86400 #Agonizing Seconds $DaysLeft = ($DaysLeft -1) } While($DaysLeft -gt 0) } Function Live-HappilyEverAfter { $Happiness = Get-Happiness $DaysLeft = Get-Content ".\ThingsWeCanNeverKnow.ini" ForEach ($DaysWithHer in $DaysLeft) { $Happiness = ($Happiness +1) Start-Sleep -s 86400 #Time Just Flies $DaysLeft = ($DaysLeft -1) } } Get-Married Live-HappilyEverAfter } Else { Exit } Nicole very nearly burst out laughing right then and there but responded with a giant heart to him. He smiled and texted one back to her and they clinked their drinks. "Ohhh wow. Wow do you...do you hear that?" Dawnesha asked Regina. "What is it? Could it be?" "Wedding Bells?" They asked at the same time. "You know I heard people were marrying young these days but this is pretty sudden." Josh joked. "Hey if you guys are gonna need a best man, just let me know!" Derrick called back to them. "Wotcher goin' on about, then, eh? Yor the bloomin' flower girl." "Find an outfit in my size and I just may consider it." Derrick joked. The friends had another hearty laugh together and continued joking around in between eating their breakfast. They eventually finished their morning meals and tossed the trash into the Clean and 'Cycle System before turning their trays into the washing units and then washing their hands. "Hey Derrick. Are you going to tell me about those animal mask people you mentioned?" "Uhhhhh." Derrick looked around the growing crowds of students and professors coming and going. "Maybe later. At the library. This isn't a story you talk about in public. It's not exactly the happiest of stories." Joshua and the others immediately around him couldn't help but notice the passing of sadness on his face before he perked up again. "So, ah, just be a bit patient and think it over. If you still want to hear about it after lunch, then I'll tell you all about it in a quiet corner of the library." "Okay then. Thank you for the warning Derrick." "You're welcome." "Well...whatever happened in the past. I'm glad you're here with us." Derrick flexed his bicep. "But of course. It takes a lot more than a band of crazies to bring me down. And thank you Josh." They fist bumped and continued to their own respective classes. Derrick walked across the campus grounds with his friends until he arrived at his computer sciences building and waved to them as he walked inside. To say the buildings were fancy was doing them a disservice. It would be better to describe each of them as futuristic. The first thing you saw when entering the lobby was a very nice waiting area with plenty of sitting room, a fountain, exotic plants, an information display and a hard light holographic map display that let students know where they were and where everything was, with health drink and snack dispensers on the walls and with classical music playing from speakers. Up on the ceiling was a holographic display greeting the students to the Computer Sciences building along with a holographic display of the founder of the University; Salvadore Barbaroman. A powerfully built man who nonetheless had the charming appearance of a quintessential English Gentleman who just happened to have an eyepatch over his left eye and a sword for a right hand. There were stories among the student body about what could've happened to him that caused such injuries but even his family members were mum about it. The most people had managed to dig up was that he was in a brutal fight. But nobody could decide if it had been with a Super Criminal, A War or some kind of Monster. All anybody knew for sure was that he survived it, came back stronger and put a sword on his hand. And really, what else do you need to know about the man besides that? Derrick walked to the left and proceeded up the walkway. The university had plenty of nice elevators but he preferred the exercise. It was only six floors up. He had plenty of time to get to class. "Oi mate, wait up." Derrick turned back around to Randall. "What's up man?" "I'm sorry but I overheard yer a wee bit earlier. Are yer okay, isit?" "I'm fine. It was ten years ago. A bunch of jackasses fucked with the wrong family and Rick'd for it." "Rick'd? Ohhh, like in The chuffin' Walkin' Dead, eh, mate?" "The other Rick." Randall laughed. "Ha! Oh shit I am sorry that I missed that knees-up." "No, trust me, you're not." Derrick shrugged and he turned around and they walked to class. "So are yer sure they won't be comin' back again, then, guv?" Derrick scoffed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Oh please. It's been ten years. If they were going to come back for another asskicking they would've done it by now. Besides, what are they gonna do if they did come back? Invade the campus? Security'll wreck their redneck asses before they get anywhere near the student body." Randall laughed. "Yor right about that! Struth! Tryin' ter attack Trinity University is like tryin' ter attack Champion City or a Military Base. Yor'd cop wrecked before yer knew wot 'appened." Champion City of course being one of the most advanced cities in the United States, let alone the world, and home of Khrysos Corporation HQ. And among the rest of the advanced security around the entire city, Khrysos Corporation had its own crime fighting unit that worked around the city to assist the police in keeping it crime free and to provide good morals and lessons to kids. The Khrysos Corporations Special Duty Peacekeeping Combat Unit: The Power Titans. Derrick and his friends had only seen holo-videos of them and watched them on the news and they were like futuristic ninjas the way they moved. "That's right. So don't worry about it man. I'm fine. We're all fine and the psychos went the way of Bunnyman." "Wot the hell fire is the chuffin' Bunnyman?" "Precisely." Derrick smirked. They continued shooting the breeze until they arrived on the sixth floor and walked through another door into the main area. From there they walked around the labyrinthine room until they arrived at COMPSCI 642 and Derrick swiped his ID and the door slid open to their auditorium style computer room. Derrick crossed the room and took his seat in the back and booted up his station. A hard light holographic homescreen popped up along with a similar keyboard and other features. Derrick used the holo-board to type in his personal password (9RiENvrXo28vX2sn70LU7Fe62J) and logged in as student. The keyboard was incredibly smooth and felt like liquid steel under your fingers and there was an awesome ripple effect if you ran your hands across the whole of it. As Derrick understood, hard light technology involved polyphotonics - quantum-entangled pairs of electromagnetic monopoles span tight linear EM fields between them, containing any light within the span of the field at laser-intensity, save the ends around the nodes where some photons can escape. One pair of nodes makes a line. With three nodes you can make two-dimensional shapes. With four or more you can make three-dimensional shapes, such as what more or less amounts to laser armour. While of course any structures supporting the nodes are solid, the actual 'hardlight' is not. It functions identically to a laser, except along a plane instead of a line. It was the Khrysos Corporation that invented the Solid Vision Hologram System which built on the principles of polyphotonics and utilized holographic projections for visuals, and force fields for physical effects, and a feedback and CPU system for computers, paving the way for the utilization of hard light to create temporary structures/barriers, improvised ramps/stairs, holograms, etc. Derrick navigated the computer by placing his hand over the mousepad. A light shined out of it onto his hand and he slowly moved his hand around to the internet browser, opened it up with a tap of his finger and pulled it up. He logged into the blackboard system and sat back to wait for the Professor to begin class. Students poured into the class for a few minutes until eventually the one hundred seats in the classroom were filled. They made small talk among themselves and Derrick greeted and waved to them as they entered and got comfortable. Five more minutes passed. No sign of the professor. Then ten. Still no sign of him. The students continued talking among themselves while they had the chance. Fifteen minutes passed. The students were getting restless and confused. He was never late. Thirty minutes passed and when there was still no sign of the Professor, Derrick stood up and looked around the room and scratched the back of his head. "Uhhhhhh guys? Does anybody know where Mr.Howland is?" "No idea." A student, Sha'quan Sanders, spoke up. "There's nothing in the E-mails about him running late today. Is there anything on the Blackboard?" Derrick sat down and his fingers flew over the keyboard. "Nnnnothing. That's not like him. You'd think they'd have a sub." "Think he's out sick?" Richmond Jackson asked. "Not unless 'e came dahn wiv it last night and 'ad ter go straight ter the bloomin' 'ospital but even then 'is trouble and strife would've at least called the bloody school." Randall pointed out. "He's right. If something happened I'm sure we'd know about it." "Ohhhh I'm not too worried. Mr. Howland's always been in good shape." Cora O'Neill pointed out as she relaxed in her chair. "I'm sure he's fiiiine. Let's just enjoy the free period." "Right." Derrick agreed and sat down to send an E-Mail to Mr.Howland. He clicked on the video option and smiled as the computer screen scanned him and then his ID. After a few seconds the screen glowed blue and then a reflection of his face appeared. Derrick cleared his throat. "Hello Mister Howland, it's Derrick. I'm just checking in with you because you didn't show up to class today and we didn't receive any notice. So I thought I'd check in that everything is okay with you sir. Please get in back in touch with the class when you get the chance sir. Thank you and I hope you're doing okay." Derrick ended the video message, played it back and, satisfied with it, he sent it to his E-Mail. Exiting the E-Mail, Derrick relaxed and got started on double checking his homework while the class was split between relaxing and chatting and getting ahead on schoolwork. A few of them placed VD-CHIPS on their heads, set timers and tuned out to enjoy Movie Simulations. After a few minutes Randall walked over to him and pulled up a chair. "So wotcher make o' this?" "I'm with you. Something's weird about this. He would've called ahead if he was sick or something." "Do yer think it's fowl play?" "I mean....maybe?" Derrick tapped his paper with the tip of his pencil. "But why? Who would go after the Howlands? They're Church Mice. They're the nicest people you've ever met. They're working at charities constantly. Who on Earth would go after them?" Randall lowered his voice to a whisper. "Could've been a burglary." "Which goes back to my point. I know the University pays well but the guy lives a humble life. He isn't flaunting his wealth and if somebody did attack his house I'm sure somebody would've called the police." Derrick went back to his Calculus for a few seconds before looking back up at him. "You see, shit like this is why I'm not a detective." "Oh I 'ear that. Probably best ter just leave it up ter the bobbies." "It's for the best." Derrick agreed. "So which group are you in?" "I'm gonna double check me work and then 'ave a nap." Randall declared and slid back across the room with the chair. "Living the dream." Derrick smiled and went back to double checking his schoolwork. After a few minutes of double checking his math of course his mind started drifting back to last night. "A burglary huh?" She walks in his room and time slowed down, pacing with her slow footsteps. She stopped beside his bed, and her hand slowly reached for his arm. He did everything he could to move his arm but it stayed still. It felt like it was pinned to the bed with tons of weight on it. Her fingers caresses over his forearm, while he lay still, paralyzed. He wanted to scream, but he couldn't find the strength to so much as move! It wasn't her, or her touch, that scared him, but his inability to move. In the darkness of a dream the mind would conjure up magical beasts with jaws that were home to razor teeth. They would move in an unnatural ways maybe a limp or be severely hunched over. Soon the breathing would increase rapidly and become gasps of breath. On awakening, despite the nightmare ending, a ghastly feeling of being watched by invisible eyes prolongs an uneasy feeling. "No. No way." He shook his head and got back to work. A nightmare wasn't exactly something to go on after all. Meanwhile Dolores, Nicole, Clyde and several other students were in Professor Daniella Bergamine's class working through a lecture on Trigonometric Substitution. Professor Bergamine taught at the front of the classroom utilizing a light display emitted from the blackboard. The numbers and the words would spin around and take the form of wordboxes next to her as she spoke to the students and they would follow along taking notes on the hard light computers which emitted the notes as lights. "Now class, let's suppose that we have a circle of radius a okay I will Center the origin and I want to evaluate the area of this quarter of a circle what's the answer so this day they answer it okay so we'll keep that in mind and now we go to do it systematically by calculating the area of this object right so we can set up our usual integral under curve so the area is going to be given by an integral from 0 to a y DX right so this is why we need to find the formula for wife so how can we express this curve as a function of X we know that x squared plus y squared equals a squared because it's a circle and we can resolve it for y because we're in the positive quadrant we have no doubt about the sine of Y it's positive so this is square root of a squared - 8x squared right so my formula for the area becomes the following definite integral okay so this is what I need to evaluate is this an easy integral so we've seen something like this and in principle we could try to do substitution right we can say that this is you okay do you DX is something like 2x but there is an X missing from here it usually such integrals involved times X DX in which case we have a signature of the derivative of this additional variable now we don't have that so this metal method of substitution will fail and we have to find a different method but luckily here we have the geometry working for us so this let's consider a certain level X okay and this is y as a function of X okay so and this is a the long side of this right triangle let's denote this angle theta okay and I'm going to express Y and express X as theta so what is the relationship between X and theta we can say that X is a times cosine theta correct okay so and this is a substitution that I'm going to use for this integral so let's just play with it a little bit let's say that when X is equal to 0 what is the value of theta X zero means we are here it so what is theta 90 degrees or PI over 2 so we can say that theta is PI over 2 when x equals a because I go from zero to a x equals a means the 10 here what is the otis theta is zero right this whole thing collapses into a straight line so theta is equal to zero you can also check it here for instance x equals 0 corresponds to cosine of PI over cosine of PI over 2 is 0 x equals a corresponds to cosine being equal to 1 which is theta equals 0 so this works ok and finally I want to calculate DX the differential so I have to differentiate both sides of this equation so I have a times minus sine theta D theta and now I'm going to try and rewrite this whole thing in terms of theta so I go from the x coordinate of each point to its angular coordinate it's got kind of like going to polar coordinates so for 0 I have PI over 2 for a I have 0 I have square root of a squared minus a squared cos squared theta and for DX I have this whole expression times a sine theta D theta and it should forget the minus sign which appears in front of the internal ok so now this is my new integral completely rewritten in terms of the angle and I can do things here for instance I can see that under the square root a square mouth multiplies both of the terms so in also I can see that PI over 2 is greater than 0 and I have a minus sign so I can slip and lose the - so I have from 0 to PI over 2 ok I have square root of a squared 1 minus cos squared theta we do it like this times a sine theta D theta what else can I do. This is the radius it's a positive number I'm going to take it out in fact I'm going to take this 8a and this out like this what do I have under square root now 1 minus cos squared theta can I simplify this expression yes of course this is sine squared theta so under the square root I have sine squared theta can I evaluate this expression square root of sine squared theta well in general it's plus or minus sine theta but because I'm here I know that theta is positive and it's sine is also positive so I can with confidence replace that with sine theta so here under the integral I have sine theta times sine theta d-theta. Next, we can use a trigonometric substitution to integrate the function f (x) = x x2 − 9. Check your work by integration using the substitution u = x2 . Referring to our trig substitution summary, we see that the recommended way to integrate an expression including x2 − 32 is to substitute x = 3 sec θ, in which case dx = 3 sec θ tan θ dθ and: x2 − 9 = (3 sec θ)2 − 9 = 9 sec2 θ − 9 = 3 sec2 θ − 1 x2 − 9 = 3 tan θ.We start by performing this substitution and simplifying: 2 x x − 9 dx = (3 sec θ)(3 tan θ)3 sec θ tan θ dθ = 27 sec2 θ tan2 θ dθ. At this point we substitute u = tan θ, so du = sec2 θ dθ and: x x2 − 9 dx = 27 sec2 θ tan2 θ dθ = 27 u2 duu3+c39 tan3 θ + c=27. We have an answer in terms of tan θ and we want an answer in terms of x. We know that x = 3 sec θ, or equivalently that sec θ = x3 . Keeping that fact in mind (or the fact that cos θ = x3 ) we draw a right triangle with one angle equal to θ in which the side adjacent to θ has length 3 and the hypotenuse has lengthx. By the Pythagorean theorem, the side opposite the angle θ has length √x2 − 9 and: √x2 − 9 tan θ = .3 We can now complete our calculation: x x2 − 9 dx = 9 tan3 θ + c1 x �x2 − 9 dx=�√ �3 x2 − 99+ c 3 =1 2 (x − 9)3/2 + c3. It is faster and more reliable to compute this integral via the substitution u = x2 − 9. If we do this we have du = 2x dx or x dx = 12 du and: � � �√ 12 x x − 9 dx =u du21 2 3/2=· u +c2313/2=u +c 3� �1 2 x x2 − 9 dx =(x − 9)3/2 + c. 32...." Naturally Nicole had a big smile on her face throughout the class, clearly enjoying herself as she breezed through her work. Dolores was doing the same and Clyde was working ahead of everyone. One student tried to pull up a video website but the browser refused to open. He tried again. Nothing. He tried again. Nothing. He tried again. Nothing. He tried a different browser. Nothing. He tried to pull up Galaga. Nothing. Professor Daniella Bergamine snapped her fingers a few times in his direction to get his attention. "Do pay attention Mister Spears. Remember that this is going to be on the test and that you are graded for participation." Kingsley Spears blushed and nodded. "Yes ma'am. Of course. Sorry about that." "I am not without compassion Mister Spears. Can you repeat the last minute back to the class?" "Oh...oh, right, sure." He stood up and cleared his throat. "The inverse trigonometric relations for sine, cosine, tangent, cosecant, secant, and cotangent are, respetively: arcsine, arccosine, arctangent, arccosecant, arcsecant, and arccotangent. Another way to write x = sin(y) is y = arcsin(x). The same holds true for all the inverse relations. Below these six relations are graphed. The graphs of the inverse relations differs from the graphs of the functions only in that the roles of x and y are interchanged. So far we have referred to these operations as relations. The reason is simple: the operations are not functions. Study the graphs above--do they pass the vertical line test? No. For a given input x, there are either zero, or an infinite number of values of y. This phenomenon is due to the fact that the trigonometric functions are periodic. As an example, let's examine the inverse relation arcsine. What is arcsin(2)? Because there are no angles whose sine is two, no solution exists. How about arcsin()? There are an infinite number of solutions, or angles whose sine is one-half. The domains of the inverse relations are the ranges of their corresponding original functions." "Correct! That's very good Kingsley. All is forgiven please get back to notetaking." "Yes ma'am. Thank you." He sat back to some applause from his classmates and a fist bump from his twin brother Leonidas Spears. "Goofballs." Dolores whispered with a smile on her face. "Nothing wrong with having fun in class." Nicole whispered back. Truly. This was the best. A nice simple relaxing life having fun at college with her friends. Everything was ordinary and perfectly balanced. Exactly the way she liked it. "You're right. This is fine." Dolores whispered back as class resumed and they quietly slapped high-fives. At the same time, Joshua, Owain, Hubert and Diego were listening to a lecture in their philosophy class on the subject of justice by Professor Dillon Curtis. At the end of the second part of the lecture, Joshua decided to stand up and speak his mind and he raised up his hand. "Yes sir! What would you like to add to the conversation?" Joshua picked up the microphone and took a deep breath and spoke his mind on the subject. "Well, sir, uhm, it is my personal opinion, that, the only possible way for one to acquit the cannibalism case is to think like an animal. Animals live to survive. They have no moral decisions to make- all they worry about is having a full belly before going to sleep every day. Human beings CANNOT be expected to behave like animals. We aren't governed by our desires, needs and wants. We don't live just to live. It is, in my own view, unacceptable to defend an act of vicious murder to appease your appetite. I feel that in supporting cannibalism by saying that....that no one would be affected by the death of that cabin boy is preposterous. No one knows how his life might have been- we are in no position to condemn someone to death for the greater good. We are not a pack of animals hunting for food, shelter or comfort. It is not pleasure or the sense of having our needs met that gives us true joy. Sacrifice, pain, sorrow, and suffering make our lives meaningful. Saying that the crew was governed to kill the boy out of 'love' and 'consideration' for their family feels wrong to me. It is not love that drove them to kill the boy- it was the bestial instinct to survive- no matter what the cost . Yes, we can keep concocting fanciful names and euphemisms to embellish these carnal sins. But that doesn't validate the act. We persistently think that we are doing the 'greatest good for the greatest number', and we are infatuated with the 'grey' line that separates the black from the white. But all we are trying to do is find a way to appease our conscience and somehow justify the wrong thing so that we can sculpt a world where we can do anything we feel like doing. Our idea of 'good' is wholly self-obsessed. Sure, the captain would have justified his act as doing greatest good for the crew- but all he really wanted was to 'survive'. Until we stop thinking about ourselves and stop equating happiness with the acquisition of our desires, needs and wants; until we start realizing that good comes from placing the needs of others before our own, and that it comes from sacrificing and suffering our desires for others....we will keep debating, pondering and thinking with our bellies, instead of our hearts." The class applauded Joshua's speech and the professor beamed. "Mister...Angelo, right? That was a beautiful speech. Thank you for sharing with us. Would anyone else like to share?" Diego stood up and picked up his mic. " Another point that was missed in the cannibalism lecture is the question of the responsibility of authority. The captain was the only person with the authority to make a unilateral life-or-death decision about the crew under him. His responsibility in that position would be to sacrifice himself to ensure their survival. If that isn't in the equation, then there's nothing noble about leadership - it's merely opportunism." "I also think they were taking law and legality out of the equations. One could argue that the captain abused his power as being seen socially as the highest law, not that he in this example was, but he was seen as such. So it isn't his responsibility instead his viewed value perhaps." Hubert pointed out. "Very interesting points gentlemen. But do you think the captain's responsibility in this position should be to sacrifice himself to ensure their survival? He would be more useful, in theory, alive rather than dead. One could in fact say that although what the captain did was morally wrong, he made the right strategic decision to further the chance of survival of his crew. By killing the weakest to allow the stronger ones to survive, their probability of survival would increase." "Well, yeah, but, how can you be so sure that cabin boy's sacrifice would save the lives of the rest of the crew members? So long as we're throwing what ifs out, what if nobody comes to save them? In that case...the boy's life was wasted. Or what if their saviors are coming the very next day, then his life was wasted as well...and the very fact that the captain is not going to be a willing sacrifice, makes cannibalism wrong no matter what. That's why the law and society emphasizes survivors when someone dies. Cannibalism is refuting the right to survive by everyone." Joshua pointed out again. Owain stood up and raised his hand next. "Yes sir!" "Well...sir, you said, repea'edly, you said, "the boy 'ad no family" an' 'hus no one 'o miss 'im. 'owever, 'his makes a assump'ion 'ha' you knah 'he fu'ure ov 'ha' boy. Tha' boy could 'ave grown 'o 'ave a family 'ha', given genera'ions, could 'ave a mawe profound impac' on po'en'ial lives 'han 'he 3 men. I would argue 'ha' if 'he men 'ruly fel' 'ha' one mus' die 'o save 'he o'hers 'hen i' should ei'her be 'he larges' aw oldes'. Ei'her you ge' 'he mos' grub from 'he person you kill aw you assume 'ha' you are condemnin 'he fewes' years ov life. If 'hey fel' 'he boy would die regardless ov wha' 'hey did 'hen 'hey should 'ave wai'ed faw i' 'o occur. Bu' 'hey 'ook i' upon 'hemselves 'o commi' 'he ac'. Thus ac'in in selfishness...'ha' your needs 'ake preceden'. Thus guil'y." The Professor applauded his class. "Thank you for such wise and well thought out answers ladies and gentlemen. Brilliant minds like yours are what make this class so much fun for everyone." The class continued in this way for awhile until time ran out and The Professor thanked everybody for coming and assigned their homework. At the same time the other courses also let out and the hallways filled up with students and professors going every which way. They eventually ran into Derrick and Randall exiting their own building and he waved them over. "Sooo....something strange happened in class today." "Another virtual tour?" "Nah man: Professor Howland didn't show up." "Okay that is different." "Yeah. No email or notice or anything." Derrick shrugged. "I mean, maybe he's out sick? But this is the first time he's been absent." "It's not a big deal, right? I'm bloody well sure 'e's not so bad." Randall shrugged. "Right good news is: We got a free study period out o' it. Got ahead on us work we did." "Sounds like fun. We debated cannibalism." Joshua said as they walked to their next class. "Seriously?" "Seriously." Hubert agreed. "Ever heard of the cabin boy case?" "Oh, Lord." Derrick sighed. "Yeah. I've heard that one. And they were in the wrong. In that situation it's the duty of the leader, the captain, to do what is right for the survival of his crew. But cannibalism....no. No that's not an option. You know what that gets you? Fucking face skin wearing wendigos man. That's what that gets you." "Well yeah...along with displaying displayed extreme greed, gluttony, and excess. Until Dawn left out a lot." Nicole spoke up. "Really? Uh, such as?" "Welll.....the best way to describe them is a mixture of both the Ojibwe's legends and the the Algonquian legends: “A giant with a heart of ice; sometimes it is thought to be entirely made of ice. Its body is skeletal and deformed, with missing lips and toes. It was a large creature, as tall as a tree, with a lipless mouth and jagged teeth. Its breath was a strange hiss, its footprints full of blood, and it ate any man, woman or child who ventured into its territory. And those were the lucky ones. Sometimes, the Wendigo chose to possess a person instead, and then the luckless individual became a Wendigo himself, hunting down those he had once loved and feasting upon their flesh. This creature has long been known among the Algonquian Ojibwe, Eastern Cree, Saulteaux, Westmain Swampy Cree, Naskapi, and Innu peoples who have described them as giants, many times larger than human beings. Although descriptions can vary somewhat, common to all these cultures is the view that the wendigo is a malevolent, cannibalistic, supernatural being which is strongly associated with winter, the north, coldness, famine and starvation." "You see? You see? That just proves my point!" Derrick insisted as he high-fived Nicole. "Wow that sounds like something I wouldn't mess with." Josh admitted. "Think you could take one big guy?" He asked Owain. "Wendigo or not, I haven't met anything that could toe-to-toe with me yet." Owain replied. "Sounds like it would be a good work out though." "That's the spirit mate! Right! Show them giant tossers who's the chuffin' boss!" Randall pumped his fist in the air. Diego was quiet for a moment before looking back to Derrick. "Okay, but, like, hypothetically, if you were in that situation..." "I'd think of a way out. I always have. I'd save everyone." Derrick answered quickly. "......Ah, shit, hey look I'm sorry man." "Don't worry about it." Derrick slapped his bro on the back. "Anybody else have a fun class experience?" "Math was nice and quiet." Clyde spoke up. "And of course that would be the normal class." Derrick joked to his friends laughs. The group soon parted to go their respective classes. As Derrick was walking up to his next class, Diego quickly caught up with him. "Hey Derrick. Look, I really am sorry about that. I know what happened was...horrible and I shouldn't have gone there." "It's alright D'go. Yeah it sucked ass but that doesn't mean I'm going to flip on you for asking a question. You're my friend. Nothing's gonna change that." "Thanks. Yeah, you're right. But what you said earlier? Saving everyone? I think that's the right answer." "That's the only answer." Derrick replied proudly and they resumed walking to class. "By the way: Have you ever heard of Shepard?" "A person or the town?" Derrick asked. "The town." Diego specified. "I've heard stories but I've never visited it myself." "Yeah, well, people say they have a Sasquatch. It's on their site." "Oh cool! Any pictures of it?" Diego pulled up the site on his phone. "Let's see...yeah, no, here we go: Apparently it doesn't like being photographed and the cameras and phones always deactivate around him." "Sasquatches can mess with technology now?" "Apparently. Think it's true?" "I gotta be straight with you D'go, I've seen some weird stuff. This is perfectly logical compared to the things I've been through." "Cool, cool." He turned off the phone. "You know what? We need to take a road trip there. Next summer. All of us. We'll take a road trip down to Shepard to see if the rumors are true." "Throw in some Ox Burgers and I'm sold." "That goes without saying doesn't it?" They laughed and continued on towards their next class: The Science Of Space Colonies.
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Post by SuperKamiGuy1 on Oct 1, 2020 0:31:03 GMT
RINITY UNIVERSITY, WHITEHAWK CITY,AGAMEMNON. FALL The air is so cold yet the trees are on fire. Scarlet and gold licks at the blue sky, no rain clouds today. The chill in the post-dawn air is the first hint that winter isn't far behind. Then these trees will stand naked, bereft of their color. But for now they line the avenue and his morning run from and to the University was more vibrant than any carnival parade. Only weeks ago the air was warm and the streets in the wide avenue were deep summer green, the whispering rustle of the leaves only audible once the daytime traffic petered to an almost stop. Now they are tinged with red and gold; not yet deserting their lofty branches in the gusts that pushed against his white and gold jogging suit. He couldn't help but muse on the fact that he went to sleep when it was dark and woke up to jog in the dark, his only light source was the shining lights emitted by his suit. He had it on a lower setting right now but if someone were to try and mug him he could turn it way up, blind them and then kick their teeth in. Derrick Blackburn didn't develop his insane workout regimen just for fun after all. You had to be ready if one of those self styled Super Criminals attacked after all. Granted, he was certain he could handle the low level guys, he beat Volatile The Clown and Sonic Shriek after all, granted the latter was due to ambushing her and checking her throat before she could scream, but a win was a win in his book, but if someone like The Annihilator showed up, it was run or die. Caroline North and The Diamond Roses barely defeated Annihilator after all, and they were a team of Gamma-Ranked Superheroes, a normal fighting him would be suicide. He pushed it out of his head and resumed jogging. The city of Whitehawk was built atop the steep facade of a mighty fjord and is truly a leading-edge metropolis. Its elegance is matched by the backdrop of green, fertile fields which have helped shape the city to what it is today. The resources these fields brought were of great importance, but they were also influential when it came to architectural designs as the vast majority of buildings are slim and tall, which mimics the grasses and openness of the fields around them. The skyline is packed with giant skyscrapers and they clearly show what they represent to the city itself. Life is great in Whitehawk and it has attracted a lot of attention. A few new cultures have left their mark not just on education, but also upon the city's identity. What historically was a city of no variation has grown into a multicultural hub, a large melting pot that unites 9 million people to this day. It's this multicultural identity that has truly left its mark. Hundreds of diners, take-outs and ethnic restaurants offer a plethora of culinary choices and those who feel hungry for something else can enjoy sightseeing, an amusement park, the national park, theaters, musical activities, adventure sports, photography, musical activities, arcades or one of the many other recreational venues. Derrick soon finished his 8.07783 Mile run and returned to the grounds of Trinity University, a massive, sprawling, campus covering 23,000 acres of land with the latest of advanced technology. Derrick pulled back his hood and unzipped his suit to reveal his University uniform underneath and his ID held by a Black Lanyard Key Ring Necklace as the invisible checkpoints around the scanned him. Anyone caught by the scanners not wearing an ID or Visitor Pass would be reported to security. Fortunately Derrick did so he was fine. He crossed the campus until he arrived at Male Dormitory A and walked inside. Derrick pulled back his hood and unzipped his suit to reveal his University uniform underneath and his ID held by a Black Lanyard Key Ring Necklace as the invisible checkpoints around the scanned him. Anyone caught by the scanners not wearing an ID or Visitor Pass would be reported to security. Fortunately Derrick did so he was fine. He crossed the campus until he arrived at Male Dormitory A and walked inside. Derrick entered the doorway between the inside and outside doors and had his ID Scanned. The doors lit up and he could see his reflection in the glass. Derrick is a tall young man with short, dark brown, spiky hair and emerald eyes that gleam interestingly. He has a muscular build. Derrick smiled and ran his fingers though his hair and unzipped his jogging suit fully as he stepped through the sliding doors. With the upper half of his suit hanging off back, his uniform was more exposed: A long sleeved solid silver shirt is neatly tucked into the darker cyan blue trousers and covered with a darker cyan blue blazer with black trim that lines the cuffs and collar and has gold buttons for decoration. A broad metallic gold tie rests neatly in the middle. Derrick walked up the short stairs into the main hallway. He took a minute to bathe in the starlight streaming in through the windows before he strolled across the red and gold carpet covered porcelain stoneware floor tiles, taking a moment to wave to the security guards stationed on either side of the hallway, and then walked up the luxurious staircases and slid his hand along the rails. For a moment he thought he saw something dart out of the corner of his eye but he quickly forgot about it. After traversing 21 floors as quietly as possible Derrick finally arrived and walked around the railing and down the right hallway to the room on the end and swiped his ID to unlock the door and he stepped into his dorm. The dorm was massive, being molded after a five bedroom apartment, with tons of room for each of them. Derrick entered as quietly as possible and locked the door behind him. Derrick finally slipped off the rest of his tracksuit and set it on a chair and then walked to the middle of the dorm, did some breathing exercises and began his next workout: 2-sets of 200 Push-ups, 2-sets of 200 Sit-ups and 2-sets of 200 Squats. Derrick rested for a minute and then stood up, grabbed his tracksuit and walked to his bedroom, walked in, tossed his tracksuit onto a chair and then took his uniform off, revealing his chiseled, musclebound physique he's spent years sculpting. A combination of a nanite-treatment as a kid and years of proper diet, fitness training, working out and MMA Training had turned his body into rock solid steel flesh. Derrick smiled and stretched and then he folded his uniform, placed it in the basket and crawled into bed for a nap before classes. Derrick always found it easiest to compare the sensation of drifting off to sleep as being caught in a carousel of thoughts. Every idea, notion and event from the day would replay in your mind, demanding analysis before you would be allowed to sleep. Then, when the carousel finally came to a stop, your mind was able to meander freely in the random thoughts that is the precursor of sleep, as you would often realize that you're close to drifting off and then the anxiety would start the carousel up all over again. Innnn Derrick's case he tossed and turned as he ruminated on his classes at the university, his dormwork, his exams, his workouts, the super-criminal reports, hanging out with his friends and more. This continued until the bedroom fell away and Derrick found himself walking up a staircase...for hours. No matter if he went upstairs or down, he kept coming back to the same spot. A light bulb overhead shown down on him and it was his only source of light. Derrick tried to step forward only for the light to immediately switch off and leave him in the darkness. Derrick quickly figured out that this left him with only two choices: To get back in place or walk to the next floor in the darkness only to find himself in the same spot again. After thousands of attempts at escaping the stairs, he chose to stay in place. He took a few deep breaths trying calm himself while he sat down to make himself comfortable while he waited to wake up. The light slowly moves from him to a door a few feet to his right. She stepped out and slowly walked over to him. He stepped back and the light went out immediately. She walks in his room and time slowed down, pacing with her slow footsteps. She stopped beside his bed, and her hand slowly reached for his arm. He did everything he could to move his arm but it stayed still. It felt like it was pinned to the bed with tons of weight on it. Her fingers caresses over his forearm, while he lay still, paralyzed. He wanted to scream, but he couldn't find the strength to so much as move! It wasn't her, or her touch, that scared him, but his inability to move. In the darkness of a dream the mind would conjure up magical beasts with jaws that were home to razor teeth. They would move in an unnatural ways maybe a limp or be severely hunched over. Soon the breathing would increase rapidly and become gasps of breath. On awakening, despite the nightmare ending, a ghastly feeling of being watched by invisible eyes prolongs an uneasy feeling. Können Sie sich an mich erinnern?
Liebst Du Mich?Derricks' eyes opened and he sat up as his alarm went off and sunlight shined in through the windows. He could feel the sweat drench his skin, the throbbing of his eyes, the ringing screams vibrating in his ears, and the thumping of his heart against his chest. His fingers were curled into a fist, nails digging into his palm. He couldn't hear his rapid breathing, but he could feel the oxygen flooding in and out of his lungs. Fear. Fear is shackles, fear is a knife in the gut slowly twisted, fear is a constant hammer on the head. Yet fear also evaporates like water under the light of the early morning sun. When fear comes walk with confidence right past, because like the ghosts of children's nightmares, fear is an illusion. Derrick sat down on the bed and performed breathing exercises as he calmed himself. Once he'd calmed down, Derrick got undressed and stepped into the bathroom to wash up with its gleaming granite counter tops, gold framed mirrors, jacuzzi tub, walk in shower room with multiple shower heads, fluffy towels neatly arranged, tile floor with under-floor heating, fluffy bath mat and a wicker laundry basket. The University showers have panels with more than a hundred options you can choose regulating water temperature, pressure, soaps, shampoos, scents, oils, foot massagers, full body jets, LED lights, radios, ventilation fans, speakers, a cleaning function and massaging sponges. When you step out on a mat, heaters come on that blow dry your body. Instead of struggling with knots in wet hair, you merely place your hand on a box that sends a current through your scalp, untangling, parting, and drying your hair almost instantly. The shower turns on at the press of a button, the perfect pressure and temperature. Derrick set the pressure, soaps, scents, oil and massaging oils to his usual setting and let it wash away his nightmares with a big smile on his face. Finished cleaning up, he turned it off and walked out and grabbed a towel. He'd just finished dressing when there was a knock on his door. "'Comin!" Derrick walked over to the door to unlock it only to discover it was already unlocked. "That's...weird. Could've sworn I locked up." He shrugged and opened the door to be greeted by Hubert Hunt. This contemplative gentleman has hooded brown eyes that are like two drops of chocolate. His luxurious coffee-colored hair is worn in a mushroom cut weave. He is very tall and a wide-chested build. His skin is cream-colored. He has an elegant nose. His mannerisms give you an impression of a thoughtful scholar "Mornin' Bro!" "Hey man, just checking in on you. We didn't hear you come in last night." "I affectionately refer it to as "Stealth Mode"." Riiight, stealth mode." Derrick chuckled and stepped out. "Hey do you know if anyone else came in?" "Not that I'm aware." "Hm." Derrick walked across the dorm and double checked the door. Sure enough it was still locked. "Is everything okay, Derrick?" "I'm fine. I'm fine." Derrick assure him. "Just a weird dream." "Yeah, well, that's what all night horrorthon will get you." Clyde Crawford joked. This man gives you the impression of a clever fox. His eyes are like two blue sapphires. He has long blonde hair worn in a spiked mullet with a ponytail. He is very tall and has an athletic build. "Noooo that's this weekend." Derrick smiled. "Nocturnal Nightmare 666 is a masterpiece and I'm going to prove it to you." "Challenge accepted." "Is Diego awake yet?" "Still doing his pullups. He'll be up in a sec." "Diiiid someone call for God?" Diego Davidson asked while stepping out of his room. "Present!" Derrick called back. Diego Davidson. This man puts you in mind of a regal ruler. He has round blue eyes. His fine, silky, shoulder-length, golden orange hair is worn in a style that reminds you of a puffy dandelion. He is very tall and has a powerful build. His skin is tanned. He has thick eyebrows. The two friends slapped their palms together with enough of a boom that it echoed around the room as they grasped one anothers palms and squeezed. After a few seconds of struggle Derrick slowly forced his hand down with a smile on his face. "You guys gonna need the room tonight?" Clyde asked. "As attractive as Derrick is, my heart belongs to Cairistìne. Sorry man." Diego laughed as they let go. "No problem Diego. Are you two still going steady?" "Yeah. She's keeping busy up at Millennium University's Department of Applied Multimedia Networking Mainframe Application Development Division. once she graduates she's planning to put in a few more years and then land a cushy job at KhrysosCorp." "Good idea." Hubert complimented. "Are you going to be working there with her?" "Nah, I'm studying Cytology. I'm aiming for working at Gabrielle Enterprises once I get some experience in." "Oh you guys are going to be rich." "Right?! I think working there would be the coolest job ever." "I can imagine." Hubert agreed. "What about you 'Rick?" "I...don't know. I'm consideing joining the military for awhile and maybe becoming a police officer or something afterwords. There's a lot of lunatics out there, someone's gotta stand up to them, The Capes won't always be in the area and who are you gonna call?" "Officer Blackburn: Super Cop. I can see it." Derrick laughed with his friends. "Come on, let's get some food, I'm starved." Derrick and his friends grabbed their bags and waked out of the dorm. "Are we taking the elevator?" Diego joked. "Do we ever?" Derrick smirked. The four friends laughed and joked as they descended the staircase. "Look, all I'm saying is, I don’t like to use the term “triple threat,” because it suggests that I’m limited to only three skills, but the fact is, in addition to pranking and drinking, I’m a rather phenomenal singer." Clyde laughed. "Seriously. Karaoke night this Saturday. We're gonna blow some minds." "I'm in. The world needs to hear our angelic voices." "I'll be sure to practice." Hubert said. "Hey guys! What's up?" They looked up to see Joshua Angelo, a young man of tall height, with golden colored hair and hazel eyes with a golden cross necklace around his neck. Derrick high-fived him and he started walking with them. "Singing. We're hitting a karaoke bar this weekend. You in?" "Sounds like fun. Who's our driver?" "We'll decide later by way of rocks-paper-scissors." "I'll take that challenge." "My man!" Diego fist bumped him. Even the cafeteria of the University was beyond fancy with large mullioned windows, long embroidered curtains, dark walnut tables, flowers on each table, delicate live piano music, flagstone tile floor, a lounge area with embroidered couches, oval coffee tables with splendidly proportioned cabriole legs, tea served from silver trays in white teapots. Students and faculty alike would come here often for fine dining and relaxation so it wasn't unusual to see people just chilling inside at any point during the day. One student in particular was enjoying a salad while reviewing her math work. It was a kitchen sink salad. Everything was in it but the kitchen sink. There was lettuce, cucumber, tomato, apple, walnut, toasted seeds, fresh herb leaves, cheese, celery and radish. The salad was tossed in a rich creamy dressing and served with fresh bread. Delicious. "Okay let's see here: sec(θ)=cos(θ)... Play with the point on the unit circle to see how cosine and secant change together. Notice how when cosine is small, secant is big, and vice versa. It turns out they always multiply to exactly 1111. We can also see this identity using similar triangles. Slide the dot below the graph to see one triangle transform into the other. Watch carefully to see which segments correspond to each other. csc(θ)=1sin(θ)\csc(\theta)= \dfrac{1}{\sin(\theta)}csc(θ)=sin(θ). Play with the point on the unit circle to see how sine and cosecant change together. Notice how when sine is small, cosecant is big, and vice versa. It turns out they always multiply to exactly 1111. We can also see this identity using similar triangles. Slide the dot below the graph to see one triangle transform into the other. Watch carefully to see which segments correspond to each other. cot(θ)=1tan(θ)\cot(\theta)= \dfrac{1}{\tan(\theta)}cot(θ)=tan(θ). 1cotangent, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, equals, start fraction, 1, divided by, tangent, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, end fraction. Play with the point on the unit circle to see how tangent and cotangent change together. Notice how when tangent is small, cotangent is big, and vice versa. It turns out they always multiply to exactly 1111. We can also see this identity using similar triangles. Slide the dot below the graph to see one triangle transform into the other. Watch carefully to see which segments correspond to each other. tan(θ)=sin(θ)cos(θ)\tan(\theta)= \dfrac{\sin(\theta)}{\cos(\theta)}tan(θ)=cos(θ) sin(θ)tangent, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, equals, start fraction, sine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, divided by, cosine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, end fraction. We can see this identity using similar triangles. Slide the dot below the graph to see one triangle transform into the other. Watch carefully to see which segments correspond to each other. cot(θ)=cos(θ)sin(θ)\cot(\theta)= \dfrac{\cos(\theta)}{\sin(\theta)}cot(θ)=sin(θ)cos(θ)cotangent, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, equals, start fraction, cosine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, divided by, sine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, end fraction. We can see this identity using similar triangles. Slide the dot below the graph to see one triangle transform into the other. Watch carefully to see which segments correspond to each other. Pythagorean identities: sin2(θ)+cos2(θ)=12\sin^2(\theta) + \cos^2(\theta)=1^2sin2(θ)+cos2(θ)=12sine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, plus, cosine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, equals, 1, start superscript, 2, end superscript. This identity comes from writing down the Pythagorean theorem. tan2(θ)+12=sec2(θ)\tan^2(\theta) +1^2=\sec^2(\theta)tan2(θ)+12=sec2(θ) This identity comes from writing down the Pythagorean theorem for the triangle. cot2(θ)+12=csc2(θ)\cot^2(\theta) + 1^2=\csc^2(\theta)cot2(θ)+12=csc2(θ) This identity comes from writing down the Pythagorean theorem for the triangle. Identities that come from sums, differences, multiples, and fractions of angles. These are all closely related, but let's go over each kind. Angle sum and difference identities. sin(θ+ϕ)=sinθcosϕ+cosθsinϕ\sin(\theta+\phi)=\sin\theta\cos\phi+\cos\theta\sin\phisin(θ+ϕ)=sinθcosϕ+cosθsinϕ sin(θ−ϕ)=sinθcosϕ−cosθsinϕ\sin(\theta-\phi)=\sin\theta\cos\phi-\cos\theta\sin\phisin(θ−ϕ)=sinθcosϕ−cosθsinϕ cos(θ+ϕ)=cosθcosϕ−sinθsinϕ\cos(\theta+\phi)=\cos\theta\cos\phi-\sin\theta\sin\phicos(θ+ϕ)=cosθcosϕ−sinθsinϕ cos(θ−ϕ)=cosθcosϕ+sinθsinϕ\cos(\theta-\phi)=\cos\theta\cos\phi+\sin\theta\sin\phicos(θ−ϕ)=cosθcosϕ+sinθsinϕ The figure shows a way of proving the angle sum identities. The left and right sides of the rectangle are equal, giving us: sin(θ+ϕ)=sinθcosϕ+cosθsinϕ\purple{\sin(\theta+\phi)}=\blue{\sin\theta}\red{\cos\phi}+\blue{\cos\theta}\red{\sin\phi}sin(θ+ϕ)=sinθcosϕ+cosθsinϕ The top and bottom sides are also equal, giving us: cos(θ+ϕ)=cosθcosϕ−sinθsinϕ\purple{\cos(\theta+\phi)}=\blue{\cos\theta}\red{\cos\phi}-\blue{\sin\theta}\red{\sin\phi}cos(θ+ϕ)=cosθcosϕ−sinθsinϕ. It's easiest to make sense of this diagram if you start with the right triangle in the middle of the diagram and build outward using the right triangle definitions of the trig functions. A similar diagram could show the angle difference identities. (Technically, this isn't a proof for all possible values of θ\thetaθtheta and ϕ\phiϕ, but the identities do apply for all values.) tan(θ+ϕ)=tanθ+tanϕ1−tanθtanϕ\tan(\theta+\phi)=\dfrac{\tan\theta+\tan\phi}{1-\tan\theta\tan\phi}tan(θ+ϕ)=1−tanθtanϕ tanθ+tanϕ tan(θ−ϕ)=tanθ−tanϕ1+tanθtanϕ\tan(\theta-\phi)=\dfrac{\tan\theta-\tan\phi}{1+\tan\theta\tan\phi}tan(θ−ϕ)=1+tanθtanϕ tanθ−tanϕ The figure shows a way of proving the angle sum identity for tangent. This one is a little bit tricky to make sense of. It's all about building up to the triangle in the upper-left part of the diagram. When you apply the right triangle definition of tangent to that triangle, you get: tan(θ+ϕ)=oppositeadjacent=tanθ+tanϕ1−tanθtanϕ It's easiest to make sense of this diagram if you start with the segment at the bottom of the diagram and build upward using the right triangle definitions of the trig functions (SOH CAH TOA). A similar diagram could show the angle difference identity. Technically, this isn't a proof for all possible values of θ\thetaθtheta and ϕ\phiϕ, but the identities do apply for all values. Double angle identities: sin(2θ)=2sinθcosθ\sin(2\theta)=2\sin\theta\cos\thetasin(2θ)=2sinθcosθsine, left parenthesis, 2, theta, right parenthesis, equals, 2, sine, theta, cosine, theta. We can get this identity if we take the angle sum identity for sine, but make both angles the same. sin(θ+ϕ)=sinθcosϕ+cosθsinϕ\sin(\blue\theta+\red\phi)=\sin\blue\theta\cos\red\phi+\cos\blue\theta\sin\red\phisin(θ+ϕ)=sinθcosϕ+cosθsinϕ. sin(θ+θ)=sinθcosθ+cosθsinθ\sin(\blue\theta+\blue\theta)=\sin\blue\theta\cos\blue\theta+\cos\blue\theta\sin\blue\thetasin(θ+θ)=sinθcosθ+cosθsinθsine, left parenthesis, start color blue, theta, end color blue, plus, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis, equals, sine, start color blue, theta, end color blue, cosine, start color blue, theta, end color blue, plus, cosine, start color blue, theta, end color blue, sine, start color blue, theta, end color blue sin(2θ)=2sinθcosθ\sin(2\blue\theta)=2\sin\blue\theta\cos\blue\thetasin(2θ)=2sinθcosθsine, left parenthesis, 2, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis, equals, 2, sine, start color blue, theta, end color blue, cosine, start color blue, theta, end color blue cos(2θ)=2cos2θ−1\cos(2\theta)=2\cos^2\theta-1cos(2θ)=2cos2θ−1cosine, left parenthesis, 2, theta, right parenthesis, equals, 2, cosine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, theta, minus, 1 We can also get this one from the angle sum identity, but we need to do a little extra manipulation. First, let's make both angles the same. cos(θ+ϕ)=cosθcosϕ−sinθsinϕ\cos(\blue\theta+\red\phi)=\cos\blue\theta\cos\red\phi-\sin\blue\theta\sin\red\phicos(θ+ϕ)=cosθcosϕ−sinθsinϕ cos(θ+θ)=cosθcosθ−sinθsinθ\cos(\blue\theta+\blue\theta)=\cos\blue\theta\cos\blue\theta-\sin\blue\theta\sin\blue\thetacos(θ+θ)=cosθcosθ−sinθsinθcosine, left parenthesis, start color blue, theta, end color blue, plus, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis, equals, cosine, start color blue, theta, end color blue, cosine, start color blue, theta, end color blue, minus, sine, start color blue, theta, end color blue, sine, start color blue, theta, end color blue cos(2θ)=cos2θ−sin2θ\cos(2\blue\theta)=\cos^2\blue\theta-\sin^2\blue\thetacos(2θ)=cos2θ−sin2θcosine, left parenthesis, 2, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis, equals, cosine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, start color blue, theta, end color blue, minus, sine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, start color blue, theta, end color blue. Now, we can use the identity sin2θ+cos2θ=1\sin^2\theta +\cos^2\theta= 1sin2θ+cos2θ=1sine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, theta, plus, cosine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, theta, equals, 1 to put the right-hand side in terms of just cosines. cos(2θ)=cos2θ−(1−cos2θ)\cos(2\blue\theta)=\cos^2\blue\theta-(1-\cos^2\blue\theta)cos(2θ)=cos2θ−(1−cos2θ)cosine, left parenthesis, 2, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis, equals, cosine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, start color blue, theta, end color blue, minus, left parenthesis, 1, minus, cosine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis cos(2θ)=cos2θ−1+cos2θ\cos(2\blue\theta)=\cos^2\blue\theta-1+\cos^2\blue\thetacos(2θ)=cos2θ−1+cos2θcosine, left parenthesis, 2, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis, equals, cosine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, start color blue, theta, end color blue, minus, 1, plus, cosine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, start color blue, theta, end color blue cos(2θ)=2cos2θ−1\cos(2\blue\theta)=2\cos^2\blue\theta-1cos(2θ)=2cos2θ−1cosine, left parenthesis, 2, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis, equals, 2, cosine, start superscript, 2, end superscript, start color blue, theta, end color blue, minus, 1 tan(2θ)=2tanθ1−tan2θ\tan(2\theta)=\dfrac{2\tan\theta}{1-\tan^2\theta}tan(2θ)=1−tan2θ 2tanθtangent, left parenthesis, 2, theta, right parenthesis, equals, start fraction, 2, tangent, theta, divided by, 1, minus, tangent, start superscript, 2, end superscript, theta, end fraction. This one also comes from the angle sum identity. tan(θ+ϕ)=tanθ+tanϕ1−tanθtanϕ\tan(\blue\theta+\red\phi)=\dfrac{\tan\blue\theta+\tan\red\phi}{1-\tan\blue\theta\tan\red\phi}tan(θ+ϕ)=1−tanθtanϕ. tanθ+tanϕ tan(θ+θ)=tanθ+tanθ1−tanθtanθ\tan(\blue\theta+\blue\theta)=\dfrac{\tan\blue\theta+\tan\blue\theta}{1-\tan\blue\theta\tan\blue\theta}tan(θ+θ)=1−tanθtanθ tanθ+tanθtangent, left parenthesis, start color blue, theta, end color blue, plus, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis, equals, start fraction, tangent, start color blue, theta, end color blue, plus, tangent, start color blue, theta, end color blue, divided by, 1, minus, tangent, start color blue, theta, end color blue, tangent, start color blue, theta, end color blue, end fraction tan(2θ)=2tanθ1−tan2θ\tan(2\blue\theta)=\dfrac{2\tan\blue\theta}{1-\tan^2\blue\theta}tan(2θ)=1−tan2θ 2tanθtangent, left parenthesis, 2, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis, equals, start fraction, 2, tangent, start color blue, theta, end color blue, divided by, 1, minus, tangent, start superscript, 2, end superscript, start color blue, theta, end color blue, end fraction. Half angle identities sinθ2=±1−cosθ2\sin\dfrac\theta2=\pm\sqrt{\dfrac{1-\cos\theta}{2}}sin2 θ=±2 1−cosθ sine, start fraction, theta, divided by, 2, end fraction, equals, plus minus, square root of, start fraction, 1, minus, cosine, theta, divided by, 2, end fraction, end square root cosθ2=±1+cosθ2\cos\dfrac\theta2=\pm\sqrt{\dfrac{1+\cos\theta}{2}}cos2 θ=±2 1+cosθ cosine, start fraction, theta, divided by, 2, end fraction, equals, plus minus, square root of, start fraction, 1, plus, cosine, theta, divided by, 2, end fraction, end square root tanθ2=±1−cosθ1+cosθ= 1−cosθsinθ= sinθ1+cosθ\begin{aligned} \tan\dfrac{\theta}{2}&=\pm\sqrt{\dfrac{1-\cos\theta}{1+\cos\theta}}\\ \\ &=~~~~~~~\dfrac{1-\cos\theta}{\sin\theta}\\ \\ & =~~~~~~~\dfrac{\sin\theta}{1+\cos\theta}\end{aligned}tan2 θ=±1+cosθ 1−cosθ = sinθ 1−cosθ= 1+cosθ sinθ We can get all of these by taking the double angle formulas and making the substitution: θ→θ2\blue\theta\rightarrow\red{\dfrac{\theta}{2}}θ→2 θstart color blue, theta, end color blue, right arrow, start color red, start fraction, theta, divided by, 2, end fraction, end color red. Then there's some rearranging to do. For example: sin(2θ)=2sinθcosθ\sin(2\blue\theta)=2\sin\blue\theta\cos\blue\thetasin(2θ)=2sinθcosθsine, left parenthesis, 2, start color blue, theta, end color blue, right parenthesis, equals, 2, sine, start color blue, theta, end color blue, cosine, start color blue, theta, end color blue turns into...sin(2θ2)=2sinθ2cosθ2\sin(\cancel2\red{\dfrac{\theta}{\cancel2}})=2\sin\red{\dfrac{\theta}{2}}\cos\red{\dfrac{\theta}{2}}sin(2 2 θ)=2sin2 θcos2 θ And then we need to solve for sinθ2\sin\red{\dfrac{\theta}{2}}sin2 θsine, start color red, start fraction, theta, divided by, 2, end fraction, end color red. Give it a shot, and see if you can figure out how to show the other identities. Symmetry and periodicity identities. sin(−θ)=−sin(θ)\sin(-\theta)=-\sin(\theta)sin(−θ)=−sin(θ)sine, left parenthesis, minus, theta, right parenthesis, equals, minus, sine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis. We can see this by looking at a unit circle diagram. cos(−θ)=+cos(θ)\cos(-\theta)=+\cos(\theta)cos(−θ)=+cos(θ)cosine, left parenthesis, minus, theta, right parenthesis, equals, plus, cosine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis We can see this by looking at a unit circle diagram. tan(−θ)=−tan(θ)\tan(-\theta)=-\tan(\theta)tan(−θ)=−tan(θ)tangent, left parenthesis, minus, theta, right parenthesis, equals, minus, tangent, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis. This one is harder to see on a unit circle diagram, but we can get it by writing tangent in terms of sine and cosine, then applying the sine and cosine identities for negative angles. tan(θ)=sin(θ)cos(θ)\tan(\theta)= \dfrac{\sin(\theta)}{\cos(\theta)}tan(θ)=cos(θ) sin(θ)tangent, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, equals, start fraction, sine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, divided by, cosine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, end fraction. So, tan(−θ)=sin(−θ)cos(−θ)=−sin(θ)cos(θ)=−tan(θ)\tan(-\theta)= \dfrac{\sin(-\theta)}{\cos(-\theta)}= \dfrac{-\sin(\theta)}{\cos(\theta)}=-\tan(\theta)tan(−θ)=cos(−θ) sin(−θ)=cos(θ)−sin(θ)=−tan(θ)tangent, left parenthesis, minus, theta, right parenthesis, equals, start fraction, sine, left parenthesis, minus, theta, right parenthesis, divided by, cosine, left parenthesis, minus, theta, right parenthesis, end fraction, equals, start fraction, minus, sine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, divided by, cosine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis, end fraction, equals, minus, tangent, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis sin(θ+2π)=sin(θ)\sin(\theta+2\pi)=\sin(\theta)sin(θ+2π)=sin(θ)sine, left parenthesis, theta, plus, 2, pi, right parenthesis, equals, sine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis cos(θ+2π)=cos(θ)\cos(\theta+2\pi)=\cos(\theta)cos(θ+2π)=cos(θ)cosine, left parenthesis, theta, plus, 2, pi, right parenthesis, equals, cosine, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis tan(θ+π)=tan(θ)\tan(\theta+\pi)=\tan(\theta)tan(θ+π)=tan(θ)tangent, left parenthesis, theta, plus, pi, right parenthesis, equals, tangent, left parenthesis, theta, right parenthesis. Cofunction identities sinθ=cos(π2−θ)\sin\theta= \cos(\dfrac{\pi}{2}-\theta)sinθ=cos(2 π−θ)sine, theta, equals, cosine, left parenthesis, start fraction, pi, divided by, 2, end fraction, minus, theta, right parenthesis cosθ=sin(π2−θ)\cos\theta= \sin(\dfrac{\pi}{2}-\theta)cosθ=sin(2 π−θ)cosine, theta, equals, sine, left parenthesis, start fraction, pi, divided by, 2, end fraction, minus, theta, right parenthesis tanθ=cot(π2−θ)\tan\theta= \cot(\dfrac{\pi}{2}-\theta)tanθ=cot(2 π−θ)tangent, theta, equals, cotangent, left parenthesis, start fraction, pi, divided by, 2, end fraction, minus, theta, right parenthesiscotθ=tan(π2−θ)cot\theta= \tan(\dfrac{\pi}{2}-\theta)cotθ=tan(2 π−θ)c, o, t, theta, equals, tangent, left parenthesis, start fraction, pi, divided by, 2, end fraction, minus, theta, right parenthesis secθ=csc(π2−θ)\sec\theta= \csc(\dfrac{\pi}{2}-\theta)secθ=csc(2π−θ) cscθ=sec(π2−θ)\csc\theta= \sec(\dfrac{\pi}{2}-\theta)cscθ=sec(2 π−θ)"Getting lost in Trig again I see." Nicole Noble smiled as she sat down with a plate of chocolate chip pancakes. Nicole was a relatively petite young woman, fair almost to the extreme of golden blondness. Her features were small and perfectly related; her nose deliciously interrogative at the tip. Blue eyes, long, wavy blonde hair, so smooth and silky, almost as if it was tailored from gold fabric. A confident, sexy strut that tells the world, "I'm beautiful.". She wears a silver necklace and Basket-Set Round Ruby Studs. Her friend, Dolores Palazzo, was like a Victoria's Secret model and looked very much like she could have graced any billboard or magazine cover. She has that movie star look. Her muscle definition was perfect and she walked with the confidence of someone a decade older. She wasn't just flawless in her bone structure, her skin was like silk over glass and she radiated an intelligent beauty. Her eyes were the glimmering color of emerald, sparkling in the light of the morning sun like a fresh sheen of morning dew and when she lifted her pale face to the sky, emerald shifted into the color of deep ocean shimmering in the moonlight. Her thick, wavy, scorching, red hair, was worn in a complex, elegant, sleek ponytail style. She is tall and has an amazonian build. Her skin is light-colored. Both are wearing the Women's Uniform of The University. "Come on now. You have to be diligent if you're gonna make it here. The Professors are nice but they can be cutthroat when it comes to grading. Especially Pearl Parks." Nicole giggled. "I warned you. Advanced Superhuman Studies is fun but Mrs. Parks doesn't hold back. Those surprise tests will keep you on your toes." "Says the girl who aced it like the rest of her courses." She had some salad, chewed and swallowed. "You little brainiac." "Hate the game not the player DP." "Uh huh, have you even figured out what you're going to do with all these skills after you graduate?" Nicole shrugged. "To be honest...I just want a quiet life. We live in a world where busyness is king. We’re so busy glorifying how busy we are, we miss out on experiencing the moments that matter. That's how I see it. I'll move some place quiet, away from the noise and villains and become a writer." Nicole dug into her pancakes. "That's deep Nicky. Me...I dunno yet. I'm trying a bit of everything." They were soon joined by Dawnesha Collins and Regina Adams as Derrick and his friends were entering. Dawnesha, a tall, leggy, lean young lady with light hair, sat down next to Dolores and Regina, a beautiful young lady with short dark blue hair, sat down next to Nicole. Dawn had chosen bacon and eggs and Regina had gravitated to chicken waffles. Regina alternated between eating her waffles and flipping through the news on her holo-phone. 5 Simple Steps To An Effective Superhero Strategy Piper Khrysos: Genius Or Skynet? Crimson Avenger Captures Rock-Paper-Scissors Gang! Douglas Terrel Continues To Speak Shakespearean While Campaigning, Quote: Mine own supp'rt'rs knoweth yond i shall protecteth our right to exploit vile ov'rseas lab'r, our right to beareth arms and our iphones!" Victoria Volkov Acquitted! All Charges Dropped! She flipped through a few more articles before setting it down. "What a world we live in." Regina noted in an amused tone. Dawn looked up from her Chemistry Notes. "Anything interesting today?" "Crimson's a fighting machine, Volkov is innocent after all and more conspiracy theories about Piper." "Cool. I'll be checking out the Crimson News later." Nicole checked the news herself and smiled. "Kids these days." Derrick waved to the group as they walked by to get their own breakfast and Dolores wiggled her fingers to wave back. "You know, if you need the room tonight, you can just tell us. We'll get a hotel." "Don't make me reach over there Regina." Dolores whispered back with a smile on her face. Nicole and Dawn giggled at their two friends. Derrick and the team selected their own meals: A Berry and Yogurt Smoothie for Clyde, A PB&J Waffle Sandwich for Derrick, A Berry Breakfast Parfait for Hubert, Banana Peanut Butter Chia Pudding for Joshua and Healthy Banana Bread for Diego. They sat down at a table together and held a moment of silent respect as Josh silently prayed before beginning his breakfast meal with the others. "So, hey, Derrick, what was that dream you were telling us about?" "I'd say it was more of a nightmare honestly." Derrick replied and described his nightmare quietly to his friends. "That's freaky." Josh agreed. "But I'm sure it was just a dream. You know how good the security is here. Unless she had the Security Guards Passes or the specific badge to your dorm room, there's no way anybody could've gotten across the campus. Much less into your room." "He's right man. It's either that or she was a ninja." Clyde joked. Derrick shrugged. "I doubt it. I've fought some real psychos but I've never done anything to tick off the Foot Clan. As far as I know. I don't think she was even wearing an animal mask like the last bunch of sickos." "Animal Masks? What?" Josh asked. "I'll tell you about it later. When we're not eating." "Trust us Josh. You're going to want to let your food settle before you hear about this." Diego assured him. Nicole continued eating her meal but turned her head slightly to their direction. "I'll take your word for it then. Just remember Derrick: The Lord is always with you. Through thick and thin." "I can believe it. Mary's my homegirl after all." Josh raised an eyebrow. "I'm kidding Josh. But, I can believe it, why not? Superhumans are real, aliens are real, who's to say all religions can't be real? Just because Loki hasn't come down leading an alien army yet doesn't mean it can't happen." "My man!" Josh fist bumped him. "Don't worry about a bad dream or two 'Rick. You were probably just working out too hard or something." "There is no such thing and you know it." The friends laughed together. "Something wrong Nicole?" Dolores asked her friend. "No. It's fine. These are really good panackes though." Nicole replied and resumed eating. "Hey guys. I was wondering, since we're here and all, could you quiz me?" Josh asked. "I've got an exam coming up and I wanted to be prepared for it." "I'm game if you are man." Derrick said as he set down his fork. "Cool." He and Joshua wiped their hands and Joshua pulled a set of holo-cards out of his pocket and handed them to Derrick. "Alright. Let's see what we got here. Ohhhh I get it. You're taking Mrs. Sasha Rockingham's class arent you?" "Yeah. Have you taken it?" "Last semester. You're in for some real brain busters with her class. Don't let your guard down or her exams will bury you." "I know. I managed to ace the last one but I had to study like crazy for it. The pop quizzes keep me on my toes too." "Oh yeah. She loves those. Alright. Name Ampère’s law." "Ampère’s law, one of the basic relations between electricity and magnetism, stating quantitatively the relation of a magnetic field to the electric current or changing electric field that produces it. The law is named in honor of André-Marie Ampère, who by 1825 had laid the foundation of electromagnetic theory. An alternative expression of the Biot-Savart law, which also relates the magnetic field and the current that produces it, Ampère’s law is generally stated formally in the language of calculus: the line integral of the magnetic field around an arbitrarily chosen path is proportional to the net electric current enclosed by the path. James Clerk Maxwell is responsible for this mathematical formulation and for the extension of the law to include magnetic fields that arise without electric current, as between the plates of a capacitor, or condenser, in which the electric field changes with the periodic charging and discharging of the plates but in which no passage of electric charge occurs. Maxwell also showed that even in empty space a varying electric field is accompanied by a changing magnetic field. In this more general form, the so-called Ampère-Maxwell law is one of the four Maxwell equations that define electromagnetism." "That's right." Derrick replied without needing to look at the answer. You remember the things you learn in Ms.Rockingham's class. For fun though, Derrick slid his finger down the holo-card and the answer popped up. He switched to the next card. "Like I said. Studying like crazy." Joshua laughed. "My turn!" Hubert chimed in and took a card. "Ooooh. Gauss's Law." "The total of the electric flux out of a closed surface is equal to the charge enclosed divided by the permittivity. The electric flux through an area is defined as the electric field multiplied by the area of the surface projected in a plane perpendicular to the field. Gauss's Law is a general law applying to any closed surface. It is an important tool since it permits the assessment of the amount of enclosed charge by mapping the field on a surface outside the charge distribution. For geometries of sufficient symmetry, it simplifies the calculation of the electric field. Another way of visualizing this is to consider a probe of area A which can measure the electric field perpendicular to that area. If it picks any closed surface and steps over that surface, measuring the perpendicular field times its area, it will obtain a measure of the net electric charge within the surface, no matter how that internal charge is configured." "That's correct." Hubert said and activated the holo-card and it emitted the answer along with several equations. "Alright. Try this one." Clyde smiled. "Faraday's Law?" "Any change in the magnetic environment of a coil of wire will cause a voltage (emf) to be "induced" in the coil. No matter how the change is produced, the voltage will be generated. The change could be produced by changing the magnetic field strength, moving a magnet toward or away from the coil, moving the coil into or out of the magnetic field, rotating the coil relative to the magnet, etc. Faraday's law is a fundamental relationship which comes from Maxwell's equations. It serves as a succinct summary of the ways a voltage (or emf) may be generated by a changing magnetic environment. The induced emf in a coil is equal to the negative of the rate of change of magnetic flux times the number of turns in the coil. It involves the interaction of charge with magnetic field." "You are killing this!" "I prefer crushing it but thank you very much. What else do we have?" "Coulomb's Law." Diego Davidson challenged. "Like charges repel, unlike charges attract. The electric force acting on a point charge q1 as a result of the presence of a second point charge q2 is given by Coulomb's Law: where ε0 = permittivity of space. This satisfies Newton's third law because it implies that exactly the same magnitude of force acts on q2 . Coulomb's law is a vector equation and includes the fact that the force acts along the line joining the charges. Like charges repel and unlike charges attract. Coulomb's law describes a force of infinite range which obeys the inverse square law, and is of the same form as the gravity force. A negative force implies an attractive force. The force is directed along the line joining the two charges." The four friends continued quizzing him while another student walked into the cafeteria followed closely by a giant who entered through the extra tall side doors which had been designed for bigger students as he entered into the cafeteria. The first student, Randall Sharp, was built like a linebacker with a smart goatee and dark brown hair in a buzzcut. He was one of the taller students in the University and just as tall as Diego, who himself was slightly taller than Derrick. He only looked small next to his human tank classmate Owain Thomas. While Derrick and his group were tall, Owain towered over everyone in the school and he was almost as broad as he was tall. Being a brick naturally lead to muscular builds but Owain was one of the few who were described as Boulder-Bricks, extra large super strength type supers. He had to have his clothing custom made, including his school uniform. He was also one of the few truck drivers at the school as normal cars just didn't suit him. The reason behind his increased build, aside from his Advanced Gene, was because he'd gotten into a rough spot during the Invasion Of 2031 and threw himself into an intense workout program ever since. Derrick could relate. He looked up from the quiz and high-fived Randall and Owain as they walked by. Owain paused and looked at the card for a second. "The constant of proportionality k appearing in Coulomb's law is often called Coulomb's constant. Note that it can be expressed in terms of another constant, ε0 = permittivity of space. When describing the electric forces in atoms and nuclei, it is often convenient to work with the product of Coulomb's constant and the square of the electron charge since that product appears in electric potential energy and electric force expressions." "That's right man. I didn't know you took her class." "I'm currently taking it actually. Joshua and I. He's a lifesaver." Joshua smiled at his roommate. "Happy to help Owain." "Good idea. He's a bit of a genius himself." "A bit? I'll have you know I'm one of the highest scoring students here." Joshua smirked. "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches." "Jeremiah 9:23. Oh man you set me up again. Besides which, are you really one to boast about any of those?" "To be fair: I'm right up there with you guys in smarts, my family's pretty damn rich and I'm the strongest on campus next to the tank." " Keep tellin' yorself that." Randall quipped as he walked by them. "Anytime buzzcut." Derrick joked. Nicole looked up and beamed as Randall Sharp sat down at the table next to her. " Good mornin' beautiful." "Good morning yourself handsome." Nicole replied. " Did yer sleep well, eh?" "I always do. Because I know tomorrow is going to be another beautiful day on campus." " Every day on campus wiv yer is a beautiful one." "Awwwww you're so sweet babe." "You know we're eating here right?" Dolores smirked. "Oui, pardon!" She replied with a cartoonish shrug. The friends had a good laugh and Randall pulled out his phone and forwarded a poem to Nicole's E-Mail. Nicole's phone beeped and she pulled it out and looked over her E-Mails until she found the one from Randall and she opened it up. Param( [Parameter(Position=0, Mandatory=$true, HelpMessage="How Does She Answer?")] [string]$SheSaid) If($SheSaid -like "yes") { Function Get-Married { $SheSaidYes = Get-Date $TheBigDay = $SheSaidYes.AddDays(364) #A year would be too far! $FriendsandFamily = Get-Content -Path ".\friendsandfamily.cfg" ForEach ($LovedOne in $FriendsandFamily) { Send-MailMessage -To $LovedOne.Address } $DaysLeft = New-TimeSpan -Start $SheSaidYes -End $TheBigDay Do { Start-Sleep -s 86400 #Agonizing Seconds $DaysLeft = ($DaysLeft -1) } While($DaysLeft -gt 0) } Function Live-HappilyEverAfter { $Happiness = Get-Happiness $DaysLeft = Get-Content ".\ThingsWeCanNeverKnow.ini" ForEach ($DaysWithHer in $DaysLeft) { $Happiness = ($Happiness +1) Start-Sleep -s 86400 #Time Just Flies $DaysLeft = ($DaysLeft -1) } } Get-Married Live-HappilyEverAfter } Else { Exit } Nicole very nearly burst out laughing right then and there but responded with a giant heart to him. He smiled and texted one back to her and they clinked their drinks. "Ohhh wow. Wow do you...do you hear that?" Dawnesha asked Regina. "What is it? Could it be?" "Wedding Bells?" They asked at the same time. "You know I heard people were marrying young these days but this is pretty sudden." Josh joked. "Hey if you guys are gonna need a best man, just let me know!" Derrick called back to them. "Wotcher goin' on about, then, eh? Yor the bloomin' flower girl." "Find an outfit in my size and I just may consider it." Derrick joked. The friends had another hearty laugh together and continued joking around in between eating their breakfast. They eventually finished their morning meals and tossed the trash into the Clean and 'Cycle System before turning their trays into the washing units and then washing their hands. "Hey Derrick. Are you going to tell me about those animal mask people you mentioned?" "Uhhhhh." Derrick looked around the growing crowds of students and professors coming and going. "Maybe later. At the library. This isn't a story you talk about in public. It's not exactly the happiest of stories." Joshua and the others immediately around him couldn't help but notice the passing of sadness on his face before he perked up again. "So, ah, just be a bit patient and think it over. If you still want to hear about it after lunch, then I'll tell you all about it in a quiet corner of the library." "Okay then. Thank you for the warning Derrick." "You're welcome." "Well...whatever happened in the past. I'm glad you're here with us." Derrick flexed his bicep. "But of course. It takes a lot more than a band of crazies to bring me down. And thank you Josh." They fist bumped and continued to their own respective classes. Derrick walked across the campus grounds with his friends until he arrived at his computer sciences building and waved to them as he walked inside. To say the buildings were fancy was doing them a disservice. It would be better to describe each of them as futuristic. The first thing you saw when entering the lobby was a very nice waiting area with plenty of sitting room, a fountain, exotic plants, an information display and a hard light holographic map display that let students know where they were and where everything was, with health drink and snack dispensers on the walls and with classical music playing from speakers. Up on the ceiling was a holographic display greeting the students to the Computer Sciences building along with a holographic display of the founder of the University; Salvadore Barbaroman. A powerfully built man who nonetheless had the charming appearance of a quintessential English Gentleman who just happened to have an eyepatch over his left eye and a sword for a right hand. There were stories among the student body about what could've happened to him that caused such injuries but even his family members were mum about it. The most people had managed to dig up was that he was in a brutal fight. But nobody could decide if it had been with a Super Criminal, A War or some kind of Monster. All anybody knew for sure was that he survived it, came back stronger and put a sword on his hand. And really, what else do you need to know about the man besides that? Derrick walked to the left and proceeded up the walkway. The university had plenty of nice elevators but he preferred the exercise. It was only six floors up. He had plenty of time to get to class. "Oi mate, wait up." Derrick turned back around to Randall. "What's up man?" "I'm sorry but I overheard yer a wee bit earlier. Are yer okay, isit?" "I'm fine. It was ten years ago. A bunch of jackasses fucked with the wrong family and Rick'd for it." "Rick'd? Ohhh, like in The chuffin' Walkin' Dead, eh, mate?" "The other Rick." Randall laughed. "Ha! Oh shit I am sorry that I missed that knees-up." "No, trust me, you're not." Derrick shrugged and he turned around and they walked to class. "So are yer sure they won't be comin' back again, then, guv?" Derrick scoffed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Oh please. It's been ten years. If they were going to come back for another asskicking they would've done it by now. Besides, what are they gonna do if they did come back? Invade the campus? Security'll wreck their redneck asses before they get anywhere near the student body." Randall laughed. "Yor right about that! Struth! Tryin' ter attack Trinity University is like tryin' ter attack Champion City or a Military Base. Yor'd cop wrecked before yer knew wot 'appened." Champion City of course being one of the most advanced cities in the United States, let alone the world, and home of Khrysos Corporation HQ. And among the rest of the advanced security around the entire city, Khrysos Corporation had its own crime fighting unit that worked around the city to assist the police in keeping it crime free and to provide good morals and lessons to kids. The Khrysos Corporations Special Duty Peacekeeping Combat Unit: The Power Titans. Derrick and his friends had only seen holo-videos of them and watched them on the news and they were like futuristic ninjas the way they moved. "That's right. So don't worry about it man. I'm fine. We're all fine and the psychos went the way of Bunnyman." "Wot the hell fire is the chuffin' Bunnyman?" "Precisely." Derrick smirked. They continued shooting the breeze until they arrived on the sixth floor and walked through another door into the main area. From there they walked around the labyrinthine room until they arrived at COMPSCI 642 and Derrick swiped his ID and the door slid open to their auditorium style computer room. Derrick crossed the room and took his seat in the back and booted up his station. A hard light holographic homescreen popped up along with a similar keyboard and other features. Derrick used the holo-board to type in his personal password (9RiENvrXo28vX2sn70LU7Fe62J) and logged in as student. The keyboard was incredibly smooth and felt like liquid steel under your fingers and there was an awesome ripple effect if you ran your hands across the whole of it. As Derrick understood, hard light technology involved polyphotonics - quantum-entangled pairs of electromagnetic monopoles span tight linear EM fields between them, containing any light within the span of the field at laser-intensity, save the ends around the nodes where some photons can escape. One pair of nodes makes a line. With three nodes you can make two-dimensional shapes. With four or more you can make three-dimensional shapes, such as what more or less amounts to laser armour. While of course any structures supporting the nodes are solid, the actual 'hardlight' is not. It functions identically to a laser, except along a plane instead of a line. It was the Khrysos Corporation that invented the Solid Vision Hologram System which built on the principles of polyphotonics and utilized holographic projections for visuals, and force fields for physical effects, and a feedback and CPU system for computers, paving the way for the utilization of hard light to create temporary structures/barriers, improvised ramps/stairs, holograms, etc. Derrick navigated the computer by placing his hand over the mousepad. A light shined out of it onto his hand and he slowly moved his hand around to the internet browser, opened it up with a tap of his finger and pulled it up. He logged into the blackboard system and sat back to wait for the Professor to begin class. Students poured into the class for a few minutes until eventually the one hundred seats in the classroom were filled. They made small talk among themselves and Derrick greeted and waved to them as they entered and got comfortable. Five more minutes passed. No sign of the professor. Then ten. Still no sign of him. The students continued talking among themselves while they had the chance. Fifteen minutes passed. The students were getting restless and confused. He was never late. Thirty minutes passed and when there was still no sign of the Professor, Derrick stood up and looked around the room and scratched the back of his head. "Uhhhhhh guys? Does anybody know where Mr.Howland is?" "No idea." A student, Sha'quan Sanders, spoke up. "There's nothing in the E-mails about him running late today. Is there anything on the Blackboard?" Derrick sat down and his fingers flew over the keyboard. "Nnnnothing. That's not like him. You'd think they'd have a sub." "Think he's out sick?" Richmond Jackson asked. "Not unless 'e came dahn wiv it last night and 'ad ter go straight ter the bloomin' 'ospital but even then 'is trouble and strife would've at least called the bloody school." Randall pointed out. "He's right. If something happened I'm sure we'd know about it." "Ohhhh I'm not too worried. Mr. Howland's always been in good shape." Cora O'Neill pointed out as she relaxed in her chair. "I'm sure he's fiiiine. Let's just enjoy the free period." "Right." Derrick agreed and sat down to send an E-Mail to Mr.Howland. He clicked on the video option and smiled as the computer screen scanned him and then his ID. After a few seconds the screen glowed blue and then a reflection of his face appeared. Derrick cleared his throat. "Hello Mister Howland, it's Derrick. I'm just checking in with you because you didn't show up to class today and we didn't receive any notice. So I thought I'd check in that everything is okay with you sir. Please get in back in touch with the class when you get the chance sir. Thank you and I hope you're doing okay." Derrick ended the video message, played it back and, satisfied with it, he sent it to his E-Mail. Exiting the E-Mail, Derrick relaxed and got started on double checking his homework while the class was split between relaxing and chatting and getting ahead on schoolwork. A few of them placed VD-CHIPS on their heads, set timers and tuned out to enjoy Movie Simulations. After a few minutes Randall walked over to him and pulled up a chair. "So wotcher make o' this?" "I'm with you. Something's weird about this. He would've called ahead if he was sick or something." "Do yer think it's fowl play?" "I mean....maybe?" Derrick tapped his paper with the tip of his pencil. "But why? Who would go after the Howlands? They're Church Mice. They're the nicest people you've ever met. They're working at charities constantly. Who on Earth would go after them?" Randall lowered his voice to a whisper. "Could've been a burglary." "Which goes back to my point. I know the University pays well but the guy lives a humble life. He isn't flaunting his wealth and if somebody did attack his house I'm sure somebody would've called the police." Derrick went back to his Calculus for a few seconds before looking back up at him. "You see, shit like this is why I'm not a detective." "Oh I 'ear that. Probably best ter just leave it up ter the bobbies." "It's for the best." Derrick agreed. "So which group are you in?" "I'm gonna double check me work and then 'ave a nap." Randall declared and slid back across the room with the chair. "Living the dream." Derrick smiled and went back to double checking his schoolwork. After a few minutes of double checking his math of course his mind started drifting back to last night. "A burglary huh?" She walks in his room and time slowed down, pacing with her slow footsteps. She stopped beside his bed, and her hand slowly reached for his arm. He did everything he could to move his arm but it stayed still. It felt like it was pinned to the bed with tons of weight on it. Her fingers caresses over his forearm, while he lay still, paralyzed. He wanted to scream, but he couldn't find the strength to so much as move! It wasn't her, or her touch, that scared him, but his inability to move. In the darkness of a dream the mind would conjure up magical beasts with jaws that were home to razor teeth. They would move in an unnatural ways maybe a limp or be severely hunched over. Soon the breathing would increase rapidly and become gasps of breath. On awakening, despite the nightmare ending, a ghastly feeling of being watched by invisible eyes prolongs an uneasy feeling. "No. No way." He shook his head and got back to work. A nightmare wasn't exactly something to go on after all. Meanwhile Dolores, Nicole, Clyde and several other students were in Professor Daniella Bergamine's class working through a lecture on Trigonometric Substitution. Professor Bergamine taught at the front of the classroom utilizing a light display emitted from the blackboard. The numbers and the words would spin around and take the form of wordboxes next to her as she spoke to the students and they would follow along taking notes on the hard light computers which emitted the notes as lights. "Now class, let's suppose that we have a circle of radius a okay I will Center the origin and I want to evaluate the area of this quarter of a circle what's the answer so this day they answer it okay so we'll keep that in mind and now we go to do it systematically by calculating the area of this object right so we can set up our usual integral under curve so the area is going to be given by an integral from 0 to a y DX right so this is why we need to find the formula for wife so how can we express this curve as a function of X we know that x squared plus y squared equals a squared because it's a circle and we can resolve it for y because we're in the positive quadrant we have no doubt about the sine of Y it's positive so this is square root of a squared - 8x squared right so my formula for the area becomes the following definite integral okay so this is what I need to evaluate is this an easy integral so we've seen something like this and in principle we could try to do substitution right we can say that this is you okay do you DX is something like 2x but there is an X missing from here it usually such integrals involved times X DX in which case we have a signature of the derivative of this additional variable now we don't have that so this metal method of substitution will fail and we have to find a different method but luckily here we have the geometry working for us so this let's consider a certain level X okay and this is y as a function of X okay so and this is a the long side of this right triangle let's denote this angle theta okay and I'm going to express Y and express X as theta so what is the relationship between X and theta we can say that X is a times cosine theta correct okay so and this is a substitution that I'm going to use for this integral so let's just play with it a little bit let's say that when X is equal to 0 what is the value of theta X zero means we are here it so what is theta 90 degrees or PI over 2 so we can say that theta is PI over 2 when x equals a because I go from zero to a x equals a means the 10 here what is the otis theta is zero right this whole thing collapses into a straight line so theta is equal to zero you can also check it here for instance x equals 0 corresponds to cosine of PI over cosine of PI over 2 is 0 x equals a corresponds to cosine being equal to 1 which is theta equals 0 so this works ok and finally I want to calculate DX the differential so I have to differentiate both sides of this equation so I have a times minus sine theta D theta and now I'm going to try and rewrite this whole thing in terms of theta so I go from the x coordinate of each point to its angular coordinate it's got kind of like going to polar coordinates so for 0 I have PI over 2 for a I have 0 I have square root of a squared minus a squared cos squared theta and for DX I have this whole expression times a sine theta D theta and it should forget the minus sign which appears in front of the internal ok so now this is my new integral completely rewritten in terms of the angle and I can do things here for instance I can see that under the square root a square mouth multiplies both of the terms so in also I can see that PI over 2 is greater than 0 and I have a minus sign so I can slip and lose the - so I have from 0 to PI over 2 ok I have square root of a squared 1 minus cos squared theta we do it like this times a sine theta D theta what else can I do. This is the radius it's a positive number I'm going to take it out in fact I'm going to take this 8a and this out like this what do I have under square root now 1 minus cos squared theta can I simplify this expression yes of course this is sine squared theta so under the square root I have sine squared theta can I evaluate this expression square root of sine squared theta well in general it's plus or minus sine theta but because I'm here I know that theta is positive and it's sine is also positive so I can with confidence replace that with sine theta so here under the integral I have sine theta times sine theta d-theta. Next, we can use a trigonometric substitution to integrate the function f (x) = x x2 − 9. Check your work by integration using the substitution u = x2 . Referring to our trig substitution summary, we see that the recommended way to integrate an expression including x2 − 32 is to substitute x = 3 sec θ, in which case dx = 3 sec θ tan θ dθ and: x2 − 9 = (3 sec θ)2 − 9 = 9 sec2 θ − 9 = 3 sec2 θ − 1 x2 − 9 = 3 tan θ.We start by performing this substitution and simplifying: 2 x x − 9 dx = (3 sec θ)(3 tan θ)3 sec θ tan θ dθ = 27 sec2 θ tan2 θ dθ. At this point we substitute u = tan θ, so du = sec2 θ dθ and: x x2 − 9 dx = 27 sec2 θ tan2 θ dθ = 27 u2 duu3+c39 tan3 θ + c=27. We have an answer in terms of tan θ and we want an answer in terms of x. We know that x = 3 sec θ, or equivalently that sec θ = x3 . Keeping that fact in mind (or the fact that cos θ = x3 ) we draw a right triangle with one angle equal to θ in which the side adjacent to θ has length 3 and the hypotenuse has lengthx. By the Pythagorean theorem, the side opposite the angle θ has length √x2 − 9 and: √x2 − 9 tan θ = .3 We can now complete our calculation: x x2 − 9 dx = 9 tan3 θ + c1 x �x2 − 9 dx=�√ �3 x2 − 99+ c 3 =1 2 (x − 9)3/2 + c3. It is faster and more reliable to compute this integral via the substitution u = x2 − 9. If we do this we have du = 2x dx or x dx = 12 du and: � � �√ 12 x x − 9 dx =u du21 2 3/2=· u +c2313/2=u +c 3� �1 2 x x2 − 9 dx =(x − 9)3/2 + c. 32...." Naturally Nicole had a big smile on her face throughout the class, clearly enjoying herself as she breezed through her work. Dolores was doing the same and Clyde was working ahead of everyone. One student tried to pull up a video website but the browser refused to open. He tried again. Nothing. He tried again. Nothing. He tried again. Nothing. He tried a different browser. Nothing. He tried to pull up Galaga. Nothing. Professor Daniella Bergamine snapped her fingers a few times in his direction to get his attention. "Do pay attention Mister Spears. Remember that this is going to be on the test and that you are graded for participation." Kingsley Spears blushed and nodded. "Yes ma'am. Of course. Sorry about that." "I am not without compassion Mister Spears. Can you repeat the last minute back to the class?" "Oh...oh, right, sure." He stood up and cleared his throat. "The inverse trigonometric relations for sine, cosine, tangent, cosecant, secant, and cotangent are, respetively: arcsine, arccosine, arctangent, arccosecant, arcsecant, and arccotangent. Another way to write x = sin(y) is y = arcsin(x). The same holds true for all the inverse relations. Below these six relations are graphed. The graphs of the inverse relations differs from the graphs of the functions only in that the roles of x and y are interchanged. So far we have referred to these operations as relations. The reason is simple: the operations are not functions. Study the graphs above--do they pass the vertical line test? No. For a given input x, there are either zero, or an infinite number of values of y. This phenomenon is due to the fact that the trigonometric functions are periodic. As an example, let's examine the inverse relation arcsine. What is arcsin(2)? Because there are no angles whose sine is two, no solution exists. How about arcsin()? There are an infinite number of solutions, or angles whose sine is one-half. The domains of the inverse relations are the ranges of their corresponding original functions." "Correct! That's very good Kingsley. All is forgiven please get back to notetaking." "Yes ma'am. Thank you." He sat back to some applause from his classmates and a fist bump from his twin brother Leonidas Spears. "Goofballs." Dolores whispered with a smile on her face. "Nothing wrong with having fun in class." Nicole whispered back. Truly. This was the best. A nice simple relaxing life having fun at college with her friends. Everything was ordinary and perfectly balanced. Exactly the way she liked it. "You're right. This is fine." Dolores whispered back as class resumed and they quietly slapped high-fives. At the same time, Joshua, Owain, Hubert and Diego were listening to a lecture in their philosophy class on the subject of justice by Professor Dillon Curtis. At the end of the second part of the lecture, Joshua decided to stand up and speak his mind and he raised up his hand. "Yes sir! What would you like to add to the conversation?" Joshua picked up the microphone and took a deep breath and spoke his mind on the subject. "Well, sir, uhm, it is my personal opinion, that, the only possible way for one to acquit the cannibalism case is to think like an animal. Animals live to survive. They have no moral decisions to make- all they worry about is having a full belly before going to sleep every day. Human beings CANNOT be expected to behave like animals. We aren't governed by our desires, needs and wants. We don't live just to live. It is, in my own view, unacceptable to defend an act of vicious murder to appease your appetite. I feel that in supporting cannibalism by saying that....that no one would be affected by the death of that cabin boy is preposterous. No one knows how his life might have been- we are in no position to condemn someone to death for the greater good. We are not a pack of animals hunting for food, shelter or comfort. It is not pleasure or the sense of having our needs met that gives us true joy. Sacrifice, pain, sorrow, and suffering make our lives meaningful. Saying that the crew was governed to kill the boy out of 'love' and 'consideration' for their family feels wrong to me. It is not love that drove them to kill the boy- it was the bestial instinct to survive- no matter what the cost . Yes, we can keep concocting fanciful names and euphemisms to embellish these carnal sins. But that doesn't validate the act. We persistently think that we are doing the 'greatest good for the greatest number', and we are infatuated with the 'grey' line that separates the black from the white. But all we are trying to do is find a way to appease our conscience and somehow justify the wrong thing so that we can sculpt a world where we can do anything we feel like doing. Our idea of 'good' is wholly self-obsessed. Sure, the captain would have justified his act as doing greatest good for the crew- but all he really wanted was to 'survive'. Until we stop thinking about ourselves and stop equating happiness with the acquisition of our desires, needs and wants; until we start realizing that good comes from placing the needs of others before our own, and that it comes from sacrificing and suffering our desires for others....we will keep debating, pondering and thinking with our bellies, instead of our hearts." The class applauded Joshua's speech and the professor beamed. "Mister...Angelo, right? That was a beautiful speech. Thank you for sharing with us. Would anyone else like to share?" Diego stood up and picked up his mic. " Another point that was missed in the cannibalism lecture is the question of the responsibility of authority. The captain was the only person with the authority to make a unilateral life-or-death decision about the crew under him. His responsibility in that position would be to sacrifice himself to ensure their survival. If that isn't in the equation, then there's nothing noble about leadership - it's merely opportunism." "I also think they were taking law and legality out of the equations. One could argue that the captain abused his power as being seen socially as the highest law, not that he in this example was, but he was seen as such. So it isn't his responsibility instead his viewed value perhaps." Hubert pointed out. "Very interesting points gentlemen. But do you think the captain's responsibility in this position should be to sacrifice himself to ensure their survival? He would be more useful, in theory, alive rather than dead. One could in fact say that although what the captain did was morally wrong, he made the right strategic decision to further the chance of survival of his crew. By killing the weakest to allow the stronger ones to survive, their probability of survival would increase." "Well, yeah, but, how can you be so sure that cabin boy's sacrifice would save the lives of the rest of the crew members? So long as we're throwing what ifs out, what if nobody comes to save them? In that case...the boy's life was wasted. Or what if their saviors are coming the very next day, then his life was wasted as well...and the very fact that the captain is not going to be a willing sacrifice, makes cannibalism wrong no matter what. That's why the law and society emphasizes survivors when someone dies. Cannibalism is refuting the right to survive by everyone." Joshua pointed out again. Owain stood up and raised his hand next. "Yes sir!" "Well...sir, you said, repea'edly, you said, "the boy 'ad no family" an' 'hus no one 'o miss 'im. 'owever, 'his makes a assump'ion 'ha' you knah 'he fu'ure ov 'ha' boy. Tha' boy could 'ave grown 'o 'ave a family 'ha', given genera'ions, could 'ave a mawe profound impac' on po'en'ial lives 'han 'he 3 men. I would argue 'ha' if 'he men 'ruly fel' 'ha' one mus' die 'o save 'he o'hers 'hen i' should ei'her be 'he larges' aw oldes'. Ei'her you ge' 'he mos' grub from 'he person you kill aw you assume 'ha' you are condemnin 'he fewes' years ov life. If 'hey fel' 'he boy would die regardless ov wha' 'hey did 'hen 'hey should 'ave wai'ed faw i' 'o occur. Bu' 'hey 'ook i' upon 'hemselves 'o commi' 'he ac'. Thus ac'in in selfishness...'ha' your needs 'ake preceden'. Thus guil'y." The Professor applauded his class. "Thank you for such wise and well thought out answers ladies and gentlemen. Brilliant minds like yours are what make this class so much fun for everyone." The class continued in this way for awhile until time ran out and The Professor thanked everybody for coming and assigned their homework. At the same time the other courses also let out and the hallways filled up with students and professors going every which way. They eventually ran into Derrick and Randall exiting their own building and he waved them over. "Sooo....something strange happened in class today." "Another virtual tour?" "Nah man: Professor Howland didn't show up." "Okay that is different." "Yeah. No email or notice or anything." Derrick shrugged. "I mean, maybe he's out sick? But this is the first time he's been absent." "It's not a big deal, right? I'm bloody well sure 'e's not so bad." Randall shrugged. "Right good news is: We got a free study period out o' it. Got ahead on us work we did." "Sounds like fun. We debated cannibalism." Joshua said as they walked to their next class. "Seriously?" "Seriously." Hubert agreed. "Ever heard of the cabin boy case?" "Oh, Lord." Derrick sighed. "Yeah. I've heard that one. And they were in the wrong. In that situation it's the duty of the leader, the captain, to do what is right for the survival of his crew. But cannibalism....no. No that's not an option. You know what that gets you? Fucking face skin wearing wendigos man. That's what that gets you." "Well yeah...along with displaying displayed extreme greed, gluttony, and excess. Until Dawn left out a lot." Nicole spoke up. "Really? Uh, such as?" "Welll.....the best way to describe them is a mixture of both the Ojibwe's legends and the the Algonquian legends: “A giant with a heart of ice; sometimes it is thought to be entirely made of ice. Its body is skeletal and deformed, with missing lips and toes. It was a large creature, as tall as a tree, with a lipless mouth and jagged teeth. Its breath was a strange hiss, its footprints full of blood, and it ate any man, woman or child who ventured into its territory. And those were the lucky ones. Sometimes, the Wendigo chose to possess a person instead, and then the luckless individual became a Wendigo himself, hunting down those he had once loved and feasting upon their flesh. This creature has long been known among the Algonquian Ojibwe, Eastern Cree, Saulteaux, Westmain Swampy Cree, Naskapi, and Innu peoples who have described them as giants, many times larger than human beings. Although descriptions can vary somewhat, common to all these cultures is the view that the wendigo is a malevolent, cannibalistic, supernatural being which is strongly associated with winter, the north, coldness, famine and starvation." "You see? You see? That just proves my point!" Derrick insisted as he high-fived Nicole. "Wow that sounds like something I wouldn't mess with." Josh admitted. "Think you could take one big guy?" He asked Owain. "Wendigo or not, I haven't met anything that could toe-to-toe with me yet." Owain replied. "Sounds like it would be a good work out though." "That's the spirit mate! Right! Show them giant tossers who's the chuffin' boss!" Randall pumped his fist in the air. Diego was quiet for a moment before looking back to Derrick. "Okay, but, like, hypothetically, if you were in that situation..." "I'd think of a way out. I always have. I'd save everyone." Derrick answered quickly. "......Ah, shit, hey look I'm sorry man." "Don't worry about it." Derrick slapped his bro on the back. "Anybody else have a fun class experience?" "Math was nice and quiet." Clyde spoke up. "And of course that would be the normal class." Derrick joked to his friends laughs. The group soon parted to go their respective classes. As Derrick was walking up to his next class, Diego quickly caught up with him. "Hey Derrick. Look, I really am sorry about that. I know what happened was...horrible and I shouldn't have gone there." "It's alright D'go. Yeah it sucked ass but that doesn't mean I'm going to flip on you for asking a question. You're my friend. Nothing's gonna change that." "Thanks. Yeah, you're right. But what you said earlier? Saving everyone? I think that's the right answer." "That's the only answer." Derrick replied proudly and they resumed walking to class. "By the way: Have you ever heard of Shepard?" "A person or the town?" Derrick asked. "The town." Diego specified. "I've heard stories but I've never visited it myself." "Yeah, well, people say they have a Sasquatch. It's on their site." "Oh cool! Any pictures of it?" Diego pulled up the site on his phone. "Let's see...yeah, no, here we go: Apparently it doesn't like being photographed and the cameras and phones always deactivate around him." "Sasquatches can mess with technology now?" "Apparently. Think it's true?" "I gotta be straight with you D'go, I've seen some weird stuff. This is perfectly logical compared to the things I've been through." "Cool, cool." He turned off the phone. "You know what? We need to take a road trip there. Next summer. All of us. We'll take a road trip down to Shepard to see if the rumors are true." "Throw in some Ox Burgers and I'm sold." "That goes without saying doesn't it?" They laughed and continued on towards their next class: The Science Of Space Colonies. Professor Eddie Antonakos looked up from the work at his computer with a smile as the students filed into the class. He greeted them all as they walked around and took their spots. Once everybody was seated he cleared his throat and spoke to his class. "Helllo Ladies And Gentlemen! Welcome back to Interstellar Science! Yesterday we covered Space Elevators, Sky Hooks, Space Towers and Launch Loops and today I would like to cover the next step: Lunar Colonies to explore ways to go beyond simple Lunar Bases to a full-fledged productive colony that can help us travel to other worlds and expand our own. As I'm sure you're aware, the Khrysos Corporation, Enki Aerospace Engineering Corp, Ultrainnovations, Progressive Innovations and many others are collaborating on a project to begin colonization of other worlds. Starting with The Moon itself. Which brings me to this: Hold on to your bags kids." He pulled a remote out of his shirt and clicked it. "Because we're about to go on a trip!" The room glowed brightly and colors swirled around the students rapidly as their desks disappeared from sight and the scenery of the room changed into outer space! Derrick grinned. The holograms of the college were his favorite parts of the class. The students looked around excitedly laughing as the simplistic classroom was changed into a dark blanket, contrasting with blacks and yellows, and the occasional white, which is shaped as a circle and sometimes a crescent. There are stars which dot the blanket in a intricate pattern. This is space. The hallowed pool of subtle light had adorned itself with the diamonds of thousand moons and of thousand dreams, for these weaved themselves on that cosmic ether of divinity......all hung in the frame of "galaxy." Eddie laughed as he watched the students play and leap around in the 'holo-space environment' the computers pulled up. Every time he got the same reaction from them. Their reactions to riding the space elevators were especially entertaining. Eventually he snapped his fingers a few times and the students all turned their attention back to him. "Okay, now, of course, you wouldn't be able to hear me normally because their is no air in space. Sound travels in waves like light or heat does, but unlike them, sound travels by making molecules vibrate. So, in order for sound to travel, there has to be something with molecules for it to travel through. On Earth, sound travels to your ears by vibrating air molecules. In deep space, the large empty areas between stars and planets, there are no molecules to vibrate. There is no sound there. And of course, spending time in that vacuum is incredibly lethal for you. This is going to be a bit off topic, and very morbid, buuuut it is important to know for the future. Spending some time in the cosmic vacuum—sans spacesuit—might seem like a questionable life choice. After all, in the movies, whenever people end up in the intergalactic void without proper protection, either their heads explode or they instantaneously freeze solid. Neither outcome is particularly appealing. However, in reality, I’m afraid that your space death won’t be quite so spectacularly gruesome, as such, no exploding head or bulging eyeballs. But that doesn’t mean that your death won’t be interesting. Here are some of the ways space can kill you: Explosive Decompression. Let’s assume that you’re in a space shuttle. You’re traveling along merrily. Your life is just grand. Suddenly, you’re seized with a completely irrational, yet entirely irresistible urge to go for a spacewalk. And, oops, you forget your spacesuit. So the air doesn’t slowly leak out of your shuttle. You’re not gradually exposed to a complete vacuum. Oh no. You open the door of your pod and BAM! Decompression. No air. You’re in space. As long as you don’t try and hold your breath during this explosive decompression, you’ll survive about 30 seconds before you sustain any permanent injuries. But what if you do hold your breath? How likely is it that you would survive? Not very likely at all, I’m afraid. If you hold your breath during decompression, the gas in your lungs will expand due to the lack of ambient pressure. This expansion will eventually cause internal ruptures in your pulmonary tissue, essentially, your lungs will kind of, well, explode…for lack of a better description. As your lungs collapse, the gas that they contain will be transformed into massive, internal air bubbles. These bubbles will meander throughout your body. Sooner or later, they will find their way to your vital organs, such as your heart and your brain. If the air lodges in your heart, you’ll go into cardiac arrest and die. Essentially, you’ll have a heart attack. If it makes its way to your brain, you’ll have a massive stroke and die. Of course, even if the air from your exploded lungs does not enter your heart or your brain, you’ll still die. We simply don’t have the medical technology needed to repair lungs ruptured in this manner. So no matter what way you look at it, explosive decompression is very bad for your health. Ebullism. After about 10 seconds, the moisture in your body will start to evaporate. This is known as “ebullism,” and it happens because the reduction in pressure causes the boiling point of your bodily fluids to decrease. And if “evaporating body fluids” doesn’t sound terribly pleasant, well, it’s because it’s not. On August 16, 1960, Joe Kittinger ascended to 19.5 miles (31.3km) in an attempt to break the world record for the highest parachute jump. During his ascent, Kittinger noticed an odd sensation in his right hand. Upon inspection, he realized that he had lost pressurization in that area of his suit. Nonetheless, Kittinger decided to continue the mission as, fortunately, the rest of his suit seemed to be functioning properly. Thus, the only part of Kittinger’s body that was exposed to near-vacuum conditions was his hand. As he continued to ascend, the fluid in Kittinger’s skin continued to evaporate. Eventually, this caused his hand to swell to over twice its normal size. Kittinger describe this experience by likening it to the tingling sensation you feel when your foot falls asleep…so thousands of tiny pinpricks, dancing across your skin. You might scoff at this, but the pain will virtually paralyze you. Want to hear the really bad news? As the moisture in your body evaporates and trails off into the darkness of space, you will lose control of your bodily functions—so you’ll simultaneously defecate, vomit, and urinate. Oh, and if you don’t return to your ship in about 30 seconds, then ebullism will cause your lungs to collapse. And you will die. Not so fun times. Freezing. Fortunately, heat doesn’t transfer very quickly in the vacuum of space because there is no air, water, or other medium to aid the transfer of heat. This is obviously a very good thing, as space can be both frigidly cold and scorching hot. Fun fact: if you’re facing a sun-like star, and are about 93 million miles away (150 million km), the temperature difference between your “day” and “night” side will be about 275 degrees Fahrenheit (135 degrees Celsius). However, since heat does not transfer well in space, freezing to death is not an immediate risk, and neither is spontaneously bursting into flames. But just because freezing isn’t an immediate risk doesn’t mean that it’s not a risk. Remember when we talked about your bodily fluids evaporating? Well, when your body fluids escape as a gas, they take away more than their fair share of heat. Eventually, this evaporative cooling will chill your mouth and nose to near-freezing temperatures; ice will also form in your respiratory tract. And of course, you’ll be radiating heat from your body. Stay in the vacuum too long and the combined effects of this cooling will lead you to an icy death. High Energy Photons. If you’re close to starlight when you enter the vacuum of space, things will go poorly rather quickly (really though, why would you vacate your ship when you are close to a star?! Terrible life choice). First, you’ll get an awful sunburn from the ultraviolet radiation. Unlike the Earth, the vacuum of space doesn’t have an atmosphere to protect you from harmful solar rays, so even short term exposure could cause cancer. But as long as you remain about 93 million miles (150 million km) from Sun-like stars, you’ll be fine. Venture closer than that and the ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma rays radiating from the star will cause severe damage to your DNA. And no, you won’t get super powers or turn into one of the X-Men…you’ll get tumors and experience organ failure. Get too close to the star and you’ll start to fry from the extreme heat radiating from it. Burning Up in the Atmosphere. But wait…how can you burn up in an atmosphere if you’re in the vacuum of space? A fine question. Allow me to explain. But first, I need to point out that, when people tell you that there’s no gravity in space, they are lying. There is gravity everywhere—planets, stars, comets, asteroids, Home Depot, and even the vacuum of space. Gravity envelops our own planet and the most remote corners of the universe. So you could be in the vacuum of space but, if you’re too close to a massive object like a star, planet, or moon, gravity will cause you to fall into the object. Ultimately, objects that are in orbit around another body don’t fail to maintain their positions because there is no gravity, but because of speed. For example, objects in Earth orbit have to travel at least 17,500 mph to keep from plummeting to the planet (28,000 kmh). At this speed, an object is moving so fast that, as it falls towards the Earth, the planet curves away beneath it. Consequently, the object essentially remains in a state of free fall and the Earth never gets any closer. But if you slow down, things start to get a bit mucky. Although there is no clear-cut answer to where space truly begins, the consensus is that it starts somewhere around 400 miles (643 km) above sea level. So let’s say that you are traveling around the Earth at about this altitude when you decide to make your little foray into space. Since you are still subject to the Earth’s gravity, you won’t just fly about the planet for all eternity. You’ll burn. Eventually, you will start to slow down and plummet into the Earth’s atmosphere…where you will be fried to a crisp. Actually, you’ll be fried to more than a crisp—you’ll be dusty nothingness. Of course, it would take some time for your orbital decay to be significant enough to result in a fiery death, about a decade, depending on your speed. Asphyxiation. So what’s the most immediate threat that you need to worry about in the vacuum of space? Rogue black holes? Gamma ray bursts from distant quasars? Aliens?! I’m afraid it’s nothing quite as horrifyingly fantastical as all that. The most immediate threat in the cosmic vacuum is oxygen deprivation. Assuming that you don’t hold your breath during decompression, it will take about 15 seconds for your O2-deprived blood to get to your brain. When this happens, you’ll pass out…and then you’ll die. Simple loss of oxygen will likely kill you faster than anything else in the vacuum of space." The professor cleared his throat as he let them take all of this in and then he continued. "Now for a lighter topic, let's begin our Moon discussions." He said as the students felt the room spin around them as they were pulled forward onto the moon where astronauts were working to create a new colony. The professor then began his next lecture. Eventually, after a period of classes, it was finally time for lunch and the gang reconvened at the cafeteria. Derrick got himself Ground Chicken Breast Meatballs with Mozzarella Cheese and Hubert got Grilled Flank Steak Salad with Strawberries. They sat down at a table while the rest were selecting their own healthy meals. "Hey Derrick, are you sure about telling Josh about....what happened?" "If he wants to hear about it, I'll tell him. There's nothing wrong with telling him. It's Josh after all. He's the most harmless guy in the school." "That's true. You sure you're ready to talk about it?" "It was batshit insane, sure, but I learned talking about it helps." "Alright, just know, we'll be right there with you." "Thanks man." Derrick looked up and waved Dolores over to the table. "Do you want me to move? I can give you alone time." Hubert joked. "Grow up man. I just thought she might want to join us." "Uh huh." "Hey guys!" Dolores greeted as she approached them. "Mind if I join you?" Derrick stood up and pulled a chair out for her. "Please. Your presence is an honor for all of us." "Ohhhh my, how formal of you!" Dolores replied as she set her tray on the table and sat down as Derrick slid the chair into the table. "Manners hold a community together, and manners hold a family together; in a way, they hold the world together. Manners hold a community together, and manners hold a family together; in a way, they hold the world together." "And with as crazy as the world is getting these days, a little politeness can go a long way 'Rick." Dolores replied as Derrick was sitting back down. "It's true isn't it? There is a simple philosophy to follow for a wonderful life: Greet each person with a smile, smiling is a lovely style, you will find, after a while, most people will smile at you. Know inside each soul's the Lord, with folks words, do not get bored, although it might seem quite a chore, treat each person with love and respect. Love and respect will come to you, if these teachings you pursue, being polite is the thing to do, every single day. And remember… it pays to be polite." "You are full of surprises aren't you? I was unaware you had the heart of a poet, Mister Blackburn." Dolores smiled as she folded her hands, rested her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hands. Derrick relaxed in his chair. "Show me a place where poets abide...and I'll show you a place where no one hides. Where once remained hidden, in the heart of mankind, all is exposed, and easy to find. The heart of the poet, is a heart without doors and a poet without words is like a boat without oars. Come now and take this journey with me and I shall promise to set our hearts free." He finished as he raised his glass of milk (Low fat and skim milk being great sources of protein and other essential micronutrients. And these low-fat varieties are the best choices because they contain much less saturated fat than reduced-fat milk or whole milk.) to her. She giggled and raised her green tea. "I will drink to that my rhyme slinging friend." They 'clinked' their cups and turned to Hubert. "And you Mister Hunt?" Hubert Hunt smiled and raised his own drink to them. "Well what can I say, my friends? I would like to be a scholar in whatever I do, a scholar is never finished, he is always seeking and I am always seeking." The trio 'clinked' their drinks and sat back down. "Pray tell, good sir, what makes a scholar a scholar? And how do you become one?" Hubert sipped his juice. "You become a scholar once you've decided to read and learn as much about the world as you can. You become a scholar once you've decided that culture remains when everything else is gone. You become a scholar once the beautiful words of skilled authors are imprinted in you so deep that you can quote them. At last, you become a scholar once you've confessed to yourself you would have to die, if you were forbidden to read and learn." "You've certainly picked the right university for such a career choice and we will be there supporting you the entire way." "We all will." "Thanks guys." They had some of their food while the others were walking to the table. Dolores looked up from her Honey Sesame Chicken Lunch Bowl. "So Derrick? Any plans this weekend?" "We're actually going to a karaoke bar on Saturday. You wanna come? The more the merrier." "Having sampled your wondrous poetry already, I would be delighted to hear you sing. Saturday it is. What time?" "The Stately Knight opens at 6PM so we were thinking we'd get there around 7:30 or 8:00 PM." "8:00 PM will work. The Stately Knight at Revelations Plaza, right?" "That's the one. It will be my treat my fair lady." "Such a gentleman. I'm sold. I'll bring the others if they can make it." "Excellent idea. We are going to rock this city!" "Always down for a rock off. When's the gig?" Regina asked them. "The Stately Knight this Saturday at 8:00 PM." Derrick and Dolores said at the same time, paused and then laughed. "Cool. I'll be there. What about Nicky? You coming?" "Sorry guys, Randall and I are going to see The Silken Emerald this weekend. Raincheck?" The Silken Emerald, naturally, was an Erotic Romantic Dramedy Starring A Dominatrix. (Wow. I didn't know Randall was into those kinds of movies. Good for him. You go bro.) Derrick thought to himself. "It's all good. We can always go back Sunday for an encore." "I'd like that. I'll talk it over with Randall and if our schedules are free, which I'm sure they are, we'll join you for the Sunday encore." Dawnesha whispered to Nicole as she was sitting down. "The Silken Emerald? Seriously?" "Oh yeah." "You little horndog." "Takes one to know one." Dawnesha ruffled her hair and started eating lunch. "Alright you guys have fun, alright?" Dolores said to her. "Oh we will." Nicole assured her. "Try to bring a few houses down for me will you?" "Promise." A bit later Derrick was getting a refill on his drink when he passed Randall. "Good movie choice." Randall chuckled and they returned to the tables. "Yo, Blackburn." He looked to the left to see Ch'ang Jae-Hwa walking over to their table. "Hey Ch'ang? What's up?" "Everybody's saying Mr.Howland's class is canceled so I thought I might as well double check with you." "It's only canceled in that he hasn't shown up yet." Derrick shrugged. "I'd go anyway. Just in case he does show up or they call in a sub." "Yeah that's a good point. Alright. If I hear anything I'll let you guys know." He waved and walked away while taking out his phone and texting someone. Derrick waved and looked up at the ceiling. "Still nothing huh?" "Come on I'm sure it's fine." Dolores assured him. "He's probably just under the weather today. It happens. Now come on and perk up. We're hitting the gym next period." "Yeah you're right." She was. She was indeed right. It was the most logical explanation. So why the hell couldn't Derrick shake this nasty feeling gnawing at him? "Come on 'Rick, it's all good. We're hitting the gym next period, work up a cold sweat and next thing you know you'll forget all about whatever's bothering you. You know the coach'll leap at the chance to make you burn." "Looking forward to it." Derrick smirked. "See? That's better. Show us your pretty smile!" They clasped hands. "Trust me. Whatever's wrong with Professor Howland, I'm sure it's fine. Worst case scenario he took a day off and 'forgot' to call it in. It's fine. It happens." "You're right of course. Sorry about that guys." "Come on bro you can't be ashamed of being empathic." Clyde chimed in. "You're worried about your teacher. It means you're a good person. When he comes back, you can high five him and assure him that you showed up ready for class. Might win you a point on your next exam." "Two if I'm lucky." Derrick joked back. Soon the friends were all joking and laughing together again and the sensation slowly faded even if it didn't leave him completely. After enjoying Lunch, Derrick walked outside with the others and turned to look at Josh. "Hey man. Have you thought about it?" "I have. And I would like to know. Talking can make things easier after all and if this can help you to feel better then I am all ears." "Alright then. Just know that this isn't for the faint of heart. This is a violent story my man. Extremely violent." "I-I can handle it. But...a story like that would probably best be told in the privacy of the dorms tonight. We don't want to scare anybody who might overhear the story and get the wrong idea. Plus, we'll have all the time to do so then right?" "Excellent points Josh. Alright then. Tonight at our dorm room. Horror Story Night. I'll put on a video of a campfire, we'll dim the lights and I'll bless all of you with a story of the worst day of my life. Just be sure to brace yourselves first." "You got it." He and Josh high-fived. "Okay. I have to get Art alright?" "Take it easy man!" On the way to his next class, Josh took his phone and looked on the board to see if there was any new responses from the Howlands. No luck. He sighed and closed out before slipping the phone back into his pocket. Granted it probably wasn't too big of a deal. He was sure that they were fine but it was still a bit weird that Professor Howland would skip the day without letting anyone know why or canceling the class at least. At any rate he had to get to his next class. He criss crossed the campus until he arrived at the building where his art classes were taking place. He smiled and walked inside. The art class naturally took place in a large, multi-room studio and shop, where their professor was currently stomping her foot impatiently while she talked on the phone. "Come on Howland! It's me! Pick up already! I've been trying to call you guys all morning. Your cells aren't picking up and neither are your house phone. If you're taking the day off at least call it in! Call me back the moment you get this!" Morgana Di Sandro told the answering machine before hanging up. "Seriously. What is with him today?" She noticed the class staring at her and laughed it off. "ANYWAY! Hi class! I hope everybody is ready to stretch their artistic muscles today!" Their professor slipped her paint splattered apron over her head and her gloves on and she finished setting up the classroom while the students got ready and took their seats. Josh and the other students got to work. When his hands moved over the canvas it was almost like his mind was directing his hand without him. His hand moved instinctively from one point to the next as he slowly built the picture as it developed in his own mind. He built a fantastical world that was a reflection of his own mind. There was something else too that he couldn't quite place but whenever he painted he felt closest to the Lord and it gave him a sense of peace and relaxation. Josh relaxed in his seat and let the room drift away from him as he lost himself in his work. It was only natural then that his eventual finished work was more bizarre than he'd originally intended. His work is a deceptively terse, process-oriented complex tapestry consisting of conflicts that inhere in postmodern urbanism which is reminiscent of the joie-de-vivre of the marginalized that was part landscape, part abstraction with a sociological series of words consisting of bold graphic shapes as scaffolding for the expanses of poured acrylic which was reminiscent of mankind's positions and roles amid the sea of chaos that was modern life. The picture displayed improvisation, choreographed gestures and reenactments as suggestive of the value of autonomy within modern civic participation while simultaneously displaying contemporary life, culture and science as suggesting a ritual action. "Well alright then." Josh said to himself. Now what to call it? After some deliberation he settled on Civic Chaos. "Well done Josh!" Morgana complimented him. "Very Rochester!" "Being compared to Hamlin is an awesome compliment. Thank you ma'am." "You earned it. Keep up the good work." She assured him and moved on to working with the other students. Once the painting was done with the students moved on other projects. Drawing, carving and making paper-mache designs. By the time the class was over he was helping a partner in the class create a man sized rocket ship out of clay, kneading to make it pliable. It was a self-hardening clay so there was no need for heating it. Self-hardening clay, also known as air-dried or non-firing clay, is a direct modeling material that cures naturally and does not require mold making and casting to achieve a finished piece. In addition, this modeling clay does not need to be fired in a kiln. There are three basic types of self-hardening clay. The first type, Claystone®, works like Plastilina and is usually used over an internal armature for support. Claystone® can be worked indefinitely while moist. The second type of air-hardening clay, Boneware, is used for solid, direct modeling that in essence will be supported by its own bulk. Read More/Less Boneware will remain soft and pliable as long as it is moistened with water and overlaid with a damp cloth when not in use. Boneware contains a natural hardener, but not fiber, to reduce shrinkage and will generally feel and react more like ceramic clay to the touch and in workability. Another type of self-hardening modeling material can be either air-dried or oven-baked to give it more durability. Sculpture House offers Della Robbia, its own brand of this type of air-hardening clay. Pieces made from these clays are for display only; that is, they cannot be used to sculpt functional pieces and should not be left out in the elements. They are porous and cannot hold liquids unless its inside surface has been thoroughly sealed. After the finished piece has air dried and been sealed, it can be decorated for display by using a variety of paints, stains or dyes. Once they were finished building and sealing the clay rocket, they set about painting it until it looked like just like a rocket ship. Josh and Maddison put their names on holo-cards and turned it in. "Hey thanks for the help Maddison." "No problem Josh. That was a lot of fun. I loved your painting too!" "Oh wow thanks! You know I just kinda let the Lord guide my hand." "Wow really? I should try that if that's the kind of results the good lord gives you." "Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me. Psalm 139:10. Trust me there, he is always there for us and he loves everyone." "...Out of curiosity has he told you where Mr.Howland is?" Professor Sandro asked them. "Not as of yet. We've been asking on Blackboard but nobody knows anything yet." "Hmmmmm. Guess I'll have to swing by his house later. Well all in good time. Anyways. Great work today everybody! I'm really feeling your artistic spirits!" She said to them excitedly. The students continued working until class ended and turned in their assignments. Nicole meanwhile was hard at work taking some hardcore notes in her physics course as the professor explained The gravitational constant as a quantum mechanical expression. www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211379716000292A quantitatively verifiable expression for the gravitational constant is derived in terms of quantum mechanical quantities. This derivation appears to be possible by selecting a suitable physical process in which the transformation of the equation of motion into a quantum mechanical wave equation can be obtained by Einstein’s geodesic approach. The selected process is the pi-meson, modeled as the one-body equivalent of a two-body quantum mechanical oscillator in which the vibrating mass is modeled as the result of the two energy fluxes from the quark and the antiquark. The quantum mechanical formula for the gravitational constant appears to show a quantitatively verifiable relationship with the Higgs boson as conceived in the Standard Model. The basic concept in quantum physics is the particle wave duality, which implies that a particle can dually be described by a mechanical equation of motion and by a quantum mechanical wave function. This wave function is the solution of a wave equation. The wave equation is obtained by a transformation of the particle’s equation of motion in a way as conceived by Dirac [1]. Although Einstein’s geodesic equation of motion [2] is the most generic of all, it is, so far, not adopted as the axiomatic base for the particle wave duality description. This is probably due to the mathematical complexity of 4D space–time. It is also the reason for the failure to unify quantum physics with gravity. Instead, Dirac derived his wave equation from the Einsteinian energy relationship of a particle in motion. Therefore, the equation is relativistic, but only special relativistic and not general relativistic. In this article I wish to develop the particle wave duality on the basis of Einstein’s geodesic equation in 2D space–time and to compare it with Dirac’s result. Next to that, I wish to motivate that the 2D space–time approximation is a justified modeling of a realistic physical process. This enables to relate gravity and quantum physics to the extent that the gravitational constant can be formulated as a quantitatively verifiable expression of quantum physical quantities. The concepts as will be outlined in this article, are invoked from previous work by the author [3]. Section 4 is devoted to a comparison of the 2D quantum mechanical wave equations as derived respectively by the geodesic approach (Section 2) and Dirac’s approach (Section 3). This will result into an expression for the gravitational constant (Section 5). In Section 6 a physical process is selected that will deliver the quantity values. The result is subject to a relativistic correction (Section 7). The final result is discussed in Sections Result, Discussion. The equations in this article will be formulated in scientific notation and the quantities will be expressed in SI units. Space–time will be described on the basis of the “Hawking” metric (+,+,+,+). The geodesic approach toward a 2D wave equation Let us consider two frames of Cartesian coordinates and . The first one is the frame of a stationary (“lab frame”) observer O. The second one is the (“center of mass”) frame of an observer co- moving with a particle P. Time and proper time are normalized on the vacuum light velocity such that and , where . Under stationary conditions, the 2D geodesic equation can be written as [4],(1) The quantities and are elements of the metric tensor. They determine the way how the frame of the co-moving observer – by considering functions and – is transformed into the frame of the stationary observer. In particular(2) The adopted stationary condition means that the metric tensor components are supposed to be independent of time t. The geodesic equation expresses that the straight space–time path of the co-moving observer, is observed as a curved path by the lab frame observer. It is the consequence of expressing a presupposed field of forces into a metric tensor. The second part of (1) can be integrated into(3)where is an integration constant. Considering that in flat space–time (, we have . In the case of a conservative field of forces, the local space–time interval is invariant, i.e., , so that(4) From (4), (3) we get(5) This result is consistent with the integration of the first part of (1) under consideration of (3). Under the axiomatic quantum mechanical hypothesis(6) where is the rest mass of the particle in consideration, and where is Planck’s (reduced) constant, we get from (3), (5),(7) The two parts of (7) can be joined to a semantically correct quantum mechanical wave equation. This can be done by differentiation of the second part and addition to the first part after multiplying with , resulting in,(8) The equation is temporally of first order and spatially of second order. It guarantees the positive definiteness of the wave function. This means that the spatial integral of squared absolute value of the wave function is time-independent. This is required to obey the semantics of the wave function, which states that its squared absolute value expresses the probability that the particle is at a certain moment at a certain place. As this certain place must be somewhere, the spatial integral has to be time-independent. Eq. (8) has a similar format as Schrödinger’s equation. The difference is in the right-hand part. In Schrödinger’s equation this part is the (spatially dependent) potential energy of the particle in motion. Here, it is replaced by a quantity that expresses the metric curvature of space–time. Dirac’s approach toward a 2D wave equation Dirac derived his relativistic quantum mechanical wave equation for a particle moving in free space from a heuristic elaboration of Einstein’s energy relationship(9) where is the three-vector momentum (, not to be confused with ), squared as(10)or equivalently,(11) Under consideration of the required semantics, Dirac expanded and transformed this quadratic equation into a set of two linear ones, where are the Pauli matrices, so that(12) If the velocity of the particle is small with respect to the light velocity, we have , so that from (10),(13) From (13) and the first part of (12), and adopting the minus sign to avoid a meaningless result, it follows(14) After substitution of (14) into the second part of (12), we get, under consideration of (6),(15) Mutatis mutandis, and now adopting the plus sign in (13), we get(16) Eqs. (15), (16) can be summarized as(17) Eq. (17) is known as the Pauli–Schrödinger approximation of Dirac’s equation. The solution is a two-component wave function, with a dominant component and a minor (spin) component that can assume two states. If a particle is subject to a field of forces, Dirac’s Equation as formulated in (17) does not hold. Potentially however, its format can be preserved if the operators on the wave function are redefined in a suitable way. This is known as the application of the Principle of Covariance. This involves a redefinition of the operators in the wave equation, implying that derivatives of the wave function are replaced by covariant derivatives. In particular,(18) where is a dimensionless generic coupling factor and where, generically, are the components of the four-vector potential that characterizes the field forces, and where is the scalar part of the field. In the case that the field is characterized by a scalar only, we get for the dominant wave component from (17), (18),(19) Comparing the geodesic approach with Dirac’s approach Comparing (19) with (8), it is concluded that, under non-relativistic conditions, the particle’s wave equation in a conservative scalar field of forces derived by the geodesic approach and Dirac’s approach, are equivalent if(20) where is a function of the metric components and (not to be confused with the quantum mechanical coupling factor ). Let us proceed by considering conditions as often assumed in general relativistic gravitational problems. These are, isotropy and weak field condition, implying(21) This enables to rewrite (20) as(22) This expression relates the space–time curvature with the potential energy of the particle in motion. In the particular case that the potential field shows a spatial quadratic dependency, the wave equation represents a quantum mechanical oscillator. This is true if(23) where the normalization parameter is introduced to make the constant dimensionless. Elementary algebra shows that (20), (22) are equivalent if(24) Eq. (24) imposes an interrelationship between the particle’s potential energy and its rest mass. This may seem an over-constraint. Actually, it is not, because the rest mass energy curves space–time and the potential energy is a manifestation of the space–time curvature (otherwise equating the geodesic approach with Dirac’s approach would be meaningless). The gravitational constant Energetic fields are formats of energy, similarly as massive particles in rest. All formats of energy are subject to Einstein’s field equation. Accepting the universality of this principle beyond the realm of gravity, justifies applying Einstein’s field equation to nuclear energetic fields. One side of this equation is the Einstein tensor ( ), which is expressed in quantities that can be derived from the metric tensor. The other side is the energy momentum tensor (), which contains quantities that can be derived from the energy present in the space as characterized by the metric tensor. There is a proportionality factor involved, known as the gravity constant. The full expression is(25) Here, and are respectively the so-called Ricci tensor and the Ricci scalar, which can be calculated if the metric tensor components are known [1], [4]. Let us start by calculating the energy momentum tensor. This presupposes knowledge of the spatial energy density. We wish to proceed under the assumption that all energy is comprised in the potential energy of the moving object and that the energy density is given as (see Appendix I),(26) The viability of this assumption will be shown for a particular physical process, to be discussed in Section 6. From (26), it follows that(27) Note that the index applies to the spatial dimension and to the temporal dimension. It follows straightforwardly from (27), (23) that,(28) The more difficult part is the calculation of the Einstein tensor from the Ricci tensor and the Ricci scalar , to be obtained from the metric tensor . Because of the 2D isotropy condition, the calculation results into rather simple expressions [4],(29)(30) Note: and is short for differentiation and double differentiation (after ) of the parameter , and is the inverse of the matrix . Application of (21), (23) on (29), (30), gives(31)so that(32) From (25), (28), (32), under consideration of (24), the gravitational constant follows as,(33) This result means that it is possible to express the gravitational constant into quantum mechanical quantities, provided that we can identify a physical process that can be modeled as a harmonic 2D quantum mechanical oscillator where the mass of the object in motion is extracted from the field’s potential energy. The physical process In this section, it will be claimed that such a process exists. It is the basic quark dipole, known as the pi-meson. It is commonly accepted that the quark masses have their origin from an omni-present scalar field of energy, known as the Higgs field [8]. This field is functionally described by a Lagrangian density with two characteristic quantities and , such that [7, p.363](34) Usually, the source term is omitted, because it is simply stated that an unknown source sustains the field. But let us consider the consequences if we do not wish to accept an incomplete Lagrangian density description. To do so, let us compare the Lagrangian density of the Higgs field with the Lagrangian density of the type(35) Let us further suppose that the source is a three-dimensional Dirac distribution . Application of the Lagrange–Euler Equation yields a differential equation for the spatial behavior of the field’s potential energy. In this case,(36) The solution of (36) is(37) If and , where is the electric charge of a pointlike source and is the free space electric permeability, this expression represents a Coulomb field. Generically it represents a field with a format that corresponds with the potential as proposed by Yukawa [5] to explain the short range of a nuclear force. It can also be viewed as a screened Coulomb field, which originates if the free Coulomb flux is suppressed by a surrounding space charge, such as first described by Debije [6]. The Debije shielding is observed in a wide variety of physical processes, particularly in plasma physics and in astrophysics. In these processes the Debije shielding length may range from values as large as 105 m to values as small as 10−9 m. Unfortunately, the high non-linearity of the potential energy term in the Lagrangian density of the Higgs field, as shown, in (34) prevents the analytical derivation of a spatial description of the Higgs field from a pointlike source . But if we cannot solve the spatial field equation analytically, why not solving it numerically? The way how to do has been documented in a previous work [3a], in which it has been shown that the potential that satisfies the wave equation derived from (34), is closely approximated by,(38) This field shows far field characteristics corresponding to the Yukawa ones, next to near field characteristics with opposite direction that represents a short-range force. We identify the far field force as the force that is commonly known as the weak force (short for force responsible for weak interaction) and the scalar near field force as the strong force (short for force responsible for strong interaction). The nuclear force is the combination of the two, such that the field, as shown by (38), is given by(39) If we identify the quark as the source of this nuclear field, a nice picture is obtained. Any quark couples to the field of any other quark with the coupling factor , such that it feels a nuclear force described as(40) where the quantum mechanical coupling is supposed to be equal to the square root of the electromagnetic fine structure constant (g2 ≈ 1/137, see Appendix I). This means that any quark is repelled by any other quark under influence of the far field, but attracted by the near field. As a consequence, structures are possible to exist that are composed by two quarks or three quarks, which are holding each other in a stable equilibrium. Similarly as Lorentz did in the past for electrons, we may suppose that the masses of these structures will primarily, if not all, be determined by the fields that result from the potential fluxes from the composing quarks. In this model, two quarks, positioned at a spacing 2d apart, compose a structure, the center of mass of which will vibrate around the position just half-way the two quarks. Therefore, this quark dipole, to be identified as meson, can be modeled effectively as an equivalent single-body quantum mechanical oscillator with a certain effective mass that is built by the energetic fluxes from the quarks. The far field component (weak force) can be conceived as the scalar part of the four-vector potential (A1, A2, A3, A4), of a field with the characteristics of Proca’s generalization of a Maxwell field, described by a Lagrangian density of the type,(41) where the vector components Jμ represent the sources of the field, possibly exclusively consisting of the pointlike well . In the past, such a field has been considered as a candidate to explain the origin of nuclear forces indeed. It has been abandoned because the term spoils the gauge constraint that is required to obtain the covariant format of Dirac’s equation. Stueckelberg, however, has shown that the gauge constraint remains valid in the case that the vectorial Proca field is supplemented by an additional scalar field. In Stueckelberg’s time, there was no rationale for this artificial escape. Within the context of this article it makes sense, because the scalar near field in (39) may serve the purpose. The justification for it is shown in Appendix II. A side effect of this solution is the removal of a possible renormalization problem associated with the inverse square potential format of the scalar near field. The meson is subject to a quantum mechanical wave equation, which will be developed within the center of mass frame. As noted before, the two constituting quarks will hold each other in a stable equilibrium. This enables us to develop a one-body equivalent of a two-body oscillator. Although such oscillator resembles a classical one, there is a fundamental difference. In the classical case, we have two masses and a (potential) field in between. In the classical case, the energy captured in the two masses is much larger than the energy represented by the field. In the model to be developed here, the other extreme is adopted: the bare mass of the bodies is supposed to be negligible as compared with the field energy. It makes the oscillator relativistic, because the mass in the wave equation is no longer the mass of the two bodies, but it is an equivalent mass that captures the energy of the field. In spite of the relativistic nature of the model, the center of mass view allows applying the Pauli–Schrödinger approximation of Dirac’s wave equation, describing a linear motion of an effective mass between the quark centers. Therefore, we write,(42) Here, 2d is the quark spacing, the non-relativistic effective mass of the center, its potential energy and the generic energy constant, which will be subject to quantization. From (32) we have,(43) The potential energy can be expanded as(44)(45) The two quarks in the meson settle in a state of minimum energy, at a spacing , determined from the condition(46)so that ; and (at ). The quantum mechanical oscillator as represented by (42) is subject to excitation. This means that the energy constant is subject to excitation. Under the approximation of the potential energy by a quadratic polynomial as (44), the constants associated with the vibration energy , are equally spaced. The frequency is given by the generic basic relationship [9],(47) A particle-antiparticle conjunction, as in the case of a meson, has particular characteristics. All mass is in the binding energy between the two particles. This allows the conclusion that the spacing between the quark and the antiquark is determined by half the wavelength of a single harmonic energetic standing wave (boson) with phase velocity c, so that(48)where is a dimensionless constant with order of magnitude 1, introduced for corrections because of the crude modeling and where is the energy of a bosonic mass particle responsible for change of energetic states of the meson. This boson is known as the weak-interaction boson. Its energetic value is known in the lab frame from experimental evidence of nuclear decay processes, but will be subject to relativistic correction in the center of mass frame. From (48) it follows that(49) (Note: the value of the effective mass is irrelevant within the scope of this paper. Eventually it comes manifest in the lab frame as the rest mass of the meson). Under consideration of (48), (49), the gravitational constant, as expressed by (33), can thus be written as,(50) This analysis has been made in the center of mass frame, i.e., the frame of the co-moving observer. The energy is known in the lab frame as . The co-moving observer experiences the lab frame velocity as the lab frame speed of the pi-meson. Owing to this particle-antiparticle structure, the pi-meson flies at near light velocity . Therefore, (50) is subject to a major relativistic correction, so that, effectively,(51) The relativistic correction will be considered in the next section. The relativistic correction The composite field of three quarks in a baryon, relatively far from the internal structure, as built-up by three contributions of the type as defined by (39), shows the same behavior as that of a single quark. It has both the characteristics of the attracting near field and those of the repulsive far field. If the inter-baryon interaction is represented by a massive bosonic particle with a certain spatial range and if this range is one or more orders of magnitude larger than the range of the intra-baryon interaction bosons, the inter-baryon behavior is just a scaled behavior of the intra-baryon behavior. In that case a similar potential function can be defined for the remnant field of the baryon similarly as (39), with the only difference that the -value has to be scaled. Therefore, supposing that , the inter-baryon field can be defined as(52) Other baryons may couple to this field, with some dimensionless coupling factor . Identifying the interacting bosons as pions with rest mass energy (=135.0/139.6 MeV), we have(53) According to this model, in non-excited state, the distance 2d between bound baryons therefore is, typically,(54) The pions travel at near light speed. As shown by Watkins [10], this speed can be determined from the half life value , in proper time denoted as. It is based upon the relationship between the temporal decay rate and the spatial decay parameter . The decay behavior of particles in proper time is given by(55) From the half life definition, given by(56) It follows from (55), (56) that(57) The relationship between spatial decay and temporal decay is frame independent and given by(58) so that from Eqs. (55), (56), (57), (58) after relativistic correction for ,(59)so that, for , under consideration of (53),(60) Result Summarizing, we have (51), (60), The result of this analysis is summarized in Table 1. The left-hand column shows the values of the physically known quantities. The middle column shows the known dimensionless constants as they are established in this theory. The right-hand column shows that the known value of the gravitational constant is obtained for the parameter value . This value is in agreement with the presupposed order of magnitude 1. Table 1. Numerical result for the gravitational constant, calculated from quantum mechanical quantities. Physics This theory Calculated ℏc = 193 MeV fm α = 0.69 m′0π = 139.6 MeV k2 = 2.36 = 1.59 × 10−16 t0π = 2.603 × 10−8 s k0 = −1/2 G = 6.67 × 10−11 m3kg−1s−2 m′W = 80.4 GeV d′min = 0.8526 g2 = 1/137 In view of the order of magnitude of the quantities involved, this attempt to unify gravity with quantum mechanics yields a surprising fit of the theoretically calculated value of the gravitational constant with the experimentally established constant of nature. The credibility of this result can be underlined with an interesting observation. It has to do with the 126.5 GeV particle, discovered in 2012 by CERN and identified as the “Higgs boson” of the Standard Model. The energetic value of its mass is known to be a function of the quantity in the functional definition of the Higgs field as given by (38). In particular [7, p.364](61) The Standard Model, however, is unable to establish theoretically based values for the two Higgs quantities and . That prevents a calculation of (61). Interestingly, though, the theory as outlined in this article, may do. How? Similarly as the boson of the electromagnetic field, neither the boson of vectorial far field, nor the boson of the scalar near field are observables. They can only show up by “signatures”. There is no reason why the view on the Higgs field as developed in this article would exclude the possibility that photons interact with the Higgs field as spread by quarks. Such interactions would produce new particles of the same kind as predicted in the state-of-art theory. Let us try to calculate the mass equivalent of such new particles under application of the relationships as developed in this article. As shown by (38), the equivalents of the quantities and in the common functional description of the Higgs field are the spatial field quantities (for is strength) and (for its spatial range). It has been shown in Eq. (49) that the strength quantity can be determined from the weak interaction boson (=80.4 GeV), as(62)and that the spatial range quantity follows from the ratio , calculated from (48), (49) as,(63) (Note that, unlike the individual quantities and , the numerical value of this ratio is frame-independent). It has to be emphasized that the results (62), (63) have to be credited to the general relativistic view on the physical quark dipole. Applying (38) on (61), we have(64) From (62), (63), (64), and Table 1, it follows that,(65) This theoretically established energy value of the “Higgs mass” is close to the measured value by CERN. Within the context of this article, it may be regarded as a confirmation of the viability of the relationship between gravity and quantum physics as expressed by (51), (60) and the numerical result given in Table 1. Discussion It will be clear that the validation of a formula that expresses the gravitational constant in quantum mechanical quantities is an important contribution to the on-going challenge in present theoretical physics to relate gravity with quantum physics. It will also be clear that a claim that this can be done without conceiving a new theoretical framework beyond the established ones, will be regarded as controversial. Nevertheless, in this article an attempt to do so has resulted in a formula that can be easily numerically verified in an outcome that nicely fits with the well-known established experimental evidence. This numerical result cannot be denied. The theoretical steps might be subject to criticism, but the criticism should then answer the question why such a result is possible if something is wrong with the basic approach. So, let me summarize the approach, thereby stipulating different angles of view as compared to present theory. Among the various steps taken, there are three major ones. One of these is the view that Einstein’s field equation is universal, therefore also valid beyond the realm of gravity and, therefore, applicable to nuclear energetic fields as well. The second one is the view that Dirac’s approach for deriving a quantum mechanical wave equation from an equation of motion can be made more fundamental by taking Einstein’s geodesic equation as a starting point rather than restricting it to Einstein’s expression for relativistic energy. The third one has to do with the Higgs field. Similarly as in present-state quantum theory, the Higgs field is considered as a field from which energy can be subtracted for the purpose to give mass to particles. The view taken, however, is that the lack of a source term in the formulation of its Lagrangian density is unacceptable. Accepting a pointlike source as in conventional field theory, enables the derivation of a spatial field description, albeit that a numerical approach is required to do so. The logical step taken is, to identify the quark as the pointlike source of energy. This is not all. The most essential element in this third step is the split of the Higgs field into two different components: a bosonic vectorial far field in terms of Proca’s generalization of the Maxwell field and an additional bosonic scalar near field with a narrow spatial reach. Owing to these characteristics, there is no need to explain the origin of massive nuclear bosons as a consequence of the interaction of mass less particles with a scalar field. Instead, the nuclear force bosons come forward by definition, similarly as photons show up in a Maxwell field. Finally, I want to emphasize the difference between the term, which specifies the spatial range of the nuclear force, and a physical mass term , such as in Proca’s original formulation. Owing to the invariance of the ratio , the energy of a “H-type” Proca boson remains, similar as a photon, the same in any inertial frame. If somebody tries to bring the Proca boson to rest, the term changes in coherence with the change of . It is for that reason that the quantum of the Higgs field cannot be identified as an observable massive boson. Experimental data on observables (like many fermions) are “hard”, but experimental data on non-observables, like bosons flying at (near) light speed, are “soft”. They show up as “signatures”, which are interpreted with a theory in mind. A signature that supports the theory as developed in this article is the theoretically derived value for the mass of the 126.5 GeV “Higgs particle”, which in present-state theory needs to be empirically established. This is a second major result of the analysis presented. Appendix I. Electroweak unification In the physical process as described in Section 6, the nuclear field is conceived as an energetic field similar to that of an electromagnetic field. The spread of an energetic flux by pointlike wells creates a spatial field, which, in Maxwell’s theory, is characterized by its energy density, i.e. the amount of field energy per unit of volume. The nuclear equivalent of the Maxwellian field density can be found on the basis of the unification hypothesis. Within the context of our physical process this hypothesis is, in SI units, formulated as:(A1) where and are the scalar parts of respectively the electromagnetic potential and the nuclear potential, is the elementary electric charge and the free space electric permeability. The hypothesis states that the square of the nuclear coupling factor is equal to the electromagnetic fine structure constant (). The justification of the unification hypothesis has to be provided by experimental evidence. For its validation, see [3]. The energy density of the nuclear field can now expressed in similar terms as the electric energy density of the electromagnetic field, i.e., as(A2) Appendix II. Stueckelberg’s gauge constraint In 1938, Ernst Stueckelberg [11], [12] showed that, under particular circumstances, the elegancy of the Principle of Covariance on the basis of minimum substitution, can be maintained for Proca type fields. This will be the case if, next to a Proca field, an auxiliary scalar bosonic field , will be present, such that Proca’s Lagrangian is modified into, [12],(B1)This modified Lagrangian density remains unaffected under the gauges,(B2) Therefore, it is allowed to use the covariant Dirac equation in a Proca field of forces if an auxiliary scalar field is present as well. Let us try to identify the near field (strong force) as defined in (39) as Stueckelberg’s auxiliary phantom scalar field. First of all, we have to cope with the r2-term in the denominator of the near field expression, which is not compatible with a pointlike source. This would suggest that the source of the scalar field is a dipole rather than a monopole. Unfortunately, although the dipole shows an inverse square behavior of the energetic flux indeed, it shows an angular dependency as well. The escape comes from a reconsideration of the axiomatic principle as adopted by the author in his sequence of papers. It has to do with the numerical fit of the spatial expression (38) with the functional expression of the Higgs field. Curiously, another expression gives a fit with a similar accuracy. The fit is obtained by(B3) This can be rewritten as,(B4) This allows to incorporate the sources of the vectorial far field and the scalar near field into a complete Lagrangian description. Moreover, we may invoke the generalization proposed by ‘t Hooft and Veltman, by including an additional real parameter , [12], [13], such that,(B5) Applying the Euler–Lagrange Equation yields two wave equations. Describing the pointlike sources for the far field and near field, respectively, as and , and defining , we get for the scalar part of the time independent (vector type) far field,(B6)and for the time independent (scalar type) near field we get(B7) By comparing (B7), (B4), obviously . It may seem that both equations have the same format as the Klein Gordon equation, which has erroneously been derived for fermions as a fore-runner of Dirac’s Equation. The presence of the source term, however, make these two bosonic equations different. It will be clear now that, under the modification (B3), the Stueckelberg mechanism allows to give a spatial description of the functionally defined Higgs field. The field can be assigned to a single composite source that produces a vectorial Proca type (weak force) far field and a scalar type (strong force) near field. For reasons of simplicity, I wish to stick to the two-parameter formulation as expressed by (38) rather than by the four-parameter equivalent (B4). But her mind was on the riddle of the missing professor. Where could he be? The students had tried to contact him through E-Mails and Online Messages but there hadn't been any contact back. She was sure that it was something mundane of course but there was still something nagging at her. Something she'd buried deep inside of herself a long time ago that was telling her to investigate it thoroughly. To get to the bottom of this mystery. Nicole pushed it back down. She'd buried that part of herself in Tempesmere. It was fine. There was a logical explanation for all of this she was sure. The police could handle it with their technological advances and investigative skills. No need for her to get involved. "Miss Noble? Could you explain the solution of the Dirac equation to the class please?" Professor Jimmy Turner asked her. "Oh, sure." Nicole cleared her throat and stood up and spoke out to the class. "The solution of the Dirac equation for an electron in a Coulomb field is systematically treated here by utilizing new insights provided by supersymmetry.It is shown that each of the concepts has its analogue in the non-relativistic case. Indeed, the non-relativistic case is developed first, in order to introduce the new concepts in a familiar context. The symmetry of the non-relativistic model is already present in the classical limit, so the classical Kepler problem is first discussed in order to bring out the role played by the Laplace vector, one of the central concepts of the whole book. Analysis of the concept of eccentricity of the orbits turns out to be essential to understanding the relation of the classical and quantum mechanical models.The opportunity is taken to relive the great moments of physics: From Kepler's discovery of the laws of motion of the planets, the development is traced through the Dirac equation up to modern advances, which bring the concepts of supersymmetry to bear on the derivation of the solutions. How was that?" Professor Turner gave her a thumbs up. "Well done Nicole! Thank you very much!" He smiled and returned to his lecture. "Thank you sir." Nicole replied and sat back down. "Teacher's pet." She heard someone at the far end of the second to last row whisper under his breath. She hummed and returned to her notes. After lunch the students split up to go their respective classes with a couple of them accompanying Derrick across campus to the fitness center. Once inside the men and women split up to their respective locker rooms and got changed. Derrick put on a black muscle shirt and shorts and hung up his college uniform in his locker. He put on some gloves and did a few pre-workout stretches. (It's just your nerves. It's just your nerves. You didn't get enough sleep and it's got you on edge. It's fine. Everyone's fine. The Brannons are gone. Dead and buried or locked up. Gone. They're all gone and none of their minions are coming after you again. Even if they do? Just kick their asses all over again. You're fine. It's fine. Now perk up. You've got benching to do!) Derrick smiled, clapped his face and loosened himself up for the workout. "'Ey geeza 're ya feelin' okay?" Randall asked him. "Feeling fine. Just one of those days you know?" "Oh trust me I kna. Ya 'ave ter learn ter take it easy once in a while. If you're always on edge you'll just wear yourself out. Tearn ter smell the roses mate." "Yeah I know. Come on, lets bench." He laughed and walked to the door into the fitness floor. The moment he stepped inside Derrick forgot all of his concerns. "Glad you could come." Dolores greeted him in a black tank top and shorts. "You ready to sweat?"
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Post by SuperKamiGuy1 on Oct 1, 2020 0:40:52 GMT
"Hey guys. I was wondering, since we're here and all, could you quiz me?" Josh asked. "I've got an exam coming up and I wanted to be prepared for it." "I'm game if you are man." Derrick said as he set down his fork. "Cool." He and Joshua wiped their hands and Joshua pulled a set of holo-cards out of his pocket and handed them to Derrick. "Alright. Let's see what we got here. Ohhhh I get it. You're taking Mrs. Sasha Rockingham's class arent you?" "Yeah. Have you taken it?" "Last semester. You're in for some real brain busters with her class. Don't let your guard down or her exams will bury you." "I know. I managed to ace the last one but I had to study like crazy for it. The pop quizzes keep me on my toes too." "Oh yeah. She loves those. Alright. Name Ampère’s law." "Ampère’s law, one of the basic relations between electricity and magnetism, stating quantitatively the relation of a magnetic field to the electric current or changing electric field that produces it. The law is named in honor of André-Marie Ampère, who by 1825 had laid the foundation of electromagnetic theory. An alternative expression of the Biot-Savart law, which also relates the magnetic field and the current that produces it, Ampère’s law is generally stated formally in the language of calculus: the line integral of the magnetic field around an arbitrarily chosen path is proportional to the net electric current enclosed by the path. James Clerk Maxwell is responsible for this mathematical formulation and for the extension of the law to include magnetic fields that arise without electric current, as between the plates of a capacitor, or condenser, in which the electric field changes with the periodic charging and discharging of the plates but in which no passage of electric charge occurs. Maxwell also showed that even in empty space a varying electric field is accompanied by a changing magnetic field. In this more general form, the so-called Ampère-Maxwell law is one of the four Maxwell equations that define electromagnetism." "That's right." Derrick replied without needing to look at the answer. You remember the things you learn in Ms.Rockingham's class. For fun though, Derrick slid his finger down the holo-card and the answer popped up. He switched to the next card. "Like I said. Studying like crazy." Joshua laughed. "My turn!" Hubert chimed in and took a card. "Ooooh. Gauss's Law." "The total of the electric flux out of a closed surface is equal to the charge enclosed divided by the permittivity. The electric flux through an area is defined as the electric field multiplied by the area of the surface projected in a plane perpendicular to the field. Gauss's Law is a general law applying to any closed surface. It is an important tool since it permits the assessment of the amount of enclosed charge by mapping the field on a surface outside the charge distribution. For geometries of sufficient symmetry, it simplifies the calculation of the electric field. Another way of visualizing this is to consider a probe of area A which can measure the electric field perpendicular to that area. If it picks any closed surface and steps over that surface, measuring the perpendicular field times its area, it will obtain a measure of the net electric charge within the surface, no matter how that internal charge is configured." "That's correct." Hubert said and activated the holo-card and it emitted the answer along with several equations. "Alright. Try this one." Clyde smiled. "Faraday's Law?" "Any change in the magnetic environment of a coil of wire will cause a voltage (emf) to be "induced" in the coil. No matter how the change is produced, the voltage will be generated. The change could be produced by changing the magnetic field strength, moving a magnet toward or away from the coil, moving the coil into or out of the magnetic field, rotating the coil relative to the magnet, etc. Faraday's law is a fundamental relationship which comes from Maxwell's equations. It serves as a succinct summary of the ways a voltage (or emf) may be generated by a changing magnetic environment. The induced emf in a coil is equal to the negative of the rate of change of magnetic flux times the number of turns in the coil. It involves the interaction of charge with magnetic field." "You are killing this!" "I prefer crushing it but thank you very much. What else do we have?" "Coulomb's Law." Diego Davidson challenged. "Like charges repel, unlike charges attract. The electric force acting on a point charge q1 as a result of the presence of a second point charge q2 is given by Coulomb's Law: where ε0 = permittivity of space. This satisfies Newton's third law because it implies that exactly the same magnitude of force acts on q2 . Coulomb's law is a vector equation and includes the fact that the force acts along the line joining the charges. Like charges repel and unlike charges attract. Coulomb's law describes a force of infinite range which obeys the inverse square law, and is of the same form as the gravity force. A negative force implies an attractive force. The force is directed along the line joining the two charges." The four friends continued quizzing him while another student walked into the cafeteria followed closely by a giant who entered through the extra tall side doors which had been designed for bigger students as he entered into the cafeteria. The first student, Randall Sharp, was built like a linebacker with a smart goatee and dark brown hair in a buzzcut. He was one of the taller students in the University and just as tall as Diego, who himself was slightly taller than Derrick. He only looked small next to his human tank classmate Owain Thomas. While Derrick and his group were tall, Owain towered over everyone in the school and he was almost as broad as he was tall. Being a brick naturally lead to muscular builds but Owain was one of the few who were described as Boulder-Bricks, extra large super strength type supers. He had to have his clothing custom made, including his school uniform. He was also one of the few truck drivers at the school as normal cars just didn't suit him. The reason behind his increased build, aside from his Advanced Gene, was because he'd gotten into a rough spot during the Invasion Of 2031 and threw himself into an intense workout program ever since. Derrick could relate. He looked up from the quiz and high-fived Randall and Owain as they walked by. Owain paused and looked at the card for a second. "The constant of proportionality k appearing in Coulomb's law is often called Coulomb's constant. Note that it can be expressed in terms of another constant, ε0 = permittivity of space. When describing the electric forces in atoms and nuclei, it is often convenient to work with the product of Coulomb's constant and the square of the electron charge since that product appears in electric potential energy and electric force expressions." "That's right man. I didn't know you took her class." "I'm currently taking it actually. Joshua and I. He's a lifesaver." Joshua smiled at his roommate. "Happy to help Owain." "Good idea. He's a bit of a genius himself." "A bit? I'll have you know I'm one of the highest scoring students here." Joshua smirked. "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches." "Jeremiah 9:23. Oh man you set me up again. Besides which, are you really one to boast about any of those?" "To be fair: I'm right up there with you guys in smarts, my family's pretty damn rich and I'm the strongest on campus next to the tank." " Keep tellin' yorself that." Randall quipped as he walked by them. "Anytime buzzcut." Derrick joked. Nicole looked up and beamed as Randall Sharp sat down at the table next to her. " Good mornin' beautiful." "Good morning yourself handsome." Nicole replied. " Did yer sleep well, eh?" "I always do. Because I know tomorrow is going to be another beautiful day on campus." " Every day on campus wiv yer is a beautiful one." "Awwwww you're so sweet babe." "You know we're eating here right?" Dolores smirked. "Oui, pardon!" She replied with a cartoonish shrug. The friends had a good laugh and Randall pulled out his phone and forwarded a poem to Nicole's E-Mail. Nicole's phone beeped and she pulled it out and looked over her E-Mails until she found the one from Randall and she opened it up. Param( [Parameter(Position=0, Mandatory=$true, HelpMessage="How Does She Answer?")] [string]$SheSaid) If($SheSaid -like "yes") { Function Get-Married { $SheSaidYes = Get-Date $TheBigDay = $SheSaidYes.AddDays(364) #A year would be too far! $FriendsandFamily = Get-Content -Path ".\friendsandfamily.cfg" ForEach ($LovedOne in $FriendsandFamily) { Send-MailMessage -To $LovedOne.Address } $DaysLeft = New-TimeSpan -Start $SheSaidYes -End $TheBigDay Do { Start-Sleep -s 86400 #Agonizing Seconds $DaysLeft = ($DaysLeft -1) } While($DaysLeft -gt 0) } Function Live-HappilyEverAfter { $Happiness = Get-Happiness $DaysLeft = Get-Content ".\ThingsWeCanNeverKnow.ini" ForEach ($DaysWithHer in $DaysLeft) { $Happiness = ($Happiness +1) Start-Sleep -s 86400 #Time Just Flies $DaysLeft = ($DaysLeft -1) } } Get-Married Live-HappilyEverAfter } Else { Exit } Nicole very nearly burst out laughing right then and there but responded with a giant heart to him. He smiled and texted one back to her and they clinked their drinks. "Ohhh wow. Wow do you...do you hear that?" Dawnesha asked Regina. "What is it? Could it be?" "Wedding Bells?" They asked at the same time. "You know I heard people were marrying young these days but this is pretty sudden." Josh joked. "Hey if you guys are gonna need a best man, just let me know!" Derrick called back to them. "Wotcher goin' on about, then, eh? Yor the bloomin' flower girl." "Find an outfit in my size and I just may consider it." Derrick joked. The friends had another hearty laugh together and continued joking around in between eating their breakfast. They eventually finished their morning meals and tossed the trash into the Clean and 'Cycle System before turning their trays into the washing units and then washing their hands. "Hey Derrick. Are you going to tell me about those animal mask people you mentioned?" "Uhhhhh." Derrick looked around the growing crowds of students and professors coming and going. "Maybe later. At the library. This isn't a story you talk about in public. It's not exactly the happiest of stories." Joshua and the others immediately around him couldn't help but notice the passing of sadness on his face before he perked up again. "So, ah, just be a bit patient and think it over. If you still want to hear about it after lunch, then I'll tell you all about it in a quiet corner of the library." "Okay then. Thank you for the warning Derrick." "You're welcome." "Well...whatever happened in the past. I'm glad you're here with us." Derrick flexed his bicep. "But of course. It takes a lot more than a band of crazies to bring me down. And thank you Josh." They fist bumped and continued to their own respective classes. Derrick walked across the campus grounds with his friends until he arrived at his computer sciences building and waved to them as he walked inside. To say the buildings were fancy was doing them a disservice. It would be better to describe each of them as futuristic. The first thing you saw when entering the lobby was a very nice waiting area with plenty of sitting room, a fountain, exotic plants, an information display and a hard light holographic map display that let students know where they were and where everything was, with health drink and snack dispensers on the walls and with classical music playing from speakers. Up on the ceiling was a holographic display greeting the students to the Computer Sciences building along with a holographic display of the founder of the University; Salvadore Barbaroman. A powerfully built man who nonetheless had the charming appearance of a quintessential English Gentleman who just happened to have an eyepatch over his left eye and a sword for a right hand. There were stories among the student body about what could've happened to him that caused such injuries but even his family members were mum about it. The most people had managed to dig up was that he was in a brutal fight. But nobody could decide if it had been with a Super Criminal, A War or some kind of Monster. All anybody knew for sure was that he survived it, came back stronger and put a sword on his hand. And really, what else do you need to know about the man besides that? Derrick walked to the left and proceeded up the walkway. The university had plenty of nice elevators but he preferred the exercise. It was only six floors up. He had plenty of time to get to class. "Oi mate, wait up." Derrick turned back around to Randall. "What's up man?" "I'm sorry but I overheard yer a wee bit earlier. Are yer okay, isit?" "I'm fine. It was ten years ago. A bunch of jackasses fucked with the wrong family and Rick'd for it." "Rick'd? Ohhh, like in The chuffin' Walkin' Dead, eh, mate?" "The other Rick." Randall laughed. "Ha! Oh shit I am sorry that I missed that knees-up." "No, trust me, you're not." Derrick shrugged and he turned around and they walked to class. "So are yer sure they won't be comin' back again, then, guv?" Derrick scoffed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Oh please. It's been ten years. If they were going to come back for another asskicking they would've done it by now. Besides, what are they gonna do if they did come back? Invade the campus? Security'll wreck their redneck asses before they get anywhere near the student body." Randall laughed. "Yor right about that! Struth! Tryin' ter attack Trinity University is like tryin' ter attack Champion City or a Military Base. Yor'd cop wrecked before yer knew wot 'appened." Champion City of course being one of the most advanced cities in the United States, let alone the world, and home of Khrysos Corporation HQ. And among the rest of the advanced security around the entire city, Khrysos Corporation had its own crime fighting unit that worked around the city to assist the police in keeping it crime free and to provide good morals and lessons to kids. The Khrysos Corporations Special Duty Peacekeeping Combat Unit: The Power Titans. Derrick and his friends had only seen holo-videos of them and watched them on the news and they were like futuristic ninjas the way they moved. "That's right. So don't worry about it man. I'm fine. We're all fine and the psychos went the way of Bunnyman." "Wot the hell fire is the chuffin' Bunnyman?" "Precisely." Derrick smirked. They continued shooting the breeze until they arrived on the sixth floor and walked through another door into the main area. From there they walked around the labyrinthine room until they arrived at COMPSCI 642 and Derrick swiped his ID and the door slid open to their auditorium style computer room. Derrick crossed the room and took his seat in the back and booted up his station. A hard light holographic homescreen popped up along with a similar keyboard and other features. Derrick used the holo-board to type in his personal password (9RiENvrXo28vX2sn70LU7Fe62J) and logged in as student. The keyboard was incredibly smooth and felt like liquid steel under your fingers and there was an awesome ripple effect if you ran your hands across the whole of it. As Derrick understood, hard light technology involved polyphotonics - quantum-entangled pairs of electromagnetic monopoles span tight linear EM fields between them, containing any light within the span of the field at laser-intensity, save the ends around the nodes where some photons can escape. One pair of nodes makes a line. With three nodes you can make two-dimensional shapes. With four or more you can make three-dimensional shapes, such as what more or less amounts to laser armour. While of course any structures supporting the nodes are solid, the actual 'hardlight' is not. It functions identically to a laser, except along a plane instead of a line. It was the Khrysos Corporation that invented the Solid Vision Hologram System which built on the principles of polyphotonics and utilized holographic projections for visuals, and force fields for physical effects, and a feedback and CPU system for computers, paving the way for the utilization of hard light to create temporary structures/barriers, improvised ramps/stairs, holograms, etc. Derrick navigated the computer by placing his hand over the mousepad. A light shined out of it onto his hand and he slowly moved his hand around to the internet browser, opened it up with a tap of his finger and pulled it up. He logged into the blackboard system and sat back to wait for the Professor to begin class. Students poured into the class for a few minutes until eventually the one hundred seats in the classroom were filled. They made small talk among themselves and Derrick greeted and waved to them as they entered and got comfortable. Five more minutes passed. No sign of the professor. Then ten. Still no sign of him. The students continued talking among themselves while they had the chance. Fifteen minutes passed. The students were getting restless and confused. He was never late. Thirty minutes passed and when there was still no sign of the Professor, Derrick stood up and looked around the room and scratched the back of his head. "Uhhhhhh guys? Does anybody know where Mr.Howland is?" "No idea." A student, Sha'quan Sanders, spoke up. "There's nothing in the E-mails about him running late today. Is there anything on the Blackboard?" Derrick sat down and his fingers flew over the keyboard. "Nnnnothing. That's not like him. You'd think they'd have a sub." "Think he's out sick?" Richmond Jackson asked. "Not unless 'e came dahn wiv it last night and 'ad ter go straight ter the bloomin' 'ospital but even then 'is trouble and strife would've at least called the bloody school." Randall pointed out. "He's right. If something happened I'm sure we'd know about it." "Ohhhh I'm not too worried. Mr. Howland's always been in good shape." Cora O'Neill pointed out as she relaxed in her chair. "I'm sure he's fiiiine. Let's just enjoy the free period." "Right." Derrick agreed and sat down to send an E-Mail to Mr.Howland. He clicked on the video option and smiled as the computer screen scanned him and then his ID. After a few seconds the screen glowed blue and then a reflection of his face appeared. Derrick cleared his throat. "Hello Mister Howland, it's Derrick. I'm just checking in with you because you didn't show up to class today and we didn't receive any notice. So I thought I'd check in that everything is okay with you sir. Please get in back in touch with the class when you get the chance sir. Thank you and I hope you're doing okay." Derrick ended the video message, played it back and, satisfied with it, he sent it to his E-Mail. Exiting the E-Mail, Derrick relaxed and got started on double checking his homework while the class was split between relaxing and chatting and getting ahead on schoolwork. A few of them placed VD-CHIPS on their heads, set timers and tuned out to enjoy Movie Simulations. After a few minutes Randall walked over to him and pulled up a chair. "So wotcher make o' this?" "I'm with you. Something's weird about this. He would've called ahead if he was sick or something." "Do yer think it's fowl play?" "I mean....maybe?" Derrick tapped his paper with the tip of his pencil. "But why? Who would go after the Howlands? They're Church Mice. They're the nicest people you've ever met. They're working at charities constantly. Who on Earth would go after them?" Randall lowered his voice to a whisper. "Could've been a burglary." "Which goes back to my point. I know the University pays well but the guy lives a humble life. He isn't flaunting his wealth and if somebody did attack his house I'm sure somebody would've called the police." Derrick went back to his Calculus for a few seconds before looking back up at him. "You see, shit like this is why I'm not a detective." "Oh I 'ear that. Probably best ter just leave it up ter the bobbies." "It's for the best." Derrick agreed. "So which group are you in?" "I'm gonna double check me work and then 'ave a nap." Randall declared and slid back across the room with the chair. "Living the dream." Derrick smiled and went back to double checking his schoolwork. After a few minutes of double checking his math of course his mind started drifting back to last night. "A burglary huh?" She walks in his room and time slowed down, pacing with her slow footsteps. She stopped beside his bed, and her hand slowly reached for his arm. He did everything he could to move his arm but it stayed still. It felt like it was pinned to the bed with tons of weight on it. Her fingers caresses over his forearm, while he lay still, paralyzed. He wanted to scream, but he couldn't find the strength to so much as move! It wasn't her, or her touch, that scared him, but his inability to move. In the darkness of a dream the mind would conjure up magical beasts with jaws that were home to razor teeth. They would move in an unnatural ways maybe a limp or be severely hunched over. Soon the breathing would increase rapidly and become gasps of breath. On awakening, despite the nightmare ending, a ghastly feeling of being watched by invisible eyes prolongs an uneasy feeling. "No. No way." He shook his head and got back to work. A nightmare wasn't exactly something to go on after all. Meanwhile Dolores, Nicole, Clyde and several other students were in Professor Daniella Bergamine's class working through a lecture on Trigonometric Substitution. Professor Bergamine taught at the front of the classroom utilizing a light display emitted from the blackboard. The numbers and the words would spin around and take the form of wordboxes next to her as she spoke to the students and they would follow along taking notes on the hard light computers which emitted the notes as lights. "Now class, let's suppose that we have a circle of radius a okay I will Center the origin and I want to evaluate the area of this quarter of a circle what's the answer so this day they answer it okay so we'll keep that in mind and now we go to do it systematically by calculating the area of this object right so we can set up our usual integral under curve so the area is going to be given by an integral from 0 to a y DX right so this is why we need to find the formula for wife so how can we express this curve as a function of X we know that x squared plus y squared equals a squared because it's a circle and we can resolve it for y because we're in the positive quadrant we have no doubt about the sine of Y it's positive so this is square root of a squared - 8x squared right so my formula for the area becomes the following definite integral okay so this is what I need to evaluate is this an easy integral so we've seen something like this and in principle we could try to do substitution right we can say that this is you okay do you DX is something like 2x but there is an X missing from here it usually such integrals involved times X DX in which case we have a signature of the derivative of this additional variable now we don't have that so this metal method of substitution will fail and we have to find a different method but luckily here we have the geometry working for us so this let's consider a certain level X okay and this is y as a function of X okay so and this is a the long side of this right triangle let's denote this angle theta okay and I'm going to express Y and express X as theta so what is the relationship between X and theta we can say that X is a times cosine theta correct okay so and this is a substitution that I'm going to use for this integral so let's just play with it a little bit let's say that when X is equal to 0 what is the value of theta X zero means we are here it so what is theta 90 degrees or PI over 2 so we can say that theta is PI over 2 when x equals a because I go from zero to a x equals a means the 10 here what is the otis theta is zero right this whole thing collapses into a straight line so theta is equal to zero you can also check it here for instance x equals 0 corresponds to cosine of PI over cosine of PI over 2 is 0 x equals a corresponds to cosine being equal to 1 which is theta equals 0 so this works ok and finally I want to calculate DX the differential so I have to differentiate both sides of this equation so I have a times minus sine theta D theta and now I'm going to try and rewrite this whole thing in terms of theta so I go from the x coordinate of each point to its angular coordinate it's got kind of like going to polar coordinates so for 0 I have PI over 2 for a I have 0 I have square root of a squared minus a squared cos squared theta and for DX I have this whole expression times a sine theta D theta and it should forget the minus sign which appears in front of the internal ok so now this is my new integral completely rewritten in terms of the angle and I can do things here for instance I can see that under the square root a square mouth multiplies both of the terms so in also I can see that PI over 2 is greater than 0 and I have a minus sign so I can slip and lose the - so I have from 0 to PI over 2 ok I have square root of a squared 1 minus cos squared theta we do it like this times a sine theta D theta what else can I do. This is the radius it's a positive number I'm going to take it out in fact I'm going to take this 8a and this out like this what do I have under square root now 1 minus cos squared theta can I simplify this expression yes of course this is sine squared theta so under the square root I have sine squared theta can I evaluate this expression square root of sine squared theta well in general it's plus or minus sine theta but because I'm here I know that theta is positive and it's sine is also positive so I can with confidence replace that with sine theta so here under the integral I have sine theta times sine theta d-theta. Next, we can use a trigonometric substitution to integrate the function f (x) = x x2 − 9. Check your work by integration using the substitution u = x2 . Referring to our trig substitution summary, we see that the recommended way to integrate an expression including x2 − 32 is to substitute x = 3 sec θ, in which case dx = 3 sec θ tan θ dθ and: x2 − 9 = (3 sec θ)2 − 9 = 9 sec2 θ − 9 = 3 sec2 θ − 1 x2 − 9 = 3 tan θ.We start by performing this substitution and simplifying: 2 x x − 9 dx = (3 sec θ)(3 tan θ)3 sec θ tan θ dθ = 27 sec2 θ tan2 θ dθ. At this point we substitute u = tan θ, so du = sec2 θ dθ and: x x2 − 9 dx = 27 sec2 θ tan2 θ dθ = 27 u2 duu3+c39 tan3 θ + c=27. We have an answer in terms of tan θ and we want an answer in terms of x. We know that x = 3 sec θ, or equivalently that sec θ = x3 . Keeping that fact in mind (or the fact that cos θ = x3 ) we draw a right triangle with one angle equal to θ in which the side adjacent to θ has length 3 and the hypotenuse has lengthx. By the Pythagorean theorem, the side opposite the angle θ has length √x2 − 9 and: √x2 − 9 tan θ = .3 We can now complete our calculation: x x2 − 9 dx = 9 tan3 θ + c1 x �x2 − 9 dx=�√ �3 x2 − 99+ c 3 =1 2 (x − 9)3/2 + c3. It is faster and more reliable to compute this integral via the substitution u = x2 − 9. If we do this we have du = 2x dx or x dx = 12 du and: � � �√ 12 x x − 9 dx =u du21 2 3/2=· u +c2313/2=u +c 3� �1 2 x x2 − 9 dx =(x − 9)3/2 + c. 32...." Naturally Nicole had a big smile on her face throughout the class, clearly enjoying herself as she breezed through her work. Dolores was doing the same and Clyde was working ahead of everyone. One student tried to pull up a video website but the browser refused to open. He tried again. Nothing. He tried again. Nothing. He tried again. Nothing. He tried a different browser. Nothing. He tried to pull up Galaga. Nothing. Professor Daniella Bergamine snapped her fingers a few times in his direction to get his attention. "Do pay attention Mister Spears. Remember that this is going to be on the test and that you are graded for participation." Kingsley Spears blushed and nodded. "Yes ma'am. Of course. Sorry about that." "I am not without compassion Mister Spears. Can you repeat the last minute back to the class?" "Oh...oh, right, sure." He stood up and cleared his throat. "The inverse trigonometric relations for sine, cosine, tangent, cosecant, secant, and cotangent are, respetively: arcsine, arccosine, arctangent, arccosecant, arcsecant, and arccotangent. Another way to write x = sin(y) is y = arcsin(x). The same holds true for all the inverse relations. Below these six relations are graphed. The graphs of the inverse relations differs from the graphs of the functions only in that the roles of x and y are interchanged. So far we have referred to these operations as relations. The reason is simple: the operations are not functions. Study the graphs above--do they pass the vertical line test? No. For a given input x, there are either zero, or an infinite number of values of y. This phenomenon is due to the fact that the trigonometric functions are periodic. As an example, let's examine the inverse relation arcsine. What is arcsin(2)? Because there are no angles whose sine is two, no solution exists. How about arcsin()? There are an infinite number of solutions, or angles whose sine is one-half. The domains of the inverse relations are the ranges of their corresponding original functions." "Correct! That's very good Kingsley. All is forgiven please get back to notetaking." "Yes ma'am. Thank you." He sat back to some applause from his classmates and a fist bump from his twin brother Leonidas Spears. "Goofballs." Dolores whispered with a smile on her face. "Nothing wrong with having fun in class." Nicole whispered back. Truly. This was the best. A nice simple relaxing life having fun at college with her friends. Everything was ordinary and perfectly balanced. Exactly the way she liked it. "You're right. This is fine." Dolores whispered back as class resumed and they quietly slapped high-fives. At the same time, Joshua, Owain, Hubert and Diego were listening to a lecture in their philosophy class on the subject of justice by Professor Dillon Curtis. At the end of the second part of the lecture, Joshua decided to stand up and speak his mind and he raised up his hand. "Yes sir! What would you like to add to the conversation?" Joshua picked up the microphone and took a deep breath and spoke his mind on the subject. "Well, sir, uhm, it is my personal opinion, that, the only possible way for one to acquit the cannibalism case is to think like an animal. Animals live to survive. They have no moral decisions to make- all they worry about is having a full belly before going to sleep every day. Human beings CANNOT be expected to behave like animals. We aren't governed by our desires, needs and wants. We don't live just to live. It is, in my own view, unacceptable to defend an act of vicious murder to appease your appetite. I feel that in supporting cannibalism by saying that....that no one would be affected by the death of that cabin boy is preposterous. No one knows how his life might have been- we are in no position to condemn someone to death for the greater good. We are not a pack of animals hunting for food, shelter or comfort. It is not pleasure or the sense of having our needs met that gives us true joy. Sacrifice, pain, sorrow, and suffering make our lives meaningful. Saying that the crew was governed to kill the boy out of 'love' and 'consideration' for their family feels wrong to me. It is not love that drove them to kill the boy- it was the bestial instinct to survive- no matter what the cost . Yes, we can keep concocting fanciful names and euphemisms to embellish these carnal sins. But that doesn't validate the act. We persistently think that we are doing the 'greatest good for the greatest number', and we are infatuated with the 'grey' line that separates the black from the white. But all we are trying to do is find a way to appease our conscience and somehow justify the wrong thing so that we can sculpt a world where we can do anything we feel like doing. Our idea of 'good' is wholly self-obsessed. Sure, the captain would have justified his act as doing greatest good for the crew- but all he really wanted was to 'survive'. Until we stop thinking about ourselves and stop equating happiness with the acquisition of our desires, needs and wants; until we start realizing that good comes from placing the needs of others before our own, and that it comes from sacrificing and suffering our desires for others....we will keep debating, pondering and thinking with our bellies, instead of our hearts." The class applauded Joshua's speech and the professor beamed. "Mister...Angelo, right? That was a beautiful speech. Thank you for sharing with us. Would anyone else like to share?" Diego stood up and picked up his mic. " Another point that was missed in the cannibalism lecture is the question of the responsibility of authority. The captain was the only person with the authority to make a unilateral life-or-death decision about the crew under him. His responsibility in that position would be to sacrifice himself to ensure their survival. If that isn't in the equation, then there's nothing noble about leadership - it's merely opportunism." "I also think they were taking law and legality out of the equations. One could argue that the captain abused his power as being seen socially as the highest law, not that he in this example was, but he was seen as such. So it isn't his responsibility instead his viewed value perhaps." Hubert pointed out. "Very interesting points gentlemen. But do you think the captain's responsibility in this position should be to sacrifice himself to ensure their survival? He would be more useful, in theory, alive rather than dead. One could in fact say that although what the captain did was morally wrong, he made the right strategic decision to further the chance of survival of his crew. By killing the weakest to allow the stronger ones to survive, their probability of survival would increase." "Well, yeah, but, how can you be so sure that cabin boy's sacrifice would save the lives of the rest of the crew members? So long as we're throwing what ifs out, what if nobody comes to save them? In that case...the boy's life was wasted. Or what if their saviors are coming the very next day, then his life was wasted as well...and the very fact that the captain is not going to be a willing sacrifice, makes cannibalism wrong no matter what. That's why the law and society emphasizes survivors when someone dies. Cannibalism is refuting the right to survive by everyone." Joshua pointed out again. Owain stood up and raised his hand next. "Yes sir!" "Well...sir, you said, repea'edly, you said, "the boy 'ad no family" an' 'hus no one 'o miss 'im. 'owever, 'his makes a assump'ion 'ha' you knah 'he fu'ure ov 'ha' boy. Tha' boy could 'ave grown 'o 'ave a family 'ha', given genera'ions, could 'ave a mawe profound impac' on po'en'ial lives 'han 'he 3 men. I would argue 'ha' if 'he men 'ruly fel' 'ha' one mus' die 'o save 'he o'hers 'hen i' should ei'her be 'he larges' aw oldes'. Ei'her you ge' 'he mos' grub from 'he person you kill aw you assume 'ha' you are condemnin 'he fewes' years ov life. If 'hey fel' 'he boy would die regardless ov wha' 'hey did 'hen 'hey should 'ave wai'ed faw i' 'o occur. Bu' 'hey 'ook i' upon 'hemselves 'o commi' 'he ac'. Thus ac'in in selfishness...'ha' your needs 'ake preceden'. Thus guil'y." The Professor applauded his class. "Thank you for such wise and well thought out answers ladies and gentlemen. Brilliant minds like yours are what make this class so much fun for everyone." The class continued in this way for awhile until time ran out and The Professor thanked everybody for coming and assigned their homework. At the same time the other courses also let out and the hallways filled up with students and professors going every which way. They eventually ran into Derrick and Randall exiting their own building and he waved them over. "Sooo....something strange happened in class today." "Another virtual tour?" "Nah man: Professor Howland didn't show up." "Okay that is different." "Yeah. No email or notice or anything." Derrick shrugged. "I mean, maybe he's out sick? But this is the first time he's been absent." "It's not a big deal, right? I'm bloody well sure 'e's not so bad." Randall shrugged. "Right good news is: We got a free study period out o' it. Got ahead on us work we did." "Sounds like fun. We debated cannibalism." Joshua said as they walked to their next class. "Seriously?" "Seriously." Hubert agreed. "Ever heard of the cabin boy case?" "Oh, Lord." Derrick sighed. "Yeah. I've heard that one. And they were in the wrong. In that situation it's the duty of the leader, the captain, to do what is right for the survival of his crew. But cannibalism....no. No that's not an option. You know what that gets you? Fucking face skin wearing wendigos man. That's what that gets you." "Well yeah...along with displaying displayed extreme greed, gluttony, and excess. Until Dawn left out a lot." Nicole spoke up. "Really? Uh, such as?" "Welll.....the best way to describe them is a mixture of both the Ojibwe's legends and the the Algonquian legends: “A giant with a heart of ice; sometimes it is thought to be entirely made of ice. Its body is skeletal and deformed, with missing lips and toes. It was a large creature, as tall as a tree, with a lipless mouth and jagged teeth. Its breath was a strange hiss, its footprints full of blood, and it ate any man, woman or child who ventured into its territory. And those were the lucky ones. Sometimes, the Wendigo chose to possess a person instead, and then the luckless individual became a Wendigo himself, hunting down those he had once loved and feasting upon their flesh. This creature has long been known among the Algonquian Ojibwe, Eastern Cree, Saulteaux, Westmain Swampy Cree, Naskapi, and Innu peoples who have described them as giants, many times larger than human beings. Although descriptions can vary somewhat, common to all these cultures is the view that the wendigo is a malevolent, cannibalistic, supernatural being which is strongly associated with winter, the north, coldness, famine and starvation." "You see? You see? That just proves my point!" Derrick insisted as he high-fived Nicole. "Wow that sounds like something I wouldn't mess with." Josh admitted. "Think you could take one big guy?" He asked Owain. "Wendigo or not, I haven't met anything that could toe-to-toe with me yet." Owain replied. "Sounds like it would be a good work out though." "That's the spirit mate! Right! Show them giant tossers who's the chuffin' boss!" Randall pumped his fist in the air. Diego was quiet for a moment before looking back to Derrick. "Okay, but, like, hypothetically, if you were in that situation..." "I'd think of a way out. I always have. I'd save everyone." Derrick answered quickly. "......Ah, shit, hey look I'm sorry man." "Don't worry about it." Derrick slapped his bro on the back. "Anybody else have a fun class experience?" "Math was nice and quiet." Clyde spoke up. "And of course that would be the normal class." Derrick joked to his friends laughs. The group soon parted to go their respective classes. As Derrick was walking up to his next class, Diego quickly caught up with him. "Hey Derrick. Look, I really am sorry about that. I know what happened was...horrible and I shouldn't have gone there." "It's alright D'go. Yeah it sucked ass but that doesn't mean I'm going to flip on you for asking a question. You're my friend. Nothing's gonna change that." "Thanks. Yeah, you're right. But what you said earlier? Saving everyone? I think that's the right answer." "That's the only answer." Derrick replied proudly and they resumed walking to class. "By the way: Have you ever heard of Shepard?" "A person or the town?" Derrick asked. "The town." Diego specified. "I've heard stories but I've never visited it myself." "Yeah, well, people say they have a Sasquatch. It's on their site." "Oh cool! Any pictures of it?" Diego pulled up the site on his phone. "Let's see...yeah, no, here we go: Apparently it doesn't like being photographed and the cameras and phones always deactivate around him." "Sasquatches can mess with technology now?" "Apparently. Think it's true?" "I gotta be straight with you D'go, I've seen some weird stuff. This is perfectly logical compared to the things I've been through." "Cool, cool." He turned off the phone. "You know what? We need to take a road trip there. Next summer. All of us. We'll take a road trip down to Shepard to see if the rumors are true." "Throw in some Ox Burgers and I'm sold." "That goes without saying doesn't it?" They laughed and continued on towards their next class: The Science Of Space Colonies. Professor Eddie Antonakos looked up from the work at his computer with a smile as the students filed into the class. He greeted them all as they walked around and took their spots. Once everybody was seated he cleared his throat and spoke to his class. "Helllo Ladies And Gentlemen! Welcome back to Interstellar Science! Yesterday we covered Space Elevators, Sky Hooks, Space Towers and Launch Loops and today I would like to cover the next step: Lunar Colonies to explore ways to go beyond simple Lunar Bases to a full-fledged productive colony that can help us travel to other worlds and expand our own. As I'm sure you're aware, the Khrysos Corporation, Enki Aerospace Engineering Corp, Ultrainnovations, Progressive Innovations and many others are collaborating on a project to begin colonization of other worlds. Starting with The Moon itself. Which brings me to this: Hold on to your bags kids." He pulled a remote out of his shirt and clicked it. "Because we're about to go on a trip!" The room glowed brightly and colors swirled around the students rapidly as their desks disappeared from sight and the scenery of the room changed into outer space! Derrick grinned. The holograms of the college were his favorite parts of the class. The students looked around excitedly laughing as the simplistic classroom was changed into a dark blanket, contrasting with blacks and yellows, and the occasional white, which is shaped as a circle and sometimes a crescent. There are stars which dot the blanket in a intricate pattern. This is space. The hallowed pool of subtle light had adorned itself with the diamonds of thousand moons and of thousand dreams, for these weaved themselves on that cosmic ether of divinity......all hung in the frame of "galaxy." Eddie laughed as he watched the students play and leap around in the 'holo-space environment' the computers pulled up. Every time he got the same reaction from them. Their reactions to riding the space elevators were especially entertaining. Eventually he snapped his fingers a few times and the students all turned their attention back to him. "Okay, now, of course, you wouldn't be able to hear me normally because their is no air in space. Sound travels in waves like light or heat does, but unlike them, sound travels by making molecules vibrate. So, in order for sound to travel, there has to be something with molecules for it to travel through. On Earth, sound travels to your ears by vibrating air molecules. In deep space, the large empty areas between stars and planets, there are no molecules to vibrate. There is no sound there. And of course, spending time in that vacuum is incredibly lethal for you. This is going to be a bit off topic, and very morbid, buuuut it is important to know for the future. Spending some time in the cosmic vacuum—sans spacesuit—might seem like a questionable life choice. After all, in the movies, whenever people end up in the intergalactic void without proper protection, either their heads explode or they instantaneously freeze solid. Neither outcome is particularly appealing. However, in reality, I’m afraid that your space death won’t be quite so spectacularly gruesome, as such, no exploding head or bulging eyeballs. But that doesn’t mean that your death won’t be interesting. Here are some of the ways space can kill you: Explosive Decompression. Let’s assume that you’re in a space shuttle. You’re traveling along merrily. Your life is just grand. Suddenly, you’re seized with a completely irrational, yet entirely irresistible urge to go for a spacewalk. And, oops, you forget your spacesuit. So the air doesn’t slowly leak out of your shuttle. You’re not gradually exposed to a complete vacuum. Oh no. You open the door of your pod and BAM! Decompression. No air. You’re in space. As long as you don’t try and hold your breath during this explosive decompression, you’ll survive about 30 seconds before you sustain any permanent injuries. But what if you do hold your breath? How likely is it that you would survive? Not very likely at all, I’m afraid. If you hold your breath during decompression, the gas in your lungs will expand due to the lack of ambient pressure. This expansion will eventually cause internal ruptures in your pulmonary tissue, essentially, your lungs will kind of, well, explode…for lack of a better description. As your lungs collapse, the gas that they contain will be transformed into massive, internal air bubbles. These bubbles will meander throughout your body. Sooner or later, they will find their way to your vital organs, such as your heart and your brain. If the air lodges in your heart, you’ll go into cardiac arrest and die. Essentially, you’ll have a heart attack. If it makes its way to your brain, you’ll have a massive stroke and die. Of course, even if the air from your exploded lungs does not enter your heart or your brain, you’ll still die. We simply don’t have the medical technology needed to repair lungs ruptured in this manner. So no matter what way you look at it, explosive decompression is very bad for your health. Ebullism. After about 10 seconds, the moisture in your body will start to evaporate. This is known as “ebullism,” and it happens because the reduction in pressure causes the boiling point of your bodily fluids to decrease. And if “evaporating body fluids” doesn’t sound terribly pleasant, well, it’s because it’s not. On August 16, 1960, Joe Kittinger ascended to 19.5 miles (31.3km) in an attempt to break the world record for the highest parachute jump. During his ascent, Kittinger noticed an odd sensation in his right hand. Upon inspection, he realized that he had lost pressurization in that area of his suit. Nonetheless, Kittinger decided to continue the mission as, fortunately, the rest of his suit seemed to be functioning properly. Thus, the only part of Kittinger’s body that was exposed to near-vacuum conditions was his hand. As he continued to ascend, the fluid in Kittinger’s skin continued to evaporate. Eventually, this caused his hand to swell to over twice its normal size. Kittinger describe this experience by likening it to the tingling sensation you feel when your foot falls asleep…so thousands of tiny pinpricks, dancing across your skin. You might scoff at this, but the pain will virtually paralyze you. Want to hear the really bad news? As the moisture in your body evaporates and trails off into the darkness of space, you will lose control of your bodily functions—so you’ll simultaneously defecate, vomit, and urinate. Oh, and if you don’t return to your ship in about 30 seconds, then ebullism will cause your lungs to collapse. And you will die. Not so fun times. Freezing. Fortunately, heat doesn’t transfer very quickly in the vacuum of space because there is no air, water, or other medium to aid the transfer of heat. This is obviously a very good thing, as space can be both frigidly cold and scorching hot. Fun fact: if you’re facing a sun-like star, and are about 93 million miles away (150 million km), the temperature difference between your “day” and “night” side will be about 275 degrees Fahrenheit (135 degrees Celsius). However, since heat does not transfer well in space, freezing to death is not an immediate risk, and neither is spontaneously bursting into flames. But just because freezing isn’t an immediate risk doesn’t mean that it’s not a risk. Remember when we talked about your bodily fluids evaporating? Well, when your body fluids escape as a gas, they take away more than their fair share of heat. Eventually, this evaporative cooling will chill your mouth and nose to near-freezing temperatures; ice will also form in your respiratory tract. And of course, you’ll be radiating heat from your body. Stay in the vacuum too long and the combined effects of this cooling will lead you to an icy death. High Energy Photons. If you’re close to starlight when you enter the vacuum of space, things will go poorly rather quickly (really though, why would you vacate your ship when you are close to a star?! Terrible life choice). First, you’ll get an awful sunburn from the ultraviolet radiation. Unlike the Earth, the vacuum of space doesn’t have an atmosphere to protect you from harmful solar rays, so even short term exposure could cause cancer. But as long as you remain about 93 million miles (150 million km) from Sun-like stars, you’ll be fine. Venture closer than that and the ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma rays radiating from the star will cause severe damage to your DNA. And no, you won’t get super powers or turn into one of the X-Men…you’ll get tumors and experience organ failure. Get too close to the star and you’ll start to fry from the extreme heat radiating from it. Burning Up in the Atmosphere. But wait…how can you burn up in an atmosphere if you’re in the vacuum of space? A fine question. Allow me to explain. But first, I need to point out that, when people tell you that there’s no gravity in space, they are lying. There is gravity everywhere—planets, stars, comets, asteroids, Home Depot, and even the vacuum of space. Gravity envelops our own planet and the most remote corners of the universe. So you could be in the vacuum of space but, if you’re too close to a massive object like a star, planet, or moon, gravity will cause you to fall into the object. Ultimately, objects that are in orbit around another body don’t fail to maintain their positions because there is no gravity, but because of speed. For example, objects in Earth orbit have to travel at least 17,500 mph to keep from plummeting to the planet (28,000 kmh). At this speed, an object is moving so fast that, as it falls towards the Earth, the planet curves away beneath it. Consequently, the object essentially remains in a state of free fall and the Earth never gets any closer. But if you slow down, things start to get a bit mucky. Although there is no clear-cut answer to where space truly begins, the consensus is that it starts somewhere around 400 miles (643 km) above sea level. So let’s say that you are traveling around the Earth at about this altitude when you decide to make your little foray into space. Since you are still subject to the Earth’s gravity, you won’t just fly about the planet for all eternity. You’ll burn. Eventually, you will start to slow down and plummet into the Earth’s atmosphere…where you will be fried to a crisp. Actually, you’ll be fried to more than a crisp—you’ll be dusty nothingness. Of course, it would take some time for your orbital decay to be significant enough to result in a fiery death, about a decade, depending on your speed. Asphyxiation. So what’s the most immediate threat that you need to worry about in the vacuum of space? Rogue black holes? Gamma ray bursts from distant quasars? Aliens?! I’m afraid it’s nothing quite as horrifyingly fantastical as all that. The most immediate threat in the cosmic vacuum is oxygen deprivation. Assuming that you don’t hold your breath during decompression, it will take about 15 seconds for your O2-deprived blood to get to your brain. When this happens, you’ll pass out…and then you’ll die. Simple loss of oxygen will likely kill you faster than anything else in the vacuum of space." The professor cleared his throat as he let them take all of this in and then he continued. "Now for a lighter topic, let's begin our Moon discussions." He said as the students felt the room spin around them as they were pulled forward onto the moon where astronauts were working to create a new colony. The professor then began his next lecture. Eventually, after a period of classes, it was finally time for lunch and the gang reconvened at the cafeteria. Derrick got himself Ground Chicken Breast Meatballs with Mozzarella Cheese and Hubert got Grilled Flank Steak Salad with Strawberries. They sat down at a table while the rest were selecting their own healthy meals. "Hey Derrick, are you sure about telling Josh about....what happened?" "If he wants to hear about it, I'll tell him. There's nothing wrong with telling him. It's Josh after all. He's the most harmless guy in the school." "That's true. You sure you're ready to talk about it?" "It was batshit insane, sure, but I learned talking about it helps." "Alright, just know, we'll be right there with you." "Thanks man." Derrick looked up and waved Dolores over to the table. "Do you want me to move? I can give you alone time." Hubert joked. "Grow up man. I just thought she might want to join us." "Uh huh." "Hey guys!" Dolores greeted as she approached them. "Mind if I join you?" Derrick stood up and pulled a chair out for her. "Please. Your presence is an honor for all of us." "Ohhhh my, how formal of you!" Dolores replied as she set her tray on the table and sat down as Derrick slid the chair into the table. "Manners hold a community together, and manners hold a family together; in a way, they hold the world together. Manners hold a community together, and manners hold a family together; in a way, they hold the world together." "And with as crazy as the world is getting these days, a little politeness can go a long way 'Rick." Dolores replied as Derrick was sitting back down. "It's true isn't it? There is a simple philosophy to follow for a wonderful life: Greet each person with a smile, smiling is a lovely style, you will find, after a while, most people will smile at you. Know inside each soul's the Lord, with folks words, do not get bored, although it might seem quite a chore, treat each person with love and respect. Love and respect will come to you, if these teachings you pursue, being polite is the thing to do, every single day. And remember… it pays to be polite." "You are full of surprises aren't you? I was unaware you had the heart of a poet, Mister Blackburn." Dolores smiled as she folded her hands, rested her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hands. Derrick relaxed in his chair. "Show me a place where poets abide...and I'll show you a place where no one hides. Where once remained hidden, in the heart of mankind, all is exposed, and easy to find. The heart of the poet, is a heart without doors and a poet without words is like a boat without oars. Come now and take this journey with me and I shall promise to set our hearts free." He finished as he raised his glass of milk (Low fat and skim milk being great sources of protein and other essential micronutrients. And these low-fat varieties are the best choices because they contain much less saturated fat than reduced-fat milk or whole milk.) to her. She giggled and raised her green tea. "I will drink to that my rhyme slinging friend." They 'clinked' their cups and turned to Hubert. "And you Mister Hunt?" Hubert Hunt smiled and raised his own drink to them. "Well what can I say, my friends? I would like to be a scholar in whatever I do, a scholar is never finished, he is always seeking and I am always seeking." The trio 'clinked' their drinks and sat back down. "Pray tell, good sir, what makes a scholar a scholar? And how do you become one?" Hubert sipped his juice. "You become a scholar once you've decided to read and learn as much about the world as you can. You become a scholar once you've decided that culture remains when everything else is gone. You become a scholar once the beautiful words of skilled authors are imprinted in you so deep that you can quote them. At last, you become a scholar once you've confessed to yourself you would have to die, if you were forbidden to read and learn." "You've certainly picked the right university for such a career choice and we will be there supporting you the entire way." "We all will." "Thanks guys." They had some of their food while the others were walking to the table. Dolores looked up from her Honey Sesame Chicken Lunch Bowl. "So Derrick? Any plans this weekend?" "We're actually going to a karaoke bar on Saturday. You wanna come? The more the merrier." "Having sampled your wondrous poetry already, I would be delighted to hear you sing. Saturday it is. What time?" "The Stately Knight opens at 6PM so we were thinking we'd get there around 7:30 or 8:00 PM." "8:00 PM will work. The Stately Knight at Revelations Plaza, right?" "That's the one. It will be my treat my fair lady." "Such a gentleman. I'm sold. I'll bring the others if they can make it." "Excellent idea. We are going to rock this city!" "Always down for a rock off. When's the gig?" Regina asked them. "The Stately Knight this Saturday at 8:00 PM." Derrick and Dolores said at the same time, paused and then laughed. "Cool. I'll be there. What about Nicky? You coming?" "Sorry guys, Randall and I are going to see The Silken Emerald this weekend. Raincheck?" The Silken Emerald, naturally, was an Erotic Romantic Dramedy Starring A Dominatrix. (Wow. I didn't know Randall was into those kinds of movies. Good for him. You go bro.) Derrick thought to himself. "It's all good. We can always go back Sunday for an encore." "I'd like that. I'll talk it over with Randall and if our schedules are free, which I'm sure they are, we'll join you for the Sunday encore." Dawnesha whispered to Nicole as she was sitting down. "The Silken Emerald? Seriously?" "Oh yeah." "You little horndog." "Takes one to know one." Dawnesha ruffled her hair and started eating lunch. "Alright you guys have fun, alright?" Dolores said to her. "Oh we will." Nicole assured her. "Try to bring a few houses down for me will you?" "Promise." A bit later Derrick was getting a refill on his drink when he passed Randall. "Good movie choice." Randall chuckled and they returned to the tables. "Yo, Blackburn." He looked to the left to see Ch'ang Jae-Hwa walking over to their table. "Hey Ch'ang? What's up?" "Everybody's saying Mr.Howland's class is canceled so I thought I might as well double check with you." "It's only canceled in that he hasn't shown up yet." Derrick shrugged. "I'd go anyway. Just in case he does show up or they call in a sub." "Yeah that's a good point. Alright. If I hear anything I'll let you guys know." He waved and walked away while taking out his phone and texting someone. Derrick waved and looked up at the ceiling. "Still nothing huh?" "Come on I'm sure it's fine." Dolores assured him. "He's probably just under the weather today. It happens. Now come on and perk up. We're hitting the gym next period." "Yeah you're right." She was. She was indeed right. It was the most logical explanation. So why the hell couldn't Derrick shake this nasty feeling gnawing at him? "Come on 'Rick, it's all good. We're hitting the gym next period, work up a cold sweat and next thing you know you'll forget all about whatever's bothering you. You know the coach'll leap at the chance to make you burn." "Looking forward to it." Derrick smirked. "See? That's better. Show us your pretty smile!" They clasped hands. "Trust me. Whatever's wrong with Professor Howland, I'm sure it's fine. Worst case scenario he took a day off and 'forgot' to call it in. It's fine. It happens." "You're right of course. Sorry about that guys." "Come on bro you can't be ashamed of being empathic." Clyde chimed in. "You're worried about your teacher. It means you're a good person. When he comes back, you can high five him and assure him that you showed up ready for class. Might win you a point on your next exam." "Two if I'm lucky." Derrick joked back. Soon the friends were all joking and laughing together again and the sensation slowly faded even if it didn't leave him completely. After enjoying Lunch, Derrick walked outside with the others and turned to look at Josh. "Hey man. Have you thought about it?" "I have. And I would like to know. Talking can make things easier after all and if this can help you to feel better then I am all ears." "Alright then. Just know that this isn't for the faint of heart. This is a violent story my man. Extremely violent." "I-I can handle it. But...a story like that would probably best be told in the privacy of the dorms tonight. We don't want to scare anybody who might overhear the story and get the wrong idea. Plus, we'll have all the time to do so then right?" "Excellent points Josh. Alright then. Tonight at our dorm room. Horror Story Night. I'll put on a video of a campfire, we'll dim the lights and I'll bless all of you with a story of the worst day of my life. Just be sure to brace yourselves first." "You got it." He and Josh high-fived. "Okay. I have to get Art alright?" "Take it easy man!" On the way to his next class, Josh took his phone and looked on the board to see if there was any new responses from the Howlands. No luck. He sighed and closed out before slipping the phone back into his pocket. Granted it probably wasn't too big of a deal. He was sure that they were fine but it was still a bit weird that Professor Howland would skip the day without letting anyone know why or canceling the class at least. At any rate he had to get to his next class. He criss crossed the campus until he arrived at the building where his art classes were taking place. He smiled and walked inside. The art class naturally took place in a large, multi-room studio and shop, where their professor was currently stomping her foot impatiently while she talked on the phone. "Come on Howland! It's me! Pick up already! I've been trying to call you guys all morning. Your cells aren't picking up and neither are your house phone. If you're taking the day off at least call it in! Call me back the moment you get this!" Morgana Di Sandro told the answering machine before hanging up. "Seriously. What is with him today?" She noticed the class staring at her and laughed it off. "ANYWAY! Hi class! I hope everybody is ready to stretch their artistic muscles today!" Their professor slipped her paint splattered apron over her head and her gloves on and she finished setting up the classroom while the students got ready and took their seats. Josh and the other students got to work. When his hands moved over the canvas it was almost like his mind was directing his hand without him. His hand moved instinctively from one point to the next as he slowly built the picture as it developed in his own mind. He built a fantastical world that was a reflection of his own mind. There was something else too that he couldn't quite place but whenever he painted he felt closest to the Lord and it gave him a sense of peace and relaxation. Josh relaxed in his seat and let the room drift away from him as he lost himself in his work. It was only natural then that his eventual finished work was more bizarre than he'd originally intended. His work is a deceptively terse, process-oriented complex tapestry consisting of conflicts that inhere in postmodern urbanism which is reminiscent of the joie-de-vivre of the marginalized that was part landscape, part abstraction with a sociological series of words consisting of bold graphic shapes as scaffolding for the expanses of poured acrylic which was reminiscent of mankind's positions and roles amid the sea of chaos that was modern life. The picture displayed improvisation, choreographed gestures and reenactments as suggestive of the value of autonomy within modern civic participation while simultaneously displaying contemporary life, culture and science as suggesting a ritual action. "Well alright then." Josh said to himself. Now what to call it? After some deliberation he settled on Civic Chaos. "Well done Josh!" Morgana complimented him. "Very Rochester!" "Being compared to Hamlin is an awesome compliment. Thank you ma'am." "You earned it. Keep up the good work." She assured him and moved on to working with the other students. Once the painting was done with the students moved on other projects. Drawing, carving and making paper-mache designs. By the time the class was over he was helping a partner in the class create a man sized rocket ship out of clay, kneading to make it pliable. It was a self-hardening clay so there was no need for heating it. Self-hardening clay, also known as air-dried or non-firing clay, is a direct modeling material that cures naturally and does not require mold making and casting to achieve a finished piece. In addition, this modeling clay does not need to be fired in a kiln. There are three basic types of self-hardening clay. The first type, Claystone®, works like Plastilina and is usually used over an internal armature for support. Claystone® can be worked indefinitely while moist. The second type of air-hardening clay, Boneware, is used for solid, direct modeling that in essence will be supported by its own bulk. Read More/Less Boneware will remain soft and pliable as long as it is moistened with water and overlaid with a damp cloth when not in use. Boneware contains a natural hardener, but not fiber, to reduce shrinkage and will generally feel and react more like ceramic clay to the touch and in workability. Another type of self-hardening modeling material can be either air-dried or oven-baked to give it more durability. Sculpture House offers Della Robbia, its own brand of this type of air-hardening clay. Pieces made from these clays are for display only; that is, they cannot be used to sculpt functional pieces and should not be left out in the elements. They are porous and cannot hold liquids unless its inside surface has been thoroughly sealed. After the finished piece has air dried and been sealed, it can be decorated for display by using a variety of paints, stains or dyes. Once they were finished building and sealing the clay rocket, they set about painting it until it looked like just like a rocket ship. Josh and Maddison put their names on holo-cards and turned it in. "Hey thanks for the help Maddison." "No problem Josh. That was a lot of fun. I loved your painting too!" "Oh wow thanks! You know I just kinda let the Lord guide my hand." "Wow really? I should try that if that's the kind of results the good lord gives you." "Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me. Psalm 139:10. Trust me there, he is always there for us and he loves everyone." "...Out of curiosity has he told you where Mr.Howland is?" Professor Sandro asked them. "Not as of yet. We've been asking on Blackboard but nobody knows anything yet." "Hmmmmm. Guess I'll have to swing by his house later. Well all in good time. Anyways. Great work today everybody! I'm really feeling your artistic spirits!" She said to them excitedly. The students continued working until class ended and turned in their assignments. Nicole meanwhile was hard at work taking some hardcore notes in her physics course as the professor explained The gravitational constant as a quantum mechanical expression. www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211379716000292A quantitatively verifiable expression for the gravitational constant is derived in terms of quantum mechanical quantities. This derivation appears to be possible by selecting a suitable physical process in which the transformation of the equation of motion into a quantum mechanical wave equation can be obtained by Einstein’s geodesic approach. The selected process is the pi-meson, modeled as the one-body equivalent of a two-body quantum mechanical oscillator in which the vibrating mass is modeled as the result of the two energy fluxes from the quark and the antiquark. The quantum mechanical formula for the gravitational constant appears to show a quantitatively verifiable relationship with the Higgs boson as conceived in the Standard Model. The basic concept in quantum physics is the particle wave duality, which implies that a particle can dually be described by a mechanical equation of motion and by a quantum mechanical wave function. This wave function is the solution of a wave equation. The wave equation is obtained by a transformation of the particle’s equation of motion in a way as conceived by Dirac [1]. Although Einstein’s geodesic equation of motion [2] is the most generic of all, it is, so far, not adopted as the axiomatic base for the particle wave duality description. This is probably due to the mathematical complexity of 4D space–time. It is also the reason for the failure to unify quantum physics with gravity. Instead, Dirac derived his wave equation from the Einsteinian energy relationship of a particle in motion. Therefore, the equation is relativistic, but only special relativistic and not general relativistic. In this article I wish to develop the particle wave duality on the basis of Einstein’s geodesic equation in 2D space–time and to compare it with Dirac’s result. Next to that, I wish to motivate that the 2D space–time approximation is a justified modeling of a realistic physical process. This enables to relate gravity and quantum physics to the extent that the gravitational constant can be formulated as a quantitatively verifiable expression of quantum physical quantities. The concepts as will be outlined in this article, are invoked from previous work by the author [3]. Section 4 is devoted to a comparison of the 2D quantum mechanical wave equations as derived respectively by the geodesic approach (Section 2) and Dirac’s approach (Section 3). This will result into an expression for the gravitational constant (Section 5). In Section 6 a physical process is selected that will deliver the quantity values. The result is subject to a relativistic correction (Section 7). The final result is discussed in Sections Result, Discussion. The equations in this article will be formulated in scientific notation and the quantities will be expressed in SI units. Space–time will be described on the basis of the “Hawking” metric (+,+,+,+). The geodesic approach toward a 2D wave equation Let us consider two frames of Cartesian coordinates and . The first one is the frame of a stationary (“lab frame”) observer O. The second one is the (“center of mass”) frame of an observer co- moving with a particle P. Time and proper time are normalized on the vacuum light velocity such that and , where . Under stationary conditions, the 2D geodesic equation can be written as [4],(1) The quantities and are elements of the metric tensor. They determine the way how the frame of the co-moving observer – by considering functions and – is transformed into the frame of the stationary observer. In particular(2) The adopted stationary condition means that the metric tensor components are supposed to be independent of time t. The geodesic equation expresses that the straight space–time path of the co-moving observer, is observed as a curved path by the lab frame observer. It is the consequence of expressing a presupposed field of forces into a metric tensor. The second part of (1) can be integrated into(3)where is an integration constant. Considering that in flat space–time (, we have . In the case of a conservative field of forces, the local space–time interval is invariant, i.e., , so that(4) From (4), (3) we get(5) This result is consistent with the integration of the first part of (1) under consideration of (3). Under the axiomatic quantum mechanical hypothesis(6) where is the rest mass of the particle in consideration, and where is Planck’s (reduced) constant, we get from (3), (5),(7) The two parts of (7) can be joined to a semantically correct quantum mechanical wave equation. This can be done by differentiation of the second part and addition to the first part after multiplying with , resulting in,(8) The equation is temporally of first order and spatially of second order. It guarantees the positive definiteness of the wave function. This means that the spatial integral of squared absolute value of the wave function is time-independent. This is required to obey the semantics of the wave function, which states that its squared absolute value expresses the probability that the particle is at a certain moment at a certain place. As this certain place must be somewhere, the spatial integral has to be time-independent. Eq. (8) has a similar format as Schrödinger’s equation. The difference is in the right-hand part. In Schrödinger’s equation this part is the (spatially dependent) potential energy of the particle in motion. Here, it is replaced by a quantity that expresses the metric curvature of space–time. Dirac’s approach toward a 2D wave equation Dirac derived his relativistic quantum mechanical wave equation for a particle moving in free space from a heuristic elaboration of Einstein’s energy relationship(9) where is the three-vector momentum (, not to be confused with ), squared as(10)or equivalently,(11) Under consideration of the required semantics, Dirac expanded and transformed this quadratic equation into a set of two linear ones, where are the Pauli matrices, so that(12) If the velocity of the particle is small with respect to the light velocity, we have , so that from (10),(13) From (13) and the first part of (12), and adopting the minus sign to avoid a meaningless result, it follows(14) After substitution of (14) into the second part of (12), we get, under consideration of (6),(15) Mutatis mutandis, and now adopting the plus sign in (13), we get(16) Eqs. (15), (16) can be summarized as(17) Eq. (17) is known as the Pauli–Schrödinger approximation of Dirac’s equation. The solution is a two-component wave function, with a dominant component and a minor (spin) component that can assume two states. If a particle is subject to a field of forces, Dirac’s Equation as formulated in (17) does not hold. Potentially however, its format can be preserved if the operators on the wave function are redefined in a suitable way. This is known as the application of the Principle of Covariance. This involves a redefinition of the operators in the wave equation, implying that derivatives of the wave function are replaced by covariant derivatives. In particular,(18) where is a dimensionless generic coupling factor and where, generically, are the components of the four-vector potential that characterizes the field forces, and where is the scalar part of the field. In the case that the field is characterized by a scalar only, we get for the dominant wave component from (17), (18),(19) Comparing the geodesic approach with Dirac’s approach Comparing (19) with (8), it is concluded that, under non-relativistic conditions, the particle’s wave equation in a conservative scalar field of forces derived by the geodesic approach and Dirac’s approach, are equivalent if(20) where is a function of the metric components and (not to be confused with the quantum mechanical coupling factor ). Let us proceed by considering conditions as often assumed in general relativistic gravitational problems. These are, isotropy and weak field condition, implying(21) This enables to rewrite (20) as(22) This expression relates the space–time curvature with the potential energy of the particle in motion. In the particular case that the potential field shows a spatial quadratic dependency, the wave equation represents a quantum mechanical oscillator. This is true if(23) where the normalization parameter is introduced to make the constant dimensionless. Elementary algebra shows that (20), (22) are equivalent if(24) Eq. (24) imposes an interrelationship between the particle’s potential energy and its rest mass. This may seem an over-constraint. Actually, it is not, because the rest mass energy curves space–time and the potential energy is a manifestation of the space–time curvature (otherwise equating the geodesic approach with Dirac’s approach would be meaningless). The gravitational constant Energetic fields are formats of energy, similarly as massive particles in rest. All formats of energy are subject to Einstein’s field equation. Accepting the universality of this principle beyond the realm of gravity, justifies applying Einstein’s field equation to nuclear energetic fields. One side of this equation is the Einstein tensor ( ), which is expressed in quantities that can be derived from the metric tensor. The other side is the energy momentum tensor (), which contains quantities that can be derived from the energy present in the space as characterized by the metric tensor. There is a proportionality factor involved, known as the gravity constant. The full expression is(25) Here, and are respectively the so-called Ricci tensor and the Ricci scalar, which can be calculated if the metric tensor components are known [1], [4]. Let us start by calculating the energy momentum tensor. This presupposes knowledge of the spatial energy density. We wish to proceed under the assumption that all energy is comprised in the potential energy of the moving object and that the energy density is given as (see Appendix I),(26) The viability of this assumption will be shown for a particular physical process, to be discussed in Section 6. From (26), it follows that(27) Note that the index applies to the spatial dimension and to the temporal dimension. It follows straightforwardly from (27), (23) that,(28) The more difficult part is the calculation of the Einstein tensor from the Ricci tensor and the Ricci scalar , to be obtained from the metric tensor . Because of the 2D isotropy condition, the calculation results into rather simple expressions [4],(29)(30) Note: and is short for differentiation and double differentiation (after ) of the parameter , and is the inverse of the matrix . Application of (21), (23) on (29), (30), gives(31)so that(32) From (25), (28), (32), under consideration of (24), the gravitational constant follows as,(33) This result means that it is possible to express the gravitational constant into quantum mechanical quantities, provided that we can identify a physical process that can be modeled as a harmonic 2D quantum mechanical oscillator where the mass of the object in motion is extracted from the field’s potential energy. The physical process In this section, it will be claimed that such a process exists. It is the basic quark dipole, known as the pi-meson. It is commonly accepted that the quark masses have their origin from an omni-present scalar field of energy, known as the Higgs field [8]. This field is functionally described by a Lagrangian density with two characteristic quantities and , such that [7, p.363](34) Usually, the source term is omitted, because it is simply stated that an unknown source sustains the field. But let us consider the consequences if we do not wish to accept an incomplete Lagrangian density description. To do so, let us compare the Lagrangian density of the Higgs field with the Lagrangian density of the type(35) Let us further suppose that the source is a three-dimensional Dirac distribution . Application of the Lagrange–Euler Equation yields a differential equation for the spatial behavior of the field’s potential energy. In this case,(36) The solution of (36) is(37) If and , where is the electric charge of a pointlike source and is the free space electric permeability, this expression represents a Coulomb field. Generically it represents a field with a format that corresponds with the potential as proposed by Yukawa [5] to explain the short range of a nuclear force. It can also be viewed as a screened Coulomb field, which originates if the free Coulomb flux is suppressed by a surrounding space charge, such as first described by Debije [6]. The Debije shielding is observed in a wide variety of physical processes, particularly in plasma physics and in astrophysics. In these processes the Debije shielding length may range from values as large as 105 m to values as small as 10−9 m. Unfortunately, the high non-linearity of the potential energy term in the Lagrangian density of the Higgs field, as shown, in (34) prevents the analytical derivation of a spatial description of the Higgs field from a pointlike source . But if we cannot solve the spatial field equation analytically, why not solving it numerically? The way how to do has been documented in a previous work [3a], in which it has been shown that the potential that satisfies the wave equation derived from (34), is closely approximated by,(38) This field shows far field characteristics corresponding to the Yukawa ones, next to near field characteristics with opposite direction that represents a short-range force. We identify the far field force as the force that is commonly known as the weak force (short for force responsible for weak interaction) and the scalar near field force as the strong force (short for force responsible for strong interaction). The nuclear force is the combination of the two, such that the field, as shown by (38), is given by(39) If we identify the quark as the source of this nuclear field, a nice picture is obtained. Any quark couples to the field of any other quark with the coupling factor , such that it feels a nuclear force described as(40) where the quantum mechanical coupling is supposed to be equal to the square root of the electromagnetic fine structure constant (g2 ≈ 1/137, see Appendix I). This means that any quark is repelled by any other quark under influence of the far field, but attracted by the near field. As a consequence, structures are possible to exist that are composed by two quarks or three quarks, which are holding each other in a stable equilibrium. Similarly as Lorentz did in the past for electrons, we may suppose that the masses of these structures will primarily, if not all, be determined by the fields that result from the potential fluxes from the composing quarks. In this model, two quarks, positioned at a spacing 2d apart, compose a structure, the center of mass of which will vibrate around the position just half-way the two quarks. Therefore, this quark dipole, to be identified as meson, can be modeled effectively as an equivalent single-body quantum mechanical oscillator with a certain effective mass that is built by the energetic fluxes from the quarks. The far field component (weak force) can be conceived as the scalar part of the four-vector potential (A1, A2, A3, A4), of a field with the characteristics of Proca’s generalization of a Maxwell field, described by a Lagrangian density of the type,(41) where the vector components Jμ represent the sources of the field, possibly exclusively consisting of the pointlike well . In the past, such a field has been considered as a candidate to explain the origin of nuclear forces indeed. It has been abandoned because the term spoils the gauge constraint that is required to obtain the covariant format of Dirac’s equation. Stueckelberg, however, has shown that the gauge constraint remains valid in the case that the vectorial Proca field is supplemented by an additional scalar field. In Stueckelberg’s time, there was no rationale for this artificial escape. Within the context of this article it makes sense, because the scalar near field in (39) may serve the purpose. The justification for it is shown in Appendix II. A side effect of this solution is the removal of a possible renormalization problem associated with the inverse square potential format of the scalar near field. The meson is subject to a quantum mechanical wave equation, which will be developed within the center of mass frame. As noted before, the two constituting quarks will hold each other in a stable equilibrium. This enables us to develop a one-body equivalent of a two-body oscillator. Although such oscillator resembles a classical one, there is a fundamental difference. In the classical case, we have two masses and a (potential) field in between. In the classical case, the energy captured in the two masses is much larger than the energy represented by the field. In the model to be developed here, the other extreme is adopted: the bare mass of the bodies is supposed to be negligible as compared with the field energy. It makes the oscillator relativistic, because the mass in the wave equation is no longer the mass of the two bodies, but it is an equivalent mass that captures the energy of the field. In spite of the relativistic nature of the model, the center of mass view allows applying the Pauli–Schrödinger approximation of Dirac’s wave equation, describing a linear motion of an effective mass between the quark centers. Therefore, we write,(42) Here, 2d is the quark spacing, the non-relativistic effective mass of the center, its potential energy and the generic energy constant, which will be subject to quantization. From (32) we have,(43) The potential energy can be expanded as(44)(45) The two quarks in the meson settle in a state of minimum energy, at a spacing , determined from the condition(46)so that ; and (at ). The quantum mechanical oscillator as represented by (42) is subject to excitation. This means that the energy constant is subject to excitation. Under the approximation of the potential energy by a quadratic polynomial as (44), the constants associated with the vibration energy , are equally spaced. The frequency is given by the generic basic relationship [9],(47) A particle-antiparticle conjunction, as in the case of a meson, has particular characteristics. All mass is in the binding energy between the two particles. This allows the conclusion that the spacing between the quark and the antiquark is determined by half the wavelength of a single harmonic energetic standing wave (boson) with phase velocity c, so that(48)where is a dimensionless constant with order of magnitude 1, introduced for corrections because of the crude modeling and where is the energy of a bosonic mass particle responsible for change of energetic states of the meson. This boson is known as the weak-interaction boson. Its energetic value is known in the lab frame from experimental evidence of nuclear decay processes, but will be subject to relativistic correction in the center of mass frame. From (48) it follows that(49) (Note: the value of the effective mass is irrelevant within the scope of this paper. Eventually it comes manifest in the lab frame as the rest mass of the meson). Under consideration of (48), (49), the gravitational constant, as expressed by (33), can thus be written as,(50) This analysis has been made in the center of mass frame, i.e., the frame of the co-moving observer. The energy is known in the lab frame as . The co-moving observer experiences the lab frame velocity as the lab frame speed of the pi-meson. Owing to this particle-antiparticle structure, the pi-meson flies at near light velocity . Therefore, (50) is subject to a major relativistic correction, so that, effectively,(51) The relativistic correction will be considered in the next section. The relativistic correction The composite field of three quarks in a baryon, relatively far from the internal structure, as built-up by three contributions of the type as defined by (39), shows the same behavior as that of a single quark. It has both the characteristics of the attracting near field and those of the repulsive far field. If the inter-baryon interaction is represented by a massive bosonic particle with a certain spatial range and if this range is one or more orders of magnitude larger than the range of the intra-baryon interaction bosons, the inter-baryon behavior is just a scaled behavior of the intra-baryon behavior. In that case a similar potential function can be defined for the remnant field of the baryon similarly as (39), with the only difference that the -value has to be scaled. Therefore, supposing that , the inter-baryon field can be defined as(52) Other baryons may couple to this field, with some dimensionless coupling factor . Identifying the interacting bosons as pions with rest mass energy (=135.0/139.6 MeV), we have(53) According to this model, in non-excited state, the distance 2d between bound baryons therefore is, typically,(54) The pions travel at near light speed. As shown by Watkins [10], this speed can be determined from the half life value , in proper time denoted as. It is based upon the relationship between the temporal decay rate and the spatial decay parameter . The decay behavior of particles in proper time is given by(55) From the half life definition, given by(56) It follows from (55), (56) that(57) The relationship between spatial decay and temporal decay is frame independent and given by(58) so that from Eqs. (55), (56), (57), (58) after relativistic correction for ,(59)so that, for , under consideration of (53),(60) Result Summarizing, we have (51), (60), The result of this analysis is summarized in Table 1. The left-hand column shows the values of the physically known quantities. The middle column shows the known dimensionless constants as they are established in this theory. The right-hand column shows that the known value of the gravitational constant is obtained for the parameter value . This value is in agreement with the presupposed order of magnitude 1. Table 1. Numerical result for the gravitational constant, calculated from quantum mechanical quantities. Physics This theory Calculated ℏc = 193 MeV fm α = 0.69 m′0π = 139.6 MeV k2 = 2.36 = 1.59 × 10−16 t0π = 2.603 × 10−8 s k0 = −1/2 G = 6.67 × 10−11 m3kg−1s−2 m′W = 80.4 GeV d′min = 0.8526 g2 = 1/137 In view of the order of magnitude of the quantities involved, this attempt to unify gravity with quantum mechanics yields a surprising fit of the theoretically calculated value of the gravitational constant with the experimentally established constant of nature. The credibility of this result can be underlined with an interesting observation. It has to do with the 126.5 GeV particle, discovered in 2012 by CERN and identified as the “Higgs boson” of the Standard Model. The energetic value of its mass is known to be a function of the quantity in the functional definition of the Higgs field as given by (38). In particular [7, p.364](61) The Standard Model, however, is unable to establish theoretically based values for the two Higgs quantities and . That prevents a calculation of (61). Interestingly, though, the theory as outlined in this article, may do. How? Similarly as the boson of the electromagnetic field, neither the boson of vectorial far field, nor the boson of the scalar near field are observables. They can only show up by “signatures”. There is no reason why the view on the Higgs field as developed in this article would exclude the possibility that photons interact with the Higgs field as spread by quarks. Such interactions would produce new particles of the same kind as predicted in the state-of-art theory. Let us try to calculate the mass equivalent of such new particles under application of the relationships as developed in this article. As shown by (38), the equivalents of the quantities and in the common functional description of the Higgs field are the spatial field quantities (for is strength) and (for its spatial range). It has been shown in Eq. (49) that the strength quantity can be determined from the weak interaction boson (=80.4 GeV), as(62)and that the spatial range quantity follows from the ratio , calculated from (48), (49) as,(63) (Note that, unlike the individual quantities and , the numerical value of this ratio is frame-independent). It has to be emphasized that the results (62), (63) have to be credited to the general relativistic view on the physical quark dipole. Applying (38) on (61), we have(64) From (62), (63), (64), and Table 1, it follows that,(65) This theoretically established energy value of the “Higgs mass” is close to the measured value by CERN. Within the context of this article, it may be regarded as a confirmation of the viability of the relationship between gravity and quantum physics as expressed by (51), (60) and the numerical result given in Table 1. Discussion It will be clear that the validation of a formula that expresses the gravitational constant in quantum mechanical quantities is an important contribution to the on-going challenge in present theoretical physics to relate gravity with quantum physics. It will also be clear that a claim that this can be done without conceiving a new theoretical framework beyond the established ones, will be regarded as controversial. Nevertheless, in this article an attempt to do so has resulted in a formula that can be easily numerically verified in an outcome that nicely fits with the well-known established experimental evidence. This numerical result cannot be denied. The theoretical steps might be subject to criticism, but the criticism should then answer the question why such a result is possible if something is wrong with the basic approach. So, let me summarize the approach, thereby stipulating different angles of view as compared to present theory. Among the various steps taken, there are three major ones. One of these is the view that Einstein’s field equation is universal, therefore also valid beyond the realm of gravity and, therefore, applicable to nuclear energetic fields as well. The second one is the view that Dirac’s approach for deriving a quantum mechanical wave equation from an equation of motion can be made more fundamental by taking Einstein’s geodesic equation as a starting point rather than restricting it to Einstein’s expression for relativistic energy. The third one has to do with the Higgs field. Similarly as in present-state quantum theory, the Higgs field is considered as a field from which energy can be subtracted for the purpose to give mass to particles. The view taken, however, is that the lack of a source term in the formulation of its Lagrangian density is unacceptable. Accepting a pointlike source as in conventional field theory, enables the derivation of a spatial field description, albeit that a numerical approach is required to do so. The logical step taken is, to identify the quark as the pointlike source of energy. This is not all. The most essential element in this third step is the split of the Higgs field into two different components: a bosonic vectorial far field in terms of Proca’s generalization of the Maxwell field and an additional bosonic scalar near field with a narrow spatial reach. Owing to these characteristics, there is no need to explain the origin of massive nuclear bosons as a consequence of the interaction of mass less particles with a scalar field. Instead, the nuclear force bosons come forward by definition, similarly as photons show up in a Maxwell field. Finally, I want to emphasize the difference between the term, which specifies the spatial range of the nuclear force, and a physical mass term , such as in Proca’s original formulation. Owing to the invariance of the ratio , the energy of a “H-type” Proca boson remains, similar as a photon, the same in any inertial frame. If somebody tries to bring the Proca boson to rest, the term changes in coherence with the change of . It is for that reason that the quantum of the Higgs field cannot be identified as an observable massive boson. Experimental data on observables (like many fermions) are “hard”, but experimental data on non-observables, like bosons flying at (near) light speed, are “soft”. They show up as “signatures”, which are interpreted with a theory in mind. A signature that supports the theory as developed in this article is the theoretically derived value for the mass of the 126.5 GeV “Higgs particle”, which in present-state theory needs to be empirically established. This is a second major result of the analysis presented. Appendix I. Electroweak unification In the physical process as described in Section 6, the nuclear field is conceived as an energetic field similar to that of an electromagnetic field. The spread of an energetic flux by pointlike wells creates a spatial field, which, in Maxwell’s theory, is characterized by its energy density, i.e. the amount of field energy per unit of volume. The nuclear equivalent of the Maxwellian field density can be found on the basis of the unification hypothesis. Within the context of our physical process this hypothesis is, in SI units, formulated as:(A1) where and are the scalar parts of respectively the electromagnetic potential and the nuclear potential, is the elementary electric charge and the free space electric permeability. The hypothesis states that the square of the nuclear coupling factor is equal to the electromagnetic fine structure constant (). The justification of the unification hypothesis has to be provided by experimental evidence. For its validation, see [3]. The energy density of the nuclear field can now expressed in similar terms as the electric energy density of the electromagnetic field, i.e., as(A2) Appendix II. Stueckelberg’s gauge constraint In 1938, Ernst Stueckelberg [11], [12] showed that, under particular circumstances, the elegancy of the Principle of Covariance on the basis of minimum substitution, can be maintained for Proca type fields. This will be the case if, next to a Proca field, an auxiliary scalar bosonic field , will be present, such that Proca’s Lagrangian is modified into, [12],(B1)This modified Lagrangian density remains unaffected under the gauges,(B2) Therefore, it is allowed to use the covariant Dirac equation in a Proca field of forces if an auxiliary scalar field is present as well. Let us try to identify the near field (strong force) as defined in (39) as Stueckelberg’s auxiliary phantom scalar field. First of all, we have to cope with the r2-term in the denominator of the near field expression, which is not compatible with a pointlike source. This would suggest that the source of the scalar field is a dipole rather than a monopole. Unfortunately, although the dipole shows an inverse square behavior of the energetic flux indeed, it shows an angular dependency as well. The escape comes from a reconsideration of the axiomatic principle as adopted by the author in his sequence of papers. It has to do with the numerical fit of the spatial expression (38) with the functional expression of the Higgs field. Curiously, another expression gives a fit with a similar accuracy. The fit is obtained by(B3) This can be rewritten as,(B4) This allows to incorporate the sources of the vectorial far field and the scalar near field into a complete Lagrangian description. Moreover, we may invoke the generalization proposed by ‘t Hooft and Veltman, by including an additional real parameter , [12], [13], such that,(B5) Applying the Euler–Lagrange Equation yields two wave equations. Describing the pointlike sources for the far field and near field, respectively, as and , and defining , we get for the scalar part of the time independent (vector type) far field,(B6)and for the time independent (scalar type) near field we get(B7) By comparing (B7), (B4), obviously . It may seem that both equations have the same format as the Klein Gordon equation, which has erroneously been derived for fermions as a fore-runner of Dirac’s Equation. The presence of the source term, however, make these two bosonic equations different. It will be clear now that, under the modification (B3), the Stueckelberg mechanism allows to give a spatial description of the functionally defined Higgs field. The field can be assigned to a single composite source that produces a vectorial Proca type (weak force) far field and a scalar type (strong force) near field. For reasons of simplicity, I wish to stick to the two-parameter formulation as expressed by (38) rather than by the four-parameter equivalent (B4). But her mind was on the riddle of the missing professor. Where could he be? The students had tried to contact him through E-Mails and Online Messages but there hadn't been any contact back. She was sure that it was something mundane of course but there was still something nagging at her. Something she'd buried deep inside of herself a long time ago that was telling her to investigate it thoroughly. To get to the bottom of this mystery. Nicole pushed it back down. She'd buried that part of herself in Tempesmere. It was fine. There was a logical explanation for all of this she was sure. The police could handle it with their technological advances and investigative skills. No need for her to get involved. "Miss Noble? Could you explain the solution of the Dirac equation to the class please?" Professor Jimmy Turner asked her. "Oh, sure." Nicole cleared her throat and stood up and spoke out to the class. "The solution of the Dirac equation for an electron in a Coulomb field is systematically treated here by utilizing new insights provided by supersymmetry.It is shown that each of the concepts has its analogue in the non-relativistic case. Indeed, the non-relativistic case is developed first, in order to introduce the new concepts in a familiar context. The symmetry of the non-relativistic model is already present in the classical limit, so the classical Kepler problem is first discussed in order to bring out the role played by the Laplace vector, one of the central concepts of the whole book. Analysis of the concept of eccentricity of the orbits turns out to be essential to understanding the relation of the classical and quantum mechanical models.The opportunity is taken to relive the great moments of physics: From Kepler's discovery of the laws of motion of the planets, the development is traced through the Dirac equation up to modern advances, which bring the concepts of supersymmetry to bear on the derivation of the solutions. How was that?" Professor Turner gave her a thumbs up. "Well done Nicole! Thank you very much!" He smiled and returned to his lecture. "Thank you sir." Nicole replied and sat back down. "Teacher's pet." She heard someone at the far end of the second to last row whisper under his breath. She hummed and returned to her notes. After lunch the students split up to go their respective classes with a couple of them accompanying Derrick across campus to the fitness center. Once inside the men and women split up to their respective locker rooms and got changed. Derrick put on a black muscle shirt and shorts and hung up his college uniform in his locker. He put on some gloves and did a few pre-workout stretches. (It's just your nerves. It's just your nerves. You didn't get enough sleep and it's got you on edge. It's fine. Everyone's fine. The Brannons are gone. Dead and buried or locked up. Gone. They're all gone and none of their minions are coming after you again. Even if they do? Just kick their asses all over again. You're fine. It's fine. Now perk up. You've got benching to do!) Derrick smiled, clapped his face and loosened himself up for the workout. "'Ey geeza 're ya feelin' okay?" Randall asked him. "Feeling fine. Just one of those days you know?" "Oh trust me I kna. Ya 'ave ter learn ter take it easy once in a while. If you're always on edge you'll just wear yourself out. Tearn ter smell the roses mate." "Yeah I know. Come on, lets bench." He laughed and walked to the door into the fitness floor. The moment he stepped inside Derrick forgot all of his concerns. "Glad you could come." Dolores greeted him in a black tank top and shorts. "You ready to sweat?" She was amazing. Her long beautiful hair was a fiery red that perfectly complimented her amazing amazonian build. She had the physique of an athletic angel, a genuine goddess who'd sculpted herself out of fine marble. "You're drooling mate." Randall whispered to him with a smirk. "What? Wait, what? Huh? No I'm not. Get out of here. Go warmup." Derrick stammered out quickly as Randall walked away quietly laughing. Derrick would get him back later. "Anyway. Yeah. Sweat. Gotta love it. No pain no gain so lets pump some iron." Derrick smiled. Dolores smirked. "Oh we are gonna burn some muscle." 2 Hours 40 Minutes Of Working Out And Exercise. This was gonna be fun. They spread out around the room and got started on their workout regimens. Derrick did a few stretches and warm up exercises and then he walked over to the bench press. Derrick reached over to a console attached to the bench that let you set the amount of weight you wanted to add onto the bar. You could set it to some truly absurd levels but you had to be extremely careful not to set it too high that you couldn't handle it. There were also several normal benches for the traditionalists. Taking the 45lb bar into account, Derrick put 1255 into the keypad and pressed the enter button. The machine hummed and the bar gradually glowed as the machine adjusted itself and the weight of the bar then played a little jingle when it was ready. Derrick waved to Owain. "Hey man. Can you spot me?" "Sure thing bro." He walked over to Derrick and looked at the bench. "1300 lbs. Cute." "Hardy-har-har. You ready?" "Ready when you are." Derrick rubbed his hands together and the laid down on the bench with his eyes under the bar, grabbed the bar with a medium grip-width with his thumbs around the bar, unracked the bar by straightening his arms, lowered the bar to his mid-chest, and then pressed the bar back up until his arms were straight. Derrick held the weight up for a second at the top with straight arms, breathed and then took a big breath, held it and lowered the bar again while keeping his butt on the bench when he pressed it back up. The Bench Press is a full body, compound exercise. It works your chest, shoulders and triceps most. It’s the most effective exercise to gain upper-body strength and muscle mass because it’s the upper-body exercise you’ll lift most weight on. The bigger your bench, the bigger your chest. To avoid shoulder pain, tuck your elbows 75° when you lower the bar. Don’t try to stretch your chest by flaring your elbows 90° out. You’ll impinge your shoulders if your upper-arms are perpendicular to your torso at the bottom. Tuck your elbows 75° to Bench Press pain-free. Unlike the Squat or Deadlift, the bar doesn’t move in a vertical line when you Bench Press with proper form. It moves diagonally from your mid-chest over your shoulders. This is the safest way to Bench Press for your shoulders. It’s also the most effective way to Bench Press heavy. Read more stronglifts.com/bench-press/#gref Up and down. Up and down. Breathe in. Breathe out. Derrick lowered the bar to his mid-chest, and then pressed the bar back up until his arms were straight. Derrick held the weight up for a second at the top with straight arms, breathed and then took a big breath, held it and lowered the bar again while keeping his butt on the bench when he pressed it back up. Up and down. Up and down. Breathe in. Breathe out. Derrick lowered the bar to his mid-chest, and then pressed the bar back up until his arms were straight. Derrick held the weight up for a second at the top with straight arms, breathed and then took a big breath, held it and lowered the bar again while keeping his butt on the bench when he pressed it back up. Up and down. Up and down. Breathe in. Breathe out. Derrick lowered the bar to his mid-chest, and then pressed the bar back up until his arms were straight. Derrick held the weight up for a second at the top with straight arms, breathed and then took a big breath, held it and lowered the bar again while keeping his butt on the bench when he pressed it back up. Derrick lowered the bar to his mid-chest, and then pressed the bar back up until his arms were straight. Derrick held the weight up for a second at the top with straight arms, breathed and then took a big breath, held it and lowered the bar again while keeping his butt on the bench when he pressed it back up. Derrick lowered the bar to his mid-chest, and then pressed the bar back up until his arms were straight. Derrick held the weight up for a second at the top with straight arms, breathed and then took a big breath, held it and lowered the bar again while keeping his butt on the bench when he pressed it back up. Derrick lowered the bar to his mid-chest, and then pressed the bar back up until his arms were straight. Derrick held the weight up for a second at the top with straight arms, breathed and then took a big breath, held it and lowered the bar again while keeping his butt on the bench when he pressed it back up. It was certainly work. Benching over a thousand was rather heavy and it just got heavier the further up you got. 1300 lbs was his current max after all these years of training. Sure, the nano-treatment ten years ago gave him a headstart but the results came from years of hard work and physical conditioning. Last he checked in with Tina, she was almost as strong as him. Maybe more. They hadn't competed in awhile. He wondered what she and her girlfriend were up to right now....and when the marriage would be. Aunt Michelle and Uncle Alessandro obviously knew about them and he knew they'd be happy to throw the most luxurious party they could ever ask for after all. Well anyway, Derrick refocused his efforts on the task at hand. He breathed out and resumed benching. Rep after rep after rep. Derrick counted them down in his head with a smile on his face. He had a long two hours ahead of him and Derrick intended to make the most of every minute. He kept counting down while continuing the workout. 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190 200 210 Starting to feel it. 220 230 240 250 260 Derrick was sweating now. 270 280 Feeling the burn. 290 He was feeling the extreme weight now. 300 It was getting a little hard now but he kept pushing. 310 He kept pushing. 320 Derrick paused for a few seconds before he pushed it back up. 330 340 350 He increased his grip on the bar and smiled as he pushed it back up. Derrick had a personal record to break today and he was certainly going to surpass his personal best. 351 352 353 Come on. Keep pushing it! 354 355 356 Come on you can do this! It's just a little weight you can do it! 357 358 359 360 The bar rested on Derrick's chest as he closed his eyes. "Hey 'Rick, come on, don't hurt yourself now." Owain advised him. "Come on let me give you a hand with that." "Don't worry about me. I've.got.this." He smiled and pushed it back up. 361 362 363 He was almost at his personal best now. Just a few more. 364 365 He made it! 365 reps! "Six.More.Just.Six.More." Derrick told himself and pushed it back up. Derrick held the weight up for a second at the top with straight arms, breathed and then took a big breath, held it and lowered the bar again while keeping his butt on the bench when he pressed it back up. Derrick lowered the bar to his mid-chest, and then pressed the bar back up until his arms were straight. Derrick held the weight up for a second at the top with straight arms, breathed and then took a big breath, held it and lowered the bar again while keeping his butt on the bench when he pressed it back up. Derrick lowered the bar to his mid-chest, and then pressed the bar back up until his arms were straight. Derrick held the weight up for a second at the top with straight arms, breathed and then took a big breath, held it and lowered the bar again while keeping his butt on the bench when he pressed it back up. Derrick kept pumping the bar until he finally pushed it up to Three Hundred Seventy One Reps! He smiled and did one more congratulatory raise up before pushing it up onto a bench. He laughed and sat up while he wiped the sweat from his brow with his personal towel from his pocket. "Three Hundred Seventy Two Reps At Thirteen Hundred Pounds. My new personal best." Owain lifted the bar off of the bench and rested it on his shoulder. "Huh. Not a bad curl." "Sure rub it in, Ferigno." "I'll take that as a compliment." Owain replied. "Seriously though. That was an awesome bench without Brick powers. Is everyone in your family this strong?" "Basically." Derrick responded with a smile and a shrug of his broad shoulders. "Believe it or not, I've got a cousin who's as tough as me. She's a real firecracker." "Oh really? Is she single?" Derrick smirked. "She's got a girlfriend, dude." "All good. Consider my comment retracted." He chuckled. "So what's her name?" "Tina. Tina Berardinelli." Derrick informed him and then took a breather. "Wait, Berardinelli? Wasn't she in the Battle Contest a couple years back?" "Yeah, the Windfair Martial Arts Expo Battle Contest. Basically one big overly long MMA Kumite thing. She won too which was awesome." "Hey that's right. I saw it on TV! She was awesome!" "She always has been." "I don't remember seeing you there though." "Me? Nah. I guess I just didn't receive an invite and anyway there was a party I was having with some friends." He gulped and paused before continuing. "And a thing happened...it was a mess. The point being though, Tina made the family proud there and it was awesome. Anyway." He rolled his shoulders and laid back down for another set. "Thanks for the cool down chat by the way." He grabbed the bar and got ready for another go. "Cool, cool. Hey, so, ah, what happened at the party? If you don't mind me asking?" "Eh, nothing too bad. Just a weird day. Don't worry about it. Lets shred." Derrick summarized and set about another set of the same amount of reps. Dolores meanwhile was sitting down at a lat pulldown machine and set it Two Hundred Fifty Pounds and was in the middle of her reps set. Three Sets of 10 Reps. When performed properly, lat pulldowns can be extremely beneficial to build upper body strength, mass, and keep your shoulders healthy. Vertical pulling exercises such as the lat pulldown primarily target the latissimus dorsi or ‘lats’ muscles but also hit the lower and middle trapezius, the rhomboids, and the serratus anterior. The largest of these muscles, the lats, originate at your thoracic and lumbar spine spanning most of your back and insert all the way on your humerus. Besides allowing the motion for pull-ups, the lat muscles also act as very powerful spinal stabilizers for posture during exercises such as squats and deadlifts, as well as other athletic movement. Needless to say, having a strong back is key to overall strength and fitness. To pull off this workout properly, 1) Sit on the lat pulldown machine and adjust the knee pad so that there is no free space and you’re tightly seated. 2) Place your feet flat on the floor, push your chest upwards and out. 3) Retract your scapula, which should create an arch leaning away from the machine. 4) Take hold of the bar, with your hands in a wide grip (this should be on the declined portion of the long bar, both sides). 5) When you’re in your starting position inhale and make sure your keep posture without letting your scapula loosen or your shoulders raise. 6) Exhale when you begin the movement (concentric contraction); Pull through your elbows until you’re able to squeeze your lats at the bottom of the movement and your shoulder blades are together. 7) Slowly raise the bar back up until your arms are extended and back in the starting position. Pull through the elbows, keep your head neutral, keep a slight arch in your upper back (backwards), do not disengage scapula or shoulders at the top of the movement. This will take tension off the lats. Dolores continued her workout by pulling down on the machine and then slowly letting it back up and then repeating. It was one of her favorite workouts and it helped her to keep in shape. By shape of course she meant that she turned herself into a lethal weapon. You never know what could happen to you. Whether it be a super going rogue or a more generic criminal or some random psycho, you had to be prepared to either run or fight at all times at a moments notice. That was why she loved the fitness center so much. Two hours and forty minutes of clanging and banging and sweaty muscle burning. She loved it. Plus, come on, sitting in the desks all day was just uncomfortable. Cushions or not. She continued her pulldowns until she reached the ten count and took a short rest before she resumed with her next set. Dolores pulled down on the machine and then she brought it back up and then she pulled it down. Dolores pulled down on the machine and then she brought it back up and then she pulled it down. Dolores pulled down on the machine and then she brought it back up and then she pulled it down. Dolores pulled down on the machine and then she brought it back up and then she pulled it down. Dolores repeated the reps until she finished her second set and she took another minute rest before repeating the reps up until she finished her third set and took a break as sweat dripped down her face. Dolores smiled. She always knew a workout was going well when the sweat droplets on her skin began to run down her face and limbs and splash onto the floor. Beads as salty as tears would run into her lips and she laughed. It felt good. Dolores dabbed at her face with a towel and then she reset the machine for the next user and then she retrieved a disinfecting wipe to clean up the machine. As she was wiping it down, she took a glance across the room at Derrick. She liked what she saw. A sheen of sweat covered his arms and face from his insane workout regimen and glistened in the light of the room. The way it highlighted the contour of muscle reminded her of what a powerhouse he was. Whatever had happened to him in his past, he'd since been exhaustively trained to perform at his peak physically and mentally. He was a living work or art, his shining skin was just so tempting to touch; every move giving away his strength. He had a chiseled chest and the skin on it was glowing healthily. His abdominals were sculptured to perfection as his six-packs popped, instantly giving off the impression that he came out of a supermodel magazine. His biceps were the size of her head yet lean and his triceps looked like rare diamonds and his round and protrudingly powerful shoulders completed his masterpiece of a bodice. Dolores took her time cleaning the machine so she could enjoy the view a bit more before she moved on. She was halfway over to the next machine before she glanced at the numbers on the machine and did a double take and she zeroed in on the incredibly high numbers on the machine. Thirteen Hundred Pounds! She took this in and smiled. He really was amazing. She pushed her hair back and walked over to the Recyclotron and tossed the wipe into it and then she walked over to a treadmill and set it to Thirty Miles Per Hour at a Twelve Percent Incline. She took a deep breath and began running like lightning! Derrick meanwhile continued his own workout until he finally reached another three hundred seventy two reps and he managed to set it back up. Derrick lowered his arms down and rested them on his chest as he rested and the sweat dripped down his body and onto the bench. "Well you're definitely Superhuman bro. But are you feeling okay?" Owain asked him. Derrick took a breather for a minute before he smiled and replied. "Feeling fine brosef. Just...give me a minute here." He chuckled and then he rested for another two minutes before he slowly sat back up and wiped himself down with his towel. "Hey take it easy, Derrick. You don't have to break yourself to stay in shape you know." "It's cool it's cool." Derrick assured him. "I've been doing this for the past ten years man. And the results?" He stood up and took a breather before smiling and give a thumbs up. "The results speak for themselves. Thanks by the way. You're the best." He secured a few wipes and cleaned down the bench. "Alright I'll trust you but just be sure that you stay careful man." "I will be. Thank you." Derrick finished wiping down the bench, bar and the floor before he tossed the wipes, grabbed a paper cup and then he filled it up with water and drank it down to cool down. He waited another minute and then he walked into the locker room and retrieved two thirty pound ankle weights from his locker before returning to the room and walking over to a hanging down bag. Derrick crouched down and strapped the ankle weights to his legs. He stood back up and gave a few wiggles to each leg to get adjusted to the weight and then he tapped one foot on the floor a few times before he got ready for his next workout. He'd given his arms and chest a good workout earlier. It was time for his legs. Three Sets. Three Hundred Kicks. This was gonna be fun. Kicks play a significant role in many forms of martial arts, such as savate, taekwondo, MMA, sikaran, karate, Pankration, Kung Fu, Vovinam, kickboxing, Muay Thai, Yaw-Yan, capoeira, silat, and kalaripayattu. As the human leg is longer and stronger than the arm, kicks are generally used to keep an opponent at a distance, surprise him or her with their range, and inflict substantial damage. On the other hand, stance is very important in any combat system, and any attempt to deliver a kick will necessarily compromise one's stability of stance. The application of kicks is thus a question of the tradeoff between the power that can be delivered vs. the cost incurred to balance. Since combat situations are fluid, understanding this tradeoff and making the appropriate decision to adjust to each moment is key. Kicks are commonly directed against helpless or downed targets, while for more general self-defense applications, the consensus is that simple kicks aimed at vulnerable targets below the chest may be highly efficient, but should be executed with a degree of care. Self-defense experts, such as author and teacher Marc Macyoung, claim that kicks should be aimed no higher than the waist/stomach. Thus, the fighter should not compromise their balance while delivering a kick, and retract the leg properly to avoid grappling. It is often recommended to build and drill simple combinations that involve attacking different levels of an opponent. A common example would be distracting an opponent's focus via a fake jab, following up with a powerful attack at the opponent's legs and punching. Further, since low kicks are inherently quicker and harder to see and dodge in general they are often emphasized in a street fight scenario. Derrick for his part notably borrows from various forms of martial arts and he mixes and matches them to keep his kicks varied. Below is a list of some of the kicks utilized by Derrick Axe Kick Back Kick Crescent Kick Front Kick Push Kick or Front Thrust Kick Roundhouse Kick or Round Kick Side Kick Master List of Martial Arts Kicks (Basic & Advanced) – Click on each kick for detailed instructions and/or videos Axe Kick – Traditional rear leg axe kick. Front Leg Axe Kick Back Kick Butterfly Kick Butterfly Twist Kick – A more advanced version of the Butterfly Kick. Calf Kick Cartwheel Kick Crescent Kick Inside Crescent Kick Outside Crescent Kick Cut Kick Double Front Kick or Jumping Double Front Kick Double Roundhouse Kick or Jumping Double Roundhouse Kick Downward Roundhouse Kick or “Brazilian Kick” Foot Sweep Kick – Karate’s Ashi Barai Flying Back Kick Flying Drop Kick Flying Front Kick Flying Side Kick Front Kick Front Kick – Ball of Foot – Hit target with ball of foot. Front Kick – Instep – Hit target with instep of foot. Heel Kick Lead Leg, Turning and Spinning Hook Kick or Whip Kick Inverted Roundhouse Kick Jumping Axe Kick Jumping Back Kick Jumping Front Kick or Flying Front Kick Jumping Roundhouse Kick Jumping Side Kick or Flying Side Kick Jumping Spinning Axe Kick or Tornado Axe Kick Jumping Spinning Crescent Kick Jumping Spinning Hook Kick or Jumping Reverse Hook Kick Knee Joint Kick – Karate’s Kansetsu Geri Knee Strike – This section provide instructions for a wide variety of knee strikes. Kyokushin Wheel Kick Low Kicks – List of kicks commonly used to strike targets below the waist. Oblique Kick or Scoop Kick Push Kick or Front Thrust Kick Roll Kicks or Rolling Kicks Cartwheel Kick Forward Roll Kick or Forward Falling Kick Side Roll Kick or Side Falling Kick, Kyokushin Wheel Kick, etc. Roundhouse Kick or Round Kick Roundhouse Kick – Front Leg Roundhouse Kick – Rear Leg Scissor Kick Scoop Kick Scorpion Kick Shin Kick or “Muay Thai Kick” Shin Kick (Hapkido) Side Kick Side Kick – Front Leg Side Kick – Rear Leg Skipping Axe Kick or Hopping Axe Kick, Sliding Axe Kick, etc. Skipping Crescent Kick or Hopping Crescent Kick, Sliding Crescent Kick, etc. Skipping Front Kick or Hopping Front Kick, Sliding Front Kick, etc. Skipping Roundhouse Kick or Hopping Roundhouse Kick, Sliding Roundhouse Kick, etc. Skipping Side Kick or Step Behind Side Kick, Hopping Side Kick, Sliding Side Kick, etc. Slap Kick Spinning Axe Kick Spinning Back Kick Spinning Crescent Kick Spinning Heel Kick or Spinning Sweep Kick Spinning Hook Kick or Spinning Whip Kick, Reverse Roundhouse Kick, Reverse Hook Kick, etc. Spinning Roundhouse Kick or Turning Roundhouse Kick Spinning Side Kick or Reverse Side Kick Stomp Kick – Karate’s Fumikomi Vertical Stomp Kick Stop Kick Stretch Kick Sweep Kick (Forward Foot) Sweep Kick (Low Heel) or Low Spinning Heel Kick Switch Kick Toe Kick or Karate’s Tsumasaki Geri Tornado Kick, Jumping Spinning Roundhouse Kick, 360 Roundhouse Kick Tornado Axe Kick Twisting Kick or Twist Kick Upkick Uppercut Back Kick 540 Roundhouse Kick 540 Spinning Hook Kick Front Kick from the Ground Roundhouse Kick from the Ground Defense Against A Leg Grab While On Ground – Hook or Heel Kick Defense Against A Leg Grab While On Ground – Roundhouse Kick Side Kick from the Ground Eskrima Kicks Hapkido Kicks Karate Kicks Muay Thai Kicks & Knee Strikes Taekwondo Kicks rmada An armada is a reverse roundhouse kick, also described as a spinning inside to outside crescent kick. It can be either a Rabo-de-Arraia without the hands supporting on the floor (the head falls below the waist and the kick is executed with the heel), or a Meia lua de Costas (halfmoon from the back), a spinning kick with the body upright. The striking surface is usually the outside blade of the kicking foot. A queixada and armada are executed in exactly the same way with the exception of the armada beginning with a step to the right or left before releasing the kick. The power of the armada actually comes from the torque placed on the hips from the spin. After stepping across the body (to the right or left) at around 45 degrees, the hips are spun while the arms are up to protect from punches or other kicks. Once there is enough torque, the kicking leg is "released" rather than kicked. This leg goes around in the same motion as a queixada until the kicking leg has finished its arc all the way back or parallel to the other foot. Armada Pulada An Armada that is released after a jump. The armada pulada begins the same way as the regular armada with the capoeirista turning to the left or right. Once the head, neck and shoulders rotate towards the front, he/she jumps during the release of the armada making it a spinning aerial kick. Armada Dupla Also known as an Envergado. The distinguishing feature of this move is the fact that both legs remain together during the take off, execution, and landing. Its name, Armada dupla, is derived from this feature and also literally means "double armada". After the take off, the torso stays upright and vertical, but will begin to quickly torque in order to swing the legs around and upwards. At the peak of this move, the body is in the shape of a "V". The legs continue to swing over as the body straightens out for the landing. In tricking, this move is called a double leg. Along with the Meia Lua Compasso and Au Malandro/Batida, the armada dupla one of the trademark kicks unique to the art capoeira. Armada com Martelo The armada com martelo is a spinning double kick beginning with an armada pulada and finishing with a martelo. The capoeirista begins with the same motion of the Armada. While the first leg is raised up, he/she jumps off their back leg. Once the first leg completes its arc, the leg that was jumped off of comes around in the form of a jumping martelo rotado. Bênção An esquiva under a Bênção Literally "blessing". It is a straight forward frontal push kick. It is commonly aimed at the abdominal or chest area, and the capoeirista hits with either the whole sole of the foot or with the heel. The level of impact varies with its range and intent from a soft tap to an inward jumping stomp to the head, or torso. Chapa[edit] Chapa, the sole of the foot, is a generic term for various straight kicks with the sole or heel of the foot. This kick can be used in a roda to push away the other player for distance. These include: Chapa-de-Costas It resembles a kick from a horse or mule in which both hands are usually on the ground while one of the legs is pushed outward towards the other player. It is a clever attack that can be delivered out of a role towards the groin or knee of the other player. Chapa-de-Frente A straight kick facing the opponent sometimes performed from a Queda de Quatro, pushing with the hips to gain greater extension. It has the look of a Bençao given from a Queda de Quatro. Pisào Another variation being a side kick. First the player begins by lifting the knee of the kicking leg and hip level of the support leg. The capoeirista turns his supporting foot 180 degrees to the rear while thrusting the kicking foot towards the other player's body. Chapa Baixa This is a side kick to the lower areas including the thigh, knee, or instep. Impact is usually made with the heel or sole of the foot. As with the pisào, the chapa baixa begins with a forward knee raise. However, instead of rising upwards towards the usual kicking targets capoeira (head, chest, stomach), the kick is driven downward towards the other player's lower extremities. It incorporates the malacia in capoeira appearing as a high kick but ending in an unpredictable painful kick to the knee or thigh. In most rodas this is shown rather than completed to full extension. During the later rounds of his title defense in UFC 97 with Thales Leites, Anderson Silva made extensive use of this technique. Chapa Giratoria Capoeira’s answer for the sole kick. It is done in the same way as ban dae yeop chagi in Taekwondo with the capoeirista stepping forward or diagonally while turning his torso. At the same time he raises his back leg up, unleashing it at the apex of the turn in a straight path. Escorpião Scorpion kick There are actually two different versions of the escorpião. The attacking one is very similar to the scorpion kick of other martial arts. It is characterized by kicking backwards, over the head, at a target in front of the kicker impacting with the sole or heel of the foot. The escorpião is very hard to see and is extremely dangerous in the hands of a master. Gancho The gancho lit. hook, is a hook kick. It is a deceptive attack that starts off in the same way as a martelo or roundhouse kick. The knee and thigh of the kicking leg is brought up and across the body in a diagonal direction. Instead of thrusting in and out like a chapa, the leg is extended toward the body and thrust out in a hooking motion striking with the heel or sole. The path of the heel ends near the buttocks and hamstring as it is brought down. There are other ways of using it such as fake martelos into in or from fake chapas. Because of its deceptiveness, the name gancho is perfect for it since it can sometimes act as the hook for a bait attack that is seen far too late. Gancho Giratoria A spinning version of the gancho. It starts out like a spinning chapa but deceptively lashes out and hooks around in the same manner as the gancho. Martelo The martelo, which literally means "hammer", is generally defined as a strike with the instep, or lower part of the shin against the opponent's body; the most common target is temple of the head. The most common forms of the Martelo include: Martelo em Pé Martelo em Pe This is the most common martelo seen in Regional and Contemporânea rodas. Its execution on the very basic level is identical to the sport version of the roundhouse kick commonly seen in Tae Kwon Do and kickboxing. Capoeira emphasizes using kicks anywhere at any time so advance forms of the martelo em pe can come from fakes, skipping and kicking with the front leg, and from other dodges such as the esquiva diagonal. Emphasis is placed on speed and deception rather than knockout. Even with this precaution knockouts still occur due to the weight and sheer force of the leg. Martelo do Chão It is a martelo that starts from the ground. The Martelo do Chão is delivered from a lower position usually right before a rolé while in esquiva baixa or downward going into a queda de rins. Martelo de Negativa Martelo de Negativa This is a variation of blends the movements of s dobrado with martelo do chão. The martelo de negativa begins with a hop generating more force since the entire body is used. Other names include chapéu de couro and s batida. Martelo Rotado A spinning martelo, similar to a 540 kick. The martelo rotado combines the 540 or parafuso with a martelo. Whereas the parafuso is a spinning outside to inside crescent, the martelo rotado impacts with the instep. Control is sacrificed for power as the leg does not stop, but follows through with a full rotation of the hips. Meia Lua de Compasso Main article: Meia lua de compasso The Meia-Lua de compasso (lit: compass half moon) aka. rabo do arria, is an attack that embodies the true element of Capoeira since it combines an evasive maneuver with a spinning kick. The transfer of power begins with the hand slamming into the ground and ending with the spin of the kicking heel. The power of the kick derives its energy from the similar centripetal force of a golf club swing. It has earned its place in capoeira as being called the "king of kicks". There is even a saying among capoeira mestres on how a capoeirista's general skill level can be determined on how well and fast they are able to execute a Meia lua de compasso. Meia-lua de Frente[ Meia Lua de Frente (Front Half Moon) is an outside-inside crescent kick seen in other martial arts. This kick involves using the hips to generate enough force to bring the foot of the kicking leg across the face of the player. While it can be used as an attack itself, it mainly is used as a poke or trap for another attack. Other uses for it can be as a combination with cartwheels and other acrobatic moves, therefore, working as an escape. Ponteira Ponteira is the simple front snap-kick with the ball of the foot. It is performed by lifting the knee and quickly extending the leg with toes pulled back while tilting the torso slightly backwards to strike the opponent in the abdomen, chest or face. Contrary to the Benção this is intended as a hard and fast striking kick. Queixada This is one of the most commonly used of the basic kicks in contemporary regional. To execute with the right leg, one begins in mid-ginga stance, with the left leg back and the right forward. From this position, step slightly to the left with the right leg, shifting body weight onto the forward (right) leg while the body faces left. Immediately bring the left leg forward, crossing it behind the right while beginning to throw body weight forward to gain momentum. When the body weight is fully resting on the left leg, release the right leg, kicking it in a large, sweeping arc to the right, keeping the leg straight throughout. When the kick has been completed, the capoeirista is now in mid-ginga stance, except now with the right leg back and the left forward. Throughout this move one must always remember to guard his or her face using the thick part of the forearms (as is done in all capoeira moves). Reverse all directions (left-right and vice versa) in order to execute a queixada with the left leg. Raiz A raiz is a type of kick used in contemporary regional. It could be described as a sideswipe with less rotation, so the practitioner lands on the rear leg from the take off instead of the kicking leg. However, in terms of tricking, the raiz is not a kick, but rather an evasive move aimed to avoid an attack toward the legs. The set-up for the raiz is exactly like the 540 kick, but the technique required for a successful raiz is similar to a Double Leg. In starting this move, the practitioner turns slightly sideways at the waist with the arm-swing motion. Once the set-up is accomplished, the first leg is thrown straight up while having the head thrown back. This motion causes the practitioner's back to become parallel to the ground. The first leg travels around like a Double Leg and the second leg trails behind it. The first leg lands first on the ground and the second leg lags behind. The second leg should not be rushed, but rather be relaxed and let it fall by itself. S-Dobrado The S-Dobrado is the generic name for a series of motions that takes a capoeirista from a low position to whip one leg across the floor in a half circle, then kick up his legs and invert onto his hands and then land back on his feet and stand. The S refers to shape traced by the motion of the leg which leads the move. It is used as a transitional move and there are many variations of the S-Dobrado. A basic S-Dobrado can start from a Negativa, whip the straight leg around in a half circle to face the other direction, kick up into a Macaco. Another variation involves going from Corta Capim, then kicking up into Macaco. While inverted, the capoeirista can Au, or stop and do a Bananeira, or even sink down into a Queda De Rins. It is a very versatile technique for a capoeirista. Vôo-do-Morcego[ Literally translated as the "Flight of the bat". This is a flying kick done sideways with both legs. It is executed virtually in the same manner as a dropkick; however, the knees are drawn back in after making contact and one lands on their feet. It would be ridiculous to perform this in the same way as pro wrestlers since landing on the ground would injure the capoeirista more than the kick. Since it is an aerial attack, balance and control are sacrificed for raw power. As with any attack, the effectiveness of this attack depends on the timing, weight, and body mass. It was a very popular attack in past times, but it is rarely seen in rodas today. In the anime series Afro Samurai, Afro utilizes this kick against his opponents in season 2 although it is not specified where he learned this kick. After each set of three hundred kicks Derrick took a minute break and then he resumed his kicks until he'd finished the three sets. Nine hundred kicks. Derrick took a couple of minutes to rest up and then he sat down and took off the ankle weights. Derrick wiped down the floor and the bag, patted it and then he walked back to the locker room and returned the weights to his locker. Derrick returned to the room and grabbed some dumbbells, climbed up and put his legs on a bar and he began doing upside down crunches with two hundred pound dumbbells' in his hands. Owain chuckled at their little workouts and set the machine to 40,000 forty thousand pounds or twenty tons and he relaxed while the machine hummed and set up the weight. Once everything was set up, he laid down on the bench, grabbed the bar, took a deep breath, exhaled and then he hefted the 20 Ton Bar off of the bench and he began benching it repeatedly. Derrick meanwhile continued his upside down crunches, hanging upside down with his hands on his neck with weights in hand, touched his head to his knees without letting go of his hands from his neck, then repeat for three sets of 20 reps, then resting for 30 seconds, then performing another 20 reps. After he completed the three sets, Derrick let go out of the bars, flipped in mid-air and landed on his feet. He then performed two side flips to the right for funsies and he took a few seconds to stretch and relax before he walked over to the weights and set down the dumbbells. Derrick took a little break and then he walked over to the treadmill next to Dolores for a good run. They smiled at each other as the treadmill warmed up to the same level as Dolores'. Once it was all warmed up he was off to the races! After fifteen minutes of running on the treadmill Dolores turned it back down and slowed herself down as the treadmill slowed down and turned off. She sat down and took a break while Derrick ran for another three minutes and then he slowed back down. He sat down next to Dolores and they drank from their water bottles. "So. Hey. That was fun." Derrick said to her. "How long were you on there anyway?" "Oh I'd wager about 20 minutes. Maybe 21 or so." Dolores smirked. "Nice. Nice." Derrick laughed. "So you're a speedster too?" "Believe it or not Derrick I am in fact descended from Hermes himself!" "The Greek God of Commerce, quick to act and fast on his feet, fastest of the Gods, yeah. Sounds like a speedster to me." He joked. "So you agree that I am a Demi-Goddess, Mister Blackburn?" She asked in a faux-haughty manner. "Why stop at Demi-Goddess? You are a bright, beautiful, Goddess, Dolores." "Oh you are so sweet....like candy to my soul. Sweet you rock and sweet you roll." "Lost for you I'm so lost for you. You come crash into me and I come into you..." "Oh you're good." Dolores smiled. "That's from 1996!" "Crash. April 30th." She laughed. "I never thought I'd meet someone else who listened to old music like that here." "Hey I still listen to music from the 80's. I completely understand the appeal." "Oh man Karaoke Night cannot get here soon enough. It's going to be so much fun singing with you." (YES!) "I would be honored to sing a duet with you, Dolores." "As would I to sing with you, Derrick." "HEEEEEEYYY YOU TWO!" A booming voice echoed around the room as a musclebound man ran up to them and posed magnificently. "Flirt on your own time you two! YOU ARE HERE TO WORK!" Derrick laughed and stood up. "Understood sir. Understood. Sorry Coach Brickhouse." He flexed his arms and muscles. "You are forgiven but be sure you don't slack off!" "Yes sir. We'll clean the treadmills right away sir." Dolores smiled and walked around the treadmills to get the wipes. "So, just for fun, do you think some of us could be descended from Mythological creatures?" Dolores asked Derrick while they were cleaning the treadmills. "As in, they existed way back when?" "Who's to say they didn't? I mean, what if they did once, but through the years, they slowly mixed in with humans? You can see it if you look at the people around you. Like, you can see the blood of fairies in the way a ballet dancer hovers in mid air before he or she hits the ground. You can see it in the way that middle school girl never forgets when someone makes her a promise. You can see it in how that one little boy in the kindergarten class seems more comfortable in the forest on that field trip than the others. You can see the blood of dryads in hikers who never trip over roots. You can see it in that suburban grandmother never lets any of her garden die. You can see it in that one kid who climbs a tree faster than his friends, barely looking at the branches as he goes. You can see the blood of naiads in the way a professional swimmer seems to command the water to help them. You can see it in how a cross country runner needs a water break more often than his teammates. You can see it in the way that one girl in your class always has a water bottle on her desk." Derrick explained. It made perfect sense to him after all. Vampires were real though he'd never met one himself. His cousin was dating a Lycanthrope. Superhumans were real and Derrick had seen more enough weird stuff in his life that the Supernatural mixing in with humans would be perfectly logical. Finally, Derrick pointed at Owain who had moved on to a superheavy deadlift. "Also Hercules is working out with us, so, Zeus clearly exists." Dolores burst out laughing. The students continued exercising through the hours. Derrick and Dolores competed in one armed pushups for an hour with weights on their respective backs as they laid down on the ground with one arm on the floor and one on their backs across from each other with smiles on their faces. The One Arm Pushup is an advanced bodyweight exercise that requires a ton of strength in the chest, triceps and shoulder muscles. In addition, a great deal of core strength and stability is required to perform the one arm pushup with really good form.The muscles involved in a one-arm push-up are, for the most part, the same as those involved in a standard push-up. They work the chest, shoulders, triceps, abs, and to a lesser extent, trapezius, rhomboids, teres major/minor, and infraspinatus. To do one-armed push-ups, start by getting into a regular push-up position with your feet apart and your hands on the floor below your shoulders. Then, raise your body up with both arms and lift up one of your hands and rest it on your back. Dolores drank in the view in front of her as they moved in synch like well oiled machines with perfect techniques. Their legs and back were straight as board and their heads were held down in concentration. Up, down, up, down, up, down, up, down…up, down. Biceps rippling, sweat glistening, hair damp, muscles burning. Her red hair hanging down around her face. His dark brown hair damp with sweat. Her tanktop and his shirt wet with sweat. Droplets fell down into the shadows beneath their feet. They had lifted their heads up from the floor and they were now staring longingly into each other's eyes and the rest of the room slowly faded away from both of them. The burning sensations left their minds and their bodies worked on autopilot. Up and down. Up and down. Up, down, up, down, up, down, up, down, up, down, up, down. Moving in synch and perfect rhythm together. They worked out their bodies like this for an entire hour before they finally reached their respective limits. Dolores maxed out at 1,310 one armed push ups and Derrick finally stopped at 1,979 one armed push ups of his own. He reached up for the bag on his back and pulled the 111 lb bag off of his back and set it down on the floor as Dolores slid the 90 lb bag off of her own. They got back up to their feet and took a few deep breaths doubled over with their hands on their knees and big smiles on their faces. Standing together, breathing heavily, drenched in sweat, their faces mere inches apart. "Dolores...that was amazing." "Hell yeah it was. Hell yeah." "You uh, you good to go again?" "Oh I'm ready when you are." They caught their breaths and retrieved the spot mops to clean up the sweat stains while dabbing at themselves with the towels. Once the push up spot was cleaned up they resumed their workouts. Planks, Sit Ups, Pull Ups, Jumping Jacks, Tire Pulls, Various Weight Machines and Rings were used as the various students pushed themselves towards and past their limits. By the time the class was over the place reeked of sweat and tears and the students were exhausted but extremely proud of themselves. The Coach applauded them. "You continue to make me proud. It warms my heart to see all of you pushing yourselves so hard. I can already see the A+'s on all of your report cards this semester! Keep doing your best and I promise your bodies will be sculpted to perfection! Feel free to grab some showers. You've earned them." "You're the best coach!" Derrick told him and walked away to the locker room for a shower while the others did the same. Derrick and Dolores took a longing glance at each other and then slipped into their respective rooms. The coach chuckled and turned on the air fresheners while the cleaning bots slid into the room and wiggled their way around the floor. The coach joined them to clean the room and get it ready for the next group. Derrick returned to his locker to grab a Super Protein Smoothie Drink he kept in a mini-fridge in his gym locker before the shower. The Ambroisie Magnifique was a health drink smoothie made in France by Renaître Génétique, an international conglomeration with subsidiaries active in a variety of industries. The corporation has influence in pharmaceutical; chemical and consumer cosmetics production and selling; industrial machine production, consumer products; health foods; the transport industry and tourism, as is typical for a large scale corporation. Their research had to a number of miraculous creations that rivaled even The Khrysos Corporation's innovations. One of them was the Ambroisie drink that could restore the stamina of the drinker and give them a small amount of enhanced endurance, resilience, strength, what have you. Derrick had taken some under a microscope awhile back and found that the drink was chock full of sugars for revitalization, proteins for repairing musculature damage, calcium for repairing skeletal damage, and a while plethora of other nutrients for improving the body, such as morphine for dulling the pain of the body, caffeine for revitalization and polysaccharides and polyphenols and flavonoids that a greater plantain would to assist with healing the body, all contained in a 1.93 oz, 57 ml, bottle. There were rumors online that a souped up version of it was saved for the French Military but nobody could confirm it. Not a big deal anyway. He opened the bottle and downed the shot and then set it back down, closed the mini-fridge and removed his clothes to go take a nice long shower to freshen up. The showers in the locker rooms were large and plentiful with the same designs as the ones in their dorm rooms so Derrick set his to his usual settings and enjoyed a good long soak. The water was like music to his ears after his intense workout session. He'd been looking forward to this shower for hours and it did not disappoint him. Everything about it was perfect from the temperature to the water pressure caressing him like strong sensual fingers massaging his body as he worked up a good lather all over his body. He smiled as he felt his muscles flex and bunch up at all of the right places. He was in top shape and he was only getting better every day. Derrick cleaned his body for awhile longer before he turned to reach for the button to turn it off. Just then he spotted a flash of something out of the corner of his eyes and he turned around to get a better look. All he saw was black hair sliding out of his vision. Her hair flowed down her back like black ink of a tilted piece of parchment. Derrick rubbed his eyes and he looked around the shower. "Uhhhh hello?" He asked to nobody in particular. He rubbed the back of his head and shrugged. Probably just seeing things. He poked his head out from the shower stall and looked left and right. Nobody there and the others were still taking their own showers. Derrick stepped back into his own stall and focused on the shower and the beautiful woman he'd just exercised with. Her raven hair reminding him me of a Tinted Paradise sunset as it flowed down her back like black ink of a titled piece of fire down a piece of parchment. Scorching and fiery red hair that looks burning to the touch shining like the sea at night, the black strands utterly white where the bright rays fell. As she moved, so did those brilliant bands, like echoes of the northern lights. Orange sunset locks, capturing the light in vibrant ruby hues; flowing in gentle, warm curls of lava to her mid-back. A waterfall of shiny, thick black hair blending perfectly with the night sky. Yes. He smiled and felt a weight lift off of his shoulders. Between this, the drink and the super shower, Derrick was completely recharged and smelling like peaches. You would never be able to tell that he'd just been in the gym sweating bullets! He walked out of the shower room and took his clothes out of the washer/dryer and got himself dressed. Last night's nightmare completely forgotten about after the awesome day he'd had. Dolores leisurely walked into the shower and danced around as she set the temperature, pressures, soaps, shampoos, scents, oil, foot massagers, full body jets, LED lights, radios, ventilation fans, speakers, cleaning function and massaging sponges then turned it on. She bathed her flawless skin in this shower paradise to sweet music as she danced around. She ran her hands down the slopes of her breasts, over her hourglass waist, and then placed her hands on her hips as she soaped herself and let the shower machine go to work on cleaning up her body off her glistening sweat and post workout rank and replace it with the beautiful smell of roses. The soapy suds and water ran down her smooth, tanned naked body. Soapy suds covering her breasts as she cleaned her Amazonian body. Dolores finally finished her shower and stepped out to dry herself before she returned to the locker room to grab her clothes. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Dolores brushed her hair back as she walked out of the door. "Oh man I feel good! Do you guys feel good? I feel good! Feel that burn baby! WHOO!" "Ah'ament saying ye'r wrong dollo, bit hae ye ever hud a normal workout? ye dinnae wantae destroy yer body in thare. " Lucrais MacRisnidh reasoned. "No quitting. No mercy!" Dolores replied to her roomie. "Seriously though, ah lost track o' howfur mony pushups ye did in thare. Howfur far did ye git?" "1,310 is my max with one arm so far." Freaking hell lassie!" Lucrais exclaimed. "Ye keep this up 'n' we'll hae tae stairt cawin ye Wonder Woman!" "Works for me. I will also accept Power Girl or Ms.Marvel." "Whit aboot Serenity?" Dolores shook her head. "I'm flattered but she's an Idol." "A'm sorry. Ah didnae mean tae offend." "It's cool. None taken. I'm just saying you know? Anyway! What's up Lucra? Where you headed?" "Ah hae a late nicht biology class. It helps me fall asleep." "Oh man I know the feeling. I've got AP Advanced Tech tonight though so that should be a lot of fun." Lucra smiled deviously and whispered in her ear. "Mair fin than Mister Blackburn?" "I don't poke into your love life Lucra. Please don't poke into mine." "Fair enough!" Sae it is loove 'en." She teased Dolores. "Mmmaybe. ♫ Girl you can't deny it, when you gonna own up that you got got got it bad. ♫." "Sing it lil." "WHOOOOOO BRO! YEAH! FEEL THAT BURN!" Derrick laughed as he rolled his arms. "I am feeling good tonight!" "I'm glad you're feeling great after a little kiddy workout like that, Derrick." Owain joked. "Just because I can't lift fifty thousand pounds doesn't make it a kiddy workout. I could bench over a metric ton in there if I felt like it. I just wanted to see how far I could get with thirteen hundred." "Oh really? You wanna step back in and prove it?" Owain challenged him. "I've got a class and homework but I'm free tomorrow morning if you want to work up a sweat then." "I'm down if you are." "See you there. Tomorrow morning. Two thousand two hundred four point six billion two hundred twenty-six million two hundred eighteen thousand four hundred eighty-eight ten-billionths pounds. One Metric Ton. Ten reps. Hundred dollars says I do it." "Thirteen and you've got it. Don't worry. I'll spot you." "Thanks man. Challenge accepted." They shook on it. "Seriously though, you were pretty awesome in there for a guy with no powers." "Ten years of workouts and training with my parents, Owain. I'm a machine now. Man, if any of those psycho punks ever come back for another round? Fuggedaboutit! I could take on any of them now." "Psycho punks?" "Looooong story. Lets just say my family has a history of bravely bashing blackguard blaggards beautifully." "Badass man. you've gotta tell me about those." "I'm going to be telling Josh and the others about it tonight if they want to know about it. It is not for the faint of heart though. You're gonna want to brace yourself for it." "I will. Just like I will be there for you if you have some trouble talking about it." "Thanks." "So hey do you have anymore alliteration for us?" Derrick grinned. "When dinosaur is domestic, when drop is downtown, Derrick doubles dimension. Democracy, developer, and democrat are what made Derrick great!" "Beautiful. I'll see you later bro." "Later!" Derrick and Owain waved goodbye to one another and went to their respective classes. Derrick continued chatting with some of the other students until they reached the Trinity University Science Center. Which held most of the Universities Scientific Labs. AP Advanced Technology 10101 was the name of the game and it was going to be a blast going from working their bodies to working their brains. The students filed into the massive science complex. They had it all in here. Hoverboards, Robots, Hologram Projectors, Assemblers, Mini-Teleporters, Prosthetic Limb Designs and more and it was always a wonderland walking in because you never knew just what you would be greeted by. In this case it was a bunch of students flipping around and doing tricks on hoverboards with anti-gravity boots with magnets attached that anchored them to the boards even they weren't attached to them. The students applauded them and moved on. The instructors to their class were ; Professor Nikole Tobias Reeves, Professor Nitika Liliya Laganà and Professor Kobe Zaal Baghdassarian. Kobe Baghdassarian. Standing 6' 1" tall, this indigo skinned man has a wild-willed feel about him. He has a round face with a square jaw, a well-formed nose, small ears, defined cheekbones and full lips. His light purple eyes are narrow, and he has neat eyebrows. He has very short, fine , brown hair which is buzz cut, and he has long sideburns. He has strong arms, a long torso, legs, and large feet. He usually wears old fashioned clothes that are mostly neutral-coloured, and he wears no jewellery. He is usually seen wearing a distinctive neckerchief. Nitika Lagana Standing 5' 8" tall, this fair skinned woman has a haughty feel about her. She has a long face with a softly shaped jaw, a big nose, and narrow lips. Her light brown eyes are large and she has neat eyebrows. Her chestnut brown hair, dip-dyed half way with shades of blonde, is medium-length, luscious and is worn an afropuff. She wears complimentary eyeliner, light eyeshadow, sapphire blush, light lipstick and a subtle foundation for contouring. She has muscular arms, a broad torso, broad hips, and long legs. She usually wears unwashed, matching clothes that are mostly white, and she wears no jewellery. Nikole Reeves Standing 6' 2" tall, this yellow skinned woman has a controlling feel about her. She has a square face with a pointed chin, a big nose, ears that stick out, bony cheeks and angled lips. Her dark brown eyes are angular, and she has thick eyebrows. Her black hair, dip-dyed at the ends with shades of green, is shoulder-length, thick and is pulled into a bun. She wears royal purple blush, orange-red eyeliner, sea green lipstick, an unsuitably-coloured foundation and subtle eyeshadow. She has toned arms, a short torso with modest breasts, hips, and long legs. She has a traditional tattoo on her upper body. She usually wears new, garish clothes that are mostly black, and expensive boots. In here though they all wore lab coats and appropriate gear for experiments. "Hello Class! Welcome back to AP Advanced Tech! So nice to see all of your smiling faces again! I hope you're ready for the big project tonight! Because tonight everybody! We are going to be working ooooooonnnnn……..HARD.LIGHT.PROJECTORS!" Kobe exclaimed to the students in an extremely excited tone of voice. The students cheered and applauded for them. This was going to be fun, Derrick thought to himself, he knew enough about the basic idea to follow it: Hardlight system are a complex kind of projection system that can give their output a solid surface. Depending on the complexity of the projection system this ability can be anywhere between the projection of smooth walls and a solid hologram. Most Hardlight projectors are very limited in the amount of force they can apply on real objects within their area of effect. You can easily touch Hardlight projections, but pressing too hard will let you slide through the projections. Most times this disrupts the effect of a solid surface for all projections close-by. Whatever mechanism you use for your hard light projection, it must turn the light itself into a "forcefield," distinct from using forcefields to hold the light in place. Its likely similar to the technology used to create such forcefields in the first place, utilizing some kind of electromagnetic force of which the photon is the force carrier. Therefore the trick is creating a device that can capture the light in a forcefield to give it some measure of physical force. The students got to work around the class with the Professors walking around and advising them and answering any questions the students had. For the purposes of the project, they had a few rules to follow. The display volume must be air at atmospheric pressure and it should work across a reasonable range of temperature and humidity so that people can walk through the display volume. In particular, your solution can't rely upon a specific medium in the display volume like smoke/fog or "smart dust". The display volume should be open on at least three sides; floor, ceiling, and one wall, so that you can walk around the hologram. Note that it is perfectly permissible to require devices around the display volume, as long as three or more sides are open enough to walk into. The hologram must appear "correct" to anyone standing outside the display volume, including occluding the view of other holographic objects behind one another. For example, if a holographic person is holding something behind their back, you would need to walk around them to see it. The hologram must be safe enough that a person can walk into the display volume. A hologram is useless if it bathes its viewers in gamma radiation, or constant high-intensity noise and stray laser light. Derrick's solution then was to first apply the principles of femtosecond laser technology to the projector he was building, which takes advantage of lasers that travel at one millionth of one billionth of a second in combination with cameras and mirrors to direct tiny points of light in specific directions in order to create high-resolution images. Derrick also included a spinning mirror in the projector that would serve as a medium for light projected onto it. Next, Derrick had to whip up a generator to power up the hologram projector to produce larger lasers to a larger hologram. The generator was powered by a 3.7V LiPo battery. An Arduino Pro Mini was used to control the circuit. Relays were used to control the outputs of the high voltage modules. 10 high voltage transformers that produced around 80,000V each to produce a total of around 800,000V. This was enough power to sustain an arc of electricity in the air to travel around the generators circumference. With the power source taken care of, Derrick placed light emitters around the projector that would excite the air molecules at their point of intersection to emit light in a given wavelength or to reflect light in a given wavelength. Finally, Derrick utilized the same principles he'd utilized while building the generator to create electromagnetic force fields that would surround and contain the projected hologram to make it solid enough that you could interact with and touch it without passing through it. Once he had everything together Derrick put the projector together using the equipment around the lab. Derrick and the rest of the students worked through the class period to put their respective machines together. The majority of the students, including Derrick and Dolores and their friends, managed to finish their projects within the two hour forty minute time. Derrick in particular was rather proud of the machine he'd created. He put the finishing touches on his assignment and pressed the on button. www.artstation.com/artwork/yoJEJThe machine hummed to life as it powered up and the center part spun around while the projectors activated and began exciting the air molecules to emit the light. As the hologram projector emitted a image of himself as a dragoon riding a dragon, the hologram in question being roughly the size of a tissue box, the electromagnetic generators captured it in a forcefield and gave it solid form. "Oh yeah. That'll do just fine." He grinned. Granted a better method would be to compact the photons so tightly together that they formed solid mass on their own but he wasn't entirely sure how to do that in the allotted time with this equipment. You'd need better tech than what they had in here or you'd just need to be flat out smarter than him. "Although..." Derrick crouched down and looked over the projector. Now that he looked at it closer, he had to admit, it was giving him some ideas. Derrick was snapped out of his thoughts by one of the professors approaching him. "How's work going?" "Doing great ma'am." Derrick smiled as he stood up straight. Professor Lagana checked out the hologram and the machine he'd made. "Hmmm looking good. Looking good." She gently lifted up the machine and looked it over and then she set it down. "Good design. Now lets check that hologram." She reached out and gently grasped the hologram. "Nice and solid. Looking good." She turned it over in her hands. Then she played with the limbs and dragon a little to test how well it held together. Then she lifted it up and carried it away from the generator as far as it would go. She got to the end of the table before the hologram fizzled out and faded away and then re-appeared hovering over the machine. "Magnificent design Derrick. We'll be taking a longer look at it overnight but rest assured you're getting an A+ for the day." "Thank you very much ma'am." Derrick grinned. She turned around and resumed walking around the room with the others investigating their designs. "Yes!" Derrick hissed quietly and punched his palm. "Man I'm feeling good right now. Flexing all of the best muscles today!" Dolores' device while smaller than Derricks and it was designed to look like a rose flower bud. The device projected a hard light image of herself in the image of a fairy tail princess with the physique of an Olympic bodybuilder. Professor Reeves giggled. "It seems you and Derrick have a theme going tonight." "Ah? Huh?" She looked across the room and finally noticed the dragoon projection from his own device. She'd been so busy working on her own projector that she didn't even notice his machine! "Oh wow. How about that then huh? That's awesome! I assure you ma'am, it was completely coincidental though." "Oh I see. Well lets take a look. Ahh, excellent design on the projector. The hologram is nice and solid and can be manipulated freely and she's perfectly contained within her forcefield." She carried it away from the projector until it finally faded over the side of the table. "Excellent. Well done Miss Palazzo. You're getting an A+ for the night." "Thank you very much ma'am!" The rest of the professors walked around the room and finished checking the projectors. The majority of the class got solid A's and the lowest one was a B+ based off of their initial investigations of the devices. Though the grades could potentially rise up further as they took the time to investigate them over the night. Afterword the students were assigned their homework assignments which was to explain the practical uses for hard light holograms. A four page essay, MLA Format. For those not in the know of course, the Modern Language Association (MLA) specifies a standard format for essays and research papers written in an academic settings. One-inch page margins. Double-spaced paragraphs A header with author's last name and page number one-half inch from the top of each page. Name of author, name of professor, title of course, date of paper on the first page of the paper. A works cited page beginning on a separate page at the end of the paper. Follow the steps below to format your essay or research paper according to MLA whenever you use your program of choice. Before you begin, however, make sure that you can see the Standard and Formatting toobars displayed on two rows on your screen. 1. Set the page margins to one inch. To set the margins, select File and Page Setup from the Menu Bar: From the Page Format dialog box, set each margin at 1" inch by entering the number or using the up or down arrows beside each margin setting. Then click OK, as shown below. 2. Set the line spacing to double spaced. From the Menu Bar, select Format and Paragraph: Make sure to select the Indents and Spacing tab, as shown below. Under Line Spacing, select "Double." Click OK. 3. Create a header with your last name and automatic page numbering. MLA format requires a header in the upper right-hand corner of each page set at 1/2" from the top of the page with the author's last name and a page number. To create the header and set automatic page numbering select View and then Header and Footer from the Menu Bar: The header will appear at the top of your screen, ready for you to enter text and automatic page numbering: Notice that the cursor is set on the left margin. Click the Align Right icon from formatting toolbar to align the text on the right margin. Notice that the cursor is shown at the right margin in the header section below: Type your last name in the header section. Then press the spacebar once to leave a single blank space after your last name, as shown below: Click the pound sign (#) in the Header/Footer bar to insert the page number automatically in the header section on each page: Click Close in the Header/Footer bar to close the header and return to the document. 4. Enter the first page information. Type your name and then press the Enter key once. Type your professor's name, and then Enter. Type the course identification, and then Enter. Type the date. Press the Enter key once. Click on the Align Center icon on the formatting toolbar. Type the title of your paper, capitalizing the first word and all major words and proper nouns. Do not use italics, boldfaced type, underlining, or all caps to format your title. Do not type a period at the end of the title. Press the Enter key once. Click on the Align Left icon so that you will begin typing on the first line. Depress the Tab key to indent 1/2 inch to begin your first paragraph and begin typing your document. Be sure to press the Enter key once only when you have completed a paragraph: 5. Type the works cited page. Immediately after typing the final line of your paper, press the CTRL key and the ENTER key at the same time to begin a new page. Your header with your last name and automatic page numbering should appear at the top left of your paper if you are viewing your document in the "print layout" view option (from "View" on your menu bar). Click the Align Center icon so that your title will be centered. Before doing so, be sure to click "Format" and then "Paragraph" on the menu bar and check your paragraph format to make sure that the first line of the paragraph is not indented. If it is, change the first line indent to "none" and click "OK" in the Paragraph dialog box. Type Works Cited (do not underline, boldface, italicize, or enclose the title in quotation marks). Press the Enter key once to begin a new line (your line spacing is already set at double). Click the Align Left icon or, from the menu bar, select Format and Paragraph, select the Indents and Spacing tab, and change Alignment to left. Select Format from the menu bar and Paragraph. In the Indents and Spacing section, click Special and then click Hanging. Type your first works cited entry in the MLA format. 6. Remove the hypertext from the Internet address. Please note that the Internet address is not underlined in the above example. However, if your MS Word AutoCorrect option is in the default setting, when you type an Internet address or paste an Internet address into your document and then press the spacebar, the address will become a hypertext link. This is useful if you are writing a document and want to send the file to someone as an email attachment. Then the person can open the document and read it on the computer screen and click the link to connect to the Internet address. When you insert an Internet address into a document in the MLA format, it should not be underlined and highlighted as hypertext is. You can click your right mouse button and then click "remove hyperlink," but the hypertext will appear again for the next listing. To make sure that no hypertext links appear, click "Tools" and then "AutoCorrect Options" on the menu bar: When the "AutoCorrect" dialog box appears, select the AutoFormat As You Type" tab at the top of the dialog box and remove the check mark beside "Internet and network paths with hyperlinks." Then click "OK" at the bottom of the dialog box. (Ahhhh MLA Format. My old nemesis rears its ugly head once more.) Derrick mused to himself. Finally the students were allowed to leave the class. Right in time to grab some dinner. Derrick stretched and then put his hands behind his head as he walked. "So where would you like to go?" He asked Dolores. "My treat." "After all that work, I say we go to the cafeteria. We're already on campus anyway so we might as well get something awesome from there." "An excellent choice." Derrick smiled. "I will take you up on your offer though." "Deal." "Hey so you're a Knight huh?" "Yeah, yeah, I can be a bit of a dork sometimes but I just thought it would look cool." "Well I gotta tell ya Derrick: You looked awesome." "And you looked beautiful." "You liked it? I was going for a Princess Peace ala Wonder Woman vibe." "And you pulled it off perfectly." "Sweetheart. I might just go with that as my Halloween costume. Her or Grace Choi." "Oh, uh, she's that redheaded Amazon right? The one with all of the tattoos?" "Got it in one. I'm impressed. I can honestly just get some tattoo stickers for the tats and call it a day. The rest of the costume won't be hard and I can pull off the muscle look already." "Like a model." "Charmer. What about you?" "Oh you know. Something simple. Like a biker superhero." "Sounds cool. You can tell me all about it when we get inside." "Gladly. It's kinda nerdy though just to warn you." "I spend roughly three hours or so in a lab working on super tech, 'Rick. I can handle nerdy." "Alright then try this on: A Dragonfly Themed Cyborg Superhero Biker who kicks monsters so hard they explode." "Not gonna lie that actually sounds kinda metal." "I know right?" Derrick laughed. The pair continued strolling across the campus towards the cafeteria. "So what are you in the mood for?" Derrick asked Dolores. "Check it out: Chicken. Zucchini. Stir. Fry." "Beautiful. I'm actually in the mood for an Air Fryer Turkey Breast." "Sounds delicious." "Wow that is some good cheese." "Dangerously cheesy but still charming all the same." Derrick turned off the video and put his phone back in his pocket. "To be fair though it was made about 59 years ago. Still, overall they've got some good morals." "Oh really? Such as?" Dolores asked out of curiosity. "Overall, it’s a show about taking the powers of evil monsters and using them to protect others and to protect the world. Riders can be heroes, but their powers also make them the same in some ways to the monsters they fight. Sometimes, fellow Kamen Riders are even the villains. Each show added into the series offers new lessons and new statements to make on the world, sometimes going so far as to comment on politics and war. Some Rider shows are episodic, some are intense character dramas, and some comment on the human condition. In the end, though, it always comes back to protecting people and becoming something more than the monsters that the Kamen Riders share their powers with. It always comes back to making the world a better place and becoming a hero. Riders are meant to be the best of humanity, often coming from someone who otherwise would have been a completely average person. They are characters who face the worst the world can throw at them and who still come out finding a way to make the world better in light of that." Derrick summarized. "Yeah, it's a crazy and wild and corny superhero show but I find that really inspirational." "Well when you put it like that, I gotta agree. I imagine that, when The Capes were still around, a lot of them acted just like that. Serenity certainly did. So does Ultra Girl. Bruiser might. And then there's the guy in Ascension City..." "There's a Super over in Ascension?" "Oh yeah. He's a speedster so nobody's gotten a good look at him but he's been zipping around the city saving people all around the city." She took her phone out and quickly looked it up. "Alright, here we go. Check these out." "That's definitely a speedster." Derrick agreed. "Man that's fast. He's gotta be at least mach 1. Potentially mach 5 but it's hard to tell just from the footage. Man can you imagine zipping around everywhere like that? You'd have so much free time and you could go anywhere and help everyone!" "Truuuue buuuut it's got some problems. You've seen the interviews. Seeing everything in slow motion and needing to eat constantly sounds like a nightmare to me." "That's where superheroics come in. Saving people all around the world would be a good way to alleviate any potential boredom. Do some epic delivery jobs and use the money you make from those to buy food and energy bars." "Okay, so, you make a good point, but to really help around the world, you'd need to be able to cross the oceans. So lets see here..." Dolores tapped on the table. "Let us first try to figure out trivial bounds on the speed of any human who wants to run on water. It is easy to set an upper bound - the escape velocity of earth is 8km/sec=28800km/hr, which is certainly sufficient to walk on water. Actually, it is sufficient "to walk on air." "We can improve this bound by running on water with the speed of sound in water. If someone runs at the speed of sound in the water which is 1500m/sec=5400km/hr, then the water will not react (i.e. will behave as a solid). This is certainly an upper bound. Of course we can get a better bound than this, I wish I could boast of carrying out the mathematical calculations, but I would just cite the sources where I took the general idea from. The force you generate when running over water is about: F=CdAv2 C is a coefficient depending on foot shape (typically ~1/3), d is the density of water, A is the area of your foot, and v is your velocity. This force must equal the weight of the human so as to keep him above the water surface. W=CdAv2...working out these numbers for a typical human, you only need to go 8.5m/s compared to Usain Bolt's record of 10m/s. But then, there is the issue of energy. Usain Bolt can run fast enough on flat ground, but you would need to spend more energy to run over water (similar to how running in loose sand is more tiring than running on the road). Trained athletes can achieve an output power of 0.7kW and an average human is closer to 0.3kW. According to studies, anyone running on water needs 12kW of average output power. It appears that power output might be the real limiter. Suppose Usain Bolt could run 10 m/s with a power output of 500W. And the principle resistance is atmospheric drag. Drag scales with velocity squared, and power scales with force times velocity, so power in response to a drag force scales with velocity cubed. To run on water you would have to be able to run 3 times as fast as Usain Bolt can on dry land, or about 30m/s. Taking into account other factors such as that water moves out of the way of your foot. Also, the ripples left after you remove your foot must be avoided. Suppose you need twice as much velocity which amounts to 60m/s. 60m/s=216km/hr=134mi/hr. We need approximately 134mi/hr to run on water." Dolores calculated completely on the spot. She looked at the videos again. "Yeah he could do it." "That was awesome." Derrick told her sincerely. "You should see me tear through a math exam. Speaking of which any news?" Derrick checked the board. "....Nada." "I'm sure it's fine." "Yeah, I'm sure. Hey, uh, between you and me, if I get some free time later tomorrow and nothing's come up, I might swing by their house and investigate. I'll just look at it, maybe knock once or twice. Nothing big." "Oh mystery solving. I'm in." "Cool. Lets see, there's the morning workout challenge. That won't take long." Derrick offered. Dolores shook her head. "I'm gonna be in class." "Okay, how about Lunch then?" "Sweet. I'll take you up on that and we can get lunch on the way back." "Deal." Derrick and Dolores high-fived and shook on it. "IF we leave right around lunch we should be able to get there and back in plenty of time for class since they don't live far from." Derrick stopped talking for a moment as his body seemed to freeze up. "Uh, Derrick?" "Here. Far from here." He blinked and laughed while rubbing the back of his head. "Heh, sorry, I guess I forgot what I was gonna say. I dunno. I'm probably just tired. I do midnight jogging." "Ah gotcha. You shouldn't push yourself too hard Derrick. Be sure to get plenty of water and rest." "I will. Thanks Dolores." Nicole Noble walked through the doors and out into the cool evening air while unleashing an epic yawn. "MmmAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWW! Man. Why on Earth did I sign up for this one again?" Public Administration Public Policy was nice and easy of course but it was just so boring! Theories and Witchcraft in Asia was where it was at for her. Such a fascinating course. Granted the Professor didn't seem to know anything beyond the basic basics about actual mysticisism, but he managed to make it an interesting class regardless. He certainly knew his history at least. Anyway she was hungry and required sustenance. She twirled a Quarter between her fingers and then tossed it up and down to decide if she should go out tonight or join the others at the cafeteria. She caught it in between her thumb and a finger. "Heads I join the others, Tails I go out to dinner. Maybe with Randall. Oh actually definitely." She laughed and flipped the coin into the air. She was waiting for it come back down when she felt a sudden surge of weakness and dropped to her knees. The world began spinning around her as the colors changed from white to pink, from green to red, from dark to orange, everything shifted and distorted. "Wh-what's...happen..." She fell over. "Okay, bu' see, 'here isn'' much difference be'ween Republic an' English tea. There are brands ov 'ea 'ha' are sold exclusively aw 'ypically in one loca'ion aw ano'her, bu' in general, 'ha' is no' a difference in 'he 'ea so much as a difference in 'he business prac'ices ov 'he 'ea vendaw." Randall explained to Hubert as they were exiting a building after a class. "Gran'ed, I prefer 'he tea back 'ome, bu' 'he drinks aren'' 'oo bad around 'ere. All 'he same 'hough, you need 'o 'ry Jasmine Ligh' some'ime." "Jasmine Light, got it. I think there might be a store around here that sells that." Hubert took his phone out and looked it up. "Annnnnd yeah. The Majestic Gull Café at the Grand Fountain Plaza, that sounds like fun. I'll give it a look." "Looks like a nice place. I'll 'ave 'o 'ake Nicole 'here some'ime." He smiled as he spotted her not too far away. "'Ey, 'ey, Nicole! 'Ello angel!" He called out to her while waving. He stopped when he saw Nicole fall to her knees. "Nicole? 'oney, are you okay? Nicole!" Randall dropped his bag and took off across the grass over to his girlfriend as she swirled around until she fell over and appeared to black out and Randall went into a slide with his arms outstretched for her and he just managed to catch her. "NICOLE! NICOLE!" Randall cried out for her in desperation. "NICOLE! OPEN YOUR MINCERS! 'ONEY WHA''S WRONG? NICOLE PLEASE!" He checked for her pulse and lowered his ear to her mouth to check for breathing. Her breathing was rapid and her pulse was racing but she at least had one. It was also gradually slowing as she stirred and began to mumble something. "Wery out. sto ismof cof it. tof ing os ost. ong. have Unchang. iveerof I bal wrynitong ithance ve sy Wel hary outo hito of o I itosme We Thers We chitof itop outhave verosthitoutong Sop s t. o it. wrsto wre Wee ive ithanco The inive itof f outof celalal osme sme ve Thit." "Hello, please, we need help over here. We're outside, we're close to The Political Course Building, yes, please, we need emergency medical services. I think one of my friends is having a stroke or something. She's talking gibberish and she nearly passed out and she had rapid breathing. Yes, please hurry, I'll hold. Please hurry." Derrick and Dolores were in the middle of their own conversation when Derrick heard Randall's shouting from across the campus and he immediately stood up. "Oh My God." "Derrick? What's wrong? Is that...hey do you hear something?" Dolores asked as she turned her head towards the door. "It's Nicole. Something's happened come on!" Derrick shouted and ran out of the cafeteria. "NICOLE?! WHAT?" Dolores shouted as she followed him outside. "Universe....Balance..." Nicole mumbled. Derrick and Dolores booked it across the campus over to where Hubert was holding on the phone and Randall was holding onto Nicole's body. Her breathing was steady and she was occasionally mumbling something but her eyes were closed and she looked limp like she was asleep. "Oh shit, what happened?" "I don'' knah she jus' passed ou'. I checked 'er. She doesn'' look like she was 'ur'. There's no blood. 'er brea'hin is steady an' she seems like she's relaxed. 'er pulse is steady. She's no' swea'in bu' she's mumblin some'hin i can'' understand." Randall explained quietly. "'ah did you 'ear us?" "I have enhanced senses from a nano-treatment from when I was 14. Along with a few other enhancements it gave me. I heard you in the cafeteria. Anyway. May I?" "Oh sure." Derrick crouched down and he gently reached over to her arm and felt for a pulse while Dolores crouched down and listened for her breathing. "Feels like 60 bpm. Good. What do you think Dolores?" "Her breathing sounds normal. No different than if she was sleeping but we should still wait for EMS." "Good idea. Thanks." Derrick looked over to Randall. "Can you tell us what happened?" Randall shook his head. "I can'' 'ell you much. 'ubert' an' I 'ad jus' walked ou' ov class when we saw 'er walkin. I called 'o 'er an' waved 'o 'er bu' 'hen she fell 'o 'er knees an' passed ou'." He explained to Derrick and Dolores. "I caugh' 'er bu' she was ramblin some'hin incomprehensible. Da bes' i could ge' from 'er is some'hin abou' 'he universe an' some kind ov disrup'ion." "Universal Disruption?" Derrick sat down and considered this. "I...got nothing for that...but it might be related to whatever made me freeze up in the cafeteria." "You froze now?" "Yeah, it was just for a second but it was enough for Dolores to notice. I stopped moving for a second and forgot what I was going to say. I just blanked it was weird. Maybe it's a coincidence but it could potentially be related. I've been through stranger stuff. In which case." Derrick stood up and pulled out his phone while looking around at the other students standing around and watching them. "Ahem. May I have everyone's attention? This girl here is Nicole Noble and she has fainted. We are not sure of the cause, however, we have reason to believe that this is not an isolated incident. If I could please just have a minute of everyone's time, I would ask you to please send a mass text to all of your school contacts if you have them. Please ask everyone if they have seen anybody else faint or pass out and if they have, to please call Campus Medical Services or 911 and tell them what's happened. Please! Just in case someone has been hurt!" He began doing exactly what he said to them followed by Dolores and soon Randall who was still holding Nicole with his free arm. They were slowly followed up by other students sending messages around the school to check if anybody else had suffered a fainting spell or something similar. Lights started shutting down around the campus as Derrick, Hubert, Dolores and Randall were laying Nicole down on her side on a bench. "Oh come on! Now what's happening?" Derrick asked. Dolores took her phone out and looked at the incoming messages. Here in the hallway. Nothing so far but we'll keep looking. -Latarsha Wilhoite I'm in the library and my study partner passed out! What's going on? -Shae Kaylor I just got a nosebleed! Is that related? -Paul Wigton Just stepped out of class to send this. All clear on my part. -Treena Welsch Holy crap our teacher nearly fainted! What the heck is going on? -Elin Zapien My head like it's going to explode! Does anybody have any aspirin? -Cruz Holdman My boyfriend just started staring off into space and when he came to he acted like he didn't remember what happened! Is this related? -Suzann Culler Hello? Cany anybody see this? We just lost power. -Dexter Surface "It's not just here. We're losing power all over campus. I have no idea what could be causing it though. Is it an EMP? An Electrokinetic messing with the electricity around campus?" Hubert asked. "No, if it was an electromagnetic pulse everything would've shut off at the same time. Plus our phones are still working so its not that. If it was an electro, why hasn't anyone seen them doing anything around campus? Plus, again, our phones are working. So it's not that. It's not a storm. It's a normal night out. This is something different and whatever it is, it's somehow related to Nicole's warnings about the universe." A sudden realization struck Derrick like a bolt of lightning. "Wait! A blackout? People passing out? We need to check the dorms!" "That's right!" Dolores realized. "If people are having problems around campus, then there's a chance that students could be laying unconscious in their dorm rooms without anybody around to check on them!" "Shi'!" Randall swore. He looked up at Derrick and shook his head. "I'm sawry ma'e, I can'' jus' leave 'er 'ere." "It's okay Randall. We understand. Stay with her. Campus Medical should be here any minute now. I'm going to get a search party together to check out the dorms. I'll send some of the students your way to help you and Hubert with Nicole until Campus Medical gets here. I'm sure we've got EMS inbound already but we'll be sure to call them just in case." "I ge' i' ma'e. Ge' goin. We'll be okay. Go save 'he day already." They shook on it. "Stay safe Randall. She'll be okay." Nicole hugged her friend. "You're a good man Randall. Stay safe alright?" "You stay safe 'oo. I'll call you if 'here are any changes." "Be careful man." Hubert said to Derrick. "There's no telling what could be causing this." "I will bro. Stay safe." They fist bumped, parted and Derrick and Dolores hurried down the sidewalk while calling the other students to gather everyone they could to help them search the dorms. The pair weren't gone long before Randall heard Nicole starting to moan and stir in her sleep. He smiled. "Nicole! Nicole! 'Ey i''s me! i''s Randall! i'm righ' 'ere 'oney. Jus' follah my voice. I''s okay. You're alrigh'." Tick nicht ab! Tick nicht ab! Ahhh! Sohn einer Hündin! Verdammte Scheiße!" Ramona swore up and down as she leaned against a tree for support as her stomach lurched and she doubled over dry heaving and gasping for breath. She heaved and heaved despite there not being anything in her stomach. "Reiß dich am riemen!" She shouted at herself. She dug her trembling fingers into the tree bark and pulled herself back up to her feet and she backed up against it and began slapping herself. "Reiss dich zusammen. Reiss dich zusammen. Reiss dich zusammen. Ohhhhh. Okay. Derrick. DerrickDerrickDerrickDerrick. Okay. All better." She shook her head and looked around. "Huhrensohn what was that?" She slowly crouched down to the ground and sniffed it deeply. Inhaling the scent of dirt and dust and leaves and grass and plants and insects and something else. Sulfur? Brimstone? She smelled the ground deeply. Yes. Yes it was there. Sulfur and brimstone and HellFire.
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Post by SuperKamiGuy1 on Oct 1, 2020 1:02:10 GMT
Professor Eddie Antonakos looked up from the work at his computer with a smile as the students filed into the class. He greeted them all as they walked around and took their spots. Once everybody was seated he cleared his throat and spoke to his class. "Helllo Ladies And Gentlemen! Welcome back to Interstellar Science! Yesterday we covered Space Elevators, Sky Hooks, Space Towers and Launch Loops and today I would like to cover the next step: Lunar Colonies to explore ways to go beyond simple Lunar Bases to a full-fledged productive colony that can help us travel to other worlds and expand our own. As I'm sure you're aware, the Khrysos Corporation, Enki Aerospace Engineering Corp, Ultrainnovations, Progressive Innovations and many others are collaborating on a project to begin colonization of other worlds. Starting with The Moon itself. Which brings me to this: Hold on to your bags kids." He pulled a remote out of his shirt and clicked it. "Because we're about to go on a trip!" The room glowed brightly and colors swirled around the students rapidly as their desks disappeared from sight and the scenery of the room changed into outer space! Derrick grinned. The holograms of the college were his favorite parts of the class. The students looked around excitedly laughing as the simplistic classroom was changed into a dark blanket, contrasting with blacks and yellows, and the occasional white, which is shaped as a circle and sometimes a crescent. There are stars which dot the blanket in a intricate pattern. This is space. The hallowed pool of subtle light had adorned itself with the diamonds of thousand moons and of thousand dreams, for these weaved themselves on that cosmic ether of divinity......all hung in the frame of "galaxy." Eddie laughed as he watched the students play and leap around in the 'holo-space environment' the computers pulled up. Every time he got the same reaction from them. Their reactions to riding the space elevators were especially entertaining. Eventually he snapped his fingers a few times and the students all turned their attention back to him. "Okay, now, of course, you wouldn't be able to hear me normally because their is no air in space. Sound travels in waves like light or heat does, but unlike them, sound travels by making molecules vibrate. So, in order for sound to travel, there has to be something with molecules for it to travel through. On Earth, sound travels to your ears by vibrating air molecules. In deep space, the large empty areas between stars and planets, there are no molecules to vibrate. There is no sound there. And of course, spending time in that vacuum is incredibly lethal for you. This is going to be a bit off topic, and very morbid, buuuut it is important to know for the future. Spending some time in the cosmic vacuum—sans spacesuit—might seem like a questionable life choice. After all, in the movies, whenever people end up in the intergalactic void without proper protection, either their heads explode or they instantaneously freeze solid. Neither outcome is particularly appealing. However, in reality, I’m afraid that your space death won’t be quite so spectacularly gruesome, as such, no exploding head or bulging eyeballs. But that doesn’t mean that your death won’t be interesting. Here are some of the ways space can kill you: Explosive Decompression. Let’s assume that you’re in a space shuttle. You’re traveling along merrily. Your life is just grand. Suddenly, you’re seized with a completely irrational, yet entirely irresistible urge to go for a spacewalk. And, oops, you forget your spacesuit. So the air doesn’t slowly leak out of your shuttle. You’re not gradually exposed to a complete vacuum. Oh no. You open the door of your pod and BAM! Decompression. No air. You’re in space. As long as you don’t try and hold your breath during this explosive decompression, you’ll survive about 30 seconds before you sustain any permanent injuries. But what if you do hold your breath? How likely is it that you would survive? Not very likely at all, I’m afraid. If you hold your breath during decompression, the gas in your lungs will expand due to the lack of ambient pressure. This expansion will eventually cause internal ruptures in your pulmonary tissue, essentially, your lungs will kind of, well, explode…for lack of a better description. As your lungs collapse, the gas that they contain will be transformed into massive, internal air bubbles. These bubbles will meander throughout your body. Sooner or later, they will find their way to your vital organs, such as your heart and your brain. If the air lodges in your heart, you’ll go into cardiac arrest and die. Essentially, you’ll have a heart attack. If it makes its way to your brain, you’ll have a massive stroke and die. Of course, even if the air from your exploded lungs does not enter your heart or your brain, you’ll still die. We simply don’t have the medical technology needed to repair lungs ruptured in this manner. So no matter what way you look at it, explosive decompression is very bad for your health. Ebullism. After about 10 seconds, the moisture in your body will start to evaporate. This is known as “ebullism,” and it happens because the reduction in pressure causes the boiling point of your bodily fluids to decrease. And if “evaporating body fluids” doesn’t sound terribly pleasant, well, it’s because it’s not. On August 16, 1960, Joe Kittinger ascended to 19.5 miles (31.3km) in an attempt to break the world record for the highest parachute jump. During his ascent, Kittinger noticed an odd sensation in his right hand. Upon inspection, he realized that he had lost pressurization in that area of his suit. Nonetheless, Kittinger decided to continue the mission as, fortunately, the rest of his suit seemed to be functioning properly. Thus, the only part of Kittinger’s body that was exposed to near-vacuum conditions was his hand. As he continued to ascend, the fluid in Kittinger’s skin continued to evaporate. Eventually, this caused his hand to swell to over twice its normal size. Kittinger describe this experience by likening it to the tingling sensation you feel when your foot falls asleep…so thousands of tiny pinpricks, dancing across your skin. You might scoff at this, but the pain will virtually paralyze you. Want to hear the really bad news? As the moisture in your body evaporates and trails off into the darkness of space, you will lose control of your bodily functions—so you’ll simultaneously defecate, vomit, and urinate. Oh, and if you don’t return to your ship in about 30 seconds, then ebullism will cause your lungs to collapse. And you will die. Not so fun times. Freezing. Fortunately, heat doesn’t transfer very quickly in the vacuum of space because there is no air, water, or other medium to aid the transfer of heat. This is obviously a very good thing, as space can be both frigidly cold and scorching hot. Fun fact: if you’re facing a sun-like star, and are about 93 million miles away (150 million km), the temperature difference between your “day” and “night” side will be about 275 degrees Fahrenheit (135 degrees Celsius). However, since heat does not transfer well in space, freezing to death is not an immediate risk, and neither is spontaneously bursting into flames. But just because freezing isn’t an immediate risk doesn’t mean that it’s not a risk. Remember when we talked about your bodily fluids evaporating? Well, when your body fluids escape as a gas, they take away more than their fair share of heat. Eventually, this evaporative cooling will chill your mouth and nose to near-freezing temperatures; ice will also form in your respiratory tract. And of course, you’ll be radiating heat from your body. Stay in the vacuum too long and the combined effects of this cooling will lead you to an icy death. High Energy Photons. If you’re close to starlight when you enter the vacuum of space, things will go poorly rather quickly (really though, why would you vacate your ship when you are close to a star?! Terrible life choice). First, you’ll get an awful sunburn from the ultraviolet radiation. Unlike the Earth, the vacuum of space doesn’t have an atmosphere to protect you from harmful solar rays, so even short term exposure could cause cancer. But as long as you remain about 93 million miles (150 million km) from Sun-like stars, you’ll be fine. Venture closer than that and the ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma rays radiating from the star will cause severe damage to your DNA. And no, you won’t get super powers or turn into one of the X-Men…you’ll get tumors and experience organ failure. Get too close to the star and you’ll start to fry from the extreme heat radiating from it. Burning Up in the Atmosphere. But wait…how can you burn up in an atmosphere if you’re in the vacuum of space? A fine question. Allow me to explain. But first, I need to point out that, when people tell you that there’s no gravity in space, they are lying. There is gravity everywhere—planets, stars, comets, asteroids, Home Depot, and even the vacuum of space. Gravity envelops our own planet and the most remote corners of the universe. So you could be in the vacuum of space but, if you’re too close to a massive object like a star, planet, or moon, gravity will cause you to fall into the object. Ultimately, objects that are in orbit around another body don’t fail to maintain their positions because there is no gravity, but because of speed. For example, objects in Earth orbit have to travel at least 17,500 mph to keep from plummeting to the planet (28,000 kmh). At this speed, an object is moving so fast that, as it falls towards the Earth, the planet curves away beneath it. Consequently, the object essentially remains in a state of free fall and the Earth never gets any closer. But if you slow down, things start to get a bit mucky. Although there is no clear-cut answer to where space truly begins, the consensus is that it starts somewhere around 400 miles (643 km) above sea level. So let’s say that you are traveling around the Earth at about this altitude when you decide to make your little foray into space. Since you are still subject to the Earth’s gravity, you won’t just fly about the planet for all eternity. You’ll burn. Eventually, you will start to slow down and plummet into the Earth’s atmosphere…where you will be fried to a crisp. Actually, you’ll be fried to more than a crisp—you’ll be dusty nothingness. Of course, it would take some time for your orbital decay to be significant enough to result in a fiery death, about a decade, depending on your speed. Asphyxiation. So what’s the most immediate threat that you need to worry about in the vacuum of space? Rogue black holes? Gamma ray bursts from distant quasars? Aliens?! I’m afraid it’s nothing quite as horrifyingly fantastical as all that. The most immediate threat in the cosmic vacuum is oxygen deprivation. Assuming that you don’t hold your breath during decompression, it will take about 15 seconds for your O2-deprived blood to get to your brain. When this happens, you’ll pass out…and then you’ll die. Simple loss of oxygen will likely kill you faster than anything else in the vacuum of space." The professor cleared his throat as he let them take all of this in and then he continued. "Now for a lighter topic, let's begin our Moon discussions." He said as the students felt the room spin around them as they were pulled forward onto the moon where astronauts were working to create a new colony. The professor then began his next lecture. Eventually, after a period of classes, it was finally time for lunch and the gang reconvened at the cafeteria. Derrick got himself Ground Chicken Breast Meatballs with Mozzarella Cheese and Hubert got Grilled Flank Steak Salad with Strawberries. They sat down at a table while the rest were selecting their own healthy meals. "Hey Derrick, are you sure about telling Josh about....what happened?" "If he wants to hear about it, I'll tell him. There's nothing wrong with telling him. It's Josh after all. He's the most harmless guy in the school." "That's true. You sure you're ready to talk about it?" "It was batshit insane, sure, but I learned talking about it helps." "Alright, just know, we'll be right there with you." "Thanks man." Derrick looked up and waved Dolores over to the table. "Do you want me to move? I can give you alone time." Hubert joked. "Grow up man. I just thought she might want to join us." "Uh huh." "Hey guys!" Dolores greeted as she approached them. "Mind if I join you?" Derrick stood up and pulled a chair out for her. "Please. Your presence is an honor for all of us." "Ohhhh my, how formal of you!" Dolores replied as she set her tray on the table and sat down as Derrick slid the chair into the table. "Manners hold a community together, and manners hold a family together; in a way, they hold the world together. Manners hold a community together, and manners hold a family together; in a way, they hold the world together." "And with as crazy as the world is getting these days, a little politeness can go a long way 'Rick." Dolores replied as Derrick was sitting back down. "It's true isn't it? There is a simple philosophy to follow for a wonderful life: Greet each person with a smile, smiling is a lovely style, you will find, after a while, most people will smile at you. Know inside each soul's the Lord, with folks words, do not get bored, although it might seem quite a chore, treat each person with love and respect. Love and respect will come to you, if these teachings you pursue, being polite is the thing to do, every single day. And remember… it pays to be polite." "You are full of surprises aren't you? I was unaware you had the heart of a poet, Mister Blackburn." Dolores smiled as she folded her hands, rested her elbows on the table and rested her chin on her hands. Derrick relaxed in his chair. "Show me a place where poets abide...and I'll show you a place where no one hides. Where once remained hidden, in the heart of mankind, all is exposed, and easy to find. The heart of the poet, is a heart without doors and a poet without words is like a boat without oars. Come now and take this journey with me and I shall promise to set our hearts free." He finished as he raised his glass of milk (Low fat and skim milk being great sources of protein and other essential micronutrients. And these low-fat varieties are the best choices because they contain much less saturated fat than reduced-fat milk or whole milk.) to her. She giggled and raised her green tea. "I will drink to that my rhyme slinging friend." They 'clinked' their cups and turned to Hubert. "And you Mister Hunt?" Hubert Hunt smiled and raised his own drink to them. "Well what can I say, my friends? I would like to be a scholar in whatever I do, a scholar is never finished, he is always seeking and I am always seeking." The trio 'clinked' their drinks and sat back down. "Pray tell, good sir, what makes a scholar a scholar? And how do you become one?" Hubert sipped his juice. "You become a scholar once you've decided to read and learn as much about the world as you can. You become a scholar once you've decided that culture remains when everything else is gone. You become a scholar once the beautiful words of skilled authors are imprinted in you so deep that you can quote them. At last, you become a scholar once you've confessed to yourself you would have to die, if you were forbidden to read and learn." "You've certainly picked the right university for such a career choice and we will be there supporting you the entire way." "We all will." "Thanks guys." They had some of their food while the others were walking to the table. Dolores looked up from her Honey Sesame Chicken Lunch Bowl. "So Derrick? Any plans this weekend?" "We're actually going to a karaoke bar on Saturday. You wanna come? The more the merrier." "Having sampled your wondrous poetry already, I would be delighted to hear you sing. Saturday it is. What time?" "The Stately Knight opens at 6PM so we were thinking we'd get there around 7:30 or 8:00 PM." "8:00 PM will work. The Stately Knight at Revelations Plaza, right?" "That's the one. It will be my treat my fair lady." "Such a gentleman. I'm sold. I'll bring the others if they can make it." "Excellent idea. We are going to rock this city!" "Always down for a rock off. When's the gig?" Regina asked them. "The Stately Knight this Saturday at 8:00 PM." Derrick and Dolores said at the same time, paused and then laughed. "Cool. I'll be there. What about Nicky? You coming?" "Sorry guys, Randall and I are going to see The Silken Emerald this weekend. Raincheck?" The Silken Emerald, naturally, was an Erotic Romantic Dramedy Starring A Dominatrix. (Wow. I didn't know Randall was into those kinds of movies. Good for him. You go bro.) Derrick thought to himself. "It's all good. We can always go back Sunday for an encore." "I'd like that. I'll talk it over with Randall and if our schedules are free, which I'm sure they are, we'll join you for the Sunday encore." Dawnesha whispered to Nicole as she was sitting down. "The Silken Emerald? Seriously?" "Oh yeah." "You little horndog." "Takes one to know one." Dawnesha ruffled her hair and started eating lunch. "Alright you guys have fun, alright?" Dolores said to her. "Oh we will." Nicole assured her. "Try to bring a few houses down for me will you?" "Promise." A bit later Derrick was getting a refill on his drink when he passed Randall. "Good movie choice." Randall chuckled and they returned to the tables. "Yo, Blackburn." He looked to the left to see Ch'ang Jae-Hwa walking over to their table. "Hey Ch'ang? What's up?" "Everybody's saying Mr.Howland's class is canceled so I thought I might as well double check with you." "It's only canceled in that he hasn't shown up yet." Derrick shrugged. "I'd go anyway. Just in case he does show up or they call in a sub." "Yeah that's a good point. Alright. If I hear anything I'll let you guys know." He waved and walked away while taking out his phone and texting someone. Derrick waved and looked up at the ceiling. "Still nothing huh?" "Come on I'm sure it's fine." Dolores assured him. "He's probably just under the weather today. It happens. Now come on and perk up. We're hitting the gym next period." "Yeah you're right." She was. She was indeed right. It was the most logical explanation. So why the hell couldn't Derrick shake this nasty feeling gnawing at him? "Come on 'Rick, it's all good. We're hitting the gym next period, work up a cold sweat and next thing you know you'll forget all about whatever's bothering you. You know the coach'll leap at the chance to make you burn." "Looking forward to it." Derrick smirked. "See? That's better. Show us your pretty smile!" They clasped hands. "Trust me. Whatever's wrong with Professor Howland, I'm sure it's fine. Worst case scenario he took a day off and 'forgot' to call it in. It's fine. It happens." "You're right of course. Sorry about that guys." "Come on bro you can't be ashamed of being empathic." Clyde chimed in. "You're worried about your teacher. It means you're a good person. When he comes back, you can high five him and assure him that you showed up ready for class. Might win you a point on your next exam." "Two if I'm lucky." Derrick joked back. Soon the friends were all joking and laughing together again and the sensation slowly faded even if it didn't leave him completely. After enjoying Lunch, Derrick walked outside with the others and turned to look at Josh. "Hey man. Have you thought about it?" "I have. And I would like to know. Talking can make things easier after all and if this can help you to feel better then I am all ears." "Alright then. Just know that this isn't for the faint of heart. This is a violent story my man. Extremely violent." "I-I can handle it. But...a story like that would probably best be told in the privacy of the dorms tonight. We don't want to scare anybody who might overhear the story and get the wrong idea. Plus, we'll have all the time to do so then right?" "Excellent points Josh. Alright then. Tonight at our dorm room. Horror Story Night. I'll put on a video of a campfire, we'll dim the lights and I'll bless all of you with a story of the worst day of my life. Just be sure to brace yourselves first." "You got it." He and Josh high-fived. "Okay. I have to get Art alright?" "Take it easy man!" On the way to his next class, Josh took his phone and looked on the board to see if there was any new responses from the Howlands. No luck. He sighed and closed out before slipping the phone back into his pocket. Granted it probably wasn't too big of a deal. He was sure that they were fine but it was still a bit weird that Professor Howland would skip the day without letting anyone know why or canceling the class at least. At any rate he had to get to his next class. He criss crossed the campus until he arrived at the building where his art classes were taking place. He smiled and walked inside. The art class naturally took place in a large, multi-room studio and shop, where their professor was currently stomping her foot impatiently while she talked on the phone. "Come on Howland! It's me! Pick up already! I've been trying to call you guys all morning. Your cells aren't picking up and neither are your house phone. If you're taking the day off at least call it in! Call me back the moment you get this!" Morgana Di Sandro told the answering machine before hanging up. "Seriously. What is with him today?" She noticed the class staring at her and laughed it off. "ANYWAY! Hi class! I hope everybody is ready to stretch their artistic muscles today!" Their professor slipped her paint splattered apron over her head and her gloves on and she finished setting up the classroom while the students got ready and took their seats. Josh and the other students got to work. When his hands moved over the canvas it was almost like his mind was directing his hand without him. His hand moved instinctively from one point to the next as he slowly built the picture as it developed in his own mind. He built a fantastical world that was a reflection of his own mind. There was something else too that he couldn't quite place but whenever he painted he felt closest to the Lord and it gave him a sense of peace and relaxation. Josh relaxed in his seat and let the room drift away from him as he lost himself in his work. It was only natural then that his eventual finished work was more bizarre than he'd originally intended. His work is a deceptively terse, process-oriented complex tapestry consisting of conflicts that inhere in postmodern urbanism which is reminiscent of the joie-de-vivre of the marginalized that was part landscape, part abstraction with a sociological series of words consisting of bold graphic shapes as scaffolding for the expanses of poured acrylic which was reminiscent of mankind's positions and roles amid the sea of chaos that was modern life. The picture displayed improvisation, choreographed gestures and reenactments as suggestive of the value of autonomy within modern civic participation while simultaneously displaying contemporary life, culture and science as suggesting a ritual action. "Well alright then." Josh said to himself. Now what to call it? After some deliberation he settled on Civic Chaos. "Well done Josh!" Morgana complimented him. "Very Rochester!" "Being compared to Hamlin is an awesome compliment. Thank you ma'am." "You earned it. Keep up the good work." She assured him and moved on to working with the other students. Once the painting was done with the students moved on other projects. Drawing, carving and making paper-mache designs. By the time the class was over he was helping a partner in the class create a man sized rocket ship out of clay, kneading to make it pliable. It was a self-hardening clay so there was no need for heating it. Self-hardening clay, also known as air-dried or non-firing clay, is a direct modeling material that cures naturally and does not require mold making and casting to achieve a finished piece. In addition, this modeling clay does not need to be fired in a kiln. There are three basic types of self-hardening clay. The first type, Claystone®, works like Plastilina and is usually used over an internal armature for support. Claystone® can be worked indefinitely while moist. The second type of air-hardening clay, Boneware, is used for solid, direct modeling that in essence will be supported by its own bulk. Read More/Less Boneware will remain soft and pliable as long as it is moistened with water and overlaid with a damp cloth when not in use. Boneware contains a natural hardener, but not fiber, to reduce shrinkage and will generally feel and react more like ceramic clay to the touch and in workability. Another type of self-hardening modeling material can be either air-dried or oven-baked to give it more durability. Sculpture House offers Della Robbia, its own brand of this type of air-hardening clay. Pieces made from these clays are for display only; that is, they cannot be used to sculpt functional pieces and should not be left out in the elements. They are porous and cannot hold liquids unless its inside surface has been thoroughly sealed. After the finished piece has air dried and been sealed, it can be decorated for display by using a variety of paints, stains or dyes. Once they were finished building and sealing the clay rocket, they set about painting it until it looked like just like a rocket ship. Josh and Maddison put their names on holo-cards and turned it in. "Hey thanks for the help Maddison." "No problem Josh. That was a lot of fun. I loved your painting too!" "Oh wow thanks! You know I just kinda let the Lord guide my hand." "Wow really? I should try that if that's the kind of results the good lord gives you." "Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me. Psalm 139:10. Trust me there, he is always there for us and he loves everyone." "...Out of curiosity has he told you where Mr.Howland is?" Professor Sandro asked them. "Not as of yet. We've been asking on Blackboard but nobody knows anything yet." "Hmmmmm. Guess I'll have to swing by his house later. Well all in good time. Anyways. Great work today everybody! I'm really feeling your artistic spirits!" She said to them excitedly. The students continued working until class ended and turned in their assignments. Nicole meanwhile was hard at work taking some hardcore notes in her physics course as the professor explained The gravitational constant as a quantum mechanical expression. www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211379716000292A quantitatively verifiable expression for the gravitational constant is derived in terms of quantum mechanical quantities. This derivation appears to be possible by selecting a suitable physical process in which the transformation of the equation of motion into a quantum mechanical wave equation can be obtained by Einstein’s geodesic approach. The selected process is the pi-meson, modeled as the one-body equivalent of a two-body quantum mechanical oscillator in which the vibrating mass is modeled as the result of the two energy fluxes from the quark and the antiquark. The quantum mechanical formula for the gravitational constant appears to show a quantitatively verifiable relationship with the Higgs boson as conceived in the Standard Model. The basic concept in quantum physics is the particle wave duality, which implies that a particle can dually be described by a mechanical equation of motion and by a quantum mechanical wave function. This wave function is the solution of a wave equation. The wave equation is obtained by a transformation of the particle’s equation of motion in a way as conceived by Dirac [1]. Although Einstein’s geodesic equation of motion [2] is the most generic of all, it is, so far, not adopted as the axiomatic base for the particle wave duality description. This is probably due to the mathematical complexity of 4D space–time. It is also the reason for the failure to unify quantum physics with gravity. Instead, Dirac derived his wave equation from the Einsteinian energy relationship of a particle in motion. Therefore, the equation is relativistic, but only special relativistic and not general relativistic. In this article I wish to develop the particle wave duality on the basis of Einstein’s geodesic equation in 2D space–time and to compare it with Dirac’s result. Next to that, I wish to motivate that the 2D space–time approximation is a justified modeling of a realistic physical process. This enables to relate gravity and quantum physics to the extent that the gravitational constant can be formulated as a quantitatively verifiable expression of quantum physical quantities. The concepts as will be outlined in this article, are invoked from previous work by the author [3]. Section 4 is devoted to a comparison of the 2D quantum mechanical wave equations as derived respectively by the geodesic approach (Section 2) and Dirac’s approach (Section 3). This will result into an expression for the gravitational constant (Section 5). In Section 6 a physical process is selected that will deliver the quantity values. The result is subject to a relativistic correction (Section 7). The final result is discussed in Sections Result, Discussion. The equations in this article will be formulated in scientific notation and the quantities will be expressed in SI units. Space–time will be described on the basis of the “Hawking” metric (+,+,+,+). The geodesic approach toward a 2D wave equation Let us consider two frames of Cartesian coordinates and . The first one is the frame of a stationary (“lab frame”) observer O. The second one is the (“center of mass”) frame of an observer co- moving with a particle P. Time and proper time are normalized on the vacuum light velocity such that and , where . Under stationary conditions, the 2D geodesic equation can be written as [4],(1) The quantities and are elements of the metric tensor. They determine the way how the frame of the co-moving observer – by considering functions and – is transformed into the frame of the stationary observer. In particular(2) The adopted stationary condition means that the metric tensor components are supposed to be independent of time t. The geodesic equation expresses that the straight space–time path of the co-moving observer, is observed as a curved path by the lab frame observer. It is the consequence of expressing a presupposed field of forces into a metric tensor. The second part of (1) can be integrated into(3)where is an integration constant. Considering that in flat space–time (, we have . In the case of a conservative field of forces, the local space–time interval is invariant, i.e., , so that(4) From (4), (3) we get(5) This result is consistent with the integration of the first part of (1) under consideration of (3). Under the axiomatic quantum mechanical hypothesis(6) where is the rest mass of the particle in consideration, and where is Planck’s (reduced) constant, we get from (3), (5),(7) The two parts of (7) can be joined to a semantically correct quantum mechanical wave equation. This can be done by differentiation of the second part and addition to the first part after multiplying with , resulting in,(8) The equation is temporally of first order and spatially of second order. It guarantees the positive definiteness of the wave function. This means that the spatial integral of squared absolute value of the wave function is time-independent. This is required to obey the semantics of the wave function, which states that its squared absolute value expresses the probability that the particle is at a certain moment at a certain place. As this certain place must be somewhere, the spatial integral has to be time-independent. Eq. (8) has a similar format as Schrödinger’s equation. The difference is in the right-hand part. In Schrödinger’s equation this part is the (spatially dependent) potential energy of the particle in motion. Here, it is replaced by a quantity that expresses the metric curvature of space–time. Dirac’s approach toward a 2D wave equation Dirac derived his relativistic quantum mechanical wave equation for a particle moving in free space from a heuristic elaboration of Einstein’s energy relationship(9) where is the three-vector momentum (, not to be confused with ), squared as(10)or equivalently,(11) Under consideration of the required semantics, Dirac expanded and transformed this quadratic equation into a set of two linear ones, where are the Pauli matrices, so that(12) If the velocity of the particle is small with respect to the light velocity, we have , so that from (10),(13) From (13) and the first part of (12), and adopting the minus sign to avoid a meaningless result, it follows(14) After substitution of (14) into the second part of (12), we get, under consideration of (6),(15) Mutatis mutandis, and now adopting the plus sign in (13), we get(16) Eqs. (15), (16) can be summarized as(17) Eq. (17) is known as the Pauli–Schrödinger approximation of Dirac’s equation. The solution is a two-component wave function, with a dominant component and a minor (spin) component that can assume two states. If a particle is subject to a field of forces, Dirac’s Equation as formulated in (17) does not hold. Potentially however, its format can be preserved if the operators on the wave function are redefined in a suitable way. This is known as the application of the Principle of Covariance. This involves a redefinition of the operators in the wave equation, implying that derivatives of the wave function are replaced by covariant derivatives. In particular,(18) where is a dimensionless generic coupling factor and where, generically, are the components of the four-vector potential that characterizes the field forces, and where is the scalar part of the field. In the case that the field is characterized by a scalar only, we get for the dominant wave component from (17), (18),(19) Comparing the geodesic approach with Dirac’s approach Comparing (19) with (8), it is concluded that, under non-relativistic conditions, the particle’s wave equation in a conservative scalar field of forces derived by the geodesic approach and Dirac’s approach, are equivalent if(20) where is a function of the metric components and (not to be confused with the quantum mechanical coupling factor ). Let us proceed by considering conditions as often assumed in general relativistic gravitational problems. These are, isotropy and weak field condition, implying(21) This enables to rewrite (20) as(22) This expression relates the space–time curvature with the potential energy of the particle in motion. In the particular case that the potential field shows a spatial quadratic dependency, the wave equation represents a quantum mechanical oscillator. This is true if(23) where the normalization parameter is introduced to make the constant dimensionless. Elementary algebra shows that (20), (22) are equivalent if(24) Eq. (24) imposes an interrelationship between the particle’s potential energy and its rest mass. This may seem an over-constraint. Actually, it is not, because the rest mass energy curves space–time and the potential energy is a manifestation of the space–time curvature (otherwise equating the geodesic approach with Dirac’s approach would be meaningless). The gravitational constant Energetic fields are formats of energy, similarly as massive particles in rest. All formats of energy are subject to Einstein’s field equation. Accepting the universality of this principle beyond the realm of gravity, justifies applying Einstein’s field equation to nuclear energetic fields. One side of this equation is the Einstein tensor ( ), which is expressed in quantities that can be derived from the metric tensor. The other side is the energy momentum tensor (), which contains quantities that can be derived from the energy present in the space as characterized by the metric tensor. There is a proportionality factor involved, known as the gravity constant. The full expression is(25) Here, and are respectively the so-called Ricci tensor and the Ricci scalar, which can be calculated if the metric tensor components are known [1], [4]. Let us start by calculating the energy momentum tensor. This presupposes knowledge of the spatial energy density. We wish to proceed under the assumption that all energy is comprised in the potential energy of the moving object and that the energy density is given as (see Appendix I),(26) The viability of this assumption will be shown for a particular physical process, to be discussed in Section 6. From (26), it follows that(27) Note that the index applies to the spatial dimension and to the temporal dimension. It follows straightforwardly from (27), (23) that,(28) The more difficult part is the calculation of the Einstein tensor from the Ricci tensor and the Ricci scalar , to be obtained from the metric tensor . Because of the 2D isotropy condition, the calculation results into rather simple expressions [4],(29)(30) Note: and is short for differentiation and double differentiation (after ) of the parameter , and is the inverse of the matrix . Application of (21), (23) on (29), (30), gives(31)so that(32) From (25), (28), (32), under consideration of (24), the gravitational constant follows as,(33) This result means that it is possible to express the gravitational constant into quantum mechanical quantities, provided that we can identify a physical process that can be modeled as a harmonic 2D quantum mechanical oscillator where the mass of the object in motion is extracted from the field’s potential energy. The physical process In this section, it will be claimed that such a process exists. It is the basic quark dipole, known as the pi-meson. It is commonly accepted that the quark masses have their origin from an omni-present scalar field of energy, known as the Higgs field [8]. This field is functionally described by a Lagrangian density with two characteristic quantities and , such that [7, p.363](34) Usually, the source term is omitted, because it is simply stated that an unknown source sustains the field. But let us consider the consequences if we do not wish to accept an incomplete Lagrangian density description. To do so, let us compare the Lagrangian density of the Higgs field with the Lagrangian density of the type(35) Let us further suppose that the source is a three-dimensional Dirac distribution . Application of the Lagrange–Euler Equation yields a differential equation for the spatial behavior of the field’s potential energy. In this case,(36) The solution of (36) is(37) If and , where is the electric charge of a pointlike source and is the free space electric permeability, this expression represents a Coulomb field. Generically it represents a field with a format that corresponds with the potential as proposed by Yukawa [5] to explain the short range of a nuclear force. It can also be viewed as a screened Coulomb field, which originates if the free Coulomb flux is suppressed by a surrounding space charge, such as first described by Debije [6]. The Debije shielding is observed in a wide variety of physical processes, particularly in plasma physics and in astrophysics. In these processes the Debije shielding length may range from values as large as 105 m to values as small as 10−9 m. Unfortunately, the high non-linearity of the potential energy term in the Lagrangian density of the Higgs field, as shown, in (34) prevents the analytical derivation of a spatial description of the Higgs field from a pointlike source . But if we cannot solve the spatial field equation analytically, why not solving it numerically? The way how to do has been documented in a previous work [3a], in which it has been shown that the potential that satisfies the wave equation derived from (34), is closely approximated by,(38) This field shows far field characteristics corresponding to the Yukawa ones, next to near field characteristics with opposite direction that represents a short-range force. We identify the far field force as the force that is commonly known as the weak force (short for force responsible for weak interaction) and the scalar near field force as the strong force (short for force responsible for strong interaction). The nuclear force is the combination of the two, such that the field, as shown by (38), is given by(39) If we identify the quark as the source of this nuclear field, a nice picture is obtained. Any quark couples to the field of any other quark with the coupling factor , such that it feels a nuclear force described as(40) where the quantum mechanical coupling is supposed to be equal to the square root of the electromagnetic fine structure constant (g2 ≈ 1/137, see Appendix I). This means that any quark is repelled by any other quark under influence of the far field, but attracted by the near field. As a consequence, structures are possible to exist that are composed by two quarks or three quarks, which are holding each other in a stable equilibrium. Similarly as Lorentz did in the past for electrons, we may suppose that the masses of these structures will primarily, if not all, be determined by the fields that result from the potential fluxes from the composing quarks. In this model, two quarks, positioned at a spacing 2d apart, compose a structure, the center of mass of which will vibrate around the position just half-way the two quarks. Therefore, this quark dipole, to be identified as meson, can be modeled effectively as an equivalent single-body quantum mechanical oscillator with a certain effective mass that is built by the energetic fluxes from the quarks. The far field component (weak force) can be conceived as the scalar part of the four-vector potential (A1, A2, A3, A4), of a field with the characteristics of Proca’s generalization of a Maxwell field, described by a Lagrangian density of the type,(41) where the vector components Jμ represent the sources of the field, possibly exclusively consisting of the pointlike well . In the past, such a field has been considered as a candidate to explain the origin of nuclear forces indeed. It has been abandoned because the term spoils the gauge constraint that is required to obtain the covariant format of Dirac’s equation. Stueckelberg, however, has shown that the gauge constraint remains valid in the case that the vectorial Proca field is supplemented by an additional scalar field. In Stueckelberg’s time, there was no rationale for this artificial escape. Within the context of this article it makes sense, because the scalar near field in (39) may serve the purpose. The justification for it is shown in Appendix II. A side effect of this solution is the removal of a possible renormalization problem associated with the inverse square potential format of the scalar near field. The meson is subject to a quantum mechanical wave equation, which will be developed within the center of mass frame. As noted before, the two constituting quarks will hold each other in a stable equilibrium. This enables us to develop a one-body equivalent of a two-body oscillator. Although such oscillator resembles a classical one, there is a fundamental difference. In the classical case, we have two masses and a (potential) field in between. In the classical case, the energy captured in the two masses is much larger than the energy represented by the field. In the model to be developed here, the other extreme is adopted: the bare mass of the bodies is supposed to be negligible as compared with the field energy. It makes the oscillator relativistic, because the mass in the wave equation is no longer the mass of the two bodies, but it is an equivalent mass that captures the energy of the field. In spite of the relativistic nature of the model, the center of mass view allows applying the Pauli–Schrödinger approximation of Dirac’s wave equation, describing a linear motion of an effective mass between the quark centers. Therefore, we write,(42) Here, 2d is the quark spacing, the non-relativistic effective mass of the center, its potential energy and the generic energy constant, which will be subject to quantization. From (32) we have,(43) The potential energy can be expanded as(44)(45) The two quarks in the meson settle in a state of minimum energy, at a spacing , determined from the condition(46)so that ; and (at ). The quantum mechanical oscillator as represented by (42) is subject to excitation. This means that the energy constant is subject to excitation. Under the approximation of the potential energy by a quadratic polynomial as (44), the constants associated with the vibration energy , are equally spaced. The frequency is given by the generic basic relationship [9],(47) A particle-antiparticle conjunction, as in the case of a meson, has particular characteristics. All mass is in the binding energy between the two particles. This allows the conclusion that the spacing between the quark and the antiquark is determined by half the wavelength of a single harmonic energetic standing wave (boson) with phase velocity c, so that(48)where is a dimensionless constant with order of magnitude 1, introduced for corrections because of the crude modeling and where is the energy of a bosonic mass particle responsible for change of energetic states of the meson. This boson is known as the weak-interaction boson. Its energetic value is known in the lab frame from experimental evidence of nuclear decay processes, but will be subject to relativistic correction in the center of mass frame. From (48) it follows that(49) (Note: the value of the effective mass is irrelevant within the scope of this paper. Eventually it comes manifest in the lab frame as the rest mass of the meson). Under consideration of (48), (49), the gravitational constant, as expressed by (33), can thus be written as,(50) This analysis has been made in the center of mass frame, i.e., the frame of the co-moving observer. The energy is known in the lab frame as . The co-moving observer experiences the lab frame velocity as the lab frame speed of the pi-meson. Owing to this particle-antiparticle structure, the pi-meson flies at near light velocity . Therefore, (50) is subject to a major relativistic correction, so that, effectively,(51) The relativistic correction will be considered in the next section. The relativistic correction The composite field of three quarks in a baryon, relatively far from the internal structure, as built-up by three contributions of the type as defined by (39), shows the same behavior as that of a single quark. It has both the characteristics of the attracting near field and those of the repulsive far field. If the inter-baryon interaction is represented by a massive bosonic particle with a certain spatial range and if this range is one or more orders of magnitude larger than the range of the intra-baryon interaction bosons, the inter-baryon behavior is just a scaled behavior of the intra-baryon behavior. In that case a similar potential function can be defined for the remnant field of the baryon similarly as (39), with the only difference that the -value has to be scaled. Therefore, supposing that , the inter-baryon field can be defined as(52) Other baryons may couple to this field, with some dimensionless coupling factor . Identifying the interacting bosons as pions with rest mass energy (=135.0/139.6 MeV), we have(53) According to this model, in non-excited state, the distance 2d between bound baryons therefore is, typically,(54) The pions travel at near light speed. As shown by Watkins [10], this speed can be determined from the half life value , in proper time denoted as. It is based upon the relationship between the temporal decay rate and the spatial decay parameter . The decay behavior of particles in proper time is given by(55) From the half life definition, given by(56) It follows from (55), (56) that(57) The relationship between spatial decay and temporal decay is frame independent and given by(58) so that from Eqs. (55), (56), (57), (58) after relativistic correction for ,(59)so that, for , under consideration of (53),(60) Result Summarizing, we have (51), (60), The result of this analysis is summarized in Table 1. The left-hand column shows the values of the physically known quantities. The middle column shows the known dimensionless constants as they are established in this theory. The right-hand column shows that the known value of the gravitational constant is obtained for the parameter value . This value is in agreement with the presupposed order of magnitude 1. Table 1. Numerical result for the gravitational constant, calculated from quantum mechanical quantities. Physics This theory Calculated ℏc = 193 MeV fm α = 0.69 m′0π = 139.6 MeV k2 = 2.36 = 1.59 × 10−16 t0π = 2.603 × 10−8 s k0 = −1/2 G = 6.67 × 10−11 m3kg−1s−2 m′W = 80.4 GeV d′min = 0.8526 g2 = 1/137 In view of the order of magnitude of the quantities involved, this attempt to unify gravity with quantum mechanics yields a surprising fit of the theoretically calculated value of the gravitational constant with the experimentally established constant of nature. The credibility of this result can be underlined with an interesting observation. It has to do with the 126.5 GeV particle, discovered in 2012 by CERN and identified as the “Higgs boson” of the Standard Model. The energetic value of its mass is known to be a function of the quantity in the functional definition of the Higgs field as given by (38). In particular [7, p.364](61) The Standard Model, however, is unable to establish theoretically based values for the two Higgs quantities and . That prevents a calculation of (61). Interestingly, though, the theory as outlined in this article, may do. How? Similarly as the boson of the electromagnetic field, neither the boson of vectorial far field, nor the boson of the scalar near field are observables. They can only show up by “signatures”. There is no reason why the view on the Higgs field as developed in this article would exclude the possibility that photons interact with the Higgs field as spread by quarks. Such interactions would produce new particles of the same kind as predicted in the state-of-art theory. Let us try to calculate the mass equivalent of such new particles under application of the relationships as developed in this article. As shown by (38), the equivalents of the quantities and in the common functional description of the Higgs field are the spatial field quantities (for is strength) and (for its spatial range). It has been shown in Eq. (49) that the strength quantity can be determined from the weak interaction boson (=80.4 GeV), as(62)and that the spatial range quantity follows from the ratio , calculated from (48), (49) as,(63) (Note that, unlike the individual quantities and , the numerical value of this ratio is frame-independent). It has to be emphasized that the results (62), (63) have to be credited to the general relativistic view on the physical quark dipole. Applying (38) on (61), we have(64) From (62), (63), (64), and Table 1, it follows that,(65) This theoretically established energy value of the “Higgs mass” is close to the measured value by CERN. Within the context of this article, it may be regarded as a confirmation of the viability of the relationship between gravity and quantum physics as expressed by (51), (60) and the numerical result given in Table 1. Discussion It will be clear that the validation of a formula that expresses the gravitational constant in quantum mechanical quantities is an important contribution to the on-going challenge in present theoretical physics to relate gravity with quantum physics. It will also be clear that a claim that this can be done without conceiving a new theoretical framework beyond the established ones, will be regarded as controversial. Nevertheless, in this article an attempt to do so has resulted in a formula that can be easily numerically verified in an outcome that nicely fits with the well-known established experimental evidence. This numerical result cannot be denied. The theoretical steps might be subject to criticism, but the criticism should then answer the question why such a result is possible if something is wrong with the basic approach. So, let me summarize the approach, thereby stipulating different angles of view as compared to present theory. Among the various steps taken, there are three major ones. One of these is the view that Einstein’s field equation is universal, therefore also valid beyond the realm of gravity and, therefore, applicable to nuclear energetic fields as well. The second one is the view that Dirac’s approach for deriving a quantum mechanical wave equation from an equation of motion can be made more fundamental by taking Einstein’s geodesic equation as a starting point rather than restricting it to Einstein’s expression for relativistic energy. The third one has to do with the Higgs field. Similarly as in present-state quantum theory, the Higgs field is considered as a field from which energy can be subtracted for the purpose to give mass to particles. The view taken, however, is that the lack of a source term in the formulation of its Lagrangian density is unacceptable. Accepting a pointlike source as in conventional field theory, enables the derivation of a spatial field description, albeit that a numerical approach is required to do so. The logical step taken is, to identify the quark as the pointlike source of energy. This is not all. The most essential element in this third step is the split of the Higgs field into two different components: a bosonic vectorial far field in terms of Proca’s generalization of the Maxwell field and an additional bosonic scalar near field with a narrow spatial reach. Owing to these characteristics, there is no need to explain the origin of massive nuclear bosons as a consequence of the interaction of mass less particles with a scalar field. Instead, the nuclear force bosons come forward by definition, similarly as photons show up in a Maxwell field. Finally, I want to emphasize the difference between the term, which specifies the spatial range of the nuclear force, and a physical mass term , such as in Proca’s original formulation. Owing to the invariance of the ratio , the energy of a “H-type” Proca boson remains, similar as a photon, the same in any inertial frame. If somebody tries to bring the Proca boson to rest, the term changes in coherence with the change of . It is for that reason that the quantum of the Higgs field cannot be identified as an observable massive boson. Experimental data on observables (like many fermions) are “hard”, but experimental data on non-observables, like bosons flying at (near) light speed, are “soft”. They show up as “signatures”, which are interpreted with a theory in mind. A signature that supports the theory as developed in this article is the theoretically derived value for the mass of the 126.5 GeV “Higgs particle”, which in present-state theory needs to be empirically established. This is a second major result of the analysis presented. Appendix I. Electroweak unification In the physical process as described in Section 6, the nuclear field is conceived as an energetic field similar to that of an electromagnetic field. The spread of an energetic flux by pointlike wells creates a spatial field, which, in Maxwell’s theory, is characterized by its energy density, i.e. the amount of field energy per unit of volume. The nuclear equivalent of the Maxwellian field density can be found on the basis of the unification hypothesis. Within the context of our physical process this hypothesis is, in SI units, formulated as:(A1) where and are the scalar parts of respectively the electromagnetic potential and the nuclear potential, is the elementary electric charge and the free space electric permeability. The hypothesis states that the square of the nuclear coupling factor is equal to the electromagnetic fine structure constant (). The justification of the unification hypothesis has to be provided by experimental evidence. For its validation, see [3]. The energy density of the nuclear field can now expressed in similar terms as the electric energy density of the electromagnetic field, i.e., as(A2) Appendix II. Stueckelberg’s gauge constraint In 1938, Ernst Stueckelberg [11], [12] showed that, under particular circumstances, the elegancy of the Principle of Covariance on the basis of minimum substitution, can be maintained for Proca type fields. This will be the case if, next to a Proca field, an auxiliary scalar bosonic field , will be present, such that Proca’s Lagrangian is modified into, [12],(B1)This modified Lagrangian density remains unaffected under the gauges,(B2) Therefore, it is allowed to use the covariant Dirac equation in a Proca field of forces if an auxiliary scalar field is present as well. Let us try to identify the near field (strong force) as defined in (39) as Stueckelberg’s auxiliary phantom scalar field. First of all, we have to cope with the r2-term in the denominator of the near field expression, which is not compatible with a pointlike source. This would suggest that the source of the scalar field is a dipole rather than a monopole. Unfortunately, although the dipole shows an inverse square behavior of the energetic flux indeed, it shows an angular dependency as well. The escape comes from a reconsideration of the axiomatic principle as adopted by the author in his sequence of papers. It has to do with the numerical fit of the spatial expression (38) with the functional expression of the Higgs field. Curiously, another expression gives a fit with a similar accuracy. The fit is obtained by(B3) This can be rewritten as,(B4) This allows to incorporate the sources of the vectorial far field and the scalar near field into a complete Lagrangian description. Moreover, we may invoke the generalization proposed by ‘t Hooft and Veltman, by including an additional real parameter , [12], [13], such that,(B5) Applying the Euler–Lagrange Equation yields two wave equations. Describing the pointlike sources for the far field and near field, respectively, as and , and defining , we get for the scalar part of the time independent (vector type) far field,(B6)and for the time independent (scalar type) near field we get(B7) By comparing (B7), (B4), obviously . It may seem that both equations have the same format as the Klein Gordon equation, which has erroneously been derived for fermions as a fore-runner of Dirac’s Equation. The presence of the source term, however, make these two bosonic equations different. It will be clear now that, under the modification (B3), the Stueckelberg mechanism allows to give a spatial description of the functionally defined Higgs field. The field can be assigned to a single composite source that produces a vectorial Proca type (weak force) far field and a scalar type (strong force) near field. For reasons of simplicity, I wish to stick to the two-parameter formulation as expressed by (38) rather than by the four-parameter equivalent (B4). But her mind was on the riddle of the missing professor. Where could he be? The students had tried to contact him through E-Mails and Online Messages but there hadn't been any contact back. She was sure that it was something mundane of course but there was still something nagging at her. Something she'd buried deep inside of herself a long time ago that was telling her to investigate it thoroughly. To get to the bottom of this mystery. Nicole pushed it back down. She'd buried that part of herself in Tempesmere. It was fine. There was a logical explanation for all of this she was sure. The police could handle it with their technological advances and investigative skills. No need for her to get involved. "Miss Noble? Could you explain the solution of the Dirac equation to the class please?" Professor Jimmy Turner asked her. "Oh, sure." Nicole cleared her throat and stood up and spoke out to the class. "The solution of the Dirac equation for an electron in a Coulomb field is systematically treated here by utilizing new insights provided by supersymmetry.It is shown that each of the concepts has its analogue in the non-relativistic case. Indeed, the non-relativistic case is developed first, in order to introduce the new concepts in a familiar context. The symmetry of the non-relativistic model is already present in the classical limit, so the classical Kepler problem is first discussed in order to bring out the role played by the Laplace vector, one of the central concepts of the whole book. Analysis of the concept of eccentricity of the orbits turns out to be essential to understanding the relation of the classical and quantum mechanical models.The opportunity is taken to relive the great moments of physics: From Kepler's discovery of the laws of motion of the planets, the development is traced through the Dirac equation up to modern advances, which bring the concepts of supersymmetry to bear on the derivation of the solutions. How was that?" Professor Turner gave her a thumbs up. "Well done Nicole! Thank you very much!" He smiled and returned to his lecture. "Thank you sir." Nicole replied and sat back down. "Teacher's pet." She heard someone at the far end of the second to last row whisper under his breath. She hummed and returned to her notes. After lunch the students split up to go their respective classes with a couple of them accompanying Derrick across campus to the fitness center. Once inside the men and women split up to their respective locker rooms and got changed. Derrick put on a black muscle shirt and shorts and hung up his college uniform in his locker. He put on some gloves and did a few pre-workout stretches. (It's just your nerves. It's just your nerves. You didn't get enough sleep and it's got you on edge. It's fine. Everyone's fine. The Brannons are gone. Dead and buried or locked up. Gone. They're all gone and none of their minions are coming after you again. Even if they do? Just kick their asses all over again. You're fine. It's fine. Now perk up. You've got benching to do!) Derrick smiled, clapped his face and loosened himself up for the workout. "'Ey geeza 're ya feelin' okay?" Randall asked him. "Feeling fine. Just one of those days you know?" "Oh trust me I kna. Ya 'ave ter learn ter take it easy once in a while. If you're always on edge you'll just wear yourself out. Tearn ter smell the roses mate." "Yeah I know. Come on, lets bench." He laughed and walked to the door into the fitness floor. The moment he stepped inside Derrick forgot all of his concerns. "Glad you could come." Dolores greeted him in a black tank top and shorts. "You ready to sweat?" She was amazing. Her long beautiful hair was a fiery red that perfectly complimented her amazing amazonian build. She had the physique of an athletic angel, a genuine goddess who'd sculpted herself out of fine marble. "You're drooling mate." Randall whispered to him with a smirk. "What? Wait, what? Huh? No I'm not. Get out of here. Go warmup." Derrick stammered out quickly as Randall walked away quietly laughing. Derrick would get him back later. "Anyway. Yeah. Sweat. Gotta love it. No pain no gain so lets pump some iron." Derrick smiled. Dolores smirked. "Oh we are gonna burn some muscle." 2 Hours 40 Minutes Of Working Out And Exercise. This was gonna be fun. They spread out around the room and got started on their workout regimens. Derrick did a few stretches and warm up exercises and then he walked over to the bench press. Derrick reached over to a console attached to the bench that let you set the amount of weight you wanted to add onto the bar. You could set it to some truly absurd levels but you had to be extremely careful not to set it too high that you couldn't handle it. There were also several normal benches for the traditionalists. Taking the 45lb bar into account, Derrick put 1255 into the keypad and pressed the enter button. The machine hummed and the bar gradually glowed as the machine adjusted itself and the weight of the bar then played a little jingle when it was ready. Derrick waved to Owain. "Hey man. Can you spot me?" "Sure thing bro." He walked over to Derrick and looked at the bench. "1300 lbs. Cute." "Hardy-har-har. You ready?" "Ready when you are." Derrick rubbed his hands together and the laid down on the bench with his eyes under the bar, grabbed the bar with a medium grip-width with his thumbs around the bar, unracked the bar by straightening his arms, lowered the bar to his mid-chest, and then pressed the bar back up until his arms were straight. Derrick held the weight up for a second at the top with straight arms, breathed and then took a big breath, held it and lowered the bar again while keeping his butt on the bench when he pressed it back up. The Bench Press is a full body, compound exercise. It works your chest, shoulders and triceps most. It’s the most effective exercise to gain upper-body strength and muscle mass because it’s the upper-body exercise you’ll lift most weight on. The bigger your bench, the bigger your chest. To avoid shoulder pain, tuck your elbows 75° when you lower the bar. Don’t try to stretch your chest by flaring your elbows 90° out. You’ll impinge your shoulders if your upper-arms are perpendicular to your torso at the bottom. Tuck your elbows 75° to Bench Press pain-free. Unlike the Squat or Deadlift, the bar doesn’t move in a vertical line when you Bench Press with proper form. It moves diagonally from your mid-chest over your shoulders. This is the safest way to Bench Press for your shoulders. It’s also the most effective way to Bench Press heavy. Read more stronglifts.com/bench-press/#gref Up and down. Up and down. Breathe in. Breathe out. Derrick lowered the bar to his mid-chest, and then pressed the bar back up until his arms were straight. Derrick held the weight up for a second at the top with straight arms, breathed and then took a big breath, held it and lowered the bar again while keeping his butt on the bench when he pressed it back up. Up and down. Up and down. Breathe in. Breathe out. Derrick lowered the bar to his mid-chest, and then pressed the bar back up until his arms were straight. Derrick held the weight up for a second at the top with straight arms, breathed and then took a big breath, held it and lowered the bar again while keeping his butt on the bench when he pressed it back up. Up and down. Up and down. Breathe in. Breathe out. Derrick lowered the bar to his mid-chest, and then pressed the bar back up until his arms were straight. Derrick held the weight up for a second at the top with straight arms, breathed and then took a big breath, held it and lowered the bar again while keeping his butt on the bench when he pressed it back up. Derrick lowered the bar to his mid-chest, and then pressed the bar back up until his arms were straight. Derrick held the weight up for a second at the top with straight arms, breathed and then took a big breath, held it and lowered the bar again while keeping his butt on the bench when he pressed it back up. Derrick lowered the bar to his mid-chest, and then pressed the bar back up until his arms were straight. Derrick held the weight up for a second at the top with straight arms, breathed and then took a big breath, held it and lowered the bar again while keeping his butt on the bench when he pressed it back up. Derrick lowered the bar to his mid-chest, and then pressed the bar back up until his arms were straight. Derrick held the weight up for a second at the top with straight arms, breathed and then took a big breath, held it and lowered the bar again while keeping his butt on the bench when he pressed it back up. It was certainly work. Benching over a thousand was rather heavy and it just got heavier the further up you got. 1300 lbs was his current max after all these years of training. Sure, the nano-treatment ten years ago gave him a headstart but the results came from years of hard work and physical conditioning. Last he checked in with Tina, she was almost as strong as him. Maybe more. They hadn't competed in awhile. He wondered what she and her girlfriend were up to right now....and when the marriage would be. Aunt Michelle and Uncle Alessandro obviously knew about them and he knew they'd be happy to throw the most luxurious party they could ever ask for after all. Well anyway, Derrick refocused his efforts on the task at hand. He breathed out and resumed benching. Rep after rep after rep. Derrick counted them down in his head with a smile on his face. He had a long two hours ahead of him and Derrick intended to make the most of every minute. He kept counting down while continuing the workout. 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190 200 210 Starting to feel it. 220 230 240 250 260 Derrick was sweating now. 270 280 Feeling the burn. 290 He was feeling the extreme weight now. 300 It was getting a little hard now but he kept pushing. 310 He kept pushing. 320 Derrick paused for a few seconds before he pushed it back up. 330 340 350 He increased his grip on the bar and smiled as he pushed it back up. Derrick had a personal record to break today and he was certainly going to surpass his personal best. 351 352 353 Come on. Keep pushing it! 354 355 356 Come on you can do this! It's just a little weight you can do it! 357 358 359 360 The bar rested on Derrick's chest as he closed his eyes. "Hey 'Rick, come on, don't hurt yourself now." Owain advised him. "Come on let me give you a hand with that." "Don't worry about me. I've.got.this." He smiled and pushed it back up. 361 362 363 He was almost at his personal best now. Just a few more. 364 365 He made it! 365 reps! "Six.More.Just.Six.More." Derrick told himself and pushed it back up. Derrick held the weight up for a second at the top with straight arms, breathed and then took a big breath, held it and lowered the bar again while keeping his butt on the bench when he pressed it back up. Derrick lowered the bar to his mid-chest, and then pressed the bar back up until his arms were straight. Derrick held the weight up for a second at the top with straight arms, breathed and then took a big breath, held it and lowered the bar again while keeping his butt on the bench when he pressed it back up. Derrick lowered the bar to his mid-chest, and then pressed the bar back up until his arms were straight. Derrick held the weight up for a second at the top with straight arms, breathed and then took a big breath, held it and lowered the bar again while keeping his butt on the bench when he pressed it back up. Derrick kept pumping the bar until he finally pushed it up to Three Hundred Seventy One Reps! He smiled and did one more congratulatory raise up before pushing it up onto a bench. He laughed and sat up while he wiped the sweat from his brow with his personal towel from his pocket. "Three Hundred Seventy Two Reps At Thirteen Hundred Pounds. My new personal best." Owain lifted the bar off of the bench and rested it on his shoulder. "Huh. Not a bad curl." "Sure rub it in, Ferigno." "I'll take that as a compliment." Owain replied. "Seriously though. That was an awesome bench without Brick powers. Is everyone in your family this strong?" "Basically." Derrick responded with a smile and a shrug of his broad shoulders. "Believe it or not, I've got a cousin who's as tough as me. She's a real firecracker." "Oh really? Is she single?" Derrick smirked. "She's got a girlfriend, dude." "All good. Consider my comment retracted." He chuckled. "So what's her name?" "Tina. Tina Berardinelli." Derrick informed him and then took a breather. "Wait, Berardinelli? Wasn't she in the Battle Contest a couple years back?" "Yeah, the Windfair Martial Arts Expo Battle Contest. Basically one big overly long MMA Kumite thing. She won too which was awesome." "Hey that's right. I saw it on TV! She was awesome!" "She always has been." "I don't remember seeing you there though." "Me? Nah. I guess I just didn't receive an invite and anyway there was a party I was having with some friends." He gulped and paused before continuing. "And a thing happened...it was a mess. The point being though, Tina made the family proud there and it was awesome. Anyway." He rolled his shoulders and laid back down for another set. "Thanks for the cool down chat by the way." He grabbed the bar and got ready for another go. "Cool, cool. Hey, so, ah, what happened at the party? If you don't mind me asking?" "Eh, nothing too bad. Just a weird day. Don't worry about it. Lets shred." Derrick summarized and set about another set of the same amount of reps. Dolores meanwhile was sitting down at a lat pulldown machine and set it Two Hundred Fifty Pounds and was in the middle of her reps set. Three Sets of 10 Reps. When performed properly, lat pulldowns can be extremely beneficial to build upper body strength, mass, and keep your shoulders healthy. Vertical pulling exercises such as the lat pulldown primarily target the latissimus dorsi or ‘lats’ muscles but also hit the lower and middle trapezius, the rhomboids, and the serratus anterior. The largest of these muscles, the lats, originate at your thoracic and lumbar spine spanning most of your back and insert all the way on your humerus. Besides allowing the motion for pull-ups, the lat muscles also act as very powerful spinal stabilizers for posture during exercises such as squats and deadlifts, as well as other athletic movement. Needless to say, having a strong back is key to overall strength and fitness. To pull off this workout properly, 1) Sit on the lat pulldown machine and adjust the knee pad so that there is no free space and you’re tightly seated. 2) Place your feet flat on the floor, push your chest upwards and out. 3) Retract your scapula, which should create an arch leaning away from the machine. 4) Take hold of the bar, with your hands in a wide grip (this should be on the declined portion of the long bar, both sides). 5) When you’re in your starting position inhale and make sure your keep posture without letting your scapula loosen or your shoulders raise. 6) Exhale when you begin the movement (concentric contraction); Pull through your elbows until you’re able to squeeze your lats at the bottom of the movement and your shoulder blades are together. 7) Slowly raise the bar back up until your arms are extended and back in the starting position. Pull through the elbows, keep your head neutral, keep a slight arch in your upper back (backwards), do not disengage scapula or shoulders at the top of the movement. This will take tension off the lats. Dolores continued her workout by pulling down on the machine and then slowly letting it back up and then repeating. It was one of her favorite workouts and it helped her to keep in shape. By shape of course she meant that she turned herself into a lethal weapon. You never know what could happen to you. Whether it be a super going rogue or a more generic criminal or some random psycho, you had to be prepared to either run or fight at all times at a moments notice. That was why she loved the fitness center so much. Two hours and forty minutes of clanging and banging and sweaty muscle burning. She loved it. Plus, come on, sitting in the desks all day was just uncomfortable. Cushions or not. She continued her pulldowns until she reached the ten count and took a short rest before she resumed with her next set. Dolores pulled down on the machine and then she brought it back up and then she pulled it down. Dolores pulled down on the machine and then she brought it back up and then she pulled it down. Dolores pulled down on the machine and then she brought it back up and then she pulled it down. Dolores pulled down on the machine and then she brought it back up and then she pulled it down. Dolores repeated the reps until she finished her second set and she took another minute rest before repeating the reps up until she finished her third set and took a break as sweat dripped down her face. Dolores smiled. She always knew a workout was going well when the sweat droplets on her skin began to run down her face and limbs and splash onto the floor. Beads as salty as tears would run into her lips and she laughed. It felt good. Dolores dabbed at her face with a towel and then she reset the machine for the next user and then she retrieved a disinfecting wipe to clean up the machine. As she was wiping it down, she took a glance across the room at Derrick. She liked what she saw. A sheen of sweat covered his arms and face from his insane workout regimen and glistened in the light of the room. The way it highlighted the contour of muscle reminded her of what a powerhouse he was. Whatever had happened to him in his past, he'd since been exhaustively trained to perform at his peak physically and mentally. He was a living work or art, his shining skin was just so tempting to touch; every move giving away his strength. He had a chiseled chest and the skin on it was glowing healthily. His abdominals were sculptured to perfection as his six-packs popped, instantly giving off the impression that he came out of a supermodel magazine. His biceps were the size of her head yet lean and his triceps looked like rare diamonds and his round and protrudingly powerful shoulders completed his masterpiece of a bodice. Dolores took her time cleaning the machine so she could enjoy the view a bit more before she moved on. She was halfway over to the next machine before she glanced at the numbers on the machine and did a double take and she zeroed in on the incredibly high numbers on the machine. Thirteen Hundred Pounds! She took this in and smiled. He really was amazing. She pushed her hair back and walked over to the Recyclotron and tossed the wipe into it and then she walked over to a treadmill and set it to Thirty Miles Per Hour at a Twelve Percent Incline. She took a deep breath and began running like lightning! Derrick meanwhile continued his own workout until he finally reached another three hundred seventy two reps and he managed to set it back up. Derrick lowered his arms down and rested them on his chest as he rested and the sweat dripped down his body and onto the bench. "Well you're definitely Superhuman bro. But are you feeling okay?" Owain asked him. Derrick took a breather for a minute before he smiled and replied. "Feeling fine brosef. Just...give me a minute here." He chuckled and then he rested for another two minutes before he slowly sat back up and wiped himself down with his towel. "Hey take it easy, Derrick. You don't have to break yourself to stay in shape you know." "It's cool it's cool." Derrick assured him. "I've been doing this for the past ten years man. And the results?" He stood up and took a breather before smiling and give a thumbs up. "The results speak for themselves. Thanks by the way. You're the best." He secured a few wipes and cleaned down the bench. "Alright I'll trust you but just be sure that you stay careful man." "I will be. Thank you." Derrick finished wiping down the bench, bar and the floor before he tossed the wipes, grabbed a paper cup and then he filled it up with water and drank it down to cool down. He waited another minute and then he walked into the locker room and retrieved two thirty pound ankle weights from his locker before returning to the room and walking over to a hanging down bag. Derrick crouched down and strapped the ankle weights to his legs. He stood back up and gave a few wiggles to each leg to get adjusted to the weight and then he tapped one foot on the floor a few times before he got ready for his next workout. He'd given his arms and chest a good workout earlier. It was time for his legs. Three Sets. Three Hundred Kicks. This was gonna be fun. Kicks play a significant role in many forms of martial arts, such as savate, taekwondo, MMA, sikaran, karate, Pankration, Kung Fu, Vovinam, kickboxing, Muay Thai, Yaw-Yan, capoeira, silat, and kalaripayattu. As the human leg is longer and stronger than the arm, kicks are generally used to keep an opponent at a distance, surprise him or her with their range, and inflict substantial damage. On the other hand, stance is very important in any combat system, and any attempt to deliver a kick will necessarily compromise one's stability of stance. The application of kicks is thus a question of the tradeoff between the power that can be delivered vs. the cost incurred to balance. Since combat situations are fluid, understanding this tradeoff and making the appropriate decision to adjust to each moment is key. Kicks are commonly directed against helpless or downed targets, while for more general self-defense applications, the consensus is that simple kicks aimed at vulnerable targets below the chest may be highly efficient, but should be executed with a degree of care. Self-defense experts, such as author and teacher Marc Macyoung, claim that kicks should be aimed no higher than the waist/stomach. Thus, the fighter should not compromise their balance while delivering a kick, and retract the leg properly to avoid grappling. It is often recommended to build and drill simple combinations that involve attacking different levels of an opponent. A common example would be distracting an opponent's focus via a fake jab, following up with a powerful attack at the opponent's legs and punching. Further, since low kicks are inherently quicker and harder to see and dodge in general they are often emphasized in a street fight scenario. Derrick for his part notably borrows from various forms of martial arts and he mixes and matches them to keep his kicks varied. Below is a list of some of the kicks utilized by Derrick Axe Kick Back Kick Crescent Kick Front Kick Push Kick or Front Thrust Kick Roundhouse Kick or Round Kick Side Kick Master List of Martial Arts Kicks (Basic & Advanced) – Click on each kick for detailed instructions and/or videos Axe Kick – Traditional rear leg axe kick. Front Leg Axe Kick Back Kick Butterfly Kick Butterfly Twist Kick – A more advanced version of the Butterfly Kick. Calf Kick Cartwheel Kick Crescent Kick Inside Crescent Kick Outside Crescent Kick Cut Kick Double Front Kick or Jumping Double Front Kick Double Roundhouse Kick or Jumping Double Roundhouse Kick Downward Roundhouse Kick or “Brazilian Kick” Foot Sweep Kick – Karate’s Ashi Barai Flying Back Kick Flying Drop Kick Flying Front Kick Flying Side Kick Front Kick Front Kick – Ball of Foot – Hit target with ball of foot. Front Kick – Instep – Hit target with instep of foot. Heel Kick Lead Leg, Turning and Spinning Hook Kick or Whip Kick Inverted Roundhouse Kick Jumping Axe Kick Jumping Back Kick Jumping Front Kick or Flying Front Kick Jumping Roundhouse Kick Jumping Side Kick or Flying Side Kick Jumping Spinning Axe Kick or Tornado Axe Kick Jumping Spinning Crescent Kick Jumping Spinning Hook Kick or Jumping Reverse Hook Kick Knee Joint Kick – Karate’s Kansetsu Geri Knee Strike – This section provide instructions for a wide variety of knee strikes. Kyokushin Wheel Kick Low Kicks – List of kicks commonly used to strike targets below the waist. Oblique Kick or Scoop Kick Push Kick or Front Thrust Kick Roll Kicks or Rolling Kicks Cartwheel Kick Forward Roll Kick or Forward Falling Kick Side Roll Kick or Side Falling Kick, Kyokushin Wheel Kick, etc. Roundhouse Kick or Round Kick Roundhouse Kick – Front Leg Roundhouse Kick – Rear Leg Scissor Kick Scoop Kick Scorpion Kick Shin Kick or “Muay Thai Kick” Shin Kick (Hapkido) Side Kick Side Kick – Front Leg Side Kick – Rear Leg Skipping Axe Kick or Hopping Axe Kick, Sliding Axe Kick, etc. Skipping Crescent Kick or Hopping Crescent Kick, Sliding Crescent Kick, etc. Skipping Front Kick or Hopping Front Kick, Sliding Front Kick, etc. Skipping Roundhouse Kick or Hopping Roundhouse Kick, Sliding Roundhouse Kick, etc. Skipping Side Kick or Step Behind Side Kick, Hopping Side Kick, Sliding Side Kick, etc. Slap Kick Spinning Axe Kick Spinning Back Kick Spinning Crescent Kick Spinning Heel Kick or Spinning Sweep Kick Spinning Hook Kick or Spinning Whip Kick, Reverse Roundhouse Kick, Reverse Hook Kick, etc. Spinning Roundhouse Kick or Turning Roundhouse Kick Spinning Side Kick or Reverse Side Kick Stomp Kick – Karate’s Fumikomi Vertical Stomp Kick Stop Kick Stretch Kick Sweep Kick (Forward Foot) Sweep Kick (Low Heel) or Low Spinning Heel Kick Switch Kick Toe Kick or Karate’s Tsumasaki Geri Tornado Kick, Jumping Spinning Roundhouse Kick, 360 Roundhouse Kick Tornado Axe Kick Twisting Kick or Twist Kick Upkick Uppercut Back Kick 540 Roundhouse Kick 540 Spinning Hook Kick Front Kick from the Ground Roundhouse Kick from the Ground Defense Against A Leg Grab While On Ground – Hook or Heel Kick Defense Against A Leg Grab While On Ground – Roundhouse Kick Side Kick from the Ground Eskrima Kicks Hapkido Kicks Karate Kicks Muay Thai Kicks & Knee Strikes Taekwondo Kicks rmada An armada is a reverse roundhouse kick, also described as a spinning inside to outside crescent kick. It can be either a Rabo-de-Arraia without the hands supporting on the floor (the head falls below the waist and the kick is executed with the heel), or a Meia lua de Costas (halfmoon from the back), a spinning kick with the body upright. The striking surface is usually the outside blade of the kicking foot. A queixada and armada are executed in exactly the same way with the exception of the armada beginning with a step to the right or left before releasing the kick. The power of the armada actually comes from the torque placed on the hips from the spin. After stepping across the body (to the right or left) at around 45 degrees, the hips are spun while the arms are up to protect from punches or other kicks. Once there is enough torque, the kicking leg is "released" rather than kicked. This leg goes around in the same motion as a queixada until the kicking leg has finished its arc all the way back or parallel to the other foot. Armada Pulada An Armada that is released after a jump. The armada pulada begins the same way as the regular armada with the capoeirista turning to the left or right. Once the head, neck and shoulders rotate towards the front, he/she jumps during the release of the armada making it a spinning aerial kick. Armada Dupla Also known as an Envergado. The distinguishing feature of this move is the fact that both legs remain together during the take off, execution, and landing. Its name, Armada dupla, is derived from this feature and also literally means "double armada". After the take off, the torso stays upright and vertical, but will begin to quickly torque in order to swing the legs around and upwards. At the peak of this move, the body is in the shape of a "V". The legs continue to swing over as the body straightens out for the landing. In tricking, this move is called a double leg. Along with the Meia Lua Compasso and Au Malandro/Batida, the armada dupla one of the trademark kicks unique to the art capoeira. Armada com Martelo The armada com martelo is a spinning double kick beginning with an armada pulada and finishing with a martelo. The capoeirista begins with the same motion of the Armada. While the first leg is raised up, he/she jumps off their back leg. Once the first leg completes its arc, the leg that was jumped off of comes around in the form of a jumping martelo rotado. Bênção An esquiva under a Bênção Literally "blessing". It is a straight forward frontal push kick. It is commonly aimed at the abdominal or chest area, and the capoeirista hits with either the whole sole of the foot or with the heel. The level of impact varies with its range and intent from a soft tap to an inward jumping stomp to the head, or torso. Chapa[edit] Chapa, the sole of the foot, is a generic term for various straight kicks with the sole or heel of the foot. This kick can be used in a roda to push away the other player for distance. These include: Chapa-de-Costas It resembles a kick from a horse or mule in which both hands are usually on the ground while one of the legs is pushed outward towards the other player. It is a clever attack that can be delivered out of a role towards the groin or knee of the other player. Chapa-de-Frente A straight kick facing the opponent sometimes performed from a Queda de Quatro, pushing with the hips to gain greater extension. It has the look of a Bençao given from a Queda de Quatro. Pisào Another variation being a side kick. First the player begins by lifting the knee of the kicking leg and hip level of the support leg. The capoeirista turns his supporting foot 180 degrees to the rear while thrusting the kicking foot towards the other player's body. Chapa Baixa This is a side kick to the lower areas including the thigh, knee, or instep. Impact is usually made with the heel or sole of the foot. As with the pisào, the chapa baixa begins with a forward knee raise. However, instead of rising upwards towards the usual kicking targets capoeira (head, chest, stomach), the kick is driven downward towards the other player's lower extremities. It incorporates the malacia in capoeira appearing as a high kick but ending in an unpredictable painful kick to the knee or thigh. In most rodas this is shown rather than completed to full extension. During the later rounds of his title defense in UFC 97 with Thales Leites, Anderson Silva made extensive use of this technique. Chapa Giratoria Capoeira’s answer for the sole kick. It is done in the same way as ban dae yeop chagi in Taekwondo with the capoeirista stepping forward or diagonally while turning his torso. At the same time he raises his back leg up, unleashing it at the apex of the turn in a straight path. Escorpião Scorpion kick There are actually two different versions of the escorpião. The attacking one is very similar to the scorpion kick of other martial arts. It is characterized by kicking backwards, over the head, at a target in front of the kicker impacting with the sole or heel of the foot. The escorpião is very hard to see and is extremely dangerous in the hands of a master. Gancho The gancho lit. hook, is a hook kick. It is a deceptive attack that starts off in the same way as a martelo or roundhouse kick. The knee and thigh of the kicking leg is brought up and across the body in a diagonal direction. Instead of thrusting in and out like a chapa, the leg is extended toward the body and thrust out in a hooking motion striking with the heel or sole. The path of the heel ends near the buttocks and hamstring as it is brought down. There are other ways of using it such as fake martelos into in or from fake chapas. Because of its deceptiveness, the name gancho is perfect for it since it can sometimes act as the hook for a bait attack that is seen far too late. Gancho Giratoria A spinning version of the gancho. It starts out like a spinning chapa but deceptively lashes out and hooks around in the same manner as the gancho. Martelo The martelo, which literally means "hammer", is generally defined as a strike with the instep, or lower part of the shin against the opponent's body; the most common target is temple of the head. The most common forms of the Martelo include: Martelo em Pé Martelo em Pe This is the most common martelo seen in Regional and Contemporânea rodas. Its execution on the very basic level is identical to the sport version of the roundhouse kick commonly seen in Tae Kwon Do and kickboxing. Capoeira emphasizes using kicks anywhere at any time so advance forms of the martelo em pe can come from fakes, skipping and kicking with the front leg, and from other dodges such as the esquiva diagonal. Emphasis is placed on speed and deception rather than knockout. Even with this precaution knockouts still occur due to the weight and sheer force of the leg. Martelo do Chão It is a martelo that starts from the ground. The Martelo do Chão is delivered from a lower position usually right before a rolé while in esquiva baixa or downward going into a queda de rins. Martelo de Negativa Martelo de Negativa This is a variation of blends the movements of s dobrado with martelo do chão. The martelo de negativa begins with a hop generating more force since the entire body is used. Other names include chapéu de couro and s batida. Martelo Rotado A spinning martelo, similar to a 540 kick. The martelo rotado combines the 540 or parafuso with a martelo. Whereas the parafuso is a spinning outside to inside crescent, the martelo rotado impacts with the instep. Control is sacrificed for power as the leg does not stop, but follows through with a full rotation of the hips. Meia Lua de Compasso Main article: Meia lua de compasso The Meia-Lua de compasso (lit: compass half moon) aka. rabo do arria, is an attack that embodies the true element of Capoeira since it combines an evasive maneuver with a spinning kick. The transfer of power begins with the hand slamming into the ground and ending with the spin of the kicking heel. The power of the kick derives its energy from the similar centripetal force of a golf club swing. It has earned its place in capoeira as being called the "king of kicks". There is even a saying among capoeira mestres on how a capoeirista's general skill level can be determined on how well and fast they are able to execute a Meia lua de compasso. Meia-lua de Frente[ Meia Lua de Frente (Front Half Moon) is an outside-inside crescent kick seen in other martial arts. This kick involves using the hips to generate enough force to bring the foot of the kicking leg across the face of the player. While it can be used as an attack itself, it mainly is used as a poke or trap for another attack. Other uses for it can be as a combination with cartwheels and other acrobatic moves, therefore, working as an escape. Ponteira Ponteira is the simple front snap-kick with the ball of the foot. It is performed by lifting the knee and quickly extending the leg with toes pulled back while tilting the torso slightly backwards to strike the opponent in the abdomen, chest or face. Contrary to the Benção this is intended as a hard and fast striking kick. Queixada This is one of the most commonly used of the basic kicks in contemporary regional. To execute with the right leg, one begins in mid-ginga stance, with the left leg back and the right forward. From this position, step slightly to the left with the right leg, shifting body weight onto the forward (right) leg while the body faces left. Immediately bring the left leg forward, crossing it behind the right while beginning to throw body weight forward to gain momentum. When the body weight is fully resting on the left leg, release the right leg, kicking it in a large, sweeping arc to the right, keeping the leg straight throughout. When the kick has been completed, the capoeirista is now in mid-ginga stance, except now with the right leg back and the left forward. Throughout this move one must always remember to guard his or her face using the thick part of the forearms (as is done in all capoeira moves). Reverse all directions (left-right and vice versa) in order to execute a queixada with the left leg. Raiz A raiz is a type of kick used in contemporary regional. It could be described as a sideswipe with less rotation, so the practitioner lands on the rear leg from the take off instead of the kicking leg. However, in terms of tricking, the raiz is not a kick, but rather an evasive move aimed to avoid an attack toward the legs. The set-up for the raiz is exactly like the 540 kick, but the technique required for a successful raiz is similar to a Double Leg. In starting this move, the practitioner turns slightly sideways at the waist with the arm-swing motion. Once the set-up is accomplished, the first leg is thrown straight up while having the head thrown back. This motion causes the practitioner's back to become parallel to the ground. The first leg travels around like a Double Leg and the second leg trails behind it. The first leg lands first on the ground and the second leg lags behind. The second leg should not be rushed, but rather be relaxed and let it fall by itself. S-Dobrado The S-Dobrado is the generic name for a series of motions that takes a capoeirista from a low position to whip one leg across the floor in a half circle, then kick up his legs and invert onto his hands and then land back on his feet and stand. The S refers to shape traced by the motion of the leg which leads the move. It is used as a transitional move and there are many variations of the S-Dobrado. A basic S-Dobrado can start from a Negativa, whip the straight leg around in a half circle to face the other direction, kick up into a Macaco. Another variation involves going from Corta Capim, then kicking up into Macaco. While inverted, the capoeirista can Au, or stop and do a Bananeira, or even sink down into a Queda De Rins. It is a very versatile technique for a capoeirista. Vôo-do-Morcego[ Literally translated as the "Flight of the bat". This is a flying kick done sideways with both legs. It is executed virtually in the same manner as a dropkick; however, the knees are drawn back in after making contact and one lands on their feet. It would be ridiculous to perform this in the same way as pro wrestlers since landing on the ground would injure the capoeirista more than the kick. Since it is an aerial attack, balance and control are sacrificed for raw power. As with any attack, the effectiveness of this attack depends on the timing, weight, and body mass. It was a very popular attack in past times, but it is rarely seen in rodas today. In the anime series Afro Samurai, Afro utilizes this kick against his opponents in season 2 although it is not specified where he learned this kick. After each set of three hundred kicks Derrick took a minute break and then he resumed his kicks until he'd finished the three sets. Nine hundred kicks. Derrick took a couple of minutes to rest up and then he sat down and took off the ankle weights. Derrick wiped down the floor and the bag, patted it and then he walked back to the locker room and returned the weights to his locker. Derrick returned to the room and grabbed some dumbbells, climbed up and put his legs on a bar and he began doing upside down crunches with two hundred pound dumbbells' in his hands. Owain chuckled at their little workouts and set the machine to 40,000 forty thousand pounds or twenty tons and he relaxed while the machine hummed and set up the weight. Once everything was set up, he laid down on the bench, grabbed the bar, took a deep breath, exhaled and then he hefted the 20 Ton Bar off of the bench and he began benching it repeatedly. Derrick meanwhile continued his upside down crunches, hanging upside down with his hands on his neck with weights in hand, touched his head to his knees without letting go of his hands from his neck, then repeat for three sets of 20 reps, then resting for 30 seconds, then performing another 20 reps. After he completed the three sets, Derrick let go out of the bars, flipped in mid-air and landed on his feet. He then performed two side flips to the right for funsies and he took a few seconds to stretch and relax before he walked over to the weights and set down the dumbbells. Derrick took a little break and then he walked over to the treadmill next to Dolores for a good run. They smiled at each other as the treadmill warmed up to the same level as Dolores'. Once it was all warmed up he was off to the races! After fifteen minutes of running on the treadmill Dolores turned it back down and slowed herself down as the treadmill slowed down and turned off. She sat down and took a break while Derrick ran for another three minutes and then he slowed back down. He sat down next to Dolores and they drank from their water bottles. "So. Hey. That was fun." Derrick said to her. "How long were you on there anyway?" "Oh I'd wager about 20 minutes. Maybe 21 or so." Dolores smirked. "Nice. Nice." Derrick laughed. "So you're a speedster too?" "Believe it or not Derrick I am in fact descended from Hermes himself!" "The Greek God of Commerce, quick to act and fast on his feet, fastest of the Gods, yeah. Sounds like a speedster to me." He joked. "So you agree that I am a Demi-Goddess, Mister Blackburn?" She asked in a faux-haughty manner. "Why stop at Demi-Goddess? You are a bright, beautiful, Goddess, Dolores." "Oh you are so sweet....like candy to my soul. Sweet you rock and sweet you roll." "Lost for you I'm so lost for you. You come crash into me and I come into you..." "Oh you're good." Dolores smiled. "That's from 1996!" "Crash. April 30th." She laughed. "I never thought I'd meet someone else who listened to old music like that here." "Hey I still listen to music from the 80's. I completely understand the appeal." "Oh man Karaoke Night cannot get here soon enough. It's going to be so much fun singing with you." (YES!) "I would be honored to sing a duet with you, Dolores." "As would I to sing with you, Derrick." "HEEEEEEYYY YOU TWO!" A booming voice echoed around the room as a musclebound man ran up to them and posed magnificently. "Flirt on your own time you two! YOU ARE HERE TO WORK!" Derrick laughed and stood up. "Understood sir. Understood. Sorry Coach Brickhouse." He flexed his arms and muscles. "You are forgiven but be sure you don't slack off!" "Yes sir. We'll clean the treadmills right away sir." Dolores smiled and walked around the treadmills to get the wipes. "So, just for fun, do you think some of us could be descended from Mythological creatures?" Dolores asked Derrick while they were cleaning the treadmills. "As in, they existed way back when?" "Who's to say they didn't? I mean, what if they did once, but through the years, they slowly mixed in with humans? You can see it if you look at the people around you. Like, you can see the blood of fairies in the way a ballet dancer hovers in mid air before he or she hits the ground. You can see it in the way that middle school girl never forgets when someone makes her a promise. You can see it in how that one little boy in the kindergarten class seems more comfortable in the forest on that field trip than the others. You can see the blood of dryads in hikers who never trip over roots. You can see it in that suburban grandmother never lets any of her garden die. You can see it in that one kid who climbs a tree faster than his friends, barely looking at the branches as he goes. You can see the blood of naiads in the way a professional swimmer seems to command the water to help them. You can see it in how a cross country runner needs a water break more often than his teammates. You can see it in the way that one girl in your class always has a water bottle on her desk." Derrick explained. It made perfect sense to him after all. Vampires were real though he'd never met one himself. His cousin was dating a Lycanthrope. Superhumans were real and Derrick had seen more enough weird stuff in his life that the Supernatural mixing in with humans would be perfectly logical. Finally, Derrick pointed at Owain who had moved on to a superheavy deadlift. "Also Hercules is working out with us, so, Zeus clearly exists." Dolores burst out laughing. The students continued exercising through the hours. Derrick and Dolores competed in one armed pushups for an hour with weights on their respective backs as they laid down on the ground with one arm on the floor and one on their backs across from each other with smiles on their faces. The One Arm Pushup is an advanced bodyweight exercise that requires a ton of strength in the chest, triceps and shoulder muscles. In addition, a great deal of core strength and stability is required to perform the one arm pushup with really good form.The muscles involved in a one-arm push-up are, for the most part, the same as those involved in a standard push-up. They work the chest, shoulders, triceps, abs, and to a lesser extent, trapezius, rhomboids, teres major/minor, and infraspinatus. To do one-armed push-ups, start by getting into a regular push-up position with your feet apart and your hands on the floor below your shoulders. Then, raise your body up with both arms and lift up one of your hands and rest it on your back. Dolores drank in the view in front of her as they moved in synch like well oiled machines with perfect techniques. Their legs and back were straight as board and their heads were held down in concentration. Up, down, up, down, up, down, up, down…up, down. Biceps rippling, sweat glistening, hair damp, muscles burning. Her red hair hanging down around her face. His dark brown hair damp with sweat. Her tanktop and his shirt wet with sweat. Droplets fell down into the shadows beneath their feet. They had lifted their heads up from the floor and they were now staring longingly into each other's eyes and the rest of the room slowly faded away from both of them. The burning sensations left their minds and their bodies worked on autopilot. Up and down. Up and down. Up, down, up, down, up, down, up, down, up, down, up, down. Moving in synch and perfect rhythm together. They worked out their bodies like this for an entire hour before they finally reached their respective limits. Dolores maxed out at 1,310 one armed push ups and Derrick finally stopped at 1,979 one armed push ups of his own. He reached up for the bag on his back and pulled the 111 lb bag off of his back and set it down on the floor as Dolores slid the 90 lb bag off of her own. They got back up to their feet and took a few deep breaths doubled over with their hands on their knees and big smiles on their faces. Standing together, breathing heavily, drenched in sweat, their faces mere inches apart. "Dolores...that was amazing." "Hell yeah it was. Hell yeah." "You uh, you good to go again?" "Oh I'm ready when you are." They caught their breaths and retrieved the spot mops to clean up the sweat stains while dabbing at themselves with the towels. Once the push up spot was cleaned up they resumed their workouts. Planks, Sit Ups, Pull Ups, Jumping Jacks, Tire Pulls, Various Weight Machines and Rings were used as the various students pushed themselves towards and past their limits. By the time the class was over the place reeked of sweat and tears and the students were exhausted but extremely proud of themselves. The Coach applauded them. "You continue to make me proud. It warms my heart to see all of you pushing yourselves so hard. I can already see the A+'s on all of your report cards this semester! Keep doing your best and I promise your bodies will be sculpted to perfection! Feel free to grab some showers. You've earned them." "You're the best coach!" Derrick told him and walked away to the locker room for a shower while the others did the same. Derrick and Dolores took a longing glance at each other and then slipped into their respective rooms. The coach chuckled and turned on the air fresheners while the cleaning bots slid into the room and wiggled their way around the floor. The coach joined them to clean the room and get it ready for the next group. Derrick returned to his locker to grab a Super Protein Smoothie Drink he kept in a mini-fridge in his gym locker before the shower. The Ambroisie Magnifique was a health drink smoothie made in France by Renaître Génétique, an international conglomeration with subsidiaries active in a variety of industries. The corporation has influence in pharmaceutical; chemical and consumer cosmetics production and selling; industrial machine production, consumer products; health foods; the transport industry and tourism, as is typical for a large scale corporation. Their research had to a number of miraculous creations that rivaled even The Khrysos Corporation's innovations. One of them was the Ambroisie drink that could restore the stamina of the drinker and give them a small amount of enhanced endurance, resilience, strength, what have you. Derrick had taken some under a microscope awhile back and found that the drink was chock full of sugars for revitalization, proteins for repairing musculature damage, calcium for repairing skeletal damage, and a while plethora of other nutrients for improving the body, such as morphine for dulling the pain of the body, caffeine for revitalization and polysaccharides and polyphenols and flavonoids that a greater plantain would to assist with healing the body, all contained in a 1.93 oz, 57 ml, bottle. There were rumors online that a souped up version of it was saved for the French Military but nobody could confirm it. Not a big deal anyway. He opened the bottle and downed the shot and then set it back down, closed the mini-fridge and removed his clothes to go take a nice long shower to freshen up. The showers in the locker rooms were large and plentiful with the same designs as the ones in their dorm rooms so Derrick set his to his usual settings and enjoyed a good long soak. The water was like music to his ears after his intense workout session. He'd been looking forward to this shower for hours and it did not disappoint him. Everything about it was perfect from the temperature to the water pressure caressing him like strong sensual fingers massaging his body as he worked up a good lather all over his body. He smiled as he felt his muscles flex and bunch up at all of the right places. He was in top shape and he was only getting better every day. Derrick cleaned his body for awhile longer before he turned to reach for the button to turn it off. Just then he spotted a flash of something out of the corner of his eyes and he turned around to get a better look. All he saw was black hair sliding out of his vision. Her hair flowed down her back like black ink of a tilted piece of parchment. Derrick rubbed his eyes and he looked around the shower. "Uhhhh hello?" He asked to nobody in particular. He rubbed the back of his head and shrugged. Probably just seeing things. He poked his head out from the shower stall and looked left and right. Nobody there and the others were still taking their own showers. Derrick stepped back into his own stall and focused on the shower and the beautiful woman he'd just exercised with. Her raven hair reminding him me of a Tinted Paradise sunset as it flowed down her back like black ink of a titled piece of fire down a piece of parchment. Scorching and fiery red hair that looks burning to the touch shining like the sea at night, the black strands utterly white where the bright rays fell. As she moved, so did those brilliant bands, like echoes of the northern lights. Orange sunset locks, capturing the light in vibrant ruby hues; flowing in gentle, warm curls of lava to her mid-back. A waterfall of shiny, thick black hair blending perfectly with the night sky. Yes. He smiled and felt a weight lift off of his shoulders. Between this, the drink and the super shower, Derrick was completely recharged and smelling like peaches. You would never be able to tell that he'd just been in the gym sweating bullets! He walked out of the shower room and took his clothes out of the washer/dryer and got himself dressed. Last night's nightmare completely forgotten about after the awesome day he'd had. Dolores leisurely walked into the shower and danced around as she set the temperature, pressures, soaps, shampoos, scents, oil, foot massagers, full body jets, LED lights, radios, ventilation fans, speakers, cleaning function and massaging sponges then turned it on. She bathed her flawless skin in this shower paradise to sweet music as she danced around. She ran her hands down the slopes of her breasts, over her hourglass waist, and then placed her hands on her hips as she soaped herself and let the shower machine go to work on cleaning up her body off her glistening sweat and post workout rank and replace it with the beautiful smell of roses. The soapy suds and water ran down her smooth, tanned naked body. Soapy suds covering her breasts as she cleaned her Amazonian body. Dolores finally finished her shower and stepped out to dry herself before she returned to the locker room to grab her clothes. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Dolores brushed her hair back as she walked out of the door. "Oh man I feel good! Do you guys feel good? I feel good! Feel that burn baby! WHOO!" "Ah'ament saying ye'r wrong dollo, bit hae ye ever hud a normal workout? ye dinnae wantae destroy yer body in thare. " Lucrais MacRisnidh reasoned. "No quitting. No mercy!" Dolores replied to her roomie. "Seriously though, ah lost track o' howfur mony pushups ye did in thare. Howfur far did ye git?" "1,310 is my max with one arm so far." Freaking hell lassie!" Lucrais exclaimed. "Ye keep this up 'n' we'll hae tae stairt cawin ye Wonder Woman!" "Works for me. I will also accept Power Girl or Ms.Marvel." "Whit aboot Serenity?" Dolores shook her head. "I'm flattered but she's an Idol." "A'm sorry. Ah didnae mean tae offend." "It's cool. None taken. I'm just saying you know? Anyway! What's up Lucra? Where you headed?" "Ah hae a late nicht biology class. It helps me fall asleep." "Oh man I know the feeling. I've got AP Advanced Tech tonight though so that should be a lot of fun." Lucra smiled deviously and whispered in her ear. "Mair fin than Mister Blackburn?" "I don't poke into your love life Lucra. Please don't poke into mine." "Fair enough!" Sae it is loove 'en." She teased Dolores. "Mmmaybe. ♫ Girl you can't deny it, when you gonna own up that you got got got it bad. ♫." "Sing it lil." "WHOOOOOO BRO! YEAH! FEEL THAT BURN!" Derrick laughed as he rolled his arms. "I am feeling good tonight!" "I'm glad you're feeling great after a little kiddy workout like that, Derrick." Owain joked. "Just because I can't lift fifty thousand pounds doesn't make it a kiddy workout. I could bench over a metric ton in there if I felt like it. I just wanted to see how far I could get with thirteen hundred." "Oh really? You wanna step back in and prove it?" Owain challenged him. "I've got a class and homework but I'm free tomorrow morning if you want to work up a sweat then." "I'm down if you are." "See you there. Tomorrow morning. Two thousand two hundred four point six billion two hundred twenty-six million two hundred eighteen thousand four hundred eighty-eight ten-billionths pounds. One Metric Ton. Ten reps. Hundred dollars says I do it." "Thirteen and you've got it. Don't worry. I'll spot you." "Thanks man. Challenge accepted." They shook on it. "Seriously though, you were pretty awesome in there for a guy with no powers." "Ten years of workouts and training with my parents, Owain. I'm a machine now. Man, if any of those psycho punks ever come back for another round? Fuggedaboutit! I could take on any of them now." "Psycho punks?" "Looooong story. Lets just say my family has a history of bravely bashing blackguard blaggards beautifully." "Badass man. you've gotta tell me about those." "I'm going to be telling Josh and the others about it tonight if they want to know about it. It is not for the faint of heart though. You're gonna want to brace yourself for it." "I will. Just like I will be there for you if you have some trouble talking about it." "Thanks." "So hey do you have anymore alliteration for us?" Derrick grinned. "When dinosaur is domestic, when drop is downtown, Derrick doubles dimension. Democracy, developer, and democrat are what made Derrick great!" "Beautiful. I'll see you later bro." "Later!" Derrick and Owain waved goodbye to one another and went to their respective classes. Derrick continued chatting with some of the other students until they reached the Trinity University Science Center. Which held most of the Universities Scientific Labs. AP Advanced Technology 10101 was the name of the game and it was going to be a blast going from working their bodies to working their brains. The students filed into the massive science complex. They had it all in here. Hoverboards, Robots, Hologram Projectors, Assemblers, Mini-Teleporters, Prosthetic Limb Designs and more and it was always a wonderland walking in because you never knew just what you would be greeted by. In this case it was a bunch of students flipping around and doing tricks on hoverboards with anti-gravity boots with magnets attached that anchored them to the boards even they weren't attached to them. The students applauded them and moved on. The instructors to their class were ; Professor Nikole Tobias Reeves, Professor Nitika Liliya Laganà and Professor Kobe Zaal Baghdassarian. Kobe Baghdassarian. Standing 6' 1" tall, this indigo skinned man has a wild-willed feel about him. He has a round face with a square jaw, a well-formed nose, small ears, defined cheekbones and full lips. His light purple eyes are narrow, and he has neat eyebrows. He has very short, fine , brown hair which is buzz cut, and he has long sideburns. He has strong arms, a long torso, legs, and large feet. He usually wears old fashioned clothes that are mostly neutral-coloured, and he wears no jewellery. He is usually seen wearing a distinctive neckerchief. Nitika Lagana Standing 5' 8" tall, this fair skinned woman has a haughty feel about her. She has a long face with a softly shaped jaw, a big nose, and narrow lips. Her light brown eyes are large and she has neat eyebrows. Her chestnut brown hair, dip-dyed half way with shades of blonde, is medium-length, luscious and is worn an afropuff. She wears complimentary eyeliner, light eyeshadow, sapphire blush, light lipstick and a subtle foundation for contouring. She has muscular arms, a broad torso, broad hips, and long legs. She usually wears unwashed, matching clothes that are mostly white, and she wears no jewellery. Nikole Reeves Standing 6' 2" tall, this yellow skinned woman has a controlling feel about her. She has a square face with a pointed chin, a big nose, ears that stick out, bony cheeks and angled lips. Her dark brown eyes are angular, and she has thick eyebrows. Her black hair, dip-dyed at the ends with shades of green, is shoulder-length, thick and is pulled into a bun. She wears royal purple blush, orange-red eyeliner, sea green lipstick, an unsuitably-coloured foundation and subtle eyeshadow. She has toned arms, a short torso with modest breasts, hips, and long legs. She has a traditional tattoo on her upper body. She usually wears new, garish clothes that are mostly black, and expensive boots. In here though they all wore lab coats and appropriate gear for experiments. "Hello Class! Welcome back to AP Advanced Tech! So nice to see all of your smiling faces again! I hope you're ready for the big project tonight! Because tonight everybody! We are going to be working ooooooonnnnn……..HARD.LIGHT.PROJECTORS!" Kobe exclaimed to the students in an extremely excited tone of voice. The students cheered and applauded for them. This was going to be fun, Derrick thought to himself, he knew enough about the basic idea to follow it: Hardlight system are a complex kind of projection system that can give their output a solid surface. Depending on the complexity of the projection system this ability can be anywhere between the projection of smooth walls and a solid hologram. Most Hardlight projectors are very limited in the amount of force they can apply on real objects within their area of effect. You can easily touch Hardlight projections, but pressing too hard will let you slide through the projections. Most times this disrupts the effect of a solid surface for all projections close-by. Whatever mechanism you use for your hard light projection, it must turn the light itself into a "forcefield," distinct from using forcefields to hold the light in place. Its likely similar to the technology used to create such forcefields in the first place, utilizing some kind of electromagnetic force of which the photon is the force carrier. Therefore the trick is creating a device that can capture the light in a forcefield to give it some measure of physical force. The students got to work around the class with the Professors walking around and advising them and answering any questions the students had. For the purposes of the project, they had a few rules to follow. The display volume must be air at atmospheric pressure and it should work across a reasonable range of temperature and humidity so that people can walk through the display volume. In particular, your solution can't rely upon a specific medium in the display volume like smoke/fog or "smart dust". The display volume should be open on at least three sides; floor, ceiling, and one wall, so that you can walk around the hologram. Note that it is perfectly permissible to require devices around the display volume, as long as three or more sides are open enough to walk into. The hologram must appear "correct" to anyone standing outside the display volume, including occluding the view of other holographic objects behind one another. For example, if a holographic person is holding something behind their back, you would need to walk around them to see it. The hologram must be safe enough that a person can walk into the display volume. A hologram is useless if it bathes its viewers in gamma radiation, or constant high-intensity noise and stray laser light. Derrick's solution then was to first apply the principles of femtosecond laser technology to the projector he was building, which takes advantage of lasers that travel at one millionth of one billionth of a second in combination with cameras and mirrors to direct tiny points of light in specific directions in order to create high-resolution images. Derrick also included a spinning mirror in the projector that would serve as a medium for light projected onto it. Next, Derrick had to whip up a generator to power up the hologram projector to produce larger lasers to a larger hologram. The generator was powered by a 3.7V LiPo battery. An Arduino Pro Mini was used to control the circuit. Relays were used to control the outputs of the high voltage modules. 10 high voltage transformers that produced around 80,000V each to produce a total of around 800,000V. This was enough power to sustain an arc of electricity in the air to travel around the generators circumference. With the power source taken care of, Derrick placed light emitters around the projector that would excite the air molecules at their point of intersection to emit light in a given wavelength or to reflect light in a given wavelength. Finally, Derrick utilized the same principles he'd utilized while building the generator to create electromagnetic force fields that would surround and contain the projected hologram to make it solid enough that you could interact with and touch it without passing through it. Once he had everything together Derrick put the projector together using the equipment around the lab. Derrick and the rest of the students worked through the class period to put their respective machines together. The majority of the students, including Derrick and Dolores and their friends, managed to finish their projects within the two hour forty minute time. Derrick in particular was rather proud of the machine he'd created. He put the finishing touches on his assignment and pressed the on button. www.artstation.com/artwork/yoJEJThe machine hummed to life as it powered up and the center part spun around while the projectors activated and began exciting the air molecules to emit the light. As the hologram projector emitted a image of himself as a dragoon riding a dragon, the hologram in question being roughly the size of a tissue box, the electromagnetic generators captured it in a forcefield and gave it solid form. "Oh yeah. That'll do just fine." He grinned. Granted a better method would be to compact the photons so tightly together that they formed solid mass on their own but he wasn't entirely sure how to do that in the allotted time with this equipment. You'd need better tech than what they had in here or you'd just need to be flat out smarter than him. "Although..." Derrick crouched down and looked over the projector. Now that he looked at it closer, he had to admit, it was giving him some ideas. Derrick was snapped out of his thoughts by one of the professors approaching him. "How's work going?" "Doing great ma'am." Derrick smiled as he stood up straight. Professor Lagana checked out the hologram and the machine he'd made. "Hmmm looking good. Looking good." She gently lifted up the machine and looked it over and then she set it down. "Good design. Now lets check that hologram." She reached out and gently grasped the hologram. "Nice and solid. Looking good." She turned it over in her hands. Then she played with the limbs and dragon a little to test how well it held together. Then she lifted it up and carried it away from the generator as far as it would go. She got to the end of the table before the hologram fizzled out and faded away and then re-appeared hovering over the machine. "Magnificent design Derrick. We'll be taking a longer look at it overnight but rest assured you're getting an A+ for the day." "Thank you very much ma'am." Derrick grinned. She turned around and resumed walking around the room with the others investigating their designs. "Yes!" Derrick hissed quietly and punched his palm. "Man I'm feeling good right now. Flexing all of the best muscles today!" Dolores' device while smaller than Derricks and it was designed to look like a rose flower bud. The device projected a hard light image of herself in the image of a fairy tail princess with the physique of an Olympic bodybuilder. Professor Reeves giggled. "It seems you and Derrick have a theme going tonight." "Ah? Huh?" She looked across the room and finally noticed the dragoon projection from his own device. She'd been so busy working on her own projector that she didn't even notice his machine! "Oh wow. How about that then huh? That's awesome! I assure you ma'am, it was completely coincidental though." "Oh I see. Well lets take a look. Ahh, excellent design on the projector. The hologram is nice and solid and can be manipulated freely and she's perfectly contained within her forcefield." She carried it away from the projector until it finally faded over the side of the table. "Excellent. Well done Miss Palazzo. You're getting an A+ for the night." "Thank you very much ma'am!" The rest of the professors walked around the room and finished checking the projectors. The majority of the class got solid A's and the lowest one was a B+ based off of their initial investigations of the devices. Though the grades could potentially rise up further as they took the time to investigate them over the night. Afterword the students were assigned their homework assignments which was to explain the practical uses for hard light holograms. A four page essay, MLA Format. For those not in the know of course, the Modern Language Association (MLA) specifies a standard format for essays and research papers written in an academic settings. One-inch page margins. Double-spaced paragraphs A header with author's last name and page number one-half inch from the top of each page. Name of author, name of professor, title of course, date of paper on the first page of the paper. A works cited page beginning on a separate page at the end of the paper. Follow the steps below to format your essay or research paper according to MLA whenever you use your program of choice. Before you begin, however, make sure that you can see the Standard and Formatting toobars displayed on two rows on your screen. 1. Set the page margins to one inch. To set the margins, select File and Page Setup from the Menu Bar: From the Page Format dialog box, set each margin at 1" inch by entering the number or using the up or down arrows beside each margin setting. Then click OK, as shown below. 2. Set the line spacing to double spaced. From the Menu Bar, select Format and Paragraph: Make sure to select the Indents and Spacing tab, as shown below. Under Line Spacing, select "Double." Click OK. 3. Create a header with your last name and automatic page numbering. MLA format requires a header in the upper right-hand corner of each page set at 1/2" from the top of the page with the author's last name and a page number. To create the header and set automatic page numbering select View and then Header and Footer from the Menu Bar: The header will appear at the top of your screen, ready for you to enter text and automatic page numbering: Notice that the cursor is set on the left margin. Click the Align Right icon from formatting toolbar to align the text on the right margin. Notice that the cursor is shown at the right margin in the header section below: Type your last name in the header section. Then press the spacebar once to leave a single blank space after your last name, as shown below: Click the pound sign (#) in the Header/Footer bar to insert the page number automatically in the header section on each page: Click Close in the Header/Footer bar to close the header and return to the document. 4. Enter the first page information. Type your name and then press the Enter key once. Type your professor's name, and then Enter. Type the course identification, and then Enter. Type the date. Press the Enter key once. Click on the Align Center icon on the formatting toolbar. Type the title of your paper, capitalizing the first word and all major words and proper nouns. Do not use italics, boldfaced type, underlining, or all caps to format your title. Do not type a period at the end of the title. Press the Enter key once. Click on the Align Left icon so that you will begin typing on the first line. Depress the Tab key to indent 1/2 inch to begin your first paragraph and begin typing your document. Be sure to press the Enter key once only when you have completed a paragraph: 5. Type the works cited page. Immediately after typing the final line of your paper, press the CTRL key and the ENTER key at the same time to begin a new page. Your header with your last name and automatic page numbering should appear at the top left of your paper if you are viewing your document in the "print layout" view option (from "View" on your menu bar). Click the Align Center icon so that your title will be centered. Before doing so, be sure to click "Format" and then "Paragraph" on the menu bar and check your paragraph format to make sure that the first line of the paragraph is not indented. If it is, change the first line indent to "none" and click "OK" in the Paragraph dialog box. Type Works Cited (do not underline, boldface, italicize, or enclose the title in quotation marks). Press the Enter key once to begin a new line (your line spacing is already set at double). Click the Align Left icon or, from the menu bar, select Format and Paragraph, select the Indents and Spacing tab, and change Alignment to left. Select Format from the menu bar and Paragraph. In the Indents and Spacing section, click Special and then click Hanging. Type your first works cited entry in the MLA format. 6. Remove the hypertext from the Internet address. Please note that the Internet address is not underlined in the above example. However, if your MS Word AutoCorrect option is in the default setting, when you type an Internet address or paste an Internet address into your document and then press the spacebar, the address will become a hypertext link. This is useful if you are writing a document and want to send the file to someone as an email attachment. Then the person can open the document and read it on the computer screen and click the link to connect to the Internet address. When you insert an Internet address into a document in the MLA format, it should not be underlined and highlighted as hypertext is. You can click your right mouse button and then click "remove hyperlink," but the hypertext will appear again for the next listing. To make sure that no hypertext links appear, click "Tools" and then "AutoCorrect Options" on the menu bar: When the "AutoCorrect" dialog box appears, select the AutoFormat As You Type" tab at the top of the dialog box and remove the check mark beside "Internet and network paths with hyperlinks." Then click "OK" at the bottom of the dialog box. (Ahhhh MLA Format. My old nemesis rears its ugly head once more.) Derrick mused to himself. Finally the students were allowed to leave the class. Right in time to grab some dinner. Derrick stretched and then put his hands behind his head as he walked. "So where would you like to go?" He asked Dolores. "My treat." "After all that work, I say we go to the cafeteria. We're already on campus anyway so we might as well get something awesome from there." "An excellent choice." Derrick smiled. "I will take you up on your offer though." "Deal." "Hey so you're a Knight huh?" "Yeah, yeah, I can be a bit of a dork sometimes but I just thought it would look cool." "Well I gotta tell ya Derrick: You looked awesome." "And you looked beautiful." "You liked it? I was going for a Princess Peace ala Wonder Woman vibe." "And you pulled it off perfectly." "Sweetheart. I might just go with that as my Halloween costume. Her or Grace Choi." "Oh, uh, she's that redheaded Amazon right? The one with all of the tattoos?" "Got it in one. I'm impressed. I can honestly just get some tattoo stickers for the tats and call it a day. The rest of the costume won't be hard and I can pull off the muscle look already." "Like a model." "Charmer. What about you?" "Oh you know. Something simple. Like a biker superhero." "Sounds cool. You can tell me all about it when we get inside." "Gladly. It's kinda nerdy though just to warn you." "I spend roughly three hours or so in a lab working on super tech, 'Rick. I can handle nerdy." "Alright then try this on: A Dragonfly Themed Cyborg Superhero Biker who kicks monsters so hard they explode." "Not gonna lie that actually sounds kinda metal." "I know right?" Derrick laughed. The pair continued strolling across the campus towards the cafeteria. "So what are you in the mood for?" Derrick asked Dolores. "Check it out: Chicken. Zucchini. Stir. Fry." "Beautiful. I'm actually in the mood for an Air Fryer Turkey Breast." "Sounds delicious." "Wow that is some good cheese." "Dangerously cheesy but still charming all the same." Derrick turned off the video and put his phone back in his pocket. "To be fair though it was made about 59 years ago. Still, overall they've got some good morals." "Oh really? Such as?" Dolores asked out of curiosity. "Overall, it’s a show about taking the powers of evil monsters and using them to protect others and to protect the world. Riders can be heroes, but their powers also make them the same in some ways to the monsters they fight. Sometimes, fellow Kamen Riders are even the villains. Each show added into the series offers new lessons and new statements to make on the world, sometimes going so far as to comment on politics and war. Some Rider shows are episodic, some are intense character dramas, and some comment on the human condition. In the end, though, it always comes back to protecting people and becoming something more than the monsters that the Kamen Riders share their powers with. It always comes back to making the world a better place and becoming a hero. Riders are meant to be the best of humanity, often coming from someone who otherwise would have been a completely average person. They are characters who face the worst the world can throw at them and who still come out finding a way to make the world better in light of that." Derrick summarized. "Yeah, it's a crazy and wild and corny superhero show but I find that really inspirational." "Well when you put it like that, I gotta agree. I imagine that, when The Capes were still around, a lot of them acted just like that. Serenity certainly did. So does Ultra Girl. Bruiser might. And then there's the guy in Ascension City..." "There's a Super over in Ascension?" "Oh yeah. He's a speedster so nobody's gotten a good look at him but he's been zipping around the city saving people all around the city." She took her phone out and quickly looked it up. "Alright, here we go. Check these out." "That's definitely a speedster." Derrick agreed. "Man that's fast. He's gotta be at least mach 1. Potentially mach 5 but it's hard to tell just from the footage. Man can you imagine zipping around everywhere like that? You'd have so much free time and you could go anywhere and help everyone!" "Truuuue buuuut it's got some problems. You've seen the interviews. Seeing everything in slow motion and needing to eat constantly sounds like a nightmare to me." "That's where superheroics come in. Saving people all around the world would be a good way to alleviate any potential boredom. Do some epic delivery jobs and use the money you make from those to buy food and energy bars." "Okay, so, you make a good point, but to really help around the world, you'd need to be able to cross the oceans. So lets see here..." Dolores tapped on the table. "Let us first try to figure out trivial bounds on the speed of any human who wants to run on water. It is easy to set an upper bound - the escape velocity of earth is 8km/sec=28800km/hr, which is certainly sufficient to walk on water. Actually, it is sufficient "to walk on air." "We can improve this bound by running on water with the speed of sound in water. If someone runs at the speed of sound in the water which is 1500m/sec=5400km/hr, then the water will not react (i.e. will behave as a solid). This is certainly an upper bound. Of course we can get a better bound than this, I wish I could boast of carrying out the mathematical calculations, but I would just cite the sources where I took the general idea from. The force you generate when running over water is about: F=CdAv2 C is a coefficient depending on foot shape (typically ~1/3), d is the density of water, A is the area of your foot, and v is your velocity. This force must equal the weight of the human so as to keep him above the water surface. W=CdAv2...working out these numbers for a typical human, you only need to go 8.5m/s compared to Usain Bolt's record of 10m/s. But then, there is the issue of energy. Usain Bolt can run fast enough on flat ground, but you would need to spend more energy to run over water (similar to how running in loose sand is more tiring than running on the road). Trained athletes can achieve an output power of 0.7kW and an average human is closer to 0.3kW. According to studies, anyone running on water needs 12kW of average output power. It appears that power output might be the real limiter. Suppose Usain Bolt could run 10 m/s with a power output of 500W. And the principle resistance is atmospheric drag. Drag scales with velocity squared, and power scales with force times velocity, so power in response to a drag force scales with velocity cubed. To run on water you would have to be able to run 3 times as fast as Usain Bolt can on dry land, or about 30m/s. Taking into account other factors such as that water moves out of the way of your foot. Also, the ripples left after you remove your foot must be avoided. Suppose you need twice as much velocity which amounts to 60m/s. 60m/s=216km/hr=134mi/hr. We need approximately 134mi/hr to run on water." Dolores calculated completely on the spot. She looked at the videos again. "Yeah he could do it." "That was awesome." Derrick told her sincerely. "You should see me tear through a math exam. Speaking of which any news?" Derrick checked the board. "....Nada." "I'm sure it's fine." "Yeah, I'm sure. Hey, uh, between you and me, if I get some free time later tomorrow and nothing's come up, I might swing by their house and investigate. I'll just look at it, maybe knock once or twice. Nothing big." "Oh mystery solving. I'm in." "Cool. Lets see, there's the morning workout challenge. That won't take long." Derrick offered. Dolores shook her head. "I'm gonna be in class." "Okay, how about Lunch then?" "Sweet. I'll take you up on that and we can get lunch on the way back." "Deal." Derrick and Dolores high-fived and shook on it. "IF we leave right around lunch we should be able to get there and back in plenty of time for class since they don't live far from." Derrick stopped talking for a moment as his body seemed to freeze up. "Uh, Derrick?" "Here. Far from here." He blinked and laughed while rubbing the back of his head. "Heh, sorry, I guess I forgot what I was gonna say. I dunno. I'm probably just tired. I do midnight jogging." "Ah gotcha. You shouldn't push yourself too hard Derrick. Be sure to get plenty of water and rest." "I will. Thanks Dolores." Nicole Noble walked through the doors and out into the cool evening air while unleashing an epic yawn. "MmmAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWW! Man. Why on Earth did I sign up for this one again?" Public Administration Public Policy was nice and easy of course but it was just so boring! Theories and Witchcraft in Asia was where it was at for her. Such a fascinating course. Granted the Professor didn't seem to know anything beyond the basic basics about actual mysticisism, but he managed to make it an interesting class regardless. He certainly knew his history at least. Anyway she was hungry and required sustenance. She twirled a Quarter between her fingers and then tossed it up and down to decide if she should go out tonight or join the others at the cafeteria. She caught it in between her thumb and a finger. "Heads I join the others, Tails I go out to dinner. Maybe with Randall. Oh actually definitely." She laughed and flipped the coin into the air. She was waiting for it come back down when she felt a sudden surge of weakness and dropped to her knees. The world began spinning around her as the colors changed from white to pink, from green to red, from dark to orange, everything shifted and distorted. "Wh-what's...happen..." She fell over. "Okay, bu' see, 'here isn'' much difference be'ween Republic an' English tea. There are brands ov 'ea 'ha' are sold exclusively aw 'ypically in one loca'ion aw ano'her, bu' in general, 'ha' is no' a difference in 'he 'ea so much as a difference in 'he business prac'ices ov 'he 'ea vendaw." Randall explained to Hubert as they were exiting a building after a class. "Gran'ed, I prefer 'he tea back 'ome, bu' 'he drinks aren'' 'oo bad around 'ere. All 'he same 'hough, you need 'o 'ry Jasmine Ligh' some'ime." "Jasmine Light, got it. I think there might be a store around here that sells that." Hubert took his phone out and looked it up. "Annnnnd yeah. The Majestic Gull Café at the Grand Fountain Plaza, that sounds like fun. I'll give it a look." "Looks like a nice place. I'll 'ave 'o 'ake Nicole 'here some'ime." He smiled as he spotted her not too far away. "'Ey, 'ey, Nicole! 'Ello angel!" He called out to her while waving. He stopped when he saw Nicole fall to her knees. "Nicole? 'oney, are you okay? Nicole!" Randall dropped his bag and took off across the grass over to his girlfriend as she swirled around until she fell over and appeared to black out and Randall went into a slide with his arms outstretched for her and he just managed to catch her. "NICOLE! NICOLE!" Randall cried out for her in desperation. "NICOLE! OPEN YOUR MINCERS! 'ONEY WHA''S WRONG? NICOLE PLEASE!" He checked for her pulse and lowered his ear to her mouth to check for breathing. Her breathing was rapid and her pulse was racing but she at least had one. It was also gradually slowing as she stirred and began to mumble something. "Wery out. sto ismof cof it. tof ing os ost. ong. have Unchang. iveerof I bal wrynitong ithance ve sy Wel hary outo hito of o I itosme We Thers We chitof itop outhave verosthitoutong Sop s t. o it. wrsto wre Wee ive ithanco The inive itof f outof celalal osme sme ve Thit." "Hello, please, we need help over here. We're outside, we're close to The Political Course Building, yes, please, we need emergency medical services. I think one of my friends is having a stroke or something. She's talking gibberish and she nearly passed out and she had rapid breathing. Yes, please hurry, I'll hold. Please hurry." Derrick and Dolores were in the middle of their own conversation when Derrick heard Randall's shouting from across the campus and he immediately stood up. "Oh My God." "Derrick? What's wrong? Is that...hey do you hear something?" Dolores asked as she turned her head towards the door. "It's Nicole. Something's happened come on!" Derrick shouted and ran out of the cafeteria. "NICOLE?! WHAT?" Dolores shouted as she followed him outside. "Universe....Balance..." Nicole mumbled. Derrick and Dolores booked it across the campus over to where Hubert was holding on the phone and Randall was holding onto Nicole's body. Her breathing was steady and she was occasionally mumbling something but her eyes were closed and she looked limp like she was asleep. "Oh shit, what happened?" "I don'' knah she jus' passed ou'. I checked 'er. She doesn'' look like she was 'ur'. There's no blood. 'er brea'hin is steady an' she seems like she's relaxed. 'er pulse is steady. She's no' swea'in bu' she's mumblin some'hin i can'' understand." Randall explained quietly. "'ah did you 'ear us?" "I have enhanced senses from a nano-treatment from when I was 14. Along with a few other enhancements it gave me. I heard you in the cafeteria. Anyway. May I?" "Oh sure." Derrick crouched down and he gently reached over to her arm and felt for a pulse while Dolores crouched down and listened for her breathing. "Feels like 60 bpm. Good. What do you think Dolores?" "Her breathing sounds normal. No different than if she was sleeping but we should still wait for EMS." "Good idea. Thanks." Derrick looked over to Randall. "Can you tell us what happened?" Randall shook his head. "I can'' 'ell you much. 'ubert' an' I 'ad jus' walked ou' ov class when we saw 'er walkin. I called 'o 'er an' waved 'o 'er bu' 'hen she fell 'o 'er knees an' passed ou'." He explained to Derrick and Dolores. "I caugh' 'er bu' she was ramblin some'hin incomprehensible. Da bes' i could ge' from 'er is some'hin abou' 'he universe an' some kind ov disrup'ion." "Universal Disruption?" Derrick sat down and considered this. "I...got nothing for that...but it might be related to whatever made me freeze up in the cafeteria." "You froze now?" "Yeah, it was just for a second but it was enough for Dolores to notice. I stopped moving for a second and forgot what I was going to say. I just blanked it was weird. Maybe it's a coincidence but it could potentially be related. I've been through stranger stuff. In which case." Derrick stood up and pulled out his phone while looking around at the other students standing around and watching them. "Ahem. May I have everyone's attention? This girl here is Nicole Noble and she has fainted. We are not sure of the cause, however, we have reason to believe that this is not an isolated incident. If I could please just have a minute of everyone's time, I would ask you to please send a mass text to all of your school contacts if you have them. Please ask everyone if they have seen anybody else faint or pass out and if they have, to please call Campus Medical Services or 911 and tell them what's happened. Please! Just in case someone has been hurt!" He began doing exactly what he said to them followed by Dolores and soon Randall who was still holding Nicole with his free arm. They were slowly followed up by other students sending messages around the school to check if anybody else had suffered a fainting spell or something similar. Lights started shutting down around the campus as Derrick, Hubert, Dolores and Randall were laying Nicole down on her side on a bench. "Oh come on! Now what's happening?" Derrick asked. Dolores took her phone out and looked at the incoming messages. Here in the hallway. Nothing so far but we'll keep looking. -Latarsha Wilhoite I'm in the library and my study partner passed out! What's going on? -Shae Kaylor I just got a nosebleed! Is that related? -Paul Wigton Just stepped out of class to send this. All clear on my part. -Treena Welsch Holy crap our teacher nearly fainted! What the heck is going on? -Elin Zapien My head like it's going to explode! Does anybody have any aspirin? -Cruz Holdman My boyfriend just started staring off into space and when he came to he acted like he didn't remember what happened! Is this related? -Suzann Culler Hello? Cany anybody see this? We just lost power. -Dexter Surface "It's not just here. We're losing power all over campus. I have no idea what could be causing it though. Is it an EMP? An Electrokinetic messing with the electricity around campus?" Hubert asked. "No, if it was an electromagnetic pulse everything would've shut off at the same time. Plus our phones are still working so its not that. If it was an electro, why hasn't anyone seen them doing anything around campus? Plus, again, our phones are working. So it's not that. It's not a storm. It's a normal night out. This is something different and whatever it is, it's somehow related to Nicole's warnings about the universe." A sudden realization struck Derrick like a bolt of lightning. "Wait! A blackout? People passing out? We need to check the dorms!" "That's right!" Dolores realized. "If people are having problems around campus, then there's a chance that students could be laying unconscious in their dorm rooms without anybody around to check on them!" "Shi'!" Randall swore. He looked up at Derrick and shook his head. "I'm sawry ma'e, I can'' jus' leave 'er 'ere." "It's okay Randall. We understand. Stay with her. Campus Medical should be here any minute now. I'm going to get a search party together to check out the dorms. I'll send some of the students your way to help you and Hubert with Nicole until Campus Medical gets here. I'm sure we've got EMS inbound already but we'll be sure to call them just in case." "I ge' i' ma'e. Ge' goin. We'll be okay. Go save 'he day already." They shook on it. "Stay safe Randall. She'll be okay." Nicole hugged her friend. "You're a good man Randall. Stay safe alright?" "You stay safe 'oo. I'll call you if 'here are any changes." "Be careful man." Hubert said to Derrick. "There's no telling what could be causing this." "I will bro. Stay safe." They fist bumped, parted and Derrick and Dolores hurried down the sidewalk while calling the other students to gather everyone they could to help them search the dorms. The pair weren't gone long before Randall heard Nicole starting to moan and stir in her sleep. He smiled. "Nicole! Nicole! 'Ey i''s me! i''s Randall! i'm righ' 'ere 'oney. Jus' follah my voice. I''s okay. You're alrigh'." Tick nicht ab! Tick nicht ab! Ahhh! Sohn einer Hündin! Verdammte Scheiße!" Ramona swore up and down as she leaned against a tree for support as her stomach lurched and she doubled over dry heaving and gasping for breath. She heaved and heaved despite there not being anything in her stomach. "Reiß dich am riemen!" She shouted at herself. She dug her trembling fingers into the tree bark and pulled herself back up to her feet and she backed up against it and began slapping herself. "Reiss dich zusammen. Reiss dich zusammen. Reiss dich zusammen. Ohhhhh. Okay. Derrick. DerrickDerrickDerrickDerrick. Okay. All better." She shook her head and looked around. "Huhrensohn what was that?" She slowly crouched down to the ground and sniffed it deeply. Inhaling the scent of dirt and dust and leaves and grass and plants and insects and something else. Sulfur? Brimstone? She smelled the ground deeply. Yes. Yes it was there. Sulfur and brimstone and HellFire. But why? What could make it so easy to detect? She turned her head and pressed her ear to the ground and closed her eyes and relaxed herself until she was blown backwards by the scream and what a scream it was! It was the kind of scream that shook your bones and knocked your socks off. A scream of pain beyond description and sorrowful mourning and regret. That confirmed it. Whatever was causing this was somehow related to Hell but the question was what? Was there a Hellgate open in the city? No, no she would have sensed that and she hadn't seen one of those since California. This felt different. As if the air around her was trembling. Even for a vampire, Hell should not be this easy to sense. Something was wrong. It was almost as if something was causing destabilization in the cosmic order. She stood back up and jumped to the top of a tree to better observe the city and get an idea of what could be happening right now. She saw cars crashing into each other from a variety of causes. Either from the drivers passing out or the general health problems resulting from what was happening causing the drivers to lose control of their vehicles combined with the sudden blackout. Up above a helicopter spiraled out of control and spun around and around like an amusement park ride as the passengers screamed for help. She tilted her head to the side and watched in amusement as the helicopter crashed into the roof of a building. The helicopter blades broke apart and scattered around the building as the copter slid across the building and smashed into the roof exit and broke it apart. Down below the civilians screamed and ran for cover from the out of control cars. A couple dived for cover as a panicking driver fought against the spiraling car. He managed to wrest control of it just long enough to avoid any pedestrians but instead swerved into a street lamp and smashed the hood of his car. Automobiles were designed to be much safer these days sure so the passengers probably wouldn't be too injured from the impacts but it was still amusing to watch. Especially the ones who smashed into the sides of buildings or windows or the vehicles dropping from the sky. Some still crashed but others managed to right themselves upwards and flew to safety. As entertaining all of this was however she had to get down to business. If all of this was happening here then there was no telling what could be happening elsewhere. She teleported to another tree deeper within the park forest where she could get some peace and quiet and then she jumped down on top of a rock. Ramona closed her eyes and reached out with her mind calling out for their Crown Princess. (Your highness? Your highness? Can you hear me, Princess Carmella?) The City of St.George "Fuck me on a pogo stick" Carmella cursed, she stands outside of an subway cart as she is pulling a piece of skull from an wraith, that she sliced away with her sword, from her eye. She didn't see the fact that the wraith she sliced exploded when they met their Final Death. "That can be arranged!" Lilith shouted from within the subway cart, "And expect Full Futa!" Carmella ignored the Lycan, she kept watch from within the subway; which was sealed off from onlookers while she and Lilith do their mission. The Dhampire sensed Ramona calling her. She never thought she'd be happy to hear from her, give her a chance to be away from The Lycan for awhile. Nothing turns Lilith on even more than adrenaline fueled violence. She steps away from the cart for a moment, she closed her eyes and respond (Talk to me) She heard a sigh of relief. (Good to hear from your highness. I don't know if you felt it but something just caused a cosmic disruption and it hit Whitehawk hard. I nearly puked my guts out, there's been a blackout and normies are losing control of their vehicles. I smelled the floor and the scent of Hell is all over this. It feels very similar to a HellGate without actually being one. Either way, Hell should not be this easy to sense, even for our kind. Have you noticed anything on your end?) (There's this Wraith swarm that has been springing up as of late. Lilith and I have just finished killing an nest of them in the subway stations of St.George.. There's also the fact that she's aroused) Carmella said (Hasn't she always been a little Superaffentittengeil?) Ramona asked (Yeah but she's more of an horndog than usual. So I'm distracting her so she wont run off and do who knows what.) Carmella had just finished texting Loretto to watch over Lian. If this distruption is as intense as she imagine then the last thing she want is her daughter suffering from it's negative effects. And if Hell is the source, this spurned The Dhampire to make a decision that's probably just as risky as the one she made during The Blood Hunt. She never regretted that decision, a friend of her's finally got a chance to live the life that she wanted. She'd do it again without hesitation. (If Hell is the source of all this then, once I've gotten the Lycan calmed down, I'm going to investigate the problem.) Note: So it's Damon, Violet, The Demons, Raine, and now Carmella! Maybe even Lilith, if Carmella could keep her focused enough Honestly, Carmella wanting to do this does make sense. If it's affecting her daughter then she'll literally go through hell to stop whatever is causing the disruption. The fact that she's a Dhampire could cancel whatever negative effects she might have by being near an angelic being. (Going to Hell. The actual inferno. Are you sure about this? Shouldn't we consult The Queen?) (I'm grateful for your concern but there might not be enough time. I've got a team in mind to help us with this. It'll take a bit of work to get them together but with the strike team I have in mind, we should be able to get in and out without trouble.) Carmella assured her. (You in?) (Oh you know I am always ready for a fight your highness. However. I am concerned that I would be more of a liability down there. Forgive my crudeness, but, I get off on pain. There's no telling what being in Hell would do to me and you're going to have your hands full fighting off whatever's down there while keeping Lilith under control as it is. But you are still our Crown Princess. I will follow your command. If you wish for me to move Heaven and Hell by your side I will be there.) She turned back to the city. (Besides. There's someone in this city who's rather important to me. I'd rather his world not end yet.) That was certainly crude of her but Carmella understood. Lilith wasn't too far off from there after all. Carmella considered her options. True, Ramona wasn't particularly stable but she was certainly loyal to the coven. Plus, if worse comes to worse, they might need the added muscle. True, the plan for now was to get in, figure out what was causing this, solve it and get out, but, plans don't always go according to plan. No plan of operations extends with any certainty beyond the first contact with the main hostile force. However, full on warfare with Hell was not winnable. Hell was infinite with a literally endless amount of monsters to throw at them after all. So a battle should be a last resort. That meant that they would need to factor in an escape plan or two or three ahead of time. What got her attention was that there was a secret someone in the city whom she had her eyes on. Judging from her tone of voice, Ramona certainly cared about this person. She smiled. It was nice to hear that Ramona had found someone like that. She had a reason to fight and a reason to focus now. Plus, Ramona was tactical and clever when she needed to be and she obviously understood the need for stealth in this upcoming assignment. She'd bring her along. (Sure Ramona. Come along with us. We could use your help. I'm going to discuss this with Lilith and work on a plan of action. For now, I want you to go out there and help anybody who's hurt and get them to safety. We'll contact you when we have our plan set up. If anything changes in the meantime, contact me immediately. Understood?) (Yes Your Highness!) "Huh. Saving people huh. Not what I usually do. But it shouldn't be too hard and besides...I can use this." She changed her appearance to dark blue jeans, black boots, a black shirt, a black leather jacket, black gloves and with long black hair and icy blue eyes. Death Note | tumblr ~~ Naomi MisoraClaireDeath Note She popped her neck and returned to the street. The first thing she did was walk up to a car where an injured man was trying to get out and free himself and she calmly forced open the door and she helped the man out of the car. "There you are. That's it. Let's see you now." She looked the man up and down. There wasn't much to look at but he was in stable condition. "It's just a few bruises. You'll be fine." "Uh, th-thank you? Uh, wait, wh-who are you?" She smirked and put a hand in the hip as the wind blew through her hair. "My name is Ramona! Know it well and spread the word around!" She turned away and walked over to another car where a car had crashed into a store window. She calmly picked it up by its bumper and dragged it out of the store and set it down in the street. She peeked into the car and saw the woman inside was nursing a bloody cut on her forehead. Ramona had to resist the urge to reach into the car and rip her throat open and devour it. Too many witnesses. To many people around. Besides, her princess had ordered her to rescue these peasants and she would not disappoint. She also had to look ahead. Once word about her heroics got back to her beloved Derrick, he wouldn't be able to resist the urge to seek her out. So for now she just forced the door open and gently pulled the woman out. She took a deep breath and exhaled before mumbling a healing spell. "Sana amplius sanitas est plenus recuperation sic fiat." The head wound healed along with any other injuries she had. As she was groaning and sitting up, Ramona turned around and walked into the store to check on the mortals. Most of the people inside of the room were okay but one of them had been smashed across the room by the car's impact. She smelled the air. He was alive but just barely. She repeated the healing spell and the broken man began shaking and trembling as his bones snapped back into place and his internal organs were stitched back together while his blood flowed back into his body. (Bleh. White Magic. Not my specialty. How does The Princess do all this time?) "OH SWEET JESUS! OH MY GOD WHAT THE HELL? I-I'm alive? How? What happened? How in the world did I survive that?" The man screamed out. "Hallo!" She greeted. "I'm going to keep this simple. My name is Ramona. I am your Queen, bow before me." Ramona stepped out and hopped up to the roof and she walked over to the downed helicopter and she flipped it right-side up and tore off the door. Then she took them down from the helicopter and laid them down on the rooftop. "Okay. Okay. Lets do this again. Fucking white magic. Sana amplius sanitas est plenus recuperation sic fiat." She repeated the spell and magical energy ran through the injured civilians and healed their internal and external injuries. Ramona stood up and looked at her right hand. It was shaking. She immediately jabbed the fingers from her left hand into it so hard that it started bleeding. "That's enough of that thank you. Behave yourself." She snarled at it. Ramona pulled her fingers out of her wound and let it heal right up and the shaking stopped. "That's better. Alright. Come on. Head in the game." Ramona turned around and looked around the city blocks. She could see and hear multiple injured people around the city crying out for help and in pain. A cacophony of agony. It was exquisite. It was music to her ears! But she had a job to do and all great things must come to an end so this sweet symphony would have to reach its finale early. No big deal. The Orchestral Suite Of Suffering awaiting them in Hell would make up for it a thousand fold at least. She jumped across traffic over to another rooftop and began lifting up another downed helicopter. (Well, well, well, well, well! Look at you being all human!) Her inner demon taunted her. ( We both know why I'm doing this. It's the same reason I'm going to go to Hell to stop whatever caused this. To save our Coven. To save HIM! When he finds out what I've done here tonight, what I was willing to do for him, he won't be able to resist me. He'll fall head over heels for me. Then I'll take him and make him mine and we'll be together forever.) (Heard that before. But please, by all means, go ahead and set things right. As many times as you like. Rest assured, I will support you the whole way. That's what I'm here to help you to do. It's… all… for you. ) (I know I'm right. I love him. And he loves me. There can be no greater display of true love than saving all of creation for that one special person. He will see that I am his true love. True, I might have to skin the redhead, but aside from that, we can make it work. She'll just have to disappear is all.) (There you go. Do what makes you happy and I mean it. You know what her Highness always said, if it makes you happy, no one else's opinion should matter.) "Yes. You're certainly right about that. But there will be time later. Right now we have to get to work." Ramona said to herself as she finished healing the passengers. "Ugh. I'm going to need some blood to settle my stomach after this." Derrick met up with his friends at the boys dormitory. The guards inside were sweeping the place with flashlights as they waited for the power to come back on. A few of them were groaning on the floor but everyone looked okay so he knocked on the door and pushed it open. "Hey there guys! Is everyone okay?" Some guards shined flashlights on them before lowering them and one of them approached them. "What's the situation out there?" "So far we got a blackout, people passing out, all kinds of other problems going on and one of my friends is unconscious. I've got two of them looking after her and some of my other friends are busy checking out the women's dorms. We called Campus Medical in the meantime and we wanted to help you guys check out the dorms here in case there's anybody hurt or unconscious in their rooms." Derrick summarized. "Anyway how are you?" "Fine after the initial blackout and accidents." The guard shrugged. "We've been trying to get into the doors but they're locked down and we can't get them open since the keycard scanners aren't working either. Backup generators should turn on anytime soon though and in the meantime we've got the medkits ready for when we can get them open just in case they need them." "Good thinking. But I think I've got someone here who can get those doors open." Derrick smiled up at Owain who simply flexed. "Let me at them." "...Okay, but, ah, listen. We're happy for your help but please be sure not to break them." The guard looked at Derrick "So what about you?" "Don't worry about me. I'm not as strong as Owain, I don't know anyone on campus who is, but I can bench like a mofo. I've got this. Especially if we all work together." "Well heck with it. We don't have any other plans and we could use the help. Tony and Mike will lead you to the upper floors and light the way. I'll give the others a call and let them know you're coming." "Thank you sir." "If you'll follow us please." The guards waved them over and turned on their flashlights and shined them on the floor illuminating the stairs and hallways. "We've managed to force open a few of the doors." Mike informed them. "But you must understand it's a slow process. We've got 21 floors and we're only on the third so far." "Considering this whole thing just happened that's actually pretty impressive." Diego complimented. "Anything so far?" "Nothing yet. There are a few bumps and bruises and one or two students who passed out but they're doing alright. Most of the dorm rooms are empty this time of day anyway but we still need to check all of them just in case someone needs help." Tony replied. "He's right. Don't worry sir. With us here this will go a lot smoother." "We're grateful for any and all help you can offer." The security guards lead them to the third floor where they saw a team crouching down on the floor forcing open a door by lifting it up. The five men lifted it up with considerable effort. The doors were incredibly durable and were designed to resist gunfire and heavy impacts from anyone trying force their way inside and you couldn't get in anyway without keycards coded to the students and faculty. It made very useful for safety but in the rare event of a total blackout like this it made them a pain in the ass to get open. But they managed to do it anyway. After that they slid in a hydraulic jack and used that to lift the door open further until there was enough room for one of them to get inside. One of them slipped inside and shined his flashlight around the room. "Alright! Looks clear right now but I'm going to check the rooms inside." The guard told the others and he started walking around the dorm room to check the bedrooms for any students in need. "Right then." Derrick rolled up his sleeves as he walked over to a door that they hadn't opened yet, crouched down on one knee, grabbed the bottom of the door with his fingers, took a deep breath and lifted! Like Derrick said, he obviously wasn't as strong as Owain Thomas, but he was damn strong in his own right and as he stood back up he gradually managed to lift up the sliding door. Once he was able to get his hands around the bottom of the door and get a better grip on it he spread his legs shoulder lengths apart and he continued pushing up with his arms and then once he had it up as high as he could go he stood tall and held it open. "Alright! Go!" "Huh? Hey wait, who's that guy?" "It's cool guys! They're students! They're here to help us out!" Mike assured them. He looked from Derrick holding one door open over to Owain who pulled one up with one hand without much effort. "Aaaannnd I think at least two are Powered." "Flattery appreciated." Derrick grunted. "But Owain's the Brick. I just work out." Owain laughed. "Rest assured, I'm just here to help. Go on in." Two guards walked around Owain while Mike and Tony carefully walked around Derrick to check the rooms. Now, the electricity might be out but the guards still had master keys that could open any of the locked doors since they didn't rely on electricity. The guards swept the rooms illuminating them with their flashlights. Mike and Tony found a student sitting on the couch in the dark and he quickly raised his hands. "Hey! Hey! I'm a student here! It's cool, it's cool!" "It's alright, sir." Mike assured "The power's out everywhere. We're just here to help. Have you experienced any health problems? Any fainting, nosebleeds or other injuries? Are you alone in the dorm?" "Uhhh no. Nothing that I know of, sir." The student said. "I came here to do homework and watch TV but everything went out. I've been stuck in here ever since." "Alright, son, what's your name?" "Lou." "Alright, Lou, we're going to take you down to the first floor. You can sit down and relax until the power comes back on." "Okay." Lou nodded his head and followed them out. "By the way how did you get the door open?" "Sup Bro?" Derrick asked. "Hi Derrick....wait, whaaaa?" Derrick smirked. "Do you even lift bro?" "I've been asking you that for years!" Owain joked. "Not the time dude!" "You have got to tell me how you did that later." Mike lead Lou down to the first floor while Mike checked the other bedrooms just to be sure. With that one clear he carefully walked around Derrick and he exhaled while he slowly lowered the door back down and stepped back. "Okay. How many more floors again?" "Eighteen more to go." "Cool. We've got this." "Are you sure you're going to be alright young man?" "You kidding? This is basically a second workout for me. I'm all in. Lets do this." Derrick told Mike as two guards escorted students out of their dorms and down to the first floor and helped them get settled. while the room Owain opened up had students filed out and Derrick's friends helped the guards lift open other doors so they could be checked for students. Once they were all set they checked the rest of the rooms and resumed making their way up to the top floor. They didn't find too many students and the ones they did find were mostly just confused about what was going on. The few students who were injured just reported fainting or nosebleeds that they could help them with easily enough. It would take time to check all of the rooms but it would be worth it to ensure the safety of all of the students. It was on the seventh floor however that Derrick started to notice something was off as he looked across a room and notice he didn't see any lights in the distance. "Hey Owain? Could you come here and hold this door for me? I'm going to need a flashlight too. I just want to check something real quick." "Okay sure." Owain walked over to Derrick and reached up to the door and held it up while a guard shrugged and handed Derrick his flashlight. "Thank you sir." He walked across the room while rubbing his shoulders. He illuminated the room and crossed the room up to a window and he peered out of it while shining the light on the window. He couldn't see anything. Normally there would be lights in the distance illuminating the city from the billboards and night lights and shops and businesses and everything else but he couldn't see anything. Derrick turned away from the window and walked across the room over to the balcony door. He fiddled with the locks and the bar they put in place to prevent it from being forcibly opened until it was clear and he opened it up and he stepped out onto the balcony and looked up. The sky was a perfect blue with countless stars decorating it like diamonds. "Light pollution." Derrick said to himself as it all sank in. Light pollution, also known as photo pollution, is the presence of anthropogenic and artificial light in the night environment. It is exacerbated by excessive, misdirected or obtrusive use of light, but even carefully used light fundamentally alters natural conditions. Light pollution affects the visibility of diffuse sky objects like nebulae and galaxies more than stars, due to their low surface brightness. Most such objects are rendered invisible in heavily light-polluted skies above major cities. That was it! Because of the heavy amount of lights in the city at night you normally wouldn't be able to see them this clearly! You would need a dark sky site but the only way that could happen here was if the blackout had hit all of Whitehawk! "Oh shit." He walked back in, closed the door, locked it and replaced the bar. "Guys! I think we've got a problem!" "What's up man? What did you find?" Owain asked him. "Nothing. There's nothing out there but darkness and stars up above us. But if the city lights were all on we wouldn't be able to see them! I have a reason to believe that the blackout could have potentially hit all of Whitehawk. And if the blackout hit the city? The health problems could have hit it as well. It wouldn't be too bad if it was isolated to the campus but out there? In the city? We could be looking at a disaster." "Oh God." Owain realized. "Cars. Helicopter pilots. Potentially planes even. People passing out in the streets. Hospitals could be shut down." Derrick pointed at two of the guards. "Excuse me, good sirs, I would like you two to organize the students downstairs. Tell them to call anyone and everyone they know in the city to check in with them. Or even the people they know outside of the city. We need to know how far this is reaching. Everyone else stays with us. We've got fourteen more floors to check and we can't stop until we're certain everyone is accounted for. Once we're done here we'll check in with the girls and see if they require any assistance followed by assisting Campus Medical if they need it. Once the campus is secure, we'll check our cars. If they're still working? We're going out to the city to help everyone we can." Ramona pushed the feeling aside and continued her work by teleporting and speeding around the city to provide aid to anyone she found who was hurt utilizing the healing spell to heal groups of people en masse before teleporting to help other people. However the repeated usage of the white magic was giving her issues. She felt her stomach muscles tighten up on the outside while her stomach started rolling on the inside. She began to feel light headed and sick with the world around her beginning to spin. A burning sensation started rising up in her throat. Ramona soldiered on however and kept pushing it aside until she finally couldn't anymore and she had to step away into The Umbra. It was peaceful in there. The darkness swirled around her. It embraced her, caressed her and she felt it clinging to her pale skin as she shifted back into her normal self and closed her eyes. The feeling of sickness slowly faded away in here. The Umbra had been a place of comfort for Ramona for centuries. Ever since Queen Cecily had trained her to allow the darkness into herself so many years ago. For many The Umbra was a dark and oppressive world of suffering, torment and pain and shadows that consumed your very being. But to her it was relaxation. While she was within The Umbra she felt so distant from the human world as if it had all been blown away in a freak storm. She could smell the mortal world, to an extent, but it was as if it had been wiped clean of everything right down to the plant life. Her physical contact with the dark ground beneath her was the only reason she knew it was still there. Everything else was so distant she might as well have never been there at all. As if the world outside of The Umbra had never begun or never had been. Ramona sighed with relief as the darkness comforted her. She remained inside until her strength returned and the symptoms faded away completely. She opened her eyes and stood back up. "Thank you." She spoke to the darkness. "You are always just so beautiful. As always I welcome your embrace." She stepped back out of the darkness and landed on a random rooftop. "Ah that is so much better." She heard some crashing sounds and she noticed a speeding truck rampaging down the street. She zoomed in on the driver and she noticed he had passed out from The Disturbance. "Okay, I do not care about this, but I just saved these Bauernschafts and I would rather you not flatten them." She said quietly and shifted back into her disguise, sped down to the street and reached out with her right hand as the truck broke apart every car in its way until it reached her and came to a dead stop against her hand. The metal crumbled against it while she checked her nails on her other hand until it stopped moving. This accomplished she walked over to the passenger side, ripped the door off, tossed it away and yanked the driver out of his seat and tossed him onto the hood of a random car. (Alright. If everyone is okay now, I must check in with Mein Verlobter.) She turned away and sped around the corner and shifted into The Umbra to traverse the city quickly. Making a beeline for Trinity University. Derrick and the others continued through the eighth floor while the rest of the guards were downstairs taking care of the students. There wasn't too many people on the eighth floor but they still had to check them. Derrick rubbed his hands together and pulled up another door. He held it up for the guards to go inside but as he was staring into the darkness of the dorm he noticed a pair of red lights shining in the middle of the room. Derrick let go of the door and it lowered back down behind him. He walked across the dorm room as the lights turned on to reveal he was now standing in the middle of his dorm on the top floor! Derrick stopped and looked around the room in confusion. "Wait, wha? How'd I get-wasn't I just on the eighth floor?" "Hello, mein Schatz." Derrick turned back around and he was greeted by a raven haired supermodel wearing a beautiful dark red dress. The dress leaves her shoulders uncovered, instead it's supported around her neck and flows down into a fancy v-neck. It's a tight fit which makes the dress look smart and stylish. Her arms have been covered only halfway down. The sleeves are simply, yet elegant. A perfect combination of grace and style. The dress' waist is narrow, but it's a loose fit. A bow has been wrapped around her waist and positioned slightly to one side. Below the waist the dress widens and has multiple diagonal layers from top to bottom. The dress reaches to just above her ankles and is the same length all around. She's wearing stilettos, no other shoe would've matched this dress better. To top it all off she's wearing a bow in her hair and several jeweled bracelets. Her skin was pale but flawless. Her eyes a beautiful blue like the ocean. He could feel himself getting lost in them. "Who...are you?" Derrick asked her. "You know me my love. You always have. In your heart. Because you know we are destined for each other." The woman told Derrick as she glided across the room and she reached out with her arm and began to caress his face. "I have watched over you all these years my love. I have watched you grow over all these years and you have become the man I always knew you would be. You are wonderful. You are perfect. You are mine." "I...no I...no. D-Dolores is...I kinda have a thing for this other girl and-" The woman stopped him by placing a finger on her lips and then she slowly moved it onto his own while she whispered to him in a comforting tone. "Shhhhshhhshhhshhh." She whispered to him. "That girl means nothing to you. She doesn't deserve you." She slowly reached down to his hands and gently took his hands in her own and she began moving around in a circle as they began to dance together. Alluringly, she would blink her eyes from time to time, allowing her eyelashes to flutter like the wings of a butterfly. "That girl. Tell me, would she save you? Would she save this city? Would she save the world? Because I would. I will literally go to Hell for you. To solve the imbalance in the Universe. To save this world. For you. For us all." "Hell now? What? Wait, the imbalance? A universal imbalance?" Derrick asked her. "Like what Nicole was talking about? What's happening?" "We don't know for sure, yet, but we will find out and we will solve it. The road will be long and hard but I will conqueror it. I will return to you triumphant and take your hand in mine once more. Then I will take you away from here and we will be together forever. Into eternity." She stopped dancing and she took his head in her hands. "Remember this my love. Mein name is Ramona Morganstern and you, Derrick Blackburn, are destined to become my husband. I made you a man. Soon I will make you a King." She leaned in to press her lips against the confused young man. "DERRICK! HEY BRO!" Derrick sat up from the floor and looked around the hallway. "Uhhhhh what happened?" "You blanked on us bro." Owain told him. "You were holding the door up like normal and then you just fell over. Thankfully I got there in time to hold open the door before it fell on you. You feeling okay?" "I, uhhhh y-yeah. I think so." He shook his head to clear the cobwebs as the daydream faded. "Just give me a minute. It's been a long day." "Ah Derrick meine Liebe, even in this darkest of nights you shine like a million suns ablaze wrapped in eternal light and praise. You're such a wonderful man. One worth going to Hell and back for. I promise I'll stop the end of the world. For the Coven. For you. Then when I return we'll celebrate with the death of the redhead." Ramona whispered as she sat down on the edge of the women's dorm's roof. "However, there is someone else that intrigues me here. You said a girl named Nicole knew about the coming Apocalypse correct?" She stood up and looked around the campus before spotting her down on the bench next to a young man. She was shaking off the cobwebs from her episode and being checked out by the medics. Ramona put a hand on her hip and listened in on their conversation. "Nicole, baby, are you sure 'ha' you're alrigh'? You passed ou' on us! I barely caugh' you an' you were ramblin on abou' some kind ov apocalypse aw some'hing!" "I'm fine. Now. I just...look it would take too long to explain but you're right, I had a vision of something very, very, bad. It happens on occasion. Not so much anymore but it can. Don't worry about it. What's the situation?" Where 'o star'? Ligh's are ou', power is shu' off, we're in a blackou' an' Derrick's 'ryin 'o 'elp everyone 'e can in 'he dawms an' Dolawes is over in 'he ladies dawms 'ryin 'o 'elp 'he girls locked up in 'here." Randall summarized. "Bu' wha' abou' you? Come on, 'alk 'o me 'ere. I jus' wan' 'o knah you're okay." He said to Nicole softly as he gently held her hand. Nicole smiled softly. "It's...like this. Precognition is a form of extra-sensory perception in which one will perceive information about future events before they happen, often by visual means. Therefore, the information that can be attained by someone with precognition is information no one could know without a portal to the future. Prophecies can come as a brief flash of the scene or a vision that lasts for a long time. Most all those who have this ability have little to no control over the frequency of their visions, their duration, what information is shown to them or otherwise any interaction within their prophecies. On rare occasions, those who use this ability can "walk" in their visions and interact to a small degree. Again, this is rare. I...I gotta be honest with you, babe, I haven't had a vision in years and this was a big one." "Okay, Okayl 'ha' makes sense bu' wha' abou' everyone else? People are ge''in nosebleeds an' passin ou' around campus!" "Could've been the telepathic mutation." Hubert suggested. "I mean, it is the most common neurological mutation. This mutation develops a small, electric organ in the brain, which allows for electroreception and the telepath detects the electrical impulses in another's brain and interprets this sensory input into understandable words, images, or other perceptions. All humans have the capability to a limited extent, telepaths more so than others, it's possible that the people who were passing out had unrecognized or untrained latent psionic abilities so they were affected by the same event that knocked down Nicole, and it caused a brief overload." "So you're 'ellin me derrick's a psionic nah 'oo?" Randall asked him, half-joking half-serious. Hubert shrugged. "Maybe? Could have something to do with his nano-treatment." "We'll figure it out later guys." Nicole hopped up on the bench and stretched. "Ah, ma'am can you please wait a minute?" one of the medics asked her. "We're not quite done examining you and-" "I'm fine. It was a vision. I'm fine. There are people around the campus who need more help than I do. Please, go to them, give them the help they need. Send some to the dorms. I'm sure they'll need help down there. We're going there anyway." She backflipped off of the bench and stuck the landing to the surprised applause of her friends and the medics. "Well okay then." A medic said. "Lets find the other guys and divide our work forces." "Our cellphones are still working. Somehow." Hubert pointed out to them while pulling out his own and calling Derrick to update him. He picked up after a few rings. "Talk to me, bro." "Good news man! Nicole's back in action!" "Oh hell yeah! Best news I've heard all night!" "We're making our way towards the dorms now. What's your situation?" "Okay so far. No casualties and nobody's been seriously hurt. I think I had an episode or something...I passed out. Can't remember. I think I just need a break. It's been a long night. But listen, Hubert. I need you guys to look up at the stars." "Stars?" Hubert tilted his head upwards. "Oh my God." Nicole and Randall followed his lead and Nicole covered her mouth while Randall gasped. "'oly shi'. If we're seein 'his 'hen-'hen 'he blackou' mus' 'ave 'i' 'he whole ci'y! Dis could be 'appenin everywhere! "...I need to get to the ladies dorms. I need to get to the roof. It's one of the highest points on the campus." Nicole decided out loud. "Randall, Hubert, get to the boys dorms and back up Derrick and the others. Keep in touch. Once we've checked everyone in the dorms we'll proceed from there." Spli' up? Nicole, come on, you never spli' up in a si'ua'ion like 'his! Who knahs wha' else could 'appen 'o you? I couldn'' stand i' if-" Nicole cut him off by standing on her tip toes and pulling him down and kissing him. Hubert turned around and let them have a private moment. Randall slowly wrapped his arms around Nicole and he held her tight for what seemed like forever until she finally parted. "I'll be okay, babe, I promise. I will be alright. But right now we have to divide and conquer to save as many people as we can okay?" "Alrigh'. You be alrigh' in there 'oney." "You too, big guy." They hugged again and then Nicole backed off and took off running towards the girls dorm. "You ready, man?" "Ready." Randall and Hubert nodded to each other and he raised his phone back up. "Stay strong, Derrick. We're on our way." "Oh you are interesting, Nikky. You're a poor liar but you are certainly interesting." Ramona spoke to herself. "I'll be keeping an eye on you." "How you doing back there, Luca?" Dolores asked her while carrying two students over her back out of the room. Lucrais MacRisnidh smirked. "Feelin' jist line, Dolores! Ah can dae thes aw nicht!" "You might just have to at this rate. We've got a lot of floors to cover." Dolores replied while gently setting the girls down on the floor. Lucrais gently lowered the door and stepped back. The Scott had some impressive muscles of her own even visible even through the campus uniform owing to the fact that she was just as much of a gym rat as the rest of them with long dark hair tied in a long ponytail, strong features and sharp face. She had bright blue eyes that shone even in the dark. "Works fur me. Ah coods use th' exercise. Hoo abit ye? Yoo're nae gettin' wabbit ur ye?" "Nah. I'm not stopping as long as there's a single person who needs help in in the dorm." "Ye pure ur a wonder hen, Dolores." "Thanks. Power Girl." She complimented and stood up. The guards jogged up to them. "Wow. You found another two. Good work." "Thanks. How about on your end?" "This floor is clear now except for these two. Good news is we've got campus medical on their way finally." The guard explained. She knelt down to check the students. "Okay. It looks like they're going to be fine. I'll stay here with these two until they wake up or campus medical shows up. Everyone else continue upstairs. And you kids? Make sure you don't push yourselves too hard. If you start feeling sick or strained, take a break. Understood?" "Yes ma'am. Thank you." Dolores thanked the security guard. She looked around at the other students and remaining guards and smiled. "Come on ladies let's keep going. We can do this. Just follow my lead." She ran to the door to go up the stairs to the next floor. "So we're taking orders from the kids now?" A security guard joked. "Dolores just has that kind of personality. And we're students, not kids." Miley Pierce joked back. The blonde young woman with cornrowed hair waved and ran off after Dolores followed by the other ladies. While they were going through the various floors to find any students in need the door on the first floor opened up and Nicole walked in. She looked over the ladies around the first floor. They were either sleeping on benches, resting on the floor, calling their friends and loved ones and trying to get in touch with them, or being checked out by security. They looked okay but from what she could tell from the various phone calls going on at the same time around her, the disaster was indeed happening in scattered areas around the country, potentially around the world, to various degrees. She needed to get to the roof. "Excuse me? Excuse me, young lady?" A security guard waved her over while Nicole was ascending the stairs. "Yeah? What's up, Miss Phillips?" "We've got people working up there on bringing the other students down and out of their dorm rooms. I'm going to have to ask you to stay here until the power comes back on." "People? Like who?" "Our security guards and a select group of students whom they are supervising. They're working just fine so far but the best thing you can do is wait for backup and campus medical to come and help." "A select group of students? Sounds like Dolores! I really need to check in on her! I was feeling ill earlier and she helped me and I just want to know that she's okay, alright? I'm sorry, I will be right back! I just wanna check in on my friend alright? Right back, I promise!" Nicole swore to her while running up the stairs and disappearing around the corner. "Hey! Hey did you even hear me?!" The guard demanded while chasing after her but she didn't see her anywhere. Just a door shutting down the hallway. "The hell?" "Citius deinde cheetah clamabant ergo leonis Scio qui sum Curre, sicut currere in ventum Non possum ego sum ventus Cum coeperit ea celeritate velocius currere sanum Et fac mecum ut sustentaret ledo tempore adleviata est terra Dona mihi hanc potestatem ut educas festucam fieri!" Nicole chanted and then she began rushing up the stairs! She was replaced by a blur that ran up the stairs like a racecar with the wind rushing through her hair. The second floor. The third floor. The fourth floor. The fifth floor. The sixth floor. The seventh floor. The eighth floor. The ninth floor. There she was! Dolores and a few other women and the security guards were ascending the stairs. They were moving slowly in comparison to her but Nicole was still impressed how far they'd gotten already. (Nine floors. Not bad Dolores. I know I was out for awhile but you really took charge of this situation. That's very impressive girl. Keep up the good work.) She thought to herself privately as she hopped over to a railing and then up to the next floor where she resumed racing up to the roof. Ramona turned to look at the roof access door. "der Überholspur, is it? Come now, Keine Eile, kein Laufen nach Irgendetwas." She assured her. "I'm going to take the time to observe you a little longer before I leave. Put on a good show me for would you?" She turned to look at the city as she stepped into Umbra once more. "I want to see how you're going to resolve this." Nicole opened the door and finally slowed back down as steam slowly rose up and she crouched down on one knee. "Hooooo boooy. That was...that was probably not the best one to start off with. Haven't used that one in forever. Hoooo boy. Okay." She waved away the steam and then looked down at her shoes. They were burnt and torn up. "Botched something didn't I? Shit, I am out of practice." She sighed and waved her hands over her shoes and repaired them and then she stepped out onto the roof and looked around. Her hair was standing on end and she felt chills down her spine. Her hands were trembling and she smelled the stench of death in the air. Something was just here. Something evil. "Where are you? Where are you?" Nicole asked as she squeezed a fist and shut the door behind her. It was here! It was just here! Whatever it was had left shortly before she arrived up here to the roof and she could still feel its presence! Whoever or whatever was just here was strong and twistedly evil. It's lingering presence was enough to send chills through her body as her stomach twisted into knots. A heavy amount of pressure lingered in the air as well. Like there were heavy weights chaining her arms and legs to the ground while a freight train roared towards her head on. It was enough to make her body involuntarily tremble. She hadn't felt anything like it in years. Not since Tempesmere. Whatever had just visited the campus was scary strong. But was it responsible for the blackout? Could it have been responsible for Professor Howland missing work today? That second part seemed likely but if it was strong enough to do all of this when why would it hide from her? Was it toying with them? Or waiting to pick off its prey? But that couldn't be it. She had been laying unconscious on that bench for several minutes and there were students around campus in the same situation so why not kill them all then? Was it observing them? No, that couldn't be it, the presence she felt was far too dark for that. There was something wrong with this picture and she needed more information if she was going to solve this. There were too many questions and not nearly enough answers. If she wanted those answers she was going to have to drag the monster out of hiding. Nicole took the time to calm herself down and regain control of her breathing. She closed her eyes and she spread her arms out wide and she began slowly moving them in a circle as she envisioned her hands grasping the sunlight and the light erupting out of her body. She envisioned the light shining down from the heavens and encircling her. She envisioned the light shining out of her body and illuminating the campus to drag the monster of hiding into the open and burning it to ashes. Or at least weakening it to the extent that she could kill it easily. Nicole slowly opened her eyes and she pressed her hands together and then she parted them so that just her fingers were touching. She spread her legs shoulder length apart and reached out with her hands and then she held them up into the air. This was going to take a lot of energy but she had to drag this monster out of hiding before it could make the first move. Nicole began to chant. "Benedicite sol sol lucebunt deae iussa mei. Sol quaerat amplius nubibus caeli ianua sis. Da mihi lux, lux enim est clavis, ibi erit lux. Verum Fulsi. Benedicite sol sol lucebunt deae iussa mei. Sol quaerat amplius nubibus caeli ianua sis. Da mihi lux, lux enim est clavis, ibi erit lux. Verum Fulsi. Benedicite sol sol lucebunt deae iussa mei. Sol quaerat amplius nubibus caeli ianua sis. Da mihi lux, lux enim est clavis, ibi erit lux. Verum Fulsi. Benedicite sol sol lucebunt deae iussa mei. Sol quaerat amplius nubibus caeli ianua sis. Da mihi lux, lux enim est clavis, ibi erit lux. Verum Fulsi. Lux autem canae Tethyi restituit imperio ad me!" A bright light appeared in her hands in the shape of a sphere that rapidly grew until it pushed her hands apart and she spread her hands outwards. "VERUM FULSI!" She called out once more and a light erupted from the rooftop and shot into the air and began radiating outward. It was the kind of brightness that sears into your retinas making you close them for fear of going blind; a brightness that would make fresh snow look grey and dull. It was a brightness to rival the Sun itself. It was the brightness of a fresh day in the summer Sun, the kind that brought a smile even as you let your eyes rest a moment. It was the sort of brightness that that kindled something beautiful within, and at the same time stirred a connection with the nature around. It was one of those days the soul was so vibrant it began to merge with every living thing, radiating, resonating, elevating and illuminating the campus. The students around the campus looked up at the rooftop as a blindingly bright brilliant flash of light swept over the campus grounds and illuminated the night sky! Throughout the campus the lights flickered on and off until they finally turned back on along with the street lights. Derrick and his friends looked up at the ceiling as all of the lights around them turned right back on! "Hey guys! Guys check it out! I think the power's turning back on!" Owain laughed. "About damn time!" "Did you guys just hear somebody yell?" Derrick asked. "I could've sworn I heard someone just now..." He stepped closer to a window and then he immediately stepped back and covered his eyes. "HOLY SHIT WHAT THE HELL?!" His friends also stepped back covering their eyes. "GAH! What is that?" Diego asked. "It's like the Sun's shining out there! What the hell happened?" Derrick rubbed his eyes and his vision returned to normal. He took off his jacket and placed it over his eyes while also covering his eyes with his arms before he glanced back outside. "Nnnggh, I still can't see too clearly but it looks like it's coming from the women's dormitory!" He stepped back again and closed his eyes while putting his jacket back on. "The good news is, I don't hear anything burning and I didn't hear any explosions or anything of the sort. If it was a nuke we'd all be dead by now. This is something else. I'm going to give Dolores a call and check on them. You guys see if the doors are working yet." Meanwhile, Ramona stood against the wall of the Chancellor's Office. "Not bad Nikki. Not bad at all. An area of effect illumination binding spell that can drag beings of darkness into the light and sear the flesh off of their bones. Brillant. I'd dearly love to fight you when I get back... and I mean that with the greatest respect. Try not to burn yourself out until I get back little witch." Ramona once again stepped back into The Umbra and left the campus grounds to grab a bite and then meet up with The Princess to discuss their trip to Hell and back. Back to the past present! Dolores heard her phone ringing and answered it. "What's up, Derrick?" "Hey, are the lights on for you guys too?" "Yeah they just turned on for us when we got to this floor. The doors seem a little glitchy but at least they're somewhat working now. How are things on your end?" "Security's checking the doors with their cards now so we'll know soon. At the very least the card readers are turning on now. Next question, did you guys see that light outside just now?" "A light?" Dolores glanced at a window and she noticed bright lights shining down from the roof. They appeared to be fading now but it was definitely light. "Yeah...I see them. Any ideas what's causing them?" "Your guess is as good as mine. This has been a weird night." Derrick took a deep breath, slowly exhaled out and rubbed the back of his head. "Anyway it looks like the power's kicking back on around the campus. Um, I guess the best thing we can do is make some calls. Around campus, see who's power is turning back on, see if anyone's still passed out, and who still needs help. Once we know for sure that the doors are opening and closing again we'll have an easier time helping everyone out." "Sounds like a plan. Should we investigate the roof?" Derrick considered this for a moment before answering. "No. We don't know what's up there, we don't know what caused the lights and we don't know if it's connected to whatever the hell caused the blackout. For now we stick to the plan, find anyone who needs help, and keep in touch with everyone." "Good idea. Good point. Alright, keep in touch." "You too. Stay safe over there. Out." He said and hung up and pocketed the phone. "Oi Mates!" The group turned to see Randall and Hubert rushing up the stairs. "Took long enough 'o find you. Are you guys alrigh'?" "Feeling better now that the power's back on. Thanks for coming up guys." Derrick high and low fived both of them. "Is Nicole alright? Are you?" "Alrigh'? shi' ma'e, you should've seen 'er. She's ac'in like she never even fell over. She ran off like a chee'ah 'o ca'ch up 'o 'he girls." "She didn't really tell us what's going on but she said she had to go find the others and get to the roof." Hubert informed them. "The roof?" Derrick and his friends asked at once. "Oh shit." He took put his phone and rapidly dialed her. "There was just a light explosion on the roof!" "WHAT?" Randall asked in shock. "You didn't notice?" Diego asked them. "We were using the other stairwell." Hubert replied. "I guess that's why we didn't see it." "You were lucky. It was a like a freaking solar flare." Clyde informed them. "Never seen anything that bright." Bloody 'ell cock! are 'hey okay over there?" Randall demanded. "We just called. The girls are fine so far. The power's on over there and we're calling Nicky now." Nicole Noble rested on the rooftop and took deep and slow breaths to relax after channeling so much magical energy through her body. "Maaaan am I out of practice. Back in the day I could've done that without a problem and now I'm almost ready to collapse. Guess the mana pool's shrunk while I've been inactive, eh Violet?" Mages call mana the lifeblood of magic. It is the fuel that powers spells. When a mage focuses his mind he can shape this mana into whatever magic he wills, but were he to run out of his reserve of mana his spell will falter and die just as a human would if drained of their own lifeblood. There is a good reason that Magical Scholars refer to mana as the 'lifeblood' of magic, because mana is very closely attached to one's life blood. Mana flows through our own blood. Some mages argue that without mana to fuel it human life would be impossible to sustain. Though some scholars have suggested an alternative claim, that mana is not the fuel of the mind, but rather that the human mind is the fuel, or perhaps the furnace, which generates mana itself! Whatever the cause or affect it's well known that the body has always been tightly linked to mana, and the main source of it. The human body has two nervous systems, the symphathetic nervous system (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). Charging the magic battery is potentially dangerous so the PNS works to cap the total magic stored and the recharge rate, effectively limiting total magic energy available. The SNS wants to gather as much magic as possible, as quickly as possible. In non-combat situations, the two systems balance each other out and the wizard is okay so long as they don't use more power than they have. However, in combat, the SNS shuts down the PNS so the magic recharge cap disappears. Magic flows into the wizard and the battle begins. The PNS does support some degree of magical recharge, just at a lower rate than what a combat-stressed induced shutdown of the PNS can achieve. Wizards have two constant problems in combat they need to worry about: The longer SNS maintains control at the expense of the PNS, the greater the body's deficit in digestion, muscle reconstruction, rehydration and other normal maintenance activities. If the wizard keeps up this state for too long they will simply collapse or die of exhaustion. The longer the magic battery is allowed to charge, the greater the chance of overcharging the battery. For real life batteries, if overcharged they will explode. Wizards shouldn't be any different. Magic is energy and if the wizard concentrates more energy than they can safely store, they may explode. More relevantly though mana that mana within one's body can be spilled just as easily as the blood. When one is cut they bleed both blood and mana. Even the smallest of wounds allows some of the mana which infuses one's body to leak out. It's been well documented that upon death a huge surge of mana is also released. Wizards can use mental focus and control to shut down the PNS to increase magic uptake into their bodies. This can be improved over time just as a yogi may slowly increase control over such things as heartbeat. You can also replenish some of it with a good night's rest. However, the more you've burnt out, the more you'll have to rest to recover. Like I said, it's life force. In a newborn baby, that Mana is locked up tight, and almost impossible to access. As you age, your cells become more porous to Mana, making it easier to access. This is why, contrary to popular belief, sacrificing children generates almost no power for your ritual. Also it's a golden ticket to Hell. Don't do that shit. Back on topic, even if an elderly mage and a young mage had the same amount of Mana stored up, the elderly mage could unleash that force in a shorter period of time - and Power is Force delivered divided by Time taken. On the other hand, this means that when a mage gets too old, they have trouble "holding on" to their mana - it tries to leak out. As a result, their bodies take longer to heal, and they start to take on a more wizened appearance. To the uninitiated, the resulting nimbus of magic seems an awe-inspiring example of thaumic power - but to other mages it shows that the person in question is approaching the end of their life. Of course, the ability to instantly throw their entire Life Force into one very Final spell just makes them all the more dangerous to oppose. Most people don't think about this next part, but it's actually proportional to your physical and mental conditioning. While it does increase naturally, you can build the size of your pool by training your body and mind and practicing. It's like a muscle or a super ability that way. the more you practice, the larger your pool will grow. The reverse is also true, if you stop practicing and stop using it, your pool will shrink and your body won't be able to channel it as well as a trained mage... "Yeah, I get it Vi. I really fell off the wagon didn't I? Really, really should've kept in shape." She laughed and she waved her hands over her shoes to repair them. She stood up and stretched. "Ahhh damn I feel sore but still, felt good to be casting again." She looked around the campus. "Miiight've been a bit too flash with that one but at least the power's back on. No sign of the monster though." She put her hands on her hips. "There's no way I was imagining it. It was definitely just here. I guess I might've scared it off but still, gonna need to be careful around here for awhile until I'm sure it's really gone or dead." She turned on her heels and walked back inside. "Either way, I need to go sit down." She had returned to the fire exit and sat down on a chair when her phone rang. She pulled it out and hit the button. "Yo 'Rick. Power's back on." "You noticed it too huh? Where are you right now? Did you notice the light flash on the roof?" "I'm on the stairs looking for the others. I think they're on the next floor. And what flash? Did something happen?" Nicole listened as Derrick explained the light flash they all saw from the windows. (Yyyyeeep. Definitely way too flashy. Thaaaat's a whoopsie.) "Huh...guess I missed it. Sounds like it was super bright. I got nothing though." "Well okay then. Listen just don't go to the roof okay? There's no way to tell what caused that." "Rodger that. I'll go find the others and talk to them about it. Stay safe Derrick." "You too. Oh hold on, here's Randall." "Hi honey-bear!" "'ello baby doll. Are you alrigh'?" "Tired and hungry. Feel I could eat a horse right now." "I knah 'he feelin. I would no' say no 'o a steak dinner righ' abou' nah." "Salsa Verde Steak with a side of Love Muffin?" "I love i' when you 'alk like 'ha' sugar cookie." "Hey now! Have phone sex with your own phones!" Derrick scolded Randall while trying not to laugh. Randall chuckled. "Alrigh', i 'ave 'o go. Stay safe, Nicole." "You too, Randall. Love ya." "Love you too." He hung up and handed Derrick back his phone. "Thank you but I was serious about the phone sex thing." "Consider i' a free lesson in phone etiquette. Nah we checkin 'he doaws aw wha'?" "Should go a hell of a lot faster now that the power's on. And once we get word from campus medical we can check on everyone...else." "Derrick is something the matter?" Hubert asked him. "I need to make a quick call. Head upstairs without me. I'll catch up." He speed dialed Tina's phone to check in on her first, then the rest of his family. Hopefully if power had come back to the campus then it would be coming back on elsewhere too. It took a few rings but Tina eventually picked up the phone. "Derrick? That you?" "Tina! Hey! Are you guys alright?" "Yeah, yeah we're fine. We just had a scary blackout here. I passed out and Yenny nearly collapsed. It was seriously freaky." Tina summarized. "Shit, you too? Dammit then this is really happening everywhere. Have you been in touch your parents or mine?" He asked her. "Wait, you too? Did something happen over there?!" Tina demanded. "I've been blacking out. Twice at least. But only for a few seconds. I'm feeling better now though. Let's see, uh, a lot of people passed out too, and we've been trying to help everyone still trapped in the dorms, and there was a huge flash of light from a rooftop and now the power's back on. So how are things going on your end? Is Yenny okay?" Derrick asked her. "It's okay. I'm alright now. You can tell him what happened." Came a voice in the room. "Right. Yenny's fine now. She had an episode once everything started going crazy but it wasn't anything too serious. It was sort of like how dogs normally react during fireworks shows." "Oh. Alright that's good. How about you?" "Just a migraine. I took an aspirin though so I'm good to go. We've got sirens out there. Police, Ambulances and Fire Trucks. It's crazy but at least people are getting themselves some help. Which brings me you, cuz. You need to get yourself looked at. Blacking out like that isn't normal. Especially not for you." "Don't worry. I will. But right now there's a lot of people who need my help. I'll look into it after but I think whatever caused them is linked to whatever caused all of this. Any theories?" "Uhhh Yenny said that something caused an imbalance in nature." "A universal imbalance?" Derrick questioned. "Yeah like that. But she was a bit vague on it." Derrick paused before he continued. "Hey Tina can you put her on?" "Sure! One sec!" A few seconds later she'd passed the phone to her girlfriend. "The Lovely Lethal Lady Lycan speaking! How you holding up there, 'Rick?" "Hey there Yennefer." Derrick replied. "I'm feeling well not great but good. This has been a weird night for me. Um, what were you saying about an imbalance? A friend of mine was talking about that earlier and I was wondering if it was connected." "Rambling?" She asked. "Was it intelligible?" "Kind of? She was apparently rambling something about universal disruption but we don't know the specifics." Derrick explained. "But I'm sure it has something to do with everything that's happened. We've had blackouts, nosebleeds, people passing out and an explosion of light or whatever the heck that was." "Hmmm. Has it effected you? What did it feel like?" "Kind of." Derrick repeated. "I kind of froze up. My mind went blank and the world around me just went on pause. It was like someone hit freeze frame on my life. I couldn't move or smell or taste or hear and the world just...froze up. I don't know how long I was out but uh in reality I was apparently out for a second or two before it all came rushing back to me. I was fine for awhile after that but then I had another blanking just a minute ago. I don't know what really happened. I was lifting up a door and then I just blacked out. My friend Owain helped me out but yeah that was weird. I feel fine but it's strange." "Hmmmmm. Say, Derrick, have you ever had these kinds of blackouts before?" "Not that I can recall." "So it's only recently? What about your friends?" "Just recently for me and I've never seen anything weird happen around campus before or to my friends." "So it's all just today. Have there been any visceral reactions? Any major freakouts? Any injuries?" "Nothing major besides Nicole's blackout and talking about the disruption. Some other blackouts. A couple of nosebleeds. Nothing major." He repeated. "Why?" "I see. If you're only having that kind of reaction today of all days, then it's possible that you've had some supernatural contact or you're on a magical focus area. The latter is more likely given the sheer amount of students and faculty that would be effected all at once during an event like this. The more contact you've had with the supernatural the more in tune you would be with this kind of event the more you would be effected." Yenny paused to consider something else. "But it's a little peculiar. If the university was a supernatural hotbed then you would be seeing a lot more activity there. But you said you've never noticed anything at the university?" "Nope. First time. And I've seen some weird stuff in my life. The Farm and The Clock Tower being the worst of it." "I've heard. So, okay, uh, the contact you had with me and your experiences at The Clock Tower could have lest enough residual energies on yourself that it would explain your own reactions, but I'm at a loss to explain the reactions the others unless they've had some encounters with supernatural beings without knowing it, which is possible." "Residual energy? That's a thing?" Derrick questioned. "Well, it's a bit complicated, but supernatural beings give off a kind of aura, which is, you know, the invisible etheric phenomenon/emanation produced by and surrounding a person or object. The exact nature depends on the individual or the object but supernatural beings have considerably stronger auras than most normals or superhumans. The more time supernatural beings, like me for example, spend around normals the more it rubs off on them. Which goes back to what I said before, the more contact you've had with the supernatural, the more in tune you can become with the supernatural world, the more it is attracted to you. Normally it's harmless and will fade off in time, so you wouldn't have to worry, but The Clock Tower must've been a real hotspot if you're still feeling some lingering effects of it. This comes back around to what's happened today. I'm not sure of the specifics of it but this situation could be anything. Let's lowball for the sake of everyone's sanity and suggest that it was a Glitch in the 'Verse." Yenny explained. "It's rare but it can happen. Just a minor disruption between the dimensional borders or the universal order or something happening in other dimensions. It's way too early to tell but hopefully it'll be resolved soon. Trust me, if we felt it, then it's likely that more experienced supernatural experts are looking into it too. It's best to leave it to them." Derrick rested against the wall. "I...okay so, to summarize...this is all a glitch in the greater cosmic order and fabric of the universe?" "Basically. There's no way to tell what's happened but it could be anything from something minor or something astronomical." Yenny summarized. "This is probably a dumb question but is there anything we can do about it?" "No." She confessed. "This whole thing is way bigger than any of us. We just have to ride it out and leave it to the experts." "Soooo this 'glitch' how's that work?" "Well, it's more complicated but we refer to them as glitches for simplicity. Think of it like something going goofy for a little bit in a video game before it gets patched or some coding breaking down in a computer file and needing to be fixed but we're in the game world or computer when it happens and experiencing the disruption. Usually it'll get filled in on its own or by the greater cosmic powers or the supernatural experts will patch it up though and it'll be confined to a small area and said area will be considered a supernatural hotspot prone to burst of magical and supernatural activity until it gets settled." Derrick decided not to ask for elaboration on the implications of the 'Usually.' part. His mind was swimming already. "Okay then. Thanks Yenny. Uh but you two are okay right?" "We're fine now. Fortunately as nothing too crazy has happened yet we can assume we'll be fine going forward. It's a little weird that it's happening in multiple places but I think we should be okay." "Well...alright then. Guess that's that. So, uh, let's see...alright, listen, I'll get in touch with my parents and you guys get in touch with Tina's. From there they'll get in touch with the rest and we'll be able to check in on everyone. In the meantime, I'll just keep doing what I've been doing here. Once we've made sure that everyone in the campus is okay, I'm planning to hit the town." "Woah woah woah, Derrick, you just admitted you've blacked out twice. You are not getting behind the wheel." "Yeah, yeah, I know that but still there could be more people out there who are hurt or need help. There's no reason not to be out there lending a hand. If I can't do anything about the greater cosmic anomaly, then at least I can be out there helping the people." "I know what you mean but in these kinds of situations it's sometimes best if you stay put. We don't know what else could happen tonight. That burst of light could only be the start of it." "All the more reason to be out there." Derrick insisted. "...Alright, look, are there kinds of preparations I can make?" "Well, I mean, you're not all that experienced in the supernatural arts, so messing with magic would be a huge risk for you. So instead, you'll want crosses, a copy of the Holy Bible, prayer and holy water. Also to salt your room. Put it around the doorways and windows and hope this whole thing blows over." "And if it doesn't?" "Keep in touch. I'm sorry I'm being vague but this whole thing is astronomically bigger than us." "It's okay." "Cool. Do you wanna talk to Tina again?" "Please." "Hi again cuz!" "Hi again Tina. So, my mind's blown." "Yeah sorry about that. We're a little on edge here too." "By all means, share the wealth." She laughed. "Sorry again. So what's the plan again? "Get in touch with the family and make sure everyone's okay then make a plan from there. Keep an eye out for anything weird." Derrick summarized. "Sounds like a game plan. I'll call up my parents and we'll get in touch." Tina replied. "How about you? Are you going to be okay?" "Probably not going to be sleeping too well but I'll be fine." Derrick joked. "I might make myself a Lifestream or something while I'm at it." Ingredients: 4 cl Barcardi Lemon 1 cl Peppermint Green 3 cl Apple Juice 1 cl Lime Sprite Directions: Shake first with the top 4 ingredients. Then top up with Sprite in a Highballs Glass filled with ice cubes. "Well damn talk about a situation. Just be sure to be responsible okay?" "Of course. Always. Be careful out there okay, Tina?" "I always am, Derrick. Love ya cuz." "Back 'atcha." Derrick hung up and took a breather to absorb all of this. Cosmic anomalies. Glitches in the universe. Universal disruptions. Supernatural auras. Light explosions. His blackouts. The feeling of being watched. Mr Howland disappearing. It all felt connected somehow but for the life of him he couldn't figure out what the linking thread was. Unable to piece it together, Derrick instead simply rested for a minute before calling his dad's cell. After a few rings his dad picked up. "Hey buddy!" "Hi dad uhhh this might be a bit random but have you noticed any universal glitches going on?" "Universal glitches like what?" "Hooo boy you might want to sit down for this one dad." Derrick replied and explained what Yenny had told him. "Oh. Ah. Well that explains a few things. My killer headache, the lights and I think there were some crashes outside." "Crashes? Are you guys okay?" Derrick asked. "How's mom?" "Oh mom's fine. She's right here." "Hi honey!" "Hi mom!" "So you said there's a universal glitch?" "Yeah, I'm still wrapping my head around it but Yenny said it revolves around a glitch in the fabric of reality or something. Uh apparently this was rather minor all things considered and supposedly it'll fix itself on its own." "Well okay...that's a lot to take in." Leo admitted. "Is he okay?" Josey asked. "I-I'm fine." Derrick replied. "I've just had a long night. Anyway. We've been helping everyone we can here and we're gonna figure it out from there." "Okay, but, you're fine?" "Yeah, yeah I'm fine dad. You?" "We're okay here. We're planning to head out the door now to find people we can help. We'll keep you posted." "Alright cool. I talked to Tina and Yenny and like they said, they're doing okay. Things are just a bit weird right but they should stabilize soon. I think. Anyway, they're getting in touch with the rest of the family and I'm getting in touch with you and we're just generally checking in with everyone." "Good idea son. We'll check in with everyone else and call you back." "Thanks Dad. Love you guys." "Love you too son." And so! The Blackburns called all around to the rest of their family members and aside from some initial discomfort or freakouts from the incident, everyone was okay. The rest of the students in dorms were rescued and besides there being some discomfort and confusion among them the students were feeling okay. The Campus Medics took their time checking the students over and the students gathered around to rest and recover. As much as Derrick wanted to be out there in the city looking for people, they were firmly ordered by Campus Security to stay on Campus until further notice since they had no idea what it was like out there or what the traffic or road conditions were. After being checked over by the Campus Medics and Healers, Derrick collapsed in the Quad. "I am beat." He admitted. "You and me both man." Dolores admitted as she sat next to him. "Are you feeling any better?" "Could be better. I'm mostly just tired. Tired and hungry." He admitted. "It's been a long day, I missed dinner and I could use a stiff drink." "I didn't know you drank." "Only when I've had a really crazy day. Like this one. But hey, bright side! Everyone's okay!" "Yeah that's good. That whole thing was weird though wasn't it? A blackout and everyone passing out like that?" "Well actually...I might know what happened. I think. My cousin's fiancé filled me in and it's a bit weird but I have a rough idea of it." "Woah seriously?" Dolores asked. "What was it?" "I'll tell you. After I get some food in me." "Yeah I'm not gonna lie I'm hungry too." Dolores looked over the students conversing amongst each other or calling their loved ones. "Still. You should be proud of yourself. You spearheaded an entire rescue operation." "Ah, I didn't do anything else couldn't have done." Derrick laughed it off. "Really now? So you weren't bench pressing shutter doors?" "I was just holding them open. Owain's the one who was lifting them up with one hand." "Come on Derrykins, there's no need for modesty here. You're a hero. Even if it's just here at the campus. Be proud." "Yeah, I know you're right." He stood up and helped her to her feet and they stared into one another's eyes for what seemed like forever until they heard Josh cheering. "Hey! Hey everybody check it out!" The students turned to look in the direction he was pointing and they saw the lights coming back to Whitehawk City. Even from here they could hear sirens cutting through the night air. "Well alright then. I guess everything worked out." Derrick relaxed. "I suppose I can leave it to the experts from here. Who wants some food? I'm heading back to the cafeteria." "So then like I said. I met up with the girls and from there we worked together to help out the rest of the students." Nicole summarized as they sat in the booths waiting for their orders. Fortunately the power wasn't off for all that long and the food was still fresh so now they were just double checking their equipment. The food was offered for free on account of how crazy the nights events had been and the students were eagerly accepting them. "And you never saw the lightshow?" "Nope. I was climbing the inner staircase and missed the whole thing." "You're lucky. I almost went blind looking at it." "I'm sorry to hear that." "Ah don't worry it. Just a slight exaggeration. It was insanely bright though and for the life of me I have no idea what it was." "Maybe it was a sign from The Lord." Josh suggested. "To bring us the light once more and let us know we're all being protected." "Best theory I've heard all night!" Derrick replied and raised his glass. He and Josh clinked their drinks and sipped. "Now that hits the spot." Derrick grinned as he enjoyed his soda. After all that he needed a fun uplifting drink like this. "Yeah, sure, let's go with that." Nicole added in and sipped her Chanomille Tea. "Whit's fur ye'll no go past ye. Do you ken what I mean?" Lucrais MacRisnidh asked them with a laugh. "Heh. What's meant to be will always find a way is that right?" Derrick responded with a smile. "Exactly! We hae nae specific destiny against which we can barnie - fur th' fightin' woods be as much a part ay th' destiny as th' final end." She reasoned. "Sae bide it up while ye can! whatever uir fate is tae be we hae a lang road aheid ay us an' we’re a long time deid!" Randall cleared his throat. "Destiny 'his, fa'e 'ha', i''s all bollocks really. Sawry if i'm ruinin 'he mood bu' I don'' believe in any ov 'ha' junk. I'm sure 'here are 'igher powers lookin down on us, cer'ainly, magic an' 'he superna'ural are clearly proper, bu' I still refuse 'o believe in faw'une 'ellin an' precogs. I'm Randall Sharpe. I make my bloody fa'e. 'Here are no strings on me." "My man!" Derrick fist bumped him with a big smile on his face. "You tell them sweetie!" Nicole cheered him on. "Thanks 'oney. Wha'ever 'ha' ligh' was, I can promise i' wasn'' nearly as beau'iful aw radian' as you." He replied and they kissed. Dolores just laughed at her friends. "Well whatever the case, we won't for sure until we cross that rainbow bridge." Hubert shrugged and relaxed in his seat. "I would like to check out the roof of the girl's dorm though and see if that left any scorch marks or anything though. I'm sure the staff are going to look at it for themselves of course but I want to see it for myself." "You sure that's the only reason you want to head over there?" Diego smirked. "I assure you my interests are purely academic." "You mean like studying biology?" Clyde joked. "Exactly! Wait, I mean, what?" His friends laughed at him and he soon joined in. "Okay, fine, you got me but seriously you guys aren't remotely curious?" "I am." Derrick admitted. "But we can see about looking at it tomorrow. I'm looking forward to a good long rest tonight. We can make our plans in the morning." He sipped his soda again. "Ahhh that's good. Anyway. Josh. You still up for a horror story tonight." "Right. That. Sure. If I can handle the blackout then I'm sure I can handle that." "Okay then. Anyone who wants to hear it, and a pseudo-explanation for what happened tonight, meet me in my dorm room. Rest assured though..." Derrick trailed off and gathered himself before he continued. "Right. Rest assured it is not for the faint of heart. A...lot happened that day." The Cafeteria buzzers went off. Their food was ready. "Right then! Chowtime guys!" After all of the craziness of the night's events it felt good to relax and have a delicious dinner with friends. Derrick enjoyed his Beef Stew with a big smile on his face while Dolores happily dug into her Italian Roulade. Nicole had Garlic Herbed Beef Tenderloin, Randall selected Sausage Manicotti, Clyde chose Bavarian Pot Roast, Diego went with his favorite Pepper-Stuffed Pork Tenderloin, Hubert picked Crown Roast with Apricot Dressing, Joshua chose Spaghetti and Meatballs, Lucrais scarfed down Bacon-Wrapped Scallops with Pineapple Quinoa and finally Owain picked out a Köfta Kebab Burger. It was an amazing refresher dinner filled with laughter and friendship between friends. But inside Derrick was bracing himself to them his story. He braced himself for it during the entire dinner party and the walk across campus and the climb up the stairs and the opening of the door. "Well guys? Come on in and get comfortable." Derrick told them. "Our dorm is your dorm." He told them while walking over to their minibar and began mixing himself the Lifestream drink. "Hey that looks good." Dolores noted. "You think you can make me one?" "Sure thing! What are you in the mood for?" "Hmmmm how about, something strong with some hot sauce and sprite and mint?" Derrick checked their ingredients and stood up and gave her a thumbs up. "You're in luck! We've got just enough for one! Check it!" Derrick gatered the ingredients for the drink while the ladies watched him. First! He poured one tbsp of sugar into the glass. Second! He dropped in a Mint and muddled it with the muddled it with the Native Spring Muddler until it was nice and muddled down. Third! He measured one point five ounces of Bacardi and poured it in. Fourth! He measured point five ounces of Midori and poured that in. Fifth! He added in the ice. Sixth! Poured in the Sprite to fill up the glass. Seventh! He added in a touch of Hot Sauce. Eighth! He garnished with a mint. Ninth! He added in a straw and a red rose to match Dolores' red flowing hair. "Your drink is served fair maiden." "Thank you very much sir." She grinned and took a sip. "Mmmmmmhmhmhmmm! Now this is amazing!" Derrick sat down next to her and they clinked their glasses before drinking again. (Smoooooth bro.) Hubert nodded.
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Post by SuperKamiGuy1 on Oct 1, 2020 1:06:39 GMT
"Sooo uh which topic should we discuss first?" Josh asked the gang.
"Well, uhm...if it's okay with you guys...I would like to get the hard part over with first." Derrick responded. "I should warn you though: This isn't a happy story."
"If you feel it would be easiest for you to discuss that first, then we can talk about it. When you're ready." Nicole assured him.
"Take your time man. No rush." Owain assured him.
Derrick took a whole minute to gather himself and took a deep breath and slowly blew it out. He sipped his drink and then set it down on a coaster. "Okay. So, first things first, you have to know...that this isn't a happy story. People died that day." He let that sink in before contining. "Okay. Lets begin. It all started...with a road trip." With that Derrick began his story of The Brannon Farm.
"I...should warn you guys again. This isn't going to pleasant. People died and it was an absolute nightmare. I'm sorry but as much as I wish it otherwise, it happened." Derrick let this sink in to see if they were fine with it before he began his story.
"It was ten years ago. We were all on break and my family and I decided to go on a road trip to my grandmother's house. It was me, my dad, mom, my grandpa, my aunts, my uncle and my cousin. We didn't expect any problems, it was a road trip, just a road trip but there were a lot of them right off the bat. In hindsight we probably should've taken those at warning signs. There was a lot of road trouble right off the bat so we had to take some alternate routes and we wound up in a smalltown in the country. We were planning to just pass through to get back to the road. It was fine. At first. A lot of nice people. Good food." (Cute waitress.) "They were friendly and helpful and gave us directions to get back to the road. What we didn't realize was that some really scummy people had their eyes on us and had a scout sitting in the restaurant waiting in case we showed up and he called ahead to his friends. It wasn't long after we got back on the road when these souped up trucks, armored, modified 18 wheelers I believe, came after us. They rammed us and tried to run us off the road but we got away. At first. Then, and get this, we ran over a spike trap. A freaking spike trap! It destroyed our cars tires. So after that my dad set out to solve the problem himself. I've told you he's Powered right? Right. So, ah, his powers could be summarized as Firearm Manifestation. He creates solid matter in the form of firearms out of solidified energy he generates from his body. That same internal energy functions as the ammunition. He's extremely powerful. He used blasts from his guns to take out the trucks and then the small army of guys that were in the trucks that came out after armed to the teeth..."
"Woah, woah, woah. Wait, Derrick...by took them out...do you mean what I think you mean?" Joshua asked him.
"Yeah. My dad is a soldier Josh and besides that, there was an army of them and barely any of us. They were heavily armed and we weren't. He did what he had to do to keep us safe. He killed them." Derrick paused before continuing. "For what it's worth I hate this next part...he tried to keep a couple alive to question them but then they were sniped and murdered by their own men. We had to turn the car over and slide it forward, using the armor of the car to protect us as we drew their fire so my dad could drop them with a manifested sniper rifle of his own. He took out one of them and blasted the arm of the other. My parents and my aunt...questioned him. They discovered that he was working for a cannibalistic human trafficking ring who wanted to abduct me, sell me, kill my family and grind them up. Before you ask, I don't know either. These people were psycho." He shook his head and took another sip. "They filmed his confession and put it online in social media all over the place along with sending it to some friends and family, whom they also called up just in case."
"We informed the police of course but that...didn't pan out. Turns out the officers we thought had come to help us were working for them too!" He rubbed his head. "They killed the sniper for talking, put guns to mine and my cousin's heads, and forced my family to surrender. Then they shot my dad and beat my family with electric batons and hauled us into their vehicles for transport."
He paused and then continued.
"We were taken to Brannon Farm. Cannibal Farm. Hell on Earth as I've ever seen it. There were these...lunatics there. The entire farm was insane. All the farmhands were wearing these freaky animal masks. We couldn't see their faces. After mentally torturing us some more, we were split up. My cousin and I were taken to one house and locked up in cages to wait for selling. My dad was taken to something called a torture house. My uncle and grandpa were taken to be ground up and my mom and my aunts were taken to a Guest House to wait to be taken to the chopping house."
Derrick downed nearly the whole drink before he continued.
"They beat us up a bit before throwing us in there but it still didn't break us. See...my family...we're prepared for these kinds of things. We had lockpicks in a hidden pocket sewn into our pants and skirts and whatever else we're wearing down there...so. After we endured the insanity and death threats from the stoners they had guarding us, we waited for our chance and took out the lockpicks and escaped the cuffs and then the cages. Then when they came back in with another guy...we sprung into action. It was the two of us against three adults. We got our butts kicked pretty bad but we won. We won. We...w-we...we knocked them out. And then my dad and my uncle came back. They'd escaped and fought through entire armies to get back to us."
"Wait a minute A thoucht ye says yer dad wis shot?"
"He was. Several times. Didn't stop him. He cauterized his wounds and while it wasn't perfect obviously but it kept him going. My grandpa was okay too. Relatively speaking. They were all pretty beat up. We also learned that my mom and aunts were okay too. Though they had to fight an army of their own."
"Good Lord. How many people were at this freaking farm?" Joshua asked.
"A lot. At least two hundred. Maybe more. Anyway, we freed the other prisoners and learned from my uncle Alessandro that they'd freed people too. Except those other people weren't trapped in cages. They'd been trapped in a meatlocker to freeze with the stored ground up human meat. We did the best we could for them and armed everyone we could...by stealing the guns from the bad guys they'd killed and then we holed up in the Guest House. Since my Aunt Gloria was incapacitated at the time, we let her rest in a bedroom after my mom treated her wounds. We used the time we had to make weapons. Molotov Cocktails, Nail Bats, Knife Bats, Smoke Bombs and whatever else we could manage to put together. Then we set up some psychological warfare and barricaded the place."
He sipped some more of his drink.
"I should probably talk about the Brannons themselves. They were Powered too. All of them. Get this. They were Regenerating-Bricks who fueled their powers by eating human flesh. Apparently they could pretty much anything and absorb it into their bodies. Consumptive Absorption and Digestive Assimilation I believe are the terms. And they were strong. They were strong as hell. Not crazy strong like Owain or that kid over in Serenity but more like....Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers strong. With borderline Deadpool level Regeneration. They were absolute wrecking machines and they took forever to put down." He sighed and leaned back in his chair.
"My dad took one out by blasting him apart so there wasn't anything left to regenerate from and my uncle and my grandpa Argos beat the other by destroying his head repeatedly and...uhhhh you know what? I'm going to save your sanity annnd just say they did enough damage to him that he couldn't regenerate. Trust me, you don't wanna know."
"But anyway, the rest of the family gathered together, broke through the barricade and we unloaded on them but then two others broke in. One through a window and the other through a ceiling and all hell broke loose in that Guest House. It was a warzone. A full on warzone. The Blackburns VS The Brannons. While my family was going insane on a family of super strong regenerators who refused to go down, Tina and I decided that if we couldn't join the fight, then we would escape."
"Get this. We used the old bedsheet trick. Bedsheets and blankets and towels and pants and whatever else we could use to form a long rope and we gathered the locker civilians with us and helped out anyone who couldn't fight and we escaped the Guest House while the fight was going on. Our goal was to escape to the Mansion and wait out the fight and rest but just as we were getting out of there, my Aunt Michelle, Tina's mom, was knocked out of a window by Thaddeus Brannon, the lunatic leader of the cannibals. She was down and out. Soooo....we improvised. It was raining and misting and fogging everywhere. So we used mudballs and running and hiding from him to stay alive until I could trick him into following me back into the Guest House." Derrick rubbed his arm. "It could've gone better. I admit. I was improvising on the fly the whole time right? So, what I did was, throw a ton of alcohol bottles at him, because The Guest House was loaded with it in every room and of course that didn't do anything. But I also got some of it on a blanket but he grabbed me, slammed me against a wall and broke my arm....wrong arm though. It hurt like absolute hell but he made a mistake by breaking the wrong arm and I lit up a flamethrower lighter I had taken from the potheads and I lit it up and I lit up the alcohol covering him and I set him on fire. I barbecued him. Then I threw the blanket on him and set him even more on fire along with the room. Then I waited for the right moment and threw the nailbat at the window and ran to the next one as the backdraft fried him."
"Woah woah woah woah!" Joshua raised his hands. "You're telling me you set a man on fire? You? You blew him up? You incinerated him?! Are you serious right now?"
"Correct."
"What..but..how can...you what? B-but...how are you...okay with that?"
"...Didn't kill him."
You're kiddin me! 'E kep' comin af'er you even af'er all ov 'ha'? Like a Termina'aw?" Randall asked in shock.
"Even after all that. He's a regenerator remember? You've seen the kinds of things they can shrug off on TV." He sipped more of his drink. "So. I knew he'd be coming at me again so I did the same as before. I took a blanket and sheets and poured booze all over them and threw them down on the ground to wait for him. He walked right out of that inferno wreathed in flames but fell down on the blanket and I set it and him even more on fire until the lighter ran out of fuel. Then I ran. He still kept coming after me though and I was out of tricks. I had nothing left. No weapons and no ideas. I was just a fourteen year old kid with a broken arm staring down a virtually immortal cannibal. Fortunately for me, he was still on fire. Like, seriously, seriously on fire. Covered up in fire and I don't know if you've ever been on fire but it makes it hard to see. Because you're covered in flames. Now, granted, his flesh was apparently regenerating the whole time, but that also meant his eyes were having to do the same thing so he couldn't see me clearly. So I outmaneuvered him instead and I ran like hell. I did mention the hallway was on fire right? Well, yeah, it was. But it was either that or certain death if he grabbed me. So I chose almost certain death and burning pain over certain death and burning pain." He shrugged. "I ran through fire. It hurt in words I can't really describe but fortunately it was still raining outside and we had a real freaking downpour going and it saved my life. I was still burned but then that lifesaving rain put it out after I rolled around in it. On top of my broken burned arm. That sucked."
Derrick took a break to go make himself another drink before coming back and finishing his story. "All that and it still didn't stop Thaddeus. My mom had to destroy his head with a freaking magnum to stop him. Afterword, the inferno swiftly began consuming the rest of the house. Fortunately, they'd already beaten the rest of them by then and we reunited in the Mansion. About that time, a large amount of our extended family showed up. We were all beaten to hell and back but we'd won....and then the last of the Brannons showed up and tried to shoot me and my family unloaded on him with all of the ammo they had left and the extra ammo our family brought to finish him off."
He sipped his drink.
"Then after that, we went to the hospital and after a nice long rest we recovered and my family made some calls and we got some nanite-upgrades. We needed some more bedrest from that as our bodies healed up and powered up. We learned later that Thaddeus' assistant had left with two kids of the Brannon Family to escape to safety...the police never found them but they found the assistant. In a motel room shower. With a hole in her chest."
"Nobody knows what happened. The dirty cops and the surviving farmhands were arrested and their documents and evidence of their crimes and business associates were also found and it blew open a giant case that the government and feds looked into to find more of the crazies and lock them up." Derrick sipped his drink. "Sooo yeah. There it is. That's it. The worst day of my life that lead into more nightmares down the road. But those....those are stories for another time." He set down his drink and crossed his legs and arms. "So! There it is. All out in the open. Feel free to voice your opinions on it, on them and on us. I won't judge you."
Dolores didn't even need to wait before she leaned over and embraced him gently. "I remember...hearing about it on the news before but...God, Derrick, I can't even imagine what that must've been like for you. I'm so sorry you and your family had to endure that."
Derrick closed his eyes and held her gently.
"Thanks Dolores. It was, well, calling it a nightmare is a bit of an understatement but that's the best way to describe it. Except it was real. So many people died there..." He trailed off and shook his head. (Including the one I killed.) Derrick noted internally.
"Ye huv a go tae gang fur a crakin' roadtrip wi' yer fowk tae yer grandmother's hoose 'n' then an airmie o' psychopaths huv a go tae slaughter ye a' fur fairn 'n' dosh? Dae ah hae that richt?" Lucrais MacRisnidh questioned.
"Basically." He confessed.
The Brazilian-Scottish Transfer Student shook her head and brushed back of her hair with her hand as she took all of this in. "Damn. If that's nae messed up then a dinnae ken whit's."
"It was the literal definition of a FUBAR'd situation."
She put her chin in her palm and her elbow on her leg. "Sae stoatin a multytude 'n' as thay flee the Grekes a stoatin pace ne cease nae (at a stoatin pace ceased not) to sae oan th' chase stowed oot hastely tae th' castell gate 'n' entre in and by cruell fate thay kyll 'n' slee (slay) both heich 'n' lowe thay hain none." She quoted from John Lydgate’s English translation of the History, Siege and Destruction of Troy. "Fate is a pure nasty mistress, Derry."
"How mighty a master is fate!" Derrick replied. "I wish she'd lose my number though."
A couple of his friends chuckled a little at his attempts at lightening the mood.
"So what about you Josh? Come on, you can say what's on your mind. No judgments here, bro."
"Well...this is all a lot to take in, but, well, I'd say it's unfortunate that people had to die at all, the criminals and the innocents, but I can understand why you did what you did. It's unfortunate to say but you didn't get to talk them down and even if you tried they wouldn't have listened. So I understand that you did what you did out of self-defense. I'm sorry you had to go through all of that, Derrick. You and your family. I'd wish that they would repent their sins in prison but given what happened...I'm pretty sure they're paying for their crimes in hell right now and that the souls of their victims can find peace in the arms of the Lord. So like I said, I'm sorry you had to go through all of that, but I'm glad you're still here with us Derrick, and thank you for sharing with us."
Derrick's smile returned. "You're a good man Josh."
"Did you guys know about this?" Owain asked curiously.
"Yeah. Derrick told us all about it early on once we were all acquainted with each other." Clyde admitted. "We kept it between us since it wasn't our place to talk about it. It's his. We figured he'd tell you guys when he was good and ready. It's not easy but talking about it with other people can help you."
"He's right." Nicole agreed. "As painful as an event in your past like that can be, talking it over with friends and loved ones can help the healing process. Derrick, I'm proud of you for sharing this with us and that you would trust us with secrets like this. No judgments. We're just glad you're here with us."
"Thanks you guys." Derrick wiped his eyes. "That really does mean a lot to me."
Maybe...maybe one day he would tell them. About the axe. And the corpse. About the man he killed that day. But not today. Not right now. Later. When the time was right, he'd confess.
But right now he just wanted to enjoy this evening with his friends.
"So i 'ake i' 'ha''s 'he reason you've bin 'rainin your body so 'ard 'he las' 'en years? So you wouldn'' 'ave 'o feel 'elpless again?" Randall asked Derrick.
"Yeah. I spent ten years putting my body through hell and learning various forms of combat and survival tactics from my family and some friends of theirs. As strong as I am now, I'm confident I could take on any one of the Brannons and have a decent shot at winning." He grinned. "Their regeneration would be a problem, sure, but so long as I keep hammering the vulnerable parts of the body, I'd be fine. Besides, I've got a few secrets of my own."
"Oh really? Like what?"
Derrick stood up and brushed off his clothes and struck a pose. "Body Armor for one. I've had armor woven into my clothing since that day. Ditto for my cousin Tina. I'm not invulnerable of course but it gives a measure of protection from bullets, blades, flames and impacts. All things that threatened us back at the farm and afterword."
"Wait, seriously? You're wearing armor? Even in your school uniform?" Dolores asked.
"You bet. I've even got a Kevlar Backpack. You know, just in case. I can take that thing anywhere and be just fine. Hell, I even keep it with me when I'm hiking because it's just that convenient."
Owain burst out laughing. "Oh man look at you! You're a brick in all but name now! Trinity University's Knight In Shining Armor."
"Coming from a genuine Brick like you, that means a lot." He downed the rest of his drink. "Alright I think I've had enough of these for tonight. Dolores, how's yours?"
"Just perfect."
"Thank you and you are very welcome." Derrick bowed and then picked up his glass and walked off to the sink, emptied it, cleaned it out and put it in the washer.
"So what are your other secrets?"
"My sick martial arts skills, improved physical abilities and weapons training. Obviously I can't bring any of them into the campus itself, nor do I have any intention to ever do so, but I do have some weapons in my car in case there's ever an emergency. A collapsible sword, a collapsible baton, a handcannon, a flare gun, a flamethrower lighter, and some other tools." Derrick summarized. "I hope I never have to use them but if it ever becomes necessary then I'm ready."
"Wow."
"Yeah."
"About the farm though." Joshua crossed his arms and legs. "Weren't there other members of their family? Like a mother or relatives? What happened to them?"
"There were but we learned later that they were on a cannibal cruise line that served human meat to their guests. Thankfully though they were discovered and captured by the feds soon after the Brannon Farm was blown open. Suffice to say, everyone on board was arrested. We only met them later during the big trial. The old woman's name was Dolly-Dawn Henrietta Brannon. She was every bit as crazy as you'd expect but thanks to the restraints she couldn't do much besides threaten us anyway." He shrugged. "Long story short, she and the rest of her family and co-conspirators were sentenced to Death Row and locked up. I'm pretty sure she's dead by now anyway. Unfortunately, neither she, nor her daughters, knew anything about the lunatic they tried to sell me too. All we know is that she went by the alias Miss R. That's all anybody knew about her. She wasn't in the communication logs or any other information they had either. It was weird." He walked back over to the sofa and sat back down. "But enough about those monsters. Lets contemplate the universe instead." Derrick offered and summarized what Yennefer had told him about the universal glitch the best he could.
(On sonnova bitch! I knew it!) Nicole realized internally. (I'm grateful it was over with quickly but I feel like there was something more going on with that than anybody realizes. It felt way too serious for such a momentary glitch.)
"Nikki? You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Dolores noticed.
"Ahhh me? Huh? Oh, no, it's nothing. Sorry. Just a lot to take in all at once." Nicole assured them.
"You're telling me." Hubert crossed his leg and looked up at the ceiling. "A glitch in the universe? Like the Mandela Effect?"
"If you're referring to the unconscious manufacture of fabricated or misinterpreted memories which is often called confabulation, then no. False memories occur in a number of ways. For instance, the Deese-Roediger and McDermott paradigm demonstrates how learning a list of words that contain closely related items – such as “bed” and “pillow” – produces false recognition of related, but non presented words – such as “sleep”. Memory inaccuracy can also arise from what’s known as “source monitoring errors”. These are instances where people fail to distinguish between real and imagined even. US professor of psychology, Jim Coan, demonstrated how easily this can happen using the “Lost in the Mall” procedure. This saw Coan give his family members short narratives describing childhood events. One, about his brother getting lost in a shopping mall, was invented. Not only did Coan’s brother believe the event occurred, he also added additional detail. When cognitive psychologist and expert on human memory, Elizabeth Loftus, applied the technique to larger samples, 25% of participants failed to recognize the event was false." Derrick explained. "Buuut I suppose the possibility of parallel dimensions colliding isn't entirely impossible considering everything I've seen, the bizarreness of our world and tonight's revelations."
Dolores sipped her drink with an impressed look on her face.
"Okay yeah, I was leaning towards the second one but that's a good point. There are a bunch of parallel realities out there, and any time an event is observed in any of them, that universe branches to spawn a whole slew of new realities, one for each possible outcome of the observation. This process of universes birthing universes repeats itself ad infinitum. All other worlds are as real as our world, and they've all been around since the beginning of time. For example. Can I have a drink?" Hubert asked.
"Sure. What are you in the mood for?"
"Pumpkin King Shot."
"I'll see if we have the ingredients. Anybody else? I'm taking requests as long as the ingredients last!"
Naturally all of their hands shot up. Derrick smirked. "Challenge accepted. Upsy-daisy!" He backflipped over the couch and returned to the mini-bar.
"See now, that was how one such version of that order could have gone. In the infinite parallel worlds that resulted form that order I ordered an infinite number of different drinks and there were an infinite number of Derrick's responses with an infinite number of replies from me and so on and so forth. Which means there was an infinite number of times he slipped and hit his head after that flip."
"Word to the wise Hubert. Never taunt your bartender!" Derrick called back to him with a smile while mixing the Pumpkin King.
"Noted!"
"Where'd you learn to mix anyway man?" Owain asked him.
"My mom. My dad doesn't drink out of fear for what could happen with his powers if he gets drunk so my mom taught me. Among her many other talents she's also a mixologist." He put the shots in the mini-fridge and closed it up. "It'll be 30 minutes man!"
"All good! Let's see, where was I, right. A branching multiverse, objects that exist in two places at once, light that behaves as both particles and waves—these are but a few of the weird facets of reality brought to us by quantum mechanics. But parallel universes hold a special place in this list. They may, in fact, be the root of all quantum weirdness. Different observational "outcomes" have different probabilities: All worlds are real, but some worlds are more real than others. Simply put, we cannot count the number of worlds that exist at any point in time. This makes the whole notion very hard to reconcile with the claim that these worlds are real. all other worlds are as real as our world, and they've all been around since the beginning of time," Wiseman said. "The only mystery is what particular world we occupy. Some of these universes are our cosmic neighbors—they're nearly identical to ours in the position of every single particle. According to Wiseman's theory, it's a sort of repulsive force between these neighbors that's responsible for all quantum phenomena. The interactive force between universes is like nothing physicists have ever known. Most forces in our experience occur between two discrete bodies: The gravitational interaction between the Earth and the Moon, for instance. But in Wiseman's theory, forces exist between clusters of universes, and they cannot be decomposed into individual, two-body interactions.
"This force only exists when universes are close together in…well, whatever space parallel universes exist in," Nicole quoted. "The Multiverse."
"Exactly." Hubert agreed. "So, if a force does exist between parallel worlds, you can start to wonder, what if that force is not exactly how we've written it down."
"Okay. Sae. Whit ye'r saying 'ere is that this cosmic glitch cuid hae bin th' result o' a parallel world bumping against oor ain 'n' that's how come everything gaed doolally? ah suppose tis nae impossible. Hings ur bumping intae ilk ither a' th' time in deep space sae it stauns tae reason that hings cuid dunt intae ilk ither while flying aroond in whitevur exists atween universes assuming multiverse theory holds true." Lucrais reasoned.
"That sounds about right. Would you like a drink Lucrais?"
She smiled wickedly and leaned forward, crossed her legs, rested an elbow on her leg, placed her chin in her hand and licked her lips. "Noo that ye mention it, ah wid loue tae hae an...orgasm." She told him a husky voice and licked her lips, timing the end of her sentence right when Dolores was sipping her drink.
Dolores doubled over and placed a hand over her mouth as she struggled to hold it in and she coughed a few times until she could push it down. "Really Lucrais?"
"Whit? Th' dram? Th' shot? Kahlua, Amaretto, Baileys Irish cream 'n' Cream oan tap." She joked. "The Orgasm."
"Oh. Right. That. Yeah I can handle that." Derrick responded and searched for the ingredients.
"'N' an actual orgasm efter."
"Lulu!" Dolores insisted.
She just laughed. "Yer sae easy tae tease lassie."
"Next request! Moving on!" Derrick called to his friends.
He prepared their drinks as the requests came in and they continued chatting about the glitch.
So i'll jus' ask wha' we're all 'hinkin. Is 'here any'hin we can do abou' 'his gli'ch 'hin 'hen?"
"Sadly no. Whatever the cause is, it's way bigger than us. I'm talking hilariously, outrageously, cosmically bigger. Douglas Adams said that space was big. That we just can't fathom how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is and he was right. Now take that concept and apply it to not just our universe, but to the infinite endless number of other worlds in the whole of creation. It is infinitely bigger than us on an astronomical scale. From that Derrick's described, we also got outrageously lucky that a minor bump in the night was all that happened."
"That's about what Yenny said." Derrick called back to the group.
"Hey Derrick, how do you have so much stuff in there?" Josh questioned.
"It's a dorm room. We party. We keep it well stocked."
"Oh. That makes sense."
"Yeah we kinda have to do our shopping trips on the weekend because as you can see, we can go through it all pretty fast. I'm telling you it straight up....vanishes."
"...Derrick?"
"Hey guys....does anybody here know anything about the Vanishing?"
The room went stone silent for a minute as the rest of the group got caught up with Derrick's thought process until Dolores broke the silence.
"Are you insinuating what I think you are?" Dolores questioned.
"I-I might need to call up Tina and Yennefer again to talk to them but..." He drummed his fingers on the counter. "What if The Vanishing, whatever it was, was caused by a Glitch?"
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Post by Valhalla Erikson on Oct 1, 2020 1:27:01 GMT
WOOOT!!! It's back baby!!! Like that Derrick's in the house!!! I also notice the post regarding Ramona, Lilith, and Carmella's special mission. While our version of the Hell Arc is postponed we could say their mission involves a different kind of Hell. So feel free to have fun with that. I can even tie it to Legacy of The Dragon when its all done
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Post by SuperKamiGuy1 on Oct 26, 2020 1:58:58 GMT
WOOOT!!! It's back baby!!! Like that Derrick's in the house!!! I also notice the post regarding Ramona, Lilith, and Carmella's special mission. While our version of the Hell Arc is postponed we could say their mission involves a different kind of Hell. So feel free to have fun with that. I can even tie it to Legacy of The Dragon when its all done Oh man that sounds like a crazy awesome idea! The Hell Arc is going to be so insanely fun! Apologies for the long wait. Lots of projects.
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Post by SuperKamiGuy1 on Oct 26, 2020 2:55:31 GMT
"Sooo uh which topic should we discuss first?" Josh asked the gang. "Well, uhm...if it's okay with you guys...I would like to get the hard part over with first." Derrick responded. "I should warn you though: This isn't a happy story." "If you feel it would be easiest for you to discuss that first, then we can talk about it. When you're ready." Nicole assured him. "Take your time man. No rush." Owain assured him. Derrick took a whole minute to gather himself and took a deep breath and slowly blew it out. He sipped his drink and then set it down on a coaster. "Okay. So, first things first, you have to know...that this isn't a happy story. People died that day." He let that sink in before contining. "Okay. Lets begin. It all started...with a road trip." With that Derrick began his story of The Brannon Farm. "I...should warn you guys again. This isn't going to pleasant. People died and it was an absolute nightmare. I'm sorry but as much as I wish it otherwise, it happened." Derrick let this sink in to see if they were fine with it before he began his story. "It was ten years ago. We were all on break and my family and I decided to go on a road trip to my grandmother's house. It was me, my dad, mom, my grandpa, my aunts, my uncle and my cousin. We didn't expect any problems, it was a road trip, just a road trip but there were a lot of them right off the bat. In hindsight we probably should've taken those at warning signs. There was a lot of road trouble right off the bat so we had to take some alternate routes and we wound up in a smalltown in the country. We were planning to just pass through to get back to the road. It was fine. At first. A lot of nice people. Good food." (Cute waitress.) "They were friendly and helpful and gave us directions to get back to the road. What we didn't realize was that some really scummy people had their eyes on us and had a scout sitting in the restaurant waiting in case we showed up and he called ahead to his friends. It wasn't long after we got back on the road when these souped up trucks, armored, modified 18 wheelers I believe, came after us. They rammed us and tried to run us off the road but we got away. At first. Then, and get this, we ran over a spike trap. A freaking spike trap! It destroyed our cars tires. So after that my dad set out to solve the problem himself. I've told you he's Powered right? Right. So, ah, his powers could be summarized as Firearm Manifestation. He creates solid matter in the form of firearms out of solidified energy he generates from his body. That same internal energy functions as the ammunition. He's extremely powerful. He used blasts from his guns to take out the trucks and then the small army of guys that were in the trucks that came out after armed to the teeth..." "Woah, woah, woah. Wait, Derrick...by took them out...do you mean what I think you mean?" Joshua asked him. "Yeah. My dad is a soldier Josh and besides that, there was an army of them and barely any of us. They were heavily armed and we weren't. He did what he had to do to keep us safe. He killed them." Derrick paused before continuing. "For what it's worth I hate this next part...he tried to keep a couple alive to question them but then they were sniped and murdered by their own men. We had to turn the car over and slide it forward, using the armor of the car to protect us as we drew their fire so my dad could drop them with a manifested sniper rifle of his own. He took out one of them and blasted the arm of the other. My parents and my aunt...questioned him. They discovered that he was working for a cannibalistic human trafficking ring who wanted to abduct me, sell me, kill my family and grind them up. Before you ask, I don't know either. These people were psycho." He shook his head and took another sip. "They filmed his confession and put it online in social media all over the place along with sending it to some friends and family, whom they also called up just in case." "We informed the police of course but that...didn't pan out. Turns out the officers we thought had come to help us were working for them too!" He rubbed his head. "They killed the sniper for talking, put guns to mine and my cousin's heads, and forced my family to surrender. Then they shot my dad and beat my family with electric batons and hauled us into their vehicles for transport." He paused and then continued. "We were taken to Brannon Farm. Cannibal Farm. Hell on Earth as I've ever seen it. There were these...lunatics there. The entire farm was insane. All the farmhands were wearing these freaky animal masks. We couldn't see their faces. After mentally torturing us some more, we were split up. My cousin and I were taken to one house and locked up in cages to wait for selling. My dad was taken to something called a torture house. My uncle and grandpa were taken to be ground up and my mom and my aunts were taken to a Guest House to wait to be taken to the chopping house." Derrick downed nearly the whole drink before he continued. "They beat us up a bit before throwing us in there but it still didn't break us. See...my family...we're prepared for these kinds of things. We had lockpicks in a hidden pocket sewn into our pants and skirts and whatever else we're wearing down there...so. After we endured the insanity and death threats from the stoners they had guarding us, we waited for our chance and took out the lockpicks and escaped the cuffs and then the cages. Then when they came back in with another guy...we sprung into action. It was the two of us against three adults. We got our butts kicked pretty bad but we won. We won. We...w-we...we knocked them out. And then my dad and my uncle came back. They'd escaped and fought through entire armies to get back to us." "Wait a minute A thoucht ye says yer dad wis shot?" "He was. Several times. Didn't stop him. He cauterized his wounds and while it wasn't perfect obviously but it kept him going. My grandpa was okay too. Relatively speaking. They were all pretty beat up. We also learned that my mom and aunts were okay too. Though they had to fight an army of their own." "Good Lord. How many people were at this freaking farm?" Joshua asked. "A lot. At least two hundred. Maybe more. Anyway, we freed the other prisoners and learned from my uncle Alessandro that they'd freed people too. Except those other people weren't trapped in cages. They'd been trapped in a meatlocker to freeze with the stored ground up human meat. We did the best we could for them and armed everyone we could...by stealing the guns from the bad guys they'd killed and then we holed up in the Guest House. Since my Aunt Gloria was incapacitated at the time, we let her rest in a bedroom after my mom treated her wounds. We used the time we had to make weapons. Molotov Cocktails, Nail Bats, Knife Bats, Smoke Bombs and whatever else we could manage to put together. Then we set up some psychological warfare and barricaded the place." He sipped some more of his drink. "I should probably talk about the Brannons themselves. They were Powered too. All of them. Get this. They were Regenerating-Bricks who fueled their powers by eating human flesh. Apparently they could pretty much anything and absorb it into their bodies. Consumptive Absorption and Digestive Assimilation I believe are the terms. And they were strong. They were strong as hell. Not crazy strong like Owain or that kid over in Serenity but more like....Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers strong. With borderline Deadpool level Regeneration. They were absolute wrecking machines and they took forever to put down." He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "My dad took one out by blasting him apart so there wasn't anything left to regenerate from and my uncle and my grandpa Argos beat the other by destroying his head repeatedly and...uhhhh you know what? I'm going to save your sanity annnd just say they did enough damage to him that he couldn't regenerate. Trust me, you don't wanna know." "But anyway, the rest of the family gathered together, broke through the barricade and we unloaded on them but then two others broke in. One through a window and the other through a ceiling and all hell broke loose in that Guest House. It was a warzone. A full on warzone. The Blackburns VS The Brannons. While my family was going insane on a family of super strong regenerators who refused to go down, Tina and I decided that if we couldn't join the fight, then we would escape." "Get this. We used the old bedsheet trick. Bedsheets and blankets and towels and pants and whatever else we could use to form a long rope and we gathered the locker civilians with us and helped out anyone who couldn't fight and we escaped the Guest House while the fight was going on. Our goal was to escape to the Mansion and wait out the fight and rest but just as we were getting out of there, my Aunt Michelle, Tina's mom, was knocked out of a window by Thaddeus Brannon, the lunatic leader of the cannibals. She was down and out. Soooo....we improvised. It was raining and misting and fogging everywhere. So we used mudballs and running and hiding from him to stay alive until I could trick him into following me back into the Guest House." Derrick rubbed his arm. "It could've gone better. I admit. I was improvising on the fly the whole time right? So, what I did was, throw a ton of alcohol bottles at him, because The Guest House was loaded with it in every room and of course that didn't do anything. But I also got some of it on a blanket but he grabbed me, slammed me against a wall and broke my arm....wrong arm though. It hurt like absolute hell but he made a mistake by breaking the wrong arm and I lit up a flamethrower lighter I had taken from the potheads and I lit it up and I lit up the alcohol covering him and I set him on fire. I barbecued him. Then I threw the blanket on him and set him even more on fire along with the room. Then I waited for the right moment and threw the nailbat at the window and ran to the next one as the backdraft fried him." "Woah woah woah woah!" Joshua raised his hands. "You're telling me you set a man on fire? You? You blew him up? You incinerated him?! Are you serious right now?" "Correct." "What..but..how can...you what? B-but...how are you...okay with that?" "...Didn't kill him." You're kiddin me! 'E kep' comin af'er you even af'er all ov 'ha'? Like a Termina'aw?" Randall asked in shock. "Even after all that. He's a regenerator remember? You've seen the kinds of things they can shrug off on TV." He sipped more of his drink. "So. I knew he'd be coming at me again so I did the same as before. I took a blanket and sheets and poured booze all over them and threw them down on the ground to wait for him. He walked right out of that inferno wreathed in flames but fell down on the blanket and I set it and him even more on fire until the lighter ran out of fuel. Then I ran. He still kept coming after me though and I was out of tricks. I had nothing left. No weapons and no ideas. I was just a fourteen year old kid with a broken arm staring down a virtually immortal cannibal. Fortunately for me, he was still on fire. Like, seriously, seriously on fire. Covered up in fire and I don't know if you've ever been on fire but it makes it hard to see. Because you're covered in flames. Now, granted, his flesh was apparently regenerating the whole time, but that also meant his eyes were having to do the same thing so he couldn't see me clearly. So I outmaneuvered him instead and I ran like hell. I did mention the hallway was on fire right? Well, yeah, it was. But it was either that or certain death if he grabbed me. So I chose almost certain death and burning pain over certain death and burning pain." He shrugged. "I ran through fire. It hurt in words I can't really describe but fortunately it was still raining outside and we had a real freaking downpour going and it saved my life. I was still burned but then that lifesaving rain put it out after I rolled around in it. On top of my broken burned arm. That sucked." Derrick took a break to go make himself another drink before coming back and finishing his story. "All that and it still didn't stop Thaddeus. My mom had to destroy his head with a freaking magnum to stop him. Afterword, the inferno swiftly began consuming the rest of the house. Fortunately, they'd already beaten the rest of them by then and we reunited in the Mansion. About that time, a large amount of our extended family showed up. We were all beaten to hell and back but we'd won....and then the last of the Brannons showed up and tried to shoot me and my family unloaded on him with all of the ammo they had left and the extra ammo our family brought to finish him off." He sipped his drink. "Then after that, we went to the hospital and after a nice long rest we recovered and my family made some calls and we got some nanite-upgrades. We needed some more bedrest from that as our bodies healed up and powered up. We learned later that Thaddeus' assistant had left with two kids of the Brannon Family to escape to safety...the police never found them but they found the assistant. In a motel room shower. With a hole in her chest." "Nobody knows what happened. The dirty cops and the surviving farmhands were arrested and their documents and evidence of their crimes and business associates were also found and it blew open a giant case that the government and feds looked into to find more of the crazies and lock them up." Derrick sipped his drink. "Sooo yeah. There it is. That's it. The worst day of my life that lead into more nightmares down the road. But those....those are stories for another time." He set down his drink and crossed his legs and arms. "So! There it is. All out in the open. Feel free to voice your opinions on it, on them and on us. I won't judge you." Dolores didn't even need to wait before she leaned over and embraced him gently. "I remember...hearing about it on the news before but...God, Derrick, I can't even imagine what that must've been like for you. I'm so sorry you and your family had to endure that." Derrick closed his eyes and held her gently. "Thanks Dolores. It was, well, calling it a nightmare is a bit of an understatement but that's the best way to describe it. Except it was real. So many people died there..." He trailed off and shook his head. (Including the one I killed.) Derrick noted internally. "Ye huv a go tae gang fur a crakin' roadtrip wi' yer fowk tae yer grandmother's hoose 'n' then an airmie o' psychopaths huv a go tae slaughter ye a' fur fairn 'n' dosh? Dae ah hae that richt?" Lucrais MacRisnidh questioned. "Basically." He confessed. The Brazilian-Scottish Transfer Student shook her head and brushed back of her hair with her hand as she took all of this in. "Damn. If that's nae messed up then a dinnae ken whit's." "It was the literal definition of a FUBAR'd situation." She put her chin in her palm and her elbow on her leg. "Sae stoatin a multytude 'n' as thay flee the Grekes a stoatin pace ne cease nae (at a stoatin pace ceased not) to sae oan th' chase stowed oot hastely tae th' castell gate 'n' entre in and by cruell fate thay kyll 'n' slee (slay) both heich 'n' lowe thay hain none." She quoted from John Lydgate’s English translation of the History, Siege and Destruction of Troy. "Fate is a pure nasty mistress, Derry." "How mighty a master is fate!" Derrick replied. "I wish she'd lose my number though." A couple of his friends chuckled a little at his attempts at lightening the mood. "So what about you Josh? Come on, you can say what's on your mind. No judgments here, bro." "Well...this is all a lot to take in, but, well, I'd say it's unfortunate that people had to die at all, the criminals and the innocents, but I can understand why you did what you did. It's unfortunate to say but you didn't get to talk them down and even if you tried they wouldn't have listened. So I understand that you did what you did out of self-defense. I'm sorry you had to go through all of that, Derrick. You and your family. I'd wish that they would repent their sins in prison but given what happened...I'm pretty sure they're paying for their crimes in hell right now and that the souls of their victims can find peace in the arms of the Lord. So like I said, I'm sorry you had to go through all of that, but I'm glad you're still here with us Derrick, and thank you for sharing with us." Derrick's smile returned. "You're a good man Josh." "Did you guys know about this?" Owain asked curiously. "Yeah. Derrick told us all about it early on once we were all acquainted with each other." Clyde admitted. "We kept it between us since it wasn't our place to talk about it. It's his. We figured he'd tell you guys when he was good and ready. It's not easy but talking about it with other people can help you." "He's right." Nicole agreed. "As painful as an event in your past like that can be, talking it over with friends and loved ones can help the healing process. Derrick, I'm proud of you for sharing this with us and that you would trust us with secrets like this. No judgments. We're just glad you're here with us." "Thanks you guys." Derrick wiped his eyes. "That really does mean a lot to me." Maybe...maybe one day he would tell them. About the axe. And the corpse. About the man he killed that day. But not today. Not right now. Later. When the time was right, he'd confess. But right now he just wanted to enjoy this evening with his friends. "So i 'ake i' 'ha''s 'he reason you've bin 'rainin your body so 'ard 'he las' 'en years? So you wouldn'' 'ave 'o feel 'elpless again?" Randall asked Derrick. "Yeah. I spent ten years putting my body through hell and learning various forms of combat and survival tactics from my family and some friends of theirs. As strong as I am now, I'm confident I could take on any one of the Brannons and have a decent shot at winning." He grinned. "Their regeneration would be a problem, sure, but so long as I keep hammering the vulnerable parts of the body, I'd be fine. Besides, I've got a few secrets of my own." "Oh really? Like what?" Derrick stood up and brushed off his clothes and struck a pose. "Body Armor for one. I've had armor woven into my clothing since that day. Ditto for my cousin Tina. I'm not invulnerable of course but it gives a measure of protection from bullets, blades, flames and impacts. All things that threatened us back at the farm and afterword." "Wait, seriously? You're wearing armor? Even in your school uniform?" Dolores asked. "You bet. I've even got a Kevlar Backpack. You know, just in case. I can take that thing anywhere and be just fine. Hell, I even keep it with me when I'm hiking because it's just that convenient." Owain burst out laughing. "Oh man look at you! You're a brick in all but name now! Trinity University's Knight In Shining Armor." "Coming from a genuine Brick like you, that means a lot." He downed the rest of his drink. "Alright I think I've had enough of these for tonight. Dolores, how's yours?" "Just perfect." "Thank you and you are very welcome." Derrick bowed and then picked up his glass and walked off to the sink, emptied it, cleaned it out and put it in the washer. "So what are your other secrets?" "My sick martial arts skills, improved physical abilities and weapons training. Obviously I can't bring any of them into the campus itself, nor do I have any intention to ever do so, but I do have some weapons in my car in case there's ever an emergency. A collapsible sword, a collapsible baton, a handcannon, a flare gun, a flamethrower lighter, and some other tools." Derrick summarized. "I hope I never have to use them but if it ever becomes necessary then I'm ready." "Wow." "Yeah." "About the farm though." Joshua crossed his arms and legs. "Weren't there other members of their family? Like a mother or relatives? What happened to them?" "There were but we learned later that they were on a cannibal cruise line that served human meat to their guests. Thankfully though they were discovered and captured by the feds soon after the Brannon Farm was blown open. Suffice to say, everyone on board was arrested. We only met them later during the big trial. The old woman's name was Dolly-Dawn Henrietta Brannon. She was every bit as crazy as you'd expect but thanks to the restraints she couldn't do much besides threaten us anyway." He shrugged. "Long story short, she and the rest of her family and co-conspirators were sentenced to Death Row and locked up. I'm pretty sure she's dead by now anyway. Unfortunately, neither she, nor her daughters, knew anything about the lunatic they tried to sell me too. All we know is that she went by the alias Miss R. That's all anybody knew about her. She wasn't in the communication logs or any other information they had either. It was weird." He walked back over to the sofa and sat back down. "But enough about those monsters. Lets contemplate the universe instead." Derrick offered and summarized what Yennefer had told him about the universal glitch the best he could. (On sonnova bitch! I knew it!) Nicole realized internally. (I'm grateful it was over with quickly but I feel like there was something more going on with that than anybody realizes. It felt way too serious for such a momentary glitch.) "Nikki? You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Dolores noticed. "Ahhh me? Huh? Oh, no, it's nothing. Sorry. Just a lot to take in all at once." Nicole assured them. "You're telling me." Hubert crossed his leg and looked up at the ceiling. "A glitch in the universe? Like the Mandela Effect?" "If you're referring to the unconscious manufacture of fabricated or misinterpreted memories which is often called confabulation, then no. False memories occur in a number of ways. For instance, the Deese-Roediger and McDermott paradigm demonstrates how learning a list of words that contain closely related items – such as “bed” and “pillow” – produces false recognition of related, but non presented words – such as “sleep”. Memory inaccuracy can also arise from what’s known as “source monitoring errors”. These are instances where people fail to distinguish between real and imagined even. US professor of psychology, Jim Coan, demonstrated how easily this can happen using the “Lost in the Mall” procedure. This saw Coan give his family members short narratives describing childhood events. One, about his brother getting lost in a shopping mall, was invented. Not only did Coan’s brother believe the event occurred, he also added additional detail. When cognitive psychologist and expert on human memory, Elizabeth Loftus, applied the technique to larger samples, 25% of participants failed to recognize the event was false." Derrick explained. "Buuut I suppose the possibility of parallel dimensions colliding isn't entirely impossible considering everything I've seen, the bizarreness of our world and tonight's revelations." Dolores sipped her drink with an impressed look on her face. "Okay yeah, I was leaning towards the second one but that's a good point. There are a bunch of parallel realities out there, and any time an event is observed in any of them, that universe branches to spawn a whole slew of new realities, one for each possible outcome of the observation. This process of universes birthing universes repeats itself ad infinitum. All other worlds are as real as our world, and they've all been around since the beginning of time. For example. Can I have a drink?" Hubert asked. "Sure. What are you in the mood for?" "Pumpkin King Shot." "I'll see if we have the ingredients. Anybody else? I'm taking requests as long as the ingredients last!" Naturally all of their hands shot up. Derrick smirked. "Challenge accepted. Upsy-daisy!" He backflipped over the couch and returned to the mini-bar. "See now, that was how one such version of that order could have gone. In the infinite parallel worlds that resulted form that order I ordered an infinite number of different drinks and there were an infinite number of Derrick's responses with an infinite number of replies from me and so on and so forth. Which means there was an infinite number of times he slipped and hit his head after that flip." "Word to the wise Hubert. Never taunt your bartender!" Derrick called back to him with a smile while mixing the Pumpkin King. "Noted!" "Where'd you learn to mix anyway man?" Owain asked him. "My mom. My dad doesn't drink out of fear for what could happen with his powers if he gets drunk so my mom taught me. Among her many other talents she's also a mixologist." He put the shots in the mini-fridge and closed it up. "It'll be 30 minutes man!" "All good! Let's see, where was I, right. A branching multiverse, objects that exist in two places at once, light that behaves as both particles and waves—these are but a few of the weird facets of reality brought to us by quantum mechanics. But parallel universes hold a special place in this list. They may, in fact, be the root of all quantum weirdness. Different observational "outcomes" have different probabilities: All worlds are real, but some worlds are more real than others. Simply put, we cannot count the number of worlds that exist at any point in time. This makes the whole notion very hard to reconcile with the claim that these worlds are real. all other worlds are as real as our world, and they've all been around since the beginning of time," Wiseman said. "The only mystery is what particular world we occupy. Some of these universes are our cosmic neighbors—they're nearly identical to ours in the position of every single particle. According to Wiseman's theory, it's a sort of repulsive force between these neighbors that's responsible for all quantum phenomena. The interactive force between universes is like nothing physicists have ever known. Most forces in our experience occur between two discrete bodies: The gravitational interaction between the Earth and the Moon, for instance. But in Wiseman's theory, forces exist between clusters of universes, and they cannot be decomposed into individual, two-body interactions. "This force only exists when universes are close together in…well, whatever space parallel universes exist in," Nicole quoted. "The Multiverse." "Exactly." Hubert agreed. "So, if a force does exist between parallel worlds, you can start to wonder, what if that force is not exactly how we've written it down." "Okay. Sae. Whit ye'r saying 'ere is that this cosmic glitch cuid hae bin th' result o' a parallel world bumping against oor ain 'n' that's how come everything gaed doolally? ah suppose tis nae impossible. Hings ur bumping intae ilk ither a' th' time in deep space sae it stauns tae reason that hings cuid dunt intae ilk ither while flying aroond in whitevur exists atween universes assuming multiverse theory holds true." Lucrais reasoned. "That sounds about right. Would you like a drink Lucrais?" She smiled wickedly and leaned forward, crossed her legs, rested an elbow on her leg, placed her chin in her hand and licked her lips. "Noo that ye mention it, ah wid loue tae hae an...orgasm." She told him a husky voice and licked her lips, timing the end of her sentence right when Dolores was sipping her drink. Dolores doubled over and placed a hand over her mouth as she struggled to hold it in and she coughed a few times until she could push it down. "Really Lucrais?" "Whit? Th' dram? Th' shot? Kahlua, Amaretto, Baileys Irish cream 'n' Cream oan tap." She joked. "The Orgasm." "Oh. Right. That. Yeah I can handle that." Derrick responded and searched for the ingredients. "'N' an actual orgasm efter." "Lulu!" Dolores insisted. She just laughed. "Yer sae easy tae tease lassie." "Next request! Moving on!" Derrick called to his friends. He prepared their drinks as the requests came in and they continued chatting about the glitch. So i'll jus' ask wha' we're all 'hinkin. Is 'here any'hin we can do abou' 'his gli'ch 'hin 'hen?" "Sadly no. Whatever the cause is, it's way bigger than us. I'm talking hilariously, outrageously, cosmically bigger. Douglas Adams said that space was big. That we just can't fathom how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is and he was right. Now take that concept and apply it to not just our universe, but to the infinite endless number of other worlds in the whole of creation. It is infinitely bigger than us on an astronomical scale. From that Derrick's described, we also got outrageously lucky that a minor bump in the night was all that happened." "That's about what Yenny said." Derrick called back to the group. "Hey Derrick, how do you have so much stuff in there?" Josh questioned. "It's a dorm room. We party. We keep it well stocked." "Oh. That makes sense." "Yeah we kinda have to do our shopping trips on the weekend because as you can see, we can go through it all pretty fast. I'm telling you it straight up....vanishes." "...Derrick?" "Hey guys....does anybody here know anything about the Vanishing?" The room went stone silent for a minute as the rest of the group got caught up with Derrick's thought process until Dolores broke the silence. "Are you insinuating what I think you are?" Dolores questioned. "I-I might need to call up Tina and Yennefer again to talk to them but..." He drummed his fingers on the counter. "What if The Vanishing, whatever it was, was caused by a Glitch?" "Derrick, are you suggesting, that the vanishing could have been caused by a cosmic anomaly?" Dolores asked him. "Maybe." Derrick admitted. "It's not like anybody was able to explain what happened on a scientific scale. Just that a number of people passed out briefly and when they came to, their loved ones were missing. Completely blanked out of existence. All traces of them, all records of them, gone. In some cases people noticed right away but in other cases, it took months or years before they remembered the Vanished." He explained while mixing some drinks. "It was like freaking Thanos came down and snapped everyone away. Not just their physical bodies but all records of them were either wiped out or left incomprehensibly scrambled." "That's right. They're still going over the data all these years later and there isn't a precise scientific explanation for it either." Nicole sighed sadly. "Oh man. Universes crashing into each other? Vanishings? Blackouts and worse? All resulting from universes and parallel worlds clashing? Is there anything we can do about this?" Dolores asked. "There isn't." Derrick replied sadly. "It's a cosmic anomaly and that is far bigger than any of us." He finished the drinks and placed them on a tray and returned to his friends and handed them out and called Tina. Th' universe doesn't care aboot us. Nae pure. Forgoat th' spacers fur a minute 'n' think aboot whit's pure gaun oan up thare in th' muckle wide universe. Thir's cosmic events gaun oan in th' universe we haven't even discovered yit 'n' th' hings we hae? black holes, supernovas, magnetars, th' list goes oan. Tis a' a stoatin vast cosmic affair that we obviously hae na control ower." Lucrais explained casually. Oh please. You're lookin a' i' from 'he wrong perspec'ive. 'ear me ou' 'ere. You're a ghos' drivin a mea' coa'ed skele'on made from stardust, awbi'in a star a' 30km/s tha' star is awbi'in 'he cen'er ov 'he galaxy a' 250km/s. Tha' galaxy is movin 'hrough 'he universe a' a ra'e ov 600km/s. Wha' do you 'ave 'o be scared ov?" Randall challenged. "Ye'v git me in a kist 'ere." Lucrais admitted. "HA!" Randall high-fived her. "I'll 'ake 'ha' win." Tina picked up. "Hey Cuz!" "Hey there Tina." Derrick greeted her. "I'm here with my crew in my dorm room and we have some questions about the glitch. Is it cool if I put you on holo-speaker?" "Go right ahead!" "Cool." Derrick pressed a button and placed the phone on the table. A hologram of Tina rose out of it. She laughed and waved peace signs at the group. "Hi everyone!" "Hi Tina!" The crew replied to her. "So what's your question? I'll answer to the best of my ability!" "Well, we were wondering, do you think that The Vanishing could have been a side effect of a previous glitch?" Derrick asked his cousin.
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Post by SuperKamiGuy1 on Oct 31, 2020 22:05:14 GMT
"Sooo uh which topic should we discuss first?" Josh asked the gang. "Well, uhm...if it's okay with you guys...I would like to get the hard part over with first." Derrick responded. "I should warn you though: This isn't a happy story." "If you feel it would be easiest for you to discuss that first, then we can talk about it. When you're ready." Nicole assured him. "Take your time man. No rush." Owain assured him. Derrick took a whole minute to gather himself and took a deep breath and slowly blew it out. He sipped his drink and then set it down on a coaster. "Okay. So, first things first, you have to know...that this isn't a happy story. People died that day." He let that sink in before contining. "Okay. Lets begin. It all started...with a road trip." With that Derrick began his story of The Brannon Farm. "I...should warn you guys again. This isn't going to pleasant. People died and it was an absolute nightmare. I'm sorry but as much as I wish it otherwise, it happened." Derrick let this sink in to see if they were fine with it before he began his story. "It was ten years ago. We were all on break and my family and I decided to go on a road trip to my grandmother's house. It was me, my dad, mom, my grandpa, my aunts, my uncle and my cousin. We didn't expect any problems, it was a road trip, just a road trip but there were a lot of them right off the bat. In hindsight we probably should've taken those at warning signs. There was a lot of road trouble right off the bat so we had to take some alternate routes and we wound up in a smalltown in the country. We were planning to just pass through to get back to the road. It was fine. At first. A lot of nice people. Good food." (Cute waitress.) "They were friendly and helpful and gave us directions to get back to the road. What we didn't realize was that some really scummy people had their eyes on us and had a scout sitting in the restaurant waiting in case we showed up and he called ahead to his friends. It wasn't long after we got back on the road when these souped up trucks, armored, modified 18 wheelers I believe, came after us. They rammed us and tried to run us off the road but we got away. At first. Then, and get this, we ran over a spike trap. A freaking spike trap! It destroyed our cars tires. So after that my dad set out to solve the problem himself. I've told you he's Powered right? Right. So, ah, his powers could be summarized as Firearm Manifestation. He creates solid matter in the form of firearms out of solidified energy he generates from his body. That same internal energy functions as the ammunition. He's extremely powerful. He used blasts from his guns to take out the trucks and then the small army of guys that were in the trucks that came out after armed to the teeth..." "Woah, woah, woah. Wait, Derrick...by took them out...do you mean what I think you mean?" Joshua asked him. "Yeah. My dad is a soldier Josh and besides that, there was an army of them and barely any of us. They were heavily armed and we weren't. He did what he had to do to keep us safe. He killed them." Derrick paused before continuing. "For what it's worth I hate this next part...he tried to keep a couple alive to question them but then they were sniped and murdered by their own men. We had to turn the car over and slide it forward, using the armor of the car to protect us as we drew their fire so my dad could drop them with a manifested sniper rifle of his own. He took out one of them and blasted the arm of the other. My parents and my aunt...questioned him. They discovered that he was working for a cannibalistic human trafficking ring who wanted to abduct me, sell me, kill my family and grind them up. Before you ask, I don't know either. These people were psycho." He shook his head and took another sip. "They filmed his confession and put it online in social media all over the place along with sending it to some friends and family, whom they also called up just in case." "We informed the police of course but that...didn't pan out. Turns out the officers we thought had come to help us were working for them too!" He rubbed his head. "They killed the sniper for talking, put guns to mine and my cousin's heads, and forced my family to surrender. Then they shot my dad and beat my family with electric batons and hauled us into their vehicles for transport." He paused and then continued. "We were taken to Brannon Farm. Cannibal Farm. Hell on Earth as I've ever seen it. There were these...lunatics there. The entire farm was insane. All the farmhands were wearing these freaky animal masks. We couldn't see their faces. After mentally torturing us some more, we were split up. My cousin and I were taken to one house and locked up in cages to wait for selling. My dad was taken to something called a torture house. My uncle and grandpa were taken to be ground up and my mom and my aunts were taken to a Guest House to wait to be taken to the chopping house." Derrick downed nearly the whole drink before he continued. "They beat us up a bit before throwing us in there but it still didn't break us. See...my family...we're prepared for these kinds of things. We had lockpicks in a hidden pocket sewn into our pants and skirts and whatever else we're wearing down there...so. After we endured the insanity and death threats from the stoners they had guarding us, we waited for our chance and took out the lockpicks and escaped the cuffs and then the cages. Then when they came back in with another guy...we sprung into action. It was the two of us against three adults. We got our butts kicked pretty bad but we won. We won. We...w-we...we knocked them out. And then my dad and my uncle came back. They'd escaped and fought through entire armies to get back to us." "Wait a minute A thoucht ye says yer dad wis shot?" "He was. Several times. Didn't stop him. He cauterized his wounds and while it wasn't perfect obviously but it kept him going. My grandpa was okay too. Relatively speaking. They were all pretty beat up. We also learned that my mom and aunts were okay too. Though they had to fight an army of their own." "Good Lord. How many people were at this freaking farm?" Joshua asked. "A lot. At least two hundred. Maybe more. Anyway, we freed the other prisoners and learned from my uncle Alessandro that they'd freed people too. Except those other people weren't trapped in cages. They'd been trapped in a meatlocker to freeze with the stored ground up human meat. We did the best we could for them and armed everyone we could...by stealing the guns from the bad guys they'd killed and then we holed up in the Guest House. Since my Aunt Gloria was incapacitated at the time, we let her rest in a bedroom after my mom treated her wounds. We used the time we had to make weapons. Molotov Cocktails, Nail Bats, Knife Bats, Smoke Bombs and whatever else we could manage to put together. Then we set up some psychological warfare and barricaded the place." He sipped some more of his drink. "I should probably talk about the Brannons themselves. They were Powered too. All of them. Get this. They were Regenerating-Bricks who fueled their powers by eating human flesh. Apparently they could pretty much anything and absorb it into their bodies. Consumptive Absorption and Digestive Assimilation I believe are the terms. And they were strong. They were strong as hell. Not crazy strong like Owain or that kid over in Serenity but more like....Jason Voorhees or Michael Myers strong. With borderline Deadpool level Regeneration. They were absolute wrecking machines and they took forever to put down." He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "My dad took one out by blasting him apart so there wasn't anything left to regenerate from and my uncle and my grandpa Argos beat the other by destroying his head repeatedly and...uhhhh you know what? I'm going to save your sanity annnd just say they did enough damage to him that he couldn't regenerate. Trust me, you don't wanna know." "But anyway, the rest of the family gathered together, broke through the barricade and we unloaded on them but then two others broke in. One through a window and the other through a ceiling and all hell broke loose in that Guest House. It was a warzone. A full on warzone. The Blackburns VS The Brannons. While my family was going insane on a family of super strong regenerators who refused to go down, Tina and I decided that if we couldn't join the fight, then we would escape." "Get this. We used the old bedsheet trick. Bedsheets and blankets and towels and pants and whatever else we could use to form a long rope and we gathered the locker civilians with us and helped out anyone who couldn't fight and we escaped the Guest House while the fight was going on. Our goal was to escape to the Mansion and wait out the fight and rest but just as we were getting out of there, my Aunt Michelle, Tina's mom, was knocked out of a window by Thaddeus Brannon, the lunatic leader of the cannibals. She was down and out. Soooo....we improvised. It was raining and misting and fogging everywhere. So we used mudballs and running and hiding from him to stay alive until I could trick him into following me back into the Guest House." Derrick rubbed his arm. "It could've gone better. I admit. I was improvising on the fly the whole time right? So, what I did was, throw a ton of alcohol bottles at him, because The Guest House was loaded with it in every room and of course that didn't do anything. But I also got some of it on a blanket but he grabbed me, slammed me against a wall and broke my arm....wrong arm though. It hurt like absolute hell but he made a mistake by breaking the wrong arm and I lit up a flamethrower lighter I had taken from the potheads and I lit it up and I lit up the alcohol covering him and I set him on fire. I barbecued him. Then I threw the blanket on him and set him even more on fire along with the room. Then I waited for the right moment and threw the nailbat at the window and ran to the next one as the backdraft fried him." "Woah woah woah woah!" Joshua raised his hands. "You're telling me you set a man on fire? You? You blew him up? You incinerated him?! Are you serious right now?" "Correct." "What..but..how can...you what? B-but...how are you...okay with that?" "...Didn't kill him." You're kiddin me! 'E kep' comin af'er you even af'er all ov 'ha'? Like a Termina'aw?" Randall asked in shock. "Even after all that. He's a regenerator remember? You've seen the kinds of things they can shrug off on TV." He sipped more of his drink. "So. I knew he'd be coming at me again so I did the same as before. I took a blanket and sheets and poured booze all over them and threw them down on the ground to wait for him. He walked right out of that inferno wreathed in flames but fell down on the blanket and I set it and him even more on fire until the lighter ran out of fuel. Then I ran. He still kept coming after me though and I was out of tricks. I had nothing left. No weapons and no ideas. I was just a fourteen year old kid with a broken arm staring down a virtually immortal cannibal. Fortunately for me, he was still on fire. Like, seriously, seriously on fire. Covered up in fire and I don't know if you've ever been on fire but it makes it hard to see. Because you're covered in flames. Now, granted, his flesh was apparently regenerating the whole time, but that also meant his eyes were having to do the same thing so he couldn't see me clearly. So I outmaneuvered him instead and I ran like hell. I did mention the hallway was on fire right? Well, yeah, it was. But it was either that or certain death if he grabbed me. So I chose almost certain death and burning pain over certain death and burning pain." He shrugged. "I ran through fire. It hurt in words I can't really describe but fortunately it was still raining outside and we had a real freaking downpour going and it saved my life. I was still burned but then that lifesaving rain put it out after I rolled around in it. On top of my broken burned arm. That sucked." Derrick took a break to go make himself another drink before coming back and finishing his story. "All that and it still didn't stop Thaddeus. My mom had to destroy his head with a freaking magnum to stop him. Afterword, the inferno swiftly began consuming the rest of the house. Fortunately, they'd already beaten the rest of them by then and we reunited in the Mansion. About that time, a large amount of our extended family showed up. We were all beaten to hell and back but we'd won....and then the last of the Brannons showed up and tried to shoot me and my family unloaded on him with all of the ammo they had left and the extra ammo our family brought to finish him off." He sipped his drink. "Then after that, we went to the hospital and after a nice long rest we recovered and my family made some calls and we got some nanite-upgrades. We needed some more bedrest from that as our bodies healed up and powered up. We learned later that Thaddeus' assistant had left with two kids of the Brannon Family to escape to safety...the police never found them but they found the assistant. In a motel room shower. With a hole in her chest." "Nobody knows what happened. The dirty cops and the surviving farmhands were arrested and their documents and evidence of their crimes and business associates were also found and it blew open a giant case that the government and feds looked into to find more of the crazies and lock them up." Derrick sipped his drink. "Sooo yeah. There it is. That's it. The worst day of my life that lead into more nightmares down the road. But those....those are stories for another time." He set down his drink and crossed his legs and arms. "So! There it is. All out in the open. Feel free to voice your opinions on it, on them and on us. I won't judge you." Dolores didn't even need to wait before she leaned over and embraced him gently. "I remember...hearing about it on the news before but...God, Derrick, I can't even imagine what that must've been like for you. I'm so sorry you and your family had to endure that." Derrick closed his eyes and held her gently. "Thanks Dolores. It was, well, calling it a nightmare is a bit of an understatement but that's the best way to describe it. Except it was real. So many people died there..." He trailed off and shook his head. (Including the one I killed.) Derrick noted internally. "Ye huv a go tae gang fur a crakin' roadtrip wi' yer fowk tae yer grandmother's hoose 'n' then an airmie o' psychopaths huv a go tae slaughter ye a' fur fairn 'n' dosh? Dae ah hae that richt?" Lucrais MacRisnidh questioned. "Basically." He confessed. The Brazilian-Scottish Transfer Student shook her head and brushed back of her hair with her hand as she took all of this in. "Damn. If that's nae messed up then a dinnae ken whit's." "It was the literal definition of a FUBAR'd situation." She put her chin in her palm and her elbow on her leg. "Sae stoatin a multytude 'n' as thay flee the Grekes a stoatin pace ne cease nae (at a stoatin pace ceased not) to sae oan th' chase stowed oot hastely tae th' castell gate 'n' entre in and by cruell fate thay kyll 'n' slee (slay) both heich 'n' lowe thay hain none." She quoted from John Lydgate’s English translation of the History, Siege and Destruction of Troy. "Fate is a pure nasty mistress, Derry." "How mighty a master is fate!" Derrick replied. "I wish she'd lose my number though." A couple of his friends chuckled a little at his attempts at lightening the mood. "So what about you Josh? Come on, you can say what's on your mind. No judgments here, bro." "Well...this is all a lot to take in, but, well, I'd say it's unfortunate that people had to die at all, the criminals and the innocents, but I can understand why you did what you did. It's unfortunate to say but you didn't get to talk them down and even if you tried they wouldn't have listened. So I understand that you did what you did out of self-defense. I'm sorry you had to go through all of that, Derrick. You and your family. I'd wish that they would repent their sins in prison but given what happened...I'm pretty sure they're paying for their crimes in hell right now and that the souls of their victims can find peace in the arms of the Lord. So like I said, I'm sorry you had to go through all of that, but I'm glad you're still here with us Derrick, and thank you for sharing with us." Derrick's smile returned. "You're a good man Josh." "Did you guys know about this?" Owain asked curiously. "Yeah. Derrick told us all about it early on once we were all acquainted with each other." Clyde admitted. "We kept it between us since it wasn't our place to talk about it. It's his. We figured he'd tell you guys when he was good and ready. It's not easy but talking about it with other people can help you." "He's right." Nicole agreed. "As painful as an event in your past like that can be, talking it over with friends and loved ones can help the healing process. Derrick, I'm proud of you for sharing this with us and that you would trust us with secrets like this. No judgments. We're just glad you're here with us." "Thanks you guys." Derrick wiped his eyes. "That really does mean a lot to me." Maybe...maybe one day he would tell them. About the axe. And the corpse. About the man he killed that day. But not today. Not right now. Later. When the time was right, he'd confess. But right now he just wanted to enjoy this evening with his friends. "So i 'ake i' 'ha''s 'he reason you've bin 'rainin your body so 'ard 'he las' 'en years? So you wouldn'' 'ave 'o feel 'elpless again?" Randall asked Derrick. "Yeah. I spent ten years putting my body through hell and learning various forms of combat and survival tactics from my family and some friends of theirs. As strong as I am now, I'm confident I could take on any one of the Brannons and have a decent shot at winning." He grinned. "Their regeneration would be a problem, sure, but so long as I keep hammering the vulnerable parts of the body, I'd be fine. Besides, I've got a few secrets of my own." "Oh really? Like what?" Derrick stood up and brushed off his clothes and struck a pose. "Body Armor for one. I've had armor woven into my clothing since that day. Ditto for my cousin Tina. I'm not invulnerable of course but it gives a measure of protection from bullets, blades, flames and impacts. All things that threatened us back at the farm and afterword." "Wait, seriously? You're wearing armor? Even in your school uniform?" Dolores asked. "You bet. I've even got a Kevlar Backpack. You know, just in case. I can take that thing anywhere and be just fine. Hell, I even keep it with me when I'm hiking because it's just that convenient." Owain burst out laughing. "Oh man look at you! You're a brick in all but name now! Trinity University's Knight In Shining Armor." "Coming from a genuine Brick like you, that means a lot." He downed the rest of his drink. "Alright I think I've had enough of these for tonight. Dolores, how's yours?" "Just perfect." "Thank you and you are very welcome." Derrick bowed and then picked up his glass and walked off to the sink, emptied it, cleaned it out and put it in the washer. "So what are your other secrets?" "My sick martial arts skills, improved physical abilities and weapons training. Obviously I can't bring any of them into the campus itself, nor do I have any intention to ever do so, but I do have some weapons in my car in case there's ever an emergency. A collapsible sword, a collapsible baton, a handcannon, a flare gun, a flamethrower lighter, and some other tools." Derrick summarized. "I hope I never have to use them but if it ever becomes necessary then I'm ready." "Wow." "Yeah." "About the farm though." Joshua crossed his arms and legs. "Weren't there other members of their family? Like a mother or relatives? What happened to them?" "There were but we learned later that they were on a cannibal cruise line that served human meat to their guests. Thankfully though they were discovered and captured by the feds soon after the Brannon Farm was blown open. Suffice to say, everyone on board was arrested. We only met them later during the big trial. The old woman's name was Dolly-Dawn Henrietta Brannon. She was every bit as crazy as you'd expect but thanks to the restraints she couldn't do much besides threaten us anyway." He shrugged. "Long story short, she and the rest of her family and co-conspirators were sentenced to Death Row and locked up. I'm pretty sure she's dead by now anyway. Unfortunately, neither she, nor her daughters, knew anything about the lunatic they tried to sell me too. All we know is that she went by the alias Miss R. That's all anybody knew about her. She wasn't in the communication logs or any other information they had either. It was weird." He walked back over to the sofa and sat back down. "But enough about those monsters. Lets contemplate the universe instead." Derrick offered and summarized what Yennefer had told him about the universal glitch the best he could. (On sonnova bitch! I knew it!) Nicole realized internally. (I'm grateful it was over with quickly but I feel like there was something more going on with that than anybody realizes. It felt way too serious for such a momentary glitch.) "Nikki? You okay? You look like you've seen a ghost!" Dolores noticed. "Ahhh me? Huh? Oh, no, it's nothing. Sorry. Just a lot to take in all at once." Nicole assured them. "You're telling me." Hubert crossed his leg and looked up at the ceiling. "A glitch in the universe? Like the Mandela Effect?" "If you're referring to the unconscious manufacture of fabricated or misinterpreted memories which is often called confabulation, then no. False memories occur in a number of ways. For instance, the Deese-Roediger and McDermott paradigm demonstrates how learning a list of words that contain closely related items – such as “bed” and “pillow” – produces false recognition of related, but non presented words – such as “sleep”. Memory inaccuracy can also arise from what’s known as “source monitoring errors”. These are instances where people fail to distinguish between real and imagined even. US professor of psychology, Jim Coan, demonstrated how easily this can happen using the “Lost in the Mall” procedure. This saw Coan give his family members short narratives describing childhood events. One, about his brother getting lost in a shopping mall, was invented. Not only did Coan’s brother believe the event occurred, he also added additional detail. When cognitive psychologist and expert on human memory, Elizabeth Loftus, applied the technique to larger samples, 25% of participants failed to recognize the event was false." Derrick explained. "Buuut I suppose the possibility of parallel dimensions colliding isn't entirely impossible considering everything I've seen, the bizarreness of our world and tonight's revelations." Dolores sipped her drink with an impressed look on her face. "Okay yeah, I was leaning towards the second one but that's a good point. There are a bunch of parallel realities out there, and any time an event is observed in any of them, that universe branches to spawn a whole slew of new realities, one for each possible outcome of the observation. This process of universes birthing universes repeats itself ad infinitum. All other worlds are as real as our world, and they've all been around since the beginning of time. For example. Can I have a drink?" Hubert asked. "Sure. What are you in the mood for?" "Pumpkin King Shot." "I'll see if we have the ingredients. Anybody else? I'm taking requests as long as the ingredients last!" Naturally all of their hands shot up. Derrick smirked. "Challenge accepted. Upsy-daisy!" He backflipped over the couch and returned to the mini-bar. "See now, that was how one such version of that order could have gone. In the infinite parallel worlds that resulted form that order I ordered an infinite number of different drinks and there were an infinite number of Derrick's responses with an infinite number of replies from me and so on and so forth. Which means there was an infinite number of times he slipped and hit his head after that flip." "Word to the wise Hubert. Never taunt your bartender!" Derrick called back to him with a smile while mixing the Pumpkin King. "Noted!" "Where'd you learn to mix anyway man?" Owain asked him. "My mom. My dad doesn't drink out of fear for what could happen with his powers if he gets drunk so my mom taught me. Among her many other talents she's also a mixologist." He put the shots in the mini-fridge and closed it up. "It'll be 30 minutes man!" "All good! Let's see, where was I, right. A branching multiverse, objects that exist in two places at once, light that behaves as both particles and waves—these are but a few of the weird facets of reality brought to us by quantum mechanics. But parallel universes hold a special place in this list. They may, in fact, be the root of all quantum weirdness. Different observational "outcomes" have different probabilities: All worlds are real, but some worlds are more real than others. Simply put, we cannot count the number of worlds that exist at any point in time. This makes the whole notion very hard to reconcile with the claim that these worlds are real. all other worlds are as real as our world, and they've all been around since the beginning of time," Wiseman said. "The only mystery is what particular world we occupy. Some of these universes are our cosmic neighbors—they're nearly identical to ours in the position of every single particle. According to Wiseman's theory, it's a sort of repulsive force between these neighbors that's responsible for all quantum phenomena. The interactive force between universes is like nothing physicists have ever known. Most forces in our experience occur between two discrete bodies: The gravitational interaction between the Earth and the Moon, for instance. But in Wiseman's theory, forces exist between clusters of universes, and they cannot be decomposed into individual, two-body interactions. "This force only exists when universes are close together in…well, whatever space parallel universes exist in," Nicole quoted. "The Multiverse." "Exactly." Hubert agreed. "So, if a force does exist between parallel worlds, you can start to wonder, what if that force is not exactly how we've written it down." "Okay. Sae. Whit ye'r saying 'ere is that this cosmic glitch cuid hae bin th' result o' a parallel world bumping against oor ain 'n' that's how come everything gaed doolally? ah suppose tis nae impossible. Hings ur bumping intae ilk ither a' th' time in deep space sae it stauns tae reason that hings cuid dunt intae ilk ither while flying aroond in whitevur exists atween universes assuming multiverse theory holds true." Lucrais reasoned. "That sounds about right. Would you like a drink Lucrais?" She smiled wickedly and leaned forward, crossed her legs, rested an elbow on her leg, placed her chin in her hand and licked her lips. "Noo that ye mention it, ah wid loue tae hae an...orgasm." She told him a husky voice and licked her lips, timing the end of her sentence right when Dolores was sipping her drink. Dolores doubled over and placed a hand over her mouth as she struggled to hold it in and she coughed a few times until she could push it down. "Really Lucrais?" "Whit? Th' dram? Th' shot? Kahlua, Amaretto, Baileys Irish cream 'n' Cream oan tap." She joked. "The Orgasm." "Oh. Right. That. Yeah I can handle that." Derrick responded and searched for the ingredients. "'N' an actual orgasm efter." "Lulu!" Dolores insisted. She just laughed. "Yer sae easy tae tease lassie." "Next request! Moving on!" Derrick called to his friends. He prepared their drinks as the requests came in and they continued chatting about the glitch. So i'll jus' ask wha' we're all 'hinkin. Is 'here any'hin we can do abou' 'his gli'ch 'hin 'hen?" "Sadly no. Whatever the cause is, it's way bigger than us. I'm talking hilariously, outrageously, cosmically bigger. Douglas Adams said that space was big. That we just can't fathom how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is and he was right. Now take that concept and apply it to not just our universe, but to the infinite endless number of other worlds in the whole of creation. It is infinitely bigger than us on an astronomical scale. From that Derrick's described, we also got outrageously lucky that a minor bump in the night was all that happened." "That's about what Yenny said." Derrick called back to the group. "Hey Derrick, how do you have so much stuff in there?" Josh questioned. "It's a dorm room. We party. We keep it well stocked." "Oh. That makes sense." "Yeah we kinda have to do our shopping trips on the weekend because as you can see, we can go through it all pretty fast. I'm telling you it straight up....vanishes." "...Derrick?" "Hey guys....does anybody here know anything about the Vanishing?" The room went stone silent for a minute as the rest of the group got caught up with Derrick's thought process until Dolores broke the silence. "Are you insinuating what I think you are?" Dolores questioned. "I-I might need to call up Tina and Yennefer again to talk to them but..." He drummed his fingers on the counter. "What if The Vanishing, whatever it was, was caused by a Glitch?" "Derrick, are you suggesting, that the vanishing could have been caused by a cosmic anomaly?" Dolores asked him. "Maybe." Derrick admitted. "It's not like anybody was able to explain what happened on a scientific scale. Just that a number of people passed out briefly and when they came to, their loved ones were missing. Completely blanked out of existence. All traces of them, all records of them, gone. In some cases people noticed right away but in other cases, it took months or years before they remembered the Vanished." He explained while mixing some drinks. "It was like freaking Thanos came down and snapped everyone away. Not just their physical bodies but all records of them were either wiped out or left incomprehensibly scrambled." "That's right. They're still going over the data all these years later and there isn't a precise scientific explanation for it either." Nicole sighed sadly. "Oh man. Universes crashing into each other? Vanishings? Blackouts and worse? All resulting from universes and parallel worlds clashing? Is there anything we can do about this?" Dolores asked. "There isn't." Derrick replied sadly. "It's a cosmic anomaly and that is far bigger than any of us." He finished the drinks and placed them on a tray and returned to his friends and handed them out and called Tina. Th' universe doesn't care aboot us. Nae pure. Forgoat th' spacers fur a minute 'n' think aboot whit's pure gaun oan up thare in th' muckle wide universe. Thir's cosmic events gaun oan in th' universe we haven't even discovered yit 'n' th' hings we hae? black holes, supernovas, magnetars, th' list goes oan. Tis a' a stoatin vast cosmic affair that we obviously hae na control ower." Lucrais explained casually. Oh please. You're lookin a' i' from 'he wrong perspec'ive. 'ear me ou' 'ere. You're a ghos' drivin a mea' coa'ed skele'on made from stardust, awbi'in a star a' 30km/s tha' star is awbi'in 'he cen'er ov 'he galaxy a' 250km/s. Tha' galaxy is movin 'hrough 'he universe a' a ra'e ov 600km/s. Wha' do you 'ave 'o be scared ov?" Randall challenged. "Ye'v git me in a kist 'ere." Lucrais admitted. "HA!" Randall high-fived her. "I'll 'ake 'ha' win." Tina picked up. "Hey Cuz!" "Hey there Tina." Derrick greeted her. "I'm here with my crew in my dorm room and we have some questions about the glitch. Is it cool if I put you on holo-speaker?" "Go right ahead!" "Cool." Derrick pressed a button and placed the phone on the table. A hologram of Tina rose out of it. She laughed and waved peace signs at the group. "Hi everyone!" "Hi Tina!" The crew replied to her. "So what's your question? I'll answer to the best of my ability!" "Well, we were wondering, do you think that The Vanishing could have been a side effect of a previous glitch?" Derrick asked his cousin. "Hmmm, you came to that conclusion too huh? Yeah, I have to admit, that's been a longstanding theory and not just mine either." Tina replied. "The Supernatural Community have long held that as a very real possibility. Unfortunately, since these events aren't properly understood, nobody has been able to prove it one way or another despite The Vanishing being a Cosmic Glitch being all but confirmed." "Regardin 'ha', is 'here any way 'o brin back anyone who was 'aken by da vanishing?" Randall asked her. "Hey there, Rand. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, no. There's no way to tell where they all disappeared to. Or even if they all ended up in the same place. Or even if they arrived there alive. Or any number of infinite possibilities that could have happened to them in the infinity of the multiverse." "Damn. Tha''s a damn shame. I guess 'ha' makes sense 'hough. Wi'h an infini'e amoun' ov space, every possible even' will occur an infini'e number ov 'imes." He sighed. "By that identical token though, thare wid hae tae be an infinite batch o' universes whaur th' vanishing didnae happen or versions o' it whaur different fowk disappeared." Lucrais reasoned. "Or all of us." Clyde pointed out. "True." "I can't even imagine the odds of us being lucky enough to dodge it in this universe." Diego responded while scratching the back of his head. "As reasonable as that sounds..." Derrick rubbed his chin. "Doesn't it seem weird that most of The Vanished were Superheroes? The information on them is sparse, but, I'm sure Serenity had allies out there. She must have. However, when she fought Equilibrium, her only ally was The Physicist. Since then, Superheroes mostly dropped off the Earth and they've only recently started cropping up again. Ultra Girl, Stronghold, The Shepard, that speedster in Ascension, Detective Violet, Guardian, Souledge, Arcanatrix...they're starting to make a comeback but it's a little strange that they disappeared isn't it?" "Do you think someone could have caused it?" Dolores asked him. "Maybe?" Derrick shrugged. "There's no way to tell but honestly, considering the things I've seen in my life, the things we've seen, I think it's entirely possible." "Yeah, I can back that up." Tina agreed. "Pardon my language, but we've seen some serious shit." "But, if someone could do that, wouldn't it be noticed?" Nicole questioned. "She kinda has a point." Joh agreed. "I don't know much about magic, but, if someone was capable of putting something together to perform that kind of...reality alteration I guess we can call it? Sure, lets go with that. If someone could do that, it would probably require insane levels of preparation and magical power. Wouldn't that be noticed?" "It seems to me like a Cosmic Anomaly is the more logical answer." Owain added. "Hmmm, well, my knowledge of the occult and supernatural isn't exactly textbook, but I guess it could be possible." Tina reasoned. "I would like to bring in my girl Yennefer to assist with this discussion." "Sure, by all means." Derrick agreed. "You guys will love her. She's a sweetheart." "Yenny-poo!" Yennefer the Lycan popped up next to Tina's Hologram with her arms wrapped around her. "Call my name and I shall appear! What up party people?!"
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Post by SuperKamiGuy1 on Nov 30, 2020 21:40:48 GMT
"Derrick, are you suggesting, that the vanishing could have been caused by a cosmic anomaly?" Dolores asked him. "Maybe." Derrick admitted. "It's not like anybody was able to explain what happened on a scientific scale. Just that a number of people passed out briefly and when they came to, their loved ones were missing. Completely blanked out of existence. All traces of them, all records of them, gone. In some cases people noticed right away but in other cases, it took months or years before they remembered the Vanished." He explained while mixing some drinks. "It was like freaking Thanos came down and snapped everyone away. Not just their physical bodies but all records of them were either wiped out or left incomprehensibly scrambled." "That's right. They're still going over the data all these years later and there isn't a precise scientific explanation for it either." Nicole sighed sadly. "Oh man. Universes crashing into each other? Vanishings? Blackouts and worse? All resulting from universes and parallel worlds clashing? Is there anything we can do about this?" Dolores asked. "There isn't." Derrick replied sadly. "It's a cosmic anomaly and that is far bigger than any of us." He finished the drinks and placed them on a tray and returned to his friends and handed them out and called Tina. Th' universe doesn't care aboot us. Nae pure. Forgoat th' spacers fur a minute 'n' think aboot whit's pure gaun oan up thare in th' muckle wide universe. Thir's cosmic events gaun oan in th' universe we haven't even discovered yit 'n' th' hings we hae? black holes, supernovas, magnetars, th' list goes oan. Tis a' a stoatin vast cosmic affair that we obviously hae na control ower." Lucrais explained casually. Oh please. You're lookin a' i' from 'he wrong perspec'ive. 'ear me ou' 'ere. You're a ghos' drivin a mea' coa'ed skele'on made from stardust, awbi'in a star a' 30km/s tha' star is awbi'in 'he cen'er ov 'he galaxy a' 250km/s. Tha' galaxy is movin 'hrough 'he universe a' a ra'e ov 600km/s. Wha' do you 'ave 'o be scared ov?" Randall challenged. "Ye'v git me in a kist 'ere." Lucrais admitted. "HA!" Randall high-fived her. "I'll 'ake 'ha' win." Tina picked up. "Hey Cuz!" "Hey there Tina." Derrick greeted her. "I'm here with my crew in my dorm room and we have some questions about the glitch. Is it cool if I put you on holo-speaker?" "Go right ahead!" "Cool." Derrick pressed a button and placed the phone on the table. A hologram of Tina rose out of it. She laughed and waved peace signs at the group. "Hi everyone!" "Hi Tina!" The crew replied to her. "So what's your question? I'll answer to the best of my ability!" "Well, we were wondering, do you think that The Vanishing could have been a side effect of a previous glitch?" Derrick asked his cousin. "Hmmm, you came to that conclusion too huh? Yeah, I have to admit, that's been a longstanding theory and not just mine either." Tina replied. "The Supernatural Community have long held that as a very real possibility. Unfortunately, since these events aren't properly understood, nobody has been able to prove it one way or another despite The Vanishing being a Cosmic Glitch being all but confirmed." "Regardin 'ha', is 'here any way 'o brin back anyone who was 'aken by da vanishing?" Randall asked her. "Hey there, Rand. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, no. There's no way to tell where they all disappeared to. Or even if they all ended up in the same place. Or even if they arrived there alive. Or any number of infinite possibilities that could have happened to them in the infinity of the multiverse." "Damn. Tha''s a damn shame. I guess 'ha' makes sense 'hough. Wi'h an infini'e amoun' ov space, every possible even' will occur an infini'e number ov 'imes." He sighed. "By that identical token though, thare wid hae tae be an infinite batch o' universes whaur th' vanishing didnae happen or versions o' it whaur different fowk disappeared." Lucrais reasoned. "Or all of us." Clyde pointed out. "True." "I can't even imagine the odds of us being lucky enough to dodge it in this universe." Diego responded while scratching the back of his head. "As reasonable as that sounds..." Derrick rubbed his chin. "Doesn't it seem weird that most of The Vanished were Superheroes? The information on them is sparse, but, I'm sure Serenity had allies out there. She must have. However, when she fought Equilibrium, her only ally was The Physicist. Since then, Superheroes mostly dropped off the Earth and they've only recently started cropping up again. Ultra Girl, Stronghold, The Shepard, that speedster in Ascension, Detective Violet, Guardian, Souledge, Arcanatrix...they're starting to make a comeback but it's a little strange that they disappeared isn't it?" "Do you think someone could have caused it?" Dolores asked him. "Maybe?" Derrick shrugged. "There's no way to tell but honestly, considering the things I've seen in my life, the things we've seen, I think it's entirely possible." "Yeah, I can back that up." Tina agreed. "Pardon my language, but we've seen some serious shit." "But, if someone could do that, wouldn't it be noticed?" Nicole questioned. "She kinda has a point." Josh agreed. "I don't know much about magic, but, if someone was capable of putting something together to perform that kind of...reality alteration I guess we can call it? Sure, lets go with that. If someone could do that, it would probably require insane levels of preparation and magical power. Wouldn't that be noticed?" "It seems to me like a Cosmic Anomaly is the more logical answer." Owain added. "Hmmm, well, my knowledge of the occult and supernatural isn't exactly textbook, but I guess it could be possible." Tina reasoned. "I would like to bring in my girl Yennefer to assist with this discussion." "Sure, by all means." Derrick agreed. "You guys will love her. She's a sweetheart." "Yenny-poo!" Yennefer the Lycan popped up next to Tina's Hologram with her arms wrapped around her. "Call my name and I shall appear! What up party people?!" "Hey there Yenny!" Derrick greeted her. "Long time no see! How you been?" "Hey yourself Derry-Maine!" She greeted in return. "How's College?" "Living the dream and having deep philosophical discussions about the nature of the universe. Cosmic Anomalies for example." "The Vanishing right? I heard your chat earlier." "Right, so what can tell us about it?" "Unfortunately as much as I've looked into it, I don't know any more than you guys do. A Cosmic Anomaly is the best guess anyone has. You're right that it's oddly convenient that it was focused on Superheroes but targeting all of them deliberately to Vanish, on top of everyone else throughout the world, would take more power than anything I've ever seen." "Not to mention all of the preparation something like that would take." Nicole added. "Exactly. It's the big question that lingers over The Vanishing but nobody's been able to prove anything one way or another unfortunately." Yennefer shook her head.
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Post by SuperKamiGuy1 on Dec 25, 2020 4:35:32 GMT
"Hmmm, you came to that conclusion too huh? Yeah, I have to admit, that's been a longstanding theory and not just mine either." Tina replied. "The Supernatural Community have long held that as a very real possibility. Unfortunately, since these events aren't properly understood, nobody has been able to prove it one way or another despite The Vanishing being a Cosmic Glitch being all but confirmed." "Regardin 'ha', is 'here any way 'o brin back anyone who was 'aken by da vanishing?" Randall asked her. "Hey there, Rand. Unfortunately, as far as I can tell, no. There's no way to tell where they all disappeared to. Or even if they all ended up in the same place. Or even if they arrived there alive. Or any number of infinite possibilities that could have happened to them in the infinity of the multiverse." "Damn. Tha''s a damn shame. I guess 'ha' makes sense 'hough. Wi'h an infini'e amoun' ov space, every possible even' will occur an infini'e number ov 'imes." He sighed. "By that identical token though, thare wid hae tae be an infinite batch o' universes whaur th' vanishing didnae happen or versions o' it whaur different fowk disappeared." Lucrais reasoned. "Or all of us." Clyde pointed out. "True." "I can't even imagine the odds of us being lucky enough to dodge it in this universe." Diego responded while scratching the back of his head. "As reasonable as that sounds..." Derrick rubbed his chin. "Doesn't it seem weird that most of The Vanished were Superheroes? The information on them is sparse, but, I'm sure Serenity had allies out there. She must have. However, when she fought Equilibrium, her only ally was The Physicist. Since then, Superheroes mostly dropped off the Earth and they've only recently started cropping up again. Ultra Girl, Stronghold, The Shepard, that speedster in Ascension, Detective Violet, Guardian, Souledge, Arcanatrix...they're starting to make a comeback but it's a little strange that they disappeared isn't it?" "Do you think someone could have caused it?" Dolores asked him. "Maybe?" Derrick shrugged. "There's no way to tell but honestly, considering the things I've seen in my life, the things we've seen, I think it's entirely possible." "Yeah, I can back that up." Tina agreed. "Pardon my language, but we've seen some serious shit." "But, if someone could do that, wouldn't it be noticed?" Nicole questioned. "She kinda has a point." Josh agreed. "I don't know much about magic, but, if someone was capable of putting something together to perform that kind of...reality alteration I guess we can call it? Sure, lets go with that. If someone could do that, it would probably require insane levels of preparation and magical power. Wouldn't that be noticed?" "It seems to me like a Cosmic Anomaly is the more logical answer." Owain added. "Hmmm, well, my knowledge of the occult and supernatural isn't exactly textbook, but I guess it could be possible." Tina reasoned. "I would like to bring in my girl Yennefer to assist with this discussion." "Sure, by all means." Derrick agreed. "You guys will love her. She's a sweetheart." "Yenny-poo!" Yennefer the Lycan popped up next to Tina's Hologram with her arms wrapped around her. "Call my name and I shall appear! What up party people?!" "Hey there Yenny!" Derrick greeted her. "Long time no see! How you been?" "Hey yourself Derry-Maine!" She greeted in return. "How's College?" "Living the dream and having deep philosophical discussions about the nature of the universe. Cosmic Anomalies for example." "The Vanishing right? I heard your chat earlier." "Right, so what can tell us about it?" "Unfortunately as much as I've looked into it, I don't know any more than you guys do. A Cosmic Anomaly is the best guess anyone has. You're right that it's oddly convenient that it was focused on Superheroes but targeting all of them deliberately to Vanish, on top of everyone else throughout the world, would take more power than anything I've ever seen." "Not to mention all of the preparation something like that would take." Nicole added. "Exactly. It's the big question that lingers over The Vanishing but nobody's been able to prove anything one way or another unfortunately." Yennefer shook her head. "Unfortunately, guessing is all we can do." She summarized. "The whole thing is astronomically bigger than us. Literally. Apologies, Derrick, but there are some things you can't punch out." "Challenge accepted." Derrick joked. "But thanks for your time, Yenny-machine. It was good seeing you again. Lets see, the best advice I can offer is keep an eye out for anything weird, watch your backs and be prepared for anything." "So keep doing what we've been doing?" Tina asked her cousin. "There you go. But I'm serious. We could be in a very weird couple of days." "Or a normal couple of days." She suggested. "But you're right. There's no way to tell what the next few days are going to be like. So we'll just have to take them one day at a time like always." "And there's nothing wrong with that. Just keep your eyes out is all I'm saying." "We always do cuz. I love you." "Love you too." He saluted. "Alright, I'll let you go now. Take it easy and be careful." Tina and Yenny saluted back. "Love ya cuz. Have fun in college and stay out of trouble." "Now what fun is that?" Derrick grinned. "There he is." She hung up and Derrick hung up. "Alright everyone, there you have it, it is what it is." Dolores downed her drink. "Hoookaaaaay! That was a lot to take in!" "Kin gonnae say that again. Ah think ah finally ken a' they cosmic horror stories. Ye ne'er realize juist howfur wee yer 'til fin' yersel' in th' middle o' yin o' they." "Good news is, no giant alien squids have been released upon the world yet." "That we know of, Nicole." Clyde laughed. "Wouldn't surprise me. I have seen some weird things over the years." Derrick confessed. "Don't worry man. The Lord's got our backs. Any Eldritch Horror trying to breach our dimension will have to deal with the hands of the Lord before they can even try picking a fight with humanity." Josh assured him. "...Do you think Heaven would PPV that?" Diego asked. "Because I would watch that." "I'm sure they would. Send it all to charities around the world afterword. I don't think it would be much of a fight though. If Michael can kick Lucifer out of Heaven, he can handle Cthulhu." "No no no, see, you're over'hinkin i', mate. You don'' go faw 'he bigges' guns righ' away. You keep 'hem in reserve. Send 'he Winchesters firs' an' 'hen 'he angels." Randall replied casually. "You've got it backwards honey, The Winchesters are the Big Guns." Nicole reminded him. "Sawry love. My loaf of bread's swimmin." "You know what? Randall's got a point." Derrick downed his drink. "Look. We've all had a very weird day. A scary day. A freaky day. A cosmic horror day. So we've already got a party going...why not put on a movie and forget our troubles for a few hours while we drink away our troubles? Just for tonight?" He offered his friends. "Now you're kicking this party off right bro! So what do you recommend?" " Thunderbolts Squad Boys III: Blood Justice Armageddon." Thunderbolts Squad III was the third crossover movie between The Thunderbolts, The Suicide Squad and The Boys. Also known as one of the bloodiest and most over the top violent quote unquote Superhero Movie Franchises so far. The third one clocked in at 214 minutes of over the top carnage and mayhem. It was reportedly going to be even longer but there had to be a metric ton of editing done to get it down first from an NC-21 Rating and later the NC-17 Rating down to a Hard R. In short it was exactly the kind of over the top insanity you watch with your friends to unwind at a party after a weird day involving a Cosmic Anomaly. The subsequent chorus of enthusiasm was all the encouragement he needed. "The Ayes have it! Be right back!" Derrick backflipped over the sofa and got to work putting the movie in and making more drinks for everyone. Once everybody was all setup, the group of friends moved the chairs and sofas into place for a night of drinking, laughter and movie riffing. In time they'd forgotten all about today's problems.
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Post by SuperKamiGuy1 on Dec 25, 2020 19:47:12 GMT
And thus ends Chapter 1 of Derrick's Story! Chapter 2 is coming right up and it's going to be downright insane. Hold on to your hats because we're diving into backstory land!
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Post by SuperKamiGuy1 on Dec 25, 2020 19:56:38 GMT
CHAPTER 2 AN INNOCENT FAMILY ROADTRIP SUNSET HILLS, CASTSEATONMARK
10 YEARS AGO.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ In this heat even the trees appear defeated. Leaves that should be firm and upward tilting droop, flaccid as old lettuce. The soil isn't simply dry, but powdery to the touch. Grass that is always green until August is hay by early July. Even the air is dry, not the usual humid warmth they would've had at this time of the year. Each day the sky is barren, though of late the forest fires have stolen our endless blue for a dull grey and each evening bringing out a blood sun. Two days ago some rain fell around the area, leaving large warm drops that disappeared as soon as they struck the hot tarmac or else sucked into the dusty mud not leaving a trace. Strongmarsh had such little winter that the fall leaves still litter the ground and he couldn't help but wonder if this season's greenery will even make it till autumn. Already above his head fluttered gold where it should be nothing but robust virescent hues. In a few months those colours would lift my spirit, but not now. They should be dark, not this insipid tone, fueling the tree for the winter ahead. This part of the world should never be so arid and it felt so strange to him at the time. Any tree that'd been in the ground less than two years lost every single leaf, they just died, slowly. The sun was no longer the kids' summertime friend, it was an oppressive presence that sapped the energy out of every living thing. Thank God for the souped up air conditioning of their cars keeping them nice and cool. The cars pulled up to The Jefferson's Court Barbecue Restaurant and slowed to a stop at the gas pumps. Derrick Blackburn yawned and popped off his sunglasses. They were utterly shiny, dark silver and so seamless. They simply wrapped around his face from one side to another, perfect as if only ever touched by gloved hand. Derrick was considerably smaller back then with a skinny but lean muscular body and wild black hair complete with a punk t-shirt and distressed denim shorts in which he had special pockets sewn under the seams which contained lockpicks. His dad's idea. Just in case they were ever needed. "Dad? What's up? Where are we? Is that smoked meat? Dibs!" "That's good old fashioned barbecue son! It may not be as legendary as what they've got down in Shepard but it's still the best for miles around." Leonardo Blackburn replied to his son as he parked the car. "Trust me: One bite of these burgers and you'll never want to go back to fast food!" He was a tall, strongly built gentleman with combed back hair, a powerful beard, the eyes of a wolf and the smile of a fatherly gentleman. He complimented this with his casual Italian style of dress. "Challenge accepted." "You okay honey?" Josephina Stoneshire Blackburn asked Leo while rubbing his back. She was a tall and toned woman with dark blonde hair tied back in twin ponytails wearing casual sportswear. "You've been driving a long time." "This? This is nothing. We pulled longer shifts back in the army remember." "Oh yeah. Remember that stakeout in Zailkhad? It took forever for the targets to show up!" "And when they did we went right ahead and took care of business." Leo chuckled. "How's about this? I'll refuel and park while you guys are getting a table. Go on in." "Sounds like a plan to me!" Gloria Stoneshire replied and stepped out. She was the spitting image of her sister if not for the difference in muscle and hair style. "Thanks dad!" Derrick hopped out. Josephina kissed her husband on the lips and stepped out. He chuckled and turned off the car and stepped out to refuel. Across from them were another family exiting their own car: Alessandro Berardinelli, Michelle Blackburn Berardinelli, Tina Berardinelli and Argos Blackburn. Tina bounded over and embraced her cousin who hugged her back. "Ohhhh man! I don't know about you but I seriously need to stretch my legs! I don't even care if it's hot out! I need to do some running!" She exclaimed while hopping up and down. She was a little bundle of joy wearing bright pink summer clothes that matched the pink streaks in her hair. "I feel you there Tina." Derrick agreed and picked his cousin up and spun around and set her down. "Could use a good mile run right about now. I swear when we get to Aunt Nancy's place I'm running laps around it. You ready for a burger?" "Oh God. You cannot subsist on gummies alone on a trip like this." She admitted. "I told you to save them." Alessandro joked as he got ready to pump the gas. He was a tall slender man with shoulder length dark hair, scruffy facial hair and a nice suit. His wife Michelle was a stern looking beautiful woman with chestnut brown hair worn in a fancy style. She is wearing a business casual women summer outfit with a pencil skirt. "If you're that hungry sweetie we can get you something nice here. How does a smoked bbq burger sound?" "Awesome!" "I'll take a smoked rib eye if they have 'em." Argos Blackburn decided as he stretched his massive arms. He was a giant of a man, towering over the rest of the family with over 340 lbs of muscle backing him. Argos was also dressed casually. Just some jeans and a white shirt. He smelled the air. "Yep. They've definitely got them." "Alright then, let's do this! It's chowtime everybody!" Derrick declared. "Quite the kid you've got." Alessandro complimented his brother in law. "Oh like we were any different at his age?" Leo chuckled. "Isn't that the damn truth. At least you were normal. I was running around in a mask and a cape. Getting into street fights on a nightly basis." "You were damn good at it though, saved a lot of people, and it's how you met Michelle." Alessandro chuckled. "Who even steals jewels anymore." "You ever miss it?" "Oh heck no. I got a kid now Leo. She needs me in her life. They both do. Just as much as I need them. Besides, testing security measures for people is always plenty of fun." "Believe me I understand. You ever want to get back into action? The military would love to have someone with your skills." "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." The family sat down together inside of the restaurant where the unmistakable aroma of grilled chicken, beef and pork will fill the air Barbecue is one of those unique cooking forms that you can enjoy the special goodness of even before you take a bite. A leisurely bath in the vapours deepens their beefy flavour and softens their chewy texture. It’s the smoke — rich, languid, sweet smoke — that imparts so much flavor to the meat and causes your olfactory senses to explode in delight before the first bite is taken. It’s like an early warning to your mouth that something good is about to happen, only without the annoying siren. "This is nice." Josephina smiled as she relaxed. "They're all so advanced these days. It's nice to see an old school business like this." "It smells so gooooood! Can we just stay here?" "You'd probably have to work." Gloria smirked. "Child Labor Laws. Can't touch us." "3 hours in a school day, 18 hours in a school week, 8 hours on a non-school day, 40 hours on a non-school week and our hours would be between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m." Derrick corrected Tina. "Shhhhhh! Don't let them know that!" "Too late! We're signing you kids up. It's Summer so you'll get plenty of work experience." "Aunt Gloria!" They exclaimed. They giggled. Argos flexed. "Ah this would be easy work for you. Why when I was your age I was doing some real back breaking work. Really getting my hands dirty." The 74 year old bodybuilding gentleman laughed. "Paid off though! Just kept building my body and now I'm as large as a barge!" "What kind of work was that grampa? Wait...is that how you..." "Lost my eye? Nah sonnyboy. That was due to a really bad day in the desert. I'll tell you when you're older. You kids ain't quite ready to hear about it yet." "Whel hello there. Welcome ta thay Jefferson's Court Barbecue Restaurant! Are y'all frawum out av town?" The group looked up to see a buxom young waitress approaching them. Now Derrick, being a 14 year old boy, immediately smoothed back his hair and leaned back in his seat and tried to act all cool. "Why yes, yes we are, just rolled into town today and the godly aroma of this restaurants divine culinary skills reached our hearts and guided us to this restaurant!" Tina pushed on his head and smiled at the waitress. "What my crazy cousin means is that we're on a road trip and we've heard so much about the restaurant that we just had to stop by!" She laughed it off. "Ay'm awful glay y'all stopped by. It's always kind ta see new faces around here. Allow me ta introduce myself. My name's Mary Ellen ayn' ay'll be y'all's servuurr today. Here is our menus, our speciaal today is fire-roasted jasmahn lamb. May ay start y'all off with some drinks? We've done got Episcope products!" Derrick pushed Tina's hand off of his head and fixed his hair. "Awesome. Then I would like a Honey Crystal." "Banana Hound for me." Tina added. "Diet Mountain Pep for me." Michelle spoke up. "Also we've got two more outside who are refueling the cars." "Ay understand. When they come in we'll show them ta thay table." Mary replied while jotting down their drink orders. Josephina, Gloria and Argos ordered a Glowing Burst Orange Burst, a Northern Tornado and a Grape Thunder respectively. The waitress took their drink orders and walked to off to retrieve their drinks while Leo and Alessandro were walking into the restaurant. "Hi dad. Hi Uncle Leo. Derrick was trying to act like a hotshot but I put him in his place." "If that's what you call messing up my hair pinkie." She blew a raspberry at her cousin and he made a face. She tried to push him down again but he stopped her arm and they started wrestling a little until Michelle snapped her fingers and they snapped to attention. Leo chuckled."Save it for Aunt Nany's, kids. Blake & Finley will throw down with you all day long." "Yes sir! Sorry for the disturbance!" They replied. Leo and Alessandro sat down together with their family. "You guys order yet?" Alessandro asked while picking up a menu. "Just the drinks. They have Episcope drinks." "What? All the way out here? Wow." "Guess I will have a Honey Crystal then." "Diet Mountain Pep." The waitress came back with the first order of drinks and Leonardo turned to his son and raised an eyebrow. Derrick sheepishly shrugged his shoulders and Leo ruffled his son's hair. He and Alessandro ordered their own drinks and their lunch alongside the others. The waitress took their orders and returned to the kitchen as the family returned to their conversations. "So there we are right? My suit's torn up, we're out of breath, pinned down behind rubble and Sergent Serdyuk just keeps rambling! He starts like, this prepared speech about how *feeble* we compared to him, how *inevitable* our defeat is, how *the world* *will soon* *be his*, yadda yadda yadda. You remember right honey?" "Oh Gooood him! I mean, one direct hit from his mega cannon and we're dust! The idiot had us dead to rights and he wouldn't shut up!" Josephina laughed. "How did you get out of that one?" Derrick asked. "Teamwork. Your caught his breath, created a sniper rifle and shot out the lights of his death ray. Then while he was freaking out over that I...well if I'm being perfectly honest...I shot him in the balls with an Incendiary Luxx Crystal (L-INC) round." The family burst out laughing at this mental image of Josephina shooting someone in the groin with one of her super fire bullets. The Khrysos Corporation's Incendiary Round is, as guessed, an incendiary round designed for the military usage that detonates a split second after impact reverse engineered off of alien technology that they have acquired in the past. It is designed to manipulate an energy field to their desired effect depending on the structure. In the case of the Incendiary rounds, the weapon releases a small field of energy that rapidly increases molecular vibration in matter causing a small but intense wave of heat that will set nearly anything on fire and can leave 5th degree burns on most organic life in mere moments and even deform and fracture many metals. Specialized rounds manipulate the field further to create even more intense heat waves that can ignite the air around the target into an intense fireball that can completely incinerate the target. Obviously, being shot by such a bullet burned off the villain's lower extremities, groin area, part of his torso and most of his legs. "So after that we just wiped out the rest of his minions, scrapped the death ray and called it in. Cleanup crews took care of the rest." Leo relaxed. "Yes son your mother is quite a woman." "You're awesome mom!" "Awww thanks sweetie! It was a team effort though. You can be the toughest guy in the world but still get outnumbered. It pays to have someone watching your back." "In more ways than one." Gloria joked. "Quiet you." Josephina replied to her sister and stuck her tongue out. The waitress eventually returned with their drinks and food and the family got ready to enjoy their lunch. Derrick and Tina had Juicy Grass-Fed Beef Burgers, Argos got a plate of Asian Style Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs (Which they always have ready to go!), Michelle received her order of Greek-Style Chicken, Leo and Josephina got their orders of Seared Lamb with Balsamic Sauce, Gloria received her order of a Beef Tenderloin Steak with Chipotle Butter and Bell Pepper Sauté and Alessandro received his order of Coriander-Thyme Lamb Chops with Yogurt Sauce. "Oh man this is unreal! These look amazing!" Derrick smiled. He took a bite of his burger, chewed, savored and swallowed. "And they taste amazing too! This one of the best burgers I've ever had!" "Well, goo'ness gracious, mister, that there's very kind ta hear!" The waitress beamed. "There is naw highuurr honaw faw our chefs than ayy pleased customuurr." "Unquestionably. Wow." Michelle looked over her chicken and Argos's ribs. "You guys really have a little bit of everything don't you? I'm impressed." "Mighty kaand av y'all ta say so! We pride ourselves on our wide variety av meals available here at thay Jefferson's Court Barbecue Restaurant. Remembuurr our slogan: If the deysh involves meat, we can cook it!" "That is a catch slogan. I'll drink to it!" Tina raised her soda and the family clinked them. The waitress smiled and nodded. "Mighty kaand av ya'all. Thank ya so much. So, ay will leave ya ta enjoy y'all's meals. If y'all need anything just holluurr ayn' ay will be raheet back in two shakes av ayy lamb's tail." The waitress grinned and walked away. Tina crossed her legs and set her drink down. "This place is as Southern as it gets." She joked. "Be nice Tina. The golden rule in the South is to do unto others as you would have them do unto you, without expecting reciprocation. Southerners don’t give or dole out favors as an obligation, but we do it out of courtesy, respect, and habit. It's a good philosophy to follow in life. Besides, Sacred Hospitality goes back a long way. Offering hospitality is a duty, and both guest and host must behave themselves." Michelle informed her daughter. "Yes mom." She had some of her burger. "This is great though." Michelle had some of her own meal. "Fantastic." The family continued laughing and talking and joking around together as they enjoyed their lunch. After a fantastic lunch and a few drinks, the family paid for their meals and used the washrooms. As Derrick was leaving the washroom he found his father talking with one of the owners about which route to take to get back to the highway utilizing a holo-map on the table and the Holo-Phone's GPS. "Okay so go raheet up General Boulevard frawum Centre Avenue ayn' go straaheet until y'all faand the highway exit ayn' y'all'll be on y'all's way. Now ay feel ay should warn y'all: We've done heard repawts about troublemakers a-dressin' up as awnery varmints ayn' a-playin' sick pranks on passerby ayn' causing trouble faw them. If y'all see anyone done dressed like an animal waving thay'r arms ayn' a-tryin' ta get attention, y'all just keep raheet on a-drivin' ayn' don't pay them any maand. Just keep a-drivin'." Jimmy James Jefferson explained to Leo Blackburn. "Noted. Thank you very much Mr.Jefferson." "Awww shucks Leo! Ay can call ya Leo right? Just call me Jiimmy! Everyone does!" He clapped Derrick's father on the back. "Ya'll take care now alright?" "You too Jimmy. This place is amazing." Leo shook his hand firmly. "Ya're ayy darn good man leo. Ya should be proud." He shook Leo's hand and waved to Derrick and returned to the kitchen. "Nice guy." "Trust me son, you'll learn to love visiting the South. There's a lot of good people down here." "Uh, I caught some of that what was that about pranks and varmints?" "Just some idiots in animal masks. Don't worry about it. If worse comes to worse, we'll just scare 'em off and be on our way. Speaking of which, you ready to go?" "Always dad." Leo informed the rest of the family of what he'd told them and the family filed outside and got back in their cars. As they were driving away a man in the back of the restaurant was hunched over his phone sending a message.
He sent out the message, pocketed his phone and returned to his steak lunch. The family drove up the road with the GPS guiding them as they played their music. The Blackburns were playing Rock and Metal Driving Music and The Berardinelli's were playing a mix of various songs and Tina went back to her Crimson Avenger Audiobook. It was the Audiobook of the Novelization of her first teamup with The Diamond Roses to fight The Nefarious Doctor Insidious, one of her most famous comics. As their car engines sang to the lone country roads, Derrick and his family sang their metal music together in what Derrick would later assure his friends was complete synchronization. In truth they were out of synch and a little off key but it didn't matter at the time because the family was just too busy having fun and laughing together as they rocked out to The Rock N Roll Soldiers' Funny Little Feeling. "I'm not doin; fine
I'm desecrating lives
I boned a phone booth of a lady shaky heinous crimes
Nailing hands down to floorboards
Angry side gone overboard
And
I'm bored
Still bored
I'm so bored
I've got a funny little feeling
My arms are shaking like a lightning rod, yeah
I'll cannonball right through the ceiling
And sink my teeth in till the feelings gone, yeah
Oh, I'm the slow move guy
No time for swattin' flies
Appeasing bees knees easing g string seizing wheezing
Funny little feeling
Lick it dry
Wonders just who am I
Prison warden, teenage boy, transvestite with high heels on
Hey where has my life gone
Ain't done anything I want
According to my list
I've still got so many musicians to kill
Will kill, until I fill my landfill full of bodies standing still
I've got a funny little feeling
My arms are shaking like a lightning rod, yeah
I'll cannonball right through the ceiling
And sink my teeth in 'till the feelings gone, yeah
I've got a funny little feeling
My arms are shaking like a lightning rod, yeah
I'll cannonball right through the ceiling
And sink my teeth in 'till the feelings gone, yeah
I've got a funny little feeling
My arms are shaking like a lightning rod, yeah
I'll cannonball right through the ceiling
And sink my teeth in 'till the feelings gone, yeah
I've got a funny little
I've got a funny little
I've got a funny little
I've got a funny little feelin'
I've got a funny little
I've got a funny little
I've got a funny little feelin'
Feelin'
Feelin'!"
About an hour into their drive a pair of a massive diesel trucks hauling two large trailers each started to come up on them. The family initially didn't pay them much mind and continued driving. After a few minutes of following them however the trucks suddenly sped up and an alarm sounded from the car's dashboard. Leo glanced at it and his eyes went wide. "EVERYBODY HOLD ON TO SOMETHING!" Derrick looked up and Josephina glanced back at her son as she gripped the handlebar and Gloria leaned over and covered Derrick. The Berardinelli's turned off the music and braced themselves. Alessandro gripped the steering wheel, Michelle braced herself and called out to Argos who was already placing a hand on Tina. The trucks rammed into the backs of the cars, their horns blaring like banshees! The family jerked forward in their cars and Derrick yelled out. "DAMMIT! WHAT THE FUCK IS THEIR PROBLEM?!" Gloria shouted. "DERRICK! DERRICK ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" Leo yelled back to his son. "I-I'm fine...who are these GAAHH!" He was cut off with another yell as the truck slammed them again. "Just hold on baby, you'll be okay!" Josephina assured her son as she held on. "Leo! Leo can't you get over?!" "There's no room we're boxed in on either side!" He gritted his teeth and pressed a button to call Alessandro. "This car can take a beating but we need to get the hell out of here. Alessandro! Are you there? You still with us?" There was a hissing, fizzing sound but they were still able to understand most of it. "Jus.....ew...mps....GING IN.....NEED A PL....FERSON MUST'VE....US OUT....WE HIT....NITROS! NITROS!" "LOUD AND CLEAR ALESSANDRO! LOUD AND CLEAR!" Leo opened up the armrest to reveal a series of switches and buttons. "WE'RE GOING NITRO! BRACE YOURSELVES!" "WE'RE GOING WHAT? THIS CAR CAN DO THAT?!" Derrick exclaimed. Gloria helped Derrick back up into position and he grabbed onto the handrail and his seat as Gloria did. "DO IT!" Josephina braced herself. "GO!" Leo flicked the switches and jabbed his thumb onto the first button and braced himself. The car's nitros activated and miniature center mounted jet engines with an afterburner slid down from the center of the cars. The afterburner was engaged and additional fuel was injected behind the jet engine's normal turbine to provide additional thrust. This of course burns fuel a lot faster so it doesn't get used all the time. The family jerked backwards as their cars rocketed forward and swiftly left the trucks in the dust. "HOOOOOLLLYYY SHIIIIIIIIT!" Derrick exclaimed and burst out laughing. Leo kept himself focused on the road and narrowed his eyes as he continued driving, not taking his eyes off for a second. He knew Alessandro was doing the same, their cars neck and neck as they raced away. Not to be outdone however the trucks had their own series of tricks ready for the family. The headlights slid down and a pair of harpoons on chains shot out like rockets to impale their cars! They cut through the air like a blade through tissue paper and caught up to the cars easily. The harpoons impacted the cars with loud *BANG!* sounds and slid across the trunks of the cars and hit the glass. A shower of sparks was thrown into the air while a thin crack barely the length of a hair strand appeared in the back window. The cars continued forward undettered and the harpoons slumped to the street defeated. Derrick was holding onto his Aunt Gloria now and she tried to stop his trembling while Tina screamed and screamed in the Berardinelli's car and buried her sobbing eyes in Argos's shirt. "MOOOMMMMY! I WANNA GO HOME! I WANNA GO HOOOME! MOOOOMM!" Michelle continued watching the mirrors until the trucks were out of view while the cars went up the hill. "Okay. Okay. They're gone." She turned back to her daughter and reached out to her. "It's okay now sweetie. You're alright now. They're gone. They're gone and they won't hurt you. We won't let them okay? Look at me Tina. Tina, I'm right here. I'm here baby." "Mom....mom...mommy? Mommy?" Tina reached and took her mother's in her own. "Oh God sweetie it's okay. We're safe now. They can't catch us now. We're going to get out of here and never come back." Michelle did not like lying to her daughter at the end but it was mostly true. Certainly the children would never come back to this dungheap of a town but she would. Oh yes she would. She would come back here, hunt down the drivers and make them scream for scaring her little girl. Then she'd find Mr.Jefferson and make him talk. If Alessandro was right, if he had indeed sold them out, there would be no place in the world for him to hide from them and no force on Earth that would stop them from making him pay. But right now her little girl needed her so Michelle held her hand. "Ssshhhh now. It's okay. You're going to be alright honey. You're a strong girl and I'm proud of you. We're okay. You're okay. I'm okay. We're all okay. I love you honey." "I love you too mommy." Tina sniffled and wiped her eyes first with her hands then with a tissue Michelle handed her. "There you go. That's my girl. Where's your phone? I think playing your superhero story will calm everyone down." "Oh right. I-I dropped it. Where is it?" Tina looked around the car until Argos spotted it and he picked it up and handed it back to her. "Here you go kiddo." Tina beamed and she quickly turned it back on and got back to the section she was at before and took out the headphones and she began playing it again. Michelle turned back around and slumped against her seat. "Holy cow. Are you okay?" "I did not expect this to happen today. Thank God we tricked out the car." Alessandro sighed as they rocketed down the hill. "I'm going to kill the afterburner in a minute once we know we're safe." He tried the phone again. "Hey Leo! You holding up alright?" "As good as we can." Alessandro didn't need to be there in person to notice the rage boiling under his voice. It was as clear to him as the fire inside of his beloved wife's eyes. He'd see their rage before. The anger of The Blackburns. They were good people. Honorable, kind, loving, polite, always willing to help you out of a jam. But by all that is holy do not cross their lines. Do not piss them off. Do not threaten their loved ones or they will rain hellfire down on you. Derrick told his friends about something Alessandro's Grandmother used to say about The Blackburn family. Cave Blackburns ad iram. Ardet intus diaboli. Beware the rage of the Blackburns. The devil burns within them. The name Blackburn is, after all, of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from when a family lived in the town of Blackburn in the county of Lancashire. This place-name is derived from the Old English word burn, meaning stream, and referred to a stream in a dark area. The cars continued on for a little while further and then they turned off the afterburner boost. Leo sighed. "Hey Alessandro." "Yeah Leo?" "Whaddya say we leave these guys a little present?" "Oil slick?" "Oil slick." "Oil slick?" Derrick asked. Leo and Alessandro pressed buttons in their respective cars and their cars squirted out lengthy slippery oil slicks on the road. A little present for the truck drivers for when they came back after them. "The car can do that too? Why did you never tell me this?" Derrick questioned. "I was going to tell you in a few years when you were old enough to start driving. You need a special license to drive one of these you know." "Really? What else haven't you told me dad?" "I'll tell you later when we're at your Aunt's place." A minute passed. "Are we gonna be okay dad?" "You'll be fine Derrick. Nobody's gonna hurt you with me around." "If they try we'll tear them apart." Josephina assured her son. Derrick sighed and relaxed in his seat. Done with this day in general now. He closed his eyes and relaxed. "Cool. Love you guys." "Love you son." "Dad you alright?" Leo asked Argos. "I've been through crazier than this. But who the hell has harpoons in their headlights all the way out here?" "Must be the masked assholes they warned us about unless that was a lie. I don't know. We'll figure out when we find a place to pull over, rest and call the cops." Josephina reasoned. "I say we keep going. Her house will be safer than any place out here and we can plan out a counter offensive better. Either way once we're on the highway they won't be able to chase us without hundreds of witnesses. We'll be fine." Leo pointed out. "Right now I want everybody to keep an eye out and be ready for anything." For the next few minutes there was peace and quiet for the family. Nothing but smooth sailing they thought. They figured the danger was passed. After about ten minutes of this they finally got away from the rocky hills and into a wide open grassy area and promptly drove right over a trap. A series of small spiked drills popped out of the ground and shot up into the air and they stabbed and bored their way right into the tires and shredded them open! The cars swerved and slowed to a crawl as they drove over them and they soon came to a stop, just sliding over the ground to a stop. "WHAT THE HELL?!" Josephina exclaimed. Leo turned around and looked back and saw the drill spikes and the trucks coming down the hill only to drive right over the oil slick and slip and slide out of control. This slowed them down and would disorient the drivers but it wasn't enough to stop them. Leo glowered and turned off the car. "Everybody out. Get out of the cars and crouch down next to ours. It's small, armored and the windows are bulletproof. Do it now. I'm putting a stop to this shit." "But dad!" "Now Derrick." "...okay." The Blackburns got out and they assembled next to the car. Leo calmly walked out of the car, locked it and tossed his wife the keys. Leo wiggled his fingers and then raised his hands up with his fingers in a position where he it looked like he was holding guns. There was a flash of brilliant yellow and violet light that swirled around his hands as more energy crackled around his hands. The energy soon took the form of a pair of handcannons before solidifying into physical weapons that looked exactly like smooth metallic weapons! He twirled the guns and marched forward to meet the oncoming trucks. The drivers finally got a handle on their steering again and they barreled down on him. He continued walking towards them and raised the handcannons. The trucks raced towards him at top speed. He squeezed the triggers and two brilliant lights of bright yellow energy with purple lights traveling around the light beams that super heated the air to the point of ionization, resulting in purple lightning like bolts traveling around them. The beams shot through the air and hit the trucks head on and blew apart the front of the trucks! Allow me to explain. Leonardo Blackburn's power is Firearm Construction: The power to create guns of all types, and sizes, by shaping the existing matter and energy via mentally reciting the atomic configuration and inner workings of the gun. He can't generate normal ammunition though. Instead, he utilizes energy that his body produces and fires it through the guns. This can be incredibly destructive or as powerful as a normal bullet depending on his focus and how much energy he puts into the guns. Every shot drains his stamina however. The more energy he puts out and the more bullets he fires the more stamina he loses. Back to current past events, the energy blasts crashed into the front of the trucks like trains tearing through the air at 2,799 feet/sec and the electricity crackled around them and the front of the trucks lit up like the Sun before igniting in a fiery ball of yellow flame that billowed outwards and the sky trembled above them to the sound of a roaring thunderclap. The trucks swerved wildly, smashed into each other, collided and they went into two separate directions and they tore across the grass before tipping over. The ground trembled like the sky above it when the trucks fell over with the trailers smashing into the grass and threw up grass and dirt and soil. Josephina took her hands off of her ears and she poked Derrick to let him know it was okay to do so. He slowly rose up and peeked his head around the car and his jaw dropped at the sight of the burning trucks, the strange smell of burning rubber and metal and glass and the smoke rising into the air. He literally had no words. He'd seen his dad showing off his powers before on the 4th of July or when he was shooting wooden targets and mannequins but he never would've guessed that he was this powerful! He was like a walking bazooka! He tried to find the words to speak but nothing came out of his mouth. Josephina placed a comforting arm around him. "What is that?" She spoke his thoughts out loud. "That is your father in action. It's why he never touches alcohol." "Holy." "Yeah. Sweetie! Leo? Are we good?" "Stay down right now. We don't know if they're finished yet!" Leo called back to them without taking his eyes off of the trucks. "He's right. Back down Derrick." He nodded and they slowly crouched back down. "Is it over yet?" Tina asked. "Almost honey. Almost." Michelle spoke softly and kissed her daughter's forehead. "I am very proud of you. You're being very brave." "Just relax Tina honey. Uncle Leo's never let us down." Alessandro embraced his daughter gently. "And he's going to get this cleaned up too." Leo watched the trucks in complete silence. Not once letting down his guard. The army had drilled that into his head and he was going to put it to use now. Leo smelled the air. Super senses was not one of his talents but his nose was sharp enough to catch the country air, the smoke and the burning trucks even from this distance. He slowly approached them one step at a time. One step in front of the other. His shoes crunching on the ground. K'duh, k'duh, k'duh K'duh, k'duh, k'duh. K'duh, k'duh, k'duh K'duh, k'duh, k'duh. He gradually closed in on the burning trucks and the blazing hot golden flames engulfing the front of the trucks and spreading to the grass, threatening to erupt into a blazing wildfire that would entrap the family and cook them alive from the heat if they didn't suffocate from the smoke first. That wouldn't do. So Leo focused himself again and released a different waves of energy this time in the form of pressure waves that simply smashed into the trucks and snuffed out the flames before they could spread any further. He sighed and turned them off once this was accomplished. Leonardo continued approaching the trucks, cautious of any surprises. He doubted the drivers were still alive but that didn't mean that there wasn't anybody else waiting for them in the trailers. These guys had harpoons in their headlights and spiked traps set up. He wasn't taking any chances here. Leo was proven right when he heard clanging and banging noises inside of the trailers. Leo moved to the side so he was in front of the trailer on the left and he backed up against its scrap metal hood and then he slowly manuevered around the sides of the first trailer. The clanging and banging noises continued until the back of the trailer burst open and a group of men tumbled out of it. "Fuckin! What the fuckin' fuck?! Who the fuck fucked this here fuckin'?! How done y'all that there fuckin' fucks! Fuck!" One of them demanded as he staggered to his feet. "Shitfuck douchenugget cock-sucking cuntwaffle barbara streisand's sagging testicles! What the fuck just done happened?!" One. "Christ on ayy cracker! Everything hurts! Done those there goatfuckers just crash?" Two. "Shit fuck dammit all. How in thay ...err sam hell do y'all crarsh like that there anyway?" Three. "Whel that there were fun. Ay think ay'm bleeding but that there were ayy ride. Hold on. Okay. Yeah. Ay'm bleeding. Hurts ayy bit. Also ay shot marvin in thay ...err face. That there were my awful bad. Sorry." Four. And they were armed. "Damn. Ay done liked Marvin." Five. "Nahwt a-tellin' thay old man! One two three nahwt it!" Six and an old man they were working for. He would have to be sure to spare one or two of them to get information about their boss. Whomever they were working for probably wanted them alive, or at least intact, which probably meant that the harpoons were meant to capture them. Considering the size and shape of the trailers and the armed guards, he could assume that they were for transporting the prisoners to their boss. Which probably meant they were torturing, dissecting, eating or selling their prisoners. Or all of the above. Probably that one. One thing was certain however: These men were planning to capture and kill his family. And that was not forgivable. He listened a bit longer until he confirmed there were about eight in total and all of them were still a bit banged up from the crash. He also heard the other trailers starting to open and came up with a plan of attack: Spring out from cover, take out these guys before they knew what hit them, then take out the ones directly across from him, then the guys coming out of the rear trailer from the truck on the left and finally the last group from the other truck. He'd take most of them out of commission and leave the last two just intact enough to tell him everything he needed to know who they worked for, who worked with them and everything else they needed to know. Then they would call the police and inform them of what was going on and work with them to finish off the rest of these trash. Leonardo Blackburn continued creeping around the side of the trailer until he was close enough to attack. He took a deep breath, exhaled and he jumped out and opened fire. As it turned out the men were dressed in farm and ranch wear and animal masks were plenty of stains and tears and holes. They didn't get a chance to react before he opened fire with a series of focused shots that blew gaping holes through their chests. The dead bodies of the animal men dropped to the ground with red hot holes in their bodies. Leo kicked their guns back inside of the truck and peaked inside. Sure enough there was a man slouched over with a hole in his head. Obviously a misfire from one of the rifles when the trucks crashed. Well that made things easier. So counting him with the other idiots that made nine, plus the two drivers of this truck made eleven plus the two drivers of the other truck made thirteen. Time to find out if that was his lucky number today. With these guys down and out, he moved on and walked towards the other trailers directly across from him. He moved just as cautiously as before, conserving his energy with slow deliberate movements while keeping his guns up and pointed at the trailers. Once he reached the trailer he turned his back to it and slowly crept along the length of the trailer. Even now he could hear them banging away and forcing the doors open. Same with the other trailers. They were starting to wake up and while they were still confused and injured, Leo knew he had to move fast to take these guys out before they could get their bearings. He slid along the wall and stopped and waited. It didn't take long for the ones in the trailer behind him to break open the doors. They stumbled out but before they could figure out what was going on Leonardo sprung out from the side of the trailer and opened fire on them. The energy blasts from his guns shot right through them even as each shot drained some more stamina from him. He kept going though and after five trigger pulls from each gun he'd shot down the whole group. Twenty-Two now. He breathed in deep and exhaled. There were more banging sounds and the doors of the trailer behind him and the trailer across from that broke open. That made eighteen more to go. He took a few steps back into the trailer, stepping over the corpses, and then he turned around and crouched down and took aim at the front of the trailer and pulled the trigger of the gun in his left hand. Another energy blast was released and impacted against the front of the trailer and blew it open in a flash of fire and thunder and smoke. He didn't wait for the smoke to clear either and quickly fired into it. He couldn't see them quite yet but he could hear the impacts of the blasts with their bodies and their screams of terror as these flashes of light came from out of nowhere and burned through their flesh and bones as easily as burning paper. He pulled the triggers until he was sure he'd gotten all of them and he lowered his guns and crouched down on one knee. After a few long breaths he stood back up again and walked back out of the trailer. He walked over the dead bodies again without giving them a second glance. Leonardo could hear the panicked cries of the remaining men and he picked up the pace to get them taken care of. Nine more. Nine more to go. Just nine more. He'd faced worse odds than this back in the war. Hell he'd faced worse odds growing up. But then again...it had been a little while since he'd used his powers seriously. He braced himself and continued forward. These men had tried to kill his family and he was not on the type of man to forgive that. Derrick found himself wincing at the sounds of the energy blasts shooting through the air like crackling, whistling, bolts of lightning. They were stuck. Stuck behind the car for safety while his father fought the bad men and made them scream and scream and scream and then drop silent. The only thing he could see when he did perk his head up was flashes of light and the only thing he heard were the explosions, the blasts and the screams. He couldn't smell them either. Just scorched air. Just the scent of fire and smoke from the direction of the trucks. The only sign he had that his father was even still alive over there was the flashes of light from his guns. He sniffled and started to stand up but his mother gently helped him back down to his feet. He struggled to find words as the tears came to his face. He wanted to run over there and hug his dad and pull him back over to them. He wanted to get away from here. Away from this place and away from his town. He wanted to go home and for this whole day to just be a nightmare. He wanted it to be a bad dream. He wanted to run over and help his father fight the bad guys! He wanted his father! He wanted dad! He reached over and hugged his mother as he started to cry into her arms. The tears burst forth like water from a dam, spilling down my face. I feel the muscles of my chin tremble like a small child and he desperately hugged his mom, physically begging her for comfort. He sobbed into her chest unceasingly, hands clutching at her jacket. She held him in silence, rocking him slowly as his tears soaked her chest. A tiny lapse let him pull away, blinking lashes heavy with tears, before he collapsed again, his sobs of fear worsening. "Sssshh now. Ssshhh. It will be alright sweetie. It will be alright my little ruler. You will be okay. This will all be over soon and we'll all go home together. You'll see. We'll go home and this will all seem like a bad dream to you." She continued whispering words of comfort to her son despite knowing that he was feeling the exact same thing she was. She wanted to rush over there right now and start breaking necks and cracking skulls right alongside Leonardo. But Josephina was needed here. She needed to support their son. He needed his mother right now. He and Tina both needed their parents to comfort them while Leonardo blew away the bad men who'd come to hurt them. "Your father is going to be safe. We all will. We're going to be okay Derrick. I promise. We love you and we will not let anyone hurt you ever." Leonardo strolled around the trailer and twirled his guns as he got ready to finish this. Oh my god! Oh my god! What the hell is a-goin' on? What could have done that there? What is a-goin' on? T-they're dead! They're all dead! What is a-happenin' out there? What is a-goin' on?!" Amos asked desperately as he clutched his rifle with trembling arms. "There were fawty av us! Naw way naw one man can take us all down on his own! It's nahwt possible!" Ricky added. "What thay fuckin' hell is he?" "Ay think ay done broke something in thay ...err crash! Ay can't stand up raheet here!" Skeeter complained as he held his hip. "Where are the twins? Where are they? They are done supposed ta help us! Where are they? Why aren't they a-helpin'?" Roscoe asked while peeking out around the side for the shooter. He didn't see him. "Yeah, yeah, hat there's it! Ay'll wake them up raheet now! They'll kill this here bastard faw us! It will all be awful fine! Y'all'll see! They'll save us!" Cy reasoned desperately while patting himself down for the flare gun. "Oh please tell me ay didn't drop it!" What are ya a-doin' ya idjit? Ya shoot it off now ayn' he'll faand us faw sure!" Lem insisted while grabbing his arm. Cy shoved him to the ground. "If we don't we'll just die ayn' ay ain't a-goin' down like some bitch! Ay am a-takin' him down with me!" He finally found the gun in his back pocket and he raised it to the sky at an angle. "WHEL COCK-A-DOODLE-DO MOWTHERFUCKERS! TAHM TA WAKE THE FUCK UP AYN' DO Y'ALL'S DAMN JOBS!" He screamed at the top of his lungs shortly before an energy beam shot through his back. He fell to the ground as the rest turned to face their assailant before being gunned down by rapid fire energy blasts. At the end of it only two were left standing. For just a moment before two weaker blasts shot through their knees and dropped them to the ground as well. He approached them with guns drawn and kicked their guns away. He was about to begin questioning them when a red light shot out of one of the guns on the ground, shot across the ground and erupted into a crimson red light. Leo recoiled and backed away while covering his eyes with one arm. Argos and Josephina looked over the side of the car. "What the fuck was that?!" "Leo....be careful sweetie." "That...was that Leo or them?" Alessandro asked. "I don't think that was him. There would've been a lot more destruction if that was him." Michelle pointed out. "So either they missed with that or it was for something different..." Gloria gritted her teeth as she tried to come up with a plan. Leo rubbed his eyes with his arm and the red spots disappeared from his eyes and he stepped back out where the men were trying to crawl away. He marched over and kicked one of them and stomped on the other. "Hello, gentlemen. We need to have a talk." A minute later the minions came hobbling out from behind the trailers with their legs still glowing from the holes in them. Leo was walking behind them with his guns still pointed at their backs. "Y'all are so dead man. Y'all are a-goin' ta die. Y'all pissed us off ayn' y'all're a-goin' ta die faw it." One of them continually insisted despite the horrible agony he was in. "Shut up and keep moving." Leo replied coldly. He let them go until they were well away from the trailers and he shot at their feet and they dropped to the ground. "Hands on the back of your heads. NOW!" Leo ordered. "Any sudden moves and you're dead." The men put their hands on the backs of their heads and laughed. "And just what is so damn funny?" "They are coming faw us. Ayn' faw y'all ayn' yours." "They who?" Leo asked while peeking around the trucks but he didn't see anything. Just wrecked trucks and debris and the street, his family, the cars, grass and trees. Wait...trees? Trees! The red light was a signal! His eyes widened and Leonardo jumped backwards as a bullet whizzed right past where he'd been looking out from! The two rednecks began laughing madly before being silenced when their skulls practically exploded from a bullet tearing its way through their skulls! Then another one hit the window of the car and it ricocheted off. Josephina dropped to the ground on top of her son. "Oh My God...it's a fucking sniper! Argos! Argos flip the car on its side! Now! WE NEED MORE COVER!" "On it." He crouched down to his knees and he grabbed the underside of the car and with a grunt and groan he slowly flipped it up over onto its side and he set it down as sniper fire pinged off of its armor and the family was able to hide behind the now overturned car. "LEO! LEO CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" Josephina called over to the trailers. Leo sat up and backed up against the trailer. "I'm fine! I'M FINE!" He was fine but...what now?!
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Post by SuperKamiGuy1 on Dec 25, 2020 20:15:37 GMT
CHAPTER 2 AN INNOCENT FAMILY ROADTRIP SUNSET HILLS, CASTSEATONMARK
10 YEARS AGO.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ In this heat even the trees appear defeated. Leaves that should be firm and upward tilting droop, flaccid as old lettuce. The soil isn't simply dry, but powdery to the touch. Grass that is always green until August is hay by early July. Even the air is dry, not the usual humid warmth they would've had at this time of the year. Each day the sky is barren, though of late the forest fires have stolen our endless blue for a dull grey and each evening bringing out a blood sun. Two days ago some rain fell around the area, leaving large warm drops that disappeared as soon as they struck the hot tarmac or else sucked into the dusty mud not leaving a trace. Strongmarsh had such little winter that the fall leaves still litter the ground and he couldn't help but wonder if this season's greenery will even make it till autumn. Already above his head fluttered gold where it should be nothing but robust virescent hues. In a few months those colours would lift my spirit, but not now. They should be dark, not this insipid tone, fueling the tree for the winter ahead. This part of the world should never be so arid and it felt so strange to him at the time. Any tree that'd been in the ground less than two years lost every single leaf, they just died, slowly. The sun was no longer the kids' summertime friend, it was an oppressive presence that sapped the energy out of every living thing. Thank God for the souped up air conditioning of their cars keeping them nice and cool. The cars pulled up to The Jefferson's Court Barbecue Restaurant and slowed to a stop at the gas pumps. Derrick Blackburn yawned and popped off his sunglasses. They were utterly shiny, dark silver and so seamless. They simply wrapped around his face from one side to another, perfect as if only ever touched by gloved hand. Derrick was considerably smaller back then with a skinny but lean muscular body and wild black hair complete with a punk t-shirt and distressed denim shorts in which he had special pockets sewn under the seams which contained lockpicks. His dad's idea. Just in case they were ever needed. "Dad? What's up? Where are we? Is that smoked meat? Dibs!" "That's good old fashioned barbecue son! It may not be as legendary as what they've got down in Shepard but it's still the best for miles around." Leonardo Blackburn replied to his son as he parked the car. "Trust me: One bite of these burgers and you'll never want to go back to fast food!" He was a tall, strongly built gentleman with combed back hair, a powerful beard, the eyes of a wolf and the smile of a fatherly gentleman. He complimented this with his casual Italian style of dress. "Challenge accepted." "You okay honey?" Josephina Stoneshire Blackburn asked Leo while rubbing his back. She was a tall and toned woman with dark blonde hair tied back in twin ponytails wearing casual sportswear. "You've been driving a long time." "This? This is nothing. We pulled longer shifts back in the army remember." "Oh yeah. Remember that stakeout in Zailkhad? It took forever for the targets to show up!" "And when they did we went right ahead and took care of business." Leo chuckled. "How's about this? I'll refuel and park while you guys are getting a table. Go on in." "Sounds like a plan to me!" Gloria Stoneshire replied and stepped out. She was the spitting image of her sister if not for the difference in muscle and hair style. "Thanks dad!" Derrick hopped out. Josephina kissed her husband on the lips and stepped out. He chuckled and turned off the car and stepped out to refuel. Across from them were another family exiting their own car: Alessandro Berardinelli, Michelle Blackburn Berardinelli, Tina Berardinelli and Argos Blackburn. Tina bounded over and embraced her cousin who hugged her back. "Ohhhh man! I don't know about you but I seriously need to stretch my legs! I don't even care if it's hot out! I need to do some running!" She exclaimed while hopping up and down. She was a little bundle of joy wearing bright pink summer clothes that matched the pink streaks in her hair. "I feel you there Tina." Derrick agreed and picked his cousin up and spun around and set her down. "Could use a good mile run right about now. I swear when we get to Aunt Nancy's place I'm running laps around it. You ready for a burger?" "Oh God. You cannot subsist on gummies alone on a trip like this." She admitted. "I told you to save them." Alessandro joked as he got ready to pump the gas. He was a tall slender man with shoulder length dark hair, scruffy facial hair and a nice suit. His wife Michelle was a stern looking beautiful woman with chestnut brown hair worn in a fancy style. She is wearing a business casual women summer outfit with a pencil skirt. "If you're that hungry sweetie we can get you something nice here. How does a smoked bbq burger sound?" "Awesome!" "I'll take a smoked rib eye if they have 'em." Argos Blackburn decided as he stretched his massive arms. He was a giant of a man, towering over the rest of the family with over 340 lbs of muscle backing him. Argos was also dressed casually. Just some jeans and a white shirt. He smelled the air. "Yep. They've definitely got them." "Alright then, let's do this! It's chowtime everybody!" Derrick declared. "Quite the kid you've got." Alessandro complimented his brother in law. "Oh like we were any different at his age?" Leo chuckled. "Isn't that the damn truth. At least you were normal. I was running around in a mask and a cape. Getting into street fights on a nightly basis." "You were damn good at it though, saved a lot of people, and it's how you met Michelle." Alessandro chuckled. "Who even steals jewels anymore." "You ever miss it?" "Oh heck no. I got a kid now Leo. She needs me in her life. They both do. Just as much as I need them. Besides, testing security measures for people is always plenty of fun." "Believe me I understand. You ever want to get back into action? The military would love to have someone with your skills." "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." The family sat down together inside of the restaurant where the unmistakable aroma of grilled chicken, beef and pork will fill the air Barbecue is one of those unique cooking forms that you can enjoy the special goodness of even before you take a bite. A leisurely bath in the vapours deepens their beefy flavour and softens their chewy texture. It’s the smoke — rich, languid, sweet smoke — that imparts so much flavor to the meat and causes your olfactory senses to explode in delight before the first bite is taken. It’s like an early warning to your mouth that something good is about to happen, only without the annoying siren. "This is nice." Josephina smiled as she relaxed. "They're all so advanced these days. It's nice to see an old school business like this." "It smells so gooooood! Can we just stay here?" "You'd probably have to work." Gloria smirked. "Child Labor Laws. Can't touch us." "3 hours in a school day, 18 hours in a school week, 8 hours on a non-school day, 40 hours on a non-school week and our hours would be between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m." Derrick corrected Tina. "Shhhhhh! Don't let them know that!" "Too late! We're signing you kids up. It's Summer so you'll get plenty of work experience." "Aunt Gloria!" They exclaimed. They giggled. Argos flexed. "Ah this would be easy work for you. Why when I was your age I was doing some real back breaking work. Really getting my hands dirty." The 74 year old bodybuilding gentleman laughed. "Paid off though! Just kept building my body and now I'm as large as a barge!" "What kind of work was that grampa? Wait...is that how you..." "Lost my eye? Nah sonnyboy. That was due to a really bad day in the desert. I'll tell you when you're older. You kids ain't quite ready to hear about it yet." "Whel hello there. Welcome ta thay Jefferson's Court Barbecue Restaurant! Are y'all frawum out av town?" The group looked up to see a buxom young waitress approaching them. Now Derrick, being a 14 year old boy, immediately smoothed back his hair and leaned back in his seat and tried to act all cool. "Why yes, yes we are, just rolled into town today and the godly aroma of this restaurants divine culinary skills reached our hearts and guided us to this restaurant!" Tina pushed on his head and smiled at the waitress. "What my crazy cousin means is that we're on a road trip and we've heard so much about the restaurant that we just had to stop by!" She laughed it off. "Ay'm awful glay y'all stopped by. It's always kind ta see new faces around here. Allow me ta introduce myself. My name's Mary Ellen ayn' ay'll be y'all's servuurr today. Here is our menus, our speciaal today is fire-roasted jasmahn lamb. May ay start y'all off with some drinks? We've done got Episcope products!" Derrick pushed Tina's hand off of his head and fixed his hair. "Awesome. Then I would like a Honey Crystal." "Banana Hound for me." Tina added. "Diet Mountain Pep for me." Michelle spoke up. "Also we've got two more outside who are refueling the cars." "Ay understand. When they come in we'll show them ta thay table." Mary replied while jotting down their drink orders. Josephina, Gloria and Argos ordered a Glowing Burst Orange Burst, a Northern Tornado and a Grape Thunder respectively. The waitress took their drink orders and walked to off to retrieve their drinks while Leo and Alessandro were walking into the restaurant. "Hi dad. Hi Uncle Leo. Derrick was trying to act like a hotshot but I put him in his place." "If that's what you call messing up my hair pinkie." She blew a raspberry at her cousin and he made a face. She tried to push him down again but he stopped her arm and they started wrestling a little until Michelle snapped her fingers and they snapped to attention. Leo chuckled."Save it for Aunt Nany's, kids. Blake & Finley will throw down with you all day long." "Yes sir! Sorry for the disturbance!" They replied. Leo and Alessandro sat down together with their family. "You guys order yet?" Alessandro asked while picking up a menu. "Just the drinks. They have Episcope drinks." "What? All the way out here? Wow." "Guess I will have a Honey Crystal then." "Diet Mountain Pep." The waitress came back with the first order of drinks and Leonardo turned to his son and raised an eyebrow. Derrick sheepishly shrugged his shoulders and Leo ruffled his son's hair. He and Alessandro ordered their own drinks and their lunch alongside the others. The waitress took their orders and returned to the kitchen as the family returned to their conversations. "So there we are right? My suit's torn up, we're out of breath, pinned down behind rubble and Sergent Serdyuk just keeps rambling! He starts like, this prepared speech about how *feeble* we compared to him, how *inevitable* our defeat is, how *the world* *will soon* *be his*, yadda yadda yadda. You remember right honey?" "Oh Gooood him! I mean, one direct hit from his mega cannon and we're dust! The idiot had us dead to rights and he wouldn't shut up!" Josephina laughed. "How did you get out of that one?" Derrick asked. "Teamwork. Your caught his breath, created a sniper rifle and shot out the lights of his death ray. Then while he was freaking out over that I...well if I'm being perfectly honest...I shot him in the balls with an Incendiary Luxx Crystal (L-INC) round." The family burst out laughing at this mental image of Josephina shooting someone in the groin with one of her super fire bullets. The Khrysos Corporation's Incendiary Round is, as guessed, an incendiary round designed for the military usage that detonates a split second after impact reverse engineered off of alien technology that they have acquired in the past. It is designed to manipulate an energy field to their desired effect depending on the structure. In the case of the Incendiary rounds, the weapon releases a small field of energy that rapidly increases molecular vibration in matter causing a small but intense wave of heat that will set nearly anything on fire and can leave 5th degree burns on most organic life in mere moments and even deform and fracture many metals. Specialized rounds manipulate the field further to create even more intense heat waves that can ignite the air around the target into an intense fireball that can completely incinerate the target. Obviously, being shot by such a bullet burned off the villain's lower extremities, groin area, part of his torso and most of his legs. "So after that we just wiped out the rest of his minions, scrapped the death ray and called it in. Cleanup crews took care of the rest." Leo relaxed. "Yes son your mother is quite a woman." "You're awesome mom!" "Awww thanks sweetie! It was a team effort though. You can be the toughest guy in the world but still get outnumbered. It pays to have someone watching your back." "In more ways than one." Gloria joked. "Quiet you." Josephina replied to her sister and stuck her tongue out. The waitress eventually returned with their drinks and food and the family got ready to enjoy their lunch. Derrick and Tina had Juicy Grass-Fed Beef Burgers, Argos got a plate of Asian Style Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs (Which they always have ready to go!), Michelle received her order of Greek-Style Chicken, Leo and Josephina got their orders of Seared Lamb with Balsamic Sauce, Gloria received her order of a Beef Tenderloin Steak with Chipotle Butter and Bell Pepper Sauté and Alessandro received his order of Coriander-Thyme Lamb Chops with Yogurt Sauce. "Oh man this is unreal! These look amazing!" Derrick smiled. He took a bite of his burger, chewed, savored and swallowed. "And they taste amazing too! This one of the best burgers I've ever had!" "Well, goo'ness gracious, mister, that there's very kind ta hear!" The waitress beamed. "There is naw highuurr honaw faw our chefs than ayy pleased customuurr." "Unquestionably. Wow." Michelle looked over her chicken and Argos's ribs. "You guys really have a little bit of everything don't you? I'm impressed." "Mighty kaand av y'all ta say so! We pride ourselves on our wide variety av meals available here at thay Jefferson's Court Barbecue Restaurant. Remembuurr our slogan: If the deysh involves meat, we can cook it!" "That is a catch slogan. I'll drink to it!" Tina raised her soda and the family clinked them. The waitress smiled and nodded. "Mighty kaand av ya'all. Thank ya so much. So, ay will leave ya ta enjoy y'all's meals. If y'all need anything just holluurr ayn' ay will be raheet back in two shakes av ayy lamb's tail." The waitress grinned and walked away. Tina crossed her legs and set her drink down. "This place is as Southern as it gets." She joked. "Be nice Tina. The golden rule in the South is to do unto others as you would have them do unto you, without expecting reciprocation. Southerners don’t give or dole out favors as an obligation, but we do it out of courtesy, respect, and habit. It's a good philosophy to follow in life. Besides, Sacred Hospitality goes back a long way. Offering hospitality is a duty, and both guest and host must behave themselves." Michelle informed her daughter. "Yes mom." She had some of her burger. "This is great though." Michelle had some of her own meal. "Fantastic." The family continued laughing and talking and joking around together as they enjoyed their lunch. After a fantastic lunch and a few drinks, the family paid for their meals and used the washrooms. As Derrick was leaving the washroom he found his father talking with one of the owners about which route to take to get back to the highway utilizing a holo-map on the table and the Holo-Phone's GPS. "Okay so go raheet up General Boulevard frawum Centre Avenue ayn' go straaheet until y'all faand the highway exit ayn' y'all'll be on y'all's way. Now ay feel ay should warn y'all: We've done heard repawts about troublemakers a-dressin' up as awnery varmints ayn' a-playin' sick pranks on passerby ayn' causing trouble faw them. If y'all see anyone done dressed like an animal waving thay'r arms ayn' a-tryin' ta get attention, y'all just keep raheet on a-drivin' ayn' don't pay them any maand. Just keep a-drivin'." Jimmy James Jefferson explained to Leo Blackburn. "Noted. Thank you very much Mr.Jefferson." "Awww shucks Leo! Ay can call ya Leo right? Just call me Jiimmy! Everyone does!" He clapped Derrick's father on the back. "Ya'll take care now alright?" "You too Jimmy. This place is amazing." Leo shook his hand firmly. "Ya're ayy darn good man leo. Ya should be proud." He shook Leo's hand and waved to Derrick and returned to the kitchen. "Nice guy." "Trust me son, you'll learn to love visiting the South. There's a lot of good people down here." "Uh, I caught some of that what was that about pranks and varmints?" "Just some idiots in animal masks. Don't worry about it. If worse comes to worse, we'll just scare 'em off and be on our way. Speaking of which, you ready to go?" "Always dad." Leo informed the rest of the family of what he'd told them and the family filed outside and got back in their cars. As they were driving away a man in the back of the restaurant was hunched over his phone sending a message.
He sent out the message, pocketed his phone and returned to his steak lunch. The family drove up the road with the GPS guiding them as they played their music. The Blackburns were playing Rock and Metal Driving Music and The Berardinelli's were playing a mix of various songs and Tina went back to her Crimson Avenger Audiobook. It was the Audiobook of the Novelization of her first teamup with The Diamond Roses to fight The Nefarious Doctor Insidious, one of her most famous comics. As their car engines sang to the lone country roads, Derrick and his family sang their metal music together in what Derrick would later assure his friends was complete synchronization. In truth they were out of synch and a little off key but it didn't matter at the time because the family was just too busy having fun and laughing together as they rocked out to The Rock N Roll Soldiers' Funny Little Feeling. "I'm not doin; fine
I'm desecrating lives
I boned a phone booth of a lady shaky heinous crimes
Nailing hands down to floorboards
Angry side gone overboard
And
I'm bored
Still bored
I'm so bored
I've got a funny little feeling
My arms are shaking like a lightning rod, yeah
I'll cannonball right through the ceiling
And sink my teeth in till the feelings gone, yeah
Oh, I'm the slow move guy
No time for swattin' flies
Appeasing bees knees easing g string seizing wheezing
Funny little feeling
Lick it dry
Wonders just who am I
Prison warden, teenage boy, transvestite with high heels on
Hey where has my life gone
Ain't done anything I want
According to my list
I've still got so many musicians to kill
Will kill, until I fill my landfill full of bodies standing still
I've got a funny little feeling
My arms are shaking like a lightning rod, yeah
I'll cannonball right through the ceiling
And sink my teeth in 'till the feelings gone, yeah
I've got a funny little feeling
My arms are shaking like a lightning rod, yeah
I'll cannonball right through the ceiling
And sink my teeth in 'till the feelings gone, yeah
I've got a funny little feeling
My arms are shaking like a lightning rod, yeah
I'll cannonball right through the ceiling
And sink my teeth in 'till the feelings gone, yeah
I've got a funny little
I've got a funny little
I've got a funny little
I've got a funny little feelin'
I've got a funny little
I've got a funny little
I've got a funny little feelin'
Feelin'
Feelin'!"
About an hour into their drive a pair of a massive diesel trucks hauling two large trailers each started to come up on them. The family initially didn't pay them much mind and continued driving. After a few minutes of following them however the trucks suddenly sped up and an alarm sounded from the car's dashboard. Leo glanced at it and his eyes went wide. "EVERYBODY HOLD ON TO SOMETHING!" Derrick looked up and Josephina glanced back at her son as she gripped the handlebar and Gloria leaned over and covered Derrick. The Berardinelli's turned off the music and braced themselves. Alessandro gripped the steering wheel, Michelle braced herself and called out to Argos who was already placing a hand on Tina. The trucks rammed into the backs of the cars, their horns blaring like banshees! The family jerked forward in their cars and Derrick yelled out. "DAMMIT! WHAT THE FUCK IS THEIR PROBLEM?!" Gloria shouted. "DERRICK! DERRICK ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" Leo yelled back to his son. "I-I'm fine...who are these GAAHH!" He was cut off with another yell as the truck slammed them again. "Just hold on baby, you'll be okay!" Josephina assured her son as she held on. "Leo! Leo can't you get over?!" "There's no room we're boxed in on either side!" He gritted his teeth and pressed a button to call Alessandro. "This car can take a beating but we need to get the hell out of here. Alessandro! Are you there? You still with us?" There was a hissing, fizzing sound but they were still able to understand most of it. "Jus.....ew...mps....GING IN.....NEED A PL....FERSON MUST'VE....US OUT....WE HIT....NITROS! NITROS!" "LOUD AND CLEAR ALESSANDRO! LOUD AND CLEAR!" Leo opened up the armrest to reveal a series of switches and buttons. "WE'RE GOING NITRO! BRACE YOURSELVES!" "WE'RE GOING WHAT? THIS CAR CAN DO THAT?!" Derrick exclaimed. Gloria helped Derrick back up into position and he grabbed onto the handrail and his seat as Gloria did. "DO IT!" Josephina braced herself. "GO!" Leo flicked the switches and jabbed his thumb onto the first button and braced himself. The car's nitros activated and miniature center mounted jet engines with an afterburner slid down from the center of the cars. The afterburner was engaged and additional fuel was injected behind the jet engine's normal turbine to provide additional thrust. This of course burns fuel a lot faster so it doesn't get used all the time. The family jerked backwards as their cars rocketed forward and swiftly left the trucks in the dust. "HOOOOOLLLYYY SHIIIIIIIIT!" Derrick exclaimed and burst out laughing. Leo kept himself focused on the road and narrowed his eyes as he continued driving, not taking his eyes off for a second. He knew Alessandro was doing the same, their cars neck and neck as they raced away. Not to be outdone however the trucks had their own series of tricks ready for the family. The headlights slid down and a pair of harpoons on chains shot out like rockets to impale their cars! They cut through the air like a blade through tissue paper and caught up to the cars easily. The harpoons impacted the cars with loud *BANG!* sounds and slid across the trunks of the cars and hit the glass. A shower of sparks was thrown into the air while a thin crack barely the length of a hair strand appeared in the back window. The cars continued forward undettered and the harpoons slumped to the street defeated. Derrick was holding onto his Aunt Gloria now and she tried to stop his trembling while Tina screamed and screamed in the Berardinelli's car and buried her sobbing eyes in Argos's shirt. "MOOOMMMMY! I WANNA GO HOME! I WANNA GO HOOOME! MOOOOMM!" Michelle continued watching the mirrors until the trucks were out of view while the cars went up the hill. "Okay. Okay. They're gone." She turned back to her daughter and reached out to her. "It's okay now sweetie. You're alright now. They're gone. They're gone and they won't hurt you. We won't let them okay? Look at me Tina. Tina, I'm right here. I'm here baby." "Mom....mom...mommy? Mommy?" Tina reached and took her mother's in her own. "Oh God sweetie it's okay. We're safe now. They can't catch us now. We're going to get out of here and never come back." Michelle did not like lying to her daughter at the end but it was mostly true. Certainly the children would never come back to this dungheap of a town but she would. Oh yes she would. She would come back here, hunt down the drivers and make them scream for scaring her little girl. Then she'd find Mr.Jefferson and make him talk. If Alessandro was right, if he had indeed sold them out, there would be no place in the world for him to hide from them and no force on Earth that would stop them from making him pay. But right now her little girl needed her so Michelle held her hand. "Ssshhhh now. It's okay. You're going to be alright honey. You're a strong girl and I'm proud of you. We're okay. You're okay. I'm okay. We're all okay. I love you honey." "I love you too mommy." Tina sniffled and wiped her eyes first with her hands then with a tissue Michelle handed her. "There you go. That's my girl. Where's your phone? I think playing your superhero story will calm everyone down." "Oh right. I-I dropped it. Where is it?" Tina looked around the car until Argos spotted it and he picked it up and handed it back to her. "Here you go kiddo." Tina beamed and she quickly turned it back on and got back to the section she was at before and took out the headphones and she began playing it again. Michelle turned back around and slumped against her seat. "Holy cow. Are you okay?" "I did not expect this to happen today. Thank God we tricked out the car." Alessandro sighed as they rocketed down the hill. "I'm going to kill the afterburner in a minute once we know we're safe." He tried the phone again. "Hey Leo! You holding up alright?" "As good as we can." Alessandro didn't need to be there in person to notice the rage boiling under his voice. It was as clear to him as the fire inside of his beloved wife's eyes. He'd see their rage before. The anger of The Blackburns. They were good people. Honorable, kind, loving, polite, always willing to help you out of a jam. But by all that is holy do not cross their lines. Do not piss them off. Do not threaten their loved ones or they will rain hellfire down on you. Derrick told his friends about something Alessandro's Grandmother used to say about The Blackburn family. Cave Blackburns ad iram. Ardet intus diaboli. Beware the rage of the Blackburns. The devil burns within them. The name Blackburn is, after all, of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from when a family lived in the town of Blackburn in the county of Lancashire. This place-name is derived from the Old English word burn, meaning stream, and referred to a stream in a dark area. The cars continued on for a little while further and then they turned off the afterburner boost. Leo sighed. "Hey Alessandro." "Yeah Leo?" "Whaddya say we leave these guys a little present?" "Oil slick?" "Oil slick." "Oil slick?" Derrick asked. Leo and Alessandro pressed buttons in their respective cars and their cars squirted out lengthy slippery oil slicks on the road. A little present for the truck drivers for when they came back after them. "The car can do that too? Why did you never tell me this?" Derrick questioned. "I was going to tell you in a few years when you were old enough to start driving. You need a special license to drive one of these you know." "Really? What else haven't you told me dad?" "I'll tell you later when we're at your Aunt's place." A minute passed. "Are we gonna be okay dad?" "You'll be fine Derrick. Nobody's gonna hurt you with me around." "If they try we'll tear them apart." Josephina assured her son. Derrick sighed and relaxed in his seat. Done with this day in general now. He closed his eyes and relaxed. "Cool. Love you guys." "Love you son." "Dad you alright?" Leo asked Argos. "I've been through crazier than this. But who the hell has harpoons in their headlights all the way out here?" "Must be the masked assholes they warned us about unless that was a lie. I don't know. We'll figure out when we find a place to pull over, rest and call the cops." Josephina reasoned. "I say we keep going. Her house will be safer than any place out here and we can plan out a counter offensive better. Either way once we're on the highway they won't be able to chase us without hundreds of witnesses. We'll be fine." Leo pointed out. "Right now I want everybody to keep an eye out and be ready for anything." For the next few minutes there was peace and quiet for the family. Nothing but smooth sailing they thought. They figured the danger was passed. After about ten minutes of this they finally got away from the rocky hills and into a wide open grassy area and promptly drove right over a trap. A series of small spiked drills popped out of the ground and shot up into the air and they stabbed and bored their way right into the tires and shredded them open! The cars swerved and slowed to a crawl as they drove over them and they soon came to a stop, just sliding over the ground to a stop. "WHAT THE HELL?!" Josephina exclaimed. Leo turned around and looked back and saw the drill spikes and the trucks coming down the hill only to drive right over the oil slick and slip and slide out of control. This slowed them down and would disorient the drivers but it wasn't enough to stop them. Leo glowered and turned off the car. "Everybody out. Get out of the cars and crouch down next to ours. It's small, armored and the windows are bulletproof. Do it now. I'm putting a stop to this shit." "But dad!" "Now Derrick." "...okay." The Blackburns got out and they assembled next to the car. Leo calmly walked out of the car, locked it and tossed his wife the keys. Leo wiggled his fingers and then raised his hands up with his fingers in a position where he it looked like he was holding guns. There was a flash of brilliant yellow and violet light that swirled around his hands as more energy crackled around his hands. The energy soon took the form of a pair of handcannons before solidifying into physical weapons that looked exactly like smooth metallic weapons! He twirled the guns and marched forward to meet the oncoming trucks. The drivers finally got a handle on their steering again and they barreled down on him. He continued walking towards them and raised the handcannons. The trucks raced towards him at top speed. He squeezed the triggers and two brilliant lights of bright yellow energy with purple lights traveling around the light beams that super heated the air to the point of ionization, resulting in purple lightning like bolts traveling around them. The beams shot through the air and hit the trucks head on and blew apart the front of the trucks! Allow me to explain. Leonardo Blackburn's power is Firearm Construction: The power to create guns of all types, and sizes, by shaping the existing matter and energy via mentally reciting the atomic configuration and inner workings of the gun. He can't generate normal ammunition though. Instead, he utilizes energy that his body produces and fires it through the guns. This can be incredibly destructive or as powerful as a normal bullet depending on his focus and how much energy he puts into the guns. Every shot drains his stamina however. The more energy he puts out and the more bullets he fires the more stamina he loses. Back to current past events, the energy blasts crashed into the front of the trucks like trains tearing through the air at 2,799 feet/sec and the electricity crackled around them and the front of the trucks lit up like the Sun before igniting in a fiery ball of yellow flame that billowed outwards and the sky trembled above them to the sound of a roaring thunderclap. The trucks swerved wildly, smashed into each other, collided and they went into two separate directions and they tore across the grass before tipping over. The ground trembled like the sky above it when the trucks fell over with the trailers smashing into the grass and threw up grass and dirt and soil. Josephina took her hands off of her ears and she poked Derrick to let him know it was okay to do so. He slowly rose up and peeked his head around the car and his jaw dropped at the sight of the burning trucks, the strange smell of burning rubber and metal and glass and the smoke rising into the air. He literally had no words. He'd seen his dad showing off his powers before on the 4th of July or when he was shooting wooden targets and mannequins but he never would've guessed that he was this powerful! He was like a walking bazooka! He tried to find the words to speak but nothing came out of his mouth. Josephina placed a comforting arm around him. "What is that?" She spoke his thoughts out loud. "That is your father in action. It's why he never touches alcohol." "Holy." "Yeah. Sweetie! Leo? Are we good?" "Stay down right now. We don't know if they're finished yet!" Leo called back to them without taking his eyes off of the trucks. "He's right. Back down Derrick." He nodded and they slowly crouched back down. "Is it over yet?" Tina asked. "Almost honey. Almost." Michelle spoke softly and kissed her daughter's forehead. "I am very proud of you. You're being very brave." "Just relax Tina honey. Uncle Leo's never let us down." Alessandro embraced his daughter gently. "And he's going to get this cleaned up too." Leo watched the trucks in complete silence. Not once letting down his guard. The army had drilled that into his head and he was going to put it to use now. Leo smelled the air. Super senses was not one of his talents but his nose was sharp enough to catch the country air, the smoke and the burning trucks even from this distance. He slowly approached them one step at a time. One step in front of the other. His shoes crunching on the ground. K'duh, k'duh, k'duh K'duh, k'duh, k'duh. K'duh, k'duh, k'duh K'duh, k'duh, k'duh. He gradually closed in on the burning trucks and the blazing hot golden flames engulfing the front of the trucks and spreading to the grass, threatening to erupt into a blazing wildfire that would entrap the family and cook them alive from the heat if they didn't suffocate from the smoke first. That wouldn't do. So Leo focused himself again and released a different waves of energy this time in the form of pressure waves that simply smashed into the trucks and snuffed out the flames before they could spread any further. He sighed and turned them off once this was accomplished. Leonardo continued approaching the trucks, cautious of any surprises. He doubted the drivers were still alive but that didn't mean that there wasn't anybody else waiting for them in the trailers. These guys had harpoons in their headlights and spiked traps set up. He wasn't taking any chances here. Leo was proven right when he heard clanging and banging noises inside of the trailers. Leo moved to the side so he was in front of the trailer on the left and he backed up against its scrap metal hood and then he slowly manuevered around the sides of the first trailer. The clanging and banging noises continued until the back of the trailer burst open and a group of men tumbled out of it. "Fuckin! What the fuckin' fuck?! Who the fuck fucked this here fuckin'?! How done y'all that there fuckin' fucks! Fuck!" One of them demanded as he staggered to his feet. "Shitfuck douchenugget cock-sucking cuntwaffle barbara streisand's sagging testicles! What the fuck just done happened?!" One. "Christ on ayy cracker! Everything hurts! Done those there goatfuckers just crash?" Two. "Shit fuck dammit all. How in thay ...err sam hell do y'all crarsh like that there anyway?" Three. "Whel that there were fun. Ay think ay'm bleeding but that there were ayy ride. Hold on. Okay. Yeah. Ay'm bleeding. Hurts ayy bit. Also ay shot marvin in thay ...err face. That there were my awful bad. Sorry." Four. And they were armed. "Damn. Ay done liked Marvin." Five. "Nahwt a-tellin' thay old man! One two three nahwt it!" Six and an old man they were working for. He would have to be sure to spare one or two of them to get information about their boss. Whomever they were working for probably wanted them alive, or at least intact, which probably meant that the harpoons were meant to capture them. Considering the size and shape of the trailers and the armed guards, he could assume that they were for transporting the prisoners to their boss. Which probably meant they were torturing, dissecting, eating or selling their prisoners. Or all of the above. Probably that one. One thing was certain however: These men were planning to capture and kill his family. And that was not forgivable. He listened a bit longer until he confirmed there were about eight in total and all of them were still a bit banged up from the crash. He also heard the other trailers starting to open and came up with a plan of attack: Spring out from cover, take out these guys before they knew what hit them, then take out the ones directly across from him, then the guys coming out of the rear trailer from the truck on the left and finally the last group from the other truck. He'd take most of them out of commission and leave the last two just intact enough to tell him everything he needed to know who they worked for, who worked with them and everything else they needed to know. Then they would call the police and inform them of what was going on and work with them to finish off the rest of these trash. Leonardo Blackburn continued creeping around the side of the trailer until he was close enough to attack. He took a deep breath, exhaled and he jumped out and opened fire. As it turned out the men were dressed in farm and ranch wear and animal masks were plenty of stains and tears and holes. They didn't get a chance to react before he opened fire with a series of focused shots that blew gaping holes through their chests. The dead bodies of the animal men dropped to the ground with red hot holes in their bodies. Leo kicked their guns back inside of the truck and peaked inside. Sure enough there was a man slouched over with a hole in his head. Obviously a misfire from one of the rifles when the trucks crashed. Well that made things easier. So counting him with the other idiots that made nine, plus the two drivers of this truck made eleven plus the two drivers of the other truck made thirteen. Time to find out if that was his lucky number today. With these guys down and out, he moved on and walked towards the other trailers directly across from him. He moved just as cautiously as before, conserving his energy with slow deliberate movements while keeping his guns up and pointed at the trailers. Once he reached the trailer he turned his back to it and slowly crept along the length of the trailer. Even now he could hear them banging away and forcing the doors open. Same with the other trailers. They were starting to wake up and while they were still confused and injured, Leo knew he had to move fast to take these guys out before they could get their bearings. He slid along the wall and stopped and waited. It didn't take long for the ones in the trailer behind him to break open the doors. They stumbled out but before they could figure out what was going on Leonardo sprung out from the side of the trailer and opened fire on them. The energy blasts from his guns shot right through them even as each shot drained some more stamina from him. He kept going though and after five trigger pulls from each gun he'd shot down the whole group. Twenty-Two now. He breathed in deep and exhaled. There were more banging sounds and the doors of the trailer behind him and the trailer across from that broke open. That made eighteen more to go. He took a few steps back into the trailer, stepping over the corpses, and then he turned around and crouched down and took aim at the front of the trailer and pulled the trigger of the gun in his left hand. Another energy blast was released and impacted against the front of the trailer and blew it open in a flash of fire and thunder and smoke. He didn't wait for the smoke to clear either and quickly fired into it. He couldn't see them quite yet but he could hear the impacts of the blasts with their bodies and their screams of terror as these flashes of light came from out of nowhere and burned through their flesh and bones as easily as burning paper. He pulled the triggers until he was sure he'd gotten all of them and he lowered his guns and crouched down on one knee. After a few long breaths he stood back up again and walked back out of the trailer. He walked over the dead bodies again without giving them a second glance. Leonardo could hear the panicked cries of the remaining men and he picked up the pace to get them taken care of. Nine more. Nine more to go. Just nine more. He'd faced worse odds than this back in the war. Hell he'd faced worse odds growing up. But then again...it had been a little while since he'd used his powers seriously. He braced himself and continued forward. These men had tried to kill his family and he was not on the type of man to forgive that. Derrick found himself wincing at the sounds of the energy blasts shooting through the air like crackling, whistling, bolts of lightning. They were stuck. Stuck behind the car for safety while his father fought the bad men and made them scream and scream and scream and then drop silent. The only thing he could see when he did perk his head up was flashes of light and the only thing he heard were the explosions, the blasts and the screams. He couldn't smell them either. Just scorched air. Just the scent of fire and smoke from the direction of the trucks. The only sign he had that his father was even still alive over there was the flashes of light from his guns. He sniffled and started to stand up but his mother gently helped him back down to his feet. He struggled to find words as the tears came to his face. He wanted to run over there and hug his dad and pull him back over to them. He wanted to get away from here. Away from this place and away from his town. He wanted to go home and for this whole day to just be a nightmare. He wanted it to be a bad dream. He wanted to run over and help his father fight the bad guys! He wanted his father! He wanted dad! He reached over and hugged his mother as he started to cry into her arms. The tears burst forth like water from a dam, spilling down my face. I feel the muscles of my chin tremble like a small child and he desperately hugged his mom, physically begging her for comfort. He sobbed into her chest unceasingly, hands clutching at her jacket. She held him in silence, rocking him slowly as his tears soaked her chest. A tiny lapse let him pull away, blinking lashes heavy with tears, before he collapsed again, his sobs of fear worsening. "Sssshh now. Ssshhh. It will be alright sweetie. It will be alright my little ruler. You will be okay. This will all be over soon and we'll all go home together. You'll see. We'll go home and this will all seem like a bad dream to you." She continued whispering words of comfort to her son despite knowing that he was feeling the exact same thing she was. She wanted to rush over there right now and start breaking necks and cracking skulls right alongside Leonardo. But Josephina was needed here. She needed to support their son. He needed his mother right now. He and Tina both needed their parents to comfort them while Leonardo blew away the bad men who'd come to hurt them. "Your father is going to be safe. We all will. We're going to be okay Derrick. I promise. We love you and we will not let anyone hurt you ever." Leonardo strolled around the trailer and twirled his guns as he got ready to finish this. Oh my god! Oh my god! What the hell is a-goin' on? What could have done that there? What is a-goin' on? T-they're dead! They're all dead! What is a-happenin' out there? What is a-goin' on?!" Amos asked desperately as he clutched his rifle with trembling arms. "There were fawty av us! Naw way naw one man can take us all down on his own! It's nahwt possible!" Ricky added. "What thay fuckin' hell is he?" "Ay think ay done broke something in thay ...err crash! Ay can't stand up raheet here!" Skeeter complained as he held his hip. "Where are the twins? Where are they? They are done supposed ta help us! Where are they? Why aren't they a-helpin'?" Roscoe asked while peeking out around the side for the shooter. He didn't see him. "Yeah, yeah, hat there's it! Ay'll wake them up raheet now! They'll kill this here bastard faw us! It will all be awful fine! Y'all'll see! They'll save us!" Cy reasoned desperately while patting himself down for the flare gun. "Oh please tell me ay didn't drop it!" What are ya a-doin' ya idjit? Ya shoot it off now ayn' he'll faand us faw sure!" Lem insisted while grabbing his arm. Cy shoved him to the ground. "If we don't we'll just die ayn' ay ain't a-goin' down like some bitch! Ay am a-takin' him down with me!" He finally found the gun in his back pocket and he raised it to the sky at an angle. "WHEL COCK-A-DOODLE-DO MOWTHERFUCKERS! TAHM TA WAKE THE FUCK UP AYN' DO Y'ALL'S DAMN JOBS!" He screamed at the top of his lungs shortly before an energy beam shot through his back. He fell to the ground as the rest turned to face their assailant before being gunned down by rapid fire energy blasts. At the end of it only two were left standing. For just a moment before two weaker blasts shot through their knees and dropped them to the ground as well. He approached them with guns drawn and kicked their guns away. He was about to begin questioning them when a red light shot out of one of the guns on the ground, shot across the ground and erupted into a crimson red light. Leo recoiled and backed away while covering his eyes with one arm. Argos and Josephina looked over the side of the car. "What the fuck was that?!" "Leo....be careful sweetie." "That...was that Leo or them?" Alessandro asked. "I don't think that was him. There would've been a lot more destruction if that was him." Michelle pointed out. "So either they missed with that or it was for something different..." Gloria gritted her teeth as she tried to come up with a plan. Leo rubbed his eyes with his arm and the red spots disappeared from his eyes and he stepped back out where the men were trying to crawl away. He marched over and kicked one of them and stomped on the other. "Hello, gentlemen. We need to have a talk." A minute later the minions came hobbling out from behind the trailers with their legs still glowing from the holes in them. Leo was walking behind them with his guns still pointed at their backs. "Y'all are so dead man. Y'all are a-goin' ta die. Y'all pissed us off ayn' y'all're a-goin' ta die faw it." One of them continually insisted despite the horrible agony he was in. "Shut up and keep moving." Leo replied coldly. He let them go until they were well away from the trailers and he shot at their feet and they dropped to the ground. "Hands on the back of your heads. NOW!" Leo ordered. "Any sudden moves and you're dead." The men put their hands on the backs of their heads and laughed. "And just what is so damn funny?" "They are coming faw us. Ayn' faw y'all ayn' yours." "They who?" Leo asked while peeking around the trucks but he didn't see anything. Just wrecked trucks and debris and the street, his family, the cars, grass and trees. Wait...trees? Trees! The red light was a signal! His eyes widened and Leonardo jumped backwards as a bullet whizzed right past where he'd been looking out from! The two rednecks began laughing madly before being silenced when their skulls practically exploded from a bullet tearing its way through their skulls! Then another one hit the window of the car and it ricocheted off. Josephina dropped to the ground on top of her son. "Oh My God...it's a fucking sniper! Argos! Argos flip the car on its side! Now! WE NEED MORE COVER!" "On it." He crouched down to his knees and he grabbed the underside of the car and with a grunt and groan he slowly flipped it up over onto its side and he set it down as sniper fire pinged off of its armor and the family was able to hide behind the now overturned car. "LEO! LEO CAN YOU HEAR ME?!" Josephina called over to the trailers. Leo sat up and backed up against the trailer. "I'm fine! I'M FINE!" He was fine but...what now?! While all this had been going on! Forrest and Fort had been napping in the woods. They knew what their jobs were but they'd just been so bored lately without any targets making it down the road and nobody calling them to do their job that they'd decided they might as well grab some afternoon shut eye. They just relaxed in sleeping bags in their tent and let mother nature lull them to sleep. Besides which, they'd figured that if they were needed then they would've been called ahead of time. Ah yes the wonderful sounds of mother nature's forest. Shaking trees from animals landing on and climbing and flying in them. Frogs chirping in the ponds, crickets and owls and animals running through the brush to the hammering of woodpeckers and the wind wailing between distorted tree trunks. It was like a lullaby to the pair. Until a pair of explosions shook the ground beneath them and threw the forest into chaos! Birds began screeching and flying away from the tree lines and the animals followed suit through the thicket of the forest. Forrest wriggled out of his sleeping bag and stepped out of the tent. "SAM HELL! WHAT IN TARNASHUN JUST DONE HAPPENED OUT THERE?!" "HEAVENS TA BETSY! DONE THE SKY FALL AW SOMETHING?" Fort asked while stepping out with his brother. "Ay dunno. Ay dunno. but it looks like something just blew ta hell ayn' back ovuurr yonduurr. Done they call us?" Fort dived back into the tent and emerged with their phones. "Uhhhh Forrest?" "Yeah?" "We done had them there ringers done turned off..." "Really?" He took the phone. Indeed the ringers had been turned off and they had three missed messages. "Whel shit. We should get over yonder. Grab ya camouflage ayn' the guns." "Grabbin' it!" He dived back into the tent. Shortly afterwords the two ran across the forest trampling across the grass and the twigs and bushes. They ran like the wind until they reached the tree line and they skidded to a stop. "Hoooooly ssshiiiit." "What the fuck done happened ta them?" They dived behind the trees and they stared at each other. "Okay, what the fuck? What the fuck does that there ta the trucks? Were it the wreckuurr boys? Are they on the loose again?" "Naw. Naw they wouldn't attack thay ...err drivers. Ay think. It's gotta be whoevuurr were in those there fancy a-lookin' cars down there. Shit. What do we do? What do we do?" "Get in thay ...Err trees. Get up as high as ya can ayn' get in posishun. They don't know we're here so we have tahm ta get into posishun. These assholes poke thay'r heads out we shoot them down. All av them. Naw questions done asked. Kill them all ayn' bring thay remains ta thay old man" "Ohhh right. Good idea!" They wrapped the straps of their sniper rifles around their backs and they climbed up to the top of the trees and balanced on top of them. "Okay what do have here?" They scanned the area through their sniper scopes. "We've done got livestock a-hidin' behaand thay car ayn' those there lights must be thay ...uhh shootuurr. He's thay target." "What the hell is he packing? Ayy bazooka?" "Don't know don't care. He pokes his head out we shoot him dead ayn' figure it out latuurr." The two saw the red flare light burst and light up the world in a terrifying crimson light. "Oh shit this here is awful serious. We aren't a-goin' ta get in trouble here are we?" "Uhhhhhhh.....okay. Okay okay okay okay. Look. We kill them. If they're dead then they can't tell the awful old man we was late ayn' we can tell the old man whatevuurr we want ayn' nobody can get mad at us." "Oh shit that there's ayy darn good idea. Darn good a-thinkin' fawrest." "Thank you Fort." They got into position. They waited until Leonardo marched out the last two to begin interrogating them and forced them onto the ground. The moment he started to poke his head out from the truck Forrest took a shot and Fort shot down the last of the pickup crew. The bullet entered the first man's head, drilled through his skull and brain and exploded out of the other side of his head and continued to do the same to the man next to him, drilling through the side of his head and exploding out the other side, spraying blood and brain matter all over each other's bodies and the hot asphalt below them. That's the thing with sniper files. If a sniper hits someone in the head, it won't be pretty. Typically snipers today use an assortment of calibers. .308, 300 win mag., .338 Lapua Mag. All of these are very big calibers. They're using FMJs (full metal jackets). This type of ammo has a soft lead core, so when it hits its target, it mushrooms out, stopping inside. Now for a head, the skull is going to be the obvious hard part. After that, the brain is just fat. Soft material. The round at this point has expanded and is just probably sliding through brain matter. The bullet no longer has its spear-shaped point and is now blunt. It's going to ram the opposite side of the skull and completely destroy it. It won't leave a hole in the other side, it'll leave a crater. Like hitting sheet rock with a hammer rather then pounding a nail into it. Big hole vs. small hole. Only in this case, these holes are across from each other. The truck men were dealt with but Forrest couldn't tell if they'd gotten the other guy or not. They turned to their attention to the car and tried to shoot the livestock through the windows but the bullet bounced off. Fort tried again to the same result. He tried again and again but they wouldn't go through. "Tarnashun! What thay hell is that there thing done made out av?" It was then that the car got turned upwards onto its side to give the family more cover. "The fuck?" "Well shit. That there's speciaal. Alraheet we play the a-waitin' game now. Let them make thay next mowve. Once they make ayy mistake we'll kill them all." Sweat dripped down Leonardo's face as he considered all of their options. (Okay. Lets see: Two assholes. All the way over in the trees. Sniper rifles. Judging by the corpses, I'm guessing they're using VSV-338's. A long range sniper rifle developed by “Kalashnikov” for special military and law enforcement applications. This rifle can effectively engage individual targets at ranges of up to 1500 meters. So the distance is roughly around that range. It might be tight but I think I can get them both. Let's see...they saw me...they saw my guns. They saw my handguns.) Leo smiled. (They think I only have handguns. That gives me the element of surprise.) He placed the guns together and reverted them into their energy form and then he mentally recited the atomic makeup and internal mechanisms of a McMillan TAC-50 .50 heavy caliber sniper rifle. (1500 meters? Try 3539.642! Okay, so, I've got the superior weapon, now I just need a distraction...) It was then that his phone buzzed and he whipped it out of his pocket. "Michelle? Michelle is that you? Are the others there? Are they alright? Are the kids okay?!" Michelle looked over to see Josephina cradling Derrick and Alessandro and Gloria holding Tina while Argos held up the car. "We're safe but pinned down. At least, that's what they think. You need a distraction right?" "As usual we're on the same page. Dad, are you holding up alright there?" "Just getting my daily exercise in!" He grunted. "Okay. Alessandro. Are you with me buddy?" He reluctantly let go of Tina while Gloria held her. "I'm here brother. Are you thinking what we're thinking?" "Argos! I'm gonna need you to start moving forward using the car as a shield. This will draw their attention and their fire." He said over the phone. "While you're doing this, Alessandro, I'm going to have to ask you to sacrifice your car." "Get the rocket booster ready. Of course. I can get in with my phone. I'll warm it up. Once we're close enough I'll activate it. Between the car shield and the rocket their attention will be drawn to us." "Giving my bro a chance to blow them away. You'll have two quick shots. Make them count." "Two is all I'm going to need." Leonardo assured them. "Is everybody ready? Go on three." Josephina sat up. "Derrick? Derrick, honey? Sweetie!? I'm going to need you to stand up now okay? We've got a plan and we're going to get out of this. But I need you to walk with us, okay? We're going to walk forward." "You want us to go TOWARDS the snipers?!" Derrick yelled out in disbelief. "Wait, WHAT?!" Tina asked. "Trust us. You're going to be fine. We customized these cars. It's military grade armor. They can take these bullets all day." "Trust us. We have this planned out." Gloria assured them and filled them in. "....Shit. That could work buuuut...can Dad hit them?" "Trust us sweetie. He's got a good eye. Are you ready?" "Ready and willing." Derrick sniffled and wiped his eyes with his arm. "What do I need to do?" "Ay am getting bawed Fawrest. They haven't done made ayy mowve yet ayn' we still can't get through that there damn car. What the fuck is it done made av?" "That there's raheet. Yeah. Y'all know where are. Listen these assholes are trapped like roaches so once y'all get ovuurr here we can seal thay deal. Y'all help us grab ayn' transpawt the livestock ayn' we'll see ta it that there y'all get done paid very whel. There's ayy little extra in it faw y'all if y'all don't ask questions about the trucks ayn' collabawate our stawy. So y'all pigs get y'all's asses ovuurr here ayn' we can all go home ayy little bit richuurr today." Forrest hung up his own phone and shoved into his pocket and he returned his attention to the cars. "Sawry Fawt. Just calling in thay cavalry." "Oh that there's ayy darn good idea. Because these pigs just aren't wait!" They raised their rifles and looked through the scopes. "What in sam hell? They're a-movin'! They're a-movin' the damn car!" "What the hell are they a-doin'? A-tryin' ta get close a-usin' that there as ayy shield? Keep an eye on it! They're a-goin' ta make thay'r mowve soon!" Behind the car the family were helping to take the strain off of Argos by lifting and pushing against the car with him. Granted, Argos was doing most of the heavy lifting, so it was easier on them, but they were all contributing to moving it forward. At Michelle's signal Alessandro pulled out his phone and activated his car app and he typed in his secret code to connect to it. The screen changed to show a spinning image of his car, its condition, the condition of its tires and its functions. He scrolled down with his thumb until he found the rocket boost and he clicked on that and set the rockets to warm up. Alessandro's car activated and the booster lowered from the middle of the car and it began to shake a bit as the engines warmed up. Fort immediately turned his attention to the shaking car. "What's that there thing a-doin' now?" "Keep an eye on it! Those there cars are weird! Done made out av some kaand av supuurr metal! They must be planning ta dive into it ayn' make ayy getaway!" They continued moving the car forward at a gradual pace to draw attention to themselves away from Leo. The snipers tried to shoot at them but as before the bullets just ricocheted off of the cars armor! They moved forward with their improvised shield until they were in position across from Alessandro's car. "Ready?" "Ready." He pressed the button again and the car activated and it raced forward! Even with the torn up tires it still managed to get some distance as it shot down the road like a missile. "WHAT IN THE HELL IS THAT THERE?!" Fort demanded as he fired on the rocket car. "Wait ayy minute if that there is a-doin' that there ayn' they're a-doin' that there then where is the othuurr guy?" It was then that Leonardo stepped out from cover with his sniper rifle raised up. He looked through the scope across the distance between them and took aim at the snipers in the trees. "Surprise, motherfuckers." He squeezed the trigger and felt some of his energy tear out of him to feed his gun resulting an energy bolt shooting out of the gun, streaking through the air and blowing the first snipers' head clean off. He didn't hesitate before taking aim at the next man and shooting him down too. More energy was forced out of his body and converted into raw power for the gun causing it to release another energy bolt that struck the sniper in his right arm and took it off at the shoulder. He fell screaming from his perch and crashed down onto the ground. Leonardo slumped over. His eyelids were getting a bit heavy and his mind was starting to fog over. Bigger guns always took more out of him and he'd fired a number of shots prior to this. He slapped his face, rubbed his eyes and stood back up. He waited until he was sure that the danger had passed and waved to the others and they lowered the car. The danger had passed. He grabbed the rifle and walked back over to his family and beckoned them over. Derrick immediately tore free of his mother and ran over to his father crying his eyes out. "D-d-daaaaaad! Daaaad. I-I-I was s-so....I was so...so scared! I was so scared! I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I couldn't help you! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" "There there little man. It's okay now. The bad men are gone and you're safe." He smiled and embraced his son with one arm around his back as he sobbed into his dads' shirt. "Ssshhhh. Sssshhh. It's okay buddy. I'm here for you and nobody is going to hurt you son. Not when I'm around." The rest of the family came out from behind the cover of the car and Argos slowly lowered it back down. "So you got them?" Michelle asked Leo. "I got a headshot on one of them and shot the arm off of the other. He won't be using his rifle anytime soon." "Wait, y-y-you shot a man's arm off?!" Derrick asked his father. Leo patted and rubbed his son's hair. Sometimes you have to pick the gun up to put the gun down, son. There are bad men in the world, bad men who will hurt you and your family and you need to be prepared to fight them. It's not ideal and I wish the world was better, but that is the reality we live in. People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf. You see son, the first right of every human being is the right of self-defense. Without that right, all other rights are meaningless. The right of self-defense is not something the government bestows upon its citizens. It is an inalienable right, older than the Constitution itself. It existed prior to government and prior to the social contract of our Constitution. Do you understand?" "Y-y-yes. Yes I do. I understand dad. I love you." Leo let go of the sniper rifle and it vanished into glowing particles of light that flew up around them as Leo wrapped his arms around his son tightly and lifted him up. "I love you too son. With all my heart." "S-so the bad guys are all gone?" Tina asked. "Down and out." Alessandro assured his daughter while placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I told you that Uncle Leo wouldn't let you get hurt. He's one of the best gunslingers in the family." "One of the best am I?" Leo asked him while setting his son down. Alessandro and Leonardo laughed together and Josephina leaped forward and kissed Leo. "I'm glad you're okay honey. I was so worried about you over there." "I was worried about you guys when those cowards starting potshots at you. That armor really paid for itself." "Heh, yeah. We're gonna need new tires though." She hugged him close and sighed. "This has been a long shitty day. The kids didn't deserve this." "We'll make it up to them tenfold. I promise." "A hundred fold." "Deal." They hugged in silence for a minute before parting. "Alright. Since the other sniper's still alive, I'm going to go over there and question him. Could use some backup." Argos rolled his shoulder. "Think I'd be best served staying here and keeping an eye on the kids and calling the police." "Are you okay dad?" Leo asked his father. "Just been a bit of a day son. But I'll be fine. Go take care of business." "I'll stay here with them and keep an eye out." Gloria volunteered. "Go on bro. I'll stay here with Tina and Derrick." Alessando assured his brother in law. "Guess that leaves us." Josephina walked back over to the car, opened the door and popped open the glove compartment and pulled out a pair of magnums. Specifically, two Smith & Wesson Model 500's, five-shot, double-action revolvers produced by Smith & Wesson, firing the .500 S&W Magnum cartridge. They are built on Smith & Wesson's X-Frame which was developed in response to the higher output of the .500 S&W Magnum round which none of the other frames could handle. The Model 500 can fire a bullet weighing 350 gr ( 22.7 g; 0.8 oz) at 1,975 feet per second (602 m/s) generating a muzzle energy of over 3,030 foot-pounds force (4.1 kJ). It is often described as a "Hand Cannon." Josephina handed one to Michelle and she double checked that it was loaded before nodding and getting ready. She crouched down and hugged her daughter. "I'll be right back okay honey? Mommy's gonna go have a talk with what's left of the bad man, alright?" Tina hugged her. "Be careful mommy. I love you." "I love you too. I'll be right back." "You three be careful alright? But all the same, kick him around a bit for the kids." "You bet." Leo nodded and reformed his pistols and walked out into the grass with Josephina and Michelle. Fort meanwhile was rolling around on the ground clutching his sizzling steaming stump of an arm while screaming in pain. "IT HUUURTS! IT HUUUURTS! OH GOOOOD IT HUUUURRRTS! FAWREST! IT HURTS! HELP ME FORREST! PLEASE HELP ME IT HURTS! FOOORRRESST!" He cried. WHERE ARE YA FAWREST? WHERE ARE YA? HELP ME PLEASE! HELP ME IT HUUURTS! SOMEONE HELP ME FAAND FAWREST! HELP ME IT HUUUURTTS! He continued thrashing and rolling around on the ground until a foot stomped down on the ground and kicked his dropped sniper rifle away from him. He looked up and saw Leo and Josephina and Michelle glaring at him with guns drawn. "Good afternoon dirtbag. We need to talk." "Y'ALL DONE KILLED HIM! Y'ALL DONE KILLED THEM ALL! YOU BASTARDS!" "Yes. Yes I did." Leo admitted. "Because you assholes tried to kill my family. We didn't know you. We'd never met any of you and I'm pretty sure we never wronged any of until today. If you had simply left us alone we would've gone on our merry way and no one would've died. Odds are it would still be awhile before anybody even knew about whatever it is you're doing out here. But you did pick a fight with me and then I blew up the trucks and wiped out your entire crew. That should've been enough incentive for you to get the hell out of dodge, but you didn't, and now here we are. Since you are the only one still alive, we're going to need you to answer our questions." Ay done won't tell y'all anything! Do y'all have any idea what would happen ta me if ay done talked?" "I shot your arm off and you've still got three more limbs to go." Leo threatened. Despite the agony he was in Fort was still just smart enough to realize how screwed he was either way so he decided to talk. "I-I-I-I...okay. Okay ay'll talk." He sniffled. "Good. Now tell us everything." Josephina ordered. "W-we live at the sunset fields farm. Ovuurr yonduurr. It's ayy awful big farm. Ayy very kind farm. So kind. We manage the land ayn' care faw the crops ayn' take care av the animals ayn' wawk ta keep ever'thing on the up ayn' up. It is ayy lot av fun ayn' we done made darn good mowney frawum it but it wasn't enough. It were nevuurr enough. Neithuurr the animals naw the mowney. It wasn't enough. So our father, the awful old man, done came up with ayy plan." "You didn't." Michelle whispered as the realization began sinking in. "Thay awful old man. He done done had it figured. The average person is wawth five hundred fifty-one thousand, four hundred seventy-three dollaars. I-it's all in y'all how y'all divide them up." "Ayy pair av eyeballs goes for one thousand, five hundred twenty-five dollaars. Y'all's scalp? Whel that there goes faw six hundred seven dollaars. Y'all's skull goes for one thousand, two hundred dollaars. Ya shoulder'll go for five hundred dollaars. Cawonary artery is priced up for one thousand, five hundred twenty-five dollars. Y'all's heart goes up ta one hundred nineteen thousand, dollaars. Liver? Livuurr can go faw one hundred fifty-seven thousand, dollaars. A hand ayn' fawearm will go for three hundred eighty-five dollaars. Ayy pint av blood will do you for three hundred thirty-seven dollaars. Y'all's spleen ayn' stomach will go faw five hundred eaheet dollaars. The small intestines will sell for two thousand, five hundred nineteen dollars. We can sell kidney's faw two hundred sixty-two thousand, dollaars. Gallblayder's can be done sold faw one thousand, two hundred nineteen dollaars. Skin sells faw ten dollaars puurr square inch.....he looked. The old man. He looked. He searched. He found people. Great people. Rich and powerful people. People who would pay for the pieces. People who taught us what to do with the rest. Taught us not to waste any of it. Taught us what to cut, what to sell and what to cook." "Ribs are obvious av course, but y'all don't go faw the brayn aw livuurr because that there will screw y'all up. Lungs are great howevuurr because they're full av iron. Thay ...err nervous systems are rich are in carbohydrates. The uppuurr arm is great faw slow cooking like y'all are cooking lamb shanks whahl the fawe arms tough meat is best done used faw sowp. Y'all can make goularsh out av thay ...err neck, tenduurr steak out av thay ...err shoulder, make thay ...err middle av thay ...err back into bbq steaks. The middle av the loin is darn good faw rib filet whahl the lowuurr loin makes faw ayy perfec t-bone. The lowuurr back on eithuurr side av the loin muscles is an excellent rump roast. Legs are tough though, they're ayy slow cook ayn' y'all'd be best done served a-makin' them into stew, roast aw osso bucco. So, y'all don't waste. Y'all cut up thay ...err livestock ayn' y'all cook them raheet and-" "Okay then." Josephina put a hand on her hip while keeping her gun aimed at his head. "Next question: The restaurant we stopped at earlier, are they involved?" "Those there goody darn good idiots? Naw, they're kind ayn' propuurr people. They wouldn't get done involved in this here." She breathed a sigh of relief. So they weren't involved after all. That was good. She felt even better knowing the kids hadn't been served some poor soul these animals ground up. "My next question then: Who have you sold your victims to?" "Ay don't know!" Josephina stomped on his chest and started squeezing the trigger of her gun. "Ay mean it now! Ay don't know! Ay'm ayy deliveryman! Ay drop the bodies off at the farm ayn' the others handle the sales ayn' delivery av the bodies!" He replied desperately. "Ay don't know the buyers! But the old man! The old man has ayy book! It has names! Numbers! Addresses! The old man knows ever'one!" "What's his name? The old man?" Leo questioned as Josephina put her foot off of him. It took him a whole minute before he finally spoke up. "T-T-Thaddeus. Old Man Thaddeus Brannon." "Thaddeus huh? Doesn't ring any bells. What's he like?" Fort spoke to them honestly as he closed his eyes and rested his head on the grass. "An awful old man. He is an awful awful old man. He's scary. He's wawse than us. He's wawse than the drivers." He opened his eyes back up and he looked Leo dead in the eyes and despite the agony of his missing arm and the three of them having him completely outnumbered with weapons drawn the next words out of his mouth were dripping with venom. "He's worse than you." Leonardo Blackburn's response was quick and simple and full of bravado. "Yeaaaah that remains to be seen. I've wrecked worse threats than a backwoods inbred Dr.Evil. How many people are working at this farm of yours?" ".....Sixty. There are sixty av us wawking at the farm ayn' we're all armed." "Good to know. Michelle ?" Michelle raised her phone and turned off the recorder. "Got it. Nice monologue, dumbass." "I...you...wh-wha?" "Send that to our phones, the police and put it online." Josephina told her. "Once this gets around the police will close in on their farm and arrest them." "In fact." Leo grinned. "Why not send the video to some of our old friends? I'm sure they'd love to know about some redneck cannibalistic human traffickers." "Consider it done." Leo crouched down and pressed the barrel of his gun to Fort's forehead. "Here's a new question: Did someone ask you to target us specifically?" "N-not y'all. Nahwt y'all three. Naw. the boy. Ayy client awdered thay ...err boy." You could hear a damn pindrop for miles from the silence that followed that statement. Leo stood up and took a minute to collect himself. As much as he wanted to blow his head off right here and now, it wouldn't get them the information they needed and if some asshole was targeting his son, his little boy, he wanted to know what he was up against. He finally turned around and stared down at him with a look of icy rage in his eyes that made Fort completely freeze up. "I'll ask this once: Who is targeting my son?!" "R. That there's all ay know. The client is listed as the lettuurr R ayn' that there is all ay know." "Is the client a man or a woman?" Josephina asked him. "I don't know. Honest. I swear." Leo watched him squirm. "Leonardo? What's our call?" "Get him up, drag him back to the car. When the police arrive we'll turn him over to them. He's no threat in his condition anyway. Besides, I want to see the look on his face when he and all of his inbred buddies are locked away for the rest of their sad little lives." "Y'all're a-goin' ta die if y'all try ta take them on. Y'all know that there right?" "Yeah yeah keep rambling." Leo replied. He dismissed the gun in his left hand and it vanished in a flash of light. He grabbed Fort and dragged him to his feet and shoved him forward. He stumbled a few feet, fell down to his knees and then he dragged himself to his feet and resumed clutching the cauterized stump of his arm. "Y'all done took my arm you maniacs! You done took my arm ayn' done killed my brother!" Fort sobbed while he trudged forward. "Cry me a fucking river asshole, you tried to kill my family first." Leo retorted harshly. His and Josephina's phones buzzed as they received the confession video from Michelle's phone. "Okay. Next, we put them up online and then we send them to Nancy and the others and get in touch with them about what's happened and the farm. Then we get in touch with some of our old friends and then the police. Just in case this goes South somehow, evidence of what the farm's been doing will be both online and in the hands of people we can trust to take care of business." "That's a good idea." Michelle spoke up. "I've got something to add to it: We should tell Nancy and the rest to meet us at the police station if they get a call from us and if not, to hit the farm fast and hard." "Good plan. I'd imagine most of the family is there by now so half of them can remain behind to watch over the kids while the rest come to back us up." Josephina nodded her head. "Solid plan." "Are y'all insane? Y'all mighty think that there just ayy few people can bring down thay whowwl damn farm?!" Fort asked them. "We'd burn down your whole damn farm with just us." Josephina corrected him while posting the videos of his confession to various social media sites. "We're bringing in the rest of the family to salt the Earth in our wake. Okay we're done. Next?" "I've got him covered. Make the call." Josephina nodded and sent the video confession to the rest of the family with Michelle. A minute later Josephina's phone started ringing. She accepted the call and answered her. "Hello Nancy." _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ "JOSEPHINA! JESUS CHRIST! WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU GOTTEN YOURSELF INTO?!" Nancy Rachel Blackburn Hawkins demanded. "I-I saw the fucking video! What the shit Josephina? Where are the kids? What happened to them? Are they okay? Are you okay? What's this about cannibalism and human trafficking? What the shit happened?" "Hey Nancy. We're on Eagle's Nest Pathway off Rosewood. We were coming to our way to the party but we got a little sidetracked. Shit's gone down." "Clearly! What's happened?" "Okay here it is." Nancy sat down and rubbed her head as she listened to everything that had happened to them. When Josephina finally finished her tale of crazed car carnage and sniper shootouts, she took a deep breath and exhaled. "....Fuck. Okay You made the right call in putting the evidence online and sending it to us. We'll do the same, load up and then come to meet you." "Negative." Josephina shut her down. "We think something else might happen here. Listen to me, if you hear from us, we'll tell you to meet us at the police station. If not, then assume we've been taken to the farm and go there. They have about sixty guys so be prepared." "Not gonna be a problem for us." "I know. Okay, the passcode when I call you is going to be Applegate." Josephina spoke into the phone. Fort noticed that and Josephina knew that he would because both the family and Nancy knew that she wouldn't make an absolutely rookie mistake like that. The REAL codewords would be sent in a silent text message, shown to the rest of the family and then deleted once they all knew it. "Understood. Applegate it is. We'll make the calls and be on our way." "Good. We'll see you then." She hung up and texted the actual codewords to her: Teal Zinc Chihuahua. A few seconds later she texted right back: Got it. Josephina nodded. Nancy would text them again when she'd shown it to the rest of the family and then the messages would be removed. Nancy came down from the attic to see the rest of the adults in the family gathering together. She smiled. "I'm looking for a few good men to accompany me on a road trip." _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Michelle and Josephina meanwhile placed a few more calls and sent the videos to some dangerous friends of theirs and THEN called the police. The way they figured it, regardless of what happened now, they had video evidence of his confession everywhere now and it was already trending and being reposted around. The farm was finished. "Hello, police? Yes, my name is Michelle Blackburn Berardinelli. I'm on Eagle's Nest Pathway off Rosewood. I'm with my husband Alessandro Alessandro Berardinelli, my daughter Tina Berardinelli, my father Argos Blackburn, my brother Leonardo Blackburn, his wife Josephina Stoneshire Blackburn, her sister Gloria Stoneshire and my nephew Derrick Blackburn. Our cars tires have were torn up and we have been attacked." Michelle took a deep breath and then explained everything that they've been through to the police since leaving the restaurant, their current status and about the cannibal farm. When she finished the dispatcher took a minute to gather her wits and then she spoke into the phone. "Thank you for telling me all of this Miss Berardinelli. We're going to send patrol units to your location. You said your car's are bulletproof right? I want you and your family to hunker down in there and wait for our cruisers to show up. Wait for them to knock on your doors, roll the windows down and cooperate with them. They'll bring you and the suspect back to the station and after we've questioned everyone and checked the evidence you've procured, then we'll look into the farm. Okay?" "Okay. Thank you ma'am. We'll meet you at the station." Michelle confirmed. The four of them returned to the car where the rest of the family were hanging out. Leo then hit Fort on the back of the head and dropped him. He caught him while he was falling by the back of his shirt and they dragged him over to the trunk and Josephina opened it up and Leo tossed him inside.They slammed it down and Josephina put the safety back on her gun and sat down on the trunk. Leo rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. "Damn what a day this turned out to be." He sighed and turned to the rest of the family. "Right. So. Here's what's happening now...." _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Time passed. The family were sitting in the cars listening to music to pass the time while the air conditioning kept them cool. Behind them was the wreckage of the destroyed trucks and the corpses of the men who'd tried to kill them cooking in the hot summer heat. Completing the macabre scenario was the burnt remains of the spike trap that Leo shot for safety. In front of them the road seemed to stretch on for miles into the unknown. They had answered phone calls as needed when their friends and family members had called them asking about their safety and they assured them that they were still safe, just waiting for police pickup but they couldn't help but ponder about just what kind of evil was really going on at the farm, who this Thaddeus really was, who he was connected to and what kind of person had put a hit out on them and their boy. As Gloria had noted previously when they described what they'd learned, it really felt like someone was playing a sick game with them. A kicking sound was heard from the trunk but they just ignored him. Fort wasn't going anywhere and honestly it's not like they had anywhere else to put him, so screw him. After a few more minutes passed the family heard the police sirens. "That's them!" The sirens wailed like babies in distress and cut through even the music inside of the car, the kind of noise that makes you sick. The police cars slowed to down and stopped. The policemen stepped out of their cruisers. They were the very epitome of authority with their crisp blue uniforms, clean white gloves, guns hanging idly at their hips, the streets reflected in their overly large sunglasses. The apparent leader of the group smiled at the cars and took off his shades and tucked them into his uniform and walked over to the Blackburns car and gently rapped on the window. "Mister Blackburn, I presume? My name is Officer Lucas Lawson. We received your call about the attack. I can see that you've had a rather....poor day here." Another officer was talking with Alessandro while the rest of the police split into three groups, one group scratching their head and trying to figure out what happened to the trucks, another group checking with Alessandro's family and the rest checking in with the Blackburns. "Hello Officer Lawson. I'm Leonardo Blackburn and it is very nice to meet you. I am the one who blew up the trucks, destroyed the spike trap, took out the drivers and the men who were hiding in the truck and the snipers." "Oooookay. So where are these snipers now?" "One of them is dead and the other..." There was muffled screaming and kicking from the trunk. "Is in my trunk." "Alright would you mind popping that open?" "Sure." The trunk opened and a pair of officers opened it up and pulled Fort out. He gasped and panted heavily. "Huuuuuhhh....hhhhhuuuuuhhh.....hhhuuuuuuuhhhh....f-f-fuck you, Blackburn! Just fuck you!" "Whhhhaaaat happened to his arm?" "I shot that off when he was trying to snipe us." Officer Lawson crouched down and looked around the ground before he found a set of cracked and broken sniper rounds. "Okay, that checks out. Alright, I'm going to need you and your family to step out of the car so we can get some statements." "Certainly." The family slowly filed out of the car and stepped away with the police officers to give their statements. "Honestly I was hiding behind the car the whole time." Derrick admitted. "I-I didn't see much of what happened besides my dad hadoukening the trucks." "I-I'm sorry....hadoukening? Like the video game?" "Yeah, he shot energy blasts, you know? Boom." "Boom." "Just like that." "Okay then." "-And then they started sniping at us and I'm like what the hell did we do to you?" Josephina shook her head. "We had to distract them with the cars so that Leo could blow them away." "Wait, backup, I thought you said he had pistols?" "He usually creates pistols from his energy but he can create any weapon so long as he understands them." "Alright then. SO he's a powered right?" "Yes sir." "Wow." "And yes I killed them all. Except those two. Fort and his brother killed them. I wanted to question them about just why they were attacking us in the first place but that didn't work out so we took down Fort and his brother and questioned him. These men were trying to kill us and I stand by my actions. I will go to court if need be but what's important now is that Fort here works for a team of cannibals and human traffickers." "I don't think court will be necessary Mister Blackburn. This was a clear cut case of self defense. Now what can you tell us about their farm?" "Yes sir, cannibalism and human trafficking." Michelle informed the police officer. "To quote him." She put on a redneck accent matching Forts: " It's all in y'all how y'all divide them up." "Ayy pair av eyeballs goes for one thousand, five hundred twenty-five dollaars. Y'all's scalp? Whel that there goes faw six hundred seven dollaars. Y'all's skull goes for one thousand, two hundred dollaars. Ya shoulder'll go for five hundred dollaars. Cawonary artery is priced up for one thousand, five hundred twenty-five dollars. Y'all's heart goes up ta one hundred nineteen thousand, dollaars. Liver? Livuurr can go faw one hundred fifty-seven thousand, dollaars. A hand ayn' fawearm will go for three hundred eighty-five dollaars. Ayy pint av blood will do you for three hundred thirty-seven dollaars. Y'all's spleen ayn' stomach will go faw five hundred eaheet dollaars. The small intestines will sell for two thousand, five hundred nineteen dollars. We can sell kidney's faw two hundred sixty-two thousand, dollaars. Gallblayder's can be done sold faw one thousand, two hundred nineteen dollaars. Skin sells faw ten dollaars puurr square inch.....he looked. The old man. He looked. He searched. He found people. Great people. Rich and powerful people. People who would pay for the pieces. People who taught us what to do with the rest. Taught us not to waste any of it. Taught us what to cut, what to sell and what to cook." "Ribs are obvious av course, but y'all don't go faw the brayn aw livuurr because that there will screw y'all up. Lungs are great howevuurr because they're full av iron. Thay nervous systems are rich are in carbohydrates. The uppuurr arm is great faw slow cooking like y'all are cooking lamb shanks whahl the fawe arms tough meat is best done used faw sowp. Y'all can make goularsh out av thay neck, tenduurr steak out av thay shoulder, make thay middle av thay back into bbq steaks. The middle av the loin is darn good faw rib filet whahl the lowuurr loin makes faw ayy perfec t-bone. The lowuurr back on eithuurr side av the loin muscles is an excellent rump roast. Legs are tough though, they're ayy slow cook ayn' y'all'd be best done served a-makin' them into stew, roast aw osso bucco. So, y'all don't waste. Y'all cut up thay livestock ayn' y'all cook them raheet." She coughed. "Oh. Ugh. Yuck. Never doing that again." "I see. Seriously though? They're cutting people up to eat and sell? What the hell?" "You'll have to take it up with Fort. He works for the sickos." "Uhhhh Lawson? Lawson, how do we cuff this guy?" "He has one arm. He's fine as he is." "I'm standing right here you know!" "Shut up Fort." Leonardo snarked at him. "Sounds like you've had a long day, son." The officer Derrick had been speaking with summarized the kid's day. "I just....I just want to go home." Derrick admitted. "Go home and just forget this." "Yeah, sucks huh? Well I want you to know something, Derrick. You're a brave boy. I understand you've been through a lot but you're a very strong young man. You're strong and courageous. You went through all of this and you still hold your head high. That's amazing for your age." "Thank you sir." "You're welcome. Yeah." He stood up and offered Derrick his hand. He smiled and took it and accepted his hand up. "Look on the bright side, your day's almost over." Without missing a beat the officer twisted his arm behind his back and slammed Derrick down on the trunk of the car and pulled out his gun and shoved the barrel against the back of his head. "EVERYBODY ON THE GROUND NOW!" At the same time another officer shot Fort through his head, another one grabbed Tina and slammed her down in a similar position that Derrick was in. Josephina screamed, grabbed the officer next to her, aimed his gun into the air, grabbed the back of his head, kicked out his foot and slammed him hard against the bulletproof window. Blood gushed from his nose on impact and she threw him to the ground, grabbed the gun and aimed at the officer holding her son. "LET HIM GO!" Bullets whizzed by her and she turned to aim at the other two officers who had their sights trained on her. "Put it down, bitch." At the same time, Michelle struck one of the corrupt officers twice in the throat, kneed him in the groin and threw him to the ground while stealing his gun, planting her foot on him and aiming at the police while Alessandro threw the officer trying to grab him against the armored car. Alessandro aimed the handgun at the officer holding his daughter. Argos immediately tried to run to his family's aid but he was halted by a spray of gunfire at his feet from the police. He balled his fists and stared them down. Gloria grabbed the arm of the police officer closest to her to prevent him pulling his gun and with her other arm and she drove her elbow into his throat, tripped him and threw him to the ground while stealing his handgun and she aimed at the men pointing guns at Josephina. Leonardo meanwhile was staring at the sight of seeing his beloved son having a gun pointed at his head. He snapped out of it quickly enough but it was just long enough to slow him down. The lights returned to his hands and took the form of handguns. He turned and raised them to the officer behind him who was aiming his gun. He fell backwards while firing blasts from his guns and bullets fired from the officer's. Flashes of light streaked through the air while bullets zipped through the air past him. After a brief exchange of shots a bullet drilled through Leo's left side and Lawson was struck in the chest and launched backwards through the air where he crashed against the remains of one of the trucks. Blood burst out of Lawsons' mouth and he dropped to the ground while Leo fell on his back. The bullet pierced skin expanding from the supersonic impact to the size of a quarter dollar. He hadn’t heard the shot and did not know he had been hit yet as the angry fist-like slug tore through him gathering flesh and tissue on its one way path through his abdomen. He heard something now, though every cell in his body reeled in shock at the immediate assault and he could do little save fall forward from the energy hammer that had just passed through his body. He dropped one of his guns and pressed his hand to his bleeding wound and tried to get an understanding of just how bad it was. The bullet wound was so small. Somewhat ragged around the edges but barely bleeding even. The exit wound must be on his back somewhere. This was bad. If the entry wound was small the exit was a gaping mess. Indeed the ground beneath him was coated the floor in a slick, thick liquid. Blood. His blood. He gritted his teeth and sat up while keeping his hand tightly on the gun in his hand while he held his wound with the other. The others emerged from around the truck now and opened fire upon him, intending to finish him off. He wasn't done yet though and returned fire while backing away from them. Bullets grazed his arms and leg and the side of his neck while he returned blaster fire on them, shooting two more down only for the third to hit him twice more in the torso before being brought down by a blast from Leo's gun. He fell to his knees as mild crimson liquid pops from the barrier and seeps away from the wound. He felt the pulse in his gushing wounds and every beat of his pulse was like a hammer banging on the wound. "LEEEOOOOOO!" Josephina shrieked. "DAD! DAAAAAAD!" Derrick screamed in horror as he saw the blood flowing from his father's bullet wounds. He tried to get away from the corrupt officer holding him down but he held him steady. "Don't you move! Don't you fucking move or I will blow your head off you little shit!" "GET AWAY FROM HIM! GET AWAY FROM MY SON!" She cocked the gun and started to squeeze the trigger. "Try me bitch! I will kill him and then you'll die! Drop your gun!" "Do what he says bitch!" One of the officer shouted at her and adjusted his aim towards Derrick while the man next to him kept his gun aimed at Josephina. The Berardinelli's and Gloria meanwhile were in a pseudo-Mexican Standoff. They had guns pointed at the officers across from them, they were pointing them back and two officers had guns to Tina's head. "Mommy! Mommy pleeeaasse! Mommmmy!" Tina pleaded with her mother. Michelle kept a finger on the trigger as she analyzed their situation. They could still win this. They could kill all of these bastards and treat Leo's wounds with the first aid kits they had in the cars. They could kill every last one of them and still save Leo but....at what cost? Her eyes drifted to her crying sobbing daughter and she realized the truth. They couldn't win this scenario. Not without losing their children. It wasn't worth it. They had to wait. Wait for a better chance to present itself. They couldn't win this without sacrificing their children and they would not risk their lives. She glanced at Alessandro. He was clearly thinking the same thing. He nodded. "Stand down." Michelle said to the others. "I said stand down! Now! Everyone! We can't. We can't lose them." Michelle tossed away her gun and held up her hands. Gloria gritted her teeth but she had to admit she was right. She tossed her gun away and Alessandro did the same. Josephina snarled at them while glancing from the officers to her son and back again. "Moooooom! Mom please help me!" Leonardo staggered to his feet and aimed his gun at the officers holding his son. He narrowed his eyes and stared at the guns pointed right on his head. He could take them. He could kill all of them...but not without sacrificing his son's life. He lowered his arm and dismissed the gun. "Josey....J-Josey!" The officers never took their eyes off of her. After a few tense moments she appeared to simply deflate and tossed her gun away. The officers retrieved the dropped guns and the family was forced to their knees and handcuffed. The adults of the family were lined up together while the children were kept a fair distance away from them with officers on either side. One of them, Officer Aaren, patrolled the line back and forth with his collaborators. "Okay! Now, I think we can all agree, that did not go the way any of us expected! I for one did not expect you assholes to put up nearly the fight you did here. I mean, fucking shit, I ain't easily impressed but wow! You assholes are some of the toughest fuckers we've ever brought down. Now listen up. We want to kill you and I mean badly. But you ain't getting pretty little fucking headshots like Fort over there. Oh no. First, we're gonna pay you back for what you just did here. Then, we're taking you to the farm. There's an old man there who would absolutely love to meet you." He motioned to the corrupt officers standing behind them who raised their batons. There was a dull humming noise and the crackling of electricity as they turned on the electricity of their weapons and with his signal they began to repeatedly pummel them, bashing them over the heads again and again with their electrified weapons. It was more than just a slight tingle that ran underneath their skin. No, it was as though someone had attached live wires to each of their nerves, and their bodies convulsed as the violent electrical currents pulsed through them. The man with the broken nose screamed a series of obscenities at Josephina while he repeatedly struck her and the only thing Derrick and Tina could do was scream and cry until Aaren finally gave the signal to stop. "That's enough. Alright let's get these sorry sacks of shit into the wagons. Bring the fresh corpses too. The sooner they disappear the better." The families were loaded up into police wagons with the new corpses and corrupt officers and the doors were slammed shut. The cruisers drove down the road. Blood seeped from his wounds and sweat dripped down his forehead, his hands were clammy and trembling and his teeth was gritted through the pain that worsened by the second. He felt thirsty and tired and sweat stains were visible now but he blocked it all out and focused on the situation. He was on his back, bleeding from gunshot wounds with his hands cuffed behind his back. Exactly where he needed them to be. Leo rolled over onto his back and summoned a small gun in his hand, the butt of which formed in between his wrist and the cuff and lifted it up just enough that he could slip his hand out. With his hand on the gun he slowly twisted it around until he felt the barrel pressing against one of his wounds. He closed his eyes, blocked out the pain and braced himself before releasing just enough energy to cauterize the back of his wound. It was not an ideal situation, there were so many problems with cauterization that it was just flat out not worth it, and truth be told he'd much rather be in a hospital being treated by professionals right now, but he had to stop his bleeding right now. He could get nanite treatment later. One wound down. He slid it over to his next wound and sealed that one. The pain was excruciating but he didn't cry out. He refused. He had to stay quiet. Let them think he was suffering from his wounds. Not a hard task since he was already hurt like hell anyway. This done he sealed off the third wound and dismissed his gun while sliding his hand back into the cuff. Now they played the waiting game. The priority was the safety of their children. Once Derrick and Tina were safe, they would burn the farm to the ground. The cruisers and wagons went down several winding twists and turns until they finally arrived at the farm. The corrupt cops stood up and pointed their guns at the family while waiting for the wagon doors to be opened. When they finally opened the family could see the police surrounding the wagons with the struggling children being held tightly. The police slowly stepped out and gestured to the family. "Alright! Come on! Get out! Now!" The family slowly walked out of the wagons together, being careful to step over the corpses of the sniper and the police officers. They hopped out and the corrupt cops kept their guns pointed at them. The family was distracted from them for the moment as the smells of the farm hit them all at once. Behind the farm the stone mountains stood up against the sky.The farm buildings huddled like little clinging aphids on the mountain skirts, crouched low to the ground as though the wind might blow them into the sea. The mud lay in uneven patches, scattered over the sloped concrete farmyard. The smell of manure hangs thickly over the more subtle scent of tree blossom. A well constructed large gate of steel and chicken wire covered the bottom of the yard. Slightly further up and to the left there are several stables of mahogany wood with metal roofs that now house calves, bought at market to fatten up and sell on for their meat. To the top lie the stables with the donkeys and the riding horses. To the right are the pig pens, dear cutlets, who live in ignorant bliss of the significance of their names. There were several towering windmills stationed around the farm and the family noticed the faint stench of blood coming strongest from them and one of the pig pens. Completing this picture were giant barns, guest houses and a large mansion. It truly was a beautiful farm, complete with scarecrows sitting in the cornfields. It was like something out of a storybook. It was that beautiful. A pity it was populated by psychopaths. One of said psychopaths, Officer Broken Nose for lack of a proper name, walked over and got right in Josephina's face. "Not so tough now are you bitch? Take a good look around because the only way you're leaving is as ground beef!" Josephina didn't even flinch. "You call yourself a police officer and yet you're working for animals like this. Are you really human under that uniform or just a sow in disguise?" He chuckled and looked around at his buddies who had the family surrounded. "Are you serious? Is she serious right now? Fucking hell you've got an attitude on you bitch. I hate that in a woman." He pulled out the baton again and slammed it against her head. Again the electricity coursed through her body and she fell to her knees but refused to cry out. She looked up and glared. Broken Nose just chuckled. "Well shit, you can take a hit bitch. Gonna have to work on your attitude problem though." Josephina looked him dead in the eyes and rose back up to her feet again without taking her eyes off of him. "Is that the best you can do?" She asked calmly. It really was an honest question. She'd certainly taken harder hits back in basic training. It took a few seconds for her words to sink in and he yelled and he began striking her again. "Dumb broad! Should've stayed in the kitchen you fucking belong! Nobody talks that shit to me! Especially not some dirty sucker punching woman! You're gonna beg for your fucking life!" "Stop." Derrick seethed and gritted his teeth. "Stop. Stop. I SAID STOP YOU GODDAMN PUSSY!" Josephina looked up at him. "Derrick! Derrick stay out of this! I can handle this!" Broken Nose turned to face Derrick now. "The fuck you say to me you little shit?" "You heard me. You wanna fight? Come on! Let's go! Right now!" He tried to charge him but one of the thugs grabbed him and pulled him back. "Come on! You and me you fucking coward! You want a fight I'll give you one!" "You wanna die now you shit? I will take your head off!" He put his baton back in its holder and then raised his gun and aimed it at Derrick. "Put the fucking shotgun down, dumbass." Aaren replied and snapped his fingers. "We're standing right here. It's your own fault you got your ass kicked. Now stop making a scene." "Cram it Aaren! I am going to make this bitch suffer!" "Put.It.Down. Before they come out and make you. You know they don't like a lot of noise." "I am in no mood! Now sit down and-" He was finally silenced when a rabbit masked woman in a long white dress hopping off of the wagon and pulled a knife on Broken Nose and she pointed it at his throat. She her voice was quiet, barely above a whisper, but she quieted him right down as she leaned in and whispered into his ear. "Ssssshhhh. Too much noise. Quiet." It ws then that they realized they were now surrounded by farmhands in animal masks. They were just standing there. Staring at them. Silently. Menacingly. Accompanying them was a shirtless blood stained masked man wearing dark camo pants, a towering behemoth wearing fur coats, a welding mask and a sledgehammer attached to his back, a giant hairy overweight man with a sack on his head, a towering shirtless man an open vest and torn jeans, a tall overweight man with dirty clothes and the group was rounded out by a giant man wearing scattered metal armor and a metal skull helmet. The police were silently trembling now. "What the fuck?" Derrick whispered. His previous bravado disappearing into thin air. Where the hell did they even come from?! One minute it was just them and the dirty cops the next these creeps popped up out of nowhere! Tina's mouth was trembling. Leonardo glowered at them. "You okay honey?" He whispered quietly without taking his eyes off the new arrivals. "I've had worse. This is just some lumps. I'm more worried about you." "Fine. Just a bit burned." "I love your brain. What's the plan?" " dīvide et imperā..." She nodded her head and finished standing to her feet. Officer Broken Nose lowered his gun and swallowed before speaking up. "I-I-I wasn't doing anything. Honest. Just messing." "You make too much noise. You are disturbing the animals. Be quiet and behave yourself." Bunny Mask whispered to him. "I-I'll be quiet. I'll be good. I swear. P-please don't chop me up." "This is your first strike..." She whispered to him. "I got it. I understand." She pulled back the knife and placed it in the back of her dress. "Where's Fort?" "Fort? Oh! Fooort! Yeah. Fort. I'm sorry to tell you this. But he's dead. They killed him. Cold blooded murder. They killed him and his brother after ripping off his arm. W-we knew it was our duty to bring him back here. To be buried." She tilted her head, looked at the others and she walked over to the wagon and hopped inside. She searched around and walked out carrying his body. She hopped back down onto the ground and set his body down and began to inspect it while 'sniffing' him. After a couple of minutes of this she stood up and skipped over to the officer. She motioned him over and resumed whispering in his hear. "He is indeed dead." "Y-yeah? Right. Like I said. They murdered him." "You said they ripped off his arm." "Yeah! See? It's gone! Just like I said!" "We've ripped off arms before. His wound does not look like it was ripped off. It was burned off." "I-I-Yeah. That's what I meant. They did something to him. They burned his arm off! They-" "Danny." His grip tightened on the gun. "Danny. You lied." She slid the knife slowly across the side of his neck. It wasn't deep enough to kill him but the pain was evident on his face as the blood slid down his neck. He tried to raise his weapon but she tore the shotgun from his grip and offhandedly tossed it to the big man who caught it out of the air. She kicked him down and spoke up again trembling with rage. "Never.Lie.To.Me." "I-I-I got it. I got it. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." "Second strike. Screw up again and you die." Bunny Mask flicked her knife and the blood flew off of her knife and flew onto Josephina's face. She just glared. "Seriously?" "Deal with it." She whispered and took a look around at the newly arrived livestock until she spotted Derrick. Bunny Mask put a finger to her mouth and tilted her head. "Oh my." She skipped over to him and then leaned forward and she began 'smelling' and rubbing her face against him for a few seconds before pulling back. "Pretty." She grabbed Derrick's shirt and attempted to drag him away. "Mine." The masked bald man stepped in front of them. "He is livestock. Someone already bought him. Take him to the cages." Fitting his intimidating appearance deep voice of baritone register and the animal masks and corrupt cops were clearly intimidated by his voice. "Mine." She replied angrily. "Let him go Bunni. We're selling him. I won't ask again." There was a moment of silence between them before Bunny Mask let Derrick go and stomped off. "Uhhh....thank...you?" Derrick asked, confused by this whole scenario. "Shut up livestock." "Oooookaaay then! This here has nahwt gone the way we done wanted. So who's dead?" The vest wearing man asked. "Benny, Lawson, a few of the other cops, the truck crew, Fort and Forrest." "All of them?" "All of them." Shit. That there's ayy loss. Thay ...err awful old man isn't gonna like this here. " He scratched his head. "Alright! uh, faw now, get thay cawpses ta meat processing ayn' destroy thay police unifawms." He turned to Leonardo. "Is this here the guy who done killed 'em all? "Yeah, from what we understand, that was him. He's a powered." "Naw shit? Whel hell, he sure doesn't look like it. Fuck it. Alraheet. If this here is the sonnova bitch who murdered our brothers, then we're gonna have ta give him the speciaal treatment. Take him ta thay butchers, boys!" A group of men grabbed Leonardo around his arms and began hauling him off. "DAD! DAD NO! DAD!" Derrick struggled against the men holding him but they threw him down into the dirt and one of them stomped on his back. "DAAAAAD!" "Be strong son. I'll find you. You have to be strong. Everything's going to be okay alright?" Leo called back to his son. "YOU'LL BE FINE, I PROMISE! I WILL FIND YOU! I SWEAR IT!" Derrick sniffled but squeezed the tears out of his eyes and gritted his teeth and nodded his head. "It's not going to be okay. You're all going to die." The masked man told Derrick. The vest wearing man continued and pointed to the women. "Take the layies ta the guest house so we can greet them propuurr. They can await processing there. Ayn' try nahwt ta taint thay fucking meat this here tahm y'all assholes. Thay old man beat us awful bad enough last tahm." The masked men assembled around the women of the family, grabbed them and dragged them away. The man pointed to Argos and Alessandro. "Take these two ta processing. Ay want them chopped up first." The men pushed the pair with their guns and guided them in the direction of one of the barns. Naturally most of them were keeping their guns aimed at Argos. Finally, he turned to Derrick and Tina. "Put them in the cages. When our guest arrives we'll throw in the girl free av charge." "You can still stop this." Tina insisted to them. "You can just let us go! Please! Just let us go home! Just leave us alone! We didn't do anything to you! Just let us all go home! Please!" "Naw can do darling. When y'all're here y'all're eithuurr ayy guest, ayy customuurr aw livestock. Ayn' y'all fall into thay lattuurr categawy." He shrugged. "Don't look at me. Ay don't make the rules. We just carry them out." Derrick was dragged to his feet and dragged away towards one of the houses with Tina. His glare never left the man's face. "My dad is going to kick. Your. Ass." K'eep raheet on dreaming there kid. Yer dad is ayy dead man a-walkin'." "You should've listened to Tina! You're messing with the wrong family!" Derrick called back to them.
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Post by SuperKamiGuy1 on Jan 22, 2021 1:39:12 GMT
Leonardo was lead away from his family by the cannibals who poked and prodded and shoved their guns against the back of his head while taunting and laughing at him but he kept calm. He ignored the pain screaming through his body to come up with a plan. He was breathing hard. He'd lost quite a lot of blood. He was feeling tired and breathing hard but he shook his head and forced his body to focus on the here and now. He could easily get out of these cuffs but he needed to wait until he was sure the thugs were distracted and divided before he got to work on them. He saw it coming up now and it was a large well built building that looked like a miniature fortress. There were four men standing outside armed with shotguns and rifles. He took notice of this as the large doors were opened up and he was forced inside. There were several armed men waiting for him.
"Holy shit, who thay fuck is this here guy?"
"Fresh meat faw the butchers. Ay think they're gonna like this one."
They continued forcing Leo to walk across the house while they laughed at and taunted him. The interior of the building was certainly different than he'd expected. He was surrounded by dark marble walls, metal fixtures of polished, stainless steel, and reflective, mirror-smooth black ceramic tiles. Retro loft style creative metal chain Edison pendant lights hung down from the ceiling in random spots. The extreme cold of the building was such a stark contrast to the afternoon Summer heat that he was caught even further off guard. Despite how quickly the temperature dropped around him he found himself welcoming it. It was too hot out for this shit anyway and stepping out of the heat into a chilly place like this helped him focus. He was marched down a long hallway with a few scattered alcoves around it and several thugs just hanging out. He took notice of their firepower. Most of them had handguns or shotguns but he noticed some heavy ordinance as well. One man even had an automatic shotgun, another a three barreled shotgun, some had freaking hcar guns, and more. They weren't kidding about their black market dealings. Blasting his way out of here was going to be a bigger pain in the ass than he'd anticipated. It would be worth it for the armory though.
On the far end of the hallway was an open door with a set of stairs. Obviously leading to a basement. The stairs ahead were twisted in a perfect spiral, like a child's slinky toy pulled from each end. There was a poke at his back at Leo calmly descended the staircase. He watched his step carefully but his mind was primarily focused on the best way to deal with these assholes and save his family.
He continued descending the stairs. God he felt like shit. Getting shot was just a bitch.
Upon descending the staircase he was forced through another doorway and down a winding a hallway until he was lead to a room with a trail of blood leading out of it. The wall at the end of the hallway was splattered with blood as well. A man in a pig mask came out of a side door followed by two others who were dressed like janitors complete with the equipment. Not paying Leonardo any mind they casually began mopping it up and cleaning the wall.
He crinkled his nose from the stench of blood overwhelming him. A door opened on the far side of the building and a pair of jackal masked men walked out carrying large plastic bags over their shoulders. As they walked past Leonardo he got a peek inside of the bags and he noticed freshly dismembered limbs had been placed into smaller bags before being put inside of the bigger bags. There was even a pair of severed heads also stuffed into the bags with the rest of the body parts. As far as he could tell, the victims were a man and a woman and somewhere in their 20's. One of the psychopaths behind him slapped Leonardo on the back.
"Take ayy darn good look livestock. That there's a-goin' ta be you aftuurr the butchers are done. That is, if they're kind enough ta leave something done left av ya."
"Just so ya know, this here isn't personal. People gotta eat y'all, know what ay mean?" A pig mask stated to Leonardo.
"Yes it is! It is very personal! He done killed Fawrest ayn' Fawt ayn' the truckers!"
"Yeah but ay nevuurr done liked those there two anyway." Pig mask shrugged his shoulders.
Leo just ignored them. He had gone well past the initial stage of fury and was now in that calm lagoon of rage where his voice would be nice and steady, his manner would be measured and polite, and only the fire in his eyes gave hints of the hellfire he was going to rain down on this farm. He recited the words he'd learned during his military training. Quod puritas per odium. Dignitatem, per iram. Purity through hate. Dignity through rage. Should your anger ever become too much to contain, you must make sure that your anger be three things: Your rage must be cold. Your rage must be reasoned. Your rage must be legendary.
The brothers split back up once the Blackburns were divided. The sledgehammer man, Salvator, followed the others who were taking Argos and Alessandro to processing.
The sack head, Charles, followed the group taking Leo to the torture house and walked right in with them. Once the door was closed he sat down in front of it to block him from escaping just in case he did somehow get out of the torture room.
Romulus, the shirtless vest wearing man, and Chunk returned to their field work.
Diablos, the bald monster mask man, and Dread, the skull masked man, walked back to the mansion.
The house was built of dark stone that had been stained darker in places by the rain. Even when the day was still you could feel chilling breezes around the mansion. Ivy and ferns grew through the crevices of the winding stone path, which led directly to the colossal structure. The mansion loomed proudly over the rest of the farm and it was flanked on either side by massive towering trees crowned in crimson, swaying gently to the chilly autumn wind. At its threshold stood the delicate marble fountain, the soft gurgling of the clear water melodic as it resonated in the surrounding silence. By the door was a woven mat, fashioned from rustic strings, enriched with the mud of thousands of boots - a testimony to the life that dwelled in the house. The door mat could have been replaced years ago, its edges were frayed and curled, but it was still here. Their father had had the floor polished, the curtains made anew and the walls painted... yet still it remained, giving treasured mind-photographs, the best kind of life-nostalgia. They wiped their feet on the mat and then Diablos pushed open the double doors and the pair walked right inside.
They listened to the soft music of the mansion. They could hear Fur Elise being played which meant Jezebel was giving Porcelain her piano lessons. It had always mystified the brothers how they were able to play so well but the pair just had a talent for it. The brothers weren't going to complain anyway. It was nice hearing their music after a long hard day of working in the fields and handling the livestock.
The pair calmly advanced up the stairs to the third floor and then they took a left and then a right and opened the door to find Thaddeus playing a board game with Macey. The contrast between the pair was shocking.
Thaddeus has the appearance of an elderly gentleman and he was dressed gracefully in his traditional black uniform. Thaddeus's hair is entirely white, just like his immaculate beard. He has visible wrinkles on his hollow face, which makes him seem gentle in appearance, but his eyes are as sharp as an eagle's and danger radiated out from him. The brothers, as powerful as they were, knew better than to ever interrupt him or speak out of turn. You waited for father to speak to you. Not the other way around.
Macey meanwhile, being the youngest of the family, just under Bunni, was dressed more innocently in a bright pink dress with curly brown hair, white gloves and pink shoes. Her face was obscured by a duck mask she'd made and she had a sledgehammer by her side, the head of which she'd painted to look like a cow's head.
Thaddeus smiled as he instructed Macey on how to win the game while also teaching her some philosophy while playing the game.
"Have you ever considered, dear Macey, that what people call sanity, is just a prison in your minds that stops you from seeing that you're just tiny little cogs in a giant absurd machine? Certainly, men have called me mad; but the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the loftiest intelligence– whether much that is glorious– whether all that is profound– does not spring from disease of thought– from moods of mind exalted at the expense of the general intellect." At first glance upon Thaddeus, you would normally be expecting the croak of old age but his voice was more like a sergeant major, strong and distinctly upper class.
"Take cannibalism for instance. Cannibalism is a way of life, a way to survive. But what I am truly wondering, is why it is frowned upon in today's society as an act only the sick or undesirables commit. Some North American natives believe that eating the fresh remains of a killed creature will give you the strength or abilities of that creature. Eating the eyes of an eagle will give you better eyesight and eating the meat of a buffalo will make you stronger, etc. At some point, certainly, these men would've had to wonder, if you ate another man's penis, would you (assuming you're a man) grow a larger penis? Maybe if I ate a woman's breasts, I would grow larger breasts? The problem with eating the flesh of other creatures is that the proteins are slightly different. The human body has to modify these proteins before they can be used. Buffalo beef is different from human meat, so it takes time and energy to modify it so it is compatible with the human body. Eating human meat however means there is NO time wasted making the meat compatible. Instead it goes straight into our blood system and makes us grow stronger and regenerate faster. Call it a Hannibal the Lector way of thinking, but the same goes for eating the brains of another human. Eating their brain tissue will result in that brain tissue being transplanted into your own brain. It might even be possible to gain knowledge and memories, provided that knowledge and memories isn't ruined by your stomach acids during the digestion process. You are what you eat, so they say. Pigs (pork, if you want to get down the name of the meat) are genetically very similar to humans. Pigs are surprisingly smart and have practically the same skin and hair tissue that humans have. Their bone structure is really the only major difference. Which makes me wonder: Is the reason Jewish people can't eat pork because pigs will eat their own shit (which cats & dogs do too, actually), or is it because pigs are genetically similar to humans? I don't know. What I do know is that scientifically, eating other humans apparently tastes like pork, makes you live longer, makes you stronger, and if you eat their brains, makes you smarter. That is how it's been for our family for generations has it not? Ever since it started with our great, great grandfather in that time of famine."
The family knew the story well. The old priest looked out upon his flock and saw them as no different from the sheep that had died when the grass withered. His mouth watered at the sight of the young ones who had been quite fat before and were even then still plump. He declared a message from God that it was His will to test them, to see who was the most pure of heart and would give their lives to save the others. These fine martyrs would be honored above all others in the life beyond this and their families would be well looked after. At any other time the old fraud would have been thrown to the wolves, but every stomach in the congregation rumbled and their brains began to consider previously unimaginable horror. After a time more eyes rested on the simple teenager who had lost his parents a year ago in a freak accident. After that they just got a taste for it and even now that the farms were prospering they still indulged.
But there was another reason. One that had grown in their family over the generations. The Gift Of Consumption they called it. Consumptive Absorption.
In laymen's terms, whatever they put inside of their mouths, no matter how hard, no matter how potentially toxic, anything they eat becomes harmless. Then they absorbed the properties of whatever they ate. For living things of course, freshness was important. The usual limit to absorption was for as long as it would remain in their body, however, by eating the same thing again and again and again, the ability to keep whatever they ate inside of their bodies became easier and they could keep powering themselves up. And it had made the family invincible.
Thaddeus continued. "And really, what is wrong with our actions? Certainly it is a better usage ofr the wastes of humanity than just throwing them in a grave somewhere. So many people are donating their organs or replacing them with machines these days. Imagine, for but a moment, if instead of wasting dead bodies, we simply made meat from them and shipped them off to the starving? Talk about solving world hunger, hmmm?" He chuckled. "Well, it is but something to consider little Macey. Back to our game. Watch closely now."
"That was amazing, papa!"
"The wisdom of experience my dear! A little trick to remember if you ever play for real money." He ruffled her hair and turned to his sons. "Yes?"
"We got the kid and the family. The children have been taken to the cages, the women to the guest house, the old man and a younger man to be processed and the patriarch of the family to the butchers."
"The butchers you say? My word, whatever did he do?"
"He killed the truckers, Forrest and some of our cops."
Thaddeus's eyes widened. "Wow. That's....actually quite a hefty loss. Interesting. If he's that strong then he must powered. A shame he is going to die now. I would've like to speak with this man. Oh well. What's done is done." He sipped a glass of lemonade that was sitting on the table next to him. "Tell the police good work in bringing them in. Ensure that the wages we would've paid the police are divided up among the survivors."
"Yes sir. We've been ensured that the cleanup crew is going to the trucks now. It will take time but we should be able to remove most of the evidence and secure the rest of the corpses." Diablos informed his father. "It shouldn't be a problem. The family will be dead and gone by tonight anyway."
They were interrupted by a by a woman clad in a black dress, a matching blazer and a wolf mask. "Forgive my interruptions father but there is a phone call for you. It's her."
"Ah thank you Ambrosia. Do excuse me Macey, I have urgent business to discuss." He hugged his youngest daughter and walked around the corner to a living room where he retrieved the phone. "Hello."
"Hi Thaddeus." Such a simple greeting but it chilled his spine. Her voice was like a dead man's lullaby. "I heard from your contact that my little Derrick is in town. Have you retrieved him?"
"Yess Miss R. We have the boy caged now and the family will be disposed of as well. There will be no traces of them entering the town."
The voice on the other end of the line laughed, her tone ringing in a sick icy way, sending chimes ringing in his ears. "Wunderbar, Thaddeus! You've exceeded my expectations. Rest assured, if you can pull this off, I'll put in a good word for you at the grown ups table. This is your ticket in, old man. Keep them secured. I'm on my way."
"Of course ma'am. It is our duty to serve." He replied cheerfully while trying to at least sound confident.
"Good boy. I will see you when I arrive! Auf Wiederhören!" She hung up and he sighed. They had lost a lot but they stood to gain so much more. They just had to get through today and the world would be their oyster.
Miss R. Whatever manner of woman, no, not woman, creature was more appropriate, that she was would be their ticket into her organization. If his belief about her was correct then he and his family would finally cast off the chains of humanity and become immortal. Combine this with the power they already possessed and they would climb even further to the realms of the Gods.
But he couldn't get ahead of himself. Not now. Not when he was finally so close to it. They had to proceed cautiously. Because above all else....Miss R scared him. The day she'd come into their lives and made the request for them to retrieve the boy, she was charming, formal, polite and hauntingly beautiful. But he couldn't help but feel an icy terror gripping his heart when he looked at her. She'd come alone, a rarity for guests, and had brought no weapons or means of defense that he could've seen. But still, even with the entire farm around him, one look in her eyes had been enough to tell him that fighting her would be impossible.
He would find out the truth about her tonight and use her as a stepping stone to ascend to the power of a God and then he and his family would bring their order to the rest of the world.
It was time for the world to be rest to a simpler way of life after all.
Thaddeus cleared his throat, hung up the phone, adjusted his suit and walked back around the corner to rejoin his daughter for their game.
As they got closer to the room he began hearing the voices of a man and a woman singing together while instruments were played along with them. It sounded distinctly country but it didn't come off as one from America. Possibly from somewhere in England? Maybe it was the headache or the blood loss or just the pain in his body in general but he was having trouble placing it.
Whatever the case, it certainly had the psychos tapping their feet.
Fucking hell he hated country music.
One of the psychos walked ahead, knocked on the door and leaned inside. "Look alive kids! We've done got fresh meat faw y'all ta play with! We want this here one ta be given the speciaal treatment! Give him ever'thing y'all done got! Make this here one y'all's finest wawk!"
He backed away from the door as a woman poked her head out and Leo was greeted by a frankly bizarre sight. The woman was wearing a latex fetish rubber bondage hood mask with holes open for her eyes mouth and jaw, a bloodstained bragard grand chef lady jacket, black trausers and...what he could only describe as a leathery apron quilt made from dried flesh and mutilated faces and body parts and hair. It was just as bloodstained as the rest of her clothes, most of which likely came from their recent victim though he could see plenty of dried blood on her clothes as well, but considering the apron went nearly down to her feet....he had to assume there'd been quite a few victims.
Just another debt these maniacs added to their tab.
"Huuuuh?" The woman gasped in disbelief. "Already? Well, goo'ness gracious y'all wawk fast when y'all mighty put yer minds ta it! Where is he?"
The pig mask jerked his thumb in Leo's direction.
The woman ran out of the torture room, stopped on a dime in front of Leo and began checking him. "Is this here some kaand av sick joke?" She turned back to the others with her hands on her hips. "This here boy looks half dead already! How are we done supposed ta have any fun with him if he'll die on us befawe we can even get off on it?!"
"Blame him ayn' thay cops. This here asshowwl done killed Fawrest ayn' Fawt ayn' the truck crew ayn' the cops shot him faw us. Honestly it's ayy miracle he's even a-standin'. That there's where y'all come in. Give him the speciaal treatment."
"....He done killed Fawrest?"
Leo couldn't help but notice her voice cracking as the realization hit her. She grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him down and stared into his eyes. "Done you do it? Done y'all? Done y'all kill my boy toy Fawrest?"'
"Took his head right off." Leonardo answered truthfully. Which may have been a slight mistake.
Because the moment those words sank in she screamed and pulled out a hammer and swung it at him. Struck Leo right across the jaw. He turned his head and spat on the ground and then he looked back up at her. She didn't even say anything before she resumed pounding on him like a madwoman. Strike after strike from the hammer rained down on his head but he still stood his ground and gritted his teeth through the pain.
When she eventually stopped the beating, blood was dripping down his head and his legs were shaking but he was still standing.
She grabbed Leo's face. "Ohhhh don't you quit on me now darling. Ay'm gonna make ya scream faw mercy befawe ya die. Bring him in!"
The psychopaths laughed and dragged him into the torture room. Leo's eyes narrowed at the sight of the bloodstained room. He noticed several torture devices including: A pair shaped instrument, consisting of four leaves that slowly separated from each other as the torturer turned the screw at the top, a rack, an iron chair, a judas cradle and bloodstained shackles, nooses and meathooks attached to the walls. On the far side of the room was a bloody stone altar and behind it was insane spirals of writing on the wall and the picture of some kind of horrific mishmash of a boar, an eagle, a human and a few other creatures and below that and the spirals the wall had the words: God Ends Here carved into the stone. Pleasant he thought to himself. He decided not to even bother questioning the logic of such fine art and he turned his attention to the table to his left where he could see multiple sharp objects. Some of which were still shiny and sharp, others were old and rusty and all of which were certainly bloodstained. Leo took notice of the six men in the room. Three of which had musical instruments in their hands, two of which were cleaning bloodstained weapons and the last one, the apparent leader of their little torture gang, was a muscular young man with spiky dark hair and his costume was a bloodstained cross between a surgeon and a butcher complete with the face mask and head mirror. He was clearly higher up in rank than the animal masked men and women of the farm. The surgeon butcher embraced the lady and they had a moment of silence for Forrest before they turned around and faced Leo.
"It must've been ayy fluke. Ay don't see how this here sad sack could've possibly beaten the others." He shook his head. "Oh whel." Surgeon-Butcher walked over to the table and retrieved an electric buzzsaw. "Get him strapped down ta thay ...err altar. We'll cut off his hands ayn' feet first ayn' then we can have ayy vote on what ta use next." The animal masks approached him and Leo cleared his throat.
"Excuse me Ladies and Gentlemen but, before we get started with the fun stuff, I have something I'd like to say."
"Ayy last request then? Alraheet. We done might as whel hear it befawe ay cut off yer tongue." Surgeon Butcher joked. "What is it?"
"You see....my son. He's a great kid. A wonderful kid. He's nice, smart, funny, an honor roll student. He stays out of trouble, gets along with everybody, he always does his chores around the house and he always helps people with their problems to the best of his ability. If he is walking down the street and he sees somebody trying to fix a tire he will stop and help. That's just the kind of guy he is. He has never met any of you before today. He has never wronged any of you before today. Nobody in my family has. They have done nothing to you but you see came after us all the same. From the first time you laid eyes on us, you tried to kill my family. If you'd simply left us alone and never bothered us, we would've gone on our merry way and, who knows? Maybe you would've continued your little murder business for another year or two before you got shut down. But you did come after us. You threatened us. You tried to run us off the road. You shot at us. You struck us. You shocked us. You separated us and now you plan to torture and murder us and sell off our children to some black market sociopath. Because all you see when you look at other human beings is fucking livestock. So. While I am burning the farm to the ground and standing triumphant over your lifeless corpses, I just want you to know: You brought all of this on yourselves."
The entire room burst out laughing. "Whel hell! That there sure were ayy mighty awful fine speech! best one we've done heard!" The surgeon laughed. "Usually ever'one's just begging faw thay'r lives! Just like y'all're about ta! but ay will give you credit faw that there speech! ya're ayy awful fine man! Ahhhh that there is some good shit. Alraheet grab him!"
It was then they heard the sound of his handcuffs clattering to the ground and saw the guns form in his hands.
"Wait, what?"
Leonardo braced himself and pulled the triggers. He felt more of his internal strength be pulled out of him and energy beams were released from his guns. They shot across the room at bullet speeds and impacted the surgeon and the woman next to him and burned holes straight through them, kept going and burned holes into the wall behind them! The lights faded and Leo immediately turned the guns on the others. He fired blasts from his guns again and felt more of his stamina being drained away from him as one of the musicians were blown away and one of the torturers was also shot down. Leonardo gritted his teeth and he turned to the other two musicians and blasted them down. He nearly fell over but he caught himself. He was shaking now and he was crouching low but he still didn't fall. He stood back up again and turned to the last guy and blasted him across the room. Leonardo stood there doubled over but he still refused to fall. He had work to do. He had a family to save. Leonardo released one of his guns, wiped the blood and sweat from his brow with the back of his sleeve, pulled up his shirt and cauterized his front wounds.
"That's finally done." He groaned and lowered his shirt and walked to the door and stood on the other side of it. Just in time too because four more men barged into the room with their guns drawn. Leonardo recognized a few of them as the janitors from before. They were not prepared for the sight that greeted them and they reacted as one might expect.
"WHAT THAY FUCK? WHAT DONE HAPPENED? HOW DONE HE DO THIS HERE?"
"WHERE IS HE? WHERE IS HE?"
"THEY'VE DONE GOT HOLES IN THEM! GIANT A-BURNIN' HOLES! WHAT EVEN DOES THAT THERE?!"
"OH MY GOD! WE NEED THAY BROTHERS! WE NEED THAY OLD MAN! WE NEED HELP HERE!"
Leonardo stepped out from around the door and blasted three of them down with his gun and then he shot the last one through his right leg. He screamed and dropped down to the ground with his buddies only he was left alive to scream in agony from the burning hole in his knee. Leonardo calmly walked over to him, dismissed his manifested gun for now and then he grabbed the dropped guns and pocketed two pistols, tucked another one in his belt and picked up the last one and then he grabbed the downed man.
"Thanks. I'm gonna need these."
Leo checked his gun. It bore a very close resemblance a Smith & Wesson Sigma, especially in the slide, magazine and lower frame, but it had brown checked grips with a laser sight pressure switch and a stainless steel slide with a hammer as opposed to a striker and an extended barrel that was threaded for a sound suppressor, a feature in a H&K USP, though this gun was longer. Judging by the weight of the gun it had 25 bullets in it. More than enough.
Leonardo dragged the screaming man to the door, took a deep breath and ran outside.
The men who were waiting outside of the door opened fire on him, realizing too late that they were just pumping lead into one of their own guys. Leonardo tossed him aside, raised the gun and fired three quick shots, hitting each man in the throat. 22 bullets left.
Leonardo kept moving and shot a man down the hall in the neck, taking him right out. 21 bullets left. Leonardo advanced down the hallway, leaned against a wall and made his way across it.
He slowly made his way down the winding hallway when one of them jumped out at him with a sickle in his hand but Leo evaded him, countered his sickle with his gun, put a left arm around his head, swung him around, threw him to the floor, stomped on his chest and double tapped his head, spraying blood out of his forehead through the mask. 19 bullets left. He quickly leaped to the left side side to evade a few panicked shots from one of the masked men, fell against the wall, ignored the pain and he rolled over onto his back then shot him down. 18 bullets left.
Leonardo was breathing hard but he was able to pull himself together, straightened up and he walked down the hallway. A pair of the psychopaths ran down the hallway and fired on him but Leo evaded their shots, rolled shots and fired back on them. 16 bullets left.
Leonardo Blackburn walked down the hallway past their bodies and a few men rushed him down and he grabbed one of them, swung his arm to the side and used his arm to shield him from the swinging knife. Leo kicked him away, shot him in the head, shot the man he was holding and then when another man tried to attack him but Leonardo kicked his knee hard enough to break it and then Leonardo shot him in the head. 13 bullets left.
He finally found the stairs and began climbing them back up. He only got part of the way up when a pair of thugs spotted him. Leo immediately fell back against the wall and fired up at them. He shot them both in the neck and they fell over the railing. He caught his breath. 11 bullets left.
Leonardo started to resume climbing up but then bullets whizzed by him from above. Leonardo retreated down the stairs and then he looked back up and returned fire on the thugs. back while firing back at them. A few bullets tore at his clothes and body but he was able to dodge the worst of them and he returned fire and his bullets hit their targets. 7 bullets left. Leonardo took a minute to catch his breath and then he resumed climbing the stairs.
Leo finally made it to the top and leaned against the wall.
On the other side of the wall the thugs were staring at the doorway.
"Okay what thay fuk is a-goin' on? We done had an army down there ayn' he's just a-killin' them all like that there? Who thay hell is he? He were half dead when they brung him in!"
"Do we have ayy plan? Seriously, we could use ayy plan raheet now."
"Okay look. He's just one guy. We have him outnumbered. Ay say we all go charging around thay cawnuurr all at once, shoot him full av holes ayn' then throw him ovuurr thay edge ayn' let him go splat on thay floaw. We ken scrape up what's done left when we're done ayn' let thay boys chop him up."
"Are y'all sure because...."
"Guys. We have him outnumbered. Leds go kill this here asshowwl already."
The thugs assembled together and slowly advanced on the doorway. Except that Leo had heard all of them the entire time and he was more than ready for them. He slid across the wall and stared at the doorway and waited for them to step through. The group crept through the doorway together and he rushed them down and opened fire. He got one of them in the head, then the next guy in the cheek while he grabbed his shotgun and shoved him against the others. He then dropped the handgun and spun the shotgun around and fired on the thugs, blowing away two of them. He pumped the shotgun and ducked down just in time to avoid a spray of gunfire from the others. Leonardo quickly ran for the stairs and dived down. He rolled down a few of the stairs before stopping himself and he aimed up at the doorway. The thugs charged in and aimed down at him. There was another exchange of gunfire on both sides. Leo fired the shotgun while he backed down the stairs as bullets whizzed by him and the thugs advanced on him. Fortunately he was able to catch them and he gunned down the next two. Leo pumped it and he started advancing up the stairs again.
Leonardo reached the top again and he slowly crept around the doorway and then automatic shotgun and rifle fire whizzed past him while he leaped back into the room and fell against the railing. "Shhhiiiit."
He kicked up his pistol again, pocketed it and leaned against the wall. He took a deep breaths, counted to ten and then he sprung back out around the doorway and fired on the thugs who returned fire on him. He got the one with the automatic shotguns and took out his legs. His friend advanced on Leo who backed away, backed up and jumped the railing, grabbed onto the ledge and dropped the empty shotgun. It clattered on the floor below and Leo pulled out his pistol while hanging from the ledge by his fingertips. The thug walked in and looked around for Leo. "Holy shot. Hooooly shot ay think ay done got him boys! Ay don't see him anywhere! Ay don't see him!"
It was then that Leo threw himself into the air with just a pull of his fingertips, grabbed onto the railing, pulled his gun up and shot the thug in the legs and groin, emptying the handgun. The thug screamed and fell to the ground. Leo dropped the empty handgun, climbed back up and flipped over the railing. He shook his hand a few times and rubbed his fingers before kicking the rifle up into the air, catching it and then grabbing the thug and tossing him over the railing. He dropped down to the ground and his head splattered on the floor below.
Leo wiped the blood and sweat off his head and walked around the corner. He calmly shot the shotgun guy in the head, grabbed one of his weapons and walked away. Leonardo Blackburn continued down the hallway.
He was marched down a long hallway with a few scattered alcoves around it and several thugs just hanging out. He took notice of their firepower. Most of them had handguns or shotguns but he noticed some heavy ordinance as well. One man even had an automatic shotgun, another a three barreled shotgun, some had freaking hcar guns, and more. They weren't kidding about their black market dealings. Blasting his way out of here was going to be a bigger pain in the ass than he'd anticipated. It would be worth it for the armory though.
A pair of thugs came charging down the hallway but Leo fired on them with the hcar, blowing them away. Leo took a few deep breaths and he reached the alcove area and he slowly crept around them. Leo went around two of them before a trio of thugs sprung out and attacked him with kitchen knives and sickles. Leo dropped the shotgun, blocked their blades with the hcar, kicked one guy in the crotch hard enough to break his balls, then whacked him across the jaw with the gun, turned, elbowed the next guy in the mouth hard enough to break his teeth, grabbed him, pulled him around, shoved him face first into a wall hard enough to leave a bloody mark and then he kicked the next guy in the stomach hard enough knock him on his ass. Leo then shot each of them in the face, grabbed the shotgun, put it over on his back and kept going.
He had just gotten through the alcove area when a group of thugs opened fire on him with handguns, forcing Leo to duck right back around. He waited until they stopped firing and then he leaned back out and fired on them with the hcar, blowing the men away.
He continued around the corner and around the hallway, shooting down more of the thugs as he went until he finally reached the entrance.
He heard a rumbling noise and a large man came stomping down the hallway. Leo looked up at him and noticed he was the same sackhead from before. He turned his head left and right and took in the sights of his dead friends and let out a bellow of pain and rage that Leonardo could've sworn was shaking the building and then he broke into a full on run at Leonardo who raised his gun back up and he squeezed the hcar's trigger but the gun clicked empty. Tossing it aside, Leo whipped out the handguns and unloaded nine bullets from each gun into his chest! All eighteen bullets hit him dead on but he didn't even slow down! "Shit." The man was fast too. Much faster than he should've been for a man of his size and physique, easily closing the distance between them so fast that Leonardo barely had time to get out of his way but instead of continuing to run after him the fat man turned on a dime, grabbed Leonardo and tossed him like a ragdoll into a wall! Leo gasped in pain and dropped to the ground. He landed on his hands and knees. He barely had time to realize what had happened before the man yanked him up into the air and began slamming him repeatedly against the wall and after about five hits from this, he slammed his giant fist against Leonardo's face and dropped him to the floor. Then he grabbed Leo's arm, swung him around and tossed him against the opposite wall like a rag doll. Leo found himself spinning in circles as he flew up into the air at an angle until impacted with the wall like a fastball thrown at it from a star pitcher and he dropped back down to the cold marble floor. Leo raised his head up just enough to cough out blood onto the floor as the pain was rushing through his body like an igniting fire. His eyes were squeezed closed as his face contorted. He could feel his head spinning and sweat trickled down his face, intermingling with the blood dripping down his mouth. His arms and legs were shaking and his body was screaming at him to stay down but his mind was screaming louder.
(Get up! Get the fuck up! Don't you dare stop fighting goddammit! They'll kill them! They'll kill your entire family and your son and your niece will disappear! You have to save them! You're the only one who can save them! Get off your ass and fight! No pain! No pain! This doesn't hurt at all! GET OFF YOUR ASS AND SAVE YOUR FUCKING FAMILY! NO PAIN! THIS DOESN'T HURT! YOU'RE FINE! GET UP! ON YOUR FEET SOLDIER! ON YOUR FEET!)
Leonardo spat blood at his feet in defiance, clenched his teeth and forced his battered tired body to cooperate and dragged himself up again. He grabbed the AA12 Shotgun and aimed it at him. "Let's fucking dance, fatass."
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Post by SuperKamiGuy1 on Jan 22, 2021 1:45:58 GMT
Leonardo was lead away from his family by the cannibals who poked and prodded and shoved their guns against the back of his head while taunting and laughing at him but he kept calm. He ignored the pain screaming through his body to come up with a plan. He was breathing hard. He'd lost quite a lot of blood. He was feeling tired and breathing hard but he shook his head and forced his body to focus on the here and now. He could easily get out of these cuffs but he needed to wait until he was sure the thugs were distracted and divided before he got to work on them. He saw it coming up now and it was a large well built building that looked like a miniature fortress. There were four men standing outside armed with shotguns and rifles. He took notice of this as the large doors were opened up and he was forced inside. There were several armed men waiting for him. "Holy shit, who thay fuck is this here guy?" "Fresh meat faw the butchers. Ay think they're gonna like this one." They continued forcing Leo to walk across the house while they laughed at and taunted him. The interior of the building was certainly different than he'd expected. He was surrounded by dark marble walls, metal fixtures of polished, stainless steel, and reflective, mirror-smooth black ceramic tiles. Retro loft style creative metal chain Edison pendant lights hung down from the ceiling in random spots. The extreme cold of the building was such a stark contrast to the afternoon Summer heat that he was caught even further off guard. Despite how quickly the temperature dropped around him he found himself welcoming it. It was too hot out for this shit anyway and stepping out of the heat into a chilly place like this helped him focus. He was marched down a long hallway with a few scattered alcoves around it and several thugs just hanging out. He took notice of their firepower. Most of them had handguns or shotguns but he noticed some heavy ordinance as well. One man even had an automatic shotgun, another a three barreled shotgun, some had freaking hcar guns, and more. They weren't kidding about their black market dealings. Blasting his way out of here was going to be a bigger pain in the ass than he'd anticipated. It would be worth it for the armory though. On the far end of the hallway was an open door with a set of stairs. Obviously leading to a basement. The stairs ahead were twisted in a perfect spiral, like a child's slinky toy pulled from each end. There was a poke at his back at Leo calmly descended the staircase. He watched his step carefully but his mind was primarily focused on the best way to deal with these assholes and save his family. He continued descending the stairs. God he felt like shit. Getting shot was just a bitch. Upon descending the staircase he was forced through another doorway and down a winding a hallway until he was lead to a room with a trail of blood leading out of it. The wall at the end of the hallway was splattered with blood as well. A man in a pig mask came out of a side door followed by two others who were dressed like janitors complete with the equipment. Not paying Leonardo any mind they casually began mopping it up and cleaning the wall. He crinkled his nose from the stench of blood overwhelming him. A door opened on the far side of the building and a pair of jackal masked men walked out carrying large plastic bags over their shoulders. As they walked past Leonardo he got a peek inside of the bags and he noticed freshly dismembered limbs had been placed into smaller bags before being put inside of the bigger bags. There was even a pair of severed heads also stuffed into the bags with the rest of the body parts. As far as he could tell, the victims were a man and a woman and somewhere in their 20's. One of the psychopaths behind him slapped Leonardo on the back. "Take ayy darn good look livestock. That there's a-goin' ta be you aftuurr the butchers are done. That is, if they're kind enough ta leave something done left av ya." "Just so ya know, this here isn't personal. People gotta eat y'all, know what ay mean?" A pig mask stated to Leonardo. "Yes it is! It is very personal! He done killed Fawrest ayn' Fawt ayn' the truckers!" "Yeah but ay nevuurr done liked those there two anyway." Pig mask shrugged his shoulders. Leo just ignored them. He had gone well past the initial stage of fury and was now in that calm lagoon of rage where his voice would be nice and steady, his manner would be measured and polite, and only the fire in his eyes gave hints of the hellfire he was going to rain down on this farm. He recited the words he'd learned during his military training. Quod puritas per odium. Dignitatem, per iram. Purity through hate. Dignity through rage. Should your anger ever become too much to contain, you must make sure that your anger be three things: Your rage must be cold. Your rage must be reasoned. Your rage must be legendary. The brothers split back up once the Blackburns were divided. The sledgehammer man, Salvator, followed the others who were taking Argos and Alessandro to processing. The sack head, Charles, followed the group taking Leo to the torture house and walked right in with them. Once the door was closed he sat down in front of it to block him from escaping just in case he did somehow get out of the torture room. Romulus, the shirtless vest wearing man, and Chunk returned to their field work. Diablos, the bald monster mask man, and Dread, the skull masked man, walked back to the mansion. The house was built of dark stone that had been stained darker in places by the rain. Even when the day was still you could feel chilling breezes around the mansion. Ivy and ferns grew through the crevices of the winding stone path, which led directly to the colossal structure. The mansion loomed proudly over the rest of the farm and it was flanked on either side by massive towering trees crowned in crimson, swaying gently to the chilly autumn wind. At its threshold stood the delicate marble fountain, the soft gurgling of the clear water melodic as it resonated in the surrounding silence. By the door was a woven mat, fashioned from rustic strings, enriched with the mud of thousands of boots - a testimony to the life that dwelled in the house. The door mat could have been replaced years ago, its edges were frayed and curled, but it was still here. Their father had had the floor polished, the curtains made anew and the walls painted... yet still it remained, giving treasured mind-photographs, the best kind of life-nostalgia. They wiped their feet on the mat and then Diablos pushed open the double doors and the pair walked right inside. They listened to the soft music of the mansion. They could hear Fur Elise being played which meant Jezebel was giving Porcelain her piano lessons. It had always mystified the brothers how they were able to play so well but the pair just had a talent for it. The brothers weren't going to complain anyway. It was nice hearing their music after a long hard day of working in the fields and handling the livestock. The pair calmly advanced up the stairs to the third floor and then they took a left and then a right and opened the door to find Thaddeus playing a board game with Macey. The contrast between the pair was shocking. Thaddeus has the appearance of an elderly gentleman and he was dressed gracefully in his traditional black uniform. Thaddeus's hair is entirely white, just like his immaculate beard. He has visible wrinkles on his hollow face, which makes him seem gentle in appearance, but his eyes are as sharp as an eagle's and danger radiated out from him. The brothers, as powerful as they were, knew better than to ever interrupt him or speak out of turn. You waited for father to speak to you. Not the other way around. Macey meanwhile, being the youngest of the family, just under Bunni, was dressed more innocently in a bright pink dress with curly brown hair, white gloves and pink shoes. Her face was obscured by a duck mask she'd made and she had a sledgehammer by her side, the head of which she'd painted to look like a cow's head. Thaddeus smiled as he instructed Macey on how to win the game while also teaching her some philosophy while playing the game. "Have you ever considered, dear Macey, that what people call sanity, is just a prison in your minds that stops you from seeing that you're just tiny little cogs in a giant absurd machine? Certainly, men have called me mad; but the question is not yet settled, whether madness is or is not the loftiest intelligence– whether much that is glorious– whether all that is profound– does not spring from disease of thought– from moods of mind exalted at the expense of the general intellect." At first glance upon Thaddeus, you would normally be expecting the croak of old age but his voice was more like a sergeant major, strong and distinctly upper class. "Take cannibalism for instance. Cannibalism is a way of life, a way to survive. But what I am truly wondering, is why it is frowned upon in today's society as an act only the sick or undesirables commit. Some North American natives believe that eating the fresh remains of a killed creature will give you the strength or abilities of that creature. Eating the eyes of an eagle will give you better eyesight and eating the meat of a buffalo will make you stronger, etc. At some point, certainly, these men would've had to wonder, if you ate another man's penis, would you (assuming you're a man) grow a larger penis? Maybe if I ate a woman's breasts, I would grow larger breasts? The problem with eating the flesh of other creatures is that the proteins are slightly different. The human body has to modify these proteins before they can be used. Buffalo beef is different from human meat, so it takes time and energy to modify it so it is compatible with the human body. Eating human meat however means there is NO time wasted making the meat compatible. Instead it goes straight into our blood system and makes us grow stronger and regenerate faster. Call it a Hannibal the Lector way of thinking, but the same goes for eating the brains of another human. Eating their brain tissue will result in that brain tissue being transplanted into your own brain. It might even be possible to gain knowledge and memories, provided that knowledge and memories isn't ruined by your stomach acids during the digestion process. You are what you eat, so they say. Pigs (pork, if you want to get down the name of the meat) are genetically very similar to humans. Pigs are surprisingly smart and have practically the same skin and hair tissue that humans have. Their bone structure is really the only major difference. Which makes me wonder: Is the reason Jewish people can't eat pork because pigs will eat their own shit (which cats & dogs do too, actually), or is it because pigs are genetically similar to humans? I don't know. What I do know is that scientifically, eating other humans apparently tastes like pork, makes you live longer, makes you stronger, and if you eat their brains, makes you smarter. That is how it's been for our family for generations has it not? Ever since it started with our great, great grandfather in that time of famine." The family knew the story well. The old priest looked out upon his flock and saw them as no different from the sheep that had died when the grass withered. His mouth watered at the sight of the young ones who had been quite fat before and were even then still plump. He declared a message from God that it was His will to test them, to see who was the most pure of heart and would give their lives to save the others. These fine martyrs would be honored above all others in the life beyond this and their families would be well looked after. At any other time the old fraud would have been thrown to the wolves, but every stomach in the congregation rumbled and their brains began to consider previously unimaginable horror. After a time more eyes rested on the simple teenager who had lost his parents a year ago in a freak accident. After that they just got a taste for it and even now that the farms were prospering they still indulged. But there was another reason. One that had grown in their family over the generations. The Gift Of Consumption they called it. Consumptive Absorption. In laymen's terms, whatever they put inside of their mouths, no matter how hard, no matter how potentially toxic, anything they eat becomes harmless. Then they absorbed the properties of whatever they ate. For living things of course, freshness was important. The usual limit to absorption was for as long as it would remain in their body, however, by eating the same thing again and again and again, the ability to keep whatever they ate inside of their bodies became easier and they could keep powering themselves up. And it had made the family invincible. Thaddeus continued. "And really, what is wrong with our actions? Certainly it is a better usage ofr the wastes of humanity than just throwing them in a grave somewhere. So many people are donating their organs or replacing them with machines these days. Imagine, for but a moment, if instead of wasting dead bodies, we simply made meat from them and shipped them off to the starving? Talk about solving world hunger, hmmm?" He chuckled. "Well, it is but something to consider little Macey. Back to our game. Watch closely now." "That was amazing, papa!" "The wisdom of experience my dear! A little trick to remember if you ever play for real money." He ruffled her hair and turned to his sons. "Yes?" "We got the kid and the family. The children have been taken to the cages, the women to the guest house, the old man and a younger man to be processed and the patriarch of the family to the butchers." "The butchers you say? My word, whatever did he do?" "He killed the truckers, Forrest and some of our cops." Thaddeus's eyes widened. "Wow. That's....actually quite a hefty loss. Interesting. If he's that strong then he must powered. A shame he is going to die now. I would've like to speak with this man. Oh well. What's done is done." He sipped a glass of lemonade that was sitting on the table next to him. "Tell the police good work in bringing them in. Ensure that the wages we would've paid the police are divided up among the survivors." "Yes sir. We've been ensured that the cleanup crew is going to the trucks now. It will take time but we should be able to remove most of the evidence and secure the rest of the corpses." Diablos informed his father. "It shouldn't be a problem. The family will be dead and gone by tonight anyway." They were interrupted by a by a woman clad in a black dress, a matching blazer and a wolf mask. "Forgive my interruptions father but there is a phone call for you. It's her." "Ah thank you Ambrosia. Do excuse me Macey, I have urgent business to discuss." He hugged his youngest daughter and walked around the corner to a living room where he retrieved the phone. "Hello." "Hi Thaddeus." Such a simple greeting but it chilled his spine. Her voice was like a dead man's lullaby. "I heard from your contact that my little Derrick is in town. Have you retrieved him?" "Yess Miss R. We have the boy caged now and the family will be disposed of as well. There will be no traces of them entering the town." The voice on the other end of the line laughed, her tone ringing in a sick icy way, sending chimes ringing in his ears. "Wunderbar, Thaddeus! You've exceeded my expectations. Rest assured, if you can pull this off, I'll put in a good word for you at the grown ups table. This is your ticket in, old man. Keep them secured. I'm on my way." "Of course ma'am. It is our duty to serve." He replied cheerfully while trying to at least sound confident. "Good boy. I will see you when I arrive! Auf Wiederhören!" She hung up and he sighed. They had lost a lot but they stood to gain so much more. They just had to get through today and the world would be their oyster. Miss R. Whatever manner of woman, no, not woman, creature was more appropriate, that she was would be their ticket into her organization. If his belief about her was correct then he and his family would finally cast off the chains of humanity and become immortal. Combine this with the power they already possessed and they would climb even further to the realms of the Gods. But he couldn't get ahead of himself. Not now. Not when he was finally so close to it. They had to proceed cautiously. Because above all else....Miss R scared him. The day she'd come into their lives and made the request for them to retrieve the boy, she was charming, formal, polite and hauntingly beautiful. But he couldn't help but feel an icy terror gripping his heart when he looked at her. She'd come alone, a rarity for guests, and had brought no weapons or means of defense that he could've seen. But still, even with the entire farm around him, one look in her eyes had been enough to tell him that fighting her would be impossible. He would find out the truth about her tonight and use her as a stepping stone to ascend to the power of a God and then he and his family would bring their order to the rest of the world. It was time for the world to be rest to a simpler way of life after all. Thaddeus cleared his throat, hung up the phone, adjusted his suit and walked back around the corner to rejoin his daughter for their game. As they got closer to the room he began hearing the voices of a man and a woman singing together while instruments were played along with them. It sounded distinctly country but it didn't come off as one from America. Possibly from somewhere in England? Maybe it was the headache or the blood loss or just the pain in his body in general but he was having trouble placing it. Whatever the case, it certainly had the psychos tapping their feet. Fucking hell he hated country music. One of the psychos walked ahead, knocked on the door and leaned inside. "Look alive kids! We've done got fresh meat faw y'all ta play with! We want this here one ta be given the speciaal treatment! Give him ever'thing y'all done got! Make this here one y'all's finest wawk!" He backed away from the door as a woman poked her head out and Leo was greeted by a frankly bizarre sight. The woman was wearing a latex fetish rubber bondage hood mask with holes open for her eyes mouth and jaw, a bloodstained bragard grand chef lady jacket, black trausers and...what he could only describe as a leathery apron quilt made from dried flesh and mutilated faces and body parts and hair. It was just as bloodstained as the rest of her clothes, most of which likely came from their recent victim though he could see plenty of dried blood on her clothes as well, but considering the apron went nearly down to her feet....he had to assume there'd been quite a few victims. Just another debt these maniacs added to their tab. "Huuuuh?" The woman gasped in disbelief. "Already? Well, goo'ness gracious y'all wawk fast when y'all mighty put yer minds ta it! Where is he?" The pig mask jerked his thumb in Leo's direction. The woman ran out of the torture room, stopped on a dime in front of Leo and began checking him. "Is this here some kaand av sick joke?" She turned back to the others with her hands on her hips. "This here boy looks half dead already! How are we done supposed ta have any fun with him if he'll die on us befawe we can even get off on it?!" "Blame him ayn' thay cops. This here asshowwl done killed Fawrest ayn' Fawt ayn' the truck crew ayn' the cops shot him faw us. Honestly it's ayy miracle he's even a-standin'. That there's where y'all come in. Give him the speciaal treatment." "....He done killed Fawrest?" Leo couldn't help but notice her voice cracking as the realization hit her. She grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him down and stared into his eyes. "Done you do it? Done y'all? Done y'all kill my boy toy Fawrest?"' "Took his head right off." Leonardo answered truthfully. Which may have been a slight mistake. Because the moment those words sank in she screamed and pulled out a hammer and swung it at him. Struck Leo right across the jaw. He turned his head and spat on the ground and then he looked back up at her. She didn't even say anything before she resumed pounding on him like a madwoman. Strike after strike from the hammer rained down on his head but he still stood his ground and gritted his teeth through the pain. When she eventually stopped the beating, blood was dripping down his head and his legs were shaking but he was still standing. She grabbed Leo's face. "Ohhhh don't you quit on me now darling. Ay'm gonna make ya scream faw mercy befawe ya die. Bring him in!" The psychopaths laughed and dragged him into the torture room. Leo's eyes narrowed at the sight of the bloodstained room. He noticed several torture devices including: A pair shaped instrument, consisting of four leaves that slowly separated from each other as the torturer turned the screw at the top, a rack, an iron chair, a judas cradle and bloodstained shackles, nooses and meathooks attached to the walls. On the far side of the room was a bloody stone altar and behind it was insane spirals of writing on the wall and the picture of some kind of horrific mishmash of a boar, an eagle, a human and a few other creatures and below that and the spirals the wall had the words: God Ends Here carved into the stone. Pleasant he thought to himself. He decided not to even bother questioning the logic of such fine art and he turned his attention to the table to his left where he could see multiple sharp objects. Some of which were still shiny and sharp, others were old and rusty and all of which were certainly bloodstained. Leo took notice of the six men in the room. Three of which had musical instruments in their hands, two of which were cleaning bloodstained weapons and the last one, the apparent leader of their little torture gang, was a muscular young man with spiky dark hair and his costume was a bloodstained cross between a surgeon and a butcher complete with the face mask and head mirror. He was clearly higher up in rank than the animal masked men and women of the farm. The surgeon butcher embraced the lady and they had a moment of silence for Forrest before they turned around and faced Leo. "It must've been ayy fluke. Ay don't see how this here sad sack could've possibly beaten the others." He shook his head. "Oh whel." Surgeon-Butcher walked over to the table and retrieved an electric buzzsaw. "Get him strapped down ta thay ...err altar. We'll cut off his hands ayn' feet first ayn' then we can have ayy vote on what ta use next." The animal masks approached him and Leo cleared his throat. "Excuse me Ladies and Gentlemen but, before we get started with the fun stuff, I have something I'd like to say." "Ayy last request then? Alraheet. We done might as whel hear it befawe ay cut off yer tongue." Surgeon Butcher joked. "What is it?" "You see....my son. He's a great kid. A wonderful kid. He's nice, smart, funny, an honor roll student. He stays out of trouble, gets along with everybody, he always does his chores around the house and he always helps people with their problems to the best of his ability. If he is walking down the street and he sees somebody trying to fix a tire he will stop and help. That's just the kind of guy he is. He has never met any of you before today. He has never wronged any of you before today. Nobody in my family has. They have done nothing to you but you see came after us all the same. From the first time you laid eyes on us, you tried to kill my family. If you'd simply left us alone and never bothered us, we would've gone on our merry way and, who knows? Maybe you would've continued your little murder business for another year or two before you got shut down. But you did come after us. You threatened us. You tried to run us off the road. You shot at us. You struck us. You shocked us. You separated us and now you plan to torture and murder us and sell off our children to some black market sociopath. Because all you see when you look at other human beings is fucking livestock. So. While I am burning the farm to the ground and standing triumphant over your lifeless corpses, I just want you to know: You brought all of this on yourselves." The entire room burst out laughing. "Whel hell! That there sure were ayy mighty awful fine speech! best one we've done heard!" The surgeon laughed. "Usually ever'one's just begging faw thay'r lives! Just like y'all're about ta! but ay will give you credit faw that there speech! ya're ayy awful fine man! Ahhhh that there is some good shit. Alraheet grab him!" It was then they heard the sound of his handcuffs clattering to the ground and saw the guns form in his hands. "Wait, what?" Leonardo braced himself and pulled the triggers. He felt more of his internal strength be pulled out of him and energy beams were released from his guns. They shot across the room at bullet speeds and impacted the surgeon and the woman next to him and burned holes straight through them, kept going and burned holes into the wall behind them! The lights faded and Leo immediately turned the guns on the others. He fired blasts from his guns again and felt more of his stamina being drained away from him as one of the musicians were blown away and one of the torturers was also shot down. Leonardo gritted his teeth and he turned to the other two musicians and blasted them down. He nearly fell over but he caught himself. He was shaking now and he was crouching low but he still didn't fall. He stood back up again and turned to the last guy and blasted him across the room. Leonardo stood there doubled over but he still refused to fall. He had work to do. He had a family to save. Leonardo released one of his guns, wiped the blood and sweat from his brow with the back of his sleeve, pulled up his shirt and cauterized his front wounds. "That's finally done." He groaned and lowered his shirt and walked to the door and stood on the other side of it. Just in time too because four more men barged into the room with their guns drawn. Leonardo recognized a few of them as the janitors from before. They were not prepared for the sight that greeted them and they reacted as one might expect. "WHAT THAY FUCK? WHAT DONE HAPPENED? HOW DONE HE DO THIS HERE?" "WHERE IS HE? WHERE IS HE?" "THEY'VE DONE GOT HOLES IN THEM! GIANT A-BURNIN' HOLES! WHAT EVEN DOES THAT THERE?!" "OH MY GOD! WE NEED THAY BROTHERS! WE NEED THAY OLD MAN! WE NEED HELP HERE!" Leonardo stepped out from around the door and blasted three of them down with his gun and then he shot the last one through his right leg. He screamed and dropped down to the ground with his buddies only he was left alive to scream in agony from the burning hole in his knee. Leonardo calmly walked over to him, dismissed his manifested gun for now and then he grabbed the dropped guns and pocketed two pistols, tucked another one in his belt and picked up the last one and then he grabbed the downed man. "Thanks. I'm gonna need these." Leo checked his gun. It bore a very close resemblance a Smith & Wesson Sigma, especially in the slide, magazine and lower frame, but it had brown checked grips with a laser sight pressure switch and a stainless steel slide with a hammer as opposed to a striker and an extended barrel that was threaded for a sound suppressor, a feature in a H&K USP, though this gun was longer. Judging by the weight of the gun it had 25 bullets in it. More than enough. Leonardo dragged the screaming man to the door, took a deep breath and ran outside. The men who were waiting outside of the door opened fire on him, realizing too late that they were just pumping lead into one of their own guys. Leonardo tossed him aside, raised the gun and fired three quick shots, hitting each man in the throat. 22 bullets left. Leonardo kept moving and shot a man down the hall in the neck, taking him right out. 21 bullets left. Leonardo advanced down the hallway, leaned against a wall and made his way across it. He slowly made his way down the winding hallway when one of them jumped out at him with a sickle in his hand but Leo evaded him, countered his sickle with his gun, put a left arm around his head, swung him around, threw him to the floor, stomped on his chest and double tapped his head, spraying blood out of his forehead through the mask. 19 bullets left. He quickly leaped to the left side side to evade a few panicked shots from one of the masked men, fell against the wall, ignored the pain and he rolled over onto his back then shot him down. 18 bullets left. Leonardo was breathing hard but he was able to pull himself together, straightened up and he walked down the hallway. A pair of the psychopaths ran down the hallway and fired on him but Leo evaded their shots, rolled shots and fired back on them. 16 bullets left. Leonardo Blackburn walked down the hallway past their bodies and a few men rushed him down and he grabbed one of them, swung his arm to the side and used his arm to shield him from the swinging knife. Leo kicked him away, shot him in the head, shot the man he was holding and then when another man tried to attack him but Leonardo kicked his knee hard enough to break it and then Leonardo shot him in the head. 13 bullets left. He finally found the stairs and began climbing them back up. He only got part of the way up when a pair of thugs spotted him. Leo immediately fell back against the wall and fired up at them. He shot them both in the neck and they fell over the railing. He caught his breath. 11 bullets left. Leonardo started to resume climbing up but then bullets whizzed by him from above. Leonardo retreated down the stairs and then he looked back up and returned fire on the thugs. back while firing back at them. A few bullets tore at his clothes and body but he was able to dodge the worst of them and he returned fire and his bullets hit their targets. 7 bullets left. Leonardo took a minute to catch his breath and then he resumed climbing the stairs. Leo finally made it to the top and leaned against the wall. On the other side of the wall the thugs were staring at the doorway. "Okay what thay fuk is a-goin' on? We done had an army down there ayn' he's just a-killin' them all like that there? Who thay hell is he? He were half dead when they brung him in!" "Do we have ayy plan? Seriously, we could use ayy plan raheet now." "Okay look. He's just one guy. We have him outnumbered. Ay say we all go charging around thay cawnuurr all at once, shoot him full av holes ayn' then throw him ovuurr thay edge ayn' let him go splat on thay floaw. We ken scrape up what's done left when we're done ayn' let thay boys chop him up." "Are y'all sure because...." "Guys. We have him outnumbered. Leds go kill this here asshowwl already." The thugs assembled together and slowly advanced on the doorway. Except that Leo had heard all of them the entire time and he was more than ready for them. He slid across the wall and stared at the doorway and waited for them to step through. The group crept through the doorway together and he rushed them down and opened fire. He got one of them in the head, then the next guy in the cheek while he grabbed his shotgun and shoved him against the others. He then dropped the handgun and spun the shotgun around and fired on the thugs, blowing away two of them. He pumped the shotgun and ducked down just in time to avoid a spray of gunfire from the others. Leonardo quickly ran for the stairs and dived down. He rolled down a few of the stairs before stopping himself and he aimed up at the doorway. The thugs charged in and aimed down at him. There was another exchange of gunfire on both sides. Leo fired the shotgun while he backed down the stairs as bullets whizzed by him and the thugs advanced on him. Fortunately he was able to catch them and he gunned down the next two. Leo pumped it and he started advancing up the stairs again. Leonardo reached the top again and he slowly crept around the doorway and then automatic shotgun and rifle fire whizzed past him while he leaped back into the room and fell against the railing. "Shhhiiiit." He kicked up his pistol again, pocketed it and leaned against the wall. He took a deep breaths, counted to ten and then he sprung back out around the doorway and fired on the thugs who returned fire on him. He got the one with the automatic shotguns and took out his legs. His friend advanced on Leo who backed away, backed up and jumped the railing, grabbed onto the ledge and dropped the empty shotgun. It clattered on the floor below and Leo pulled out his pistol while hanging from the ledge by his fingertips. The thug walked in and looked around for Leo. "Holy shot. Hooooly shot ay think ay done got him boys! Ay don't see him anywhere! Ay don't see him!" It was then that Leo threw himself into the air with just a pull of his fingertips, grabbed onto the railing, pulled his gun up and shot the thug in the legs and groin, emptying the handgun. The thug screamed and fell to the ground. Leo dropped the empty handgun, climbed back up and flipped over the railing. He shook his hand a few times and rubbed his fingers before kicking the rifle up into the air, catching it and then grabbing the thug and tossing him over the railing. He dropped down to the ground and his head splattered on the floor below. Leo wiped the blood and sweat off his head and walked around the corner. He calmly shot the shotgun guy in the head, grabbed one of his weapons and walked away. Leonardo Blackburn continued down the hallway. He was marched down a long hallway with a few scattered alcoves around it and several thugs just hanging out. He took notice of their firepower. Most of them had handguns or shotguns but he noticed some heavy ordinance as well. One man even had an automatic shotgun, another a three barreled shotgun, some had freaking hcar guns, and more. They weren't kidding about their black market dealings. Blasting his way out of here was going to be a bigger pain in the ass than he'd anticipated. It would be worth it for the armory though. A pair of thugs came charging down the hallway but Leo fired on them with the hcar, blowing them away. Leo took a few deep breaths and he reached the alcove area and he slowly crept around them. Leo went around two of them before a trio of thugs sprung out and attacked him with kitchen knives and sickles. Leo dropped the shotgun, blocked their blades with the hcar, kicked one guy in the crotch hard enough to break his balls, then whacked him across the jaw with the gun, turned, elbowed the next guy in the mouth hard enough to break his teeth, grabbed him, pulled him around, shoved him face first into a wall hard enough to leave a bloody mark and then he kicked the next guy in the stomach hard enough knock him on his ass. Leo then shot each of them in the face, grabbed the shotgun, put it over on his back and kept going. He had just gotten through the alcove area when a group of thugs opened fire on him with handguns, forcing Leo to duck right back around. He waited until they stopped firing and then he leaned back out and fired on them with the hcar, blowing the men away. He continued around the corner and around the hallway, shooting down more of the thugs as he went until he finally reached the entrance. He heard a rumbling noise and a large man came stomping down the hallway. Leo looked up at him and noticed he was the same sackhead from before. He turned his head left and right and took in the sights of his dead friends and let out a bellow of pain and rage that Leonardo could've sworn was shaking the building and then he broke into a full on run at Leonardo who raised his gun back up and he squeezed the hcar's trigger but the gun clicked empty. Tossing it aside, Leo whipped out the handguns and unloaded nine bullets from each gun into his chest! All eighteen bullets hit him dead on but he didn't even slow down! "Shit." The man was fast too. Much faster than he should've been for a man of his size and physique, easily closing the distance between them so fast that Leonardo barely had time to get out of his way but instead of continuing to run after him the fat man turned on a dime, grabbed Leonardo and tossed him like a ragdoll into a wall! Leo gasped in pain and dropped to the ground. He landed on his hands and knees. He barely had time to realize what had happened before the man yanked him up into the air and began slamming him repeatedly against the wall and after about five hits from this, he slammed his giant fist against Leonardo's face and dropped him to the floor. Then he grabbed Leo's arm, swung him around and tossed him against the opposite wall like a rag doll. Leo found himself spinning in circles as he flew up into the air at an angle until impacted with the wall like a fastball thrown at it from a star pitcher and he dropped back down to the cold marble floor. Leo raised his head up just enough to cough out blood onto the floor as the pain was rushing through his body like an igniting fire. His eyes were squeezed closed as his face contorted. He could feel his head spinning and sweat trickled down his face, intermingling with the blood dripping down his mouth. His arms and legs were shaking and his body was screaming at him to stay down but his mind was screaming louder. (Get up! Get the fuck up! Don't you dare stop fighting goddammit! They'll kill them! They'll kill your entire family and your son and your niece will disappear! You have to save them! You're the only one who can save them! Get off your ass and fight! No pain! No pain! This doesn't hurt at all! GET OFF YOUR ASS AND SAVE YOUR FUCKING FAMILY! NO PAIN! THIS DOESN'T HURT! YOU'RE FINE! GET UP! ON YOUR FEET SOLDIER! ON YOUR FEET!) Leonardo spat blood at his feet in defiance, clenched his teeth and forced his battered tired body to cooperate and dragged himself up again. He grabbed the AA12 Shotgun and aimed it at him. "Let's fucking dance, fatass." Sackhead roared and charged again and swung at him but Leo dived out of the way. The punch tore through the air and struck the wall. The impact was like a bomb going off! Sackhead's fist tore right through the wall and made a hole in it twice the size of his already giant meaty fist. With an annoyed grunt he pulled his arm back out and turned to face Leo. Leo fired the AA12 Shotgun on him. Five bullets hit his chest and four more hit him in the head. This at least got him more of a reaction than the handguns. He stumbled backwards from the bullets peppering his chest and bloody holes were blown right through his sack mask. He slumped over for a moment and then he recovered, stood up and flung himself at Leo. Leo gritted his teeth and dodged his long jump but his swipe hit Leo's shoulder and sent him sliding across the floor. There was a thud a dozen feet behind him as Sackhead landed and turned to face Leo again. Leo cursed, grabbed his shoulder and got up again. He really was a Brick after all. Or at the very least a low level one. The shotgun might be enough to put him down eventually but considering all those bloody holes in his body, he doubted it would be enough to finish the job. Handguns wouldn't accomplish jackshit here either. Leo tossed the shotgun aside and wiggled his fingers. His energy guns were the only way to win this. He didn't want to waste the energy on his way out but he didn't have any other options. Leo started to bring back his energy guns but Sackhead scooped up four corpses, two in each hand and flung two of them from his left hand down the hallway towards Leo like they softballs! Leo flipped to the left to dodge them and the corpses smacked into the wall and there were sickening snapping sounds of their spines breaking on impact. Sackhead was already running at him. He pulled back his arm and tossed the corpses across the hallway. Leo dodged them as well, summoned his guns again, raised them and pulled the triggers. He felt more of his inner strength get torn out of him to see the giant man being blown out of the air in a brilliant flash of light that illuminated the entire hallway. Sackhead was thrown down the hallway thirty-six feet and then he hit the ground. His fat cannibalistic brick body was smoldering and wreathed in flames that resulted from the explosion. Leo smirked as he saw that the right and left sides of Sackhead's body had been blown wide open. Despite the feeling of exhaustion in his body, that was a good feeling. "I'm impressed that you were tough enough for even that much of your body to be left. You were a tough one. But you fucked with the wrong family. See ya in hell, big guy." He stood up tall and took a few deep breaths, wiped the sweat from his brow and he turned around to walk out and was greeted by three armed men staring past him into the corpse laden hallway. Leo used this chance to shoot down two of them before they could recover but then the third man snapped out of it and he fired two shots from a crossbow. Leo dodged one and deflected the other with the barrel of the gun in his left hand while shooting him down with the gun in his right, blowing a hole right through the man and dropping him. After catching his breath Leo continued to walk out of the torture building. He was almost out when he heard a disgusting squelching sound behind and two loud thuds on the floor. Leo lowered his guns and slowly turned back around. "No. No fucking way." He was standing! He was standing upright again! The holes in his torso had been filled in with some kind of disgusting cancer balloon, turning his upper half into a shapeless writing wriggling mass of flesh and fat and organs and blood! The writhing mass slowly deflated into his body and the destroyed chunks of his body filled right back in, starting with his organs and bones, then his veins and arteries and muscle tissue and finally his skin. He fell down to his knees and puked up blood and bile onto the floor, hacked and coughed and then his body trembled briefly before settling down and he stood up straight, albeit with his muscles visibly spasming. Sackhead threw off the remains of his mask and Leo got a good look at his head. He had very short and wild spiky dark yellow hair, bulging bloodshot eyes, an almost porcrine snout for a nose, the sides of his cheeks, which would normally have skin were open with razor sharp teeth exposed. "So. You guys can heal too. Fucking wonderful." This was not good. He was out of breath, sweating bullets, his body was battered and he'd lost a lot of blood earlier. But still he raised his arms again and turned his handguns into a pair of .454 Casull's, essentially a pair of very big semiautomatic pistols, 39cms long. This was going to hurt. He was going to lose a lot of strength from this but if he wanted this guy dead he would have to blow him apart so that he couldn't regenerate. Both men stared each other down, breathing hard now. Leo from exhaustion and Sackhead from pain and anger. Sackhead stomped on the ground and clenched his fists tightly. Leo charged up his guns. The stalemate was finally broken down when he roared at him in blind rage and charged Leonardo again. Leo raised his guns, braced himself and fired them again. Giant blasts of energy flew out of his guns, twirled, combined together and struck Sackhead. The thundering boom of the explosion seemed to crack the air, as if the very heavens might split apart. It rolled over the building and shook the ground beneath him like the ash could of a volcano, becoming a rolling booming rumble while it blew him to pieces. Sackhead's limbs, head, eyes, toes, fingers, intestines, femur, spine, ribs and everything else was splattered against the walls and floor around him and burned away. Leo nearly fell right on his face and held out his arms to stop himself. He ended up on his knees and one arm was bent and the other arm was laying down. He needed over a minute to pull himself up again. "Son of a bitch....a whole farm of guys....as tough as this? Shit. This is gonna suck." Leo walked back out of the building, stealing more weapons as he did so. "J-j-just hang on guys....hang on....hang...on. Hang on. I'm coming. I won't any of you die here. We're going home together." "No matter what." Upon stepping back outside to the farm again he was greeted by the sound of thunder booming overhead like the prelude to a great song, impetuous rumbling permeating the air every bit as much as the sudden rain. At first it was a crack, violent to the ears, but after came a rolling sound that dissipated into the surrounding hills. Rain falls in crazy chaotic drops, the gusting wind carrying them in wild vortices one moment and in diagonal sheets the next. A bone chilling mist followed and began to float over the surface of the ground, clinging to every surface. The mist was spook-grey. It was lifeless and motherless. Rags of the mist tickled the lake as it passed. It grasped at the calm water. It moved on and enclasped the shrubs. It looked fumy and filmy in the weak light that peeked through the clouds of the thunderstorm. The rain seemed mist-like also as it came down in thin sheets. It became heavier and pregnant drops of the rain arrived. Leo had to admit, all things considered, it felt extremely refreshing. A smile spread across his face again and he closed his eyes and welcomed the raging storm. The rain on his chest was a baptism. He was born again.
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Post by SuperKamiGuy1 on Jan 22, 2021 1:53:09 GMT
The vest wearing man continued and pointed to the women. "Take the layies ta the guest house so we can greet them propuurr. They can await processing there. Ayn' try nahwt ta taint thay fucking meat this here tahm y'all assholes. Thay old man beat us awful bad enough last tahm." The masked men assembled around the women of the family, grabbed them and dragged them away. The man pointed to Argos and Alessandro. "Take these two ta processing. Ay want them chopped up first."
As the pair were marched across the farm and through a field, Alessandro took a look around at their surroundings. There were multiple people working the farm, going about their daily activities. They were either pitching hay, picking plants, tending to animals, moving things in wheelbarrows or some other activity. What got him was the sight of some of the thugs carrying plastic bags full of chopped up human limbs. Alessandro tempered his anger. He would have words with them about it later. Right now the goal was to isolate the men escorting them away from the others, kill them and arm themselves. Once they were armed, they could move around the farm to find and free the others and take these assholes down.
"What do ya think?" One of them asked. "Anything we ken make av these boys?"
"Whel let's start with the old man. He's ayy little past the experashun date but if ya cut him up, saute the meat ayn' mix it in with some othuurr food? Could make ayy darn good gumbo out av him. Ah'm a-thinkin' carrots, onions, celery, garlik plus olive arl ta start, canned tomatoes, broth ayn' spices simmered ta perfection, ayy creamy flour-butter-milk roux ta create the lush gravy-like texture, andouille sausage plus shrimp plus chives aw othuurr herbs faw the flavaw lick. All av that there done served ovuurr ayy pahl av steamy rice – if you’re a-goin' faw the gold, healthy brown rice aw quinoa is delicious, too – ayn' topped with some little micro greens aw sautéed spinach."
"Hell man now ay'm hungry!" One of the men complained.
"We ken grab some snaks latuurr. Let's just focus on our job raheet now."
"Sownds darn good ta me. What about thay othuurr one?"
"Steak. Juicy, medium-rare perfec grilled steaks with herb buttuurr. Maybe make some ribs out ov him too. Then figure out thay rest. The impawtant thing is that there ya don't waste anything. Make sure ya cook and eat it all."
"Oh my between these idiots ayn' thay bitches a-waitin' in thay guest house weez gunna be a-eatin' like kings!"
The thugs continued joking and laughing all the way until they were lead to a large creepy looking barn.
It was a derelict building that loomed over the farm with broken tiles of its dark green roof, barbed wire wrapped around the windows, remnants of shattered glass in wooden frames, mortar and stone crumbling and invasive vegetation in the outer walls.
It reeked of blood. One of the cannibals banged on the door and it opened up. "They for processing?" A man called from inside.
"Processing." A cannibal agreed.
"Alright, bring them in." The man replied from inside in a casual businesslike manner.
The pair felt guns poking their backs and they were forced inside of the barn.
Despite how old and dilapidated it looked from the outside, the pair were surprised with how modern and clean it looked. The outside of the barn was an illusion. The inside of it was much sleeker, clean, shiny and industrial. This was clearly a place for butchering and processing the meat of their victims, packaging it and either storing or preparing to sell it out. They were pushed through several doorways and down halls as the men and women working at the farm stared at them. Their faces unreadable behind their animal masks.
Eventually Argos and Alessandro were pushed into a large wide open room that was like the picture of hell itself. It appeared sleek and clean and sparkly looking, complete with a lot of tables and clean sinks and people cleaning the floors and dishes and packaging meat. But the meat was human. Lining either side of the room was human corpses hanging off of meat hooks. They'd been cut open and cut apart by these butchers. Pieces of corpses were being lowered into meat grinders on the far side of the room and the meat that came out was collected in buckets and brought to other men took charge of packaging it. Alessandro caught sight of eyeballs being placed in small plastic bags and then into egg cartons before it was closed up while Argos watched them chop up human meat on a table.
They also heard banging from a walk in freezer and screams coming from inside of it. Argos looked over at it and watched one of the thugs walk over to the freezer and kick it.
"Quiet down in there! We'll kill y'all latuurr so just wait yer damn turn!"
Argos looked down at Alessandro who nodded and they refocused.
"Game time?"
"Game time."
Alessandro took a deep breath and exhaled while closing his eyes. "Alright."
"Hey! Quit y'all's fuking muttering ayn' shut y'all's mowuths! You a-dyin' anyway so at least be quiet!"
Argos had heard worse last words.
"One last question: Wanna see something cool?" He finally spoke up.
"Like whut?"
Argos turned around, snapped his cuffs like they were cheap plastic, lashed out, grabbed their guns tossed them into the air, grabbed the thugs heads, tossed them through the air onto the tables, caught one of the rifles, balanced the other on his foot, turned around and started shooting the butchers in the heads, blowing large holes in their heads and spraying their blood all over the tables and walls.
Alessandro meanwhile had leaped into action at the same time as Argos, literally leaping clean over the heads, landed behind them, slipped right out of the cuffs and then smashed their heads together, knocked one off of his feet, grabbed his gun while he was falling, stole the rifle of the other, pistol whipped him to his temple, knocked him down and then Alessandro shot them both in the head while still holding the rifle in his free hand.
Alessandro pivoted, put the safety back on his handgun, and rushed down the remaining Butchers alongside Argos, both mean realizing they should conserve ammunition in this scenario and in all honesty more bullets would be wasted on these assholes.
Alessandro slid over one of the tables, grabbed a butcher knife and then he swung it at the throats of the butchers, cutting them wide open while Argos leaped clean over the tables, grabbed one of the butchers, turned him around and brutally snapped his neck. Argos took a kitchen knife from his waistband, tossed him to the floor and then he attacked one of the men who was backed against the wall. Argos stabbed the knife through his throat, proceeded to steal his knife and then he turned around and tossed said knife across the room into the neck of one of the other butchers. Alessandro meanwhile push kicked one of the thugs away from him, vaulted over a table, grabbed one of the butchers, slashed his throat and then he turned and cut the next three mens throats. Argos ran across the room, grabbed one of the tables and launched it through the air. It hit a man on the head and it smashed his skull into the wall and then dropped to the ground with him, his head leaving a trail of blood behind it. Argos paid him no mind as he ran across the room, grabbed the arm of one of the butchers, crushed the bones in it with his grip strength alone and then he stabbed him in the throat and threw him to the ground. Alessandro finished off the last of the butchers and tossed his corpse to the floor.
He and Argos fist bumped and then they turned to the freezer. Now that the room had been cleared it was time to free whomever they had locked up in there.
I would like to take a moment to discuss the inside of a walk in freezer. The temperature is probably somewhere between 0°F and -10°F. The ceiling, walls and door are four to six inches thick -- made of some kind of insulating foam like urethane covered in sheets of galvanized steel, stainless steel or aluminum. The floor is also covered in galvanized steel, stainless steel or aluminum. There are stainless steel shelves loaded with plastic bags filled with meat, poultry, fish and other frozen foodstuffs. In this particular case, cut up pieces of human meat they keep frozen. A single vapor-proof fixture provides dim lighting. A row of thick plastic curtains hangs in the doorway. Try to imagine being trapped inside of a tightly sealed, extremely cold, giant metal box. There would be three big problems you would have to worry about in such a situation: Hypothermia, frostbite and your air supply.
Now.
The normal core body temperature of a healthy person is 98.6°F. Hypothermia occurs when a person's body temperature drops significantly below normal: Mild hypothermia occurs at core body temperature between 93.2°F and 96.8°F. Moderate hypothermia occurs at core body temperature between 73.4°F and 89.6°F. Severe or profound hypothermia occurs between core body temperature between 53.6°F and 68°F. A person suffering from hypothermia will become tired and confused. He or she may have slowed breathing and speech followed by a loss of feeling or movement of their hands. Persons with severe hypothermia are at high risk for cardiac arrest and possibly death. You lose body heat in a number of ways. You lose heat when you breathe and perspire. Large areas of exposed skin radiate a lot of heat. Heat can also be conducted from your body through contact with cold surfaces such as snow, or in this case extremely cold metal.
Even people who are not trapped for a significant amount of time can sustain injuries. For instance, brief exposure can cause frostbite, which occurs when a person’s skin and underlying tissues are frozen. Generally, the lower the temperature in the freezer, the more quickly frostbite is likely to occur. Frostbite is also more likely to affect the extremities, such as the feet and hands, which can be especially dangerous for victims who are also suffering from hypothermia and so have lost feeling in those areas. Frostbite usually takes the form of reddened skin with gray or white patches, numbness, and blisters.
Regarding your air supply. Let's say you're in a freezer that is 20 by 10 by eight feet, and it's completely sealed. That means you have 1,600 cubic feet of air to breathe. Initially the air is 20 percent oxygen and nearly 0 percent carbon dioxide. Each time you breathe, your body consumes oxygen and releases carbon dioxide. You inhale air that's 20 percent oxygen and 0 percent carbon dioxide and exhale air that's about 15 percent oxygen and 5 percent carbon dioxide.
A person at rest breathes about 2,800 cubic feet of air per day. If you do the math, you'll see that a person needs about 150 cubic feet of pure oxygen per day. There's 320 cubic feet of pure oxygen in the freezer. People are OK with oxygen concentrations down to 10 percent or so, so there's enough oxygen to last for about a full day in a freezer this size. No running and jumping around however -- oxygen is precious in an environment like this.
The other side of the coin is carbon dioxide. Once the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air gets above 5 percent, it's fatal. At 2 percent, your breathing rate will increase significantly and weakness is obvious. In a freezer this size, too much carbon dioxide is actually a much bigger problem than too little oxygen. After six hours, the effects of carbon dioxide poisoning will be noticeable.
Taking all this into consideration, you can imagine the sight that greeted the two men when Argos forced the door open: A group of battered and bruised civilians who'd been locked inside of the freezer. Their lips were blue with cold and their teeth chattered as their bodies violently trembled together desperate to find any sense of warmth. Weak and exhausted it was costing them all their remaining strength to keep fighting. The tremors were violently wracking their bodies and their teeth knocked together so violently that Alessandro was certain some of them had possibly cracked their teeth.
One man was backed against the shelves in the fetal position as he struggled to stay alive in this arctic prison. A man and a woman lay together on the floor shaking. Another person sat down with his knees drawn to his chest while his muscles shook uncontrollably shake uncontrollably in a last ditch attempt by his body to reheat. On the far side of the freezer was a smile pile of dead bodies that had obviously been in here far longer than the unfortunate four.
The first man slowly looked up at them. "W-W-W-W-h-h-h-o a-a-a-a-a-rrrre y-y-y-yoou?"
"My name is Argos Blackburn and this is my son in law Alessandro. We're here to help." Argos summarized. "Let's get you guys out of here."
Argos and Alessandro worked together to get the four of them out of the freezer. They set them down in a corner and slammed the freezer shut.
The four civilians sobbed and wept and trembled together for warmth. "T-t-t-ha-a-ankk y-y-you."
Alessandro nodded. "No need to thank us. Just doing our civic duty." He looked around the room. "OKay, uh, just hang on. There's gotta be something here we can give you to keep warm..." He went to grab some towels when the door to the room was kicked open. Alessandro and Argos immediately dived behind the tables and readied their guns.
"Looks like the backups here. Gonna be a lot of them."
"Use the guns, the knives and our surroundings. Draw the line here. Do not let them hurt the people."
"Rodger that. You ready old man?"
"Born ready, son."
A group of masked thugs barged into the room and stared in shock at the carnage in front of them. They were used to seeing blood and gore while the butchers worked but this was a different sight entirely. They were not prepared to see the dead carcasses of their own men laying around the room in pools of their own blood. That hesitation was what Argos and Alessandro needed. They opened fire on the men and gunned down four of them, wounded the fifth and the sixth man ran around the corner. They lowered their rifles. "Alright. That's five down. Let's see now, we've got Ohio Ordnance HCAR's here....that''s .30-06 Springfield caliber, 30-round box magazine, sem-auto. I've fired four shots at the butchers plus three shots at these idiots. Twenty three shots remaining in this rifle at least. Plus the extra. How about you?" Argos asked Alessandro.
"Two shots from the handgun. I've got twenty two bullets left in it and twenty seven in the rifle and a whole bunch of these motherfuckers to deal with before we can go find the others." Alessandro drummed his fingers on the rifle. "We've also got a room full of knives and tables we can throw at them if it comes down to it."
Argos glanced at the dropped weapons. "Think you could make it over there?"
Alessandro listened to how the thug was screaming for help and running down the hallway. "He's far enough. I'm going for them." Handed the rifle to Argos, bounded over the tables, ran across the room, grabbed the dropped guns, knocked the wounded man the hell out with a brutal kick, set the guns down, slammed the door shut, barred it with two tables and whatever elese he could find and then he walked across the room and set down the guns. He and Argos divided them up and Alessandro retrieved his rifle. "Okay. Looks like we've got enough guns. Now we just have to win the shootout."
The jackal mask ran down the hallway screaming for the others. "SHIT SHIT SHIT FUK SHIT! Ay nee some fuking help! They've done got guns!"
"Who thay butchers? That there just seems impractical."
"Thay fuking livestok! They done killed thay others! They done took theuurr guns! They're a-killin' us! hey done opened thay freezer! Ay nee help! We have ta fuking contayn this here!"
Salvador tossed his giant hammer up into the air and caught it with his free hand and balanced it over his shoulder. "About fucking time." His voice boomed over the room. "It's been awhile since I got to have some fun." He snapped his fingers and pointed down the hallway. "Lead the way."
"Are you guys okay over there?" Alessandro asked the civilians they'd saved.
"F-f-fine. We're g-getting b-better. S-s-sorry....c-can't f-fight."
"Don't worry about that. Just leave the fighting to us."
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
They returned their attention to the doorway.
Whoever is down the hallway must be built like a tank or at least as heavily arrmed. This new guys footsteps echoed off of the buildings walls, announcing his arrival to all in a several hundred meter radius.
"Ssshhiiit. What in the fuck?! Do you hear that?" Alessandro asked.
"Something big is coming. Gotta be one of those freaks we saw when we got here. If I had to guess, it's either sackhead, metalface or the hammer guy."
"Yeah that's just what I need today." Alessandro groaned. "The longer we're stuck in here dealing with these shits the more danger the kids are in."
"Then we'll just have to shoot them all." Argos reasoned. "Now come on. Focus. One thing at a time. I'm sure Leo's already blasting his way out of whatever hole they tried throwing him into."
Alessandro swallowed and steadied his breathing to focus. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The thundering footsteps continued echoing around the building. The noise continued to get louder and louder as the source got closer. The hanging meat on either side of them shook on their hooks. The civilians huddled tighter than before. The stomping sounds echoed like thunder claps around them until it finally stopped in front of the doorway. Whoever was on the other end tried the door a few times in vain and then there was silence. The air was so brittle it could snap. No-one spoke up, for what is there to say? Platitudes obviously wouldn't cut it right now.
The doorway exploded and Alessandro's improvised blockade was scattered all around the room. The hammer man stepped into the room through the entrance, dragging his hammer behind him.
"Hammer man it is." Alessandro noted and he and Argos immediately opened fire on him, every shot aimed right at his center mass.
The bullets ripped through him and the hammer man stumbled backwards as bloody holes opened up around his chest from the bullets tearing through his heart and lungs. But he still didn't let go of his hammer. Instead he slammed it down onto the ground, causing an echoing boom around the room and down the hallway, and still he remained standing! So naturally the two just adjusted their aim at his head and fired there. The bullets swiftly chewed through his mask, shot holes right through it and tore up his skull. Blood and brain matter were splattered out of the back of his head and ran down the front of his swiftly disappearing face. He finally fell down against the wall and they ceased firing.
"He was certainly a tough motherfucker. That was about every bullet we had in these."
"We'll use the last of them for whomever comes in next and then use the other guns on the rest and take guns as we need them."
Alessandro was about to respond to him when he noticed the hammer man climbing back to his feet. "Argos? Are you seeing this?"
"Oh shit."
Despite all of the blood pouring down his body and that his heart, lungs, skull and brain had been ground up by the bullets, he just got right back up on his feet! They looked up at his head and they saw his brain pulsating in a bulbous mass as it simply grew right back! At the same time blood was spraying out of his chest as he seemed to grow back his organs. Argos and Alessandro looked at each other and then back to their enemy and they emptied every last bullet they had in the rifles into his head once more. It popped like a balloon and once again the wall behind him was painted with blood and gore.
The guns clicked empty so they discarded them. Argos and Alessandro took a second to grab the other rifles when the masked men poured into the room and began spraying bullets in their direction. Both men ducked down, barely able to hear the horrified screams of the civilians over the roar of gunfire. Thinking fast, Alessandro and Argos grabbed the pistols and shot at their legs. There was an exchange of gunfire on both sides but the animal masks dropped first. The Blackburns shot them dead while they had the chance. Alessandro took a chance to catch his breath. He was bleeding from a few near misses but thankfully nothing serious had been hit. "Hey old man, you okay?"
"Just fine. Got lucky there."
The booming footsteps again. They looked up at the door and saw he was standing tall again. And this time his head had completely healed. "Well shit. That's real fair. Think our luck's gonna hold out?"
"Can only hope." They went for the rifles again but this time the giant man tossed his massive welding hammer across the room at them. They barely dodged it in time! The hammer whizzed past the two men and slammed into the far wall!
"What the hell?! He tossed that giant thing like a softball!" Alessandro looked back at him. The man was already stampeding towards them! Not even caring that he was trampling his own men! (Oh this is just great! Not only can he regenerate but he's strong as an ox and he's fast as hell to boot! Just how are we supposed to kill this guy?!)
He smashed into the tables and sent them flying across the room with a swing of his arm! Alessandro flipped onto the tables before he could do so, flipped onto his shoulder and then jumped off of him and landed on his feet. Argos simply dodged left. The bruiser turned around and swung his arm at Alessandro while the latter was firing his handgun into his back. He didn't seem to notice it and just continued with his attack. Alessandro dodged the hit and the follow up from his other arm. He then dodged the next swing and the attempted uppercut, flipped backwards and fired on his eyes. The giant man took a few steps backwards and rubbed his eyes but it seemed more like an annoyance than any actual damage being done.
THERE THEY ARE! ON ME MEN! LET'S GIVE VICTAW SOME BAKUP!"
Alessandro turned around as more of them started pouring into the room and firing on them at the same time as Argos. Alessandro dived to the side and returned fire but it gave Victor enough time to recover. He ran over to Alessandro while he was frantically trying not to get shot, grabbed him by the shirt and then he flung him into a wall like a ragdoll! The meat actually took some of the impact off of him but not much. Alessandro hit the giant meat slabs, knocked them off of their meat hooks and they impacted the wall. Alessandro's guns dropped from his hands and he fell down onto the ground. Victor didn't hesitate to pick him up by the back of his shirt, spin him around and punch him across the face. It was like being struck across the side of his head by a slab of concrete. He backhanded him with that same powerful fist, then back across the face, then backhanded and then across the face again before he pulled him back and slammed him against the wall. Victor stared at the bloodied face of his broken opponent and then Victor's hands grasped his throat. Alessandro gasped for air as those powerful fists squeezing his windpipe. He frantically grabbed his arms and kicked out his feet, his struggles proving vain in the face of this iron grip. That was until Victor was flung across the room himself! Alessandro dropped towards the floor but he was caught in two powerful arms. He hacked and coughed and opened up one of his eyes to see Argos holding him gently. "Breathe easy Alessandro. I've got you."
Alessandro tried to talk to him but could only manage pained gasps for air in between hacking and coughing.
"Not bad."
Argos looked back at Victor who was brushing himself off. "Not bad. You're pretty strong."
"Well that's annoying. Hey, Alessandro, are you gonna be okay?"
He gasped for air and gently rubbed his throat. "A-A-Argos....r-r-run....c-can't...kill....it....to....strong." He choked out.
He walked over to a spot in between the equipment and the overturned tables and set him down and then he turned back to face Victor who was on his way over to retrieve his hammer. Argos simply grabbed a table and flung it across the room. Victor paused to smash it with his forearm out into the hallway. He stared him down.
"That remains to be seen. Now come on and hit me with your best shot."
The humongous towering beast of a man laughed. He flat out laughed at him. It was the natural response really. He was a super strong borderline immortal monster of a man rippling with muscle and half-blind old man just told him to give him his best shot. He shut right up when Argos cracked him across the jaw! For Argos it was exactly like hitting concrete but he had no time to worry about that now so he pushed on and followed up with a two straight punches to his neck, a punch across his jaw, a shot to his neck, a punch to his right eye, a push kick to his stomach that made him fall back against the hanging meat, a brutal punch to the neck, and then Argos grabbed him by the head, turned him around and dragged him down, kneed him hard in the face, threw him back against the wall and unleashed a brutal combination of punches on his face that knocked his head back against the metal wall repeatedly. He finished his assault with a strong lefthook, spun him around, grabbed him by the waist and suplexed him to the floor! Argos then rolled on top of him, pinned him down and began unloading brutal punches to his face.
"Damn son! Is this all you can do? Come on! I'm an old man! You can't take on an old man?" Argos challenged while pounding his face in.
He received his answer in the form of Victor grabbing his shirt and throwing him aside. Argos hit the ground hard and slid across it until he hit a pair of corpses laying on the floor. He rolled over them and sat up. He rubbed his knuckles while Victor climbed to his feet. He turned around and looked at Argos. His face looked like it was carved out of stone with a beard as thick as a gardening broom with bristles sticking out in all directions. He had a split lip and a bloody nose to show for Argos's efforts.He smiled at him with twisted crooked bloodstained teeth. Argos got up and the pair rushed each other again. Victor was more ready to attack him this time so Argos went low, grabbed his legs and took him to the ground again. He resumed punching his face in but only got in a few punches before Victor grabbed him, pulled him down and headbutted him and tossed him into a wall. He yelled out and slumped towards the ground but he managed to stay on his feet. Victor got right back up and swung at him but Argos blocked him with a forearm, pushed it aside, struck his throat with a quick jab, swung him around and smacked him against the wall.
"You've got strength I'll give you that, but you don't have the skill to use it properly!" Argos chastised him and he resumed punching him in the throat.
This continued until Victor managed to grab his arm and punch him hard in the face. Blood burst from his nose and he started falling down but then the maniac grabbed him by the shirt, raised his fist up and swung down at his face again. Then again. Then again. Every damn punch was like an anvil to his face! The assault ended with a brutal haymaker to his face that slammed Argos down on the floor. Then he kicked him up to the ceiling so hard that Argos put a dent in it and then Victor punched the old hero across the room. He crashed against the wall and dropped to the ground. Bloood poured from his mouth and he started breathing hard. Victor grunted, rubbed his soar throat and then he ran across the room to grab his hammer.
By the time Argos was able to get up again Victor was already approaching him with the hammer.
"Yeah? Yeah? Come on freak. Come on. Bring it."
"I'm gonna enjoy bashing your brains in old man." Victor giggled and raised his hammer to bring it down on Argos.
That was when bullets ripped through Victor's legs. "SHIT!" He yelled out as he fell to his knees and his hammer fell to the floor with a loud bang. Argos looked across the room to see Alessandro had recovered in time to grab one of the rifles. He nodded to Argos and he nodded back. Alessandro then unloaded every last bullet in the rifle into Victor's head. The bullets swiftly chewed through until his head gone and replaced by a bloody pulpy mess. Already knowing about his regeneration power, Argos quickly grabbed the hammer, raised it above his head and waited. The moment the pulpy writhing mass started to bubble up he swung the hammer down on it as hard as he could. SPLAT! Blood and gore and who knows what else splattered around the room and onto Argos. He kept swinging and swinging and swinging, aiming every strike from the hammer at his wounds.
After multiple strikes he finished it and tossed the hammer aside and grabbed his body, dragged it across the room, hoisted him up with one arm, turned on the meat grinder and slammed Victor down into it! The sound was like something out of nightmares as blood burst out of the top of the grinder and Victor's body jerked and trembled as he was being forced into it and blood and meat poured out of the other side. It took everything Argos had to keep him inside but eventually Victor's body just...stopped moving as the grinder jammed up. Argos let go of his legs and dropped down to the floor.
The fight was over.
"Hey...old man....you okay?"
"I've had worse....how about you?"
"I'll live." Alessandro admitted. "Can you stand?"
Argos dragged himself back up to his feet and popped his back. "UUuuuhgghhh getting old sucks. Could've pounded that guy into the dirt back in my prime." He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, fixed his nose and walked across the room until he could find a sink. He wet some paper towels and wiped his face. He then got some for Alessandro who cleaned himself up. After washing up they walked back over to the civilians and offered their hands.
"Hello again. Are you guys okay?"
"F-fine..." The stunned man stammered. "We're okay. We're fine. What about you?"
"Might need a day or two in the hospital when this is all over but we can worry about that later." Argos shrugged.
The civilians accepted their hands up. They were still in bad shape but they were feeling better now.
"Okay. Time to lock and load. We've got a family to save."
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