2007-03-08: Finding Abilities

Starring:

Claudine_icon.gif Heather_icon.gif

Date It Happened: March 08, 2007

Summary: Claudine makes a trip to Kansas on her first assignment and meets Heather. A new recruit for the company who can detected other Evolved humans and their powers.

Finding Abilities


Noyes Farm, Junction City, KS

It's a bright and sunny day in the rural Midwest of America. And the Noyes farm is no exception. The sprawling expanse of land is abundant with the seasonal crop for this time of year. Occasionally you hear chickens clucking from a chicken coop. The house itself sits near the center of the property, flanked by fields and other animal pens. For the most part, the house seems deserted and empty, but yet the door is wide open. Oh wait, that's because there's hardly no crime out here. People aren't afraid to leave their house wide open.

Out in one of the main fields, Heather is perched atop a tractor. One giant piece of machinery, one…well, not so tiny girl. From atop her perch, she is guiding the tractor with one hand, while holding a book up on the steering wheel. Apparently she's good at multi-tasking. The breeze keeps trying to close the book, though, and when the back cover flips up one might recognize a picture of the late Dr. Suresh on the cover.

It's her first official assignment as the softer side of the Company and she's excited. Of course, it's no coincidence that they sent their own farm girl to try to recruit another farm girl, but hey, if it works, it works, right? As such, Claudine's come out to Kansas this fine afternoon dressed rather conservatively with a pair of jeans, and a nice collared t-shirt.

Once she arrives, she looks around the farm, sighing a little as it's almost like being back at home..cept ya know, this is the United States instead of the Philippines. She glances around and opens the manila folder she was given to make sure she has the name and anddress correct before spying the girl on the tractor.

She makes her way towards it and smiles, giving a friendly little wave. "Um..hi! I was wondering if you could please direct me to a Ms. Heather Noyes?" she asks curiously.

The tractor comes to a clunking halt, as Heather hears the voice and shuts down the mechanical beast. "You might out to not get so close there." she says, the southern accent showing up in her voice. "Almost ran over ya." At the name, she closes the book and turns on the seat as though she's side-saddling it. "That'd be me. My mom hasn't been called Ms. in years. What can I do fer ya?"

The young woman cant help but chuckle as she was warned about almost getting run over. There was no danger, and she simply nods, "It's quite all right. I hope I didnt scare you. And I'm Claudine Salonga..I was wanting to talk to you about a few things. I'm part of a company that helps people who are.." and she pauses for a few moments to try to find the right wording. "Exceptionally gifted. They sent me out here to talk to you about some stuff, if you dont mind that is.."

"Nice to meet ya." Heather offers, stepping her way down off tractor. There's a soft thud as she lands on the ground and dusts her overalls off. Yes, a girl, wearing overalls. This is hicktown, couldn't you tell? She offers out her hand towards Claudine, while intently staring at her. "You're…..different, than the rest." she voices, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Pardon?" Claudine asks, raising her brows, not really knowing whether the girl's referring toher being Filipina or if the girl's aware that she has powers as well. She takes a notepad out and starts scribbling a few things down. "Could you possibly elaborate on that?" she asks curiously, her brows raised. This is neat. And the girl cant be much older than her..

Claudine offers her hand out as well, thinking it's a handshake. Yeah, I forgot about that.

Heather motions towards the porch of the house. "Come on. I got tea on the porch." she says, starting to move towards that way when Claudine asks her for more details. "I dunno. Different. It's like this voice in my head telling me you're different. A…e….what's the word..evo…." Is speech not her forte? Or maybe it's just she's never been asked to describe it. She hasn't even bothered to notice the age relationship, as she's met a few folks who were older than they looked.

"Evolved?" Claudine asks, furrowing her brows a little as she hrmms for a few moments and scribbles a few more things down. How could she know that? She wasnt thinking about her own powers, so maybe telepathy isnt it. This is certainly interesting. After snapping out of that line of thought though, she smiles warmly and nods, following. "Yeah..tea would be nice actually.." "Yeah! That's the word." Heather exclaims, walking up onto porch and taking a seat in one of the rocking chairs. A table with a pitcher of tea and some glasses sits between it and the other chair. "That's the word I keep hearing. Only happens though with certain people. Sometimes it says normal. And other times….it's a really big word." All this is explained while she offers the other chair to Claudine and pours them both a glass.

"So with me..what else do you hear?" Claudine says as she remains where she's standing, rather intrigued at the turn of events. A girl who can identify evolved..that should be useful right? Especially if it means that people can be helped..especially with particularly dangerous powers before they do something disastrous. All this is made into notes as she waits for a response.

Sipping her own tea, Heather shrugs her shoulder as the seat isn't taken. "Terra-something. Terrakinesis or something." she says, waving her hand a slight bit. "It says something about moving the earth." Her eyes galnce up directly at Cladudine. "Are you a some sort of banker, cause we ain't moving the farm." Obviously they've had a bad experience with the bank in the past.

Her eyes widen with shock, as she definitely was NOT thinking about her powers at all. Somehow this girl can identify an evolved and the nature of their powers as well. "That..that's amazing.." Claudine says softly under her breath as this time she motions for Heather to follow her this time. "You would be correct in what you were saying. It seems you can identify other gifted individuals as well. Ms. Noyes..the people I work for..they would definitely want to help you with your abilities..just like they helped me with mine.." And with that she looks out towards the field, "So..what were you wanting to do with the tractor?" she asks curiously, waiting to give the girl a little demonstration.

Heather rubs her forhead a bit, almost as though her head is hurting. There's a bottle of Excedrin nearby that she reaches for and pops two of them, washing them down with a gulp of tea. At the motion, she stands, and follows Claudine. "I can do wha…" she asks, trailing off as the other girl continues to talk. "Do you think they can help with the headaches? They happen all the time when I'm near these 'different' people." Oh, right. The field. Dad's going to be rightly mad too. "Crud. I'm supposed to finish tilling that field under so my dad can start planting the next crop when he gets home."

"It's no matter..I'll take care of it. You want to know what a terrakinetic is, Ms. Noyes..well you're about to find out. I'm from a farming family too, and once I get back home, I'm definitely making suremy parents never need to till the land the hard way again.." Claudine says with a bright smile as she then hrmms a little at the mention of the headaches. "It seems, Ms. Noyes, that it's a sideffect of your ability..when mine first manifested, I'd black out..or cause earthquakes.." she admits ruefully. "And as for the bank..I'm sure the company I work for will make sure that your family doesnt have to worry too much about money. That is, if you decide to come back with me to New York City.."

She then pauses and smiles warmly towards the other girl once more, "So you really want to know what a terrakinesis, is, right?" she asks, just wanting to make sure.

"Well, so long as they can cure it, I'll be grateful." Heather grins, as the headache appears to be subsiding. At mention of the big Terr-word, Heather raises her eyebrows. "Well, I know terra means earth. But…" she pauses at mention of earthquakes. "…you can move the earth." Duh, now the pieces of the puzzle are starting to fall into place for her. The words she's been hearing. They've been clues. An excited look comes over her face now. Bright. Shiny. "Think you could till that field under without a tractor?" she challenges. "I'd have to ask my mom and dad, but I know they've been wanting to stop these headaches, so I'm sure they'd be ok."

"I know I can." Claudine says with a bright smile curling onto her lips as she takes a deep breath and focuses. She raises her arms over the fields, definitely her first major attempt at this. She can do other things, but to shift the earth so the land can be easily cultivated..that's something she's always wanted to do.

She chews on her bottom lip and she focuses on the field, her eyes widening and her pupils change color from her light brown, to a dark, almost black color, reminiscent of the soil that she's manipulating. Fortunately, it's not too hard,and the soil isnt too compacted, so the field starts to shift a little, and the tractor moves like it's on waves of earth. Minutes pass as she continues doing this, and if Heather watches, she'd notice that she's starting to sweat a lot..and her nose is even bleeding. Maybe she's pushing herself too far..

Heather watches, almost in amazement as the earth starts to move on it's own. She's vaguely reminded of the wave pool they visited on her trip to Topeka as the tractor bobs. "That's….incredible." she gasps, turning to look at Claudine with a grin. A grin that is soon gone as she notices the sweat, and bloody nose. "Hey! You're bleeding." she says, pulling a handkerchief out of her pocket and holding it out towards her.

She ignores the handkerchief for a few more moments until the task is finished, by which then, there's some blood on her shirt now. Dangit! She snaps out of her little trance and shes smiles warmly, taking the offered handkerchief to wipe the blood off it. "Yeah..about that..guess I pushed myself too much.." she admits ruefully, looking rather fatigued now as she finds a place to sit and eases on down. It definitely took a LOT out of her it seems. "But yes..the company helped me learn how to do that..I'm sure they can help you with your headaches as well..you have an amazing gift, Ms. Noyes.."

The porch isn't too far away and the steps offer a great place to sit down for claudine. "You shouldn't push yourself that hard though." she offers, setting down on steps herself. "I tried once when I was thirteen to plow the field by hand with one of the mules. I ended up getting drug across the field and wound up with several cracked ribs." Her cheeks redden a bit at the compliment. "It's just what I do. Especially after somoene sent me this…" she holds up the book titled 'Activating Evolution'. "It came in the mail a few weeks ago. No return address."

"That was probably the same company I work for. They have a way of finding particularly gifted individuals such as us.." Claudine says as she continues to take a breather, letting out a soft and amused chuckle and Heather. "I think you can help people..particularly people like us. If you can identify others before they manifest their gifts..people could possibly be saved. I'm sure you've read the book..it mentions the possibility of those who can control fire, gravity,or even magnetism.." and her mind goes to Max at that last little bit and she giggles impishly. "My powers manifested, fortunately, in a rather defensive way. I stopped a landslide from killing me and the other people I was with. But not everyone is so lucky."

Heather nods her head a bit at the explanation of the book. A wistful look comes over her face for a moment. "Why couldn't I get one of those cool powers." she sighs, followed immediately by a giggle. "Though I suppose, it's not so bad being able to find people and help them before they can hurt themselves or others. Mom always said I should go to like medical school or something since I like helping others." Her eyes widen at Claudine's story. "An entire landslide?! Wow. Right. What's the unluckiest one you've heard about?"

"The company I work for..the man who wrote that book. His son works for them. He's who helped me with my powers and I'm sure he'll help you with yours. So..should I tell them so they can arrange for your flight to New York City?" Claudine asks curiously while canting her head to the side as she shrugs her shoulders at the question in the end. "I..I dont know from personal experience. You're kind of the first person I've been sent to try to help.." she admits ruefully. "I'm kind of a newbie.." giggling impishly in the end.

"He does?!" Heather exclaims. "I'd like to meet him sometime. I mean…I' ve got so many questions since I got the book and started reading it." New York City? Heather's never been to such a big city before. Topeka's been the largest she's been to. "Uh, sure. I'm sure my mom and dad will agree with it. Especially if they can help me." she nods, grinning at Claudine. "We're all newbies at some point. Like me, now." She giggles along with Claudine.

"Well..I'm just glad that I did good.." Claudine says as she starts to feel a little better, at least better enough that she can stand again. She doesnt want to look like she doesnt have that much control over her powers afterall, even if she's achieved a modicum of control within the past week. "Let me make a few phone calls and you should get your ticket sometime tonight. Maybe it'll even be on the same trip as I'm taking back.." she chirps before writing down her cellphone number, and her number at Primatech Research. "Here's my cell and office number. Feel free to call me any time, kay? And I'll show you around the Big Apple to make sure you dont get lost and stuff. And tell your parents not to worry too much, if anyone can help you, the Company and Dr. Suresh can.."

Standing when she does, Heather smiles. "Well, I don't know what the requirements are for success, but dad always said if you ain't dead, you've succeeded. And you ain't dead. So I'd call that good." There's a look of excitement on her face. She's never been to New York City. She's heard about it from friends, but never seen it. Taking the numbers, she studies the paper before nodding. "My parents should be home in the next few hours." A quick glance at the field. "Dad is going to be so surprised. Oh, I'll make sure to have my things packed." Yay for the next adventure in her life starting. "They won't worry. They know I know how to take care of myself."

"Well, do take care. If you need any help, just let me know and dont hesitate to ask.." Claudine says with a bright smile before suddenly remembering something. "I should get back to the airport though. So maybe we wont be on the same filght, but if you want I can pick you up if you get your tickets tonight?" beaming brightly in the end. "And, you can hang out in my dorm room until you get your own place. I'm still in college so yeah..my roommate is never around anyway.."

Heather pockets the paper with the numbers in the front of her overalls. "I'm sure I'll come up with some. Or maybe my parents will." she replies, smiling back at what could be called her peer, were it not for the circumstances. "If it comes tonight, mom and dad will probably drive me to the airport. Mom's sentimental like that. She'd want to say goodbye to her baby girl." Her light blue eyes do a roll in their sockets as she laughs. "Sounds like fun. I look forward to it."

"Well..I should be off.." Claudine says as a taxicab arrives just on time in front. She didnt expect it to take that long anyway and with that she waves. "Do take care and have a safe trip!" With that, her first assignment..complete! Now this wasnt too bad! Huzzah!

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