Recovery

*Again, the blip, the connection that just.... wouldn't lock, wouldn't stay solid, was like a ghost blip, it had no basis. For months it had frustrated the techies, angered the mechs, and thoroughly confused everyone. It'd vanished for a while, maybe just a glithc in the system then, but no, here it resurfaces, on radar... and the techie grimaces* Dammit, thought this was fixed.... *now in the new Base, back in the good Ol' Yoo Es of Ay, this shouldn't be happening. This radar wasn't quite a radar, it worked as a targeting system, allowing all the GUARDians, for each was implanted (save those very rare few who's power disallowed it like TimeSlash and Shifter), to be tagged and traced at all times. A homing device... radar. And it kept picking up this ghost signal. Maybe a HAM radio somewhere? Someone playing with wires? The poor man sighs, puts down his jelly donut, and calls it it* Yeah, you wanna someone in here, Bob? This needs to be looked at STAT. *And someone came in, and she too was at a loss. The blip came and went and refused to allow them a fix. After about an hour, the woman sighed* What area is this in, anyway? Has it been stable? *John, the techie, shook his head* Naw, its unstraceable. We don't know why, but we can't get a fix. Its like trying to hold onto a greased fish. Always been that way. *Susan, the Commander-on-duty, thought a moment* Alright, that was then, this is now. We have better equipment. I want a fix yesterday, John. No if ands or buts, get it? *he nodded* Got it. *she smiled* Good. *Both of them worked together, calling in many others, and for hours... the blip fading in and out the whole time, sometimes vanishing all together... they slaved over the system. But finally.... finally...* GOT IT!! *Marcy, a young and brilliant trainee techie, crowed. The others gathered around and stared at the now-stable blip. The printers hummed as the information started to pour in* Pay dirt! *Susan grinned* Hey, it's Miller time! *they all wholeheartedly agreed.... but first, the printouts. Susan, the only one in the room with high enough clearance to peruse the data, frowned* Call the head office, patch me into a clearance Gt7 or higher, code yellow. *The technical lingo threw them all off. Was this a drill? Susan snapped her eyes up and almost growled* Are you deaf? I gave an order! *Not a drill. John, second in command via senority, dashed to the redphone and made the call....**She appears in a pale flash of light, target now locked, the blip on her scanner, in her visual centers...her cyber brain multitasking. She calls her position in, using her commchip since she has no psionics herself..../= Hyaline reporting. Have target on lock and tracing. This one's here somewhere, wherever here is... besides New York, I mean. =/ *a quick scan, maps and atlases pinpoint position with minutes and seconds....* /= the Hudson... and you can quit snickering Jack, you ass, you know my longitude and latitude program has a glitch in it.... =/ *she mutters under her breath aloud, listening to the male comments back in the techlab... about how a woman can just /never/ figure out directions... and they come up with some colorful ones, one even she has to chuckle at as she steps forward. And while she's fully uniformed in her cygear, those jogging by in the crisp morning air pay no attention. They jog around her, but never actually /notice/ her, this gorgeous apparition, blend of flesh and technology*

*She had laid there on the out of the way park bench for hours, unnoticed by others....in a near unconscious condition, the chip teasing, burning at the injured material of her brain. She had lost all sense of time....she only knew of the pain in her head...a reawakened pain. Finally it seemed that the static and voices were gone...but the headache wasn't...She sits up and stumbles to her feet, blinking in the early morning light of the next day. She does not know that it is Sunday. To her it seems strange to hear the church bells tolling as if it was the next day. But she barely hears them. Wincing, she turns toward the dimly remembered path she had taken to get to this place and begins to walk, her only thought, to get home. Home, where she could take a whole bottle of Tylenal, or Asprin, or anything that will just stop the pain**Stumbling through the labyrinth like paths of Central Park, she soon discovers herself lost. She had made a wrong turn somewhere she realized, little wonder with her head feeling like a used battering ram. She stops, suppressing a small moan and blinks, trying to clear her vision to look around, to gather her bearings, but....where was she now? Where did she want to go? Standing in the middle of a jogging path, swaying a bit, she struggles to remember.*

*Hyaline sighs finally, frowning* /= Alright guys, that's enough...*and they knew she was serious, and with seriousness came duties. They silenced* You picking that up? *her cyber-eye narrows, peering into her own screen which is set behind her eye, visible only to her* You guys catching this? =/ *The blip had been moving, twisting, as if in a maze. /= ...the hell is it going?? =/ *Hyaline, fixed on her screen, unseen by others, doesn't really look up and around, she's trying to follow the path of that blip which keeps fading in and out, but never enough to fully lose. Finally a techie hits the commlink, which sends a wave of feedback into her head and makes her wince, but gets her attention well enough* -- Hyaline... look /up/ and turn around - /= What, we doing the hokie pokie now, Vinny? =/ *but she does, and she blinks as the blip focuses... and a red circle repeatedly comes out from from her field of vision and narrows in, targeting the figure that sways before her. The cyber-screen is lowered and Hyaline sees the girl with normal vision, there in the jogging path, just standing there...* /= Talk about front door service. Get a fix on us both, on my command, energize =/ *Most the men back at the commcenter roll their eyes. She was /far/ too much of a Trekkie and the only one who found that damn reference even remotely funny anymore. Hyaline sidles up to Britney, allows herself to be seen by her and no one else.... she'd been invisible before, part of her cyber-abilities, but now she manifests, and due to the way they have their psionic shields in place, which was more of a kind of cloaking device, only Britney can see Hyaline. Well, that's not true, but to everyone else the suggestion strikes home and works... nothing of interest here.... nothing out of the ordinary... nothing to remember... when the Men In Black movie came out, the GUARD was actually worried for a short time... such an awareness, a conscious searching even if on the behalf of a whimsical society, those pretending, could have caused problems... but the psionic screens held, the suggestions remained, and it all worked out just fine. No one actually believed such things existed, it was just a flight of fancy, a clever idea, and nothing more. Hyaline keeps a safe distance, so as not to spook the girl and with the help of a holographic generator, she appears normal and clothed in a jogging suit. She approaches Britney with a look of deep concern on her face, which is genuine* 'Scuze me, miss... *very soft Southern accent* But you don't look too well. Are you alright? *gently she tries to lead her to a bench, so she can sit down*

*Swaying on her feet, she half turned, her eyes up above the trees. There! There was a familiar red brick building looming high above the trees....home? She takes a step in that direction, but is brought up short by the appearance of a person near her. She blinked. She could have sworn that person was not there before. She watches, studying the woman intently as she approached, still wincing from the pain in her head. There seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary about her....but the soft voice surprised her. A Southerner? No wonder the stranger had noticed her...as dirty and disheveled as she must look. All the native New Yorkers had turned a blind eye to her for so long she had begun to expect it...she must be in the wrong city.*....I....have a headache.....*she muttered softly, wincing at her own words* ...need to get....home....*She followed toward the bench*

*Now, now... *the murmur is calm, gentle, and still in a lilting, pleasant Southern accent. Hyaline herself is a large woman, a bombshell brunette beauty who would have done well on "American Gladiators" and was often called names such as 'Zap', 'Laser' or 'Skye' because of her resemblance to the girls on the show. Large, muscular, about six feet and three inches tall in the cybergear, two inches shorter outside it. Her attentive demeanor belies her giantess-like form as she leads Britney the a nearby bench and assists her in sitting down, staying close by, also taking perch on the edge of the bolted-down courtesy seat* And where is home, sugah? Where you need to be? *the commlink, she picks up through cyber-scans, was malfunctioning, damaged, and most likely -she winces inwardly- had been hell in such condition. It must really have hurt this poor girl, for whom Hyaline searches files. Signatures are taken... scent is altered into a spectrum, submitted for match... appearance is taken in, also submitted. Ambient power signatures, which her cyber mind picks up and deciphers, also sent in....she sighs softly. She can /bet/ the girl has a headache...* I can help with the pain, if you like. *Files match... MIA. Filename: BloodShock. Facts and information on her past, her history, start to fill Hyaline's vision behind her eyes, where her screen was separate from her real sight. Power sheets and levels spew out... Britney. The girl's name was Britney. Hunter. Lost. Well, not anymore. Now to just get her back without spooking her too badly*

*She sat back on the bench with a weary sigh and looked up at the buildings again. Then with her left hand pressed to her temple, she pointed with her right toward the red brick building that towered over the trees and answered in a small whisper* .....There it is... the apartment building over there.. *She winced. The pain never lasted this long before. Something was different. It was just continuing on indefinitely instead of going away.* Help with the pain?....How? *Frowning, she looked at Hyline, noticed certain details about her for the first time and wondered who this person really was. Her voice was soft and comforting it was true....concerned even. But in the months she had been alone, Britney had come to distrust those who offered such sympathy. She seemed almost too concerned...too comforting. She studied the woman more intently. Surely no one she knew was built like her. She almost reminded Britney of someone or something military. She stiffened and sat up as she felt a chill grip her.*.......No...never mind.....I...should go...I\rquote m feeling better now....*She lied as she moved to stand up.*

*Hyaline glances in the direction of the brick building indicated... coordinates and information sent back to her let her know exactly what it is, the price rates, conditions, address, everything, the techies paying close attention to what her visual programming relays to the headquarters. Then, Britney notes Hyaline's appearance... and the cyhunter can see it in the woman's eyes... can see sudden apprehension and even fear, confusion. She switches to infra red immediately in one cyber-eye... and knows, even without it, the woman is lying at the end. Hyaline stands as she does, towering over her, but the hand on her arm stays where it is, not tightening, not hurting, but gently restraining, keeping herthere* Maybe we should talk, Britney... and yes, Ah know yer name. Ah know all about you. Ah know why yer head hurts and why ya hear static. Ah'm surprised ya lasted this long, able to function under it. And Ah'm prepared to explain it all to ya, if ya wanna hear it. Ah'll tell you the truth. You know me, don't ya? Or Ah look familiar to ya? Ah should. We've met before, Britney, not long ago, really. Will ya hear me out? *its all very soft, gentle, and her eyes are sincere. She won't force this if she can help it, but she knows that damaged comlink must be agony... and obviously, the girl has amnesia. Probably a small mercy at the moment, tho its also an aggrivation. Hyaline has no idea how the other will respond, but she hopes this won't get difficult...*

*What Hyaline saw about the building is that it was one of the cheapest, poorest apartments in the area. Britney had been considering moving to a cheaper one further away from the park just so she could afford the trips to Washington DC, to meet the Master, even if by bus.* *Britney did stand and her alarm grew as Hyaline reached out to restrain her. She stopped, her strange red eyes looking up at the taller woman in bewilderment. A surge of adrenaline allowed her to push the pain to the back of her mind for a while as she listened in shock. Hyalines gentle tone, something much more genuine and intimate than even a kindly stranger would use caught her attention and held it.**Her knees gave way and she sat down again suddenly, then almost as if it was a back drop for the gentle voice, images the Master had helped her to recall flashed by. Faces associated with feelings of belonging, warmth. Half remembered names came to mind with the faces, flashes of other scenes, times going out with her friends. -Friends?- Yes...she had lots of friends, laughing, crying, working together. Then the images of a battle seemed to overlay those images. Feelings of outrage and fear enveloped her. She recalled screams and explosions, gunfire and a sudden, searing intense grief......a face... Something was there she could not recall.. Something lost forever. Tears filled her eyes.**She blinked and the tears ran down her cheeks, her attention returned to Hyalines words. Her eyes studied Hyalines face closely and a matching image came up, with a much different, almost alien emotional charge to it. A look of recognition crossed her face as her hand moved up to wipe the tears away.* ...Your....your ...H-Hyal.......something...*the last word muttered, and she nodded slowly in dawning comprehension.* ......Yes... I will listen..

*Raquel, Hyaline, is no psionic... she can't see all that's going thru Britney's mind, but the slow sit down, the tears, most of her Filename on the girl's lips... and the final acceptance. Hyaline smiles and sits down softly next to Britney, gaze to gaze, carefully connected, this was a welcome reaction* Yeah, Hyaline. An' you're called BloodShock sometimes. We used ta work f'r th' same people... the GUARD. You remember that at all?*She sighs and frowns, choosing words carefully before offering...* There was a fight, not too long ago... the complex security was breached, both sides lost a lot of good people. The Complex was destroyed, torn down, swallowed by the earth. You were somehow lost... somehow. We all though ya'd died, no one could find ya, Britney, or we'd nevah have taken so long in findin' ya. We don't leave our own behind. That noise ya hear? Well, you were fitted with a comlink in your head, made for mental communication, silent talking with thoughts if another has the device too. I got one. Anyway, whatevah happened to ya damaged it... its what hurting ya now, and what let us eventually find ya tho that took months. We didn't know what it was either. *she pauses there, waits for the information to sink in. She doesn't want to give too much too soon...*

Bloodshock? ...*Britney blinked in surprise and shook her head, wincing slightly as the pain began to return.* ....No I'm sorry....I don't remember much about the Guard ......only...pictures...pictures like...like silent movies......*Her words trailed off as she listened in growing disbelief to Hyaline. What she was hearing sounded so fantastic. How could she forget something like that? She tried to remember...there was an abyss.... Her hand moved again to her temple, rubbing the area there gently as she began to flash on images from the battle.* ~ The discordant blaring sounds of the alarm, the scramble to get out of the building, ready to fight with her blade. ~*She sat up, her eyes wide and staring as the connection was made. Her blade! Anger balled her fists as she recalled how it was stolen. Her attention returned to Hyaline, coming back to what the woman was saying.* ....huh?....A comlink?. .That\rquote s what's doing this?...yes...I remember .. I think...*But the memory of that seemed to come to her mind reluctantly. She winced again as Hyalines words brought visions of the battle to mind instead. Lost...she had been lost, her sword was lost ....and something else had been lost too.. Thoughts of the sword, of the fighting, then seeing that blond woman and -Him-....Tears filled her eyes as she realized that she could not even remember his name... ~ He was about to make a capture and she had felt a pang of jealousy at the way he looked at her...Then she saw his agonized expression when he touched her. ~*No!....* ~ There was a feeling of desperate hope....Let him not be killed....But the way he collapsed, convulsing...a feeling of despair clutched at her heart when she knew, without a doubt that he was dead... Unknown to the blond girl, Britney had turned to her, a murderous rage burning in her crimson eyes as she memorized every detail, intending to approach, her sword held ready to kill. Then there had been a warning shout and it felt like her head had exploded. ~...She went white...the color drained from her face and Britney leaned forward with a moan, her head in her hands. Her head hurt like it had been kicked by a mule* ......but....I don't -want- to remember!

*Hyaline is unaware of what exactly happened on the battlefield where it pertains to Bloodshock... she was busy trying to do her own thing and got chased off by a vet RUNner with no real powers to speak of and some foppish looking man in old-time clothing. She watches at Britney remembers and angers and hurts and then... Hyaline is concerned and sympathetic, and she reaches a hand out to lay gently on the smaller woman's shoulder, some soft support* Ah'm sorry, Ah really am. Ah'm sure this is all very difficult, but Britney... ya need to remember, ya've lost so much of yo'self already, yor past, yor friends... *her Slightly accented voice is calm, pleading, soft* Yor in pain and struggling. That comlink is not making things easy, its broken, needs to be fixed and replaced. Yor friends worry about ya, think ya've died, but look, yor here, yor alive. Ya had a job, a home, a place, a life, a mission... ya were taken care of an' paid well. Ya didn't have ta live like ya do now. *her tone doesn't alter but does become a little more intense* Ya need to rememeba sugah, ya need to know yor past.

Alright...I will try... What do you want me to do? *Britney opened tear wetted crimson eyes to look straight into Hyaline's, attempting a weak smile. She could see that she must confront the emotional pain, but the physical pain was getting in the way...Perhaps if the comlink was fixed, maybe she could think straight again. Hyalines people were the only ones who could do that...Hyalines people...her own people. A look of determination flashed across her face. This was her life she was talking about, a life that had been taken away from her and that she had a perfect right to. She had known by the empty feeling within her there was more to her life than what her recent past contained, much more. * I remember ..... I remember at least some things...enough to know you're telling me the truth..*She knew this like looking into another life time, saw faces, others and herself with them, knew that she had known them once. It was like seeing the empty pea pod. The details were gone, like the peas but the outside husk was still there, the sense of belonging, of love and duty were still intact. Also there was a sense that she was missing something important...something fundamental about herself. There was an internal "zap!" and the pain in her head grew sharper. She closed her eyes, wincing as new tears came to her eyes then slid down her cheek * ...But I can't remember it all with this headache....C-Can you make it stop....please?

*Hyaline reacts to the sudden, painful wince evident on Britney's face, startled and reaching out to her in great and growing concern. Her hand rests lightly on Britney's forearm, her brown brows knit together in sympathy. Finally, into those tear-dewed eyes, she nods* Ah course Ah can, sugah. More to tha point, th' people ya left behind can help ya. Le'me take ya back, sugah, le'me take ya to people who can make ya head stop hurting, who can help ya. Will ya le'me do tha'? They can help with yar memories, too. Let us try, Britney. We've been looking for ya for so long now. *Hyaline straightens and smiles, pulling to full height and stature, extending her hand to the pained woman before her* Jus' take mah hand. An' we'll go. *Those listening, the techies, signal med lab to be prepared, and, breaths held, they all seem to lean in, watch that cyber-relay through Hyaline's eyes, and another screen which displays a satellite feed, caught up, waiting for the hunter to be recovered, waiting for her to agree to be brought home. Susan, the commander-in chief, wipes away a tear and whispers to herself.... /oh, that poor, suffering girl.../*

*Britney looked up at Hyaline and then at the extendedhand and forced a small smile. Reaching out, without any hesitation, she took her hand and stood up herself.* Yes...I am ready to go. *She glanced disdainfully at the hateful apartment building she hadcalled home for the last few months. There was nothing for her there but a cold lonely existence. All she hadthat was important to her was in the small backpack onher back, her throwing stars and some of the originalclothing she had been wearing when she woke up. Theonly thing she regretted leaving was the sword,wherever it was. There was nothing else. Despite thepain in her head, she mustered a slight smirk at themystery she was likely to leave behind, thinkingespecially of those who had stared at her red eyes. Awave of resentment swept through her at her employer,the landlord ...those people she saw on the street. Shehad seen their thoughts in their faces. Maybe she was some sort of freak or vampire, or alien. No, she would be happy to leave this life behind. She took a deepbreath and released it. * Yes....Let's go now..