Downward Road [Helena, everyone!]

[Dakari Johessman]

Fifth Avenue, Manhattan
24 February 2015, 11:58 AM

The paparazzi had long since learned not to follow the Johessman ladies. The first time, just after Lucius Kilvayne had earned the Presidency, Dakari had done them the courtesy of reducing their cameras to specks of metal on the ground. Since then, due to the value of their equipment, they had given the Johessmans their relative privacy.

Dakari Johessman, as the almost-FLOTUS, tended to generate a fair amount of publicity, even without any cameras on her. The union of the Kilvayne and Johessman families was the biggest topic the gossip ‘zines had seen in a while. And it was certainly worth talking about. Not only was Dakari positioned to become the First Lady, she was one of the First Daughters of the Dominion of Jamaica. She and her sisters and brothers, of course, now that Rayleigh and the newly-returned Shawn Johessman were the leaders-for-life of the Caribbean.

New York found the young women browsing along Fifth Avenue for some much needed retail therapy. Despite having been instructed not to say anything to anyone about it, Andrea had filled her sisters in on the date she’d had with Daymon Hardt. There were no secrets among the Johessmans; Lord knew there were enough secrets around them without them worrying about each other.

The sisters were happy to be joined by their their sister-by-adoption, Helena Rahal. They walked in a group, arm in arm, along the street, peeking into stores and going into the ones they liked. Since Helena still seemed to have an understandable wariness toward Dakari, it was Ana and Andrea who were on each of Helena’s arms, with Dakari, Maori, and ChaToiya close behind.

They all had shopping bags along their arms as well, bumping against each of their sides. “I still say you should have borrowed a few Secret Service to help us carry these bags, sis,” ChaToiya told Dakari, only half-joking. The other sisters laughed, however.

“I actually don’t think Lucius would mind,” Dakari remarked with a smile. “I’ll have to run by that him next time.”

“You say that every time!” Ana called back to her twin, laughing. Then, to Helena, she said, “I’m getting hungry, sis. What are you thinking for lunch?”

They strolled a little farther when Ana tripped. “Whoa. Pretend you didn’t see that,” Ana said.

“Ana?” Dakari said, stopping in her tracks. “I don’t think that was just you.”

The tremors in the ground began to grow, until the windows in the shops next to them began to tremble and the signs to waver back and forth. “Earthquake,” Dakari said. “Find cover!”

Some of the windows began to blow out, sending fractures of glass everywhere, and Maori, Drea, and Ana ducked, while Dakari and Toiya ran back, accidentally causing the already-confused traffic to swerve around itself even more. Ana pushed Helena and Drea against the wall of a shop and motioned for them to keep their heads down. “Kari! Toiya!” Drea screamed, but as the women were trying to make their way back to the sidewalk the tremors were growing, continuously knocking them off balance, and they barely caught Drea’s and Ana’s outstretched hands.

[Helena Rahal]

Breathing in, lightning,
Tonight is for fighting

More and more Helena found herself moving about, going to and fro with no real purpose but to not be idle. She had wanted to spend more time with her children and her wife, yet that seemed to be more of a strain than ever before. In a word, she was quite restless, teeming with power and anxious energy. So far she had done a good job in not exploding on someone in the office or in her many trips for her various works. How she had managed to get herself with her hands in so many cookies jars still surprised her.

All she had wanted when she was in her youth was to uncover more history, to record what had transpired in a clear and unbiased way. History so often was written by the victors, facts fudged because it made the victorious parties look better. One only had to look at how most of the so called Western world looked at the Middle East and Muslims to see that practice in effect. If not for Muslim scholars preserving much of the advances of the peoples they conquered, there never would have been a Renasciance and the so much history and scientific advances lost. Still, people viewed them as vile barbarians, it was ridiculous.

Maybe that was why she had actually accepted Gabriel Constant's proposal to become a Director of the Company. To speak the truth in a regime that could easily manipulate things to whatever outcome they desired. She was aligned with them but she was not a part of their cause, she was not a part of their shared vision. What she was and what she stood for, that seemed to change more often than the flutters of her heart, but even so she had lines that she dared not cross.

The previous regime crossed them though, crossed them with a heavy hand and their hubris came upon their head like an avalanche. Would the Kilvayne regime make the same mistakes, would they cross lines that would send their agents, their allies, and their assets against them? Perhaps they were the better regime, a regime for peace and traquility, for equality for everyone as they tried to portray. Helena wanted to believe that but a nagging voice in the back of her mind said that she needed to question everything, to not accept anything at face value. It simply couldn't be done though, else she would find herself miserable.

The Johessman clan, minus the deranged Dakari, were good for trying to wind oneself out of ones own thoughts and anxiety. They were carefree and all sorts of fun, which was exactly what Helena needed right now to purge herself of all the restless energy she had. Some retail therapy in the heart of New York City certainly fit the bill, even with the cold weather. Helena was in fact enjoying herself as they went through the various shops, the burdens of her tasks forgotten for the time.

"What do you say to some pizza? I know this one hole in the wall place that is absolutely to die for. And they have unlimited breadsticks to boot!"

Helena felt something off though, a power surge flowing through the ground beneath their feet and racing to the surface, even before the girls stumbled. She was about to warn the others when Ana pushed her out of the way, against the wall. Trying to recover her balance, Helena knew she needed to intervene, but what could she do against an earthquake? She couldn't stop it... but maybe she could mitigate the damage.

Throwing down the sacks she was carrying, Helena reached to the buildings and earth immiedately around her, and began to mentally push their energies towards stabilization. The rest of the Johessmans could help one another if she could only keep the buildings up and the ground from shaking too much...

[Lucius Kilvayne]

WE ARE KILL GODS

We make this world worth saving
Are you prepared to believe?
Kill everything that kills you
Live long and die for me!

Lucius Kilvayne was a busy man these days. Being President of the United States was a
demanding job, but he was equal to the task. No, he was superior to it.The world was damn
lucky he was there to rule it. Many of the people running other countries weren't on the same page, but they would be- or they would find their nations suffering calamities never seen before. That was the Kilvayne way, after all. He had been working with Congress to nullify laws he had disagreed with, for personal reasons and philosophical reasons. He was also thinking about his long term plans, as usual.

A knock came at the door to his office. This was not the Oval shaped one on this particular day. He had maintained an office in the Avalon House in Manhattan, as he and Kari would visit the city where they met often enough to warrant a place for him to communicate with his Vice President and Cabinet members.

"Come in," Lucius said, as a Secret Service escorted official entered. A diplomat or lobbyist of some sort had managed to dig up the location of the President's secret location. Lucius was quite annoyed that someone had given the information out. Someone was getting fired.

"Hello Dr. Kilvayne," The man said with a plastic smile on his ace, " My name is Dr. Robert Jameson. I am a representative from the US Geological survey. We have some anomalous patterns we would like to discuss regarding seismic activity in the area of the northeastern coast. We think an earthquake may strike somewhere along the Atlantic coast in the next few weeks."

"You couldn't send me an email?" Lucius said, with a hint of irritation in his voice.

"We did, and it has gone unanswered."


Lucius was about to retort, when the ground started shaking. The Secret Service agents moved quickly to get their President out of the building.

"A few weeks, you say? Looks like right fucking now, Dr. Jameson." Lucius snapped as they exited the building. He had to get to Kari, but the ground was too unsteady. He took off, as his agents impotently protested. The static in the air gave him lift and propulsion, and he was flying toward Fifth Avenue. He saw the women ducking for cover. That was good. What he didn't see was the loose debris falling from its place in the skyline above him. He was focused on landing next to his beloved.

The chunk of sign or building hit him with a glancing blow on the head with enough force to knock him out. As darkness overtook his mind, his body fell to the Earth. He hit the ground near where Dakari Johessman, her sisters and Helena Rahal had been walking. He almost made it...

[Dakari Johessman]

Screaming. The entire city was screaming. But it was not the people Dakari was hearing, although there was chaos descending among them all. She could hear her sisters, feel ChaToiya tugging her along, but she was motionless, held captive by the screams that rang aloud in her head.

It was the buildings. They were screaming.

Metal against metal, screeching, swaying, connected to Dakari mentally through her ability. She covered her ears, as though that would help, and knelt down, all too aware of the automobiles scattered around her. They were screaming too, in confusion, for help, help Dakari was too disoriented to give.

Through the buildings she could feel something tugging at them, a power that was not hers. It was Helena trying to stabilize them, she knew, but she wondered whether the woman knew how much pain the buildings were in. And while some might ask how a building, how metal, could feel pain, the answer was simple if worked in reverse: the affinity toward metal in Dakari’s body communicated with her nervous system, making her their conduit, their center. Their heart.

There was a sound above her, a collision of something against a chunk of metal, and Dakari flinched on its behalf, peeking up to see what had happened. From the sky fell a steel beam - and a body. Dread forced its way into her blood as she turned to look, knowing already by instinct who it was. He crashed into the pavement just yards away from her, and, forgetting everything, forgetting the shaking, the screaming, she ran over to him, checked his pulse and breathing, cradled his head against her chest.

Now she was the one screaming, although the sound was nearly lost among the rest, her screams and her wails as Dakari Johessman cried, tears streaming down her cheeks, as she held and rocked the unconscious body of her beloved.

[Helena Rahal]

When angels fall with broken wings
I can't give up, I can't give in
When all is lost and daylight ends
I'll carry you and we will live forever

Helena pushed against the earth and the collapsing buildings around her with all of the power she could muster. As strong as a elemental Special as she knew she was, even that strength could not stop an earthquake, especially one of this magnitude. While it may have been the wiser of choices to go for cover and let what happen may, those sort of decisions were taken by people who were not the head of the Company. Those were the decisions taken by people who would rather survive than live, something that Helena had long since cast aside.

Try as she may though, she was powerless to stop the buildings from spraying forth debris. She was as vulnerable as any as she fought gravity and the earthquake from toppling down all of the buildings around them. The screams of the people around her and the Johessman's certainly were not helping in the slightest either, as one lapse of concentration could have easily seen the entire block come crushing down. She could feel the strain of her powers on her body, her biceps, triceps, and hamstrings burning as the exertion took its toll.

How would it be broadcast to the nation when all was said and done, would they think that the new codirector of the Company had gone rouge It certainly could have looked that way, despite Helena trying to do the exact opposite of cause the destruction that was at hand. She almost laughed as she could see the headlines in her head with a photo of her straining like she was, it was the perfect opportunity for fearmongerer's to strike. Though the fuel needed for their fires was never much and Helena had dealt with far worse.

It however was a scream and crying close to her that had Helena take a glance at where one large piece of debris had fallen. There was an audible gasp as she made out the unconcious and bloodied body of Lucius Kilvayne in the hands of Dakari. Had that been where they were headed all this time, to meet with the President for lunch after their trip to the stores? How had she missed where they were in the city as they had made their way back?

"Shit! Shit! SHIT! Fuck sake, someone grab Dakari and Lucius, I don't know how much longer I can keep this from becoming another ground zero." Her voice was loud but also stressed as she felt her right knee getting ready to buckle under the strain she was putting it under. How much longer could she keep the earthquake from ravaging the city, how much longer could she keep the buildings from taking their lives in its crash? The answer was simple, however long she needed to...

[Dakari Johessman]

Here I could stay
but I’ll keep moving on

How long were earthquakes supposed to last? Ana had no idea, but she knew she was getting tired. Tired of feeling the emotions of the people running scared and honking their horns and crying for God’s divine Help. She was tired of the trembling of the ground and the sounds of the buildings and all the noise and fear. And just when she thought she had truly had enough, that the world could collapse around her and she would not care, she saw her sister crumple in a heap around what she had at first taken to be just another chunk of debris.

Slipping closer, she saw the scene more closely: Dakari was holding Lucius in her arms and crying like a lost child. Hearing Helena’s voice, she looked over to where her friend was trying to hold everything together. It was amazing, just amazing, that the lone Helena had managed to save everyone - or near enough - for so long. But now she needed help.

Ana glanced back to the tender scene between Dakari and Lucius, and then out to the crowd, the general madness. Then Ana stood up carefully, picked her way over to the couple, and slapped Dakari cold across the woman’s face.

“There’s time for that,” Ana shouted, trying her best to sound detached and imperious. “Right now, this city is about to fold in on Helena, and she needs your help. Lucius would ask you to do the same.” She glared at the woman. “I’ll look after him. Now go!”

As Dakari stood up, Ana slipped in and took hold of Lucius, taking stock of his injuries. All she really saw were the impacts to his body caused by whatever had hit him and his contact against solid ground. He had been flying, she presumed. To where? To them, to Dakari?

Crossing the space in a few long steps, Dakari stopped not far from where Helena was straining to hold everything in place. Tears were still streaming from her eyes, and screams still reverberated outside and inside and around her head. With a feral, despondent scream, she pushed her arms out - and the skyscrapers, the cars, everything metal came to a halt.

The ground continued to shake, but the buildings stayed in place, as though removed from their foundations. The buildings kept screaming, from the unnatural pressure against them. She reached out to them, held them calm, and they quieted.

And in the next few seconds, the earthquake itself stopped, and, gradually, so did the madness. Dakari dropped to her knees, where sobs wracked her frame. ChaToiya stood up and placed one hand on Helena’s shoulder and reached out with the other to touch Dakari’s head. Dakari pushed herself up on her elbows and crawled back to Ana and Lucius, where she wrapped herself around Lucius and continued to cry.

Andrea and Maori joined them there; Maori knelt down beside Kari and Drea made her way over to Helena. Pressing a little kiss to the woman’s forehead, Drea took Helena’s hands and said, “Thank you, sis.”