A "Silent" Dinner [Bow]

"I didn't think you'd take the offer Pops. You usually turn everyone down. So what gives?" a short young lady in a purple and violet colored hoodie commented to her father, an older man in his forties. He sat in the passenger seat looking over some reports on his Ipad while his daughter drove them to their destination. He used his free hand to sign "I can't explain it either. I just have a feeling about this one." In truth, he had one of his frequent "prophetic" dreams recently. He didn't consciously remember the details but still recognized the feeling of deja vu when he received the phone call. "Well I hope the food's good atleast," his daughter deadpanned as the pulled up to their destination.

On the outside it looked like a nice house for a family that was clearly doing well. But in person it gave off a different feeling. It slightly reminded him of his home in Europe when he lived with his parents. Only it was less inviting then his parents' home. "Geez, I should have worn something formal," his daughter joked. She glanced at him as he signed: "you should gave listened to me then." They both had a chuckle before hopping out and making their way to the door.

"So this goes without saying, try not to embarrass me by swapping baby stories 'kay pops?" she joked as they knocked on the door. Henry grinned slyly and signed: "My lips are sealed."

Kyoshi's father had just finished telling her, or rather, yelling her to make herself scarce. That this was an important dinner and he didn't want her to screw things up for him. Even though he knew that the man visiting with them this evening was like her in the way he thought she would mess things up. The girl, however, had no clue and so went up to her room without any arguing. Not like she could really argue anyway.

When a knock was heard, Kate, Kyoshi's mother, went and answered it with a beautiful white dress on and creepily perfect smile. "Ah, you must be Mr Henry, welcome. And who's this?" She smiled to the girl as she ushered them in.

Jake, Kyoshi's father, was sitting at the bar of the kitchen in black slacks with a white shirt and red tie. "That's Mr Henry's daughter, I presume! How nice of you to join us. I apologize, but I'm afraid our daughter is out for the evening." He lied so smoothly it was like breathing to him.

Henry nodded as he took his coat off, draping it around his arm while his daughter, Chessa reflected the smile with her own. She had learned a thing or two from her old man when he was forced to have company at home. "Oh, that's alright. When my father heard your daughter was mute he invited me along so she'd have someone closer to her age. But I can just translate for my dad here if you need me to," Chessa offered sincerely. She couldn't look up at her father but had a feeling they had both heard some yelling a moment ago. "I hope you don't mind if I keep this on. I hate to be without it," Chessa requested politely, casting Henry in an accommodating light.

Henry did indeed hear what Chessa heard. Even if he didn't, he could make an educated guess that the man was lying to him. The man's daughter being mute would obviously make social interaction difficult, so her not being here was odd just based on that fact. Also since he assumed she was younger then Chessa, he couldn't see her going out to much by herself. The city was a dangerous place and all. Plus based on the... home, he was getting a very controlling feeling and didn't believe they would let her roam unsupervised. This latter point would also explain the yelling they heard. He decided to put the matter behind him for the time being as he signed: "You have a lovely home."

"He says you have a lovely home," Chessa translated automatically. It was totally a reflex with how often she had to translate for people.

The house was not the most sound proof, so Kyoshi could hear practically every word that they were saying from all the way up in her room. She was going to simply ignore the guests like she always did, but, this one felt different to her. He had brought his daughter along just so Kyoshi would have company?? And then, she heard something else quite peculiar. The daughter said she could translate for her father if need be. Did he speak another language or something? It was very odd that the man her father had invited hadn't spoken yet. Usually they were full of compliments or ego boosting themselves, but this man, even if he did speak another language, he hadn't said a word.

Kate grimaced slightly when Chessa asked to keep her jacket on, but smiled politely. "Sure, sweetie. If you get warm though, just let me know, okay?" She walked away from them to the kitchen, her dyed platinum blonde hair not moving a centimeter in any direction as she did.

Jake smirked and stood up, stretching slightly, as if just for show. "Well, would you two care for a tour of the house? Our keeper takes very good care to keep each inch of our beautiful home spotless." And it was obvious. The entire house smelled like a hospital.

"I'm sure you'll skip the daughter's room then," Chessa thought to herself. Henry simply nodded, didn't need a translation for that. Chessa wondered where a forgotten daughter's room would be. Her first thought was upstairs, that seemed like the most likely place. Either that or the potentially, mental scarring basement. She already felt the parents were creeps as it was so wouldn't put it passed them to put her in the basement. "May I use your bathroom real fast?" Chessa asked. "Dad has an app on his Ipad so don't worry about not knowing what he says. I'll just be gone a few minutes."

Jake was just about to start walking when Chessa asked to use the restroom. He wrinkled his nose a bit, wondering what kind of person would ask to use their gracious host's bathroom? Especially so early in the evening?? He sighed and then forced a small smile. "Of course, however, he won't need the ipad. Both Kate and I are proficient in sign language as well. We do have a daughter after all." Again he was lying, but he did know enough to at least catch the gist of what he said, hopefully. "You can use the child's restroom upstairs. Second door to the right."

When she got upstairs, she would find there were two doors on each side of the hallway. And that hallway had no pictures and only one dim light. The first door on the left seemed to have the most wear from being opened and closed the most. And, unlike downstairs, the paint was starting to chip at the edges. Obviously this was never a part of their tour. Jake and Kate would never allow for anyone to see their house in such a "wreck". If she opened the door, she would find a small girl with striking crimson hair sitting on a white bed in a white room with a white dress on... playing a Nintendo 3DS.

Jake began the tour downstairs, showing off all of their expensive assets. They would come to a hallway with a door that had five locks on it, that Jake didn't even mention.

Chess wished she was a mind reader but would have to silently enjoy the expression on his face when she asked. She excused herself and vanished out of sight, leaving Henry to fend for himself. There may as well been a billboard saying where the kid's room was. Now if she were to guess what the room looked like, based on how everything else looked- Chess first poked her head into the bathroom for reasons only she knew before she suddenly appeared in Kyoshi's room. Her old man had taught her and her bro a thing or two.

He'd flip if he found out what she did but would try and play it off as her having l33t ninja skills. "Hey kiddo! Whatcha playing?" Chess asked giving her an inviting smile.


Henry meanwhile followed Jake for the tour, taking note of the door with all of the locks. He didn't bring any more attention to it. With everything going on right now and the fields they worked, Henry simply figured it was his own personal lab. Henry didn't make a point of checking up on people before meeting them all the time, but since this had been a "special" occasion he decided to see what he could dig up. Needless to say, he had reason to be wary. When he had a moment, Henry signed: "I've been following your research since my time here. I'm very interested in your work so far."

Kyoshi flinched when she heard the door open and started to tremble. When she saw the girl, her cheeks immediately turned red and she bit her lip. She instantly shook her head, trying to communicate with her to go away. Then she thought about it for a moment and realized this must be the mute guy's daughter she was listening to. The red head signed to her as quick as she could: [color#33cc99]-You shouldn't be here. My father will get upset if you take too long to get back.-[/color] Her eyes were wide with fear, undoubtedly having a scewed perception of her father's reality.

Downstairs, Jake finished the tour with Henry when he complimented the man on his research. A small sadistic grin crept to the corners of his lips before swiftly turning into a polite smile. "Why thank you. You know, my research would not have been nearly as complete if it hadn't been for my darling wife and child. I'm sorry I haven't had the chance to look at your previous studies, I'm sure they're fascinating."

((Actually Chess LITERALLY just appeared in her room xP))

Chess took one hand out of her pocket and signed: "That creepy dude? Forget about it. Pop has it covered." Chess sat on the bed next to her and peered down at the game she was playing. "Oh Yoshi's Island? I think I saw my dad playing that at one point," Chess said offhandedly. "I know it isn't any of my business. But do you know why your dad would lie about you not being here?" Chess asked with a softer tone of voice.


Henry simply nodded. He already knew about that bit. It was difficult to find metahuman specimens willing enough to let themselves be poked and prodded, Henry couldn't blame them. The sole reason he constantly told his children never to reveal their gifts was to avoid becoming a lab rat. That was also why he also hid his powers. That only left those metahumans who had been locked up and weren't doing anything for society, or the dead. Henry didn't personally endorse either of those options but that didn't take them out of practice. So in order to get so far in his research as he did, that only left his family. And based on the evidence piling up before now, he had concluded that to be the daughter that "wasn't here."

Henry signed: "All of that is old news anyway. Nothing you'd find useful." Which was mostly true. He had been involved in alot of research in his youth before finally being allowed to perform his own studies. Henry continued and signed: "I must admit to being envious that you have such a... gifted daughter." This was more of a ruse to keep him talking and possibly let slip what it was that made his daughter so special.

Henry boasted in confidence and pride when he communicated that he was jealous of his daughter. Maybe he should have let her come down for once. No, she would have ruined this for him somehow. "Ah yes. We were truly blessed to have our little girl. From the day she was born, we knew she would be special. Thankfully I have such an open minded wife and we both wanted what was best for her, so we provided the... optimal environment in which to explore her powers to the fullest."

In other words, they created the most opportunistic research plans to study both her brain and body, through any means necessary. Since they were here parents, they could force her consent since she was not at the age to do so herself. And, now that she is technically handicapped, they can continue to do so. So, as horrible as it may seem, they were doing all of this legally.

Upstairs, Kyoshi bit her lip and started to tremble when Chess sat on the bed with her. She wasn't used to having anyone else in her room and she honestly didn't know how to handle it. After she asked the question, Kyoshi gulped and thought about her answer. Slowly, she signed the best string of words she could come up with. -I'm a failed experiment to them.-

Henry noticed in all of that exposition that there wasn't anything regarding what their child thought about it. So far it was completely as he feared. He was hoping Chessa was enjoying herself. For now Henry continued to sign: "Indeed, your research has helped our Metahuman studies greatly." Henry was of course speaking of S.T.A.R.S as a whole. It was a point of study for him once awhile back but he went onto other things of more pressing concern. So it stood to reason that the fact he was here in Jump now meant he was delving back into the subject. He didn't need to lie yet, though exaggerating here and there didn't seem to hurt.


"I'm Francesca by the way. But everyone calls me Chess or Chessa for short," Chessa introduced herself before actually having a look around her room. White was quickly becoming one of her least favorite colors. "Sounds like they wouldn't miss ya then if I were to take you someplace fun," Chess offered impishly. "In that case... gimme a minute," she never stopped grinning as she slipped out of Kyoshi's room and made "her way" downstairs.

She found her pops and the creepy dude in no time. "Sorry it took so long. I got a text from lil bro. Says there's an emergency at home and is freaking out and stuff. So I'm gonna have to leave for awhile. Sorry about missing dinner, smells delicious," Chessa apologized in as sincere a tone she could muster. She was suddenly not that hungry anyway.

Henry made a surprised and worried face before signing: "Is it serious?" Henry was nearly sure it was just Chessa making an excuse for herself, but wasn't going to ignore the possibility that she wasn't.

"I dunno. Only got a word or two per text that didn't tell me anything. You know how he panics over little things. Anyway, I should be done by the time you're ready to leave. So just text me and I'll come pick you up if I can," Chessa replied excusing herself again. When she was out the door, she warped herself back up to the hallway outside of Kyoshi's room. She poked her head in and signed: "Ready to go?"

Kyoshi blinked when the girl introduced herself and blushed lightly. Before she could respond to that though, the girl had already started to make a plan for the two of them. Going somewhere fun? At this time of night? She did have a point though... The girl bit her lip and signed slowly. -My name is Kyoshi, it's nice to meet you, Chessa. You are right. They won't notice that I'm gone but...- Before she got the rest of her thoughts out, the girl seemed to have assumed she was finished and told her to hang on for a second. As she left, Kyoshi just sat on the bed, lost and confused.

Jake continued to self-absorbingly flaunt over his amazing discoveries in the field of metahuman genetics. However, if Henry was indeed well read in his studies, he would know that most of what Jake had "discovered" were actually things that other scientists had already concluded based on inferences from natural observation, he just proved it in the lab setting. A lot of the research he had done was quite pointless in the grand scheme of things. His only major contribution was his theory on the expedition of the meta gene being influenced by electrical pulse.  However, it said that his experiment on that subject was "still in progress".

When Chessa came downstairs to say that she had to leave for a family emergency, neither Jake or Kate bat an eyelash. If anything, Jake seemed annoyed that she interrupted his story time. He tched but then quickly looked apologetic. "We'll miss you sweetie, please be safe." And then he swiftly turned away to go check on things in the kitchen while the father and daughter talked so... adoringly. It wasn't natural to him.

Kyoshi was still sitting on the bed when Chessa returned and bit her lip. She should get changed out of this if they were really going somewhere. She looked over to her and blushed, signing quickly now. -Give me a second please.- As soon as the door was closed, the small framed child got up and swiftly through on jeans and a simple...white t-shirt. But at least she had jeans now. She opened her door and smiled weakly to Chessa, heart going crazy in her chest. -Where are we going?- The girl was terrified of leaving this house, but was more excited to see where this strange special girl would take her.

Chess' cheshire grin widened after Kyoshi got ready. To make sure no one heard them through the paper thin walls, she signed: "Normally I know a 'shortcut' to a few good places. But your folks might wonder why there's a car still in their driveway." Pops was always on her butt about using her power to teleport so freely. So she was glad he didn't know of ALL the times she used it when it was most convenient for her. He'd have a heart attack! She quickly signed: "Okay kiddo, for this to work without either of us getting busted, you're gonna have to close your eyes for a moment and take my hand." This wasn't at all strange because it was a girl asking right? Chess didn't care!

Once Kyoshi did what Chessa asked, both of them would end up inside of Chessa's car. Well- it was a rental actually, the family hadn't fully committed to living in Jumpcity just yet. "Aw, yeah. Feels great to be out of there," Chessa commented fumbling through her keys. Why did she have so many? "So- anyplace you wanna go in particular?" Chessa asked as they started to pull out of the driveway, after Kyoshi buckled up too.

Henry meanwhile... now had to endure this dinner on his own. He texted Chessa under the table: "You're buying dinner for the rest of the week."

Kyoshi looked extremely nervous when Chessa signed that she would have to close her eyes and hold her hand for this to work. What was she doing? Was she actually going to trust this stranger to whisk her away during the night? What if she never brought her back?? On second thought, that didn't sound so terrible. The fragile child bit her lip and took her hand as instructed, closing her eyes as her body trembled fearfully.

When she opened them again, she was surprised to find that they were in the car, giggling when Chessa commented on being happy to get out of their. Kyoshi tugged on her jacket lightly to get her attention so that she could sign to her. -Sorry about that. I swear they want it to feel like an asylum in there.- The red head smiled, trying to make a joke that probably wasn't very funny. The girl thought about her second question and shrugged. -I don't know what's open. I'm always home by 5.- That was her curfew. She had been late only once before, and it did not end well for her. The thought sent a shiver down her spine and she buckled up before bringing her knees to her chest, starting to have second thoughts about her second thoughts.

"Hey don't sweat it. I'll have you back no problem. Maybe," Chessa assured her jokingly. She obviously didn't know enough about Kyoshi or her home to have an idea of what not getting her back home on time would mean. Even if she did want to see the looks on her folks' faces when they finally get around to noticing she's missing, she wasn't going to risk her getting into trouble any more then she already was. They were in the city now. Chessa seemed to be looking for something specific and was wishing that she didn't have this car. "I got a brother around your age. I think you'd like him," Chessa commented offhandedly as they waited at a light. Chess checked her phone and giggled, showing Kyoshi her father's text.

And then her phone started ringing. Plugging her phone into a blue tooth, a voice called out "Hello? Chessa?" it was definitely a teenaged boy.

"Did ya sneeze bro? I was just talking about ya?" Chessa replied.

"Uh... er no. What? Anyway- how's the dinner going?" he asked curiously.

"I'll know in a couple of hours give or take," Chessa said making a vague reference to bowel movements.

"Ew..." Daniel commented, clearly taking it as that.

"So what are you up to right now bro?" Chessa spoke, meanwhile using one hand to sign to Kyoshi: "You wanna meet em?" All the while avoiding civilian casualties! Helped that traffic was bad.

"Nothing really at the moment," there was a car horn on his end that both Chessa and Kyoshi may have also heard from outside the car.