Hey all, it's my birthday (on the 20th of this month), so I thought I'd give you all a present. I figure I've kept you all waiting long enough...

Well I ran into a serious case of creator's block, but now I'm past it, so I'm getting back into a lot of things that I've been neglecting, like my writing, web/graphic design, etc.

I decided to make Bob's (don't worry, that won't be his name forever) power a mental one, that is, he alters other's perception of himself, and only himself. It makes sense, seeing as River's powers are of a similar (mental) nature, and that's what Blue Sun seems to have been the most interested in.

And yes, I don't mind resurrecting people, especially when they're awesome. I mean, I read fantasy for cryin' out loud. Resurrection is practically normal.

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"They know all about you." River commented to Bob, who was standing behind her chair in the cockpit.

He only nodded.

"The little bird didn't tell them. The Samurai did."

River was looking at the controls, but she knew he was nodding again. She hadn't gotten to see him much at the Academy, but she knew that he wasn't a man of many words. He hadn't even made a sound the one time she fought him.

And he knew who she was talking about. He had been at the Academy longer, and they had pumped every scrap of information they had into his brain. They never knew what, or who, would eventually have to be destroyed.

"The little bird flew when she knew that her brother was near. She thought you were dead."

"She had every reason to think so." Bob finally responded.

Although his feelings were clearly readable, his thoughts were completely invisible, so River asked, "What happened?"

"They shot me, threw me onto a pile of garbage. I woke up. I worked in a scrap yard. Then I came."

River leaned back in her chair and sighed. Bob's feelings had been contradictory in the cargo bay. Strictly controlled rage for nearly everything that lived had coexisted side-by-side with unswerving devotion for herself. Th