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LizardOfAus (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#251: Aug 21st 2017 at 2:05:39 PM

Jeeze... Hell in a handbasket, I think one of the girls is suddenly- yep, she's yelling at me right now for...listening in on their conversation? "Wh- Bd- Dt- Jf- Plk-" I respond, hands in the air and eyes darting over my shirt like she just threw a ketchup bomb on me for no good reason, which in a proverbial sense she sort-of did. Finally, I manage to muscle through my bewilderment long enough to retort. "The hell did I do here?! One polite nod and suddenly I'm an eavesdropper?!" Probably shouldn't lay it on too thick, otherwise she'll get all finger-pointy and say I'm overly defensive. "You know what, fine. Go flatter yourself all you like and go fftstuff yourself while you're at it, the three of you." One last dismissive wave and off I go, marching on with my shoulders hunched high.

And a Strange Figure Emerges.
wikkit Since: Sep, 2009
#252: Aug 21st 2017 at 9:31:23 PM

Ivy, Reluctant Mystery Solving Gang
...Ivy was pretty certain that the one who tried to kill her was the almost-rapist girl with the purple skin. She had seen Zia crying just before, and it was reasonable to assume it was because she was in quite a lot of pain, right? The revelation that it was Zia didn't exactly inspire confidence in her own choice.

Ivy quietly whispered back "Sorry," entirely reflexively, almost as much pained as she was afraid.

As for the other girl, Vivian...Ivy had seen her a few times before, just like she had most people here, but most importantly she remembered her not sounding like this at all. The usual guess would be "maybe she has a cold" but considering yesterday's events, the usual anything was out the window.

"Yeah. I am," she replied matter-of-factly, before going back into her usual routine when Vivian's approval rating of Zia shot through the roof. "...Are you okay—uhh, Yeah, I...me and a friend—"

Getting cut off again in favor of her suddenly lashing at someone else, Ivy held her tongue to look up and see...oh. Simon. He must've been the guy nodding...at her.

She stared at him, and continued to stare at him as he stopped short of cursing at all of them before storming off.

"...Hi," she simply said, unable to think of any other good response.

"...I was trying to s-say," she continued, trying to put all of that behind her, "He had a book about...teenagers getting superpowers. I had a friend read it yester-overnight, and..." She reached for her phone, which once again was surprisingly not there. "...Crispin said he hoped I wasn't hurt or anything. On the radio. I didn't see him...in real life or anything...I need to t-talk to my friend."

edited 21st Aug '17 9:31:38 PM by wikkit

Lt.BGob The Fantabulous from The Merry Ol' Land of Oz Since: Apr, 2014 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Fantabulous
#253: Aug 22nd 2017 at 10:16:27 PM

Rogers High School, The Corridor

Zia suddenly looked distinctly embarassed as she realising a few of her thoughts had accidentally creeped into someone else's head again, "Oh, uh- Sorry, I uh..." She stumbled over the apology, trying to keep her mind to herself. She wasn't even entirely sure how she projected the words in the first place, but she did try and the punk was a little more concerned by the distinct lack of emotion she could 'sense' from Vivian. Her sense of humour had also apparently vanished, or at least her ability to effectively convey it - either way, highly concerning, "Viv, are you alright? You're kinda..." Brayne then realised announcing that she was constantly seeing everyone's innermost thoughts without permission wasn't the best thing to bring up mid-conversation, "Never mind, let's start this crazy-superpowered-bookclub." Zia sighed and approached the vacant classroom, "So, what was that book called anyway...?"

The punk was studiously trying to ignore the ball of thoughts surrounding Simon as he eavesdropped on them, trying to let him sink into the symphony of the town's psychic presence. However, she caught a glimpse of the familiar confusion from last night still fresh in his memories and stopped herself, "Simon, we know you were in the blackout - if you wanna help us figure out what the flying fuck is going on, now is the time." Zia called as he tried to turn and leave, "Or you can go fiddle with yourself and your powers like you were planning - your choice." She added with a shrug.

“Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”
Uncandescent One Brunch Man Since: Jul, 2010 Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
One Brunch Man
#254: Aug 22nd 2017 at 11:31:17 PM

Rogers High School

As Benedict rattled off a section from Dr. Doolittle Quarterly, Hyeon all but traded glances with the squirrel sticking out of his bag before the animal retreated back inward to make more bedding out of his Chemistry homework. “Uh, yeah, that’s one way, to…” Hyeon began as he scratched at the back of his gelled mane, trying to turn Benedict’s words into significance just as surely as the other boy was trying to understand Kwang’s rapid-fire chittering. But as Benedict went on, Hyeon’s already-hesitant smile gradually faded as two things became fairly obvious. First, Benedict could definitely not talk to animals. And second...

As Benedict attempted to the get up, he would find Hyeon’s hand meeting him in kind, attempting to stop him in place with all traces of his formerly relieved expression replaced with the familiar air of reflexive, casually hostile disdain he usually reserved for every time Benedict opened his mouth. “Sit. Down.” Hyeon would say, before further attempting to grip Benedict’s disheveled shoulder and push him back down onto his wooden stool. Were Hyeon successful, he would then sit down behind Benedict, pressing their backs together as the Korean student let out a loud, irritated sigh that the Tudor tutor would also be fairly familiar with. “Leave it to you to get the bitching-est, white person-est power in existence. What, do you uncontrollably shit gold too? Here,” Hyeon’s tone was bitter and confrontational as he proffered the earbud behind him, but Benedict might be able to catch on that it was every bit as forced as the armbands currently poking the student in the side. I’ve always wanted to take him down a peg, Hyeon thought to himself, offering a silent apology to his "Two It to Do It" playlist, but… not like this…

Coming out of the bud’s grated surface, Benedict might be able to hear the alternating sounds of crashing waves, radio static, whale song, and the first few bars of Seal’s “Kiss From a Rose” before it was hastily flipped past in favor of yet more soothing background noise. “Just, close your eyes, tell me which one you like, and we’ll stay here until you’ve calmed down. Then we can talk about last night. All of the parts you weren’t naked.”

edited 22nd Aug '17 11:44:30 PM by Uncandescent

If I had that kind of power, I'd have dropped a meteor on your house ages ago~
darksidevoid Anti-Gnosis Weapon from The Frontiers (Time Abyss) Relationship Status: Robosexual
Anti-Gnosis Weapon
#255: Aug 23rd 2017 at 6:21:19 PM

Auditorium — Won't you shake a poor sinner's hand?

Probably to his credit, the only response Finn seemed to show to Shooter's comment regarding his father was a slight thinning of his own smile. In the secrecy of his own mind, however, the possible ways he was choosing to spin the entire scenario suddenly narrowed to just one. If this was the way it was going to be, then let Shooter dig himself a little deeper, even if it meant staying silent on that particular topic for the moment. The actual act of pulling it off might be a little difficult and rely too much on luck, but at this point, there was no way in hell Finn Flannagan wasn't about to do everything he could to drag the principal down with him.

"Well, like I was saying, I'm not going to ask you to do anything arduous," he assured easily, climbing the stage's side-steps to stride over to Shooter, "I'd just like you to give me your hand for the next four minutes, and after that, I'll explain everything."

Fiddling with his digital watch, he set the timer accordingly, then stretched out expectantly for a handshake.

GM: AGOG S4 & F/WC RP; Co-GM: TABA, SOTR, UUA RP; Sub-GM: TTS RP. I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my new Empire.
pillowmantis Happy Box Hater Since: Jun, 2014 Relationship Status: What is this thing you call love?
Happy Box Hater
#256: Aug 23rd 2017 at 8:03:41 PM

Auditorium

So that's how it was going to be. Jacob knew he couldn't win anymore, not unless his mother managed to produce strange evidence of his innocence somehow... honestly he wasn't sure if that was unlikely. Wouldn't be the first time she managed something similar, though it definitely wouldn't end well for him if she needed to bail him out of a situation. He'd take the detention over that.

Benjy was a fly according to Michal. That made more sense then the conclusion Jacob was slowly starting to reach about the effects of the incident on himself. There was a monster right out of horror movie history in the place of a normal teenager. This was deeply unsettling on many levels, especially since the acid melting vents was quite an obvious show of this thing's capabilities. Also, he happened to read some things before about flies that would really be quite dramatically dangerous if granted to a human intellect.

With the same quiet voice they were using, Jacob said "I can't believe I'm saying this, but what do you mean by him turning into a fly? Do you know if it was a house fly or a fruit fly or what? And... well can you tell me what he did exactly? I might be able to guess how smart he is if I could get something about that." Yes that's right, if he couldn't avoid this chaos then he'd just have to apply methodology and procedure to it. Alleviate the stress of it all by making it manageable.

The Finn guy that Shooter seemed all too willing to believe just because of a little promise of information was clearly planning something. Well, let the guy have it then. No one should be spared punishment for the sin of punishing Jacob aside from his mother. Jacob watched closely, intently observing whatever followed.

Why is a yam attacking me?
Stratofarius huzzaaaaaaaah Since: Aug, 2011
huzzaaaaaaaah
#257: Aug 26th 2017 at 1:54:53 PM

Auditorium

"Well, do you?" Michal replied hastily to Adam, gritting his teeth at the though of facing whatever Benjy had become. "The way they described him didn't sound nice at all. What if he hurts us? How in the world can we help someone who wants to eat us?! Besides, how in the world would we find him? He's probably hidden very well, a-a-and then we'd have to spend all day out trying to find a giant bug monster, do we just go out with a sign that says 'please eat me'-"

"I found him." Barbra muttered, showing her phone to the others. It displayed an article from a badly formatted website with an annoying deep blue background that said GIANT BUG MONSTER SEEN IN OLDPORT?!?!?! THE MONSTER SQUAD IS ON THE CASE! "Says here that a giant thing was seen near the old warehouses north of town. Though this website does seem to be run by insane people. There's an article about how the mayor of Oldport is part of a brotherhood of clones too. Who... who reads stuff like this?"

Shooter looked at Finn and scoffed, but even his laughter couldn't survive Finn's ballsy move. "Alright, Mr. Flannagan." He said, reaching for Finn's hand. "You've got what you want—"


Four hours ago

Shooter shoves another Twinkie in his mouth as he watches the police officers going through the security camera's footage. "Did you—" He mumbles before gulping down the sugary treat. "Did you find anything?"

"Not yet, sir." The police officer said as they scrolled back and forth on footage from last afternoon's events, though from Shooter's perspective, Finn would see that the footage looked incredibly normal, with all of the students just walking silently and cryptically towards the exit. If it wasn't for the visuals, one could easily pass this off as a robotic animation or a wannabe artist's first attempt at making humans walk. But for all intents and purposes, it looked very much like the real deal. "We'll call you when we find out more, sir." The officer said, waving at the exit.

Luckily, Shooter was already halfway through both the door and another Twinkie as he anxiously reached inside a box marked 'Emergency Twinkies'. "This is bad, this is bad, this is bad." He muttered to himself as he speed-walked through the empty school corridors, past teachers talking amongst one another and a very freaked out looking Mr. Morrison trying to engage in a conversation with Ms. Simone, who just kept looking at him like he was insane. Still, this was Shooter's memory, and whatever they were talking about, Finn couldn't hear it. "This is bad, this is bad, this is bad."

He stepped inside his office, hands already grasping for another Twinkie, when he saw the woman sitting in his desk. She was lithe, tall, wearing dark glasses and sporting an impeccable suit and tie combination capable of rivaling even the most suave of spies. Her long braided hair went all the way down to the small of her back, and her features were bony, thin and incredibly sharp. She shot a perfectly white smile over at Shooter and pointed one half-gloved hand at the door. "Close it, please." She said, her voice having a higher pitch than usual.

Shooter did as ordered, the dumbest 'I just got caught' look on his face and his hand still inside the Twinkie box. "Thank you, Principal Shooter." The woman said, jumping up to her feet and clasping her hands. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Agent Travers." She said, looking around in her pockets. "I'd show you my badge, but as it turns out the government can be quite bureaucratic when you ask them to change your name, so-" She pulled out a standard 'temporary badge' from her front pocket, the name Sarah Travers scribbled on it and the seal of the Department of Justice stamped on it.

"The... the DOJ?" Shooter muttered out.

"Not exactly." Agent Travers said, sliding the badge back into her pocket as she pulled up two chairs. "That's just for show. I don't actually exist in an official form." She pulled down her glasses, revealing Asian-American features and a winking eye. "In case we screw up and have to disappear, know what I mean?" Shooter didn't respond. His hand was still in the Twinkie box. Agent Travers pulled her glasses back up and frowned. "Drop the Twinkies and sit down, for crying out loud."

With the box set aside, Shooter slowly made his way to one of the chairs, only sitting down when Agent Travers did so as well. "Alright. Principal Shooter. Let me put this in a way you can easily understand: you're part of something bigger now. Understand that I'm not being cryptic because I want to surprise you or because I have to be dramatic, no... there's literally two snipers stationed just outside your school ready to kill us if I say anything more. Don't look at them, Principal Shooter, look at me." Agent Travers said, rolling her eyes as Shooter struggled to focus on her.

"Here's what you're going to do, Principal Shooter. I'm going to give you a list of names and instructions. You're going to follow those instructions to the letter. You won't question them or share them with anyone. Do as we ask, and you'll be rewarded with the calm and simple life you had before yesterday, alr— SHOOT!" Agent Travers slapped her knee, making Shooter squeal in fear. "No, no, I just forgot something." She reached for a pocket inside her jacket and pulled out a small round metal clip, like a bottle cap in shape and size, with the seal of a dragon eating its own tail on the top. "Put this in your head for the rest of our conversation." She said, handing it to him with one hand and tapping the side of her head with the other.

"W-why?"

Agent Travers stopped. "Because we want to take over your brain and turn you into a reptilian." She said, before scoffing and waving it aside. "No, no, that's just precaution. The government might be listening in and we don't want them to know a thing." Shooter remained silent until Agent Travers raised an eyebrow. "That's not a joke. That's the actual answer." She said, pointing at the side of her head as a way of egging him on.

"Anyway," She continued, standing up as Shooter slowly raised the metal cap to the side of his head. "In four hours, you're going to select the following stu—" There was a loud CLANG, and Finn's vision of the memory suddenly went all white, every sound amplified by a hundred until all he could hear was a whining noise growing louder and louder, like a drill threatening to pierce through his brain—


The sound of the alarm on Finn's digital watch made Shooter let go of his hand. "That was entertaining, Mr. Flannagan." He muttered, pulling out a napkin from his front pocket and wiping his hand clean. "Now... are you ready to tell me the truth?"

"Have you ever seen the movie The Fly?" Michal asked Jacob, before pulling out his phone and showing him a picture of the movie's famous monster. "They said he looked like this, but not as sticky and way more creepy."

——-

Hallway

"I don't need your help, Schultz!" Jessica whined, trying to push him off her whilst she was also using him as a support to get back up on her feet. She was about to follow it up with a longer rant when the jocks showed up, causing her to once more shrink into her hood and try to hide as much of her purple skin as possible. She even tried to hide near one of the lockers, though luckily she looked at Hans' direction just in time to see him use his powers.

Though the jocks were well-versed in the art of facing off against strong forces, not all of them were prepared for a sudden gust of wind indoors. Too preoccupied with figuring out what the hell was going on, one of the two jocks- the leaner, taller one- fell to the ground and started rolling back like a bundle of hay. The other one- a stockier, heavier sort, the kind of person that was used to not fitting inside the normal theater seats- managed to stay upright and take a few steps forward, getting closer to Hans by the second.

"What the heck are you doing?!" Jessica hissed over at Hans, looking around at the growing crowd of students getting closer to figure out just what was going on.

——-

Near the Steps

Being hugged by Mirielle made Emmanuel stop instantly, though one wouldn't be wrong in assuming that was partly due to the awkwardness brought on by the hug. "I need to know," He whimpered, his sobbing now under control. "How did you get my Mom to come here?"

At the same time, some kids rushed by them, and Mirielle would pick up one of them saying: "that weird blonde kid is beating up some of the dudes from the football team! You gotta check it out!"

——-

Entrance

"Okay, you go get Hans-" Rose waved in the direction of the hallway, as Dennis writhed on the floor, a few girls moving over to help him move to the nurse's office. "-I'm gonna find us a method of transportation. And by method of transportation..." She unlocked her phone and opened up a ride sharing app. "... I mean 'it's time for me to use all the coupons my Mom keeps sending me every single day'."

——-

Room

Vivian looked at Zia like she was the one exhibiting unusual behaviors. "I'm fine." She mumbled, her eyes barely blinking as she moved onto the questions posed by the two of them. "Dawn of a New Age. I tried to pirate it but couldn't find it, and no way am I shelling out a couple of bucks for some dude's ebook just because he talked to me over the radio. I like to think things are still the same despite what happened last night."

At the mention that Simon was one of the empowered, Vivian raised an eyebrow. "You're kidding me. He has powers too?" She cupped her hands over her mouth. "Get over here then! This concerns you too!" She waited until Simon at least gave a response before focusing back on the conversation's previous subject. "Anyway, he just told me to meet Zia here. Called her by name too, nailed the location and the time. I thought it was cuckoo, but, then again, I did get stabbed by smoke." She sighed, shaking her head.

"Anyway," Vivian reached into her pocket and pulled out a paper with a few scribbled numbers. "I called the radio station and asked if the dude was still in the studio... he left midway through the show, and I asked for a way to contact him. The girl at the radio station said he was staying at one of the new hotels Mayor Goodman keeps talking about on the television. Over at Bowery and Bellevue. We could go visit. Or not."

Vivian tried to do more than raise an eyebrow before settling for a shrug. "I just don't wanna go to class. It's... I feel like I might drop dead asleep at any moment."

——-

Stump

"Do— do you think this is funny, Jung?" Benedict wheezed, anxiously tapping his feet against the floor in a beat one might recognize as a perfect Morse code translation of Pi. He took a while to notice the earbud, and when he took it, Benedict's voice dropped in pitch slightly as he looked at it with the earnestness of Indiana Jones looking at the idol from the first scene of Raiders. "I... I can see each wiring, I can see how your movement, your sway, it's knocked the wires along a bit, doesn't change the audio, but if you keep at this it'll knock the wiring enough to distort the audio by... by..."

Deciding to instead just put on the earbud in an attempt at silencing his racing head, Benedict suddenly snapped up and yelled at the top of his lungs. "GO BACK!" His foot tapping got faster and faster (still the same Pi code, just at a level only he could understand) until Hyeon returned to the soothing sounds of 'Kiss from a Rose'. Slowly, Benedict's body started swaying to the rhythm of the song, his foot dropping the Pi code in exchange for a decent approximation of the drums. With time, however, Benedict's left hand started mimicking the guitar, whilst his right hand subbed in for every other instrument, each part of his body acting independently as he became an one-man inaudible orchestra.

"Go back." He repeated once the song ended, and again, his body started imitating the elements of the song, with Benedict having each section of the song perfectly memorized- even the possible mistakes made by the performers during the recording. "Okay." He muttered when the song ended, his body slowing down until all he could hear was his own breathing. "I'm calm. I'm rational. I'm focusing on one thing and one thing only." He mumbled, before looking over his shoulder at Hyeon. "Uh... thanks. I guess."

LizardOfAus (4 Score & 7 Years Ago)
#258: Aug 26th 2017 at 3:37:41 PM

The Corridor

"Simon, we know you were in the blackout"

Hrrk, sudden halt. She knows I was there. Ivy must have talked, the frigging... Can't worry about how she knows my name, she's probably just leagues better at learning people's names than I am.

"If you wanna help us figure out what the flying fuck is going on, now is the time. Or you can go fiddle with yourself and your powers like you were planning - your choice."

...fucking holier-than-thou punk bitch, thinks she knows me so well... Fine. This is me, turning around, walking to take my place in the circle of trust here and joining in the fracking conversation like the good and sociable little lab rat that I am. So, what's the topic of conversation here? Right, the girl's saying someone told her to meet Zia here. Who told her? Missed that part. Oh, wait, right, dude in a radio studio. Right, back on track, here we go.

"And you're sure he's the guy that talked to you, and not, say, someone or something impersonating him, or using his voice?" I ask, doing my best to contribute to this discussion while I'm here. "I mean, look, there's certain people in school I'd give my right arm to avoid right now, it's just...playing hooky's a great big step, with a lot of repercussions, aaaand I'd rather not have the principal burn me at the stake over a wild goose chase."

edited 26th Aug '17 3:47:35 PM by LizardOfAus

And a Strange Figure Emerges.
Cwest5538 Blood Mage Apologist from Kirkwall Since: Aug, 2016 Relationship Status: You cannot grasp the true form
Blood Mage Apologist
#259: Aug 26th 2017 at 3:49:22 PM

Sebastian nodded. “On it.” He wondered how he was going to get Hans out of this one; together, he was pretty sure that they could take down a couple of jerk jocks, but that would no doubt reveal them to the rest of the school. Besides, someone might get hurt.

There are non-lethal uses to your powers, yes. But when the time comes, you must be ready to kill, Fesxis gently told him. You may not want to harm anyone, but not everyone is innocent; there are people in this world that will try to kill you when they find out what you can do.

The teenager gulped and started over towards Hans. He had a voice in his head, telling him that he would probably have to kill someone some day. Was she right? Maybe. He'd only known her a short time, but there was a dreary certainty in her voice... the kind that said, 'I've seen this before.' He was inclined to believe her, but the idea of killing someone… it was terrifying. Sickening.

At least Fesxis wasn’t trying to get him to actually kill anyone right now; she was merely warning him. Honestly, that kind of made him trust her more. She wasn’t waiting to spring it on him later. Even if she was jumping the gun a tad bit.

I have known you much longer than you have known me, and I was fully aware that telling you now was the best option I have. You can take the grim news and prepare yourself for the future. You are stronger than others are.

Sebastian nodded to himself. Okay. I guess... I guess that makes sense. He paused. Wait... was she saying that he would find killing easier than other people? The thought made him feel sick to his stomach.

Taking a deep breath, he steadied his thoughts. Fesxis did not respond.

Stomping over, Sebastian stood by Hans, glaring at the jocks. “Are you guys crazy? Starting a fight right when everyone is on ege? There are police around! Do you really want to get shot, or arrested? Shooter will throw your asses right on out of here if you get caught fighting.”

Good, good. Now attempt to defuse their anger. Promises that you have no intention of keeping work wonders when dealing with these types of cretins.

“Look,” he said, making his voice more reasonable. “You guys can work this out with Hans later, but right now? You’re liable to cause more trouble for yourselves than for him. I don’t know what he did, but is getting into a short-lived fight really worth getting expelled or getting a criminal record? You could be kicked off the team! Settle this later.”

He didn’t know what team they were on, but they were probably on one.

With his hands clasped behind his back, Sebastian didn’t even notice the dark mist starting to rise from them. It wasn’t very noticeable yet- but it was definitely a sign that he was starting to get agitated, especially as he realized that this might go very, very wrong.

edited 26th Aug '17 4:00:53 PM by Cwest5538

Wooze looks at Glass with a 'please take her away' look
PossiblyQuiteInsane Where am I? What's going on? from the other side of the mirror Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Where am I? What's going on?
#260: Aug 26th 2017 at 6:12:23 PM

Wednesday, during the Blackout

Jenna screamed for her life as a tendril of smoke dragged her into the green mist. She just had to stay after school today, didn't she. She couldn't afford to flunk English, but still, it wasn't like she even knew anyone in her impromptu study club.

Her regrets were cut off as a searing pain coursed through her body, radiating outwards from where she had been suddenly impaled by the serpentine smoke. The pain only increased in intensity as she felt her body crumble like so much sand, until she was in literally thousands of places at once.

Now, you might think it would be extremely disorienting to have your consciousness spread over upwards of 2,000 different bodies, none of which had sensory organs anything close to human. And you would be correct. Jenna was in a barely cognizant state as the various bugs that made up her newly formed hive mind instinctively scattered into every crack and crevice of the walls, floor, and even ceiling of the school building.

Rogers High, Late Wednesday Night

It has been said that the best way to adapt to something is a trial by fire. That may be correct. All Jenna knew was that, after spending hours trying to comprehend where she was and what she was, she was becoming increasingly used to her arthropoid senses. At least enough to figure out that she was less in one place and more everywhere. Cue another several hours attempting to get the hang of maneuvering 2,000+ bodies simultaneously.

Rogers High, Early Thursday Morning

After many more hours of experimentation, Jenna had finally managed to get all of her in one place. As if by reflex, her various bodies climbed up and around eachother, contorting until they formed a humanoid shape. It was then, with no arduous task occupying the entirety of her mental capacity, that Jenna finally lost her shit.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! What the hell! What the hell! What even am I!? Am I bugs?! Grooooossssss! How am I even screaming right now!? I don't have a fucking mouth!"

This continued in a similar vein for about 20 minutes, after which she realized that:

1. She didn't want anyone to see her like this.

2. She was technically naked.

Her thoughts immediately shifted to getting clothing to cover her shame. And the fact that she was some sort of abomination against nature. And that is how Jenna ended up dashing (crawling? flying? moving) to the only place in the school likely to have clothes lying around, the Drama Club's costume closet.

Throwing on stockings, gloves, bulky clothing, anything she could use to cover as much of her bodies as possible, Jenna found that, ironically, the costume closet lacked anything she could use to cover her (lack of a) face. She was forced to settle for pulling the hood of the hoodie she had thrown on down low to obscure her.. facial... region... dammit this whole thing was confusing.

Rogers High, Present

Okay, okay, she could do this... she was in school... so why not just go to class and hope nobody noticed anything weird about her. Not like anyone noticed her anyway. And when school let out for the day... she'd cross that bridge when she came to it. Honestly, singlemindedly focusing on her immediate goals might be the only thing keeping her sane. Or at least keeping her from having another panic attack.

'Get to class. Get to class. Hope nobody looks too close.'

With this mantra at the forefront of her (hive) mind, Jenna idly wandered by a group of four students arguing about a magic radio or some shit.

edited 26th Aug '17 8:40:08 PM by PossiblyQuiteInsane

pillowmantis Happy Box Hater Since: Jun, 2014 Relationship Status: What is this thing you call love?
Happy Box Hater
#261: Aug 26th 2017 at 6:31:11 PM

Auditorium

"The mayor is a ton of clones?" Jacob said dryly. "Shoot, and I thought he was actually a lizard person." Still, the fact Benjy was at the warehouses intrigued him. Flies liked certain things, and if Benjy was even partially driven by instinct now there was a good chance whatever warehouse he was near was for foods of some sort. "So," he started to say, "what do you suggest? I've killed a lot of flies but I don't think I have a newspaper large enough for this. Why do we even need to get involved? It seems troublesome, and he probably isn't able to say anything to harm us. Unless... you think we could actually help him? I doubt a fly would actually want to eat a person, but being able to approach him doesn't mean we could help him in the slightest."

Jacob actually perked up a bit at the picture Michal showed him. "So that's what it looks like!" he said with a bit of wonder. "I never watched it, but Stephen King praises Cronenberg's works extensively in Danse Macabre. I'm not really a movie person, but it really piqued my interest." As reading was his main entertainment, Jacob could actually get excited about it.

edited 26th Aug '17 6:33:43 PM by pillowmantis

Why is a yam attacking me?
NickTheSwing Since: Aug, 2009
#262: Aug 27th 2017 at 2:07:42 AM

Hans

Hans immediately looked to Jessica and then back at the jock still on his feet after being buffeted by wind, and the blond teen thought about what Jessica had said, wondering if she meant that as an admonishment for using his powers or that he'd used an ineffective attack. Really, after everything else, either was possible. Hans knew that the jocks could and would do Emma's bidding and spread any rumor about Jessica's appearance so he focused his eyes on the jock in front of him, deciding not to let him past.

He had demonstrated the ability to form those barriers with Dennis. So Hans delved in and thought, he wanted to keep this guy away, he wanted to...he wanted to push the harm right back.

Invisible to the jock but detectable to Hans due to his powers, a barrier the size and shape of a manhole cover formed in front of his right hand, with similar properties to what he had used against Dennis.

Hans put his arms forward and up - showing he was prepared to move defensively but not offensively, "I'll give you this chance...stop pickin' a fight with me. I'm not gonna throw a punch, man, not in this kind of worthless scuffle."

However, then Sebastian entered and put himself between Hans and his aggressor, making it clear the other kid was going to be trying to handle this now. And Hans really hoped that Sebastian would end it peacefully instead of forcing things to end violently.

Hans listened in on what Sebastian was saying, hoping it was getting through to these guys, but preparing himself in case it didn't. The former gang-member looked at Sebastian's hands behind his back and likewise prepared himself in case Seb's powers went haywire. He didn't like the jocks - that didn't mean he'd just let em be potentially killed or something.

whizzerd Transcender of Gender from Scotland Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: I'm just high on the world
Transcender of Gender
#263: Aug 28th 2017 at 5:35:26 AM

Auditorium

Ciro took a look at the website that Barbra had found. Well, that solved one problem, but it also took away all that time he'd been hoping to use to think all of this over. They didn't know how long Benjy was planning to stay at the warehouses, so it'd be best to get there ASAP. Which would mean skipping class. Something, he was sure, that Shooter would just love.

So, worst case scenario: Benjy could kill them, or seriously hurt them. Or he could fly off, making their trip worthless and landing them in hot water with the school. Or they could stay here, let someone else handle Benjy or just leave him to his own devices. Which could lead to someone else getting hurt or killed. He wasn't going to sit back and let that happen, but all the talk of Benjy being dangerous or unreachable or too much of a hassle wasn't doing a lot to encourage him. Not that he could blame the younger kids for being averse to meeting a giant, monstrous, potentially deadly student-turned-insectoid.

All the pros and cons of every decision flew around his head like, well, like flies, a constant buzzing of 'do this', 'don't do this', 'what if it works', 'what if it doesn't', and eventually Ciro covered his face with his hands and let out a long, quiet groan. Then, about as quickly, he took them back off. Okay. He got that out his system. "I'm going to the warehouses, then. Dunno if I can help Benjy, or if he'll even still be there, but... still, have to try." He looked around at everyone, his gaze lingering on Jacob as the last one to speak. "Nobody has to come if they don't want to. It might be dangerous, and it's definitely risky to skip class while Shooter's on us like this, so it's totally fine if anyone wants to stay here."

they/them || "Forgive me, regent of queer amphibians" - Lt.BGob
wikkit Since: Sep, 2009
#264: Aug 28th 2017 at 10:12:21 PM

Ivy, Gathering Her Party Before Venturing Forth
Zia proved herself to be, once again, not a person that Ivy wanted to be around. Sure, Simon was...Simon, and they could take any reason to get him helping them out, but just deciding to break into another person's mind to convince them to listen was...honestly, it was putting her on the "List of People To Permanently Avoid".

At least, in Ivy's mind, it was her own fault that she was talking to her this time. That's a positive...right?

Vivian, on the other hand, was just a little strange. Her...ability, or power, or whatever might've been "can't show emotion" but that would've been so utterly simplistic compared to what she had seen. Though, there was the baker girl who hallucinated strings...

In any case, she resolved to not mention it. There were other problems.

"I was...I would've bought the book, but my phone...k-kinda...I don't have a phone or a computer right now," Ivy mentioned. She extremely briefly considered showing them the reason why, but she wasn't ready to admit that to...well, anyone that isn't Luna. Even if everyone knew she was affected somehow, she still had some semblance of normality as it is right now.

"My...f-f-friend, Luna, if you know her...she's spent last night reading it, I think...Ishouldprobablyfindher but she'll know about it, I bet she'd come..."

Ivy stopped mid-sentence, just a little more afraid. That wasn't a suggestion to go and check it later...that was Vivian asking to skip. Like, leave school unannounced for no reason at all. RIGHT NOW. Such an action was terrifying in prospect...but the sooner she had answers...but, as she said...

"S-S-S-He's right, I l-like his point," with a small nod towards Simon, "...my mom would crucify me. I mean, she's a t-teacher, it's her job, and...but we need to..."

She slowly started to back away to the door as she verbally worked this conundrum out, looking down at her hands like they'd give her an answer. "There's cops—police, and they'll be there, but...leaving town, and Sssssimon...I didn't plan on..."

Resolving her internal issues in one quick stroke, she looked up at the group and quickly said "I'mgonnafindLunaandseewhatshethinks" before turning around and, once again, doing that same speed walk that seemed so characteristic of herself now.

Walking down the now-thinning halls, Ivy was frantically trying to decide on her own battle plan. At least here, it's not like she had anyone to run into, just her and her mind. She even had a good excuse to take Luna out of wherever she was! Even if it was rare, of course Ms. Havilland would have some reason to take her out of wherever she was...

Wait...where was "wherever?"

Oh shit, it's been almost an entire year since she bothered caring about Luna's classes! They talked about them for, like, a whole two minutes all the way back in September! How was she supposed to remember what her first period was?

Ivy internally panicked, quickening her pace and looking between each door's number and nameplates as she tried to solve the riddle, the one that she just walked away from a chance to—oh wait, here it was.

The Gordian Knot was cut, and Ivy slowly opened the door to where she imagined Luna was right now.

secretlyasuperhero someone from somewhere Since: Mar, 2016 Relationship Status: You cannot grasp the true form
someone
#265: Aug 29th 2017 at 4:51:46 PM

Mirielle, Near The Steps

"I don't know. I really don't," Mirielle said to Emmanuel. "I just was really stressed." She stepped back from the hug when she heard of the fight. Oh no. "I'll see you inside, okay? I've got to go and break up a fight."

[TOP SECRET]
Uncandescent One Brunch Man Since: Jul, 2010 Relationship Status: Coming soon to theaters
One Brunch Man
#266: Aug 29th 2017 at 7:59:25 PM

Rogers High School

Hyeon, in fact, wasn’t one who could pick out Pi getting tapped out in Morse code when he heard it; but he could recognize a good beat while in a coma, and thus he felt rather than saw the one-man band take off behind him. Hyeon looked back anyway, his half-real mask of disdainful anxiety melting away like wax as he saw the most tone-deaf (or at least tone-averse; sometimes he felt like if the boy whistled he might unwind like a balloon) person he knew belt out a silent recreation of Seal and co. after hearing them just once. Scratch that, twice.

Divorced from the ability to record the spectacle due to his phone being currently plugged into Benedict’s brain stem, Hyeon settled for setting his backpack down next to their impromptu perch—with only a slight complaining squeak from within—before standing and watching from afar with his hands slotted into his pockets. By the time Benedict was finished, Hyeon had wandered some distance away, leaning with his forearm against a tree trunk as he watched the drama in front of the school unfold. Benedict’s words caused the Korean student’s frame to rock slightly with silent chuckles, before he turned to face the other boy. “You,” he said, pushing himself up and off as he turned with a slight smile and swagger, “are welcome. And for the cheap seats, if I’d known you were capable of that in this or any other reality, I might’ve held off on that Twitter rumor about you… eh, ‘s not important.” Hyeon said, rolling his eyes as if reconsidering.

Hyeon then reached down to clap Benedict on the shoulder, only to catch a whiff of his still-unwashed mane right down the back of his throat, and instead diverted his hand to reach back play the song again, at half-volume. “Okay, so,” Hyeon said, attempting to make eye contact to keep the other boy focused, “what is important, is that you tell me what happened last night. And hurry up,” he flicked his head knowingly to the side in time with his brow, where the distant sounds of ‘Fight! Fight! Fight!’ were already fading on the summer breeze. “I’m missing some prime Pay-Per-View action here.”

If I had that kind of power, I'd have dropped a meteor on your house ages ago~
Lt.BGob The Fantabulous from The Merry Ol' Land of Oz Since: Apr, 2014 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Fantabulous
#267: Aug 29th 2017 at 8:41:09 PM

Rogers High School, The Not-So-Empty Room

Vivian's apparent lack of awareness of any change in her emotion state (or lack-thereof) worried Zia even further, though she didn't comment on it any further. Instead, she found herself willing her internal voice to be heard above all the others as a by-product of her own curiousity, looking closer at her thoughts. She didn't fully realise what she was doing until Simon reluctantly joined conversation, albeit with a rather rude series of thoughts. The punk smirked at the internal monologue, Do you always complain this much? I thought it was unpleasant in my head... Forcing herself to focus once more on the prevailing conversation, helped by Ivy's clear internal disapproval, she considered the information offered.

"Okay, so he's at that hotel but he's not leaving straight away, right?" Zia pointed out, feeling ever so slight anxious about ditching school herself. Not so much because of her respect for the institution or a particular want to stay - she was fairly sure hanging around so many other people would be dangerous for them considering her powers, in fact. However, after such an unceasing wave of unpleasant weirdness the idea of a normal routine was comforting. Besides, if her mum found out there would be hell to pay. "We could just wait until after school - that way we don't have to worry about cops or teachers or parents finding out or-" Ivy was unceremoniously rushing off to find Luna, "Ah fuck." The musician sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, "Okay, how about we go grab Luna and stop Ivy from having a mental breakdown?" Zia shrugged, "Hear what that book's about and figure out a few things before we go hunting down that Crispin guy?"

The psychic student became increasingly aware of a dense body of thoughts approaching their group, now perched by the doorway due to Ivy's exit. A first she was worried there were a bunch of students coming to the room for a class but the sounds were too... uniform. Like a whole orchestra just playing the same phrase in unison. Zia glanced out the door, spotting a student in entire too many clothes - somewhat like Jessica's latest fashion statement. And the pile of walking clothes was faintly buzzing, "What in the..." She muttered, still staring.

edited 29th Aug '17 8:41:45 PM by Lt.BGob

“Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”
PossiblyQuiteInsane Where am I? What's going on? from the other side of the mirror Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Where am I? What's going on?
#268: Aug 29th 2017 at 10:33:08 PM

Rogers High, Just Outside the Not-so-Empty Room

Just as Jenna was passing the room the magic radio conspiracy club had ducked into, one of them, a girl she vaguely recognized from her biology class, came rushing out of the room and down the hall without paying her so much as a second glance, which boosted Jenna's confidence that maybe nobody would notice after all.

Unfortunately, the moment that thought had passed, she saw the purple haired girl staring at her with a dumbfounded expression. Her eyes would have widened if she had eyes that could widen. (Over 5,000 eyes and not one of them could widen; it was like a bad joke). Shit. Shitshitshitshitshit. Logically, the fact that the girl was only confused and not scared meant that she probably hadn't seen Jenna for what she really was. Logic was not present in Jenna's mind at the moment.

"Don't look at me!"

With that panicked shout, Jenna stumbled backwards, before tripping and hitting the ground with a thud. To any observer, it would appear that she briefly flattened as the impact caused her humanoid form to fall apart before she quickly reformed it.

Yanking her hood down over her head some more in an attempt to further obscure the only exposed part of her form, Jenna continued her nervous breakdown.

"Get away from me! I'm a monster!"

Okay, so maybe that wasn't the wisest thing to scream at the top of her nonexistent lungs, but she wasn't exactly thinking straight.

edited 30th Aug '17 9:19:24 PM by PossiblyQuiteInsane

Stratofarius huzzaaaaaaaah Since: Aug, 2011
huzzaaaaaaaah
#269: Sep 2nd 2017 at 3:49:21 PM

The Auditorium

"Think about it like this, Jacob." Barbra put down her phone and raised a finger. "If people find out about Benjy and, I don't know, put him down or something," She mimicked another finger shooting the first one. "Then they're gonna start wondering where the giant bug came from. Which means they'll start asking questions. With the cameras all over town, anyone with half a mind would be able to track Benjy all the way back to here. And after that, they'd start asking questions: why did the bug come out of school? Who else was here when the bug came out of school?"

"And after that, they'd start connecting the dots, and if any of us did anything weird with our powers, then they'd probably come hunt us down to stop another giant bug from showing up!" By this point, the two fingers had gotten into several scuffles before falling 'dead' on the floor. "Basically, we're all sharing one big secret that could change our lives... except one of us is a giant bug monster who can't keep a secret."

Michal yelped quietly when Ciro said he would be going after Benjy. "T-then I'm going too!" He said, shrinking a little in his seat. "I mean, I don't know what you guys can do, but..." He covered his finger in fire, grimacing a little. "I think this might be super useful?"

—————

The Corridor

"The guy talking to me wasn't an impersonation. And it seemed like he was right there with me. Like the radio suddenly went silent and all that I could hear was his voice, couldn't even pick out the little crackles from a normal transmission..." Vivian said, rubbing the back of her head. "Listen, I'm not lying, alright? I know for a fact that Crispin Hayward talked to me."

Vivian made a point to follow Zia only after Simon followed her, and even then she stood behind Simon at all times, glaring holes into his back. It was only after Jenna revealed 'herself' that Vivian took her eyes off Simon, letting out the loudest squeak any of the kids had ever heard. "That's disgusting!" She shrieked, stumbling back and doing the most stereotypical 'scream queen' pose at Jenna's true form.

—————

The Hallway

"Great." Jessica grumbled under her breath. "Another idiot."

Sebastian's speech didn't seem to do much to soothe the jock's anger. Instead, the mention of 'getting into trouble' probably struck him as way too admonishing- and if there was one thing being on the top of the high school food chain earned you, it was the opportunity to never be admonished for the rest of your academic life. But it was the mention of the team that made him take a step back and reconsider what to do next. For what was his life outside of the team? Truth be told, the jock couldn't come up with an answer. Sebastian's comment, minimal as it was, sent him on a spiral of thought he couldn't climb out of no matter how much he tried. What else did he have apart from-

"You two, get out!" Jessica snarled to the two jocks, and like clockwork, they promptly stood up, turned around, and walked out of the hallway and probably out of the building. "Are you two insane?" She asked to Sebastian and Hans, clenching her fists. "Do you want everyone to know what happened to us? Do you want people to... to start asking questions? I have half a mind to tell you two to shut up and go to class!"

The arrival of Mirielle didn't do much to calm her down. "Are you kidding me? Are all of you fucking stupid?!"

—————

Luna's Class

Mr. Claremont and the rest of his class all looked towards Ivy at the exact same time. "Uhm, hello, Ms. Havilland." Claremont muttered, raising an eyebrow and dropping the chalk, having just finished writing down a complex biological component, all whilst Luna (in the back) raised her head and noticed her friend. "Is there a problem? I don't believe you're part of this class."

"Uh, that's for me!" Luna said, standing up and almost knocking over Omar Holden's stuff from his desk. "Yeah, uh, Ms. Havilland- Ivy's teacher- she wants us to do something really important, and you wouldn't want to cross the Chemistry teacher, right, Mr. Claremont?" The teacher muttered something under his breath and was about to do a full response when Luna, now wearing her oversized purple sweater, slid past him and out the door. "I'll be right back, just ask the teach about it, I swear it's not a bad thing!"

Luna slammed the door behind her, just in time for Ivy to see Claremont angrily scribbling something in his notes, probably an excuse to lower Luna's grade. "Gee, real subtle, Ivy." Luna grumbled, brushing her hair back behind the ear as she slung her bag over one shoulder and walked away from the door, leaning against one of the nearby lockers. "Might as well put a giant 'sneaking out of class' sign around my neck. You're lucky Claremont has a thing for your Mom, otherwise he might have just yelled me back into my seat."

—————

The Stump

"I don't use Twitter— never mind." Benedict waved away his own concerns, and then looked Hyeon straight in the eye, whilst his body continued to mimic the drum beat of 'Kiss from a Rose'- both activities somehow going on without affecting the other. "Listen, after I got home, I... I started feeling weird. The more I walked, the more I started to think. No, wait, that doesn't make sense. Give me a piece of paper— something I can write on, quick!"

Once Hyeon gave him what he asked for (or an approximate substitute), half of Benedict's body would turn towards writing out what seemed to be the most unintelligible string of numbers and mathematical equations any human had ever created... whilst the other half continued to rock out to Seal. "I'm guessing you often daydream, Jung," It seemed that the more activities Benjamin focused on, the more he returned to his original, snooty self. "That feeling of letting your mind wander into unknown worlds? I had that times ten yesterday. It was like... like my brain divided itself in ten, and each part could operate at 500% power. It was... it was terrifying. My brain wouldn't stop overthinking."

"With every step I took, I could immediately discern how much weight I was displacing, and I couldn't take another step without calculations flooding into my mind. But I didn't stop there... my path back home takes me right by the Eisenhower statue. Whilst my mind was thinking about those calculations, it also started thinking about Eisenhower's day-to-day schedule on the week of June 17th, 1956. And then some weirdo started playing some idiotic rap song out of their speakers and I could instantly discern the rhyming patterns, where the beat was going, how the song was being transmitted... I could even figure out what song the algorithm was going to pick next after the speaker belted out the name of the playlist."

Benedict suddenly stopped and dropped everything, from the pen to the invisible drumsticks. "Jung, it's like... it's like a billion voices yelling into my ear and I can't drown any of it out... I... I had to run into an alley just to get some silence, but even then I had to force myself to sleep by calculating the trajectory of every single star I could see. And that's how I got to this."

edited 2nd Sep '17 4:06:53 PM by Stratofarius

wikkit Since: Sep, 2009
#270: Sep 2nd 2017 at 4:34:56 PM

Ivy, Disturbing Revelations
That was way, waaayy easier than Ivy imagined it going. She didn't even have to speak to anyone, let alone give her own version of the excuse they came up with...and for that, she was so grateful to Luna, something she'd never be able to communicate. Giving a weak wave to Mr. Claremont, she said "Hi" and pretty soon after said "Bye" as Luna was successfully extracted from the classroom.

Now outside, she stared at, and tried to comprehend everything that was being said to her...but there was only one thing that she could process.

"...Mr. Claremont has a thing for—"

She stopped her brief outburst mid-sentence, covering her eyes in shame. Sadly, yes...such was the unfortunate reality that she had to accept. "God, it makes sense...okay, okay...n-never mind. Just...nnnno, never mind." Every piece of evidence in her mind fell into place, and considering how long she had known him...no wonder her Mom sent her to talk to him yesterday.

"That's...Luna, I found mo-other people who heard the voice...Crispin, and you're still the only one who read the book," she said as she started to walk back to where these other people were. Probably. "A-a-and we know where C-Crispin is, so now..."

This was going to be a tough hill to climb: convincing others to skip out. Ivy felt a knot in the pit of her stomach as she squeaked out "We were kinda planning on s-skip...leaving......"

edited 17th Sep '17 3:49:32 PM by wikkit

whizzerd Transcender of Gender from Scotland Since: Oct, 2010 Relationship Status: I'm just high on the world
Transcender of Gender
#271: Sep 2nd 2017 at 5:49:20 PM

Auditorium

"Best case scenario, we won't have to fight or... anything." Ciro still wasn't comfortable knowing that the thing that had affected Benjy had affected the rest of them too. That they all had 'powers', or 'abilities', or some other word that didn't make their predicament sound like some fantastical work of fiction. The longer that he thought about Benjy, the more that 'illness' seemed appropriate.

Being seated right next to Michal, Ciro had the best view for when his digit spontaneously burst into flame. He'd been hoping, a little, that impossible happenings wouldn't phase him as much after the showier stuff from last night. That a little fire bursting into life from nothing wouldn't be as freaky as giant bugs or parting water.

Turns out, it was still really weird. The immediate panic of Fire! was followed closely by Shooter could see!, and without further thought Ciro grabbed Michal's hand with his own and pulled it down to waist level- too concerned to consider how stupid it was to grab hold of a naked flame. "Careful, the principal..!"

they/them || "Forgive me, regent of queer amphibians" - Lt.BGob
PossiblyQuiteInsane Where am I? What's going on? from the other side of the mirror Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Where am I? What's going on?
#272: Sep 2nd 2017 at 7:26:39 PM

Rogers High, Corridor

She'd been seen. People were screaming, and apparently an audience was starting to form. Shit. Jenna's thoughts were barely coherent at this point. And then the magic radio ringleader, a student she didn't recognize, called her disgusting. All the frustration, stress, and panic of the past 24 hours suddenly had a focal point. And Jenna let it all come out.

"Oh, I'm sorry! You think I just woke up this morning and decided, 'Oh, I know, I'll be a pile of bugs, that's a good look for me'?! No! It's not my fault I'm suddenly some kind of abomination against nature! I don't even know what the hell happened to me! I haven't even gotten any sleep in the past 24 hours because I had to spend my night trying to get out of the damned walls! I don't know how I'm even going to leave! I can't face my parents like this! So I apologize if I freaked you out a little, you frikking drama queen!"

Jenna was a little calmer after that. Not quite calm enough to function, but calmer. She decided the best thing to do at this juncture was to curl up into a ball on the floor, (more literally than normal, due to her malleable form,) and rock back and forth.

edited 2nd Sep '17 7:30:08 PM by PossiblyQuiteInsane

pillowmantis Happy Box Hater Since: Jun, 2014 Relationship Status: What is this thing you call love?
Happy Box Hater
#273: Sep 2nd 2017 at 7:41:31 PM

Auditorium

Barbra was trying to use the slippery slope to convince him. Just because the worst case scenario of not dealing with this was presented to Jacob, that didn't mean anything for him. Sure there were some other obvious people, such as the girl from yesterday with the purple skin, but he wasn't one of them. There was nothing that could possibly have repercussions for him... unless someone tattled. Oh god they were blackmailing him weren't they?!

She was more devious than she looked. Jacob was reading an unspoken threat here, a threat that if one of them was discovered they'd give his name. Mother was right about her, as always. She had him trapped now, perhaps even more inescapably than Shooter's suspicions. Helping them was a necessity now. He didn't care one iota for Benjy, but his own skin was worth its weight in gold.

There was only one upside to this situation in Jacob's eyes, that being that his own "trait" seemed to be one good for hiding evidence. The very fact that all this was real, and the reinforcement of seeing Michal ignite his finger, had given the needed push to his brain that allowed him to connect the dots on what he could do... sort of. There still wasn't enough tests to be certain, but if Jacob was right it could be simple to keep things neat and not self-incriminating.

After this train of complex thoughts passed through his head, Jacob finally responded to Barbra. "You... You make a good point," he started to say. "I don't know how helpful I would be though. My... I don't know, oddity... it's weird. I guess I'm in, but why do we need to ditch class instead of going after school? Flies are a lot less active at night, so it would be easier to deal with him... however we deal with him."

edited 2nd Sep '17 7:52:48 PM by pillowmantis

Why is a yam attacking me?
Lt.BGob The Fantabulous from The Merry Ol' Land of Oz Since: Apr, 2014 Relationship Status: Showing feelings of an almost human nature
The Fantabulous
#274: Sep 4th 2017 at 5:48:10 PM

Rogers High School, Back Into The Corridor

It took Zia several long moments to pick her jaw up off the floor as she saw the hooded student suddenly collapse onto the floor and seemingly melting for a moment. What in the name of ever-loving fuckballs is... The punk blinked several times in the hope that this was some kind issue with her eyes but no, the student persisted on being a slightly writhing pile of clothes. Moreover, she though she could hear buzzing just under the symphony of synchronised thoughts. The collection of minds were scared, angry and confused, a swirl of memories and confusion - Brayne shook herself and took a ew steps forward, recognising this as another, far less fortunate student. She gazed deeper into the bizarre hive mind and fished out a name, 'Jenna', her hand twitching by her side as she tried to keep focused - the keen observer would recognise it as a conductors 4/4 timing.

Sadly, before Zia could get a word out to calm the poor girl (or at least the thing seemed to vaguely identify as female), Vivian burst in with her usual level for tact. She repaid this outburst with a sharp, but light, wack to her arm and a look that seemed to say 'gee thanks' with palpable sarcasm. The musician sighed, letting Jenna vent her... objections and cringing a little at the intense flurry of emotions in the air. It didn't help that half the school seemed to be in an agitated state - not that Zia had much of a base-line at this point. Then again, yesterday and the concept of peace-of-mind might as well have been years ago for her, "Okay, are we done screaming now? People can hear you from half way across the room - and I should fucking know."

The punk approached the now ball-like collection of thrift-store clad bugs, kneeling down and trying to summon her inner Counselor Troy, "Uh, it's Jenna right? We were there when, uh, reality decided to take a vacation too." She said, trying to get a better look at what exactly the girl was now. Zia could also hear that Ivy had successfully busted out Luna, albeit largely by proxy from the resulting thoughts, "Viv lost her tact and grace in a freak lab accident and I'm apparently destined to start a psychic hotline." She smirked, gently laying her hand on what she approximated as Jenna's shoulder, "So, uh - you're not entire alone?"

“Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”
PossiblyQuiteInsane Where am I? What's going on? from the other side of the mirror Since: Oct, 2016 Relationship Status: Above such petty unnecessities
Where am I? What's going on?
#275: Sep 4th 2017 at 8:08:57 PM

Rogers High - Corridor

The purple-haired girl was trying to comfort her. And oddly enough, it was working. Maybe the self-proclaimed psychic was doing something to her, maybe she had run out of energy to panic, or maybe she was just relieved at knowing that she wasn't the only one who had changed. Whatever the case, Jenna slowly rose to her "feet".

After a bit of hesitation, she pulled off her hood, revealing a mass of bugs in the vague shape of a head, lacking anything resembling hair or a face. She had already announced her true form to everyone in the vicinity, so there wasn't really any point to hiding it. Besides, the 360 degree vision she now possessed would prevent anybody else from sneaking up on her.

"Yeah... yeah, it's Jenna."

She decided not to bring up the fact that she didn't know this girl, and that there was no way that she'd have been able to recognize her even if she did. She was psychic or whatever, so that explained it.. probably.

"I'm, uh, I'm sorry for yelling. I haven't been having a good day. That, uh, probably goes without saying, doesn't it? God, I don't know how I ever thought I was going to keep this secret..."

Jenna sighed, finally allowing herself to rationally consider her situation.

"Man, my parents are going to freak. Not to mention my little sister; she's terrified of bugs."

There was no way she'd be able to hide this from her family. Maybe strangers, but not her family. She'd just have to come out and tell them. But that was a problem for later. In the meantime, she might as well stick with the people who seemed to be in the same boat as her.

"Hey, uh, what were you talking about just now? About the, uh, magic radio or something?"

edited 4th Sep '17 8:09:23 PM by PossiblyQuiteInsane


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