Iridium Wonders - Outskirts C.S.I.
"Tch." The general retreat meant that they'd accomplished their mission. They certainly hadn't been driven off. Too orderly. But they only teleported away a select few... She felt out the trail and decided against following. Too many variables. Besides, the stragglers remained...
Mahvash took a souvenir of her own, a fancy cyborg-zombie head from the battle before it could be 'cleaned up' and made to secure the centaur. From the way she was ranting, she had some plan in mind even if she was low enough on the chain to have been left to fend for herself. EG's roots held her fast, but... Mahvash traced a line from the roots across the centaur, adding an anchor against the girl being warped away.
Watching things after the officers arrived really only confirmed her choice not to pursue. The class and particularly her Wonders stood at near full strength physically. Spiritually, well... yes, best to break contact.
After letting the first set of officers test the faerie dust, she used small winds and hollow tendrils to collect some samples and transfer them to vials. And they took something strong, did they Perry? She sifted through auras, but... I feel alot of auras, and I'm not particularly keen on which ones vanished. She added pieces of the statue to the list before gathering them up to search for aura residue. On the other hand... She held the thought, dragging officers out of the fog.
Okay, Yoko recognized someone. As did EG. And Iuvem and Evelyn fought with that one in the sky. They teleported right from the field, and styles of teleportation have a signature. Perry is especially attuned to their prize. The zombies are not sapient and are controlled by a signal... These people have enough clout and connections to instigate a riot, but that also means their organization is likely big enough for leaks...except the Protectors have probably never heard of them. And based on our centaur they have worldwide ambitions. Mahvash took her notes. She'd fill them out with the others later. A night in the magic lab ahead.
Still mulling on her notes, Mahvash lay her hands on one of the oh so peacefully out of it officers. "You're going to be sick..." she said softly as she sent a pulse of aura to purge his body and spirit.
Edited by CenturyEye on Apr 20th 2019 at 1:30:39 PM
Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our livesSquad 3-Martin
60%
Without thinking Martin simply moved, trying to cover them as much as he could. It was an unthinking reaction to not wanting others to be hurt. The bullets hit him, and even at sixty percent enhancement he wasn't durable enough to not be effected. His costume absorbed some of it, maybe the worst. But the gunfire hit him, blood leaking from open wounds as pain became a new fact for him.
"Stop, their scared but whatever you two are going to do just," he didn't remember talking being this hard before. Or standing. He turned to the people who fired. "Please put down your weapons and get on the ground. I can't... cant protect you please." Gravity won out against his limbs and he fell. "Don't hurt them."
???
Somewhere a rainbow haired individual looked up from his chair, the floor around him covered with fallen Nazi soldiers and former Gaea officials. "Hm, how strange." He laughed a bit as his eyes became clouded by static. "I feel rather, happy."
Squad 3 – Outskirts
Man, these weaklings never give up, don't they? If that's the case, then he'll do this...
When the man and the others started shooting the three heroes, Chibuzo stepped into scene. He put his hands into the ground. A protective cage made of bones emerged from the ground.
Chibuzo created a swarm of insects and let it slip through the cage before fully closing the cage. He would use this swarm as an "avatar", so that he could talk with these morons with no fear of getting shot to death.
"Can you stop screaming like idiots and stop shooting please? It's not like those bullets will do anything to these magical bones...", he spoke, through his "avatar" swarm, to the shooters.
"Let me ask you some questions, if you don't mind...", Chibuzo said to them, "Are you aware of the massive development the metahuman society underwent and how much it has changed the world?", he politely asked them, "Are you aware that you, and the other meta-haters here and around the globe, cannot take part in the development of this fresh society, because you refuse to not cling to your outdated grudges and hatred?", the swarm started flying around them, "Are you aware that, because of you refusing to change and accept meta-humanity, this society will continue to grow while you will be left behind and rot?", Chibuzo calmly said, "Look around yourself...", he politely said, "What do you see?", he asked, "You're possibly thinking: 'This was the place I've lived on since I was born'!", he calmly said, "But look at it: the place you lived on since you born was a disgusting, putrid, repugnant, filthy, miserable and pitiful slum, fitting for scum of the world like you...", he told them, with a calm and polite tone. "Now...reflect...do you want to continue to be rejected by society and live miserably because you still want to cling onto these outdated, anti-metahuman ideologies, when you can simply discard them, and live a better life?", he asked, tranquil.
You might know everything I'm going to do...but that's not going to help you, since I KNOW EVERYTHING YOU'RE GOING TO DO! STRANGE, ISN'T IT?Van - Squad 3
No matter how satisfying it would be to drink these fuckers dry, Van knew Martin for some reason saw the value in the lives of seriously bigoted, dysfunctional people. And he respected that enough to stay his hand.
"...I didn't need saving, Martin. But now you do." He turned and looked at the hicks, stating, "And it is absolutely attitudes like yours that create situations like this. Hate like yours always returns to its roost to feed upon those who once called it friend."
And he seriously doubted these idiots even got what that meant, but it was worth a try. With that Van hoisted Martin and started to head over to the others, to get him healed up.
That was a fuck up from his and Robocto's entrance...
Iridium Wonders - Outskirts
"..." She hadn't really confirmed the smell of blood and the feel of dimming spirit before she moved, but... that just meant she caught him before he hit the floor. "Asphalt," she said to the half-gone lad. "Is bad for you."
Mahvash didn't spend a moment making words with the locals. Tentacles were around their necks and weapons in double time even while she took shots and worked on stitching Martin's wounds and keeping his body running. Her own body, kept his covered though. "What was this strike 14?" she said tracing a pattern under them. After she'd finished erasing the guns, she let them go and let them fall through.
The portal she made under them opened back right above them, just high enough to let them see the fall before going through the hole and coming out above again. Supporting Martin, she left them to fall, over and over again. "When they've calmed down, one of you can get them." She flew quickly then, taking Martin to the nurse, or, more specifically, to a place she could travel there direct.
Sally, Ever Green, taking Martin to the clinic, She alerted the Wonders. Look after things for a moment.
Edited by CenturyEye on Apr 20th 2019 at 2:26:28 PM
Look with century eyes... With our backs to the arch And the wreck of our kind We will stare straight ahead For the rest of our livesSquad 3 – Outskirts
Chibuzo removed the cage as he looked at the chaos that the "creature" left.
"I see that trying to guilt trip them was apparently useless...", he commented as he watched the hicks constantly fall from portal to portal over and over, "They truly are moronic weaklings...", he muttered, amused.
"Also that "creature"...the daeva...", he muttered, looking at Mahvash.
A stitched smile appeared on his face, "She needs to teach me some of her tricks!"
Squad 4 – Outskirts
This is chaotic.
This truly is the horrifying wonder of the Butterfly Effect, huh?
Whe-whe-who— What? , he shook his head, snapping out of the trance as he heard Clay.
I think she's okay. She may be out cold, but, with my treatment plus the concoction of Mrs. Sharm's angels, she's far from being in vital danger... , Iuvem replied to the cowboy.
Edited by Theyja on Apr 21st 2019 at 11:42:55 AM
You might know everything I'm going to do...but that's not going to help you, since I KNOW EVERYTHING YOU'RE GOING TO DO! STRANGE, ISN'T IT?Evelyn – Saint City Outskirts (Squad 4)
Evelyn seemed to shudder, grimacing in her sleep throughout the healing, and then fell still. The wound attempted to close, but just as it was beginning to knit together there was a horrible cracking sound.
Evelyn's Third Eye shot out by instinct—inadvertently opening up her forehead again—and strained against the healing process until it halted. It pulsed and squelched as it belched up more fragments and shards, and its gelatinous form was covered in cuts from the broken metal that distorted its appearance (and presumably its vision). Evelyn was no longer writhing about in pain, but a glimmer of liquid pinpricked the corner of her eyes and fell onto the floor beneath her.
“ Ek... ek kan... ek kan nie sien nie ... ”
Her eyelids cracked open a fraction, tears streaming from them as her gaze wandered uselessly around to look at nothing.
“ ...waar is... waar is pappa...?”
Yoko – Saint City Outskirts (Squad 1)
“I-it's nothing,” Yoko excused a little too quickly, glancing behind for a moment before returning her gaze to Zach. “Zach's more important, it's nothing to–”
She cut herself off with a sigh all of a sudden, biting her lip and looking uncertainly over to Sam before she finally relented.
“Okay. I just... I just saw someone, okay? Someone that I... well, someone I never expected to see in person. Someone who shouldn't be alive. That's all. Just... focus on Zach. She's gone now anyway. I hope.”
Wren – Saint City Outskirts (Squad 1)
“But Wren huuunnnngry,” the little feathered creature whined, wriggling out of Ellie's grasp and reaffirming her grip on the human hand she'd snagged. “Mama hungry too. Wren feed. Mama happy. Wren...”
Her mouth split apart as her jaw craned itself open like a serpent about to ingest a very large meal, jagged teeth her own and decidedly not her own seeming to line every surface of the inside of her mouth.
“...please Mama...”
A saliva-coated, purple tongue lashed out and snagged the arm in its sticky surface, further tendrils and feelers with hooks incorporated on their ends whipping out from around the bizarrely oversized muscle and digging into the limb in order to draw it down her gullet.
“Wren please Mama...”
She threw back her head and gulped the thing down nearly whole, only chomping once and proceeding to lick her lips as her mouth returned to its normal state. The instance of the otherworldly, mind-rending monster within had vanished, replaced by the feathered creature who by now seemed to be a little lost in thought.
“Wren please Mama... so Mama is nice to Wren...”
borkSquad 4 – Outskirts
Iuvem stared at Evelyn.
Those metal implants...do they have something to with her eye...her origin?
I need to take her to Ms. Hello... , he said, Maybe she can do something with her...
C'mon, Daddy. Go ahead...I know you want to let it rip~
Pandora, please...shut your mouth...
Iuvem transformed into his Chaos Mode Form.
Now that I did that...
He lifted the crying Blood-Eyed Girl up and carried her in his arms, bridal style.
Let me take a shortcut for you, Ibis... , In a split second, the wraith-like golem and girl disappeared.
Edited by Theyja on Apr 21st 2019 at 12:26:54 PM
You might know everything I'm going to do...but that's not going to help you, since I KNOW EVERYTHING YOU'RE GOING TO DO! STRANGE, ISN'T IT?Zach - Squad 1
Everything had this weird air to it, like a low, droning buzzing noise to it that tried it's very hardest to sound everything else out as loudly, and effectively as it could. So, it was one half panic, one half relief when he was pulled off to the side by Yoko, and watched as she desperately tried to bring him back to the functioning real world, her face reaching him but her words sounding as if they were underwater.
Slowly, painfully slowly, the world and the reality came back in one big full burst, and one hand instinctively wrapped around her right wrist in silent relief, a slow, confused nod coming from him at her declaration that he was safe, that they were gone, that it was over.
The adrenaline pumping through his body wasn't stopping yet, but at least he was aware that he was, more or less, safe.
Holy shit. He thought to himself, closing his eyes tightly and pressing his face against her palm a little bit more, trying to shake away whatever the fuck feeling THAT was, and his conversation finally reached the tail end of hers and Sams, as Yoko tried to diverge the focus back onto him.
I'm fine I'm fine he wrote, shaking his head and holding his hands up. I'll live, I promise. Is everyone okay? You guys aren't hurt are you? I didn't fuck anything up, did I?
Yoko – Saint City Outskirts (Squad 1)
“No no no– you're fine, you're fine,” Yoko assured, relief apparent in her voice as she drew him into a loose hug. “You just froze up for a bit, that's all. Nothing happened. Are you...” she swallowed, trying to suppress her own worry as she gently stroked his hair. “Are you okay? Do you need anything?”
Hayato-kun... Hayato-kun used to go like this. He'd go quiet for hours and then ask where he was... she inwardly mused. Kami, I miss him... but I don't know... I don't know what to do... how can I help...?
Strange as it was, Yoko hadn't encountered many traumatized individuals in all her years. Usually because they were most commonly caught up in battles of some description (which were unfortunately rampant anyhow in the early years) and she often steered clear of them. The other yōkai were deranged in many different ways, yes—but the only one who she knew to be suffering in a similar way was the kamaitachi Yūben'na.
For once, she was struggling for an answer. And it was killing her.
borkSquad 1
"Seriously" Sam said, crossing his arm "And don't say you are fine, or anything like that"
Freezing up these times might cost us, and as it is, he might be in danger next time some moron tries something
He sighed, wrapping his arms around them.
And I swear, next one to threaten them is gonna regret ever being born, if I have something to say
Wake me up at your own risk.Squad 4-Squad 4-The Sleeper Has Awoken
Viv rubbed the gumminess out of her eyes. I'm lying in the street. That's bad. And I have all my limbs. That's good. She sat up, groaning a bit at soreness, but it was manageable.
Then the events of the street fight drifted back. Dammit. I need to figure out how that bastard took control. TK? Some kind of weird signal? The memory of Evelyn and Clay falling to the ground made her shake her head. That whole thing was just weird. We walked into a fight, but then they just left? We were unexpected.
Getting slowly to her feet, she leaned against the Suit and pulled up images from the Suit's cameras to her phone. As she studied them, Viv also sent them to a printer back at them University. We gotta study these guys and get our game plan ready because they wrecked us.
Edited by Booky on Apr 21st 2019 at 8:00:44 AM
"Hey! What the hell are you doing!?" Finn yelled at her. Upon seeing him, she tensed up. Regardless as he came close, Tess hit him as hard she could on the head. When he was hit, everything felt like a blur. Finn couldn't even comprehend what was going on. He detransformed and fell on his back. He looked at her as he lost conciousness. She looked down at him. She extended her hand at him before recoiling.
"No...not yet... Gripping tightly at the artifact, Tess ran with the rest of her group. Finn laid unconscious. He was alive but, was not getting up anytime soon.
"Are you okay?" She looked over and saw her mother was there.
"Mother, I am so glad to see you. Don't worry, I didn't get hurt too bad." However, she heard Martin getting hurt and Mahvash asking for assistance for him. A little shaken, she nodded:
"Can do. Let's go, Ever Green."
Edited by LovelyMagicianSavvy on Apr 21st 2019 at 5:19:49 AM
Just an adorable fan girl and cosplayer ヾ(*・ω・)ノ💝💟Saint University, Gym — October 25th
It had been a month since the attack, and the world had not been idle. Miraculously, no-one had been killed or maimed in the chaos, though some had to be taken to the hospital for treatment. Because of this, while it was still considered a violent and potentially dangerous demonstration, officially it wasn't deemed anything more than that.
Beyond that, various outlets and news stations were torn on how to spin it. Some declared it nothing more than a grievous offense of the highest order while others were more sympathetic to the attackers' plight, pointing to evidence of anti-nonhuman bigotry as well as the unprovoked shooting of a metahuman who had been trying to get his nonpowered attackers to stand down. At the end of the day it was hard to say whether they were right or wrong, and most couldn't make up their minds one way or the other.
What was clear was that they were gaining a following. After footage of the attack leaked onto the world wide web, other nonhumans and even human supporters took notice. Within a month, smaller groups had followed their example and began staging protests and demonstrations across the country. Some were nonviolent, but others were more extreme in their methods. At first they all chose their own names, but eventually, one name above all others took precedence: The Guardians. That was the name that stood out and the name that stuck, and soon all of these groups rallied under that banner. The only thing keeping things from getting out of hand was that they were still separate parties, but all it would take would be some basic organization to round up everyone into one massive nationwide fighting force. One that the original Guardians may well have been willing to exploit.
At the same time, the other side hadn't stayed silent. For now they weren't nearly as vocal or frequent, but in the wake of the Guardians' initial attack, nonhuman hate crimes were again on the rise. It still wasn't on the level of Gaea's peak, but it was there. And all it would take would be just a little nudge in the right direction to get it up there.
In spite of that, Saint University did its' best to soldier on. The transition from an Academy to a University had still been going relatively smoothly, and now that the kinks had been worked out it was time to have the University's very first Open House. While it was ostensibly for prospective students wanting to get a good look at the University, it was also open to anyone who wanted to come in and visit. Which included everyone's parents and relatives. In any case, the gym had already been prepared. All that was left was for the students, teachers, and whoever else to start trickling in. Regardless of who showed up, it was sure to be a hell of a night.
Meeting Place
While Saint University was busy taking a breather, others were not so idle. As the moon started to rise into the starry skies, a brisk wind blew a wave of leaves over an open clearing, the light of the moon shining on a small circle of stumps that served as seats. It may not have looked it, but this was a meeting place. And it was soon about to see some use.
Edited by kkhohoho on Apr 21st 2019 at 7:28:33 AM
Shane - Squad 1 / Family
"So uh...you wanna talk about that awesome finish to your year last year?"
Shane felt he could be excused for thinking he was just talking with one of his friends from the gym. Nope, it was his dad. It seemed Jason Calston had made it a special mission to get there earlier this year.
Jason was dressed this time even less officially than usual - a tank top, shorts, and flip flops. He looked less like a dad than someone his son would hang out with.
"...Yeah, I snapped a control rod and shut off a huge-ass Nazi Invasion. Lemme guess..." Shane looked at his dad with some degree of curiosity, "You had something to do related to the aftermath."
Jason nodded, and admitted, "Oh yeah. Just cuz they lost out and saw their head people go down didn't mean Gaea was off the hook. Me and my boys uh...made sure some of the Gaeans who tried to flee the country had tragic accidents."
Shane nodded, letting a little grin show, "Did you do the Surprise Wake Up or the dignity-denying Tyrion Maneuver?"
Jason shrugged, "Some one way some the other." Jason then said, "I heard what you did to Benny, the alt-right shitstain."
Shane simply nodded again.
Jason leaned over to him and said, "As your father I must say I disapprove of such frivolous and disgraceful activities..." He then whispered, "...Buuuut, where I don't need to come off as a responsible dad, I heartily approve. I downloaded Helium_Benny.mov for my phone."
Shane chuckled, and Elric, standing by near them, just felt like remarking that he COULD hear them, but the butler figured by now that those two were just...the way they were.
And thus it would just be his job to clean things up, if anything came of these dalliances.
Van - Squad 3
Van wondered as Parents Night came if he was going to see his parents or his brothers show up to the place. He didn't honestly know if they were in good enough standing to show up. The Wallachian Court were, by and large, Predators, and his grandfather's proclivities were known well enough.
He looked at the sword on his back.
The Sword of Tear had been yearning lately. Ever since the incident at the outskirts, it was letting it be known it wanted to be drawn and wielded.
Maybe it was just his own anxiety and nature imposed on the sword, but there was...well, not quite an intelligence, not nearly developed enough for that, but more an inclination with this weapon.
And he was quite unsettled with the direction it seemed to want to go.
Meeting Place
A portal opened up soon enough, and Malhareff stepped out gingerly, looking around - the Sovereign Sphinx advancing out from a location that looked like some sort of combination of space ship and ancient pyramid. Such was his dwelling between meetings and missions for the Guardians.
He looked back at the last outing.
While the attack on Evelyn had had unforeseen consequences, it did open her up to some new avenues. And the fact Clay had proven willing to take damage for her let him know more about how to deal with those two.
And the heroes had demonstrated when they immediately launched into attacking they weren't interested in fetching up or moving the prone civilians affected by his Eternal Horde's weaponry - not a single member of Squad 4 had moved to try and push or pull the civilians out of the fighting zone. That itself could prove useful.
And Vivian had proven a useful pawn. On top of what he made her armor do, he had also managed to acquire something even more valuable than just a rampage out of her.
Edited by NickTheSwing on Apr 21st 2019 at 6:04:39 AM
Evelyn – Gym
Clack.
Clack.
Clack.
Wide, startlingly bright blue eyes stared all around in wonder as Evelyn entered the Gym for the first time in a month; her weakened limbs relying on crutches to walk yet otherwise looking healthier than she had ever before. Her forehead had visible scars across it, and she still looked a little unsteady, but she was up and moving around nonetheless.
And yes, her eyes were—for the most part—visible for the first time. It had only been very recently after she was recovering from her rather rough operation that the blood from her hyphema had drained away enough for her to finally be able to see again. It was still pooled a little less than halfway from the bottom, but it was no longer covering her pupils—the delicate removal of her broken implants having cleared the way for her blood vessels to start healing.
It had been a gradual, dazed process before she'd finally been deemed healthy enough to be let go, but she was still due a few more trips to check on her hyphema and Third Eye in order to see if any problems resurfaced. And speaking of, her Eye had to remain dormant—lest it aggravate the stitching.
Evelyn didn't care.
She could see.
Granted, it wasn't perfect. She was shortsighted and apparently suffered from a mild case of nystagmus; making it next to impossible for her to focus on anything. But these were from her albinism, and could hardly be helped—so she couldn't complain. Her eyes—now a clear bright blue with a tinge of pink due to her condition—danced about not involuntarily but with joy, every sensation received with child-like wonder like it was her first time seeing since birth. She realised she'd never directly seen her face. Nor the face of her classmates. The thought that would have previously depressed her now only made her smile broadly, and she immediately began looking for Clay.
And her surrogate parents were coming too. For a change, Evelyn couldn't be any happier.
Wren – Gym
“Poof.”
With a burst of feathers and sulphur (and sulphury feathers), Wren sat perched upside-down on the ceiling, peering curiously at the setup gone into making the room suitable for guests and proceeding to crawl about all the walls in order to prod and poke at the decorum. As was her usual custom by now.
“Wren does like, but Wren also confusion. Why open house and not closed? Would get wet and cold. Closed mean cosy and warm. Yes?”
A beat.
“No. Wren miss something. Explain thingy to Wren. Please,” she tacked on as an afterthought. At least her grammar had improved somewhat again.
Tamamo-no-Mae – Meeting Place
“Now this... much more my style. Nature has a certain poignancy to it,” the ancient fox hummed to herself as she skirted down the side of a tree; shifting from her pitch black fox form to her human form on the way down. “Cute. They even have little seats for us. Maybe they're hiding a tea set somewhere too.”
As she settled down on her log seat, she sent a cheery wave and a shut-eyed smile over to Malhareff. Then patted the log beside her. And dug her claws into its surface.
She was strange like that, it seemed.
“Salutations, Sphinx. Gorgeous location, wouldn't you think?”
borkJumping Bean (3)
Jumping Bean kicked back and lounged on a rafter in the gym, sipping some celestial wine. She clenched and unclenched a fist, thinkng back to the events one month prior. She wished she could have helped out more, and she huffed a little with anger at how her power was restricted.
But it was necessary, she reminded herself. It was necessary. It would all turn out fine in the end. Probably.
That was before two butterflies—one a deep, shimmering blue, the other a dark green and swirling purple—darted with unearthly agility into the gym. She floated down in short order to meet these revered ancestral spirits.
She was not expecting them to turn into her parents.
Her father, Rain Blade, had been (and still was) a taciturn but skilled swordsman. He was known for the quickness of his blade, which the people he helped said rivalled rain's speed when it fell from the heavens. He had been a ladies' man, though he had sobered up quickly after the adventure when he had met his wife. His robes were colored a dark blue and he shifted his jian a little in his crossed arms.
Jumping Bean's mother was named Lily Dart. Rather unsurprisingly, she was skilled at dart throwing and subterfuge, and was raised to serve a secret order of assassins before being swept off her feet by Rain Blade. She was quite motherly towards the people she helped, though always quick to berate people for their perceived foolishness. She lowered the bandana covering the lower half of her face—indeed, she was dressed in something like a ninja's uniform, colored dark green and accented with purple embroidery.
Jumping Bean gasped. "Ama? Adie? How? I-I thought you died! You flew right across my path! I-I saw you!" she stuttered.
"There, there, my daughter. We had accumulated enough merit, and although it was not enough to become Xian, like you, we were allowed to become ancestral spirits," Lily Dart said soothingly, stepping forward to let Jumping Bean sob into her shoulder.
"Dying is not that unpleasant," Rain Blade said. "But the process is. I think we'd all know that..." he awkwardly flopped his arms around his family, and especially his daughter.
"Do you—do you want to meet my classmates? My teachers? I can show you around..." Jumping Bean asked hopefully.
"I want to meet who you drink with," Rain Blade said brusquely. "You can often judge a person by who they eat and drink with."
"It's no use scaring the girl like that," Lily Dart scolded gently. "Now, lead us forth! We have very little time off!" she said to Jumping Bean.
And so Jumping Bean dried her tears, and led her parents away.
Perry (4)
Perry was slouched near a chair in the gym (moping about the fact that nobody was going to visit her), when she saw a person dressed in black robes and a scythe strapped on their back step into the gym, black smoke trailing from his feet. Any undead present at the gathering would feel an immediate antipathy towards the scythe—it was somehow very menacing.
"OI!! Delivery! Delivery for Peregrine Alastor!" the Reaper called. He had an Australian accent, which was so out of place given his clothes that Perry just had to laugh at it. He was carrying three packages in his arms and two letters stuck under his armpit.
"That me!" she called across the room. "Who is it?"
"Morrigan Fletcher, a Reaper from the Department of Death & Dying Services. I'm a friend of your father's—no, not Anton—Hawk. The real Hawk," Morrigan smiled. "I've come to deliver your inheritance."
Edited by JumpingFruit on Apr 21st 2019 at 9:01:15 AM
I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own."Finn!" Celia said happily as she ran up to hug him. He of course accepted the hug. "Hey, Celia. How are you doing?"
"I'm doing good!"
"How are you doing, Finn?"
"Good for the most part." Prof. Acker narrowed his eyes a bit."For the most part?" Finn sighed a little. "Dad..." Finn said lightheartly Hopefully the whole night wasn't going to be like this. "Anyways, let's head inside." The Ackers then proceeded to enter the gym.
Edited by LovelyMagicianSavvy on Apr 21st 2019 at 7:19:08 AM
Just an adorable fan girl and cosplayer ヾ(*・ω・)ノ💝💟Squad 1 -Zach
Zach had a lot to think about the past month.
The slowly gathering crowds brought him back to a similar situation of last year, namely the adults coming in with almost the intent to embarrass them somehow, some way. Zach wasn’t exactly full of mirth and excitement as he was last year, eager to meet the parents of his new friends.
He was excited but not too much...not with the coming question in his mind.
Should...he stay here?
It took a lot of thinking to get to this point. Once upon a time, he wanted to be a hero. To use his powers to make people safe. To make him feel like he was needed. But that was the thought process of a boy with one foot in the grave. Now, fundamentally immortal, he didn’t need to make a name for himself as desperately as he did.
And as much as it pained him to admit...he was broken. Something in his brain clicked off and wouldn’t to turn back on. Some frayed wire had ultimately gone off. That last episode, back in the outskirts, had shown that no matter how many times he would talk to the therapist, it would be a process...a long one, with varying results.
What kind of hero would he be if he froze up at the slightest provocation? What exactly could he hope to accomplish if he had no way of helping people, let alone hurt someone by accident?
He sat off to the side, fiddling with a pen deep in thought...so deep, he didn’t feel a hand tap him on the shoulder until Alive smiled.
“Hey pumpkin.” She said softly. “You look like you need someone to talk to...”
Guardians
Malhareff promptly took a seat and lounged there, cupping his face, looking at Tamamo first, "Indeed - quite a beautiful locale, dear Tamamo. I cannot help but feel this choice of meeting location is meant to imply...something." He didn't feel like outright saying it, but he trusted Tamamo to understand things like this.
He then looked over at Tess and took a rather surprisingly genteel tack with her, "And a good evening to you, Tess. Twas a fine job you did in the field, finding that artifact. I am quite impressed by the work you put in."
Malhareff then produced what looked like a blue pyramid made of energy, and looked at images of Class 1 displayed in it. First it showed a picture of Vivian, and then it shifted, showing Sally, Zach, Dante, Finn, Clay and Evelyn, in that order.
"Class 1 only seems ironclad on the surface, executing missions and working as heroes, but look at things on a Squad by Squad basis, and you see areas of woeful lacking, and then on a person by person basis - each Squad possesses a wedge or two that can be employed. Whether they know they are a wedge or not."
Squad 3-Martin
This was the worst situation that Martin had ever faced before in his life, an utter and terrible sort of horror that consumed his very being. The panic flowing through his system was unlike anything he had ever experienced before. "So Mom, Dad, this is the University," he waved his hand around, eyes flashing in every direction as if the moon would drop on them at any moment.
Both of his parents were the exact definition of average, the kind of people that would fill out a tracking shot for a sitcom. They were neither ugly nor were they attractive. Not tall, but not short enough to comment on. Neither were metahumans, and given that any significant event in the University was followed by the sort of knock out brawl that would put such people in danger Martin was sweating bullets.
"Oh calm down now son," his dad put a comforting hand on Martin's shoulder. "Why don't you introduce us to your teammates."
"And maybe we could see Mahvash again, given that you don't bring her around that often. Are you embarrassed of us?" his mom asked, all the fake chagrin he was used to with her.
"I, uh," Martin let out a sigh. "No mom, I'm not embarrassed just, busy." he finally said before seeking out some of the other members of the class to get introductions out of the way.
Squad 3-Violet
As was the norm in any given public setting Violet was escorted by an angel, through she had been talked down from her full entourage to a single archangel to keep an eye on things around her and keep any bothersome people away from her. While this was a day for parents to come in and view the university (given that it had been in various states of repair when the year started) Violet was quite alone outside of her summoned guardian. Her family was much too busy to attend such a trivial matter, and given they had never agreed with her chosen lifestyle she had kind of expected that.
So she was alone, but she didn't mind too much. This was what life was for her, and lamenting it would just lead to further trouble.
Squad 4-Clay
Clay had a number of complicated feelings when seeing the various others with their families or friends, vaguely wishing that he had something hard to drink in order to take his mind off of his own familiar situation. He had never known his dad, and his mom had suffered a horrible fate at the hands of a man he had put in the ground multiple times only for him to get back up again. His adoptive family in the Bright Riders had been dead for hundreds of years. Needless to say he was feeling lower then a well at the moment.
But his face did light up when he saw Evelyn, through it hurt his heart to see her on crutches it meant she had healed enough to not need a wheelchair. Careful not to approach to quickly Clay sauntered over to her with a smile. "Howdy darlin, lookin beautiful as ever."
Iridium Wonders – Gym
Dante entered the Gym. He sighed.
It seemed like, as months passed, Dementius' actions starting to affect him and the people around him in a growing, more concrete way. Fortunately, that incident with that man didn't become the most relevant thing the biggest anti-metahuman groups used to justify their hatred...
"What's with the long face, Dante dear?", A feminine voice tried to reassure him.
He turned around. The source of the voice was his best friend and sister figure Veronica Pervinchi: she was a blue-eyed (her eyes are dark periwinkle, to be more precise) brunette. She was 6'1". She was also pretty busty, which could be noticeable despite the fact that she wore a rather flashy robe, were gave her the look of a "Catholic" priestess. And that wasn't unintentional. She is the daughter of the local Venetian hero, the City Priest (or Prete della Città, as the locals there called him), after all.
It's nothing, it's just that—
"Is it another shenanigan with Dementius?", Veronica abruptly assumed, with an annoyed face.
Dante's cheeks became a slight pink from the embarrassment, Yes, it is...
Veronica made a sigh, "Of course it had to be...", she said disapprovingly.
Dante frowned, mortified, as he gazed at the floor. Veronica, seeing this, lowered herself down a bit and put her hands on Dante's shoulders.
"Don't be sad, Prince Precossini, I'm sure that we, and your classmates, will find a way to defeat him, no matter how much it will take to find it...", she spoke in a calm tone, tried to brighten him up.
Her attempt was successful. Dante made a weak smile, ...thank you, Vera... , he quietly thanked her.
She smiled. "Now that you are in a better mood, why don't you introduce me to your classmates?", she proposed.
Hm...Why not? , he affirmed.
Dante was now in the way of introducing Veronica to some of his classmates.
Squad 3 – Gym
Chibuzo stepped into the gym. He looked at the small Parent/Relative-Child groups (or the sibling groups) that were scattered around the gym. He slightly frowned at them.
He was...an orphan.
His parents were killed by that trickster god...Anansi. The only family he had was his mentor, who turned to be the one behind that parricide.
He clenched a fist. He will never forget what he did to his parents...what he did to him...
"Are you alone?", he noticed someone who wasn't accompanying their parents/relative/siblings: it was Violet Sharm.
"No parents, relatives or siblings to accompany?", he politely asked her, "Unless you want to introduce your guardian angel to the others", he calmly chuckled.
Squad 4 – Gym
"Ahhhh...so this is the gym, right?", a bubbly and rather excited voice said.
Yes, it is, Betty... , a voice, Iuvem's, replied affermatively to the newly-named Betty.
Betty Glove was a (5'11") purple-haired woman, with blue eyes, pale-ish skin and freckles. She wore the typical "Scientist's Coat" that had ETHELnote 's logo in it. The coat was unbuttoned, and it revealed her black t-shirt that had three horizontal lines (they were blue, fucsia and red). She also wore blue jeans and beige-colored heeled boots. Her attire, overall, wouldn't give the impression that she was a mage. In fact, Betty was ETHEL's token mage. And she used Magitek instead of normal magic.
As they walked around the gym, they heard Wren's question. Betty turned towards the feathered girl and quickly approached her, dragging Iuvem with her, the golem being thrown off by her excitement.
"You see, Wrenny, this event is called 'Open House' because it's figuratively open for people who don't frequent this university, like me, so that we can see and explore it, so that we can get an idea about what it's like frequenting this university!", Betty bubblily explained to her, petting her. Iuvem made an awkward smile and waved at her.
Edited by Theyja on Apr 22nd 2019 at 1:30:19 PM
You might know everything I'm going to do...but that's not going to help you, since I KNOW EVERYTHING YOU'RE GOING TO DO! STRANGE, ISN'T IT?Squad 2 Gym - EG 1
Ever plopped herself down on the bleachers next to Sally. She didn't actually say anything, but simply watched the other students go by with their families with a sense of melancholy about her. The plant girl was deep in thought. She took the arrowhead out of her mouth and turned it over in her hands a few times, inspecting it. After a moment Ever popped it back in her mouth and worked it back into the internal pocket where she stored it.Guardians - Meeting
A swarm of insects congregated in a tree, mashing and molding themselves into a small animalistic shape the size of a breadbox. Numerous limbs quietly glided the creature down to the side of the tree where Evo regarded the other Guardians in silence. Argue everything you can argue. Doubt everything you believe. Ask every question you have. Argue, doubt and ask. Through this we learn.Evelyn – Gym
Evelyn saw Clay coming for once.
It was surreal, undoubtedly. She was lost for words for a good few moments as she just took in his features. Admittedly being unable to focus anyway didn't help much, but she felt as if she'd have taken her time in any case. But after a while, she grinned and looked up at him—looking him directly in the eyes for the first time.
“You're prettier than I thought you'd be.”
She promptly burst into giggles and shifted her weight on her crutches so as to fall into him in a hug. Thankfully she was still quite small, so it wouldn't be too impactful.
It was also to give her a chance to close her eyes for once. As excited as she was, there was a lot of colours assaulting her senses that she simply hadn't seen in far too long. It was overwhelming, but she had to admit that having Clay there helped a ton.
Wren – Gym
Wren blinked.
“So house is open because house is open. Wren still confusion. Open still mean danger, yes? Closed house safe and warm for Wren. Wren not keep hidey-hole open for strangers. Wren block up so no hurt.”
She didn't shrink back at the touch as much as grimace, which was an improvement. Her feathers ruffled in response anyway, and she 'ported—behind Betty to pull at her hair.
“Oooooh. Hair pr-etty. Pretty colour. Fake? Or ack-i-dent?” she inquired, stumbling over the last word quite spectacularly as she did so.
Tamamo-no-Mae – Meeting Place
“Every army has its oversights. Comparatively lacking attributes that combine with the greater attributes to forge something greater. But separating them will do the trick, yes. If they're not stubborn,” Tamamo agreed in more of a serious tone, shifting in her seat slightly to better look at them all. “We'll have to watch out for the heavy-hitters. There's more than one god in their midst, which isn't particularly good for us. I could take on the kitsune for convenience's sake, but there's still others that could catch us off-guard.”
She quirked an eyebrow at Malhareff briefly, before clearing her throat and continuing.
“And another thing: aim for vitals. Kill them. No use fueling their lust for vengeance. Foolish as it is it does make them more dangerous. If not more reckless, but that can be part of it. In any case, they've had a year. If they're lacking teamwork they're most certainly not lacking in bonds,” she murmured—seeming to be talking more to herself than them by this point.
Whether they be good or bad, hmm?
bork

Supercity Outskirts
As the man listened to Martin's words, it seemed as though perhaps he was going to back down. His grip on his rifle lessened, his eyes became a bit less hard, and he was slowly starting to put away his gun at his urging.
And then a robo-octopus from hell and a goddamn vampire came in like it was Halloween.
The man yelped in terror, as did the others with him, and they all unleashed unholy hell upon Van and Robotopus as though they were foul abominations sent by Satan himself, screaming for their lives at the top of their lungs. With Martin caught in the middle.
In hindsight, this was probably not very wise.
Edited by kkhohoho on Apr 20th 2019 at 12:19:59 PM