AKA Nixer
Wren
“...Wren's completely lost.”
That was all the creature really had to say as she finally blinked out of her gaze and shook her head slightly; her brain having tuned to static shortly after she'd trailed the others into the projector room. So instead of doing anything else, she dropped onto all fours and curiously followed after the dogshifted Gremory—if not for familiar company than anything else.
Perhaps it was because of his own bestial traits, but she'd found herself trailing after him a lot. It was a strange fondness she felt that was perhaps born of kinship.
”Bird's Nest is good talker. Good a talker as with sword. Very dangerous. Wren likes it.”
bork
Outside Projector Booth
"Oh, I appreciate it! Really, I do! But I think me and my daughter can take care of things from here! Though I appreciate the offer. If we ever need anything, we'll know who to call!" The Mayor called out to the projector room, only just raising his voice. "Come on, Gloria! Time to go home!"
Gloria sulked out of the office, crossing her arms as she pouted like a spoiled child. Despite her angelic beauty, she wasn't the picture of humility or grace. "Do we have to? I mean, we didn't even get—"
The mayor quickly put a finger to his lips, hoping Gloria got the hint. She soon hushed, crossing her arms as she grumbled. "Fine. Wasn't much fun anyway."
The mayor turned to the students, giving a slight bow with far more grace than his daughter. "Maybe it's not my place to say, but thanks for saving us. If it wasn't for you, I don't know if we'd have gotten out of there in one piece!" Though despite his claims, there was a strange sense that part of him did know.
Perhaps it was the barely restrained fit of laughter?
"But your friend's got a point. Much as I'd love to stay and chat, we should probably get out of here while we still can. Come on, Gloria!" And with that, the both of them walked down the stairs and towards the entrance. One could swear there was a spring in the Mayor's step, but if he was pleased about anything, they could only guess.
Edited by kkhohoho on Dec 2nd 2020 at 12:08:30 PM
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Outside Projector's Office
"Okay," Nestan nodded staying straight faced through the mayor's and his daughter's antics. "I'm still giving you an escort." As overtly as she could, Nestan called a small swarm of hornets that noisily followed the mayor and his daughter out. Their buzzing must have been annoying but they were supposed to give the pair the impression that they were being looked after not watched. And the hornets would only follow the pair as far as their car.
"Gremory..." she sighed when the two had walked off. "Do you know anyone who could help get us search warrants?" She wanted to test the mayor and Gloria for magic affinity and carefully compare their power signatures to the evidence at the scene.
And that was it really. There was not really any good evidence that they had anything to do with the cultist insurgency, except for the city council seeming to go crazy too and the class being targeted specifically. So, she wouldn't even ask to search their offices and home or anything more. Nestan would still do some research on the man though. Probably starting with ask Grem's family.
"Ms. Goldie," Nestan turned on their homeroom teacher. "Is everything okay?" She knew the answer to that: no. Still, she had to ask. When the class had found Goldie, something had been done to her head. 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 lives
Surrounded by weirdoes
Hali just followed the others and couldn't do much, beyond letting everyone else speak. But as things ended, she could only sigh as it was clear how shifty everything seemed. She needed to think about how to clear some doubts about all of this. Time to be sneaky ourselves
"So, any way we could bug them?" She asked the others in a whisper. This might not be considered right, but they needed to stop being caught in the backfoot.
Wake me up at your own risk.
Gremory-Outside Projector's Office
Grem watched the mayor intently as the man ambled past. He smelled....well not ok, but nothing off. Of course, Gremory had smelled more weird things than you'd find on the X-Files, so perhaps that didn't count for much. His daughter, on the other hand, smelled....like lavender and sunshine and hope. So of course Gremory Hawkshaw trusted her even less now. You only had to get one thioacetone bomb in a surprise gift to dislike things that looked pleasant.
Shifting back to Nestan, he nodded hesitantly. "I...can ask. But she rarely does anything for free, even for family. Even for me. Unless you have something to trade or information to sell. That's just how she does things. I could request a favor, of course. Or a boon. That might work." Gremory shrank back into his dog form so she wouldn't see his expression and followed the rest out to the street.
Breath of the Sun
Alexander
Alex said nothing as the Mayor came in to collect his daughter, merely nodded respectfully at the politician. He'd let Nestan do the talking. She was probably better at it, anyway.
As the Mayor and Gloria left, Alex exhaled, rubbing his temples. His gaze flicked towards Hali. "The Mayor's residence is public knowledge, so Justin could send some bugs in there to see if they overhear anything. Potentially risky, but if we get caught we could possibly deflect blame onto Justin's dad."
Then he addressed Grem, as he followed his now canine classmate out. "I'll reiterate the possibility that Polly is involved with this whole charade." Alex said, then sighed. "But if you think it will help, Gremory, you can tell your aunt that I'm willing to offer her a use of my power in exchange for assistance. I'm assuming she knows the gist of what I can do; if there's any kind of rare material or compound she needs, I can make it."
He paused a moment. "Well, within reason; I'm obviously not going to make her plutonium or the like."
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Outside Projector's Office
Nestan nodded at Grem. That came as no surprise. Ms. Polly had never come off like an almoner of The Chancery. But charity was her responsibility not Polly's. That Grem's aunt was available was potentially available was a chance. Really wish I had the high priestess's charisma stat right now.
The lay sister was a sister
"With a warrant," Nestan repeated to Hali, even half-absorbed in her musings and conscious of sounding more like she was shooting down solutions than offering any. "And a reason." She paused a moment. "Not a reason to investigate one of the people who probably tried to kill us; a reason why we would go so far as a bug in someone's home."
Nestan did not follow the others out immediately. First of all she apologized to the manager and tried comforting any customers that she ran into. Yes, her class had not summoned monsters into the theatre, but that probably wouldn't make much difference to onlookers.
And then there was the issue that the class had no attached specialists. Nestan did not know what to gather from the scene of the monster fight but she also did not want to just leave it. Alex had already worked over the screen, so that left the projector room and maybe some samples from the ground they walked on. 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 lives
Brendan had just followed Nestan along as she escorted the mayor to his daughter and met up with his other new classmates. He watched the mayor and Gloria leave with Nestan's swarm of hornets behind them, and then his new classmates began to talk about things he did not understand. He had no idea who these people really were, or even what there powers were. Let alone who Gremory's aunt, or Justin's dad were. Certainly not why they would try to bug the mayor's house. He just sort of shrugged it off though, and strolled after the rest of the young heroes who seemed to be leaving.
When they were out on the street, he finally piped up, having been too distracted by everything going on to think to ask questions before now. He forced an awkward grin as he spoke. "So uh," he ran a hand through his hair. "Why do we want to stalk the mayor? This is er, kind of embarrassing, but I have no clue what's going on."
Surrounded by weirdoes
Hali sighed, thinking how to explain it.
"Sorry about that, Brendan" She said "We've been having some issues. Some jerks keep coming in to pick fights, and they seemed to know way too much about our defenses and all. And the mayor seemed way too willing on taking advantage of it all, and this trip wasn't exactly our idea, and he might as well hang an even bigger 'I'm Evil' sign on his neck than your average politician with that behavior, unless he is that irresponsible in a crisis" And his daughter conveniently was last seen with the hypnotized teacher "It's as good a lead as we have now, so let's hope we have some clue of what's going on"
She could only run a hand through her face.
"It's getting really tiring, isn't it?"
Wake me up at your own risk.
Justin
Meanwhile, Justin was hanging around, glowering about the lack of takedown on the authority figure, feeling dejected by the fact they couldn't pin anything on her or her dad just yet. He just knew that creature was responsible for it, and that his scanners would confirm it. No doubt - this place was rotten from the top all the way down. The principal, the mayor, the mayor's daughter... all were involved in this conspiracy somehow.
And thus we're still in danger, and we have to content ourselves with the consolation prizes.
And then there's Gremory...
How much can we really even trust him considering how deeply interwoven his family is with these people of power and authority?
Things to consider for my club. Which I think needs some development. Starting tomorrow, we're the Crest Society, just as a rebranding item. Safety sends perhaps the wrong message considering the people involved. I WILL find out who in all is involved, one way or another.
Strange Academy, November 7th
It had only been a week and a day since the incident at the cinema, but it certainly felt like longer. After the the beginnings of an official police investigation, the place abruptly chose to close up shop for roughly the next week. Its official response was to go over the whole building with a fine-tooth comb and make sure that what happened with Maximum Winkle didn't happen again. Still, it didn't make everything else any less suspect.
After the initial report, the cinema didn't say a word. No-one said a word. The staff were beyond tight-lipped, not saying anything to anyone outside the cinema on the grounds of 'cinema libel.' The manager himself had gone scarce, with rumours that he hadn't stepped foot out of his office since the incident occurred. The craziest rumours questioned if there was a manager, and that the whole place was run by some otherworldly committee. But it didn't take away from the strangeness of it all, even for this town.
Nor did it stop business as usual. Despite the incident, the mayor continued with his daily rounds, even meeting with the council about further steps to implement their up and coming database. Nor he was concerned with anyone watching over his shoulder. Despite Justin's best efforts, he had come up empty-handed, his bugs vanishing off the face of the earth without a trace. Nor had the Mayor done anything unexpected. Everything he did, from attending meetings to stopping at a Mc Donald's, to chatting with the bear running the dance club — all of it ran according to his weekly schedule, like clockwork. The mayor always did certain things in a specific order, and even with things as they were, it was no different.
Still, life went on. By now, the school had finished securing the underground city, ensuring no-one without proper authority got in or out. Security watched it like a hawk, even as the Principal made multiple visits. There were also additional security systems being installed, including the dorms. Even though today was a day off, the school's security team insisted on making the proper adjustments. They were in the midst of making last-minute touches on the dorm for Class 1 1/2, installing additional security cameras and warning systems that would supposedly alert them and the school of possible danger. Even if they weren't clear on what that danger was.
The crowning jewel was a small, ruby-red gem, adorned upon the mantlepiece. But when asked what purpose it served, they wouldn't give anything close to a straight answer. All they said was 'You'll thank us later' before making for the door without so much as a by-your-leave. But at least they were gone.
If only that wasn't such a cold comfort.
Edited by kkhohoho on Dec 9th 2020 at 11:09:48 AM
Justin
From Safety Crest Club to Crest Society.
Justin spent all those eight days working with his club during the day and working on his tech during the night. He was sure something terrible was going to happen, but didn't dare say much of anything because he knew by now how paranoid he came off. But there was also the matter of whether that paranoia had any basis in reality. That Ivanka-like bitch and her dad seemed impervious - his bugs disappeared, nothing could come up about the manager of that place...
What Justin could control he went ahead and started working on to an even more significant degree. He started training those who were involved in the Crest in use of tech based weapons in case anything happened. There was a real sense of paranoia among the club. And Justin didn't know any more if he was the source of it or just as much under the current.
His powered armor was improved significantly as of late, making use of new "power talons", even more energy weapons, and chemical based weaponry that could effect freezing, fire and explosive shells. While it was slightly bulkier to reflect the improved systems, Justin seemed to be getting better at moving around in this stuff regardless.
As of now, he looked at the red gem and scowled at it. He had been trying as of late to covertly hack the security measures with his technopathy and see if he could make use of them himself - whatever happened he wanted to make sure he had some control over it. Any amount of control was better than not knowing anything about what was going on at all.
AKA Nixer
Wren
“...Is pretty, at least...” Wren eventually commented from her position on the wall near Justin; standing upright yet horizontal with her claws digging into the wall's surface like a vice. She walked down it so as to reach the ground again, a Rubik's cube in hand—which given her enhanced vision, wasn't exactly doing much for her.
“Why they all so vague? Could explain, otherwise s*** go wrong. If they lying, then could make it up,” Wren wondered aloud, referring to the team that'd just left the room as she glanced towards Justin curiously. “What do you think? Seems fishy to Wren. Also annoying. They're kinda dumb.”
bork
Justin
Justin cupped his chin as he examined the little gem more thoroughly, trying to reach out and see if there was any chance there was a technological component. His record with magitech was kind of spotty, but it usually worked just as well with his technopathy. Justin paced back and forth a little bit as he made his attempt. He didn't like the fact these things were posted around in the dorms. Made him think they were being watched through them.
He then got an idea...
"I'm gonna see what happens if I subject this thing to certain chemical stimuli..." With that Justin headed off to the lab to get some chemicals for just that.
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Dorm - Idle Hands
Nestan had started repainting the hallway and had gained paint stains on her overalls long before the security team left. She didn't have any design in mind; she just applied a fresh coat of whatever was there, working as if she were back in the chancery building. It was a form of meditation. And it partly highlighted just how far she was from her sisters and brothers and sanctuary. Hm. Well, she knew that was on that kind of task from the beginning.
"Farewell," the sister gave the people working on surveillance equipment, a basic goodbye that wasn't even answered and a stark contrast to the way she and her fellows would talk (and complain) after renovations. The way these techs had just run out without answering anything did not inspire confidence either. But, Nestan had already learned to consider the school more a battlespace than a home or a base anyway.
The issue with making this campaign any less one-sided is that they got no information from... anything. Throwing everything against the wall was beginning to seem a good idea, and she hardly objected when Justin began training his safety patrol into a militia. Not like she was in the loop on what to do or what was coming. To calm their paranoia, she would only really have been able to offer platitudes and bleugh.
I'm being hunted and I hate it! All-in-all a really bad start to her mission. And a bad middle so far. If she did not do something, she would let the others go to bad ends on her watch. And for nothing.
"If they don't count you as important..." Nestan said to Wren about the techs. "they don't need to think it through."
"The gem reminds me of the set in the city," she told Justin. "If that helps. And I... won't keep getting in your way." He was in a rush clearly, but that was long overdue. How different would things be if she had just let the others grab the mayor and Gloria at the theater?
"Do you want to see Star Wars tonight?" she asked Wren, pivoting quickly. Grem still had a lot to watch and it was a day off. And it left her a solid 2+ hours to march into the city while the others were occupied.
Edited by CenturyEye on Dec 10th 2020 at 8:47:17 AM
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 lives
Breath of the Sun
Alexander
Naturally, the Mayor faced no charges in the wake of the event. Justin's snoooping had revealed nothing. The Mayor's every move seemed above board.
Unsurprising, but nonetheless annoying.
More imminently concerning, however, was the increased security at school. The underground city had been secured, and access was denied to anyone without proper clearance. Not that this would impede Alex at all - he could just create his own tunnel if needed - but it was worth noting. The principal seemed to visit the place quite frequently. If he really was involved in the cult, that would explain some things.
Then there was the dorm security. More cameras, more sensors, more warning systems. Alex immediately assumed that the cameras were for monitoring the students themselves, rather than for catching invaders. Anyone who would attack a room full of superhumans likely wouldn't care about the security system.
Justin had been trying to take control of the security system himself, and at this point, given Justin's paranoia, Alex honestly wasn't sure if that was better or worse than the principal spying on them.
Atop everything was the red gem of unknown purpose. Fitting that it was red, for it was the biggest red flag of all; if it was truly for the students' benefit, Alex couldn't think of a reason to hide its purpose.
"They likely intend on using this security system to keep tabs on us." Alex answered Wren. "Such a security system is excessive for the stated goal of stopping intruders. That being the case, it's best we get to the bottom of this... mystery crystal."
While Justin went to grab chemicals for testing, Alex opted for a more direct route. Fully aware that it might be a trap, Alex stepped forward and placed one hand on the gem, intending to probe it with his power and see what, exactly, it was made of.
Edited by kagescorpionakki on Dec 11th 2020 at 2:45:10 PM
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?
AKA Nixer
Wren
“Wren being thought not important? Old news,” Wren sniffed in response to Nestan, only to grow wide-eyed at her suggestion and jumping up and down in place for a moment in excitement. “Ooh, Star Wars? Sounds good! Will watch with Nest-friend, yes.”
She seemed smart enough not to try and touch the gem, but most definitely peered at it closely for a moment—only to squawk in sudden fear as she attempted to catch Alex's hand to stop him from touching the thing.
“Wait! No touchings! What if hurt... is bad idea! Use robot... th-thingies? Wren don't know...”
bork
Gremory-Right Where They Want Us
Gremory got up, yawning. The scent of paint had slapped him out of bed anyway, so why not see what was afoot? Slipping on a pair of ugly sweatpants ("Go SH Fighting Wombats!") and an old gray/green plaid t-shirt he padded out.
The sight of Nestan engaged in painting made him roll his eyes. "What on earth are you doing? That old line about "idle hands" is just a metaphor, you know." Nevertheless he admired her work ethic. He'd done his share of hard work, but he never fell in love with it in the way of some people.
Gremory nodded politely to Wren. He still wasn't sure what to make of her. Her sudden appearance in battle still made him suspicious, but he was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.
And then there was Justin. Seeing his "Crest Society" become more militant was both irritating and oddly comforting. For all of his contempt and dislike of Henderson, at least there was something being done in an organized fashion. Gremory would still happily watch as Justin was eaten by rabid weasels, but perhaps his people could be useful as long as his paranoia and tiresome arrogance didn't become a hindrance.
All of these thoughts, of course, were a distraction from Polly. He'd dropped a few hints that a meeting would be good, and Gremory knew she'd had at least one call from the Mayor-there hadn't been even a pretense at concealing it from him. Either his Aunt wasn't aware of the various incidents that had happened at the school (which seemed very unlikely) or she wasn't worried about his reaction to them. She'd want something from him. A task? A promise? Some information? That was just fair. Nothing was free. But what would be her price?
Breath of the Sun
Alexander
He paused a moment, meeting Wren's gaze. Her red eyes were quite entrancing. Red eyes, like his mother. It was comfortably familiar. Though his mother's eyes were caused by distant demonic ancestry, while Wren was something not of this world. Nonetheless, Alex smiled reassuringly at her.
"It's fine, Wren. They didn't tell us to avoid touching it, and given it's supposed to, allegedly, help keep us safe, it's highly unlikely it's dangerous." Alex explained, as he gently pried Wren's hand off of his. "If it does prove dangerous, then we could potentially bring legal action against the school. So even if the principal is our enemy, he has very good reason to ensure this thing is safe. That being the case..."
With his other hand he reached out and grasped the jewel, exerting his power on it.
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Hallway
"Its a saying," Nestan answered Grem with a smile. "and a classic wisdom, though not always used the best way. Anyway though we can catch up on the movies today. There's also the Clone Wars, Legends, a couple of fan films, and The Mandalorian. When you get through those, I'll show you more. My grandparents have the whole set, and I have a projector from the library." They could use the school's auditorium for the that old-timey cinema experience.
"And the Wombats got nothing on the Bucks." Grem was probably just wearing those pants for ease—it was a day off—but she could hardly resist the taunt. 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 lives
Surrounded by weirdoes
"We might need to really pull out all the stops to handle such a thing" Hali commented, thinking of that gem. The lack of any movement or attempt at alert left her restless, but she could just hold on. No need to do something stupid that'd screw everyone over. "Still, they need to keep things controllable, to some extent"
"Easy, Nestan" She said, with her ideas of showing Grem the Star Wars franchise "We want him to see the light of the day within the next few years"
Wake me up at your own risk.
Gremory-Planning For The Future
Grem snorted. "The Bucks have nothing on the bench. They're all front-loaded with talent, nothing up their sleeves. Flash-in-the-pan." he paused, considering her offer of movies. "I didn't know there was that much to watch. I'm...not really a fan of clones. But I'll give it a shot. And I suppose a movie day would be fun to wash the taste of our other experience out of our mouths." He could also use this time to pump her for information about Justin's little clique-the Be Best Society or whatever-but he wouldn't push it. She was his friend. Also a pretty sharp cookie.
Hawkshaw took a look at Alexander trying to do...something....to the gem and took a few steps back. He was still uncomfortable around Alexander. Probably always would be-the boy was just too powerful. Human nature would inevitably out and trouble would result. So he wouldn't get too close, both out of fear of explosions or if Alex suddenly went all Barth Vader or whatever it was (he'd seen a few snippets here and there).
Tell Me, Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
Hallway -
"Oh?" Nestan shrugged. "Is that how the Wombats explain it when their defense gets broken—again? They held back some talent up their sleeves?"
"But, so glad to hear that you're in. I can start streaming the first one ASAP." By first one, she meant the first one, not the first prequel. But those would come in time. "And.." she gave Hali a nod. "we'll go from there."
Edited by CenturyEye on Dec 15th 2020 at 10:42:33 AM
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 lives
Dorms
As soon as Alex exerted his power, the gem awoke with a loud scream, glowing bright as a dark-red light within began swirling around like a hurricane. It exuded a raw sense of power, even more than the other gems in the city, and felt ready to break out of its' crystal confines at a moment's notice. If Alex and the others didn't do *something*, there was no telling what would happen to any of them.
Hallway - Nun Style: Conscience Technique
"Thank you. Follow me please." Nestan led the mayor on, keeping her sword up to guard and clearing spaces before having the mayor walk across them—or dragging him if necessary. She never forgot that he was a potential problem or that Brendan still was out of the loop. The lay sister was not sure enough to let him die and wouldn't let him die anyway if she saw him confessing on tape. She kept an eye on both but that meant split attention.
Though missing a Doberman sniffing outside the projector room would have been hard. "Gremory?" She greeted her classmate with a quick nod even while inspecting her surroundings. The power source in there didn't have to be Gloria but it was coming from the projector room and Gloria wanted the movie...
"Mr. Mayor," she breathed barely thinking up the words before speaking them. "If you came in a vehicle, please go with your daughter back home. If you didn't, I'll stand with you and call the police to take you back home—I may need you to talk for them to believe the mayor is really standing beside me. Um, I'm sorry you and Gloria got caught up in this. If you or your daughter need more help we are... already experienced. Not to forget you doing whatever good you can with your office, just I hope you'll reach out and help us end this sooner." She didn't know how blatant her attempt to reach out was, but if he was involved and came to regret even a little of this carnage after seeing it first hand then... 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 lives