The Cost of Infinity IC 1

[Business Scrub]

The Cost of Infinity

Two men enter a pitch dark room, save for the light of the doorway. The older walks busily around the room lighting candles with a match. In time, dozens of spots of candlelight bring the room to life. The wax of the candles shine like rubies, and tint the room in red.
In the center stands a curious table, of sorts. A long sheet of purple silk stretches tight over a hollow drum.
"Observe, Michael: the Multiverse." The older man waves his hands towards the purple silk.
"Erm, the Multiverse, sir? It's just silk."
The older man sighs. "It is a metaphore."
From his sleeve, the older man pulls a glass sphere and places it on the silk, which sags under the sphere's weight.
"And in this metaphore, observe: Gravity." He places a larger sphere on the other side, which causes the silk to sag there as well. "As a mass grows, so does its pull on the world around it. Tell me: in our example, what does the silk represent?"
"... Space-time, sir?"
"Precisely." The older man moves around, placing spheres at random points in the silk. Two sphere roll close together and meet with a clinking noise.
"When a mass grows large enough, it pulls on it's neighbors until they meet. Now imagine that the spheres are not mass, but an individual. The size of the sphere represents the power of the individual, making their small pulls on the Multiverse. What is the fabric in this case Michael?"
The younger man simply shrugs.
"Probability." The older man speaks with a sense of reverence. "Power draws power to it, just as mass draws mass. Sooner or later two great powers cannot help but collide. And when a power is great enough..."
He drops the larges sphere in the center of the silk, which creates a depression so large that all the others roll into it with resounding clinking.
The spheres begin to turn foggy, with little images swimming about in them. The older man picks up a large sphere and stares at it.
"Let us watch."
Meldale Highschool
Ledyard, CT, USA
October 20th, 2045
9:47 AM, on a Friday

Karen and Ewan
Ah study hall. The little window of free time in the middle of a busy day. The room is generally quiet, with most people asleep at their desk, reading, or talking in hushed tones among themselves. Study Hall can get unruly at times, but this early in the day no one is awake enough. A bored looking substitute teacher sits at the front of the class, idly thumbing through her phone and waiting for the last 5 minutes of class. What was her name again? Ms. Pauling? Ms. Pole? Ms. Paula?

Ms. Bently: A bored looking substitute who can't be older than 25. She's barely spoken ten words to you, so not much is known. Rather short and just a bit overweight, with neck-length blonde hair.

Lucy, Seth, and Veronica
"So if sine is a ratio of the opposing side to the hypotenuse, who can tell me what cosine is?" Mrs. Plumber stands at he head of the class drawing a triangle inside of a circle and looking around the room for attentive students. But it's not even ten on a Friday and people already want to either go home or back to bed.

@Seth: You're pulled out of your thoughts by a barely suppressed snort of laughter beside you. Two girls, Rachel and Jean, are cracking up looking at their calculator. It doesn't take superpowers to see what is on the screen from where you're sitting: Jean has managed to sketch a pixilated animation of a devil jabbing a pitchfork. Three guesses who that's supposed to be.

@Lucy: The snickering of Rachel and Jean a few rows behind you isn't exactly subtle. You've faced your fair share of hardships for your looks but these two have been unrelenting in making you feel unwelcome. Just five more minutes of class...

@Veronica: Mrs. Plumber's lecture is fading in and out a bit as you struggle to maintain focus. Suddenly you sense it: the 'whiff' of silver? Odd, unless someone was wearing a necklace made of it, and a big one at that.

Mrs. Plumber: Quite possibly one of the nicest teachers at Meldale, and she knows her stuff too. A short, bright, brown-haired woman, Mrs. Plumber is a case of a teacher who loves her job just a little too much.

Rachel Adams: Tall, dark haired, and eternally looking disappointed in the world. Everyone knows Rachel isn't the sharpest crayon at Meldale, but she's charismatic enough to crib answers off of others, so she looks wiser than she is.

Jean McArthur: The brains behind this duo. On her own, Jean is nice enough, but lives in Rachel's shadow too much to really be her own person. Black hair, green eyes, and generally well known for smaller parts in Meldale plays.

Iris and Daniel
The awkward scribbling silence of a test day permeates the room. What kind of sick teacher would schedule a test on a Friday? Mr. Medly, apparently. The annals of history don't rest on Fridays, so here you are answering esoteric questions about Gilgamesh. For the next five minutes anyway: at least once you finish you can leave. Mr. Medly's stern gaze for the past hour and fifteen minutes has been making you want to bolt.

Mr. Medly: Somewhere in his mid 60's, Medly has been at this school for ages. He takes his classes seriously, and god rest your soul if you pull a phone out in class. Tall and broadly built, he seems like he might have been in the military at some point.

Feel free to roleplay among each other for now or respond to some setting details.

[Llyarden]

Daniel frowned down at his paper. He didn't even remember being told that there was a Greek version of Gilgamesh, let alone why he was thrown out of a tower or how he survived. It was probably in his notes somewhere, unless they were some of the notes that had been soaked in water, or set on fire.

He put his head in his hands and rested his elbows on the table, only just remembering in time to not actually put any pressure on the thing. He'd already broken one object of furniture recently; he suspected that the teachers would not take kindly to him breaking another one.

He vaguely wondered why everyone else was still writing. There hadn't exactly been that many questions, and sure, he hadn't been able to answer most of them, but judging from the space they had been allotted for the questions they could hardly have been expected to write essays.

That was when he noticed the 'Turn Over' printed in small letters at the bottom of the page.

Almost dreading what he was going to find, he turned over to the back sheet of the question paper.

And an entire page of questions stared back at him.

[Silent_p]

Veronica knew math was important. It was supposed to be the basis of science, right? And science had come up with all kinds of stuff. Like her phone, the internet and... microwaves. Eager as Mrs. Plumber was, math was boring and it was Friday. FML.

Suppressing a sigh at Mrs. Plumber's question, Veronica ducked her head and looked at her textbook, idly flipping a page. She figured the answer would be there plus there was a chance she wouldn't be picked if she didn't make eye contact - that' s how teachers get you. It wasn't that she couldn't follow the class, it just felt like watching one of those crappy soaps her aunt loved: tedious and of a fixed duration. Besides, you don't volunteer to give an answer.

She heard the laughter as she was skimming over something about the ratio of the adjacent. Turning her head slowly toward the source, Veronica stopped as she noticed something new: silver that wasn't there before. Decent amount of it too. Hoping it wouldn't attract too much attention - Plumber was still waiting for a victim - she glanced around for the source.

[Andrian]

Karen, of course, had no trouble remembering the substitute's name. Karen never had trouble remembering anything. The hard part was acting as though she WAS having trouble remembering things.

She looked over and saw Ewan sitting nearby. He was one of the people the other Karen had known. Still, he was a stranger to her. This second life was more confusing than she'd expected.

Bored, Karen ran her hands through her mouse-brown hair, wondering if anyone had noticed anything strange yet. So far, no one had seemed suspicious. Even her new parents didn't seem to notice that their daughter was different.

Typical. Amazing how hard it is for people to see anything that's more than skin deep.

Still, she shouldn't complain. This life was infinitely better than her old one, even if she did have to wear a lot of cheerful colors.

What would Karen do in this situation?

Her natural inclination was to be quiet and watch people until the end of class, but that didn't seem like something Karen would have found interesting. Instead, she whispered to Ewan.

"Do we have a math test today?"

[herodofcows]

A book for Ewan Harke, Wind in the Pines!
But no tome of spell or of stories bold
No, this book speaks of angles, lengths, and sines;
'tis geometry, and it's getting old
If Ewan had his way, he'd not be here
In this school, this country, this mortal plane
But he is bound to this place in terms clear
The spell says "stay and learn", so he remains
And so he sits, and reads, and wishes he
Could call a wind to blow this place away
Or deal with some spirit by loophole
To take him back to the courts of the fae
So when Karen asks of later today
Ewan is glad to put the book away

"I don't think so, but maybe I forgot
It's Friday, after all, my mind's not here."
(Ewan finds glee in speaking meter'd thoughts
Sans rhyme, knowing that most students won't hear)
"Got anything good planned for this weekend?"
(Oh gods, that 'weekends' be his highlight now!
Pilfer'd booze, movies, malls, or sloth with friends?
I'LL not sink to those depths! Ewan's mind vows
This girl, Karen? He knows her passing well
She's nice, so very innocent, so sweet
Ewan likes her, but oft wishes a spell
Or deal for her, because if he could treat
With her as a fae, as he OUGHT to be
He'd scam her soul and mind away for free

[Business Scrub]

@Veronica: You glance around the classroom for the metal. Silver's not exactly common. Not in this quantity anyway. Turning your attention to the window, you realize it's not coming from inside the room at all. It's coming from the small field, maybe five feet on the other side of the window. In fact, it's not actually silver but a silver alloy. Silver and iron? Iron was common enough, but you've never felt the two combined before. And yet, as you look out the window you see nothing but the sun shining on the grass, a small pile of leaves forming, and the parking lot just beyond.

[AmberVael]

Iris paused before the last few questions of the test, hesitating over one of them. She remembered that Gilgamesh was supposed to have been a demigod, but the exact percentage of divine blood didn't come to mind. It was... more than half, maybe? She thought to herself, doing her best to keep her eyes on her paper and ignore the weird trickle of water running past her. This question was mercifully multiple choice, but she wasn't sure whether the answer was half, which seemed to be the traditional thing, or three fourths, which would more stick with her gut. Neither sounded right. Not like its two thirds though, that's just silly- how would that even work?

The violet trickle slowly grew wider and faster, then began to rush past in a stream which was much more difficult to ignore. Realizing she wouldn't be able to get any thought done with that distraction nearby, Iris jotted down her best guesses as quickly as possible and turned in her test, quickly slipped out the door before the entire room was submerged in an otherworldly river. She took a moment to breathe and calm herself just outside the door, shaking her head as she tried to dismiss her visions and bring back focus (and color) to the real world. Mercifully the sights slowly subsided, leaving her in the normal halls of Meldale rather than in some weird nightmare labyrinth, or whatever was going to get thrown at her next.

Its been getting clearer, easier to see. She realized with some nervousness as she moved out of the doorway and leaned against the wall instead.

[Andrian]

"Not much," Karen admits with a smile. "We often do a movie night on Saturday, but it's not really anything big."

She didn't know how to respond. Should she flirt? Was he thinking of asking her out? Or was this just normal between the two of them? She didn't remember Ewan being especially special to Karen...

Then again, this was HER life now, and she'd have to start making decisions for herself. Internally, she sighed. She hadn't thought this would be so hard! She decided to just go with it and see where things went. She wasn't used to having friends. Maybe it would be fun.

"How about you? You got any plans?"

I don't know if I should be rolling anything here. I don't think I should, but I really don't know.

[Business Scrub]

@Iris: You turn in your test just in time to avoid an onslaught of violet flooding. One that, of course, the people inside don't seem phased by. You catch your breath against the wall, and relax as the vision subsides.

"Hey Iris." Ben Steppe, a familiar voice if only because he sits close by in Mr. Medly's class. He must have been hanging around after class, since he waited just long enough to not seem like he was ambushing you to speak up.
"Well that could have been worse, right?" He seems equal parts artificial confidence and nerves. "So, I'm glad I saw you before that assembly today. I dunno if you're busy tonight but. There's this spot that opened up a couple weeks ago called Singularity. It's supposed to be like an 'under twenty-one club'. Me and some buds are going tonight: it's actually pretty cool. Anyway, you should come tonight. You know, if you're free."

Expertise: Streetwise

Ben Steppe: A decently tall, well-built kid, with short brown hair. He's a member of the school Lacrosse team and, though he spends most of his time with the athletic crowd, is more soft-spoken than they tend to be. He mostly keeps to himself during school hours: he gets decent grades but clearly works for them. As undeniably one of the more attractive Seniors at Meldale, he's one of the few that seem to have it more or less together.

[Llyarden]

Daniel, having entirely abandoned his test having answered the few bits he could of the back page, watched with some bemusement as Iris suddenly jumped up and hurried out. Well...she was in a hurry. Maybe she didn't want to be around when Mr. Medly saw her paper. That was certainly a reasonable concern. The only reason he hadn't escaped early himself was because he knew he would sound like someone was swinging a sledgehammer at the floor with every step as he left. The only way he was ever able to get around quietly these days was airborne, and he wasn't going to try flying in here. Quite aside from the fact that he was good at flying fast, but not particularly neatly, one aspect of his powers that resolutely maintained some connection to the laws of physics was the fact that his wingbeats generated - quite powerful - air currents.

Just for a moment, he almost considered doing it anyway, just to see the expression on the faces of his fellow students and Mr. Medly as their tests went everywhere. A glance up at the teacher's face immediately banished that idea.

Two minutes to go. His mostly-incomplete test would likely cause Mr. Medly to blow a gasket. If he left now he might cause a terrible noise but at least he might escape the worst of the teacher's tirade since it was still silent conditions. Well, no time like the present. Once more unto the breach and all that.

Trying his best to pretend like he couldn't hear the thump, thump, thump of his heavy footfalls on the floor and that he wasn't wincing at every step with an expectation of going through the floor - fortunately he had at least not done that in this school - he handed in his paper and hurried out. Ideally before Mr. Medly had a chance to realise how unfinished it was.

[Business Scrub]

@Iris: You've heard of this place before, but not by word of mouth. By circumstance, you've done a lot of online snooping about Singularity. It is, as the name would imply, a space-themed 21-and-under club that's been growing in popularity over the past few weeks. Judging from the pictures online, it's actually quite nice. The owner, a man named Steven Degall, has pour a considerable amount of money into it. Mr. Degall is one of the branch owners of Lawson Creek: one of those companies you manage to see all over Connecticut, and one that seems to have their fingers in everything. Presumably that's where the money for Singularity is coming from. You remember a quote from Mr. Degall from one of the articles.

I believe in our youth and I believe in their freedom of expression. Singularity will be a place they may be themselves and build the social fabric that is so critical to their development, while still being watched over with all reasonable supervision.

As for Ben himself: he seems awfully sincere. Though he speaks evenly and confidently it's clearly a bit practiced, and his body language betrays some nerves. Why? Does he have something to hide? Or maybe it's just because he's asking a pretty girl to meet him on a Friday night.
After a bit of pause he hurriedly adds, "You can bring friends too. Well, of course you can, but I mean, you should. If you're going. I don't mean to ambush you, you don't have to decide right now or anything."

And of course, natural 20's give you a nice big spoonful of success

@Daniel: You quickly slide your test onto the pile and make your way out of the hall as quietly as possible: an act which causes on of the nearby desks to shudder slightly. Mr. Medly glances up from his grading. "None of that stomping Mr. Cole. It couldn't have been that bad."

You make it outside to see Iris talking to another one of the classmates, but too late to miss whatever he just said.

[Silent_p]

Cosines and adjacents largely forgotten, Veronica stared out the window. At first her eyes darted around, searching, but she quickly started a more methodical sweeping gaze. While it was a nice day outside, nothing seemed particularly remarkable. She was sure the silver... wait, silver-iron?

What had been fairly idle curiosity was rapidly becoming annoyingly mysterious. She was used to the standard sources all around her: cell phones, car keys, coins, pencil sharpeners, zips etc., etc. She filtered those out pretty much unconsciously now but silver wasn't usual and silver-iron was weird. It felt like she should be able to see the source. I could give it a push...

She frowned faintly at the idle thought. Irritated at the strangeness of the metal, she looked back to check the clock. She'd have to go look... at lunch, she realised, as the reality of her surroundings snapped back into place. Sparing the window another glance, she looked back down at her book. Can't go 'round just randomly poking stuff.

[Drakeburn]

Seth definitely hated being the new kid. It wasn't enough that he just started yesterday, but that it was also his sixteenth birthday today.
What are the odds? Seth thought to himself as he rolled his eyes with a sigh.
If this doesn't mean my father hates me, then I don't know what does.
He just kept his eyes on the clock, waiting for the time to get out of class. All he really wanted for his birthday now was a chance to have peace and quiet to himself.

[herodofcows]

"A movie night? Well, that does sound like fun.
My parents are a bit more strict than that:
They wanted kids, and I'm their only one"
That last verse? Ewan almost chokes on that
To defend his captors, dear Mum and Dad?
He'd sooner slit his throat, yet strategy!
If from Karen there's pity to be had
Maybe she'd investigate, then she'd see
Poor Ewan, with his parents strict and cruel!
His would-be social life, unrealized
And she, not knowing of the spell, poor fool
Might give him an excuse to go outside
And such time might be spent productively
And thus: "Weekends tend to be dull for me"

[Andrian]

"Your parents don't let you watch movies? I mean, it's nothing special. We just watch something as a family. We don't usually go to the theaters. Dad's a fan of old John Wayne movies, so sometimes we end up watching those, but we watch a lot of other stuff, too." Karen wondered what being an only child had to do with watching movies. She'd been an only child her whole life.... well, for the whole of both her lives, actually... and she'd never been given a restriction like that.

Karen got the feeling that Ewan might be trying to get her to invite him to the family movie night, but she wasn't sure what to think about that. She hoped maybe she could angle the conversation to something else and she wouldn't have to make an uncomfortable decision.

"Don't tell me your parents are so antique they still won't let you watch TV? Even the Amish have DVD's now!"

[herodofcows]

"Oh no, it's not the movies, those are fine,"
(Ewan, not having seen movies, replies)
"They just have have strict ideas 'bout my time"
Let's see if I can get through this sans lies!
"They weren't around that much when I was small
But now they are, and they fixate on how
To raise me right, which drives me up the wall,
'cause it's not like I really need it now.
But still, they're obsessed with controlling me
And keep me from the things I liked to do
'cause good parenting, as far as THEY see
Means staying in, away from my old crew.
They don't trust me to go out on my own,
So most weekends I'm kinda stuck at home."

"Sorry," he cuts himself off, reddening;
He sees his temper turning discordant
While, even in jest, his woes reciting
"I didn't mean to go off on a rant.
Anyway, yeah, at least today's Friday.
No matter what home is, it beats this s***.
I can't believe we're being forced to stay
In here all this time. What's the point of it?
It's not like we're here accomplishing things,
Unless to learn to sit down in neat rows
And be bored out our a** till the bell rings
So we can sit ELSEWHERE. And all of those
Skills of sitting still, following rules?
That's probably the BEST we'll get from school!"

[Andrian]

Karen had to work quite hard not to look at Ewan like he was crazy for speaking in verse. She hadn't remembered that little detail about him from the other Karen, but then again, this person hadn't seemed terribly important to her. She wondered if she should act like this was the way he always spoke or if this was new. She decided to act like it was a regular thing and giggled. "You're so weird!" she said, not unkindly. It was just the sort of friendly jibe one might expect between people who knew each other fairly well.

Still, he IS really weird.

"Anyway, who were your old crew?" she asks, hoping she's not asking for something Ewan had already told Karen before. If it was, she'd just have to act like she'd forgotten.

[Red_Jenny]

I can do this. Five minutes? Piece of cake. Don't give in. They're not worth it. Be good. Lucy fidgeted uncomfortably in her seat. Normally, she made sure to sit in the very back of the room. A practical concern, she told the teachers. She didn't want her wings blocking someone else's view, you see. It also kept her from having to answer questions about cosines most of the time, but that was completely unintended. Yeeep. Totally a side effect.

Of course, today she was late to class, and her spot was already taken, so Lucy got to sit next to Rachel and Jean, because the universe has a sense of humor, but is also kind of a ****.

Come ooooon. You can make it. See, it's already been... 20 seconds. OK, no, I can't handle this...

Lucy had an idea. It was, fittingly enough, kind of evil. If people had trouble seeing over her wings, that worked both ways, and meant Mrs. Plumber couldn't see what was going on behind them. She slid her tail stealthily around one of Rachel's chair legs, and when the tall girl leaned over to laugh at something Jean had done, Lucy gave it a nice quick pull. From the front, of course, she was the picture of innocence, attentively paging through her notes as if in search of Mrs. Plumber's answer.

I'm so sorry, I missed the IC going up! :smallredface:

[Llyarden]

"'It couldn't have been that bad'?" Daniel muttered to himself in some frustration, having safely shut the door behind him. "You mean aside from the fact that I didn't study half this stuff in my old school and I missed the last page of the test? Yeah, 'not that bad.'"

It was at approximately this point that he realised that not only were there two people nearby who would undoubtedly have heard him talking to himself (because he didn't seem weird enough already), but that he was also standing directly in the middle of their conversation. "Oh, er, sorry," he apologised, moving out of the way to let them continue whatever it was they were talking about.

[Drakeburn]

Since time doesn't want to be on Seth's side, he should mind as well try to make the best of it till this class is over.
So he turned to his notebook. Alongside his notes there were doodles he had been drawing.
It was the drawing of a small archer standing heroically at the edge of a cliff, against a group of giant dark figures in business suits staring down at the small archer.

[Business Scrub]

@Veronica: As tempting as this mystery is, you see no way of solving it without making a scene. Vowing to solve it at lunch, you turn your attention back to the class, however little remains.

@Seth: Being the new kid is rough, but if you could just have some time alone, maybe peg a couple targets, you would feel a lot better about things.

@Lucy: Extending your wings slightly to block the teacher's view, you give Rachel's chair a yank, sliding her forward into her desk a bit. While Plumber seems none the wiser, Rachel lets out a startled yelp as she's pushed into her desk. She glares daggers over at you, then turns back to her friend.

"Freaky b**ch." She mutters under her breath.

Mrs. Plumber is about to launch into something when the PA system chimes overhead.
@Iris and Daniel: There's an awkward pause as Daniel shows up, slamming his feet against the ground and talking to himself. Ben glances back and forth for a second and says, "Err, right. I should go meet my friends for the thing. It's about to be a madhouse. Anyway, maybe I'll see you tonight." The last part is directed at Iris as Ben goes back the way he came, down the red and white tiled hall. Suddenly the PA chimes overhead.
@Karen and Ewan: Interrupting what could only become an even more awkward conversation, the PA chimes overhead.

"At this time, would all students please report to the auditorium for the assembly."

That's right, there was supposed to be some public speaker in today. Something about a change to the school, but they hadn't really been specific.

Like a herd, students come pouring out of the rooms, filling the halls with chatter and general traffic as a little over 400 kids try to push their way down to the first floor. The faculty tries to guide the students into some semblance of order with little success. The mob moves slowly to the auditorium: a large, old theater where Meldale hosts all sorts of performing arts activities from musicals to student concerts. Today the stage is in transition to prepare for the fall play Antigone (http://toasterlab.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Full-set-tableau.jpg). Instead of Creon and Antigone on stage, however, headmaster Cobie stands at a microphone, patiently waiting for students to settle down. Behind him stands a man dressed in some sort of turquoise uniform, with an unfamiliar shield symbol on it.

Expertise: Current Events

Headmaster Cobie: A tall, Asian man who takes his care of the school very seriously. He's a nice enough person one on one, but in a large setting like this he's all business. He almost always wears a well-made suit that's just a bit too old and a bit too big for him.

I moved things along a bit to get to the next scene, but people can feel free to RP out the time in between as well. Also if you don't want to go to the assembly, you needn't do so.

[Llyarden]

'Madhouse? Did he mean me? Having no real idea what Ben was talking about, Daniel watched as the other boy wandered off before turning to Iris, trying to figure out what he could say to make himself seem less weird. "So, er, how did you find the test?" he asked, apparently deciding to stick to what he knew. "I guess you wanted to avoid Mr. Medly as well?"

As he joined the general flow towards the auditorium, he wondered why people had to make things so difficult. Avoiding treading on people's toes was hard enough when they weren't trying to barge past him. It was unlikely anyone would be able to push him, but he knew there were other people with powers in the school, and it would be just his luck that one of them might knock him into someone else. And that was the last thing he wanted.

Just to be on the safe side, as the crowd increased in density as they got closer to the auditorium, he mentally anchored himself to the floors as he methodically plodded his way towards the auditorium at the general pace of the crowd, and once inside tried to find somewhere to sit that didn't involve chairs, benches or anything else likely to collapse on him, watching the Headmaster and the other person with the placid awareness of someone who knows that they haven't got the faintest idea what's going on.

Activating Immutable Force, preventing him being moved (relative to the school) by an external force.

For reference, it takes a DC20 Perception check to actually notice anything unusual about him, even with his power on. Because his permanent powers are unnoticeable by default by dint of being permanent and Immutable Force has Subtle I.

[Drakeburn]

Seth takes a seat in the very back, closest to one of the exits. With luck, nobody will pay him any mind. And if that isn't the case, at least Seth has a quick getaway.

What exactly is the change to the school that they're going to make, not that Seth really cared. How is the change going to affect him, especially when this is only his second day at school?

[AmberVael]

Iris wasn't entirely sure how she wanted to respond to this, and so she hesitated a little. "Well..."

Then Daniel walked between them, muttering, and interrupted any reply she might make. It was rather weird and disconcerting, but at the same time, it did give her a moment... and then more time as Ben either decided to take her hesitation as a veiled no, or chicken out since she didn't have an immediate response. Something at least. I should have said something at least- no, I should say something now. She quickly slipped around Daniel and caught up to Ben, stopping him before he got too far. "Hey, Ben- I'll see if I can make it, but I might have stuff to do. Even if I can't though, thanks. For inviting me." She smiled, then let him head off to wherever he was going.

After storing some books away in her locker, Iris joined the others in the auditorium, frowning a little as she saw the man on the stage. What was this about?

Current Events: [roll0]

[Silent_p]

Glad she hadn't been called on in class, Veronica gathered her things and joined the throng heading for the assembly. She spotted a few people she knew and fell in with them. They greeted her briefly before returning to their conversation. Veronica wasn't really listening. Her thoughts drifted back to the alloy she'd sensed.

The hell was that? Where'd it come from? And why'd it come near me?! No answers occurred to her and they were approaching the entrance to the auditorium.

Screw it, this is ridiculous. Freakin' thing is just some weird metal someone was wearing outside. That's it. No conspiracy. Homeland Security are not trying to black bag you.

A kind of resolution reached, she filed into a random row with her acquaintances and sat. She dumped her bag on the ground and sank down into her chair, watching the stage and waiting for whatever was going to happen.

[herodofcows]

Ewan's smirk spreads across his face as she
Calls him weird: Child, if you only knew!
For "weird" once meant "of magic, uncanny"
But as he weaves his reply: "Well, my crew-"
Interruption! An assembly? THAT'S dumb
Ewan scowls as he makes to follow
The others to the auditorium
And idly thinks of chaos he might sow
Perhaps a quick cyclone as Cobie speaks?
Wind and rain outside, or INSIDE? Delight!
But no, his magic now is much too weak
And chaos done halfway? A pleasure slight.
So Ewan sinks into his seat and spies
For two students who'd lately caught his eye

The first is easy: she rather stands out
With skin a vivid sanguinary hue;
Horns, wings, and tail from her body sprout
Yep, Lucy doesn't hide easy from view
Ewan's been dodging her glance quite some time
Since he arrived, as a matter of fact,
Not for her oddity, for he's odd too!
More for the grim vengeance she might exact:
For while in the court of Old Man Sky, he
Had fought and screw'd over a few demons
And demons weren't for pardons or mercy
So when Ewan sees her, he often runs
Lucy Ferrera draws his eye, 'tis clear
Just as a car's headlights fascinate deer

The second's harder, for she looks human
But Ewan looks out for her nonetheless
It's not overt, but chills under his skin
Break out whenever he passes Iris
She's not UNUSUAL-looking, for sure
But something in her bearing, in her gait
Strikes him as from his old life, familiar
And that's something he would investigate
Was she from another fae court, a spy?
An exile or wandr'er, roving 'bout?
Or (hope of hopes!) sworn unto Old Man Sky,
Come to get Wind in the Pines the f*** out??
Tormented by unlikely hopes of bliss;
THAT'S what Ewan feels, looking at Iris

[Andrian]

Karen sighed. She hated assemblies. She really didn't want to go to this one. Still, having powers did give you certain perks.

As Ewan and the others moved toward the assembly hall, she stopped at her locker to stow her backpack, then slipped into the bathroom. Once the sounds in the hallway died down and she was sure the halls would be empty, she emerged as Mrs. Plumber and headed for the teacher's lounge. They usually had donuts or other goodies in there, and it seemed as good a place as any to avoid the monotony of another pointless assembly. She figured most of the teachers would be in the auditorium monitoring for unruly behavior within the mob of impatient teenagers, leaving her free to roam the halls, eat the teachers' snacks, and play around on her phone until it was over.

[Red_Jenny]

Lucy wastes little time gathering her things and getting out into the crowd, to avoid any incoming revenge, though she does spare a wink and a cat-that-ate-the-canary grin for Rachel and an exasperated "come on, you're better than this" look for Jean as she leaves. She doesn't understand those two. They're certainly not the only ones who tease and torment her, but boy are they the most persistent and annoying. As far as Lucy can remember, she never did anything to deserve it, short of showing up looking like... well, you know.

Lucy wasn't usually one for assemblies, but today was Friday, so anything that killed more time was welcome. She could sit in the back, in the dark, fiddle with her phone or sketchbook for a bit, recharge and relax and tune out whoever was droning on stage. Sounded nice.

As the mob crushes slowly into the auditorium, Lucy flies free of the crowd, gliding above the last few rows before landing in the back and taking her seat. She was just stretching her wings- they got horribly sore curled in and rubbing against the back of a chair all day, but it did make a bit of a scene and make it easy for someone who was looking to avoid her.

She peered curiously over at Seth. He had shown up only a couple days ago, as far as she knew. What was his story?

"You were in math class. You- you're new here, right? Hi new kid! I'm Lucy."

Expertise (Pop Culture) at a penalty? :smalltongue: If not, consider this untrained. [roll0]

[Drakeburn]

"Nice to meet you Lucy." Seth replied with a smile.
"My name is Seth, not 'new kid........'" Seth couldn't help but to notice Lucy's "unique" features.
How could a girl have wings? How are the other students not making a big deal about it?
It seems like Seth knew less about this school than he realized.


I'm a bit confused here. Can these "powers" be seen by other students? Are superpowers commonly seen in this school?

[Business Scrub]

@Karen: Less than thrilled with the idea of an assembly, you stop in one of the stalls and shift your appearance into that of Mrs. Plumber.
Heading against the last trickle of students, you make your way to the Teacher's Lounge: sure enough, it's just as empty as you imagined. To the left is a small kitchenette, with a few dirty mugs sitting by the sink. Near it, a round table holds two left over muffins: the leftovers from breakfast. In the back is what you might expect: a printer and computer, a pair of couches and a coffee table. On the table you see a stack of ungraded Literature tests, with the name Daniel Cole written across the top of the top one.
Outside the lounge, a janitor passes by and gives you a confused second glance, but then continues on his way.

More to come...

[Andrian]

Smiling, Karen goes for one of the muffins. Noticing the janitor, Karen hopes her cover isn't blown. He probably won't say anything, she reasons, and so she flops down on one of the couches to enjoy her ill-gotten gains. As she munches on the muffin, she pulls out her phone and begins to play a game, being sure to keep an eye on the time so she can get back to the bathroom and change back before the assembly is over.

[Business Scrub]

@Iris: You recognize the symbol on the other man on stage: EsoGuard. They're a relatively small private investigation contractor, known for investigating matters in 'boundary sciences': an umbrella term for things that generally aren't well understood, but are consistent enough to be considered 'science'. But why are they here at Meldale? There's only two options: either Meldale is paying them to investigate... something, or they're paying the school for the right to study something going on here.

@Daniel, Iris, Lucy, Seth, Ewan, & Veronica: With a few powerful strokes, Lucy whips up a miniature windstorm in the hall and glides over the students, much to their outcry.
"Lucy, no er... Flying, in the halls!" One of the teachers shouts out, clearly confused how he should be handling this, but pretty sure students shouldn't be flying. A number of the students take out their phones and snap pictures while others shout out, only adding to the traffic and congestion.
Given enough time however, you all make your way into the auditorium, and the student body eventually settles down. Then, Mr. Cobie begins his speech.
"Good morning students." Say what you will about Cobie, he never referred to you as children. "Thank you for gathering. The purpose of this assembly is to inform you all of a temporary change of policy here at Meldale. For the next several weeks, our school will be hosting employees from EsoGuard: people committed, much like the school itself, to the pursuit of understanding. You may see them in the halls or on school grounds during the coming days. Mr. Martin, if you would care to explain further."
In a rehearsed fashion, Cobie hands the microphone off to the man behind him.
"Thank you, Headmaster. Good morning kids." Martin is clearly a bit more charismatic than Cobie. Or maybe he's just given this speech a lot. "Meldale has asked us to investigate a... strangeness here that caught our attention. I want take a moment to some concerns: The first is that we have no reason to expect any danger in our investigation. If that changes, you all will be the first to know and any necessary cautions will be taken. The second is your own privacy. EsoGuard is only particularly curious in our phenomena, not the typical comings and going at Meldale. That is to say, if you see us in the hall while cutting class, we're not going to tell your teachers." Martin says the last part with a chuckle, getting only a disapproving look from Cobie.
"Ahem, right. Anyways. It's our hope that EsoGuard will be virtually invisible during our time here. The most we may do is ask you a few questions or set something up in one of the halls, so you can pretty much treat us like you would a construction crew. Feel free to say hi if you see us around, we can be a pretty friendly bunch."
He hands the mic back to Cobie.
"Staring Monday, you will start seeing some men and women from EsoGuard around the school, though you should continue your daily activities as normal. As always, you are encouraged to speak to any faculty members of any questions or concerns.
At this point, you are all dismissed to lunch, and may continue your day as normal."

And once again the horde of students rises up in a cacophony, this time speculating about the news you all just received.

@Karen: Your time passes in peace and quiet, and you notice the time getting close to lunch. You get up and head back towards the bathroom to change back into your usual disguise, when you feel a strange pressure on yourself, as if something heavy was sitting on your chest.

Fortitude save

[Llyarden]

Daniel looked up in some surprise as the demon girl soared over his head. That...was not something he'd seen in his old school. If anyone besides him had even had powers, they'd taken care to hide them. Then again, he supposed it would be difficult to hide something like what seemed to be a permanent transformation, but nonetheless she seemed to revel in it rather than try to pretend it didn't exist.

When Martin mentioned investigating a 'strangeness,' Daniel looked quite obviously nervous. I haven't done anything! I think. Would I have noticed if I'd changed something? I don't know. He looked back in the direction Lucy had flown, torn between hoping that it was her that the EsoGuard people were interested in 'investigating' (because then they might not pay any attention to him) and hoping that it wasn't any of the students at all (because these people seemed shady - Daniel's criteria for 'shadiness' essentially being that he hadn't heard of them, they seemed vaguely scientific, and they were investigating something. None of those were good things to his mind.)

As he followed the general direction of the horde towards the canteen, he looked back on occasion towards the hall to see if he could spot the EsoGuard man on his way out.

I'm assuming that Meldale High has a canteen that serves food and stuff; if it doesn't let me know and I'll change that.

[AmberVael]

Why EsoGuard? Iris found herself wondering as she watched the man present himself. Guard is the obvious part. Eso... esoteric, maybe? Would fit with boundary sciences. She mulled over that while listening, and hadn't really settled on what she thought by the time they were dismissed. But one thing did seem clear.

This is about me. I mean, maybe not me specifically- She glanced over in the direction of Lucy, who of course stood out, But about people with powers. Or oddities. What else would they be here about? I mean, maybe something else, but if I know there are at least two of us...

Her thoughts kept slipped back to their name though, because the second half of it bothered her. Why 'Guard?' They don't really seem like a security force, and they didn't say anything about protecting us- just investigating. And what exactly would they be guarding from, if they specialize in boundary sciences? The weird stuff out there? There could be good reason for that, but it also seemed a little threatening to someone like her. Which was unfortunate, because if she felt she could trust them, if she felt they really were just out to help... If they could figure out what is going on with me, help me get it under control...

But they made her wary, and no matter how much she felt confused and scared and alone over what she was going through, she didn't want to end up a lab specimen. I'll wait, and watch. I won't draw attention to myself. Lets just see what they do.

As everyone was dismissed for lunch she followed the herd out, but then found herself looking around for Lucy again. If this was about people like they were, then Lucy wouldn't be able to hide and they'd certainly approach her at some point. What they did would be very telling. And she might end up needing help.

[Silent_p]

Veronica glanced up at the commotion caused by Lucy's flight. She twisted around briefly in an attempt to get a better view. Least I'm not alone. The crowd of disrupted students blocked much of the spectacle, though. Veronica settled back down into her seat. 'Course, I've got it easy, in comparison.

She'd been prepared to sit through an oddly-timed but fairly standard assembly but Cobie's speech made her eyes widen. The hell's he getting at? Then the guy from EsoGuard made her pulse quicken. Holy crap, they know something! Keeping her head still, she darted her eyes left and right, trying to gauge how this was being received by others. What can they know? I mean, it's gotta be something like me... or that silver-iron! Can't be coincidence, no way. Maybe it was some kinda sensor? She groaned quietly. And I looked right over towards the thing!

They're gonna black bag me! This has gotta be some kind of human rights violation, right? They can't just poke around like this. They're not cops! She stood with the others, doing her best to be nonchalant. I was careful! Definitely. It's not like I ever did anything obvious... Her eyes widened again.

Crap! Lucy. She's a huge target. Not like we're friends but no one deserved being renditioned. Or whatever. Pushing ahead slightly, she glanced back at her friends. "I'll catch you guys in a bit." Without waiting for more than a nod, she began looking around. They're not gonna grab her right here and now, are they? Hoping to keep Lucy in sight, she headed for the exit, still looking.

[Drakeburn]

Seth was one of the first to get out of the auditorium. As he headed towards the cafeteria, he couldn't help but to wonder about the EsoGuard.
What kind of "strangeness" are they investigating? Were they interested in the demon girl, Lucy? If not, what are they looking for?
Seth felt unsure on what to think of having he EsoGuards around.
On the bright side, Seth probably doesn't have anything to worry about. He is pretty much normal for an athlete in good shape. Although this might make taking on a double life a bit tricky......

In the meantime, Seth heads into the cafeteria, wondering what is on the menu today.

[Business Scrub]

@Karen: You struggle to fight off this crushing sensation but it starts to overwhelm you, causing your breathing to become slow and laborious. You can hear the rumble of students nearby: if anyone's wandering around outside of the cafeteria, and they inevitably always are, someone is bound to see you soon.

Karen is Fatigued. Act as per normal, then roll to overcome fatigue at the end of the post please.

@Daniel: The spokesman for EsoGuard isn't too hard to spot: he stays in the back of the theater while the students leave, and then casually begins heading towards one of the side exits. It'd be easy enough to approach him if you wanted to.

@Iris: Pondering what exactly EsoGuard is up to, and what it might mean for you, you look around for Lucy. As you might expect, she's remarkably easy to spot, if only because people tend to give her a wide berth.

@Veronica: You give your friends a wave and bolt ahead.

"What's the rush..?"

But you're already pushing past some slow group of chatty guys clogging up the whole aisle. Lucy's not hard to keep track of, even though she's too short to see over the heads of everyone else. You make your way to one of the side exits, deviating from the crowd, when-- there it is again. The same strange metal. You can feel it moving just outside the outer walls of the school, perhaps a hundred feet away. Not very fast, but it's moving nonetheless.

You guys can go ahead and describe your own friends in Meldale, or I can make some for you. Up to you.

@Seth: EsoGuard is curious, but for a relatively normal person like yourself they shouldn't be much to worry about. After all, they did say to pretend they weren't there.

@Those who head to the cafe: The Meldale cafeteria is what you might expect of a typical highschool: lots of circular fold-out tables, a small open area for students to eat outside, and of course two crowded lunch lines. All of the students eat at once at Meldale, so there's considerable mixing as people find their friends and filter into their typical groups. A screen near the door broadcasts today's options: Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese (With or without chicken) -or- Caesar Salad.

[herodofcows]

Phenomena? Ewan perks up at this
PheNOmena? as EsoGuard is shown
PHENOMENA? as students they dismiss
PHE-F*CKING-NOMENA? Oh man, I'm boned
Ewan tries to blend in with the students
But soon is looking about frantically
For one whose avoidance HAD been prudent:
And soon, he's found her: dread, fiendish Lucy
"Okay, listen," he begins, catching her
"I know we have some animosity
And I don't ask your friendship or favor
But now we've both a common enemy
EsoGuard's trouble for us, understood?
So - Oh! Veronica! Hi! Um . . . what's good?"

[Red_Jenny]

They're here for me. As soon as the EsoGuard guy started talking, the thought jumped to the front of her mind and refused to go away.

Her family had crossed the country to get away from this sort of attention. And now they had some corporation poking around looking for "strangeness"? Well, here she was. Might as well be walking around with a spotlight above her head.

Lucy squirmed in her seat, sparing an apologetic and distracted "Um, nice to meet you, Seth." for her new classmate.

As soon as Cobie dismissed them, Lucy practically dashed for the exit, a plan foiled by her only coming up to most peoples' shoulders. She was many things, built to navigate crowds wasn't one of them. She was forced to settle for anxiously shuffling out into the the hall, eyes darting toward the EsoGuard spokesman.

Once free, she heads directly toward the cafeteria. If they were going to put a sack over her head and drag her off to some lab, they wouldn't do it in front of half the school, right? (Plus, she was hungry.)

OK, OK. Calm down. Think. He said Meldale called them in. If he's telling the truth, then maybe it's not me? I mean, if I were a problem, they just wouldn't have let me into the school in the first place. Right? Maybe it's someone else? Well, that's not much better. What ab- aaaah! Absorbed in her thoughts, Lucy yelps in surprise when she finds herself the center of attention.

"Gah, don't do that. T-There's only animosity because you refused to believe me when I said I wasn't a demon, Ewan." Speaking of weird, here's exhibit A. She had no idea what to make of the guy who spoke in verse, but he wasn't wrong.

"Nothing he said makes sense. What could be weird and important enough that you call in a private company to investigate for weeks, but not dangerous to us? It's bull****. They're looking for people."

[Drakeburn]

Seth managed to get himself some mac & cheese without the chicken.
He sat himself at the least crowded table he could find, which had only one guy with headphones who was occupied playing a video game on his phone.
"Excuse me, do you mind if I sit here?" Seth asked, trying to get the guy's attention.
"Hm?" The guy at the table said, taking his eyes off of his phone.
"Oh, sure thing." He answered with a smile.
As Seth sat down, the gamer at the table extended his hand for a handshake.
"Name's Felix. Felix Wilcox."
"I'm Seth. Seth McLaine." Seth replied, shaking Felix's hand.

This might be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

[Silent_p]

Finding it difficult to keep Lucy in sight, Veronica headed for a side exit. She hoped to loop 'round and catch- There it was again! She barely stops her head whipping around to look in the direction of the weird alloy. No. Not gonna make it that easy anymore. Unless it's coming straight at me or someone else, I'm ignoring it. She took a deep breath. Stakes are goin' up.

Momentarily lost in this train of thought, she followed her intended path mostly on autopilot. Not realising how quick she'd been moving, she nearly bumped into Lucy and Ewan. Crap! Gotta find something to pretend to be interested in... Ewan spotted her. Nuts.

"Hey, Ewan. Lucy." She forced a smile. Ugh, I'm terrible. She glanced around quickly to see if there are any EsoGuards before looking back at Lucy. "Um. I, uh, just wanted to say that you don't need to take any crap from these new guys. But you probably know that. Human rights and all, right? They can't just grab people and black bag them right off the corridor." Stop rambling! "Uh, anyway, I've got your back if you need it and they're hassling you or, well, anyone really. Not that they're here for you, that is." SHUT UP! "There's bound to be actual weird stuff they're looking for, right?"

[Llyarden]

As tempted as Daniel was to follow the EsoGuard guy, he knew that he was hardly the most inconspicuous of people. The last thing he wanted to do was to alert them, if they didn't already know that he had powers. So instead he kept following everyone else, doing his best to blend in.

He was a little surprised to see that Lucy had, for once, become the centre of attention by people that didn't immediately look like they were being mean to her. Are they...other people with powers? They must be. Why else would they all suddenly cluster around the obvious person with powers?

After a couple of moments, another thought came to him. How could they be so stupid? if EsoGuard wanted a shortlist of people to investigate then they've just put themselves on it.

On the one hand, he could just go to the other end of the canteen, keep well away from all of them, and hope everything blew over. On the other hand, if EsoGuard really were interested in the students with powers, having people on his side would be important. Eventually he settled for sticking nearby them and trying to catch anything important they said, while doing his best to pretend like he wasn't actually paying any attention.

[Andrian]

On her way back to the bathrooms, Karen stumbles, feeling a crushing weight on her chest. What the???

Breathing hard, she looks around for an alternate place to change back into Karen - maybe an empty classroom. She also tries to see if she can figure out if there might be something nearby to explain why she's feeling this way.

[roll0]

Worst case scenario, so long as she doesn't run int Mrs. Plumber, she can probably lie her way out of any situation she runs into.

[roll1]

[Business Scrub]

@Karen: With a deep breath you feel the pressure release, and you breath normally, if a little haphazardly at first. You glance around the hall for the source of whatever just happened, but for the most part it appears to be completely empty. Then, at the end of the hall you spot a small... something as it whips around the corner. It looks like a sunbeam, except that it moved down the hall as if it were alive.

No longer fatigued

@Seth: Despite interrupting his game, Felix seems like he's happy for the company.
"Oh, Seth. You're the new guy, right? Err, sorry, you're probably getting that left and right. Is today your first... huh?" He glances down again at his phone again. "Are you kidding me? This thing is like, two weeks old." The phone's screen has started bug out badly. The game's pause screen is replaced by random horizontal bars of color for a couple seconds.
"Must be bad wiring..? Anyway, is today your first day?"

@Those in the cafeteria: The cafeteria is full of the usual crowd of students and despite the recent announcement that has many of you in a panic, lunch is typical.

"Move your ****s, kids! Some of our time is actually valuable, ya know?"
It's hard to not hear Rick Pastor's voice as it barges it's way down the hall. Meldale may have its share of bratty teenagers, but it has quite a few bad eggs. Rick is one of them. He always seems to have a chip on his shoulder about something, and today is no different.
"Oh look, it's Shakespeare and the Harpy. I guess the freaks finally found each other."
Most people just step out of Rick's way, not wanting to deal with him, but when he gets to Ewan and the others, he actually goes out of his way to give the fey boy a hard shove out of the way, with a surprising amount of strength behind it as he makes his way past the line. Curiously though, Rick's goons seem to be nowhere in sight: he seems oddly bold for being alone.
The only supervising teacher is all the way across the cafeteria, but starts slowly pushing through the crowd when she sees Ewan get shoved.

Rick Pastor: An aggressive, loud student. He wears a beat-up jeans and a black hoodie that hides his brown hair. He's not the most physically imposing person, so he usually has a pair of beefier friends to do his intimidating for him.

[Andrian]

Karen is curious about the light, but at the same time, she really needs to get back into her normal form. Still, she makes a mental note of where she saw the sunbeam and decides to keep an eye out for it in the future. Something weird is going on.

She rushes back to the bathroom, hoping that anyone who notices her will defer to her, since she's a teacher, and that the confusion accompanying the lunch hour and the release from an assembly will be enough that no one will notice anything strange.

[Llyarden]

As Rick strutted past, Daniel watched with a cool gaze, one that turned into a frown as the boy decided to shove Ewan around. Just keep calm...don't draw attention...the teacher is going to come tell him off...

But if there was one thing Daniel had never liked, it was bullies. He sighed and shuffled a little closer to Ewan and the others. "Not hiding behind your buddies, Rick?" he asked, his voice soft but nonetheless forceful enough to carry to the bully. "You actually found a little courage? I'm impressed. From what I'd heard about you're always too scared to do anything yourself."

Well, there goes the plan of watching from a distance. As he spoke, the perceptive might note that once again there was a slight shifting in the way things looked around Daniel.

I'm not completely sure what I should roll to try to provoke Rick into doing something silly. Deception? [roll0], +2 if Attractive applies.

Also activating Immutable Force as a free action again. Because why not?

[Business Scrub]

@Karen: Luckily, this side of the school is mostly empty. A girl comes around the corner and gives you an awkward nod as she walks past, but that's about it. You hurry back to the bathroom, and are relieved to find it pretty desolate as well. Waiting a prudent amount of time for the bathroom's one occupant to leave, you swap back into Karen, and no one's any the wiser.

@Daniel: Others in Meldale might be content to step out of Rick's way, but someone had to step up: who better than you?
Rick whips around when you talk to him: almost as if he was looking for for someone to start talking back. He gets in your face.
"Aww, you mad cause I hit your boyfriend?"
Because even in the progressive future bullies are still homophobic, apparently.
"Scared though? Heh, maybe old me, I'll give you that much Dan. But I don't need those idiots any more, so that's the last time you get to talk to me like that, understood?"
He punctuates the last word with another shove. He may be stronger than he looks, but when you mentally set yourself and pull yourself to the ground, he might as well be pushing the wall. He looks shocked that it didn't seem to carry the weight he expected.

Initiative:
Warp
Rick Pastor

In an ambiguous case like this, Daniel can avoid a fight if he wants (for instance by backing down). I rolled initiative so that he has the option.
If other people want to jump in, roll initiative.

[Andrian]

Relieved by her good luck, and pleased to have gotten away with her delinquency, Karen resumes her usual persona and makes her way to lunch, stopping by her locker to retrieve her backpack on the way. As usual after transforming, her stomach churns a little, rebelling against the reconfiguration of her internal organs, but it's merely a minor discomfort.

She's a little late. That wave of fatigue had slowed her down more than she'd expected. Still, Karen quickly finds a place in the lunch line. Though not terribly interested in what happened during the assembly (it was probably just some stupid thing about not taking drugs or not bullying the other students), she figured it would be best to not seem totally ignorant of what had happened, so as she enters the line, she stumbles intentionally, reaching out and grabbing the unsuspecting student in front of her, ostensibly to steady herself. The few seconds of contact while untangling herself should be long enough to get enough relevant information to pretend like she'd been there all along.


Karen is going to use Deception to make this seem like an accident, and then, while she's got the other student grabbed, she'll read his or her mind.

[roll0]

Using Identity Thief: Mind Reading 12 [Base 2/rank, Effortless (+1/rank); Close (-2/rank), Grab-Based (-1/rank); Subtle (Undetectable) (flat +2)]

[Llyarden]

Daniel gave a smirk that was really a bit more arrogant than was warranted given the situation. He had to admit it...part of him kind of liked doing this. In a different situation he might have pushed back, just to see how tough Rick really was. But he was acutely aware that he was already causing enough of a scene. And his aunt would kill him if he got in trouble for fighting. So far he hadn't done anything aggressive, so he was firmly in the right as far as anyone could see. "'Old' you?" he queried, ignoring Rick's first snipe. "What's happened to make you so tough now? It doesn't look like it worked, so how about you just back off." There was no particular malice in his tone; one might have been forgiven for thinking that he actually wanted Rick to try something else. But the temperature around the reality warper dropped several degrees as he stared back at the bully.

Free: Maintain Immutable Force.
Free: Set the Descriptor of Localised Rift to [Cold]
Standard: Activating Localised Rift, granting Sustained Subtle Feature (You can generate a small drop in temperature, enough to give people “chills” in your immediate area, good for a circumstance bonus for some interactions). That only costs two of my five points, but I can't think of anything else particularly important at present.
Free: Activate the Sustained Feature.

How close in terms of turns is the teacher, by the way?

[Andrian]

Forgot to make an effect check, so here it is:
[roll0] vs Will

[Business Scrub]

@Karen: You awkwardly stumble into one of the people in the cafeteria. At least, it appears awkward anyway. He half-grabs you to make sure you don't fall, and that's when you dive into his mind. You sense around for his knowledge of the past hour or so, and are in and out before his brain knows what happened.
A handful of events feel to you as if you were there. The short speeches at the assembly. Some company called EsoGuard, something about science people working at the school on Monday. This kid wasn't listening too well.

Expertise: Current Events

You get back to the cafeteria just in time so see the scene unfold.

@Daniel: The temperature dips a good ten degrees, and you almost think you can hear wind howling.
Sensing a fight, a lot of the nearby students have turned around to watch. No one would cry too hard if Rick got his butt kicked, and you seemed to have the upper hand.
"Back off? No I'll show you tough. How's about you **** off!" Despite his failed first attempt, Rick is holding a similar grin. But he's pissed off too: it's all too clear he was looking for an excuse. He snaps his arm forward, throwing a punch you barely see coming as it collides with you cheek. There's a blinding flash of light accompanied by the smell of burning, as you feel electricity course down your face and radiate through your body.

I must have taken Andrian's good rolls.
Dodge DC 15 to avoid the crit (and take normal damage). Toughness save vs Damage [Electricity]

The lights in the cafeteria short out, and flicker back after a few seconds. The students around collectively share their shock.
What just happened?
Was that a kid?
Was that Rick??
Someone get the teacher! What's she going to do, get the POLICE!

Smartphones are whipped out left and right, but there's another collective groan: apparently the electricity was enough to short just about everything in the room.

Rick's smirk widens. "Yeah, you like that Dan?? I'm handing out knuckle sandwiches! Anyone else want one?"

Initiative:
Warp
Rick Pastor

The teacher is about fifty feet away, through a throng of students that are now all watching and she's trying to figure out what to do. If she started moving now, she's 4 turns away.

[herodofcows]

Ewan starts answering Veronica
But then Pastor barges into his day
And Ewan's laugh barely stays in his craw:
His best is to imply that Ewan's gay?
(And, granted, on the Kinsey scale, he
Oscillates like spastic chimpanzee)
But when Daniel steps up to the bully
And gets clocked? Time to let the storm go free!
He calls up a gust of wind, shoots a smile,
And rams it into Pastor like a brick
He hasn't commanded storms in a WHILE:
DAMN it feels good to lay one into Rick
"Knuckle sandwiches? Not fond of the taste,
But if you like beatdowns, here! Stuff your face!"

Gonna have Ewan use The Wind, My Birthright (Element Control at max ranks): [roll0] DC 23 Damage + Multiattack (25 on two degrees of success vs. Dodge, 28 on three degrees)

(And Ewan scowls as his summon'd gust
Turns out to be a complete, utter bust)

[Andrian]

This is Untrained, so I don't expect much, if anything. Wish I could have afforded Jack of All Trades.

[roll0]

"Sorry about that! I'm so clumsy sometimes! Thanks!" She says as she untangles herself from the boy's grasp. She wasn't really surprised that the kid hadn't been paying attention. She wouldn't have, either, but she got what she'd needed. Some EsoGuard scientists would be poking around the building. She wondered what that was all about, but suspected that if they'd said anything particularly interesting, the boy would have remembered it.

Suddenly the lights in the cafeteria flicker out, and Karen's attention is drawn to the flash of light coming from Rick's hand. Her eyes go wide and she gasps. Wait, that idiot has powers? What's going on?

Instinctively, she crowds into the densest group of kids nearby, wanting to stay as anonymous and unobtrusive as possible.

[AmberVael]

By the time Rick decided to start pushing people around, Iris had already found a seat and started her lunch (as normal, she eschewed the provided meals in favor of bringing something that more resembled food). Though the usual group had joined her, she barely had any of her attention on them, distracted by the presence of EsoGuard and by keeping an eye on Lucy from afar. However, When the fight started up no one was paying attention to lunch or idle chat anymore, especially with the lights beginning to short. Iris couldn't quite make out what was happening once people started crowding around trying to get a better look, but something had flashed.

A fight with weird things going on, centered around Lucy. She stood up from her seat and looked around the cafeteria, looking for anyone from EsoGuard. This would be the perfect time to figure out if people with powers was what they were interested in. If it was, they'd either come running or investigate it after it ended.

[Silent_p]

Ewan was about to say something when a cocky voice called out. Seriously? Now is not the time for Rick. Not there's ever a time for Rick the d- Before she can finish the thought, he's bumped into Ewan, made some childish insult. Veronica glared at him. Go away!

When Daniel stepped up out of nowhere, Veronica realised he's right, Rick's missing his posse. Odd. What's with all the odd crap today? It seemed like Daniel was ready to stand his ground. Dammit. We do not need a scene here! She went to step up next to him but Rick got the next word in and tried to push Daniel. Emphasis on tried. This is getting out of hand!

Daniel was really standing up to the guy and, under most circumstances, Veronica would be pleased and impressed but today was not the day for those kind of heroics. How the hell do I calm this... What the hell? A shiver passed through her as the room got cold, fast. At the same time as Daniel was trying to intimidate Rick. Oh, hell no.

Wham!

Veronica took a step back, eyes wide. No way. That was Rick! And the idiot's gonna blow everything wide open! She glanced from Rick to Daniel, then around the room. Yeah, no chance they missed that. She looked back at Daniel, not sure how he was but stepped past him, towards Rick. She spread her hands wide and took a deep breath. "Rick. Whatever that was, you've made your point, man. Lets just leave it there, yeah?"

[Business Scrub]

@Daniel: You roll with Rick's punch, and manage to not get your teeth knocked in. The running current through your body is painful, but then again you're not a regular person.

-1 against further damage.

But of course, you will not be moved. When the flash dies down you're still standing after a punch that would have easily floored a normal man.

Rick grits his teeth and whispers. "What the hell? You should be on the floor."

@Veronica: Rick takes a half step back, if only to give himself to dodge and move, when Veronica shouts out to him.

"Heh, you're damn right I have. Let that be a warning to ya Dan. When a guy's all charged up, you show him some god damn resp-- woah!"

@Ewan: You're not one to be left out of a fight. And besides, you owed him one now. Or several. Feeling the easy breeze from outside, you churn up a mighty wind, which kicks the door to outside open with a slam. Rick notices it in time, and slides out of the way in the blink of an eye.
The wind carries on, sending up a whirlwind of student's papers and lunch trays, but they don't seem to mind in the slightest. The smarter ones have taken a prudent couple of steps back, creating a ring of chairs and tables around Rick, Daniel and Ewan.

Rick blinks in surprise. "Shakespeare, was that you?"

@Iris: You stand on one of the empty chairs and look around for EsoGuard people. If they were looking for super powered people, well here were two. Maybe three: the way Daniel took that punch couldn't be normal, right?
You see the teacher in the back furiously trying to get closer to see what is happening, but she's not having much success. There's not an EsoGuard to be found, but Cobie did mention them not showing up until Monday. So who knows: they might not even be here at all yet.

Initiative:
Warp
Wind in the Pines
Rick Pastor

Daniel and Ewan can feel free to go again, but I'm going to refrain from doing Rick's turn until Longshot and Imp post so they can join if they want. (Or otherwise react)

[Llyarden]

Part of Daniel was still smug at having resisted what seemed to be the best that Rick had with little mark other than some slight scorching on his clothes. A much larger part of him was filled with a cold fury at the blow. Against a normal kid, god knows what that would have done. And he seemed to expect me to go down. How many people has he done this to already?

He was tempted, so tempted, to just throw a punch of his own. But he had no way of knowing whether whatever had happened to Rick had made him more resilient as well as stronger than normal. And...whatever her name was...was right. The last thing he needed to do was to become more obvious, as if withstanding something like that electro-punch wasn't enough. So he settled instead for giving Ewan a grateful nod for the support and just ducking around the bully and trying to roughly grab his arms. There was no particular skill or finesse to his motions; it was little more than a bear hug. "Now stop!" he growled.

I'm going to kind of chop my turn up into little bits as I learn what happens; I hope this is alright. General aim, for reference, is: Attempt to Grab Rick, and then use Extra Effort and either ready an action to hit him if he tries something or, if I fail to grab him the first time around, try again.

Free: Maintain Immutable Force.
Free: Maintain Sustained Feature
Standard: Attempt to Grab Rick. All-out and Power Attacking for 5 each.
To-hit: [roll0] vs Parry, DC25 Dodge or Strength check vs grab.

EDIT: ...*sigh*

Extra Effort: Additional Action.
Standard: Try again. 17 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?422679-The-Cost-of-Infinity-OOC-1&p=19441936#post19441936) vs Parry, DC25 Dodge or Strength vs grab.
Move Action: Attempt to Coerce Rick into giving up. Almost certainly fail hilariously.

Status: 1 bruise, fatigued next round, -5 to defences.

[Business Scrub]

@Daniel: You lash out to grab the electrified teen, but he steps easily back. As fate would have it, Ewan's windstorm blew a tray into where you were fighting. As he steps back, Rick's back foot lands on the tray and he struggles to keep his balance. You see your moment and grab his flailing arm and wrap him up tightly. He struggles to break free, but despite his new-found powers Rick is no fighter, and his escape is just as clunky as your grab.

Rick is defenseless, immobile and impaired. Poor guy.

[Andrian]

Too distracted by the events in the cafeteria, Karen forgets about EsoGuard. Still, seeing what seems to be three super-powered kids duking it out in the lunch room is alarming. What if they start screening everyone to see if they have powers?

"Oh my gosh... what's going on?"

[herodofcows]

Ewan laughs aloud at Rick's surprised face:
A delightful, fulfilling reaction!
He NEARLY blasts again, but in the space
Of his laughter he rethinks his action:
No force OBLIGES him to maintain hid
His powers or the life he's lead till now
But he's weaken'd by spell, so being rid
Of his cover might bite his a** somehow
So instead, Ewan Harke turns to deceit
For deceit's a weapon better than most!
"What, the door?" he cries, thinking on his feet
"I thought that was part of your "new you" boast!
He has powers of electricity!
Telekinesis too! Everyone, FLEE!!!"

I'm gonna use Deception to try and Daze this dude as a Standard [roll0], vs. his Insight or Will roll.

And would it be possible to double this as a means of convincing people that Ewan had nothing to do with that freak windstorm? If so: [roll1]


HA! Get wrecked, f***er!

[Drakeburn]

Seth and Felix turned their attention to the fight that was taking place in the cafeteria.
As they watched, they saw Rick's display of power.
"Did you see that?!" Felix exclaimed.
"Rick just punched lightning at that guy!!"
Now ducking behind the table for cover, the two watched the fight escalate as more joined in at the superpowered fight.
............. And then some kid says that Rick not only has electric punches, but telekinesis as well. Which helped, since Seth found it a bit hard to see what was happening through the chaos.
Seth stood up from his hiding place.
"Dude, what are you doing!?" Felix asked.
"Somebody's gotta put a stop to this," Seth replied.
"Before anybody else gets hurt."

He positioned himself for what he is going to do next. This is exactly what he wanted to do. There was no way he was going to run from it.
Then, he took off, jumping onto the table, and running on the surface before launching himself from the table, straight for Rick with his fist aimed at him.

Athletics Skill Mastery FTW! :smalltongue:

Unarmed attack: [roll[1d20+10[/roll]
Damage DC: 17

[Business Scrub]

@Seth: "Yeah, that somebody's called the police!" Felix calls to you as sprint across the table. Time to be a hero. You reach the end of the table and launch off of it. Held fast by Daniel, there's nowhere for Rick to dodge and your punch connects right in his chest. With that much momentum, you would expect both Rick and Dan to be pushed to the floor. Instead, Rick reacts as if he was held against a wall as Daniel holds his ground, immovable.

I'll give the running leap/Seth and Dan combo a +2 damage, since it has a lot more unforgiving forces behind it than a normal punch. And since Rick is Defenseless from the hold, Seth's attack is an automatic crit.

All in all, Toughness DC 24.

It would appear that Rick is made of stronger stuff though as he takes the punch with a cough. He's definitely hurt, but now he's angry too.

Bruised.
Total: Bruised x1, Defenseless, Immobile, and Impaired.

@Ewan: You shout out a warning to all the people watching that is at the same time a jeer to Rick. The people look around, confused.
Telekinesis? What?
He told us to run? Why isn't he running?
Is your phone working yet? Someone has to get this on the Internet.

Rick struggles for a second against Daniel, then decides against it.
"Now you're *cough* in for it, prettyboy."
Instead of breaking Daniel's grip, he grabs his arms tight as an enormous wave of jittering electricity radiates from him, into Daniel.

No defense save. Toughness save vs Damage [Electricity]

Initiative:
Warp
Wind in the Pines
Rick Pastor
Longshot

[Red_Jenny]

Lucy is taken aback by the supportive words, which says something about her usual experience with people. "Thanks, Veronica. That actually-"

And then everything goes to hell in hurry.

Lucy's first instinct is to get away. Despite her appearance and mischievous side, she's not a fighter by nature. That's not to say she hasn't gotten into more than her fair share (everyone has their limits), but she doesn't go looking for them.

She watches wide-eyed, frozen as the shoving match devolves into an all-out melee. Daniel took several blows that should have knocked a normal person senseless without moving. Did that mean he wasn't normal? And did that wind come from Ewan, or Rick? Everyone being freaked out about EsoGuard was making a lot more sense.

She wanted to help stop this, but jumping into the middle of things seemed stupid. What was she going to do, bite his ankles? Though, there was something else... and it wasn't like she could give herself away...

She called it hellfire. A bad joke. It wasn't fire, exactly. It wasn't hot, you couldn't really blow it out or dump a bucket of water on it, but sometimes it acted like fire. It could feed off things, draw from them, weaken and consume like fire, but it didn't turn them to ash, it... sapped them. She wasn't really sure what it would do to a person, but Rick was freaking out and was gonna hurt someone even worse than he had, and there was only one tool left in the toolbox.

"Heyheyhey! STOP! You're gonna kill someone!" She took a deep breath. "All right, don't say I didn't warn you!" The flames leapt from her fingertips toward Rick.

Of all the days to be busy... :smallyuk:

Might as well join in! Using Balefire against Rick. [roll0] DC 16 Fort save. He loses toughness ranks equal to the amount he fails the save by (if he fails).

[Silent_p]

Veronica pushed her hair out of her face once the wind calmed. Grr. She glanced behind her and glared at Ewan as Rick singled him out. What the hell?! How is this helping? By now, Daniel was grappling awkwardly with Rick and Ewan started claiming that Rick was behind it all. Yeah, right. Might fool those gawkers, though.

Suddenly, Seth dived in, clocking Rick with minimal effect. Then Lucy stepped up, fire streaking from her hands. "Whoa! Lucy, hold up!" Veronica darted to the girl, gingerly reaching out towards her. "Hell are you doing?!"

She balled her other hand into a fist in frustration. How can there be so many superpowered idiots here?! It's impossible! Sure, Rick is a douche but this is the cafeteria!

[Llyarden]

What the..? Daniel could hardly believe his eyes. Not only had some completely random person done a diving punch that looked like it should have been in a martial arts movie, but then Lucy started throwing fire at Rick?

This needed to end, and soon. Releasing Rick with one arm, Daniel tightened his grip a little with the other. Not enough to hurt - yet - but enough to make it clear that he could do a lot more than just hold the bully still. "This is stupid," he hissed to Rick. "Just stop, before anyone gets badly hurt." Then he altered his position slightly so that he could easily bring his elbow down and slam Rick in the stomach if he needed to.

Free Action: Maintain the grab; DC20 Strength or Dodge at -5 (not including Impaired penalty) to escape. Due to Improved Grab, Daniel can grab with one arm without any penalty.
Free Action: Maintain Immutable Force.
Daniel will dismiss the Sustained Feature.
Standard: Ready an action to make an unarmed attack on Rick if he does anything except surrender, with All-out and Power Attack for 5 each for +6 to hit and a DC35 Toughness save (or 30 if he negates the auto-crit somehow) vs damage. Not sure if you want me to roll now or just roll if it actually comes up.

Status: 2 Bruises, Fatigued (possibly -5 Dodge & Parry)

[Drakeburn]

Seth's eyes grew wide, shocked on how tough Rick was.
Okay, maybe I didn't think that one through, he thought to himself.
Thinking fast, he picked up a random tray of food and threw it into Rick's face.
"Hope you're hungry, sparky!" He mocked as he jumped with a running start over one of the tables and took cover behind there.

Attack roll: [roll0]

Use Athletics Skill Master to dive and hide behind a table for cover.

[Business Scrub]

@Lucy: You summon a ghostly ball of black and red flame in your hand and aim it at Rick. Who really knows what this would do to him, but he signed himself up to be a guinea pig.
A few people around you gasp and scramble out of your way as you hurl it across the room. The unearthly red flames catch Rick on the shoulder and burn merrily away. Unlike normal fire however, it doesn't spread, and he appears physically unscathed. He blinks and looks at his burning shoulder in shock, though it doesn't have much effect on his health.
Jesus, did Lucy just light him on fire??
What? Whose on fire? I can't see!

In background, the bell rings. No one cares.

@Seth: Was that fire? Now people are throwing friggin fire?! You decide to back off, or at least not be in the way of any more stray projectiles, but not before throwing one yourself. You send a student's forgotten tray sailing at Rick which hits him and skitters off. The force from the tray is nothing compared to the embarrassment of milk dripping down his face. You dive behind a table as the crowd of students cheer.

@Daniel: Rick grits his teeth and struggles for a moment, rage in his eyes. When he speaks it's quieter than his normal shouting, and a little hard to hear over the commotion of the crowd.
"This is bull****. What the hell is wrong with you people? I'm faster than you. I can shoot lightning out my god**** hands! I'm so friggin strong, I'm supposed to be a hero like the pansies on the news, and you're just standing there like you don't give a ****!!" By the end he's shouting again.
"Fine! I'm done here, you all suck. Let me go Dan, call the goon squad off."

The crowd waits with baited breath for Daniel's decision, and to see what the others will do. Meanwhile, the teacher has seemed to come to her senses and is furiously trying to punch 9-1-1 into her phone, but they still seem to be down. After a couple of uncertain glances, she leaves out the side door, watching her phone and waiting for it to come back on.

@Veronica: The metal. Is back. Again. Not that you can see it, but it's in the doorway to outside. Why won't it just leave? Then again, maybe you have bigger things to deal with right now.

Initiative:
Warp
Wind in the Pines
Rick Pastor
Longshot
Imp

Rick passes turn. At this point Rick will leave combat and if everyone else wants to leave combat we can stop acting in turns. Or you can keep wailing on him, and he'll start fighting back again. Up to you.

[Llyarden]

"A hero?" Daniel retorted scornfully. "What kind of hero do you think you are, running around lording it over people just because you're stronger than them?" After a couple of moments, though, he released Rick from his hold, pushing him away lightly with something of a snort of contempt, and turned to watch the assorted students who had joined in, still with a little caution in case any of them decided to start trying to keep the fight going.

Free Action: Maintain Immutable Force.
Free Action: Release Rick.
Standard Action: Recover from fatigue.

Current status: 2 bruises.

[herodofcows]

Ewan decides it's time to back away
Into the crowd, go back to playing geek
In hopes that they'd forget his deeds this day
And not see he's a "superpowered freak"
But Ewan's got a taste for the storm now
For conjuring up the winds and the rains
So as best as his power will allow
He calls a storm with what magic remains
It's not a certain thing, calling this storm
Ewan has tried before; it's hit or miss
But today was a brief return to form
And he allows himself to feel the bliss
Of knowing that, though these are trying times
He is still Ewan Harke, Wind in the Pines

Gonna call up a storm outside (or try to). It'll be an Environment condition (-2 Vision, -1 Movement), with a 50% chance of succeeding. Doing it in part for teh lulz, in part because it allows Ewan to use the rest of his abilities in case there's more shenanigans afoot.

[roll0]. On 11 or over, the Environment condition gets imposed. Otherwise, it's a dud.

[Andrian]

Karen can't believe what she's seeing. She thought for sure she was the only one with powers at the school. Well, there was Lucy, too, but her weird appearance and ability to fly hardly counted as powers, per se... The fire thing, though, that was different.

Still, she'd just seen a number of students do some pretty incredible things, and, well... She felt somehow terrified and excited by the fact. These were people who she could share a little more about herself than usual with. Maybe she could even become friends with them. Real friends, not the weird half-friendships she currently has that are left over from Karen's past life.

On the other hand, if she showed any of them her powers, what if they got suspicious? What if they started to wonder whether she was the REAL Karen? Maybe it was better to just stay hidden. She didn't know...

She saw Ewan heading in roughly her direction, backing away from the action, and tried to work out what was going on with him. At first, it had looked like he'd been using powers, but on the other hand, he said it was Rick, and she supposed it could be possible. Who knew what powers the bully had suddenly developed? And how had he gotten them, anyway? She was DEFINITELY sure that Rick hadn't had powers before. He'd practically said as much. But Ewan? She was curious. He was a really odd kid...

She decided to angle toward him subtly and see if she could think of some excuse to touch him. Then she could know for sure one way or another.

[AmberVael]

From her vantage point atop her chair, Iris got a good look at some of the fight, especially some of the flashier and more obviously out there stuff. Like electricity, wind, and fire. It quickly became obvious to her that she and Lucy weren't the only unusual ones in the school, far from it in fact. Which just makes it more likely that EsoGuard is looking into powered people, especially if this is the level of subtlety they've all been displaying.

The good news was, compared to all this she doubted she'd even make a blip on the radar, if she was even noticed at all.

Iris got back down into her seat since it seemed like the fight was breaking up, and really, she'd seen enough.

[Drakeburn]

Some hero, Seth thought as he watched what was happening.
Of course he expected Rick to get really mad. But instead of directing his attention from "Dan", Rick appeared to have given up.
Well, that was unexpected. Seth thought to himself.
I just hope I don't get in trouble for throwing myself in the fray like that.
Now he's not sure who he's going to get in more trouble with: Rick, the school, or the EsoGuard for fighting against and alongside people with superpowers.
Rick being a bully was one thing, but the fact that he somehow gotten superpowers just to cause such a fit made him furious. It is exactly this kind of thing that caused his mother's demise. This is EXACTLY the thing he wants to fight against.

For now, Seth simply waits for whatever is about to happen next.

[Business Scrub]

@Ewan: Your eyes glow with a bit of fey energy as you stir up the air outside and whip up a rainstorm, and your hair blows around as if caught in it. Some of the students around you step back, looking worried.
Is he possessed?
Maybe Lucy can possess people too..?

The sunny sky is quickly replaced by clouds, that quickly patter their rain on the school. From the doorway, you can hear the teacher who went outside to make a call cry. Oh come on!

Rick steps away from Daniel moodily.
"Nah, you don't get it. It doesn't matter what you do. Just do anything other people can't and America will be all over you."

He looks between Daniel, Seth, Ewan and Lucy and decides better than jumping into another four on one. He takes another couple steps back, towards the door to outside. "Whatever. I don't need to take this ****. And I sure as hell don't need this school any more."
Unless someone moves to stop him,
As Rick walks away, he trails his hand along the wall. In the back of the cafeteria, the TV mounted on the wall flickers then explodes, showering glass on the floor.
With his last display of petty vandalism done, Rick steps out into the rain.

[Llyarden]

Daniel looked with some confusion at the sudden rainstorm and winced at the exploding TV. "...really?" he muttered to himself with a sigh, watching the electricity manipulator as he left.

On the one hand, he knew it would probably be a good idea to do as much damage control as he could given that at least he had done nothing overtly supernatural and try to divert attention towards Ewan and Lucy. On the other hand, they had just stuck up for him, even if they hadn't been all that effective, and he didn't particularly feel it would be too fair to immediately use them as scapegoats. Besides, if EsoGuard were looking for information about students of the school with supernatural powers he didn't doubt that the company that had produced his regulator would sell them the information about him that they already had for a suitable price, so there probably wasn't much point trying in the first place. And he wanted to figure out how Rick had suddenly managed to acquire his powers. On the other other hand, this would be about the best time for him to get to know the other people with powers that had popped up out of the woodwork, so to speak. And he hadn't had a chance to have lunch yet anyway.

He looked around at the chaos that they - mostly Ewan - had created and then across to the others who'd helped him, with a particularly curious look to the crouched figure of Seth. He hadn't seemed to demonstrate any particular powers; it was odd that he'd just dived into the fight like that. Then he looked around to the assorted students who were still gathered around. "We done?" he asked pointedly.

[Andrian]

Seeing Ewan use his powers a second time was enough to settle the question in Karen's mind. Ewan wasn't just weird. He was special. And so were the others, for that matter. What the heck were they thinking?

As Rick goes to leave and the TV explodes, Karen and many of the other students gasp in surprise, backing away in a reflex defense. "He really is a d-" She bites off the last word, realizing that she shouldn't be using that kind of language as Karen. "A... uh.. a creep..." she finishes lamely.

[AmberVael]

After a moment of thought, Iris left her table and approached the scene- but mainly Daniel. He definitely looked a bit battered from the exchange, but on the other hand he didn't seem nearly as damaged as the TV was, or as Rick had apparently expected him to be. Hm. Iris wondered quietly, but said nothing.

"Geez, are you okay?" Her concern and reaction was a little exaggerated, but not entirely feigned- Daniel might be better than she expected, but he still had just been punched by electric fists. "Come on, you need to get to the nurse's office." While her voice was all compassion and her expression worried, something in her eyes hinted that if he tried to play tough or shrug it off she'd make sure he ended up in there one way or another. With that to warn him, she tried to take his arm and lead him off in the right direction.

[Drakeburn]

For sure it was definitely over. For now that is.
After Rick blew up the tv and left, Seth got up from his spot. He just casually walked back to his spot, and started eating his mac & cheese.
"Dude," Felix said softly.
"That. Was. Awesome! You are the craziest and luckiest guy alive!"
"I guess so." Seth replied as he took another bite of his lunch.

[Red_Jenny]

"Don't let the door hit you on the way out. Oh wait, too late, *******." Lucy isn't having any of Rick's self-pitying "But I wanted to abuse people!" bull****. She gives him a cheery wave and a magnificent middle-finger salute as he stalks away.

If this were a different time and place, she might have followed him out and taken off herself. Lucy loved flying in the rain. As far as she was concerned, it was the greatest thing in the world. Now was not the time, though. "Is... is anyone hurt? That was... wow."

Far too late, she registered Veronica pulling at her and her words, and began babbling an explanation. "I know what it looked like, but I wasn't trying to... It-it's not fire, it's some sort of energy. I don't know, it's part of all this." Lucy waves at her horns. "It feeds on stuff, draws from it, you know, well, kinda like fire, I guess, but it doesn't burn. I wasn't trying to hurt him, honest. I thought it might drain him, soften him up, make him fall asleep, you know, stop the fight. I..." Lucy looked at her feet and sighed. "I'm an idiot, huh? Sorry."

[herodofcows]

Ewan giggles slightly at the storms kiss
But then his eyes (now normal) focus back
At Daniel, Lucy, Seth, and now Iris;
Discussion NOW, ere our ruin and wrack!
"The nurse's office, yes! We all should go!"
He exclaims, gesturing at the fighters,
"That guy had powers! And hey, who can know
What strange effects he had, the douchey blighter!
Come on, let's go report this incident
And make sure that we're one and all okay
Considering how that boondoggle went
I'd say frank talk's the order of the day
Come on! Surely we'll take this all in stride!
Them who're innocent have naught to hide!"

Ignore this next bit if people don't follow him out. Assume Ewan just leaves awkwardly after having yakked.

So saying, he strides quickly to the hall
And turns, hoping the others took the hint
As soon as they emerge (or, if at all)
He'll launch into speech, eyes with manic glint
"Right, clearly there's more here than meets the eye,
Rick's not the only superpowered one
So I'd say introduction time is nigh
Besides, of course, the obvious demon
Now, it strikes me that exposure is bad
Since most of us have, till now, kept it mum
So let's get our stories straight, and be glad
That humans be oblivious and dumb
So, any thoughts around the proper course?
I'd hear ANY thought now, no mind to source!"

[Silent_p]

Lucy's fire didn't seem to do much to Rick, that Veronica saw, at least. So, did I imagine it or...? Puzzled, she watched as Rick seem to deflate, the fight going out of him. He said something to Daniel and was let go. God, I hope that's it.

She watched Rick walk away. Nearly feel sorry for him. Then the TV exploded. But no. Veronica turned back and noticed Iris approaching Daniel. She said something about the nurse and Veronica nodded absently. Looked like he took a solid hit or two.

Lucy seemed to notice Veronica's proximity and rambled apologetically. Veronica let out a breath. "I did not follow that but you're not an idiot." She smiled tiredly. "And hey, if you are? You've got company, right?" She glanced around. "Look, maybe we should move along. Someone's bound to get their phone working soon."

Ewan seemed to be leading a retreat so Veronica gestured towards him.

[Business Scrub]

There is a moment of stillness as Rick leaves and the crowd absorbs what just happened. Then, the place turns into a riot. Apparently cell phones came back on, because half a hundred people start snapping pictures, trying to get what coverage they can of what happened.

@Lucy: In a shocking turn of events for you, students crowd around you, bombing you with questions left and right.
"You can light things on fire?"
"Is that another demon power? Did you like, sell your soul?"
"Why didn't it burn him?"
"Why do you take crap from students if you could do that?"

However, you can't help but notice that people keep their distance, giving worried looks. As fascinated as they are, that's not to be confused with them liking you.

@Seth: Just like Lucy, some students gather around you. As they come closer, Felix whispers. "Whatever you say man. If you want me to get you out of here, just say the word."
Then the students close in, peppering you with questions.
"Are you insane?? I mean, awesome, but insane!"
"Where did you learn to jump over tables like that?"
"Did that hurt? Like did he electrocute you or something?"
"Do you know how he got all sparky?"

@Ewan: The people around you eye you warily. They aren't sure what's going on with you, but there's something definitely off. Then, you push through the crowd to join with the others and leave them whispering and wondering.

@Daniel: The majority of the students push around you, their voices and questions too numerous to really make out. Then, Iris pushes her way through them and pulls you away, out of the crowd.

The crowd of students doesn't seem to be going anywhere, so you all could (if you wanted) try to get out and find some place quieter.

[Andrian]

Karen sighs. Though interested to meet the others, with so much attention on them right now, it's probably better to wait. Still, Ewan was heading out. Maybe she could catch up with him. Taking her lunch tray with her, she heads out into the hallway to find him.

[Drakeburn]

"Um, well......" Seth was at a loss for words.
With so many questions, it was hard to choose one to answer.
"Um, you'd be surprised what you can do with instinct and adrenaline?"
He turned to Felix, mouthing out the word Help.

[Business Scrub]

@Seth: Felix clears his throat noisily, feeling quite smug.

"Echem. Well, I was smart enough to bring a back up battery for my phone, so I got the whole thing on here."
He wiggles his phone in the air. It had been dead as a doornail the whole time just like everyone else's, but they didn't know that.
He mouths back, You owe me as the crowd shifts their attention.
"Yup, and I don't mind sending it to you. I just need your numbers. One at a time guys!"

[Llyarden]

What...what are they gonna film now? Daniel wondered idly. It's all over. Iris's sudden appearance was quite helpful at least for getting through the crowds, although getting more attention paid to him was not quite what he'd wanted at the moment. "I'm fine, seriously. I'm just glad I'm not a TV," he remarked, gesturing towards the shattered remnants of the TV Rick had blown up on his way out in a probably-futile attempt to deflect her concern with humour. But he didn't stop Iris from leading him out of the cafeteria, though he had to be a little cautious maneuvering through all the crowds.

He didn't pay all that much attention to the first part of Ewan's speech, mostly because it was quite difficult to hear over everyone else, but once they were a little distance out of the cafeteria he gave Ewan a bemused glance. Considering that the only other ones that had managed to get through the crowds yet were Iris, Veronica and Karen, none of whom seemed to have any particular powers - unless Iris's powers included being bad at tests and running out of them, which seemed like a really weird power - Ewan had chosen his words oddly.

[Drakeburn]

When the crowd's attention was turned towards Felix, Seth tried to leave the scene without being noticed.
He'd definitely return the favor somehow, but what Felix wanted in return, he didn't know.
For the moment though, he just needed to get out of there and away from the crowd.


Stealth check: [roll0]

[Red_Jenny]

Lucy chuckled. "I guess not. You-you're probably right, we should get out of here." It was already too late for that, though.

Lucy handles being the sudden center of attention... poorly. They're not really interested, they just want to poke the freak. She tries, briefly, to answer the storm of questions, but is swiftly overwhelmed. "It's not fire, it just looks... What? no, I didn't sell my soul... Well, because it's not really fire, but I... 'Cause I don't want to go to jail, you psycho! Aaaah!"

She flees the cafeteria, using the small space the wary crowd gave her to scuttle away and join Ewan and the others.

"Humans are crazy is what they are. Gah. Yeah, um, he's not wrong. Sooo, introductions? Right. Um, I guess you already know me, or about me. I'm Lucy Ferrara, the 'obvious demon', though I'm not a demon I don't think, I just... look exactly like one." Lucy had given this explanation dozens of times, and it always rang a little hollow. Other than her mom and maybe her aunt, she couldn't remember anyone actually buying it.

[Andrian]

Surprised at just how many other students were now emerging into the hallway, Karen almost chickens out and goes back into the lunch room, but then her resolve sets. She's going to stick it out as best she can. Sitting down next to the one wall, she begins eating her rapidly cooling mac n' cheese, content just to listen for now.

[Silent_p]

Veronica gave Ewan a suspicious look as he went on about humans. He thinks we're not people? She glanced back to check on the crowd of students - most of whom seemed to be clamouring for video of the fight from someone. Where'd the teachers go? She grimaced faintly but shook her head. Plenty to deal with right here, Veronica.

Turning back to the others, she looked around at each of them. Lucy spoke up in response to Ewan which immediately caught Veronica's attention. "Hey, we're all people here!" She turned to Ewan. "All human - with human rights!"

She gestured back at the cafeteria briefly. "I'm not clear exactly what happened back there but, with those EsoGuards setting up camp, a repeat performance doesn't seem like the best idea. And whose idea was it to start a fight with Rick in the first place?! There was, like, a gang of you wailing on him in one way or-"

She stopped abruptly and sighed. Looking down, she spoke in a quieter voice. "Sorry, getting carried away here. Veronica Castor. I like being self-righteous, human rights and giving out to people apparently." She laughed softly and straightened back up.

[Llyarden]

"Some of us here are humans, you know," Daniel pointed out to Lucy, although he sounded more amused than offended. "Besides, if you're not actually a demon than you're probably human too, aren't you?"

He gave a slight frown at Veronica's mild tirade, but waited for her to finish before replying. "Hey, all I did was stop him hitting anyone. Besides, he was the one who decided to start throwing around superpowered punches," he added, with a look that almost dared her to disagree. "And given his whole 'I'm the best person ever' speech, I think it was probably a good thing he chose to pick on people who could take it. From what he said it sounded like he's already been hitting people with those electric shocks of his, and I don't think he'd have stopped any time soon. Do you?"

After a couple of moments, he added "And yeah, in case you missed it, I'm Daniel."

[Business Scrub]

Lucy, Veronica, Ewan, Karen, Daniel, and Iris all one way or another escape the crowd by ducking into a small, currently empty, classroom that connects to the cafeteria.

The door creaks open again and a boy, Seth, moves quietly in, having escaped the mass of students as well. From outside, you can hear an older woman's voice shouting over the others. Apparently the teacher came back from outside, desperately trying to get a handle on the students. Given enough time, another few teachers show up to implement some sort of order, but so far no one has noticed you all.

[herodofcows]

"Human? My dear, at least some of us are,
Or NEARLY there, I'll gladly grant you that
But some of us are, from human, as far
As feral tigers be from vile rats
Me, I am Ewan Harke, Wind in the Pines
The latter likely means nothing to you
But of import to me and people mine
Of whom I think there are, here, one or two
But this means nothing! Most importantly:
Those EsoGuard will be sniffing about
And, sans video proof, a good story
Will make or break us of being found out
My suggestion? We tell of Rick's power
Implying it be greater than it were

Perhaps his lightning call'd forth wind and rain
But, uncontrolled, merely upset some trays
Perhaps he tried to possess people's brains
But only made US give voice to his brays
Of a**-kicking and how he's newly strong.
And Daniel not dying? Simply put,
Rick's likely not had his powers for long,
And under pressure, they did go kaput.
Lucy, my demon dear (for fiend thou art),
We can't add your powers to this pretense
BUT Rick started it, so if we speak smart
We pass thy hellish flames as self-defense
In short, all our past superhuman tricks?
We can pin them ENTIRELY on Rick."

[Andrian]

"That's a pretty big lie," Karen points out. "Might be a little hard to get people to swallow all of that."

Not like she had a lot of room to talk, after all. Karen herself was living a lie, but still, she had quite a bit of experience with lying, and she knew that it was generally best to try to stick with the smallest lie you could manage.

"The fact that nobody was able to record it is pretty good luck, though. There's no actual record, so it all comes down to hearsay and memory." Karen knew memory, too. It was surprisingly easy to manipulate, if you did it right.

[Llyarden]

Daniel listened to Ewan's speech with...some bemusement. Is he saying that he isn't human? He looks human.

Once Ewan had finished his rather long-winded suggestion, Daniel spoke up. "Or we could just say that Rick's powers work better on electrical things," he suggested, realising a moment after he'd said it that while he might not have been electrical, his power regulator was. And having that break on him in the middle of the cafeteria would have been...unpleasant to say the least. "Aside from me, the only things he zapped were everyone's phones and the TV, so hopefully no-one will no the difference. But yeah, saying that he was responsible for the wind and storms would make sense since he's all electrical anyway.

The only slight issue will be if whoever else Rick has beaten up shows up and gives their side of the story. Because at that point it'll probably be quite obvious that he doesn't have the ability to conjure a storm or whatever, and that I'm more resilient than I look. But compared to throwing fire around and magic windstorms..." he shrugged. "Just being hard to hurt isn't that interesting. I hope."

[AmberVael]

"But being hurt is important." Iris finally broke in with a sigh. "Look, it got crazy back there, the flying kicks and fireballs kind of crazy. Now I don't think Rick is the type to take this to the police... but the fact is, he was ganged up on, and that's not something that really looks great even if he started it. But if you're actually hurt, if you take up a bit more of the victim role rather than playing tough guy, things become easier. Because the police will look at the damage and hear what everyone is saying, and will probably just be relieved that you're okay after all that, and less inclined to blame you. And if you're hurt, everyone else who decided they wanted a piece of the fight looks more justified, because they can more legitimately claim they were acting in your defense rather than just wanting to beat up Rick. Its not even lying, its just... presenting things in your favor."

She frowned at Daniel. "Because frankly, I don't care how much of a tough guy you are. You probably should get looked at, because Rick wasn't messing around."

"Now as for humans being dumb," She said, a bite of irritation entering her voice, because as weird as she was becoming she did like to think she was still human, "I don't think you can count on that. There is reason to really look into the matter, and if you lie about it you're just digging yourself into a hole if it ever gets found out. And I'm betting EsoGuard can do more than just ask people nicely if they have powers. Besides, there is a whole cafeteria full of people who saw what happened, and I don't think many, if any, were convinced by that 'Rick has telekinesis' line."

Iris shrugged. "Look, in the end its not my mess. Do what you want, but I think if you spin some web of lies you can't maintain, its just going to bite you in the butt." Besides, she doubted this guy with his crazy form of speech and hippy name (Wind in the Pines? What on earth was that about?) was going to listen to sense. He didn't exactly seem... sensible. And the idea that some of the others might be like him wasn't encouraging either.

[Drakeburn]

As Seth finally manages to escape the masses in the cafeteria. He needed to find a quick place to hide and cool off from everything that happened in there.

He went into the classroom next to the cafeteria, only to find that there were other students in there. Students who were in that fight......

"Um, I'm sorry." Seth apologized.
"Is this room taken?"

[Red_Jenny]

"No, I'm a very smart cat in disguise. Don't tell anyone." Lucy snarks at Daniel. "Of course I'm human." Please let that be true.

"Hey... Seth, right? Come on in, we're just... talking."

"OK, look. Superpowers or not, Rick started it. He got in a shoving match with Ewan, started beating on Daniel, and everyone else was just trying to stop him. I mean, that's the truth, right? Iris has a point, no big lie, just tell 'em what happened. It's not the first fight I've been in, and it was weirder and scarier and there were more witnesses than usual, but, it's still a fight. Cobie's pretty reasonable, and the teachers mostly just give you detention. Everything that got broken was Rick's fault. We should be... all right."

"As for EsoGuard... I dunno. Hope they were telling the truth?" She laughs humorlessly. The school side she could handle. The corporation hunting for strange things was something else.

[Llyarden]

Daniel rolled his eyes exxageratedly at the demon girl's snarkiness, but didn't reply to it beyond that. "I don't want to try working out some great web of lies," he said. He glanced across to Seth as the other boy came in, but didn't say anything. "I don't know about any of you, but I'm not a good liar. And I'll get looked at if you insist," he added to Iris, "but I don't think I'll look much worse than anyone else would after a 'normal' fight." He sketched air-quotes at the 'normal.' "And that might make people wonder why everyone jumped in the fight, especially throwing fireballs around." He glanced back over to Lucy at this last point with a hint of disapproval.

"But...yeah," he agreed, after a moment. "I don't think the school is going to be too much of a problem. If nothing else, you can just claim that the fire and wind were meant to scare him, not hurt him; who's going to know the difference? I think if anything, EsoGuard are going to be more of a problem. Not many people actually saw what happened, I don't think, and there was only one film of the whole thing. So there'll probably be a whole load of exaggeration as to what happened. And the fact that we've all kind of ended up together...people will notice, and I'll bet they'll assume that we've all got powers. Even those of you that actually don't. So...we should probably be careful."

He rather seemed to have ignored the possibility that EsoGuard might actually have been telling the truth and not been interested in the students at all.

[Andrian]

Karen listened as the others debated whether or not to lie. It wasn't really her problem, of course, but she knew that if people started looking for people with powers, they might find her, and that could be very bad. Still, the others kept bringing up these EsoGuard people... "Does anybody know anything about thse EsoGuard guys? Any idea what they're looking for?" Karen, of course, had had no idea that EsoGuard was looking for anything until just a few seconds ago, but she wasn't about to let anyone else know that.

[Drakeburn]

With Lucy's invitation, Seth simply nodded at sat down on the floor for a moment.
But as he was sitting, he couldn't help but to overhear what the others were saying.
"In the assembly they said that they're gonna investigate anything unusual, but I'm not not entirely sure if there is more to that than what they're letting us know." Seth said, answering to the question.

"I'm Seth by the way, for those who don't know me. You know, the guy who jumped over the tables, punched Rick in the chest, and threw that tray into his face."

[Silent_p]

Veronica frowned in return at Daniel's defensiveness. Oh, and you knew all that when you went and provoked him? But she let it slide as Ewan began speechifying. He seemed to be suggesting that he wasn't actually human and believed that others weren't either. Is he delusional? I mean, sure, Lucy looks different but so? She was tempted to call him out but the conversation was quickly moving on to the subject of a cover-up.

One of those cases where it might not be the worst idea. Though dumping it all on Rick seems far-fetched at best. She continued listening as Iris and Daniel spoke up. Nodding slowly, she waited unitl Karen and Seth finished. "I gotta agree with Iris and Daniel. Some massive web of lies to cover things up won't work. Way too many witnesses. 'Course, coming clean about the whole thing probably wouldn't end well either." She paused for a moment. "Could we just stonewall? Like, deny knowing precisely what happened beyond what people saw? Rick's got some powers, hassled people and got in over his head when you guys stood up to him."

She looked around, not entirely convinced by her own suggestion. "At the very least, keeping our heads down when it comes to the EsoGuards seems like the smart thing to do."

[AmberVael]

Iris's lips pressed together into a thin line, but she remained silent for a while rather than responding immediately, letting the others talk while she thought, debating with herself what the best thing to do was. Just drop it and get out of here. He's not interested in your take on things, and it'll be better if you don't get mixed in any further with this mess. But while it seemed very sensible to just let them dig themselves into a hole if that was what they wanted, it felt pretty wrong to do, even if she also felt uncomfortable pressing with her advice (especially since it might mean getting argumentative about it, which wouldn't help at all).

After some hesitation, she decided to just move on from her first idea and address the main issue. "I think if you wanted to pretend you're not different, that chance already passed for some of you. I mean, Lucy, its not like you were ever going to get away with it, Daniel is probably going to get looked into just because he was in the middle of it all, and Ewan..." She trailed off, looking at 'Pine Fresh' with some skepticism. "It actually might be better to just own up to it at this point, to spin it in your favor rather than denying or ignoring the obvious- call yourself a hero, make yourself into a marvel, whatever. If EsoGuard is a group that is going to try anything funny, they'll probably be more hesitant to do anything really bad if everyone is paying attention to you, right? Everyone would start guessing and investigating immediately, and I doubt anyone shady would want that attention on them."

[Drakeburn]

"I'm not so sure about that." Seth spoke up.
"First of all, we don't know what the EsoGuard are capable of. If they're here to study anything unusual, then they might be prepared with the resources they need in case they find what they're looking for. Or if it finds them."

"Second, I'm not sure what the school staff would think about having students displaying heroics with extraordinary abilities. That fight with Rick Pastor may be enough to get them concerned to a point where they'll be on EsoGuard's side."

[herodofcows]

Ewan Harke rolls his eyes as others speak:
Apparently, deceit had no fans here,
But rather limited truth, howe'er oblique
(Which was smarter, sure, but pained Ewan's rear)
"All right, truth let it be! But not FULL truth,
I'll follow your leads, one and all, I swear,
And when we all speak our limited sooth
We'll hope it bites not our shared derriere
But EsoGuard, we can agree, seems ill
And might find us to be worth scrutiny
We don't know what they're about, what's their will,
Or anything! So, solidarity?
If one of us gets snatched up, let's agree
That the rest of us work to set them free?"

[Drakeburn]

"Um, okay?" Seth agreed, even though he thinks the poetic talk isn't really necessary.
Thankfully Seth didn't have any powers. So would that mean EsoGuard wouldn't take any interest in him?
He wasn't sure about what the EsoGuard are up to, but he'll find out eventually.

"So I guess its settled that we're going to tell the truth without giving away the 'details?'" Seth asked, glancing at everybody in the empty classroom.

[AmberVael]

"Do what you want. Not like I really come into it." Iris says, abandoning the discussion with a shrug. She stepped off to one side and sat on one of the desks, getting out her phone as she did. After all, Seth was right about one thing at least- they really didn't know what EsoGuard could do. Or would do, for that matter. And it seemed to her that she could probably remedy some of that really quickly with a bit of internet access and searching. Even the public front they presented could tell a lot about them.

Iris is going to do some research.
I imagine Expertise Business could apply here, to know what to search for in terms of official business as well as where to find the real meat and rumors about what a company does. [roll0]

In addition, maybe she should make an investigation roll? I'm not sure, but there doesn't seem to be any particular skill for researching. Book says investigation should be a secret roll though, so I won't make one here.

[Andrian]

Karen continues to eat in silence, listening to Ewan's poetic ramblings with a mixture of annoyance and bemusement. He was so weird! "You guys sure EsoGuard is looking for people? I mean, what if there's a weird mineral deposit under the school or some kind of mutant fungus strain in the cafeteria food that they're after?"

She wasn't sure she wanted to sign on for any kind of mutual protection pact yet. After all, she hardly knew any of these people. Sure, some of them had powers, apparently, which could be really nice, but she didn't feel like she was really a part of this group.

[Llyarden]

"Agreed," said Daniel, in response to Ewan's latest poetry and with a nod at the wind manipulator, before turning to Karen. "If they were after something like that why wouldn't they say so? They could just close off one classroom or something and do whatever it is they want to, not send people throughout the entire school. The only reason they wouldn't say would be because they didn't want people to know, and why would that be unless they actually wanted people?" He gave a brisk nod as if his conclusion was obvious and glanced across at Iris. "Hey, you were one of the people who showed up right after the fight to band together with the rest of us. People will say you have powers, even if it isn't true - you know what this school is like as far as gossip goes - and EsoGuard might investigate you anyway. That probably goes for anyone else who was even close to the fight as well."

[Drakeburn]

"Well, then it is a good thing that I'm the new kid in this school." Seth said.
"This is only my second day here, so hopefully not too many people know who I am. But for how long that'll last, I don't know.
Also, what are we going to do if another superpowered student starts causes trouble? We can't just spring into action like what we did in the cafeteria. If we're going to avoid the EsoGuard and save the day, we need to be smart about it."

[herodofcows]

"The new kid makes a point, we should agree
On a guideline viz more power abuse,
For, although I can only speak for me,
It's all too tempting to simply cut loose.
Perhaps those whose powers have subtlety
Or those whose puissance is pronounced enough
Should first contain the enemy, while we
Others clear the area by some bluff,
And this only if imminent be harm
Or loss of life to innocents nearby
Barring such threats, we call the subtle arm
Of EsoGuard force such rogues to comply
But if danger comes courting far too close
WE ensure that away it quickly goes"

So speaking, Ewan takes another look
At Iris, one that searches and infers;
He's sensed it; she's fae as a storybook
What does that mean for him? Well, he's unsure
What kind, what court? As clear to him as guilt
To a judge who judges a cheated man
Whose spouse's lover was found bloody, kilt
By some unknown, frenzied, bestial hand
Be that as it may, he'll soon suss her out
Perhaps go to her, ask her honestly?
Yes, straightforwardness is the safest route;
He can't bargain, but through the truth she'll see
That, though limited, he's Wind in the Pines
And he could be of use to her designs

Gonna use Insight on Iris with Ewan's Assessment advantage to see what I can see about her abilities, plus Expertise (Magic) to figure out what I can about how she fits into the broader universe of the Fae courts.

[roll0] Insight
[roll1] Expertise (Magic)

[Drakeburn]

"I have a name you know." Seth says with a sigh.
How much more of this "new kid" junk does he have to put up with?

[Andrian]

"It's okay, Seth." Karen says with a friendly smile. "I'm sure the others will learn your name soon enough." Karen never forgot a name, or a face, or much of anything for that matter. She pondered what she was going to do. She really wanted to be a part of this group - to be close to others with powers like hers, and from what she could tell these were all pretty decent people. Still, the thought of revealing that she had powers... it was scary.

She turns to the others, setting down her tray of food and standing so she's easier to see."I can't really fight like you guys, but... well... I might be able to help with creating distractions..." Even though she'd made the offer, she wasn't sure if she should show them her powers. It was a big step, and would require a lot of trust. She wasn't sure what she'd do if they asked. Maybe she'd show them, or maybe she wouldn't.

Of course, to the others, her statement probably seemed outlandish. She was perhaps the most average-seeming girl in the school. She wasn't especially pretty or funny or smart (though she did get pretty good grades), and she wasn't part of any clubs or organizations. To all appearances, Karen was almost painfully normal.

[Silent_p]

"Hold up. What exactly are we deciding here?" Veronica looked around the group. "EsoGuard will be back here on Monday. We don't know what they're looking for but it's a fair bet what happened in the cafeteria qualifies. So, we have each other's backs, yeah?"

She glanced from Seth to Ewan. "You guys are talking about a gang, though. Bullyhunters anonymous? I'm all for helping people out but with EsoGuard around, we gotta do it quietly." She sighed. "Which brings me back to my first question: what do we say to them when they question us?"

[Business Scrub]

You all are thankfully left alone to hash things out. The teachers in the cafeteria seem to have gotten some order going by now.

The intercom chimes overhead. Lucy Ferrara, Daniel Cole, and Seth McLaine: please report to the headmaster's office.

At this time all students are reminded that they should be in their fourth period class. Despite recent events the school day will progress as normal. Thank you.

[Drakeburn]

"Uh oh," Seth said with a gulp.
"We'll just tell them what happened, something like 'somebody was getting bullied, we intervened, end of story'. Something like that anyways. Well, wish us luck."
Seth went out of the classroom, and took a deep breath before heading over to the headmaster's office.

[AmberVael]

Iris hadn't heard the bell for classes- she realized she must have been too engrossed in her internet search to have registered it. With a grimace she slipped her phone into her pocket and exited the room, heading off to class. If she'd thought anything of the proposals for mutual protection or other people with powers- or even really heard them- she didn't give any sign of it. Apparently she didn't think it concerned her at all.

[Andrian]

Karen sighed. Time to get back to classes. For a second, she considered offering to take someone's place in the office, but she didn't have time to explain. She was curious to know what would be said to Lucy, Daniel, and Seth. Instead, she hurried back to the cafeteria to return her tray and dishes, hoping she wouldn't be late for her next class.

[Business Scrub]

I made a secret investigation roll that represents Iris' best attempt in the current time span.

@Iris: You run a pretty detailed search on EsoGuard, or at least as thorough as your phone will allow. Surprisingly though, it turns up very little. In fact, the only thing that turns up for the company is their website: a well designed page with a bunch of 'candid' photos of scientist looking people working on something. The site includes their slogan "Solving the mysteries of the world, one step at a time." They appear to be local to the New England area. Other than that, the site has some contact information, but that's about it.

[Llyarden]

Daniel noted that the announcement made no mention of Ewan. Apparently people were more gullible than they had been expecting. "Something like that," he agreed with a nod to...Seth, that was his name, according to Karen...giving a faint smile to the others before following out into the corridor, waiting for Lucy before carrying on to the office. He was less worried than Seth seemed to be about the possibility of getting in trouble, at least as far as the school was concerned.

Nonetheless, he couldn't help but feel a little bit annoyed at the announcement. If there had been any hope of hiding at least their identities, that was gone now. Not even been here a whole term and I'm already going to the Headmaster's office...Aunt Lily is going to kill me.

[herodofcows]

Ewan smirks at being unmentioned, "Well,
You three know best, good luck with your half-truths!"
He skips out in the wake of the school bell
And uses a fae-taught trick from his youth:
A glamour which, thanks to the gullible
And inattentive nature of mankind
Makes it so that he's not invisible
But simply passes from most human's minds;
So cloaked, he follows Iris towards her class
And, catching up, speaks without preamble
"Okay, now that it's clear this all will pass
Us by for now . . ." He stops, and then gambles
On her not leading him to fresh dismay
"What are you doing here, dear sister fae?"

Gonna use Ewan's Glamour so as to make him go unremarked in the halls. This dismisses the storm outside! Yay for clear skies.

[Business Scrub]

The herd of students in the cafeteria, and some of you decide it's time to head back to class, or to the headmaster, as well.
@Daniel and Seth (and Lucy if she joins): The three of you head across the hall to Headmaster Cobie's office, knocking on the door with considerable anticipation. Almost immediately, you hear the Headmaster's voice ring out.
"Come in."

The inside of the office, as Lucy already knows, is quite nice. Headmaster Cobie sits in a decently spacious office, with large windows along the side. He stands behind a dark wood desk, and turns when he hears you enter.

"Come in. Close the door please. Have a seat if you wish." He pushes a fishbowl of little chocolates across the desk as an invitation to take one. Lucy would find this odd, since among the many times she has been here, the chocolates stayed firmly on Cobie's side of the desk.

"Clearly there was some considerable activity at lunch among the students, if you can pardon the understatement. However at this time I have heard only second hand accounts of the incident, but all of them seem to include you three, as well as mister Pastor, as... participants. In one way or another." He studies you all closely.
"I would like to hear the events of today from the horse's' mouths, so to speak. Would you kindly describe, each of you in your own words, what happened today? Leave nothing out."
@Ewan and Veronica (if they end up at class): When, if ever, you arrive at gym 'class', it's clear you're not the last ones to show up. In a class that normally has twenty students, only about ten have decided to show up. It seems like a lot of people decided the excitement of lunch was enough to leave.
Mr. Barkley, one of the two school PE teachers, seems to have abandoned all pretense of a class because of this, and is throwing out colored foam balls in preparation for pins n' rims.
"Alright, how many people'r here? I'm taking attendance today cause apparently the wrath o' god isn't enough to stop a Friday."
He looks up as you enter. "Eh, Veronica and Ewan! You two are captains today. Get teams of six together."
@Iris and Karen: Unlike Mr. Barkley's class, you biology lecture has plowed on like nothing happened. In fact, Mrs. Micini barely stops her lecture when you two walk in.
"The pineapple in particular is a notable species ladies please take a seat in that employs the CAM method of photosynthesis. Who can tell me what the acronym CAM stands for?"
Mrs. Micini's room is on the third floor, which means that out the windows you can just barely see the storm starting to break up.

[AmberVael]

Iris hadn't gotten a really good look at the fight earlier. She saw generally what was happening, some flashy powers- and some of the weird stuff that intruded into her sight these days, but nothing had really stood out. Now though, when Ewan stood nearby with a spell of concealment woven about him, she realized she was seeing what he was doing in a way that no one else seemed to be. She saw the colors of magic he had worked, intuited a little of what he was doing from its patterns. Nothing else had stood out to her quite in that way before... but then, there was a lot of oddities to see. It could just be coincidence.

She doubted that though.

"Um, going to class? And my name is Iris, not Faye." Iris got the sense that she was misunderstanding him somehow, but she wasn't clear in what way. He seemed to be insinuating some kind of connection between them with the word 'sister,' which unnerved for quite a few reasons. For one, she thought she had hidden her weirdness just fine. For another... he was probably the creepiest and weirdest of the others she had met so far, and so she was not eager to think she had any kind of similarity to him. She wished she could pinpoint what exactly about him creeped her out so much, but it just seemed to be the kind of rhythm with which he did things.

She could see her classroom just a short distance away, but paused, not wanting to have this conversation right outside the door.

[Drakeburn]

"Well, Mr. Cobie. I was just eating my lunch as usual, when I noticed Rick Pastor was picking on this fellow over here." He gestured towards Daniel.
"When I saw that Rick is displaying something that looked like "superpowers", I rushed in to try to stop the commotion before anybody gotten hurt. I tried to distract Rick to get him away from Daniel that I did as much as threw some food into Rick's face. I guess you can say adrenaline and instinct took over when I tried to intervene. I had the best of intentions for what I did in the cafeteria."

[Llyarden]

Daniel looked around a little nervously as he entered, deciding not to take a seat on the basis that it seemed a bit impolite. "Rick was picking on someone else first," he added, to follow up on Seth's story. "I tried to stop him and...as Seth said, he decided to hit me with an electric blast or something. He was yelling about being a hero and all sorts of stuff like that; I just grabbed him until he calmed down a bit, which he did eventually. Well, not really, I suppose, since he blew up the TV when he left, but it was better than him trying to hit someone else." After a moment, he added "Er, do you mind if I ask, sir, do you know where he's gone?"

Not entirely sure if 'sir' would be the normal form of reference; it was in my school but that was in Britain. If it's not then assume Daniel said whatever the normal thing would have been.

[Silent_p]

Dissatisfied with the lack of a concrete outcome, Veronica nonetheless grabbed her bag. Settling it on her shoulders she filed out with the others. She paused to watch those summoned to the principal. Better them than me, I guess. Still, can't shake the feeling this is gonna bite a lot of us in the ass. She turned and headed for the locker room, running over events in her mind.

Yeah, Daniel provoked Rick but, if he's right, Rick's been going 'round hitting people with his powers. And where the hell did those come from?! Suddenly, he's on his own, acting king of the cafeteria and ready to let rip with, I dunno, lightning? Bit of a shock. Her lips quirked slightly. Lame, Veronica.

Then there's the group that ended up in the classroom just there. Weird to assume they've all got powers too? She frowned in thought. I mean, there's Lucy - check. Ewan - yeah, pretty sure that wind was him. Daniel - no way just anyone could take that punch from Rick. Seth - jumping outta nowhere? Yeah. And I know there's things I can do... so, seems likely the others were thinking the same, right?

She entered the locker room and, opening her own, started to change. Okay. Nothing more to do now without drawing attention. No idea how those three are gonna explain the fight but it's likely it won't defuse the thing. EsoGuards are due back Monday. She grimaced. They're bound to start sniffing around...

Grr.

She finished changing and headed out into the gym. Pfft. Light on the ground today, are we? Slackers. There were only a handful of others there. Sighing at the lack of commitment, she started stretching as they waited for more to show up. 'Kay, focus now, Veronica. Think later.

[Business Scrub]

@Daniel, Seth, and Lucy: Mr. Cobie sighs and takes a seat.
"Unfortunately, Daniel, we do not. No cameras or recordings survived his activity, so unless someone saw which direction he went in, we're lost on the matter. His parents have been notified, as well as the police. If you or anyone else sees him, do not hesitate to call the school or the authorities. Now, Ms. Ferrara"
Lucy shifts back and forth nervously, but she takes one of the chocolates, feigning a cool nonchalant attitude.
"Pretty much what they said. Rick just sorta started throwing sparks around and wanted to push people around. Literally, I guess, but Dan and Seth just sorta stopped him."
Cobie watches, his expression a mask. "And you had no part in it?"
"Oh, well, that. I guess I discovered something new about me today. Heh, teenage years, amiright?"
"Yes, well. As I understand it you lit Mister Pastor on fire? We will speak of ita after the other two are dismissed. I have just one more concern. A number of the stories claim Ewan Harke was involved in the altercation as well. Beyond the impetus, I mean. You all were there: was he involved?"

[Llyarden]

"It didn't seem very fire-y," Daniel pointed out, a little nervously for replying to something that hadn't been directed at him. "I was pretty close to it and it didn't feel hot or anything. It didn't burn Rick's clothes either. It just sort of floated there. As to Ewan, I'm...not sure," he continued. "At first I thought he was responsible for causing the wind and the rain and everything, but then he said that it was Rick's fault, and when we were talking afterwards he didn't make any mention of doing anything. He said lots of other odd things, but didn't mention anything about the wind. Although it's always a bit hard to understand what he means," he added after a moment.

[Drakeburn]

"I don't know." Seth replied.
"Between the fight and the chaos, I couldn't see who it was that started the rain and wind."

This seems to be going kinda smoothly, Seth thought.
Although now I'm a bit worried about Lucy now.

[Business Scrub]

@Daniel, Seth, and Lucy: Cobie contemplates for a moment: clearly not a man of hurried action.

"I see. However it is interesting that I ask about Harke and both of you mention the weather. Similarly both of you seem assured that such a strange storm was caused by someone. Many people would assume it was a random act of nature."

Cobie shrugs; a gesture that seems almost unnatural on him. "I suppose it will be a mystery. If you two have no questions or things to add, you are dismissed."

Roll Insight please

[Drakeburn]

Seth simply shook his head as he got up.
"Believe me, Mr. Cobie, this isn't the first time I've encountered an individual with superpowers." He said in a grim and serious tone.
"The first one I've encountered took my mother's life three years ago."

With that, Seth left Cobie's office.

[herodofcows]

Ewan is wrong-footed for one moment
Does she not know? Or have I been mislead?
Nay, fool Harke, she baits thee for enjoyment!
And so he laughs falsely, and shakes his head
"Thou jape'st at mine expense! 'Tis fair, no doubt
I seem as like to you as hawk to crow!
Yet know this crow had wit to find thee out:
I know, you know I know, I know YOU know!"
So saying, he skips off with hefty grin
(Though inside he feels some slight bitterness)
And thus, when he makes his way to the gym
Barkley's barkings move him to bitter jest
"Oh joy, captaincy! You six, you're with me!
Let's kill time before weekend's liberty!"

[Andrian]

Karen catches up with Iris just as Ewan leaves. She doesn't even know he was there. "Hey, uh, Iris, right? Mind if I walk with you to class?" Sure, they were almost there anyway, but, well... she hoped it would prompt a friendly reply.

[AmberVael]

As Ewan capered away, Iris just watched him go, not sure whether she felt more confusion or dread. I really, really hope he's as crazy as he seems. Faintly uneasy and entirely unsettled by the encounter on top of everything else that had happened that morning, Iris took a moment to breathe. Jeez. Maybe I'll just skip this class. She didn't normally do things like that, but Iris wasn't averse to bending the rules a little, and felt confident in her ability to be charming enough to get away with it. Even if she didn't know all the minor details of Gilgamesh (not that she was aware of her mistake at this point), she was still a pretty good student- the teachers would probably accept it if she came up with a good enough excuse.

Just as she decided she could use the time away from class, maybe look into EsoGuard a bit further (she really wasn't convinced by the little she had already turned up), Karen came up to her and caught her on the spot. Iris didn't know her that well, and wasn't sure how she'd respond to the suggestion that maybe Iris wasn't going to go to class after all. "Oh. Um." Iris tried to think of a good excuse, then gave up on it, resigning herself to science class. "Sure."

[Andrian]

Secretly, Karen was thinking about how nice it would be to skip class, too. Still, with all the strange stuff going on, maybe it would be best to lay low for the time being.

"I wish I knew what was going on. I didn't know anyone in the school had powers." She walks slowly as they get closer to the classroom door, hoping to prolong the conversation, at least.

[AmberVael]

"Me either." Iris responded automatically, before realizing maybe that wasn't accurate. I guess I have superpowers, from a point of view. I didn't really think about it quite that way- they're not really powers so much as... But she couldn't think of a better word for it. It was obvious that something supernatural was going on with her, but a lot of it seemed like becoming something else rather than suddenly having cool powers, which was usually how she thought of it. "I guess Lucy isn't too surprising."

As they got closer to the door, Iris changed her mind again. Karen could react however she wanted, Iris would find a way to deal with it later. "You know what? I'm not going to even be able to concentrate on science right now. I'm skipping. Are you going to go on?" Iris kept her voice low, not wanting anyone else to hear her decision, at least.

[Andrian]

Karen hesitated. This was the kind of moment she'd found hardest to deal with since... well, since she became Karen. The other Karen wasn't the sort of girl who would skip class ever. She was too innocent and too timid, and she was comfortable in her life as it was. However, that wasn't what the new Karen wanted at all. She'd never broken the rules in such an obvious way before, but now temptation was staring her right in the face, and, more importantly, she had reasons to want to skip class.

"I, um... I guess not." She promised herself this wouldn't become a habit. "But where are we gonna go? We can't just wander the halls. We'll get caught."

Of course, Karen could always morph into a teacher or another student, but that was always risky. Someone might start to suspect her if they noticed that every time she was absent from class, someone seemed to be in two places at once.

[AmberVael]

Iris smiled at that. "I wouldn't bet on that. Just smile and act naturally and everyone else plays along. Maybe you're going to the bathroom, or got sent to get something, or to talk to someone. They don't know, and as long as you keep walking they won't stop you to find out." Iris knew that on her own she could just step sideways out of reality and skip class without anyone seeing her, guaranteed- but that would mean letting Karen in on her secret, and she didn't really want to do that. She was hesitant to tell anyone before she understood it herself. But if she kept an eye out, she at least might get a hint if someone was coming for them before they turned up. Probably. She noticed that kind of thing a lot, but it didn't seem foolproof.

She did have one trick up her sleeve though, and she used it as she kept talking. "Still, no point in giving people the opportunity to ask, right? We'll slip outside. Come on." By the time she finished talking her work was done, and since she kept Karen's attention on her as she donned it it was unlikely the other girl would even notice that Iris was now sheathed in a glamour, a fae veil that prevented people from really noticing her. As Iris fully dons it and glances down at herself to make sure it was in place, she noticed with dread just how similar in pattern and coloration it was to what Ewan had done earlier. If he actually knows something...

Iris uses Dreamcloak, her concealment power which pretty much just prevents people from really noticing or reacting to her. I decided to spend one of Iris's points on improving her array and gave her the Selective modifier for Dreamcloak, which seems like a really decent thing to have. Since it is Insidious as well it should be pretty impossible to notice whats going on even if someone manages to spot Iris through it- or if Iris chooses to let them see through it.

[Andrian]

Well, alright, then. Karen says, outwardly hesitant, but inwardly elated. "I guess you're right about Lucy. It isn't much of a surprise that she has powers. Still... what about the others? Kinda makes you wonder how many of u... them... there are." Karen's near slip-up might not have been entirely accidental. When you lived so many lies, it was sometimes hard to tell what your own true motivations were. A part of her was desperate to share at least part of her secret with someone else, but the rest of her was terrified of doing just that.

[Llyarden]

"A wind that appeared indoors and centred around the fight, sir?" Daniel replied. "It seemed pretty unnatural to me."

And then Seth dropped his bombshell and left. Daniel was left standing speechless for a few moments before registering that he'd been told to leave. "Um, thank you, sir," he added, before hurrying out.

Part of him wanted to ask Seth about what he'd just said, but he had a feeling that opening old wounds probably wouldn't be the best course of action. So instead he just stood in the corridor for a little while, before rousing himself from his stupor and trying to remember what class he had next.

[AmberVael]

Iris glanced at Karen as she stumbled over her words, noticing the slip up without making comment on it. "Enough to make EsoGuard get interested. I mean, that's got to be what they're after, right? It's too much of a coincidence." As they talked she calmly headed towards the nearest exit, trying to decide on a suitable excuse if she needed one. Maybe she could say she was looking for one of the coaches out in the practice fields? Someone was probably doing something out there.

[Silent_p]

With Ewan's entrance, the coach finally seemed to decide that it was time to begin. Releasing one final stretch, Veronica stood as Ewan swept up the first six people he saw onto his team. Veronica rolled her eyes briefly. Real inspirational. She nodded to the remainder. "Right, you guys are with me."

Looking them over, she issued a few quick suggestions. No one seemed particularly enthusiastic, though. Sighing to herself, she went to set up the pins. Hardly gonna be top notch action today. Guess everyone's head is still back in the canteen. She took her time righting the pins, getting them just so.

Reasonably satisfied, she went back to her team before looking over at Ewan. Trying to catch his eye, she raised an eyebrow quizzically and mimed flipping a coin. Let's at least get started, yeah?

[Drakeburn]

Seth quickly walked away from the office, wonder about what he said before he left. He didn't know why he suddenly let that out. Maybe it was because he kept his sadness and anger bottled up for years? Or was it because he still hasn't gotten over his mother's death?
The memory of that moment has haunted him for years. Now matter what, he could never forget what happened.

Then Seth shakes it off, remembering that he has to go back to class.

...... Only, he doesn't remember which class he was supposed to go to, or where that class is.

[Andrian]

"Rick suddenly got superpowers out of the blue. Whatever gave them to him has got to be extremely valuable, and is potentially dangerous. It wouldn't surprise me if that's what they're looking for. I mean, what are they going to do with a bunch of super-powered kids anyway? If they want metahumans, they're all over the news. No need to bother looking for new ones." Karen hoped she was right. At the very least, the point about Rick was an important piece of the puzzle that the others seemed to not have paid much attention to.

[AmberVael]

"Huh. I'd been wondering about the reverse, actually- that maybe EsoGuard was behind Rick in the first place. But without knowing anything else, I think your idea makes more sense." Iris confidently pushed open one of the doors that let out of the school and held it for Karen before exiting herself. "But what I've really been thinking is that its really easy to jump to conclusions. What if they're actually decent people? Or at least, decent for a business. What if they're shady, but don't really need to be avoided? Or what if they actually aren't here about superhumans? We really don't know what's going on with them at all, and even our best guesses are still just guesses. They didn't say anything, their website didn't really say anything, and I couldn't find anything about them at all."

Iris shrugged and raised her hands before moving on. "So hey, did you hear about that new place that opened up recently? Singularity?"

[herodofcows]

Ewan arranges his pins with the care
Of a drunkard around his appearance;
Pins thus set, he meets Veronica's stare
And walks over to her with look askance
"So how should we do this? Lines on both ends
Of the gymnasium, balls placed center
And at the signal, by running contend
To gain balls? Or shall we rather enter
Into this with balls equally dispers'd
Among both teams, and thereby simply trot
Into this wretched game clear-eyed, headfirst?
This I leave you, to me it matters not.
Cement your triumph with the rubber balls!
For me, to win is not to play at all."

[Andrian]

Karen concentrates hard on the problem, trying to put the puzzle together. Iris brings up a few good points. EsoGuard could have found a way to give Rick his powers, and want to come to the school to monitor him. Then there was also the possibility that EsoGuard wasn't up to anything that concerned superpowers at all. Still, the company's lack of transparency on the issue was a little suspicious. Karen made a note to look into the matter later.

"Singularity? No, I haven't. Is it a restaurant or something?"

[Silent_p]

Veronica took a second or two to mentally translate Ewan's suggestions. How does he make it all rhyme? No, not the time. Resolved to concentrate on the task at hand, she looked around the gym briefly.

"With these numbers and their... enthusiasm, it's probably easier to just divide the balls equally and get stuck in." She shrugged. "That might get them moving a bit."

She paused, then lowered her voice a little while still casually looking around the gym. "Listen, about the cafeteria. I figure we should meet up somewhere over the weekend - the gang from the classroom afterwards. With EsoGuard back next week, well, a lot of us are potentially under the spotlight." She frowned. "Or the microscope. Whatever."

[Drakeburn]

After a moment of wandering around the halls, Seth decided to just go to the bathroom and turn on his laptop while he was in the stalls.
He checked his e-mail, where one message stood out from the rest.

Happy birthday Seth! Can you come down to the pizza parlor after school today? I have something for you. Your big brother, Brent

Seth couldn't help but to feel touched by the e-mail. Sure, his brother has proven to be better than Seth at a lot of things he lost count of. But they still treated and respected each other as brothers. Who knows? Maybe his sixteenth birthday might not be that bad after all.

[herodofcows]

"Fair point," Ewan replies, "All right, folks, catch!"
Tossing half the balls to his slack-jawed troop,
He quietly rejoins, So you'd attach
The same import as I to that new group?
I agree, something's off with this new "us"
(Yes, I include myself and you in that):
Even those whose strangeness ain't obvious
Gathered with us at the drop of a hat
So for veracity, and with few words
I have a question, answer as you do!
In the canteen you weren't to action spurred
But is there something strange about you too?
I mean no offense, but like responds to like
And like as not you're like my like, belike?

[AmberVael]

"Its a club that's for people our age- 21 and under. I've been hearing really good things about it and the guy who runs the place." Iris explained, a bit of cheer returning to her now that she was talking about something that wasn't so worrying and stressful. "Ben Steppe is getting some people together to go tonight and I was going to invite a few too- would you like to come? It'd be a nice change of pace from all the craziness that happened today."

Iris led the way to the field where the marching band usually practiced. No one would be going there until much later in the day, assuming the band was even scheduled to practice. It was pretty out of the way too, so it was unlikely anyone would even pass by.

[Business Scrub]

@Daniel & Seth: Mr. Cobie dismisses you, not really having a good response after Seth's comment.

"Lucy, please stay. You and I have some things to discuss separately."

And then, you two are alone in the hallway. Daniel heads off to Mrs. Micini's biology class, only to find Iris and Karen missing from it.

Seth, after checking his phone, heads up the stairs to his Cultural Histories class, only to find the room completely empty: the door is closed, not a book or bag to be seen. Hell, the lights aren't even on.

Perception Check

@Ewan and Veronica: With Mr. Barkley finishing up attendance, you round up people to kill time until the end of the day. People have mixed levels of energy, including you as you chat back and forth across enemy lines about . Still, might as well put on a show.

Opposed Athletics (to carry the team) or Persuasion (to motivate the team). That is, unless your hearts aren't really in it either.

@Iris and Karen: Iris coats herself in concealment, enough to make anyone forget you were there. As you exit the school, a teacher walks right around you, completely oblivious, but gives a passing glance at Karen.

As you walk out to the near empty soccer field, you notice that you're not the only ones out here. By the side of the supply shed, a girl and boy are talking loudly enough that it's not hard to overhear. They keep looking around though, to make sure there's no one nearby.

"Oh come on, you don't think it's a coincidence that it happened it Rick, do you?"

They seem to notice Karen and quiet down, but continue talking in hushed tones.

Perception Check

[Business Scrub]

@Seth: You look left and right through the room's window, but there's nothing to see and no one to hear.

[Drakeburn]

Of course Seth happened to have his schedule and classroom numbers on his cellphone. It may not be the best cellphone he has, but it can become handy every once in a while.

When he arrived however, he didn't like it that the room appeared dark and empty. His birthday was completely out of the question, since he never told anybody at school about his birthday. How could they have known?

Seth raced possible scenarios through his head. An ambush from the EsoGuard? Rick Pastor? Another [insert name for what people with superpowers are called in this setting]?

For caution, Seth just walked away from the classroom, acting casual as he heads towards the closest drinking fountain he can find.

[Business Scrub]

@Seth: You walk a couple paces down the hall towards the fountain to get a drink. Still no one. Where did they all go? Maybe class was cancelled?

'Metahuman' is the pretty catchall term for people with powers. It more loosely applies even to people with some kind of advanced weapon or suit as well.

[Andrian]

Karen hesitated. Another one of those points where she had to choose between being herself and playing her role."I, um..."

Then, an opportunity to delay the decision came along. Two other kids, and they were talking about Rick. She angled to move toward them, hoping they would keep talking until she could get closer. If they clammed up, maybe she could find some way to read their minds... She didn't know Iris was effectively invisible, but she did her best to appear nonchalant and not look at the two as they got closer, hoping they wouldn't be noticed.

[Business Scrub]

@Karen: Your above-human hearing is good enough to pick them up at this distance, even in their hushed tones.

"Look, all I'm saying is Rick's dad isn't exactly poor. It seems like the kind of thing he could afford."
"Like those people in Cali?"
"What? No! Look, all I'm saying is if Mr. Pastor knows a guy who knows a guy... it could happen."

Separate Expertise: Current Events and Expertise: Streetwise checks.

[AmberVael]

"Just keep walking for the moment." Iris advises to Karen quietly. After all, those two might be out here for a good reason, while Iris and Karen certainly weren't. Better to play it safe. She didn't object to their altered course though- if the two were skipping like they were, and talking about interesting stuff, maybe they could join in.

[Andrian]

"Shh... I can hear them. They're talking about Rick..." Karen whispers, racking her brain to see if she remembers anything about Rick's family or the people in California the kids are referencing. She stops and bends down to tie her shoe, hoping to hear more.

[Llyarden]

Daniel looked around in some bemusement at Iris and Karen not being there. He hadn't particularly considered either of them being particularly ones who would skip out on class. The fact that they had both been in the little meeting in the classroom meant that it probably wasn't coincidence.

He tried to pay attention to the lesson. He really tried.

For about five minutes.

"Ms. Micini?" he asked, raising his hand. "I don't feel too well. Do you mind if I go to the nurse's office?" He held his other hand to his cheek where Rick had punched him; if the story of him getting smacked with an electric fist hadn't spread to the teachers by this point he would have been quite surprised.

I wasn't really planning on having Daniel go to class in the first place, but never mind.

Decepting: [roll0]

Well, here's hoping I can get some crazy circumstance bonuses, because this doesn't seem worth a hero point.

[Silent_p]

Some more basic set up stuff gave Veronica a moment to think. Can I trust him? He's guessed enough as it is. Damn. Not how I imagined this ever going but after the canteen... Hell with it. We're in the same boat, right?

Catching up with Ewan again, Veronica continued in a low voice. "I guess yeah, we might be a bit alike." She glanced at him. "And no, jumping in, powers flying isn't my plan A." She massaged the ball in her hands briefly, then eyed the teams.

"Let's get this going and talk more later." With a final nod, she set her mind to the game.

[Drakeburn]

This was a bit odd. Nobody was in the classroom. Did the mayhem in the cafeteria have anything to do with it?
He decided to stake out for a bit, waiting for anybody to come in or out of there.

[Business Scrub]

@Karen: There was something in the news a couple weeks ago about some large, state of the art corporation named Royal over in California supposedly 'making' people with superpowers. The details were always fuzzy though. Something went down, people died.
You're drawing up a blank on Rick's family, however. Maybe Karen didn't know him too well.

"Makes sense. The Dad's hardly around for the kid, so what does he do when he comes home? Get's him a present."
"And of course like the nut job he is, he abuses it in, like, point five seconds."
"Exactly. I'm just glad someone kicked his ass."
"Yeah but did you see how Dan took that punch? That **** can not be human."
"You think?"
"Oh yeah, definitely. Did you see how quickly he stepped up there? I bet he knew about Rick's powers and he was like, waiting for the guy to blow or something."

@Daniel: When Mrs. Micini pauses to take a breath, you seize your chance. She frowns at you, and then holds her tongue. Usually when you were in Micini's class you stayed in the class. But of course everyone knew what went down earlier.
She nods curtly. "Make sure you're okay Daniel."
She writes pass for the nurse's and passes it to you, then bulls ahead with her lecture.
"As I was saying, the pineapple achieves this by opening the stomata during the night cycle..."

It's not far down the hall that you see Seth, staring curiously at a dark, closed door.

@Seth: You decide to see just what the heck is going on here, and stick around and watch the door. After a few minutes, you see Daniel coming down the hall.
That's when things get weird. Much to your surprise, the doorknob of the empty room jiggles a bit, then the door opens. Inside, not only is the room lit, but there are a class full of people in it. The girl who comes out jumps a little bit seeing you watching.
"Oh! You're the new kid, right? Are you looking for something?"
You can hear Mr. Medly's voice droning on inside, and looking through door opening it looks like just a normal class. When you look through the window to the room, however, it's undeniably dark and empty.

Daniel can see the same thing, by the way.

[Andrian]

"You know anything about Rick's dad? Is he rich?" Karen asks quietly, straightening up and heading along the way she'd been going.

[Drakeburn]

"I was just looking for my next class," Seth explained, stepping away from the drinking fountain.
"But I cannot help but to notice how the room looks dark and empty through the window while it looks the exact opposite through the door. What is up with that?"
Seth wasn't sure what logical explanation there was for this, so he figured he'd mind as well take advantage of being the new kid and ask questions.

[Llyarden]

"Thank you, miss," Daniel said, gratefully, getting up and slipping as quietly as possible (which was not very) out of the class.

He caught up with Seth just in time to hear the other boy talking about doors and windows. It took him a few moments to actually figure out what he was talking about but when he did, he paused. That's...definitely not normal. Maybe EsoGuard really are just looking for something and not someone.

He decided to wait to see what the girl said about the entire thing.

[herodofcows]

Ewan nods at Veronica, and turns
To his teammates, picked randomly, and starts
To exhort them, though within he still yearns
For the day's swift end and leave to depart
"Okay, I'm not sure why coach captained me
But I DO know why I picked you," he grins
"I'm not the sportiest, obviously,
But you're the best six here at pins and rims.
Pair of, I say: three front and three behind
If you're up front, just try to catch or block
Behind? You throw. At them, not at pins, mind!
And I'll run 'round, annoy them with my talk!
Because, given choice of whom to bullseye
They're gonna aim for a**holes such as I!"

[AmberVael]

"I haven't really heard about him." Iris said after a moment of thought. "My mother, you know- she moves around in those circles, so I'd probably know him if he owned a business or was a politician or something." If Karen kept track of notable locals then Iris's mother would probably be known to her since Gwen Farrar was a fairly well off congresswoman who was quite active in the community. While a lot had been privatized and monopolized by companies, she still managed to use her political influence to her advantage. "Can you make out what they're saying?" Iris asked, burning with curiosity.

[Andrian]

"From what I can make out, they're thinking Rick's dad may have bought him superpowers somehow. You remember that thing in California where they were trying to give people superpowers? They think it might be something like that. Apparently Rick's dad is well-off and does a lot of traveling, so... well, they're probably jumping to conclusions, but it's an interesting thought."

[Business Scrub]

@Iris: You know a bit about Mr. Pastor, Rick's father, just from what you've picked up around the school. He's the owner and main worker of ComCheck: a small computer repair store located a few miles from the center of town. You've seen the place: it doesn't look run down so much as just... tired. The computers on display in the front window are old even to an untrained eye. And yet you've seen a number of people coming and going from that store at all hours.
Judging from what you've seen Rick have and wear during school, you're pretty confident he's well off, so maybe there's more money in computer repair than you thought.

@Seth and Daniel: The girl gives Seth a curious look and turns around, closing the door behind her. Sure enough, the window is dark and empty again. Very curious now, the girl flings the door open to reveal the occupied room.
"Miss Shaw, what on Earth are you--"
She quickly closes the door and looks through the window, but this time all you see is... well, exactly what you'd expect. A very confused Mr. Medly staring back out at her.
The girl gives Seth a bemused look that's also a bit nervous.
"Umm... trick of the light?"

Perception check

Molly Shaw: A blonde haired, short, and rather rotund Sophomore at Meldale. A lot of people have a soft spot for her upbeat attitude and jokes, and her claim to fame is that she's the only student that the teachers will let call them by their first name.

@Ewan and Veronica: Ewan's strange but always rhythmic verse breaths some life into his side of the court, and after a grueling and semi-passionate game, Ewan's team stands victorious, having knocked out everyone on Veronica's side.
Everyone pauses to talk, some people stand up pins, another person moves the balls to the center again, and there's an awkward pause.
Where's Barkly? Not in the gym, apparently.

[Silent_p]

The game wound down and Veronica, holding a ball, bounced it a few times as she looked around. Hardly a stellar performance but, hey, got a bit of movement out of them, right? She approached Ewan. "Nice work. You've, uh, got a way with words." She gave him a quick smile. "Guess I'm lucky this wasn't a debate, hmm?"

A laugh from across the hall caught her attention momentarily and, looking over, she noticed that the coach was gone. Huh. There was a more general silence as the others seemed to realise this to. Wait, did no one saw him leave? What is with the weird-ass crap today?!

[Business Scrub]

@Daniel and Seth: Right when Molly closes the door the two of you see... it. Whatever it is. A sunbeam, for lack of a better term, comes into view behind Molly when she turns, then quickly and silently down the hall. It moves almost organically: with direction, but in a meandering way.

[AmberVael]

After a few minutes of thought, Iris speaks up again. "Actually... doesn't he own that crappy computer shop? There's no way something like that could support buying superpowers." But then, if that was the case, why did they think he was rich? It was rather odd... maybe she'd look into it all more later. There was plenty she wanted to look at, in fact.

She hesitated a moment, then glanced over at the pair Karen was eavesdropping on. "Want to go over and talk to them? I mean, they're probably doing exactly what we're doing... even down to talking about everything going on."

[Drakeburn]

"Um, anyways....." Seth said, turning back to Molly.
"So, is this the right classroom?" Seth pulls out piece of folded paper. Unfolding it, it reveals his schedule and shows it to Molly.
He turns to Daniel to mouth the words What was that?

[Andrian]

Karen shrugs. "Couldn't hurt, I guess..." she admits, and begins to make her way toward the other two.

As she gets closer, she smiles and gives them a friendly greeting. "Hey."

[herodofcows]

"It was a game well played, no?" he replies
And idly considers the next round
Until the day's confusion hits his eyes;
Barkly the coach is nowhere to be found . . .
Ewan might now make some effort to CARE
But it's Friday, and he has other stuff
To do; so he assumes the practice'd air
Of one for whom this day's been quite enough
"It seems our coach has split, and left us here
To amuse ourselves as best as we may;
But, really now, when teachers disappear?
I figure we're good to call it a day.
Let's bounce!" he calls, then whispers to Vero
"Should we check this new weirdness out, or no?"

Persuasion to get people to leave! [roll0]

[AmberVael]

Iris does her best to approach from out of sight before removing the glamour that hid her from view, making it appear that she came from out of sight, but she doesn't worry too much about it. The magic of it should take care of any idea that she just came out of nowhere, easing them into the idea that they just missed seeing her, or that she's been there for a bit.

"Looks like we all had the same idea." Iris adds with an impish grin. "Are you guys talking about what went down in the cafeteria too?."

Since her Dreamcloak is insidious and precise, I imagine she should be able to just drop it and not have anyone be startled by her sudden appearance- the idea is that it basically makes you ignore her, so if she stopped it, she doesn't so much suddenly appear as just become someone you can focus on again. But just in case, she tries to drop it while she's behind a building or hedge or fence or something.

[Llyarden]

Daniel offered a shrug in response to Seth. This school was getting weirder by the hour. Acting - or at least making a vague attempt to act - as if he hadn't been standing there watching the entire time, he passed Seth and Molly in the hallway and followed after the odd sunbeam...thing.

[Silent_p]

Veronica turned back to Ewan as he started trying to break up the class. Really? Just duck out like that? She frowned and was on the verge of stopping him when he brought up exactly what she'd noticed.

She bounced her ball again. "Alright," she replied quietly. "He's probably right outside but, yeah, too much weirdness today to not check." Looking around at the others briefly, she turned her attention to the main hall doors. "Easy enough to peek outside quick."

Glancing at Ewan again, she raised an eyebrow. "I'm open to suggestions after that, though."

[Business Scrub]

@Veronica and Ewan: Veronica pokes her head around the building's main hall and looks for the Gym teacher, but to no avail. The students seem to be similarly curious, but with under a half hour left in the period, some are content to sit and talk or play in the gym, while the others change back into normal clothes and just leave.

@Seth: Daniel moves down the hall pretty hurriedly and turns the corner, leaving you alone with Molly. She glances down at your schedule.
"Yup, this is 232. Lookee that, we're in the same class. See you in there."
She gives the door window another confused look, and heads in the direction of the bathrooms.

@Daniel: As you round the corner, the sunbeam picks up its pace drastically. At a conservative sprint it's all you can do to keep pace with it. Down the hall, left, down the stairs, right. On the first floor now, it takes a sudden left and simply glistens its way through the door to room 144. 144: Senior Chemistry Lab. The room inside looks dark except for the shimmering sunbeam inside, and the door to the lab is inevitably locked.
The hallway is empty though, and a person of your superhuman skills can get through a simple lock if he wants.

@Karen and Iris: The girl and boy give Karen a wary look as she abandons pretense of eavesdropping and tries to join the conversation. In fact, she gets more of a look than Iris who- wait, hadn't she been here the whole time?
They give each other a silent look, as if deciding if they can trust you. The girl shrugs.
"Hey. I think everyone is: you can't just do... whatever that was and not get everyone excited about it. I guess we'll be seeing news crews and stuff in a couple days, huh?"

The pair seem amicable enough, but they've noticeably stopped talking about anything specific.

[Llyarden]

Daniel sighed. "I'm gonna regret this..." he muttered to himself, taking a last look around to reassure himself that no-one was there, reaching out to lay a hand on the door...and (he hoped), moving right through it to follow the sunbeam, his entire body taking on a dark hue as if he was part of the shadowy room himself.

Reconfiguring Localised Rift to have the [Darkness] descriptor and using it to grant 2 ranks of Shadow Door, which is a Permeate power (which, like any other Movement power, is Personal range as required, and despite the name doesn't actually require shadows.) And then Permeating through the door (at 15ft/round, if it matters for some reason.)

[Business Scrub]

@Daniel: Bending the very rules of reality you become nothing more than a shadow, if only for a moment, and slip through the door into the darkened lab.

The lab is neatly kept: the two chemistry teachers at Meldale are unwavering about having the place in a tidy shape when classes leave. There are several black-topped tables, each spotless with four chairs around them. In the back is a long counter with balances, burners, and all sorts of glassware in tidy rows. To the left, right by the teacher's desk, is the locked door to the supply closet.

The sunbeam glides left and right along the lab, an eerie source of light in the otherwise darkness. Then, it slips beneath the door to the supply closet.

[Drakeburn]

As Molly heads for the bathroom, he enters the classroom. He's sure that whatever that sunbeam was, Daniel probably can handle it better than he can. Out of everyone who is part of this metahuman chaos, Seth is probably the only one who doesn't have superpowers. He'll admit he did okay back at the cafeteria, even though he was unarmed.

As he takes his seat, he wonders how much different it would be if he had his costume and weapon. He didn't even get a chance to use either of them for the first time. Then again, he hasn't really thought of a good alias for himself.

[AmberVael]

"Assuming they don't pounce even faster, yeah. But hey, you guys were saying something about Rick, weren't you?" Iris's eyes were alight with interest, obviously very intrigued by the topic. "Karen and I were wondering if maybe he had something to do with that group from this morning- the EsoGuard guys. They said they're after a 'strangeness,' right? What if they were after him? Or if he got those electricity powers from whatever they're after? I mean, it can't be coincidence that they turn up and then next thing you know we have Rick throw lightning bolts around the cafeteria."

Iris grins. "Its a bit of a crazy conspiracy theory, but I was wondering if maybe EsoGuard was behind him getting powers in the first place. Throw out some weirdness and see what else turns up, you know? Or maybe he just went wild- I mean, its not like Rick is a reliable guy."

Iris is hoping that by being open with her own thoughts and honestly interested, she'll help them open up too. Besides, isn't the attention of one of the most attractive and popular girls in school flattering? :smalltongue:

Persuasion: [roll0]
(C'mon guys give Iris your gossip she wants to knoooow)

[Business Scrub]

@Seth: Deciding you've had quite enough of the outlandish for now, you slip into class. The teacher, Mr. Medly, notices you enter and pauses his lecture.
"Ah, Seth, welcome. Class, this is our newest student at Meldale, Seth McLaine. Seth, take a book from the closet, introduce yourself to the class."

@Iris and Karen: The boy and girl look at each other, clearly very hesitant to share in their gossip.
"Well..."
"Erik wait."
"We think those Eso people might have scared him out. You know? Like if you've got people sniffing about and you got super powers well... That's sounds like a recipe for disaster." He shrugs. "I figure Rick hears about those guys moving in and wants to get out before he gets on their radar."
The girl sighs and gives up on their secrecy as well.
"I mean, your guess is totally possible. Who knows what those egghead people are doing here, and why the hell would they use a word like 'strangeness'?"
"Right, but we think..." Erik actually glances both ways before whispering the next bit. "We think Rick's Dad is a Leech."

[Llyarden]

What is this thing doing? Daniel wondered to himself. That's a supply closet. Can't run anywhere there. He moved after it a little more cautiously this time. It was always possible that the...thing...was going to leap out at him as soon as he popped through the door, but curiosity overruled caution, and he tentatively poked his head through the door to the supply closet.

[Business Scrub]

@Daniel: The supply closet isn't large, but it's big enough for you to fit in and take a couple steps. The closet has some more glassware on the side and other assorted odds and ends. On the left is a large rack of chemicals in bottles, arranged in alphabetical order.

The sunbeam is drifting about inside, making lazy circles around one of the bottles.

[Drakeburn]

Seth froze dead in his tracks when the teacher singled him out. With all the crazy stuff that has happened today, he had forgotten that he was still a new kid in this school.
So Seth takes the best book out of the closet, and turns to the class.
"Hey everyone, I'm Seth, I'm from Hartford Connecticut, and uh.... I guess you can say I'm kind of an athlete."
With that said, he takes his seat.

[herodofcows]

Ewan peers out, and seeing no coach there
Turns toward Veronica to now suggest:
"Wouldn't it be nice to get some fresh air?
In fact, I'd say the open air is best
For we've some conference to have, we two;
Around ourselves, and as part of this "group"
There is some mystery, so I to you
Will lose enigma, but by my loss recoup
Some truth about yourself and what you are;
That which makes you elsewise than another one
Of mortals ordinary, by what star
You found yourself uncommon. Now, I've spun
More than a few lies, so I'll give you signs!
My name is Ewan Harke, Wind in the Pines!"

So saying, he leads her outside, and finds
Some corner blocked to the rest of the school
And swiftly, with some small effort, designs
Another storm, and prays that he's no fool
For storms once heeded him, but grounded so
In this world? His magic's vigor is sick
But yet his fae upbringing did bestow
Ewan with a need for the dramatic
He clicks his fingers, and his smile blooms
Even as wind now flies and rain doth fall
Laughing, he leads her back in and resumes
"I'm of Old Man Sky's courts, and woe befall
They that took me thence! Now you tell me
What manner of demi-mortal you be?"


Will spend a Hero Point to make this happen if my initial roll doesn't pan out.

"But herod, isn't that kind of a waste of a Hero Point and likely to screw you over down the line?"

". . . no comment . . ."

Unreliable roll: (1d20)[12]

Edit: Apparently I nearly dodged a bullet there!

[Silent_p]

Perhaps unsurprisingly, there was no sign of the coach. Ewan had followed her and, after a quick glance, began speechifying at her again. She frowned as she listened. I mean, yeah, it's English but c'mon, it's worse than Shakespeare - least he came with cliff notes!

Having spun a yarn about enigmas, mortals and wind, Ewan headed outside. Resigned to the course of events and the guy's unstoppable tirades, Veronica followed. She noticed a distinct lack of people. He's not crazy crazy, right? Not gonna get butchered out here... am I? He stopped and clicked his fingers. The action brought a gust of wind and rain so immediate that his connection to it couldn't be doubted. Veronica's eyes widened.

It was one thing to suspect Ewan of something back in that canteen mess. It was something else to be able to witness it without so much distraction. He... he actually did that! Damn. Before she could form a coherent, or indeed, incoherent reaction, he'd turned on his hell and was going back. Giggling.

"Demi-mortal? What?" She was genuinely confused. Does he think we're magical or something? She considered the thought. Huh, maybe we are. Veronica Potter, right? Her lips quirked briefly at the thought - Nah. - before she returned her attention to Ewan's question. "Look, I'm human, yeah? So I can do some coin tricks-" So saying, she casts her senses about for something metal nearby. "Or whatever but that doesn't make me a magical demi-mortal snowflake or anything." She smirks. "We're all special snowflakes after all, right?"

Veronica's going to see if she can detect anything small and metal that she can use as a demonstration, should it be required. She hasn't got her usual change on her while wearing her gym clothes.

[Business Scrub]

@Seth: The class mutters words of welcome, and Mr. Medly nods. "Thank you Seth. Now please open to page Eighty Seven. We're taking turns reading Hamlet".
Quite suddenly, the wind begins to pick up again, and rain begins splattering sideways against the windows.

@Dent: You follow Ewan out of the school, a ways away from any students or adults that might see you showing off your powers. And as Ewan reveals his mastery over the sky, you feel that same silver-iron metal come into range of your senses. It's moving fast though, faster than you've felt it move all day. Towards the two of you.

"My name is Ewan Harke, Wind in the Pines!"

Thrumm

Slicing through the wind and rain, a bolt of pure silver and iron flies straight at you! But it wasn't meant for Veronica, and misses her by a hair.

@Wind in the Pines: You feel the blissful wind and rain on your skin, such a reminder of more carefree times.
Then: Thrumm
It feels like someone punched you in the chest. What happened? You look down at your belly and see blood pouring out into the rain. Yours?

Toughness Save versus Lethal Damage
- and -
(Linked) Fortitude Save
- and -
Fortitude Save

Fey Failings: Wind in the Pines is dazed by coldiron, and his power ranks are halved.
But he gets a hero point, so there's that.

@Dent and Wind in the Pines: In the rain, seemingly from nowhere, she appears.
A tall woman, just under six feet, stands before you. Her dark red hair falls to chest height, wrapped in a tight fishtail braid, and is matched by eyes such a dark brown they almost seem black. Wrapped around her is an article of clothing somewhere between a trenchcoat and a cloak, which whips wildly in the wind. The colors around the edge of the coat shift and blur unnaturally. In her hands is a beautifully crafted crossbow: a baffling sight in modern times. The front of the weapon is a pale silvery metal, which both of you immediately recognize as iron. Dent recognizes it as the silver-iron alloy. Wind in the Pines recognizes the non-silver part as not just regular iron, but coldiron. The handle of the weapon is a polished chestnut color with an intricate, celtic looking design on the side.
The woman pulls the string back, and another bolt appears as if from nowhere in the flight groove of the bow.

"I was going to start with the Demon at this school, but if there's one thing I cannot stomach it is grandstanding." She speaks with a strong irish accent.
"Girl, this doesn't concern you. Run along or stay and watch this filthy Creasewalker be purged: it matters little to me. But make but a sound and the next one goes through your heart."

Wind in the Pines is surprised in the surprise round, but thanks to her senses Veronica is not.

Wind in the Pines
Sullivan
Dent

[Llyarden]

Still somewhat cautious, Daniel stepped forwards, trying to see what label was on the bottle that the sunbeam was orbiting around, ideally without getting too close to the thing.

[AmberVael]

Iris's eyes widen and her eyebrows raise, but her voice lowers. "Really? But doesn't he just own an old tech store? How would he be able to get access to that?"

[Business Scrub]

@Daniel: You shift through the door and inspect the bottles, illuminated by the soft glow of the thing in the closet with you. This time it doesn't back away, but lingers around a decently large bottle:

Lithium Chloride Salt -- 50 g


@Iris and Karen: The girl rolls her eyes at Iris.
"Yeah, officially. Come on Iris, you're smart: have you ever seen people coming out of that store at odd times? What do you really think Pastor is selling out of that beat-up old place?"
The girl holds up her hand looking confused as she catches a few raindrops, as clouds start moving back in.
"Also, really? Would the weather make up it's mind?"

Perception checks for Iris and Karen

Whoops, just realized I didn't give you guys the dossier.

Tomas Heady: Tom is a short, black kid with close cut black hair, and is heavy for his height. Being a freshman at Meldale, not much is really known about him. However, he seems to be on the up-and-up with the gossip of Meldale, and is rarely seen without his partner in crime, Natalie Hastings.

Natalie Hastings: Natalie, or Nat as she insists, is of average height and build, and is very clearly native american. Despite being only a sophomore, she always seems to have an 'I know something you don't know' attitude. She is rarely seen without her partner in crime, Tomas Heady.

[Llyarden]

"What're you trying to show me?" Daniel muttered, before giving a slight chuckle at the fact that he was talking to an animated sunbeam. That was not how he'd expected to spend his day.

Well aware that he'd arouse suspicion if he didn't get to the nurse's soon - you could only 'get lost' for so long - he rooted around until he found a spatula (phasing back into the main lab if necessary), opened the lid of the bottle and poked the spatula into it, trying to scoop out a few granules of the whatever-it-was in the bottle to look at more closely.

[Business Scrub]

@Daniel: You give the Lithium Chloride a stir and a poke. To you it sorta just looks like table salt.

The sunbeam looks almost... exited. It drifts over to another bottle. Then a large glass jar of some liquid, then another.


Monosodium Phosphate - 500 g


Sulfuric Acid - 4.2M - 2 L


Sulfur Trioxide - 130 g

[Llyarden]

"I...am so gonna regret this..." Daniel sighed, wishing he was a bit better at chemistry. Shadows crawled up him and covered him, giving him an almost entirely featureless - and hopefully unrecognisable - appearance. Then he fished out a glass beaker and, unless the sunbeam did something other than floating around the bottles, added a little of each of the substances the sunbeam had...indicated...to him. Not in any scientific way, of course. A spatula of each, or a slosh of liquid if they were liquid.

This can only go well.

Using my last point from Localised Rift (the other 4 still giving me two ranks of Permeate) to get a Feature: You can cover your entire body with impenetrable shadows at will, essentially “wearing” darkness as if it were clothing, “styled” however you wish, from a skintight silhouette to a swirling cloak or “garment” of shadows. You can similarly conceal your face with a shadowy mask (or a complete head covering).

[Business Scrub]

@Daniel: As soon as you move to begin putting the Lithium Chloride in the beaker, the sunbeam moves wildly, and flies up in your face. It doesn't seem to be able to actually stop you from doing anything, but the sudden light in your eyes blinds you for a moment; enough to make you pause.

The sunbeam glides left and right among the supplies, as if looking or pacing. Then it hovers over some of them:
A 250 mL Erlenmeyer Flask, a 500 mL beaker, a Bunsen Burner, a 1000 mL volumetric flask, an electric scale, a magnetic stirring plate, and a one-hole rubber stopper.

You weep silently for all the chemistry classes you wished were paying off right now.
The sunbeam seems to move more slowly between each object than before, as if giving you ample time to look at it. Then, it moves back into the main lab area.

[Business Scrub]

@Wind in the Pines: As the bolt flies towards you, you instinctively become one with the breeze. And then, horrifyingly, as it touches where you are you can feel the hated metal push you back into a corporeal form. The bolt slams into you, pushing you back a step.
Wind in the Pines is Dazed until the end of his next turn, and has a -1 on toughness saves against damage.
You hear the tip of the bolt thunk against the tree at your back, and realize with horror: the shot wasn't meant to kill you. Not outright anyway, but instead to pin you to the tree like a nail. But you are Wind in the Pines, not some common mortal, and the bolt doesn't bury itself into the tree deep enough to stop you.
Successfully saved against Affliction [Snaring]
Then it sets in: the searing pain of the iron. It's almost blinding. You want to scream out but each breath is agony, and it's all you can do to blink back the pain.
Wind in the Pines is silenced. Any verbal means of making noise are nullified (though other ways of making noise still work normally). During each recovery, make a fortitude save (cumulative +1 per recovery) to end the silence.
In your delirious, pain ridden state, you think back on the phrase 'Creasewalker'. It's an old memory, back to when Old Man Sky somberly returned you to the realm of mortals.
Begrudgingly does the Old Man Sky
place a hand upon your head and sigh.
The last touch of another fey
The last memory of the last day
"Today the patter of rain doth cease:
I send the Wind in the Pines across the Crease."

[Llyarden]

Daniel put his head in his hands. "Why...why do I have to be the one to deal with a scientific sunbeam?" he asked himself, realising as he did how ridiculous that sounded. "Okay...let's try this. Just stay still a moment, little guy," he told the sunbeam, reaching out for it with a hand that seemed to shimmer slightly as his shadowy coating dissapated.

Power Stunting from Reality Bending: Enhanced Strength 1, Strength gains Affects Corporeal 1 and Precise, Affects Others Only, Affects Insubstantial II. There are still...like 3 points leftover, but never mind. The logical basis for this is that Daniel's powers make things less real around him, and now he's trying to make this sunbeam thingy more real.

Whether it'll work I have no idea, but let's find out!

[Business Scrub]

@Daniel: If you could warp reality into forms of light, why not do the opposite? You reach a shimmering hand towards the sunbeam.

Much to your surprise, you feel it come in contact with something! Whatever it is is smooth, like tough skin and warm. The sunbeam quickly darts away like a fish, out the supply closet door.

[Silent_p]

The smirk on Veronica's face died as she felt the alloy again. It was heading their way. Fast. What the-? Before she could react, it whipped past her and slammed into Ewan. No! She rushed forward and saw blood. No no no... She started to kneel in an attempt to assess the injury. This is so freakin' bad! A voice stopped her.

Veronica whirled around and eyed the newcomer. The woman was hard to look at. Her coat shifted colour at the edges in a disconcerting fashion and her eyes seemed black and malevolent. The crossbow in her hands was unfamiliar to Veronica but it was clearly the source of the metal now embedded in Ewan. Putting herself between the woman and Ewan, Veronica couldn't help but yell at her.

"Are you insane?! You shot him! What the hell is wrong with-" The woman's words sunk in. "Wait, demon?" Veronica's eyes narrowed. Lucy. Her resolve hardened. "I don't know who you think you are, but I'm taking Ewan and getting him help." She gave her best glare and a hard push to the metal at the front of the crossbow. "And you're not going to stop me."

Veronica's using Magnetic Personality (Move Object 5) to push the crossbow here. It's not so much an attack but an attempt to augment her intimidation:
[roll0]

I can roll attack if required, of course.

[Business Scrub]

@Dent and Wind in the Pines: The woman's eyes widen in surprise as Dent pushes her bow. She grips her bow more tightly and grits her teeth.

"Even the supposedly normal things at this school are not as they'd seem. Leave girl. I don't want to murder a child today, but if you insist on standing between me and my quarry you will leave me no choice."

She takes aim over your shoulder.

"Besides, there is no helping what he is."

[herodofcows]

Ewan shudders, and comes close to collapse
But Veronica shields him somewhat;
And as he deals with his power's lapse
He ponders what might be up this foe's butt
Anti-fae? Seemingly, and well prepared;
She's robbed me of my mojo and my speech!
But soft, fool Harke! Her true quarry is aired!
She hunts fiends! I'm just one target in reach!
Shall I screw over Lucy? I MIGHT, but nay
The fiend acts not so fiendish here, methinks
And this f***er has beef with fallen fae
So I'll treat her as I'd treat ridd'ling Sphinx:
Riddle HER with blows from Wind in the Pines!
And with a finger he shows her his mind

Attacking with The Wind, My Birthright, [roll0] vs. Dodge, DC 19 Damage . . . :(

And, of course, flipping her off as a free action.

[Business Scrub]

@Wind in the Pines: This woman was a fool if she thought to take you on. Extending your middle finger in the ancient magical gesture, you send a roaring gust of wind through the trees, bearing with it all manner of stones and dead branches.
But she is fast, whoever this is: faster than the wind. With an acrobatic roll, she dives to the side out of harms way, and ends in a crouched position.

F'twaang

Again the crossbow fires at Wind in the Pines, but this one is born by the winds wildly.

Dodge DC 13, Toughness save Vs Lethal Damage

Then she grabs the edge of her cloak and pulls it around herself in a flourish. Quite suddenly, she's gone.

@Dent: No... not gone: You can still feel the silver and iron. Just out of sight then.

Perception check for Wind in the Pines. (Dent gets one too, but she can already pinpoint Sullivan because Metal in the Air is accurate)

Initiative:
Wind in the Pines
Sullivan
Dent

[Drakeburn]

Oh no, not again. Seth thought with a sigh.
Either there was another raging metahuman outside, or the weather is acting up naturally. He hoped that it was just the natural weather.

[Andrian]

"A Leech? Are you serious? He'd have to be pretty rich or pretty connected, wouldn't he?" Karen puzzles over the question, trying to figure out what all this could mean.

[Llyarden]

"What the..? Hey!" Daniel exclaimed quietly. "Come back!" Shadows wrapped around him again as he followed the sunbeam (?) back into the main lab. "I'm not gonna hurt you."

If it was using the power he gave it, it loses it automatically when Daniel changes back to Localised Rift.

[Business Scrub]

@Daniel: As you wrap in shadows once more and phase back into the main lab, you see the thing sliding quickly through the main door.

@Karen: Nat nods.
"Exactly, or a little of both. But from what I've heard... well those companies with the Infinity Orbs are insanely rich anyway, right? I heard a Leech has to do something special for them."

[Llyarden]

"Oh, come on!" Daniel complained, poking his shadow-covered head through the door first to check that there wasn't anyone around before following the sunbeam back into the corridor. "Where are you going now?"

[Silent_p]

"You're not murdering anyone," Veronica growled, standing her ground. Despite her attempt at forcing the woman to back down, she was taking aim as Veronica spoke. Dammit. Nightmare scenarios of students with crossbow bolts in their heads flitted through Veronica's thoughts as she desperately tried to come up with a plan of action. Gotta get that thing off her. No idea what else she's got goin' on but that bow's gotta go.

A sharp gust of wind cut past her sending a spray of stones in the attacker's direction. It was easily dodged. Red Riding Hood's got moves, Veronica thought, noting the hair and coat/cape. She fired another bolt which careened around. Suddenly, she vanished. Veronica's gaze darted about but she realised that the alloy was still there. Cloak of invisibility?! This place is turning into Hogwarts!

She glanced back to see how Ewan was doing. Guy looked defiant. She gave him a decisive nod. Hell yeah. Turning back, she looked at the spot the woman was last visible standing in. 'Kay. Does Red suspect I know where she is? Probably not. Gotta try to keep that advantage. Fixing the position of the alloy in her mind, she moved slowly toward the last place the woman had been seen. Gambling here but I'm hoping she's gotta be visible to shoot...

Dent is going to ready a disarm action on Sullivan when the latter becomes visible. Not completely sure how Magnetic Personality interacts with a ranged Improved Disarm - if it even can - but she'll utilise that if allowed. Otherwise, a standard disarm - assuming again that Sullivan is actually close enough for same. :smalleek:

[Drakeburn]

So while Daniel is out and about chasing after some sunbeam, or whatever it was, Seth is stuck in class reading Hamlet. Seth remembers seeing the play a while ago with his older brother at some theater. Why they were there, he couldn't exactly remember. All he knows is that everybody in the castle ends up dying. If Shakespeare writes stuff like this, he should've mind as well be the one who wrote Game of Thrones. Seth did the best he could to keep himself from laughing, giggling, or chuckling at the thought.
Man, how long is this class going to take?

[AmberVael]

Iris tried to connect this thought to the rest of the conversation, but couldn't think of anything that sounded too convincing to her. Her brows furrowed as she tried to take a stab at it anyway. "What, do you think he handed Rick over to them as a test subject or something?" It sounded a little far fetched to her, though at the same time she could see how that might work out.

[herodofcows]

Ewan tries yet again to speak, and fails
A vexing hex on this f***er! She jams
Me up in my parlance! My jokes? All stale!
The time for quips has passed and fallen through!
He briefly thinks to call a vast cyclone
To catch her in an all-compassing blast
But then reflects; he's not standing alone
And he wishes this alliance to last
Therefore! Unseen? Two could play at that game!
Ewan smirks through the pain, and tries his cloak:
She SEES him still, but in spite of her frame
Of murd'rous mind, the sight's infirm as smoke
And he prays that his foe's a mortal mere
For via smell or taste? He'll still appear

Whipping out Ewan's Glamour (wow, that feels weird when I type it). There's a strong scent of pine, but she can't quite notice him via sight or hearing.

[Business Scrub]

@Daniel: The sunbeam seems to be on the run, and flies down the hallway, back up the stairs.

@Seth: You sit bored, flipping through the next few pages of Hamlet. Then, you hear the patter of feet, and look out the door's window and see a silhouette of darkness sprinting down the hall.

@Iris and Karen: Tom shrugs and looks at both of you. "That would be the question, wouldn't it. But heck, we're not private I's. And it's not like you can just walk up and ask him."
Tom laughs a little at his own joke.

The wind picks up, and the rain starts coming down in earnest.

"Eh, I think mother nature is frowning on our scheme out here."
"Agreed. Time to head back in?"

In between the whistling of the wind, Iris hears a familiar voice.
"You're not murdering anyone!"

@Dent and Wind in the Pines:
As much as it makes sense, ranged disarm would be a cool power stunt or alternate power (limited: only metal), essentially 'throwing' the metal out of their hands
Ewan fades from the minds of those around him, and Veronica feels the metal pause. Then it turns towards her.
"If he has afflicted your mind, then I am truly sorry."
She suddenly appears again, squeezing the trigger as you step towards her.

Veronica readied disarm! DC 16

Initiative:

Wind in the Pines
Sullivan
Dent

[Llyarden]

This was getting annoying.

Daniel knew he would get in trouble if he was caught running in the halls, but he equally didn't want to risk losing sight of the sunbeam if he stopped for a moment to try anything. So he resorted to the only thing he could do on a moment's notice; wrapping shadows around himself when he was fairly sure he was out of sight of anyone as he continued to pursue the sunbeam creature.

Now all that would happen would be that he'd probably freak everyone out as he ran. Which...might not have been better, on reflection. Too late now, though.

When Daniel thinks he's not being observed, he'll reactivate his Sustained Feature to disguise himself again.

[Silent_p]

Ewan faded from her thoughts as she focused on the attacker and her crossbow. Alright. Pretty close now. Careful, Veronica. Can't tip your hand.

The alloy of crossbow moved again. Turning. Crap! It was pointing towards Veronica. Now or never! She darted forward as the woman appeared. Knowing where the front of the bow was, she made her best guess at the woman's stance and position. Gonna be close!

Getting right into her attacker's personal space, Veronica grabbed the weapon and twisted it at an awkward angle. She hoped to tear it out of the woman's grasp, then toss it aside. Even the odds a bit...

Disarm (Close combat roll with Improved Disarm negating the penalty): [roll0]

[Business Scrub]

@Dent: The woman reappears with a silent ripple and pulls the trigger, but you're already up close and personal. You hit the bottom of the bow as you hear the twang of the bolt firing again, but it sails clean over you and the bow spins through the air before landing at your feet.
She blinks in surprise, as if registering what just happened. Then she turns on her heel and spins, whipping her back foot at your head.
Parry DC 22 or toughness save vs (nonlethal) damage.
Then with another whirl of the cloak, she vanishes. This time however, you can't sense her location.

Initiative:

Wind in the Pines
Sullivan
Dent

[herodofcows]

Ewan considers his options, dismay'd
For though Veronica has moves indeed
Their foe can still into the unseen fade
And calling cyclone would make Vero bleed
If he was but uninjur'd, (Damn this pain!)
He could grant her his gift of windy flight
But slowed by coldiron, he must refrain
For decloaking'd land him in the fight
But some part of him scorns this cowardice
And chooses risk, as he knows that he must:
He drops his cloak, praying his foe will miss,
And gives Veronica a tailor'd gust
And with hand gestures, Ewan Hake will try
To show her that she can now freely fly

Okay, dropping Ewan's cloak and using the Affects Others extra of the flight effect on Veronica, while trying to indicate to her that she can now fly (and thereby get out of here where kung-fu Brave lady can't get her. While I'm away, feel free to have him fly away and hide for as long as she's cloaked. If she reappears, hit her with some wind, sez I.

[Drakeburn]

Whatever that dark silhouette was, Seth didn't want to know. A storm brewing outside, Daniel is chasing a weird sunlight thing, and a shadow is running through the hallways, and Seth is reading Hamlet in class. On the one hand, Seth is glad that he is getting caught up in the oddities around the school, especially when he's the new kid here. On the other hand, Seth really wants to get out there and make a difference under a secret identity for the first time.
For now, all he can do is endure the boredom and wait for the right time.

[AmberVael]

"Ugh, yeah." Iris agreed to retreat with a scowl at the sky with a hint of suspicion, vainly holding her hands over her head to try and shield away some of the water. She started heading back towards the school when she heard the voice in the distance. "...wait, did you guys hear that?" Her eyes went wide as she stared off after the sound, trying to make out where it came from.

"I think there's another fight going on." Her tone was more worried than her words- murder sounded more serious than the bully stunt Rick had tried in the cafeteria. She hesitated for a split second, then made her call. "Maybe you guys should go get someone- I'll go try and see whats going on, try and find someone closer by." Or stop the fight if she had to, but she wasn't going to mention that. Wincing at what the rain would do to her outfit, Iris sprinted in the direction of Veronica's voice, slowing down and trying to approach more cautiously and unnoticed once she got closer.

First, this sudden storm after everything earlier has Iris suspicious- she'll activate her Dreamsight to try and see if there is anything magical about it.

Then she'll run off towards Veronica, but Iris is not the kind of hero to enter with a flying kick. Instead, she's going to try stealth, hopefully using Ewan's storm and some distance to her advantage there.
Stealth: [roll0]

Once she gets an idea of what's going on she'll decide on a course of action.

[Business Scrub]

@Daniel: The mysterious apparition makes its way up to the third floor, into auditorium/stage that you were in not long ago. It waits on the stage, unmoving.

@Iris and Karen: The two students exchange glances, then Tom gives a nod.
"I didn't hear anything, but I can barely hear you over this rain."

@Iris (and Karen if she follows): With a blink of your eyes, the colors of the world change to darker shades of blue. Except for the rain, that is: There's definitely some sort of mysticism associated with it. But perhaps you could have figured as much.

It's a strange sight when you arrive at the edge of the woods: Ewan floats in the downpour, a couple feet in the air and gestures for Veronica to join him. A shining metal bolt sticks out of him, and some darker colored liquid drips out of the puncture but with your vision the way it is, it's impossible to make out what it is. But there is the same sort of mysticism here abound: From Ewan, whatever mysterious power is letting him fly, and from the air around Veronica. Magical in nature as well is the bolt stuck in Ewan, and the medieval looking crossbow laying on the ground at Veronica's feet.

@Veronica: Perception check to hear Sullivan, and one to see Iris arrive.

Initiative:
Wind in the Pines
Sullivan
Dent
Dreamer
Karen (If she follows)

[Llyarden]

"First a chemistry storeroom, and now the stage?" Daniel asked quietly, following it up, still wreathed in shadow himself. "What's with the school tour?"

As he got up there, though, and took a closer look at it, he paused, raising his hands a little defensively. "Hey, it's all right," he said. "I'm not gonna hurt you." Only the perceptive would have noticed the faint shifting in the air around Daniel, though. He didn't expect the sunbeam creature to calm down immediately.

Daniel will use Twisted Space on himself while he waits to see what the thing does. DC20 Perception check for the thing to notice.

[Business Scrub]

@Daniel: You take some precaution and bend the gravity around your edges, pretty confident it will pull anything away if whatever this thing is gets hostile. The thing approaches you, albeit very carefully. However, you've still never seen it interact with anything or even make a sound.
You check the time: 1:43. You still have a couple of minutes before the last class of the day lets out. About another fifteen minutes later the theater students typically show up and begin rehearsing. Theoretically, this place is yours for the next half hour, unless someone comes looking for you.

[Llyarden]

Daniel backed up a little until he was behind one of the stage curtains and therefore obscured from any casual glance into the hall, moving slowly, waiting for the sunbeam creature to follow him after every couple of steps. Then he pulled out one of his notepads and a pen from his bag and placed them on the ground. Then he let the shadows around him fade into nothingness and reached out a hand - not moving close enough to the sunbeam that it could be percieved as a threat, but close enough that it could reach out to touch his hand if it wanted. "I don't know if you can't talk, or if I can't understand you, but...if you want to communicate in a way I can understand, I can help you write with those." He nodded over to the pen and pad.

I hope this is still the same scene so my Power Stunt still stands, otherwise I'll have to Power Stunt it again, and being exhausted would not be fun.

Daniel will choose not to Deflect for now, because it's a standard action to use the Power Stunted ability and he wants to be able to do that if the thing accepts his offer.

[Business Scrub]

@Daniel: The creature approaches the paper and pencil very cautiously. It carefully touches your hand, and you can see the other 'hand' reach out for the paper. Thanks to your influence, it doesn't simply phase through the things, but lifts them up. Whatever it is seems to understand how to use them, and more than that, it understands English. The light moves the pencil in an eerie way as it scratches across the paper. Whatever this thing is, it's handwriting is abysmal, but at least decent enough to read.

Are you across the Crease too?

[Llyarden]

Daniel smiled as the sunbeam creature seemed to relax a little, though he frowned at the note. "I don't know what the Crease is, but...I don't think so? I lived in LA before here."

Realised I never specified where Daniel was from before now. Hopefully there's no major plot hole I just fell into.

[Business Scrub]

@Daniel: The thing crosses out its question.

No. Then why can I hold things? What are you?

[Llyarden]

Now that was an odd question. "I'm human," he replied. "Like everyone else here. I'm just...slightly different. Like a few other people. I can make things happen like I want them to, at least a little. Like letting you hold things. What are you, then, if you can't touch normal things? A ghost or something?"

[Business Scrub]

@Daniel: Wrong again. Not everyone here is human. You are not just slightly different. You are The writing pauses, thinking. significantly different. 'Making things happen', this is dangerous. Aggravating. But may explain my abilities: I need to test this hypothesis.

But no. Not a ghost. That is It pauses again. Child thought? Immature. But maybe not 100% wrong. I am like a ghost. I am Another pause. Heavy gravity light. But I do not know why.

[Llyarden]

Daniel made a mental note of the 'not everyone here is human' comment, not that he really needed to since he had a physical note right in front of him. But he was more interested in the sunbeam's next comment. "You're...not sure why you're 'heavy gravity light'?" he asked it. "Beyond the light, you look...almost human. Given what some humans in this school look like, anyway," he added after a moment, before thinking of another question. "What's your name?"

[Business Scrub]

@Daniel: No. Not almost human. There are similarities, but few. More accurate to say Pause. Human-equivalent. You should call me Another Pause. Theseus.

Correct. I do not know why I am Heavy Gravity Light. Hypotheses, but no way to test them. I remember some things but not all. They are taking time to Pause collect.

[Llyarden]

"Is that what you were trying to do in the chemistry storeroom?" Daniel asked. "Test these...hypotheses? Sorry I'm not much good at Chemistry," he added. "And...how long have you been here?"

[Business Scrub]

@Seth: One of the others in class is interrupted mid line by the bell. "The Mouse-trap. Marry, how? Tropically. -- Oh hey, weekend!"

Mr. Medly lets out a small sigh, and tries to reign in people as they leave. "For homework this weekend, finish reading the play. We'll pick up where we left off on Monday, but I want people to have some idea what they're reading."

@Daniel: Theseus is about to respond, when the bell rings for the last time today.

Other humans will be here soon. But yes and no. I wanted you to make a compound. It would have tested a hypothesis: it has a special property when burned. I would be able to speak. But this is almost as efficient.

And yes. You are not good at chemistry. I gathered as much.

Theseus draws a very messy sketch below of a person with a vacant grin on his face, pouring liquids from both hands into a flask.

[Silent_p]

The woman appeared and Veronica lunged forward. The crossbow 'twanged' but missed fairly comfortably. C'mon, c'mon! She grabbed the weapon and, with a quick twist, it landed on the grass. Yes! The woman seemed nearly as surprised as Veronica felt. It didn't last.

She saw the woman's kick coming and caught it on her raised forearm. Two for two. Veronica shifted her stance, readying for a fight when the woman whipped out of sight again. Crap. Veronica stood still, eyes darting. Didn't think of this. She maintained a fighting stance and turned slowly on the spot, watching and listening. The rain was only a minor distraction at this point. Couldn't just outline her or something could it? Guess she's not Kevin Bacon...

An odd sensation flowed over her, like a gentle breeze in the midst of the shower. Feeling light on her feet, Veronica glanced over at Ewan, noticing him quietly making some motions. Huh? She frowned, glancing around. Can he see her? As she looked back at him, she spotted Iris a ways off. Giving the girl a nod of acknowledgment, she continued watching for the woman. Not sure what Iris can do. How to explain...?

There. A sound. That was totally a footstep. Thinking quickly, she made a decision.

On hearing the sound of Sullivan's footstep, Veronica will pull the crossbow to her hands, then push it hard at the woman. I will spend a hero point here as required.

Throwing attack: [roll0]

[Drakeburn]

Finally! Seth thought to himself as he got up and left the classroom.
As quickly walks through the hallways, he looks around for his "friends". He's not sure if he'd call them friends, but they seem like pretty cool kids in his opinion.

[roll0]

[Business Scrub]

@Dent: Like iron to a magnet, the bow skitters across the ground and rushes at you. And, as soon as it arrives, you repel it full force at where you heard the woman step. The bow suddenly seems to stop in midair and falls to the ground. You hit her! It's impossible to tell how much it hurt without seeing her though.

Initiative:

Wind in the Pines
Sullivan
Dent
Dreamer
Karen (?)

[Llyarden]

"Well, thanks a lot," Daniel said with a wry grin, when the bell went. "Can you leave the school?" he asked hurriedly. "If you can find me outside it'll be easier to carry on with this." He didn't particularly wait for a response before getting up, retrieving his pen and notepaper and peeking around the curtain to check no-one had come in before heading to the door and trying to find an opportune moment to slip out. "And you probably won't want to try touching anything important just in case the power goes away at an unfortunate moment," he added as a last warning, before heading out, trying his best to avoid anyone who might otherwise have known he should have been at the nurse's office, and aiming to get home after what was a very odd day.

[Business Scrub]

@Daniel: You leave the creature with questions still in your head about what it is and why it is here. But, taking away the paper, you effectively take away its voice, and leave the theater.

The main hallway is a crowd of people milling about and leaving. Among them, you see Seth looking around.

@Seth: You leave class and head to the main hallway. You see Daniel there as well, but not any of the others. The rain still patters away against the walls as people hurry out with coats above their heads.

[Drakeburn]

"Hey, Daniel!" Seth said to Daniel as he caught up with him.
"What's up?" He was interested in knowing what happened to the little sunlight thing.

[AmberVael]

What on earth...? Iris was not sure what to make of the scene, becoming even more confused as Veronica somehow (how was she doing that? Did everyone in this school have some kind of super power?) flung a crossbow at apparently thin air, where it abruptly stopped. It looked like something was going on, but it didn't seem like Veronica and Ewan were fighting each other.

Iris is Delaying until she can figure out what's going on. Presumably a perception check could help?

Perception: [roll0]
Add an additional +5 for anything sight based.

[Llyarden]

"Huh?" Daniel seemed rather distracted when Seth caught up to him. "Oh, hi, Seth. Not much. Beyond the crazy weather," he added after a moment, glancing up at the stormy sky as he stepped into the rain - it seemed he didn't have a coat.

As he moved out of the crush of people, he took a quick look around, half expecting Rick to jump out to try to get revenge for the cafeteria fight.

Perception: [roll0]

[Drakeburn]

As Seth comes along with Daniel, he couldn't help but to notice that Daniel was looking out for something, or someone.
"Hey Dan, what are you looking for?" Seth whispered.

[Business Scrub]

@Iris: What was going on? Veronica and Ewan flying? Was no one in this school normal? You gaze around for whatever caused all this commotion, but to no avail.

@Daniel: There's a lot of students in the hall, but no sign of anyone else with powers. Certainly no sign of Rick.

[Llyarden]

"Just making sure that Rick wasn't going to jump out at me first chance he got," Daniel whispered in reply. After a moment, and a glance around to check no-one was paying too much attention to him, he added "By the way, have you ever heard of something called the Crease?"

[Drakeburn]

Seth shook his head.
"Sorry, never heard of it before. By the way, what happened with that weird sunlight thing?"

[Llyarden]

"That...could be kind of a long story. It said it was something called heavy gravity light, but not sure why it was that. And then it said that it had hypotheses to test. It was...kind of human, I think, but not actually human." Daniel offered a shrug, fully aware of how incomprehensible that sounded. "I hope it'll find me over the weekend so I can talk to it more. Because it's kind of awkward to talk to it here. Oh, and it said its name was Theseus."

[Drakeburn]

"And to I'd be freaking out over all this if I never met a metahuman before." Seth mumbled under his breath.
"Think we should find the others?"
Seth finally noticed that he was caught in the rain, but it didn't bother him very much. He liked it actually.

[Llyarden]

Daniel, on the other hand...just seemed to not care about the rain. If one looked closely, it might almost be noticeable that he didn't seem to be getting wet in the normal sense. He looked wet to a casual glance, but someone perceptive might note that his clothes and bag, and indeed Daniel himself, seemed to be shedding the water like...well, water off a duck's back. He hoped Theseus had taken his advice of not trying to touch anything else. Or at least not touch anything that would object to being dropped suddenly. "Well, if you have the faintest idea where they are. I was hoping to see them out here. I wanna ask if they've heard of any of this stuff."

Reconfiguring Localised Rift's descriptor to [Water] and changing it to a Sustained Feature (Anything you wear or carry never gets wet or suffers water damage if you don’t wish it to, even if you are immersed), Subtle I.

[Business Scrub]

@Iris and Karen: As Nat and Tom head back to find someone, Karen goes with them.

"Erm, I'm just going to make sure they we get someone too. Don't do anything stupid Iris!"

[herodofcows]

Ewan, though still dazed, knows enough's enough
And flies up to the roof borne on the gale
Once there, his breathing comes ragged and rough,
His vision blurs, his skin goes deathly pale
A fae-hunter? Well, (he wryly reflects)
She's a worthy foe, that is plain to see
But death now is to hist'ry derelict!
To die at the hands of some mercen'ry?
No, I shall die at the hands of some foe
Well-earned, whom I've wronged scores of times!
To be, by THIS unknown varlet, brought low?
I'd sooner shed my verse, my spells, my rhymes!
Besides, she said 'twas DEMON death she peddled!
Wind in the Pines is no one's silver medal!

Still Dazed, so Ewan gonna fly up to the roof and lay low.

Er, high. Whichever.

Also, I think at THIS point I get a fort save, (+1 since I rolled one previously, as per the power's description)? [roll0]