Lesson 1 AKA Sometimes we have to start from an end

[Darkstorm]

1 month ago - August 2018

The country is in shock.
In every face the same small doubt and the same question in every eye – WHY?
The newspapers all show the same picture, as all the channels on TV.
The discussion of the why is still raging, but on the street no one speaks of what happened.
But the pictures tell the tale…

https://preview.ibb.co/dqPnZK/Civil_War_2_Dead_Rhodey_Captain_Marvel.jpg (https://ibb.co/eOzMuK)

Iron shield dead.
Comet girl grabbing his body crying.
Firehawk form hovers as he disappears.
City burning.
Smoke.
Darkness.

https://image.ibb.co/eDdaMz/EARTH2_Cv17_var.jpg (https://ibb.co/dBut8e)

Madness…
Through the internet amateur footage of the scene circulates.

…Firehawk in the rooftop blasts a crook and grabs another valiantly as his co-heroes deal with the robbers in the street. He looks up and imediatly starts screaming, throwing the crook down and jumping. His figure turns into a blaze as his full power is ignited. Around him buildings start burning, glass shattering…

...Comet girl smashes the bandit into the ground as Iron shield bends metal wires, imprisoning him.
Then, without notice, Fire hawk comes swooping down full heat on and crashes into Iron shield, burning fist penetrating his armor and making him fall...

[Darkstorm]

A week later - Somewhere

“The time of reckoning is coming!” the lithe figure says to the large muscular man next to him.

“Yes, master must be proud of us.”

“He is.”

A third person, a young looking girl seated in a table looking at a book, gives a smile – an awfully terrifying smile and says “Master is never pleased. “

The first looks back at her and she smiles again and giggles, this time an innocent thing.

“Is the final piece located?’”

The first man answers but with a different deeper voice “Yes. Star academy.”

[Darkstorm]

At the same time at Star Academy

https://preview.ibb.co/kxEr6L/ec8002d1224bb93a83bf27a9e877972e.jpg (https://ibb.co/b5pPRL)
The pressure of the choosing was always high. Really high.

Tom Hollander was always a simple man, even when he became one of the first "new age" heroes and helped create and uphold the addendum to the constitution, where hero rights were preserved.
He was the face of change and brought hero-ing into the XX century. But now with what happened to the 3-force… That could only mean one thing.

For the first time for many years he, the great Horizon, was overthinking things, and that only could mean he was afraid. Not afraid for himself, but afraid for the future, for his legacy. If they knew the… they wouldn’t understand…

He had to focus. Task at hand – review the shortlisted 1000 applications. Reduce it to the final 100. After that the program was made in a way that in the first month that number was reduced to more than half.
40 youngsters that would be the part of the next generation of heroes.

That, with luck, he would help them not make the same mistakes he did.

He turns to his phone and starts DIA - the diagnosis Artificial Intelligence program - that immediately springs from his phone.
https://image.ibb.co/nyrzt0/512x512bb.jpg (https://imgbb.com/)

“Hello pops, still old I see.” She says in a sweet child like voice “your energy levels have dropped 5,71% since last time. They seem to show a bit of sleep deprivation. And strangely now you’re getting hot around your face, as if you’re angry. Have you got the flu?”

DIA could be a fun challenge, but today he had no patience for her ways.

“The selection DIA. Have you run the diagnosis? Are the charts ready?”

“You shouldn’t stress you know. I’ve eliminated 637 and have the remaining 363 to show you. I have chosen the best 100 if you want to know.”

“Show me the charts, one by one, the 1000. I’m being fair and giving everyone an equal chance. Now more than never, this has to be done right.”

“Calm boss.” The girl says as she flies through the air and touches his face “you always do the right thing.”

[Darkstorm]

https://image.ibb.co/jsjV0f/Boku-no-Hero-Academia-Logo.png (https://ibb.co/m3vsD0)

Lesson 1
Sometimes we have to start with an end!

[Darkstorm]

16 of September - Sunday - Day 0 - Arrival

It is late morning when you all arrive to Lake side city. It’s Sunday and people are walking around the lake side smiling and laughing.

The taxi driver that’s taking you to the school through the scenic route, has the radio tuned into StarFM, where the hostess is finishing giving her “Welcome to Star academy students. Star lake city wants to see the best of you. And now a tune just for you (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wykx9MzjL-8&list=PL8lZieNFgOdmrNGTqwjqYJpJ_2nw_O_M2&index=3)!” Family at home, a trip and now the academy. The emotions flow through your inside as happyness co-habits with hope and fear.

Most of your things have been sent and have arrived, and they’re just waiting for you. Your future is awaiting...

The taxi stops at the front gate and says the ride is free (Star academy has paid all these trips) because “You’ll be the hero that will protect me one day. Thank you!”

He helps you with your bag and drives away. At the front of the gate several other youngsters are arriving.

Two security guards stand beside a large door where a banner says “Welcome to Star Academy.” in big letters and in smaller “May you grow inside these walls!”

There’s a line forming to enter.


Ok, now you can post your arrival and if you want you can start talking with others in line.
And you should roll awareness!

[Ridai]

Mala thanks the taxi driver and exits the vehicle with the grace expected of a film star about to walk the red carpet. Getting her bags, smooth and measured steps take her towards the line, dressed in a carmine-red suit and filter mask, blonde hair gently moving with the light breeze. While her lower face may be hidden, the green eyes (the irises' patterns and hue ever so slightly shifting all the time) betray a serene smile as she joins the line and greets those nearby with a rich (if slightly muffled) voice on the deeper spectrum (for girls, that is), her 5' 10" height putting her more in the ballpark of the boys than the girls.

Internally, Mala is trying to keep it together. This is really happening, this is really happening, this is really happening

The moment she stepped into the public in general, it was showtime. But ever since having stepped out of the taxi, that's where things really started. Things could go to hell any moment for all she knew. One recognition, one misstep, one flare of anger and she could have the entire class or school against her. She has no idea if she even has any good karma left for having been accepted to Star Academy in the first place.

No pressure. Just kidding. Plus Ultra pressure!

Of course, on the outside, Mala is her pleasant, beautiful, serene self, as she of course always is, carrying a large suitcase and a duffel bag, both looking heavy, but showing no signs of minding the weight.

Still, at the very core, Mala does her best to stay optimistic, holding onto that feeling she had when she held the acceptance letter in her trembling hands. Things are looking up now. She'll work until she falls over to make sure they stay that way.

[Esprit15]

Mira steps out of the taxi and takes a breath in. She had been worried that moving so far north, the climate would be difficult to acclimate to, and while it was a little brisk for her liking, the humidity at least was no different from Louisiana. With the rest of her stuff apparently already moved into the dorms, all she needed was her carry-on. Flying on a plane was a new experience for her. She had been lucky to sit next to what must have been a college student, who helped her through the experience of security, navigating the airport, and ears popping.

The whole experience didn't quite seem real to her still. How many people applied to this school, and only 100 were admitted each year? What kind of qualification would that put her at...? Well, it didn't matter now, did it? She was in.

The colorful girl carries her bag at her side, just trying to mentally take in everything around her. It was a few more people than she was used to being surrounded by... Wow, someone with a hearing quirk from a small town would probably go crazy, actually. She should probably make friends with some of her classmates...

Like that one! The short human rainbow scampers over to a tall girl in a suit with a filter mask on. Sick on her first day? That's kinda rough. "Hey! You're one of the new students here too?"

[Ridai]

Mala turns her serene self towards the colorful girl. "I sure am," she answers, the pale skin around her eyes showing the telltale signs of a warm smile.

Meanwhile, she braces internally. First real Star Academy contact. Thankfully, the instinct to step back was suppressed successfully. Not because of disliking her opposite, but because of wanting to prevent accidental physical contact (just how she keeps a respectful distance to everyone in line right now). Here goes.

"Mala Deena Kingsley, nice to meet you," the owner of said name offers, along with a greeting nod instead of a handshake (must be a pre-caution, looking out for the others' health). "Being accepted was a big shock, but a very welcome one. Still feeling a little jittery, to be honest. How are you doing?"

[Comissar]

Holly watched out of the Taxi window with a faintly bemused expression. She'd learned from experience that people found it to be rude if she spent the trip in the mirror gallery rather than in the car, and that went double when she was being given a paid-for lift to her new school. It helped when people could see their passengers when they wanted to speak to them, after all. And there was less risk of accidental distraction from her reflection in the windows and mirrors. That said, her level of conversation had mostly been polite nodding and affirmative noises as the driver made the odd comment on the weather, or politics, or his favourite shops. Even that slowed to a halt as they drew closer to the academy, though. The familiar looking building loomed ahead, and there were already people queuing outside. Giving the taxi driver a grateful smile and wave once they stopped, Holly stepped out into the first day of her new school with a mix of giddy excitement and nervous dread.

It looked like a few people were already talking and getting to know one another. A pair of particularly muscular looking boys near the back of the line were sharing a joke, two girls, one prim and proper with a mask, and another a riot of colour, shared a polite conversation toward the middle, and way at the front Holly thought she could just about make out a boy and girl with matching suits staring daggers at one another.

Swinging her arms idly, she joined the end of the queue. She rocked back and forth on her heels as she waited, glancing around at the assembled crowd, starting to wonder if she should've made a little more effort with her appearance as she did.

As requested, Awareness roll. Though just to confirm, Awareness and not Perception?

[roll0]

[Elricaltovilla]

Shin stood outside the security check at LAX, as he said goodbye to his parents. His mother dried her tears with a handkerchief, as his father handed Shin a small envelope.

"It's a credit card. When you are ready to give up these foolish ideas and come home, use it to buy yourself a plane ticket." Mr. Tan said. He grabbed his wife by the hand and pulled her away from their son, refusing to look back as he walked away.

Shin did his best to not cry, and managed to pull it off for the most part as he walked through the security check. He did his best not to bounce too much as he boarded the plane.

"Excuse me young man," the flight attendant said as he handed her his ticket. " Would you mind exchanging seats with this gentleman here? He and his fiancee are supposed to fly together, but you have the seat next to her."

Shin smiled and bowed to the couple. "Of course, I don't mind at all."

He boarded the plane and sat down in his new seat. The same flight attendant came up to Shin and handed him a coupon booklet.

"Since you were such a nice young man, I thought you deserved this little booklet. There's coupons in there for free drinks, free in flight movies and restaurant coupons in Star Lake City for you. There's even one for six free cinnabuns!"

Shin thanked the woman and put the coupon booklet in his pocket. He didn't need to be rewarded for doing something so simple, but he was grateful nonetheless.



Shin learned something new on his flight to Star Lake City. The change in air pressure did painful things to his springs, making them uncomfortably stiff. He was grateful for the taxi ride to Star Academy even though his cab driver was incredibly chatty.

Shin climbed out of the can with his carry on and Cinnabuns in hand. He looked around in awe at the students arriving at Star Academy. These were the future heroes of America... but so was he! There was no going back now.

He bounced up to the entrance of the campus, flying right over the heads of two girls who we're chatting, one was dressed in a tight red suit and mask, the other was short and brightly colored like a rainbow.

"Sorry!" Shin shouted a he sailed over them. He landed by the entrance and took stock of the area once more.


Awareness: [roll0]

[Esprit15]

Mala turns her serene self towards the colorful girl. "I sure am," she answers, the pale skin around her eyes showing the telltale signs of a warm smile.

Meanwhile, she braces internally. First real Star Academy contact. Thankfully, the instinct to step back was suppressed successfully. Not because of disliking her opposite, but because of wanting to prevent accidental physical contact (just how she keeps a respectful distance to everyone in line right now). Here goes.

"Mala Deena Kingsley, nice to meet you," the owner of said name offers, along with a greeting nod instead of a handshake (must be a pre-caution, looking out for the others' health). "Being accepted was a big shock, but a very welcome one. Still feeling a little jittery, to be honest. How are you doing?"

”Mira Gerhild!” the shorter girl says with a big grin. Would this be her first friend? Maybe. Being somewhere new, it was nice to not have to worry about your reputation following you across the country. “So! Where ya from? What’s your quirk? Are you actually sick or are-“ Mira stops mid-sentence as her eyes pick up sudden movement from their corner. “Duck!” she as the spring-legged student leaps over the two of them.

“Hey!” she roars, marching in his direction. “What the hell was that!? Y’all coulda hurt someone!” The attentive would notice that her right arm immediately locked into a sort of boxer’s guard as the boy soared over them.

[Steve-a-Saur]

It seemed that the world threatened to shake itself apart in the last month alone. Before then, the heroes of the world seemed invincible, and now they were holding on to threads. Not only had the world lost All Might's power, leaving behind a shriveled, emaciated man, but not long after America had lost its premiere hero team.

Hero work was dangerous. Phil had known that from the beginning. It would have been one thing to have lost to a super villain, but it was quite another to be destroyed by your own team mate, someone you would have trusted with your very life. Maybe the rumors were true and Firehawk really was an *******, but even then it was giant leap from ******* to cold-blooded murderer. He hadn't just betrayed Three-Force, he had betrayed millions of people, everyone who had ever put their faith and trust in them, the people who represented the very best humanity had to offer.

Now Firehawk was a fugitive on the run, and Comet Girl... nobody had heard from Comet Girl since then.


Phil looked around at all the other new students. There sure were a lot of people here. What would happen next?

Awareness: [roll0]
For perception, add five to it.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

A hereness!

[roll0]

"Hey! We're here! And not a moment too soon! Now I don't have to listen to this lame J-pop!"

That's a a lie. She was into the J-pop. It's just really easy to make fun of.

A blue-tinted girl with tuberous hair steps out of the next cab wearing black shorts and a top featuring the circular logo of some band or another. She floats around to the trunk as it pops open, and her whole body expands a little bit to lift the weight as she picks up her bags: one for toiletries, one for laundry, and a backpack containing her school supplies and tech. She floats up, closes the trunk with her foot and thanks the driver as she floats back down, only realizing afterwards that the driver was an AI and that the vehicle was self-driving. Ah well. AI need to be thanked too, she guesses.

With a characteristically light step, she makes her way from the bus loop to a big star-shaped fountain complete with lilies and ducks. A plaque on the water basin lists graduates who died fighting various forces of evil over the years. Iron Shield isn't on it yet. He probably won't be until his original identity is released, which sometimes takes years if they think the hero's friends or family would be put at risk. After a brief glance at this and at the ducks, the blue girl casually floats over the rim of the fountain and to the growing crowd of students waiting to check in.

Julie Long doesn't mind floating overhead to get where she needs to go. In our quirk-filled modern world, that much is generally dismissed with a routine, 'excuse me.' It's hardly necessary on the academy's wide sidewalks, though, and it's still wrong to cut in line. She sets down just behind Holly and Shin and shrinks a little as she sets down her bags to wait. With her hands freed up, she raises one in a quick greeting wave for the people in front of her.

"Hey! Hi!"

[Ridai]

Friendly first contact, that's good. Mira seems nice, and approximately as energetic as she is multicolored. The sudden barrage of questions, however, contains one about what her Quirk is. Only natural, given the academy, but Mala once again steels herself for what may be coming. Whether the boy suddenly jumping just over their heads delaying the time of reveal is a blessing or curse is something that will have to be sorted out later, because at the moment, Mala's very ingrained reflexes to avoid physical contact kick in. Thus, she suddenly ducks and steps back, out of any potential drop zone, followed by a quick check if she is too close to anyone.

What the hell?! Had he clipped Mala's head, the boy would now be spasming on the floor, maybe emptying his stomach for good measure! Before she can even do much, Mira is already chewing the spring boy out, at least giving her time to compose herself (externally at least), placing a hand on her chest and taking a deep breath. Seems like she is not the only one with defensive reflexes, either.

"With how excited everyone is, I'm sure it was just a one-time accident," Mala adds, trying to diffuse the situation a little, while the unspoken but clear continuation is and I would appreciate it if you were a lot more careful in the future. If her defense reaction wasn't already clear enough.

Meanwhile, she sees another girl gently float down nearby (who thankfully is a lot more considerate about her aerial movement) as they all get in line, Mala responding with a wave of her gloved free hand to her and the girl next to her swinging her arms.

"Hello there. Mala Deena Kingsley, nice to meet you." Offering the same greeting nod and smiling eyes as before.

[Elricaltovilla]

Shin knew that he wasn't going to run into anyone leaping over them, but he forgot how it could still startle others. The two girls he'd leapt over didn't seem very happy with him, so he did the only thing he could think of.

"W-would you like a cinnabun?" he asks them, holding out the box.

[Ridai]

Mala chuckles gently, gesturing her decline of the offer, followed by a quick tap on her mask. "But thanks for the offer. Honestly, they'd be a little wasted on someone who can't taste much. Just... please consider walking around me instead of jumping over me in the future unless it's an emergency, okay?" Poor guy is probably as nervous as she is and most everyone around her, can't be too hard on him if jumping is as natural as walking places for him.

Also, golden rule. Try as she might, there will be accidents sooner or later, for all she knows.

[Elricaltovilla]

Mala chuckles gently, gesturing her decline of the offer, followed by a quick tap on her mask. "But thanks for the offer. Honestly, they'd be a little wasted on someone who can't taste much. Just... please consider walking around me instead of jumping over me in the future unless it's an emergency, okay?" Poor guy is probably as nervous as she is and most everyone around her, can't be too hard on him if jumping is as natural as walking places for him.

Also, golden rule. Try as she might, there will be accidents sooner or later, for all she knows.

Shin was still bobbing up and down, his spring legs never quite let him stand still. When the blonde girl asked him to walk, it struck him like a dagger. Even here at Star Academy, he was still going to have to deal with being an outsider who failed at being able to do even the simplest things.

Shin sighs and shakes his head, pointing down at the thick coil springs where most people had shins and calves.

"I wish I could. But my... My quirk won't let me. Whenever I try to walk, my legs wobble and it throws me off balance. I end up flailing and falling... all over the place. I'll try and... and be more careful." Shin says, trying to hide his hurt.

[Esprit15]

Shin knew that he wasn't going to run into anyone leaping over them, but he forgot how it could still startle others. The two girls he'd leapt over didn't seem very happy with him, so he did the only thing he could think of.

"W-would you like a cinnabun?" he asks them, holding out the box.

”Nah, I want an apology. What kinda man just offers food when they’ve crossed someone?” Okay, but those cinnabuns look really good. No, that’s irrelevant, it was rude! Still, she does relax her arm as any danger is clearly passed. “Like Mala said, ain’t no reason to be jumpin’ through crowds. Y’all coulda seriously hurt someone.”

[Ridai]

God damn it. And now she made someone feel like crap because of something she wasn't aware of. Alright, we can salvage this. Let's try explaining it so he knows there's a good reason for my request and not just "don't like it". Just when she thought things were going well.

"Sorry, I didn't know about your trouble with walking. The point is I have no issue with you jumping. Just please try avoid jumping over me if you can help it, for safety reasons. I dodged less because I didn't want to get hurt and more so you wouldn't be affected by my Quirk." And while Mala seems understanding about the situation, there is a gravity to her last few words, doing her very best to convey that, no, this is not hyperbole or unnecessary drama, this is very real crap I have to deal with. "So, no harm done, it's in the past now, as far as I'm concerned."

[Esprit15]

As the boy’s springs were pointed out, Mira sighed. Sure, try to make her feel like crap. ”Then move however it is you got through halls at your old school. And how you get around your house. Because you’re gonna hit someone eventually moving like that.”

[Elricaltovilla]

God damn it. And now she made someone feel like crap because of something she wasn't aware of. Alright, we can salvage this. Let's try explaining it so he knows there's a good reason for my request and not just "don't like it". Just when she thought things were going well.

"Sorry, I didn't know about your trouble with walking. The point is I have no issue with you jumping. Just please try avoid jumping over me if you can help it, for safety reasons. I dodged less because I didn't want to get hurt and more so you wouldn't be affected by my Quirk." And while Mala seems understanding about the situation, there is a gravity to her last few words, doing her very best to convey that, no, this is not hyperbole or unnecessary drama, this is very real crap I have to deal with. "So, no harm done, it's in the past now, as far as I'm concerned."


As the boy’s springs were pointed out, Mira sighed. Sure, try to make her feel like crap. ”Then move however it is you got through halls at your old school. And how you get around your house. Because you’re gonna hit someone eventually moving like that.”

Shin looks back and forth between the two girls. This was always so hard. It took so much effort to make people understand his limitations, and that he was really doing his best.

"I don't want to be rude again b-but, this is how I move around normally. I won't run into or land on anyone. I've gotten p-pretty good at this.
I'm sorry I scared you both. That's why I offered you the Cinnabuns. To say s-sorry." Shin holds the box out again. "So please, if you want one, take it."

[Ridai]

...He isn't even listening to me. At this point, Mala just doesn't want to be in this conversation anymore.

"Again, I understand, it's okay now," Mala repeats, once again motioning that she doesn't want a cinnabun, voice still patient, needing to maintain her countenance.

[Elricaltovilla]

...He isn't even listening to me. At this point, Mala just doesn't want to be in this conversation anymore.

"Again, I understand, it's okay now," Mala repeats, once again motioning that she doesn't want a cinnabun, voice still patient, needing to maintain her countenance.

"N-no, I understand you don't want one. But I hope you'll still accept my apology." Shin sighs again. "I g-guess I'm not very good at this. My parents didn't let me go out much, I had to stay home and study most of the time."

[Comissar]

Holly turns to Julie as she drifts down, returning her cheerful greeting with one of her own. "Hey! Nice to meet you!" Feeling like more might be expected, she added, "So, uh, I guess, uh, I guess you're here to enroll, too?"

Internally cringing at such a poor conversation starter, she was saved from too much embarrassment by the commotion breaking out just a short distance from her. The spring legged boy and the colourful girl looked to be breaking into an argument. She returned the newly introduced Mala's nod, giving a quick "Holly. Same." Before rubbing behind her neck.

Glancing to Julie as the disagreement continued between the other three, she asked "... Think we should leave them to it..?"

[Esprit15]

”Whatever. Apology noted. And we both already said we weren’t interested.” Taking one would mean she accepted the apology, and she didn’t. At least not yet. “People back home may have gotten used to you flying past them, but people here haven’t. And you never know what kinds of quirks people might have.” Turning back to the others, Mira tries to put on a smile, but doesn’t say anything immediately, looking over the new additions to the group.

[Elricaltovilla]

The rainbow colored girl's reaction told Shin all he really needed to know about her. He couldn't help being the way he was, any more than she could, and he hadn't hurt anyone, and still he'd done his best to apologise after the fact. If she was going to to be so dismissive, then she was obviously not worth his time.

He turns to the blonde girl and bows. Speaking directly to her he says. "My name is Shin. It was nice to meet you. I am going to leave now. I tell you this so I won't startle you again."

Shin closes the box of Cinnabuns, and hops up and down twice to build a little energy, before leaping to the top of the gate outside outside of the edge of Star Academy's campus and bounding off the gate to the open doors of the building.

[Darkstorm]

Julie and Mira sense something amiss. As if they are being watched, without being watched.
Like a pressure.
Or a chill down your spine.
A feeling.


A Bentley parks next to the entryway. From there an extremely good looking young man exits, smiling at the girls "Hello ladies. He zips across the line and goes toards the two security guards.

A few minutes talking and the boy goes into the end of the line, all red and frustated.

At the back of the line a few other groups are gathering talking excitedly. Most of them are students, but some are just curious people trying to spot the hero of tomorrow, today.

The security was invisible but there. The guards were just for show of course. The true security layed in the hero supervision, wherever it might be.

CARE security system was developed by a joint venture of companies of Star Lake city and them integrated by the computer genius of "Ghost", a support hero that runs all the systems in camp.

The guards uniforms are a bit of - their bodies move as if the joints aren't in the same place as in the figure.

[Esprit15]

Mira takes a deep breath, adjusting her vision, focusing on the non-visible spectra around her. The pretty boy’s face fades to a heatmap, before switching to a black and white image blemished by dark spots where ultraviolet light fails to bounce off of future skin damage. Was it just a student with an invisible quirk? Or was she just sensing video cameras? Or the likely mechanical guards?

[Elricaltovilla]

Something tingles the back of Shin's neck. Then he notices the security cameras all over the place. The guards present are moving strangely too. Shin stops short of walking into the school building. There was something strange going on. He remembered reading about the crazy security systems that Star Academy supposedly had, so why all the guards?

He hopped over to the nearest guard. Bowing, Shin introduces himself and holds out the box of Cinnabuns.

"Hello sir. I am Shin, a new student here. Would you like a Cinnabun?" He watches the guard closely for a reaction.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

"Yeah," and, "Hmm," are all Julie managed to get in regarding Holly's questions. The awkward conversation beside them runs its course before she can really respond to it, but she can relate to Shin, sort of. She remembers crying a lot when she was younger, with a quirk that behaved so unpredictably as she grew.

"Eh? Shin, where are you-?" but the spring kid has already bounced to the check-in desk before she can get the words out. "Oh! Right!" She picks up her bags as the line rushes forward to catch up with him. Meanwhile, the boy in the white suit is already on his way back from trying to cut in line.

"Eh? What's the matter?" she taunts, "Couldn't bribe your way in?"

Perception: [roll0]
Tech: [roll1]

I guess she doesn't get a roll of Tech is trained-only, but she does own a computer and talk online a lot, so... she might randomly know or recognize something. :smalltongue:

[Ridai]

At this point, Mala is starting to regret having interacted with anyone so far. Some of it could not be helped, due to CDC demands about informing others risking contact with her about the potential dangers of doing so. But net result? Driving others away, potentially looking like the bad guy. If this is how things are going to go at Star Academy from here on out, it won't be long until she'll be living in CDC containment.

Mala quickly introduces herself before Shin is gone, then turns ahead, silently waiting in line, except for a sigh escaping her, the pale girl looking tired and a little down. While she is good at maintaining the facade, being reminded of this possibility at the moment of joining the one place where there might be hope for her just ruins her mood. The other feeling of pressure at this place just adds to it all. At this point, she would not be surprised if the academy springs an impromptu test on them, with the guards being some kind of bot. Or if some random villain tried to ruin it all and the guards are lackeys. Or if someone just pushes her into a bunch of people.

[Esprit15]

Remaining on edge, but also noticing the other girl’s change in demeanor, Mira nudges the other girl’s bag via her own. ”Hey, Mala. If you don’t mind me asking, you mentioned your quirk causing you to be dangerous to touch? What quirk would that be?” She didn’t give off any large amounts of heat, her UV spectrum was quite normal, the polarity or light around her was unremarkable. Visually, she was as harmless as any other student here.

[Comissar]

Holly rubs behind her neck as she continues to watch the awkward conversation play out. Mala looks like she's the worst effected by the course it's taken, looking like she's become withdrawn. The colourful girl seems to be looking to talk to her, though, so Holly lets her eyes wander over the rest of the gathered students. She smirks a bit when she sees the rich kid coming back red-faced, but then her attention is caught by the guards. She nudges Julie, not taking her eyes off them.

"... Hey... Do the guards look off to you..?"

[Ridai]

Remaining on edge, but also noticing the other girl’s change in demeanor, Mira nudges the other girl’s bag via her own. ”Hey, Mala. If you don’t mind me asking, you mentioned your quirk causing you to be dangerous to touch? What quirk would that be?” She didn’t give off any large amounts of heat, her UV spectrum was quite normal, the polarity or light around her was unremarkable. Visually, she was as harmless as any other student here.
And things might get even worse now, so once again, Mala braces for impact, failing to completely keep that aspect out of her demeanor.

"I have a Virus Quirk. My body constantly produces high-powered pathogens that can transmit via touch or aerosol. And while I am doing my best to control it, someone accidentally bumping into me or, worse, crowds are a constant danger. Hence the full-body suit and filter mask at all times, as required by the Centers for Disease Control and Preventation." Mira can tell this is far from the first time she has to explain her Quirk and its dangers to someone, but that doesn't make it any less pleasant, especially at this point in time. "So... I'm legally and morally required to avoid contact with others where possible and ask those risking contact with me to not do so to avoid infections. Or outbreaks. The chances of that actually happening are low... but not in the medical definition of tiny fractions of a percent." There is no sugar-coating it. Hell, the CDC can and will cause her trouble if they found out she did that, as she already is treading on thin ice with them.

And since she is standing in line, more have overheard it all. If experience holds true, the rumors will start soon. Also people backing away from her. Maybe someone looking into who she is and stumbling on news articles, since American media always mentions full names. That will be a fun day.

Mala glances at Mira, then at the guards. "I hope that if a test or trouble starts here through those guards, people won't panic." Might as well change the topic to something that may or may not be more relevant right now.

[Esprit15]

Mira thinks for a good while it likely seems. That was certainly a unique quirk. She had never heard of something that was that potentially destructive. ”That must be so lonely for you! Never being able to hug people, having to avoid physical contact! Oh! And you’ve probably never even had your first kiss yet!” Mira twitches as though about to hug the girl before remembering the whole reason that she wasn’t to be touched.

“First thing we’re doing when we get your stuff to your room is wrapping you in a blanket so I can give you a big damn hug!” the girl says joyfully as she begins to continue onward.

“If, uh, that’s okay with you, or course.”

[Ridai]

And that was something Mala had not expected at all. At best, people usually smiled, went some variation of "aw, poor you" and drifted away from her at the speed of polite withdrawal. But she rarely receives sympathy. Only rare people like Yuki or Faith (before the incident) did that. And, apparently, Mira.

Mala can only nod in response, confirming Mira's given examples of what is out of the question for Mala, and giving the impression that that's just the tip of the iceberg (and also twitching away from Mira's quickly aborted hug attempt). Even with the filter mask hiding Mala's lips, Mira can see the tall girl looking surprised at her suggestion. And grateful, as she nods once again, doing her best not to let her eyes water too much, which would force her to use the pouch meant for storing tissues drenched with poison tears and other hazardous fluids.

"I would love that. Thank you, Mira." And a big beautiful smile shows through Mala's eyes. Mira also hears a little muffled sniffle. Maybe things won't be all bad.

"Haha, sorry, we've been only talking about me this whole time," she says as she tries to collect herself, but sounding more chipper than before. "I'm loving your colors and eyes, if I may say so. What is your Quirk?"

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

"Hm? The guards?" Julie looks to the front of the line to get a look at the desk where they're checking in the new students. We're pretty close to the front by now. "Could you be a little more specific?"

Meanwhile, she overhears Mala and Mira behind her and briefly wonders how the heck the taller girl decided to apply here rather than studying epidemiology or something. "Hey! Coming here was a good idea, actually! The villain syndicate would probably kill to get their hands on you but this way you'll be prepared. ...my name's Julie, by the way. Hi!"

[Esprit15]

Mira grins happily at the girl's receptiveness. "You got it!" She made a friend, and she was all of five minutes into things. This was going to be awesome.

"My quirk is one of the animal quirks. For me, it's Mantis Shrimp. I can see at a much wider angle than most humans, and am sensitive to a lot more wavelengths of light. I can see from infrared to ultraviolet, supposedly I am sensitive to more specific wavelengths which allows me to identify chemicals and such visually, I notice polarization... My eyes are freaky, basically. That, and I'm a little bit tougher physically, and can punch really hard." She pulls her hands into a sort of boxer stance. Her knuckles have a visible layer of carapace on them as well. "Course, that chemical identification doesn't help if I don't know what the chemicals are, so to me some of these things just are visibly different when other people think they look the same. It does make most types of camouflage useless, though.

I do love the colors, though. They're actually totally natural, not dye or makeup! Oh, and I swim, obviously. That almost goes without saying."

[Comissar]

Holly nods again, "... Yeah... They're not moving right. See their joints? It's like they've been put together all wrong..."

Having tuned out Mala and Mira's conversation, she gives a blink of surprise as Julie mentions the Villain syndicate, glancing over at the other girl and asking "Wait, what..?"

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

"You know! Biological weapons and stuff?" Since Holly wasn't listening to that part, Julie drops that subject to focus on one thing at a time. "Um, right, guards. I don't know? It could be they have weird quirks like Shin or me. Or they might be robots but I'm only thinking of that because my cab driver was one."

By this point, the group should be to the front of the line. Julie picks up her bags and proceeds to the desk to check in.

[Steve-a-Saur]

"Don't mind if I do. Thanks Springs."

A boy with metal forearms grabbed the bun from Shin's hand and continued on through the crowd. If Shin was so eager to rid himself of his cinnabuns, then surely it was his duty to relieve him of his burden.

Now, where was that reception area?


Not going to bother rolling. Taking ten instead for an 18 to perception.

[Ridai]

Mala barely has time to get her first name out in response to Julie ambushing her about how the league of villains will try to get her, before said Julie turns back to... Holly, was it? The girl does her best to avoid a confused frown forming on her face. Julie did nothing wrong. Being bubbly, direct, and honest don't qualify as wrong, not by a long shot.

Look on the bright side. Learning to defend yourself better is also on the list for why you are here. With things slowly starting to go sideways ever since Iron Shield died, all of those considerations certainly rose higher on her list of priorities.

Mala herself turns her attention back to Mira as she explains her Quirk, who can see the tall girl's eyebrows rise at a point or two, nodding a few times. "You have a great Quirk! You'll be perfect for search and rescue operations, especially if there's hazardous chemicals, gas leaks, and the like. The swimming part sounds lovely as well."

Having noticed the stance, Mala asks "If I may ask, did you have combat training? You seem quite prepared to take action," her voice shaping the latter as a compliment, like it is meant to be. They will train to become heroes, after all. Being ready to defend oneself and others even before that is a great asset.

[Elricaltovilla]

"Don't mind if I do. Thanks springs."

A boy with metal forearms grabbed the bun from Shin's hand and continued on through the crowd. If Shin was so eager to rid himself of his cinnabuns, then surely it was his duty to relieve him of his burden.

Now, where was that reception area?


Not going to bother rolling. Taking ten instead for an 18 to perception.

Shin's hand springs forth, snatching the bun from the metal armed boy.

"They are not for you." He scolds the other boy. "You should learn to be less rude if you wish to receive treats.
A good person would introduce themselves and ask nicely before taking something that does not belong to them. "

Shin thought he was prepared for anything coming to Star Academy. He never expected so many people to be so rude, however.

[Comissar]

Holly gives a non-committal "Hmm..." at Julie's suggested explanation. It didn't quite seem right to her, but then, she wasn't sure what else could be the cause.

[Esprit15]

”Not really. Just what I’ve seen. This is just the easiest stance to punch from. The rest was just playing round with the quirk.” She makes a quick motion with one of her arms in a motion that was half punch, half back-hand, and far faster than any non-quirked human punch. “Only way that doesn’t hurt my joints. Apparently I’m actually a bit slower than my quirk’s namesake, and that’s without scaling.”

[Darkstorm]

He hopped over to the nearest guard. Bowing, Shin introduces himself and holds out the box of Cinnabuns.

"Hello sir. I am Shin, a new student here. Would you like a Cinnabun?" He watches the guard closely for a reaction.

The guard smiles and winks at Shin while saying in a overly formal voice “You can’t buy me kid. Back to your spot on the line.”
Then he smiles as if it was a big joke to him.


"Eh? What's the matter?" she taunts, "Couldn't bribe your way in?"
He just lifts his head and looks down on you, muttering something about “peasants”.
The boy keeps in line though, with a chagrined look on his face.

Dozens of people start to go in line and after what appears to be seconds, or days (depending on who you were talking to) your turn with the guards arrives.

To each they give an e-watch with just one button.

The left man says to you “Push the button to meet DIA, your VR schedule and personal assistance. Lost in school she’ll help. Don’t know how you’re going she’ll help. Want to see your development stats, she’ll help. She’s wonderful. I never leave mine behind.”

The man at the right looks at him and interrupts with a loud cough “As my colleague was saying, while in the academy always wear it. The data might help you know how to improve.”.

Then they let you in to a central courtyard, inside the school, with a big stage and where all that were entering gathered.

[Steve-a-Saur]

Phil startled as an arm sprung out from behind him and snatched the bun away. He turned about in time for Springs to start scolding him about politeness or whatever over the bun that he seemingly didn't want. Phil just shrugged his shoulders and continued on his way. He didn't care enough to make the treat an issue.

He got in line where two of the guards were handing out watches. Phil stared at his watch as the guards were telling him about the functions of the watch, remembering the time when he forgot to take his watch off during quirk practice. The thing couldn't withstand the centrifugal force of his arm and was completely shredded, bits and pieces flying every which way. He learned from then on to remove jewelry from his arms and to always wear face plating during practice.

"So how durable is this thing?" He asked.

[Ridai]

Mala's eyebrows rise as she sees Mira's quick demonstration. "It's far more than what I can claim to be able to do, which amounts to tactical shoving and regular punches."

Once reaching the guards, Mala greets both with a "Hello, sir", patiently listening to the explanation, and accepting her armband with a "Thank you very much, sir. Have a nice day."

In the central courtyard, the tall girl immediately starts drifting towards the side, away from the center of the large crowd, also known as the very worst possible position she could be in at this point in time. She'll happily stick to the much more thinly populated edge, thank you very much.

[Elricaltovilla]

Shin puts the E-watch around his wrist, though it isn't easy. He hops along with the rest of the crowd to the courtyard, still suspicious about what will happen next. In Japan, he knew that young heroes were subjected to crazy tests before they could attend hero courses. Shin could only assume Star Academy was the same.

Once in the courtyard he touches the only button on the E-watch to see what would happen.

[Comissar]

Holly accepts the watch off the guard with a smile and nod, listening to its functions with interest. Fastening it to her wrist, she ambles out to the edge of the crowd, finding herself near Mala once she had. She offered the other girl a smile, hoping to set her more at ease than she'd seemed to be in line, "... Hey. I don't think I introduced myself properly earlier. I'm Holly, it's nice to meet you."

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

"Hm? Just one button?" The relatively sparse voice lines of the Taxi AI were already enough to fool Julie. A voice-controlled watch-guide would certainly be something to see.

"I think I see what you mean about them being a little off," Julie whispers to Holly as they get to their seats in the bleachers. That the whole group ends up sitting pretty close together should come as no surprise, considering that they got through check-in all in a row. "Hmm... I can imagine someone getting a plant to hand out mind-control devices..."

Julie's tone doesn't convey the paranoia that that speculation might imply. If anything, she seems to find the idea to be an amusing joke, though not amusing enough to activate the watch before seeing what Shin's watch does.

[Ridai]

Mala has just stashed her E-Watch in a pocket, as wearing one over her suit just isn't very comfortable and gets in the way of her gloves, when she notices Holly approach. Seeing her smile does put her at ease, returning the gesture by smiling with her eyes, and pretends Holly had not introduced herself earlier after Mala did, to not make things awkward for her.

"Nice to meet you, too. Sorry if I made you uncomfortable earlier." Whether she means the argument or describing her Quirk or both, she leaves up to Holly. "Still can't really believe I'm here."

[Esprit15]

"Thank you, sir," Mira says politely as she takes the watch. One button? So like a sort of smart phone? Something to play with later.

As Mala drifts away from the crowd, Mira follows suit, looking around at the variety of students. Some wore their quirks quite visibly, while others looked like entirely normal humans. It would be interesting to see the variety of quirks that were around.

"Nice to meet you, Holly. I'm Mira,' the girl says, offering a hand to the other girl.

[Comissar]

Holly gives Julie a briefly worried look, followed by a grin as she catches her tone. "Heh, I guess time will tell!"

She nods at Mala's comment, "Yeah, I know. It's pretty crazy to think that there's all these people they could choose from, and they chose us! Kinda humbling, really."

At Mira's introduction, she gives a smile and goes to shake her hand. "Nice to meet you properly!"

[Ridai]

Mala nods emphatically. "Heartening to see them be willing to work with someone like me. I hope I can turn my Quirk into something that's useful to others with their help," she says, briefly doing a motion somewhere between folding and wringing her own hands, hope and being a little frightened in a weird good way coming together. She hasn't driven away Holly and Julie. That's good. That's very good. Mala does her periodic checks to see if she is too close to someone or if it looks like a larger group is approaching where she is at, also glancing at the stage as she does so.

"If you don't mind me asking, what are your Quirks like?"

[Darkstorm]

After a few minutes the rest of the students arrive. The 100.
Most of you wide eyed, proud, happy.

The guards close the doors and enter the square.

The spotlights on the stage turn on and a group of five figures step up into it. In the middle, the older figure you all knew it would be there - Horizon - Thomas Hollander, the headmaster.

Next to him the sassy figure you all saw on TV - Comet girl (the rumors were true) – and a thin well dressed man in full suit. Everything about him showed power and money.

On the other side a man and a woman that you didn’t recognize (or maybe you did), but could be teachers of the school.

The guards go up to the stage and remain there.

Hollander starts “Welcome to Star Academy.

To the ones that don’t know me, I am Thomas Hollander, Horizon. I am the headmaster and had a hand in the choosing of each and every one of you. So that means that I personally know you and believe in your skills and growth potential.

Bu that also means you are in debt with me. And you should repay that with hard work and skill.

As you all know this is a very competitive program, and not all of you will end this semester in school. But that doesn’t mean that the values of cooperation and collaboration should be forgotten.
Teamwork is as essential to being a hero as self-determination.

1st year students will be taught by Comet girl, Silkworm and Glaro.” Pointing at Comet girl and the two unknown figures.

“But the resident teachers will be Yellow Star and Komodo, both you saw on the way in.”

The guards rip their masks and clothes, that were mostly a cocoon like silk and climb to the stage.


I'll give some time to react to these stuff and continue with the speach later today.

https://image.ibb.co/dmWfO0/stats.jpg (https://imgbb.com/)
Here you can see your graph on the DIA (you can only see yours of course)


The man in the suit is Rohan Fell, one of the most proficuous inventor of Star lake city, and millionair. He has made a new discovery that people are talking about - a wormhole train capable of very quick traveling
The two heroes next to the warden are Silkworm - Quirk: Cocoon - able to make cocoons for masks, prisons, clothes, parachutes etc. and Glaro - Quirk: Glare - he can "freeze" people and animals he looks at.

[Esprit15]

Mira begins to fiddle with DIA as the speech goes on, rolling her eyes as the concept of being indebted comes up. Really poor way to present education to a bunch of Gen Z kids. Now high school was a debt sentence too? As he goes on, Mira figures out how to navigate to her own rankings. Huh. What did they mean by these things? Was strength her physical strength, or overall predicted power of her quirk? How did they rank things like social or adaptability? The small device draws her focus more than her soon to be teachers.

[Ridai]

Checking her chart before the event begins (not being bothered if the others can see it), Mala has to pause for a moment. "That's rather... lopsided." It feels like she either has nothing or close to the maximum, with nothing in between. How high her durability score is surprises her. She knows she has pretty good stamina and can recover from most wounds relatively quickly, but it feels like nothing when compared to people with Quirks giving them hardened bodies or heightened regeneration or bodies unaffected by physical attacks. And even those pale next to the unstoppable force that is Faith with her Honey Badger Quirk, who probably has maximum ratings in Strength, Quickness, Durability, and Close (at least in Mala's mind). The Close rating likely is an evaluation of her pathogens, with a smidgen likely deducted because of their limitations and the inherent dangers.

The low strength, quickness, and distance scores do not surprise her, not having training or a Quirk suited for those. She can sprint for extended periods of time, but she still is limited to normal human mobility. However, the low social score does make her wince. She worked hard to be better at dealing with people, but her Quirk and what comes with it likely don't do her any favors. Thus, she feels this is the area she needs to work on the most, along with her ability to adapt. "DIA, please explain what the Social and Adaptability categories represent."

Mala also tries to see if Yuki and Faith have been accepted to Star Academy, trying to spot them in the crowd.

------

During the event, Mala once again feels the pressure as Horizon mentions being indebted and needing to work hard to make it to the end. The girl knows this is doubly true for herself, likely facing an uphill battle. Others around her may hear the material of her gloves being squeezed by her balled fists, and see iron determination on her face. This is the only chance she will ever get.

[Comissar]

Holly looks a little blank at Mala's comment, having not really been paying attention the first time her quirk was mentioned, "... Someone like you..?" She gives a shrug and a smile, "The head must've seen something special, or you wouldn't be here. Just try your hardest and it'll turn out alright, right?" As Mala asks what her quirk is like she tilts her head, her eyes unfocusing as she tries to think of the best way to describe it, "So... My quirk is a bit of an odd one. I can walk through glass and... Kinda use them as portals linked to each other..? I can see and hear from the other side of them, too. There's a whole, well," She grins and shrugs, "I always called it the 'Mirror Gallery'. It's really cool, just endless panes of glass showing the world outside. I'll show you how it works later if you want?"

She turns her attention back to the stage as the speech begins. She feels her heart go on a bit of a journey as the talk goes on. Rising with pride at being selected, sinking at the description of being in 'debt', then leaping again with excitement at the hope of being taught by Comet Girl. Finally, she glances down at her DIA, a feeling of worry stealing over her as she did.

"... Man... Looks like I've got my work cut out for me..." To nobody in particular, she adds, "Look how low most of those are!"

[Steve-a-Saur]

There aren't actually any "Knowledge" skills in M&M 3ed. The closest is "Expertise," but it requires training to use. I'll just use Intelligence for these rolls.

Current Events: [roll0]
Hero/Pop Culture: [roll1]


Phil didn't get an answer to his durability question, and didn't get a chance to look at his scores. The watch in question sat in his pocket, worried that he might break the thing. Would he get in trouble if it broke? Maybe he'll test it's durability for himself later, with proper face protection.

The part about debt worried him, as did the possibility of not finishing his semester (What was this? A school or a reality TV show where you get voted off the campus?), but mostly, aside from the Comet Girl reveal, he just sat there bored.

Come on! Get to the part where we fight giant robots or something.

[Elricaltovilla]

Shin looked at the display on his watch. Everything looked about right, in a straight line Shin was without a doubt one of the fastest quirk users around, it was part of what made his quirk so hard to control.

The data suggested that he'd need to work on his strength training, he'd need it if he was going to be hefting unconscious bodies around while on rescue missions. Much of the rest of the listed stats didn't make much sense to Shin, he wondered what metrics they were measuring when they made the data set. The lack of units also bothered him. It made things hard to quantify.

Shin did his best not to freak out when he recognized the people on stage. Rohan Fell was an incredible inventor, who'd done more to advance scientific understanding in the last decade than anyone else had done their entire lives. And the two heroes, Cocoon and Glaro were high ranked pro heroes with crazy skill. Suddenly, Shin felt the weight of the honor he'd been given in being chosen to attend Star Academy.

[Darkstorm]

The 3d hologram girl comes out of the watch and smiles "Hello Mala! Those things are always hard to understand. If I wasn't part of the evaluating system I know I wouldn't." she giggles and continues now in a more profound voice "The social part is something I suppose most of you hadn't really thought on, but relates to public leading ability and acceptance. For instance your quirk makes it harder for you, dispite your extremely good looks. She approches her ear and whispers "You'll be great in this, I'll help you."

"Adaptability represents a sum of indiscritive scenarios, like diferent environments and secondary use of the quirk. Here is a place I can see a lot of potencial. If you can make bacteria also in the future, maybe you can become a great brewerer, besides hero. I truuuuust in you Mala."

[Ridai]

Mala gives the impression of a smile and nod to Holly's encouragement, then listens attentively to her Quirk description, once again showing signs of wonder. "I would love a demonstration and a bit of discussion. Wow, you will be great for search and rescue, as well as anything involving intelligence and logistics. You and Mira would probably work together really well." With what she has seen and heard so far, Mala slowly puts together how different people might work together, and how she herself may be able to support them. With her current capabilities, though, her options are fairly limited.

-----

Listening to DIA's explanations, her gaze lowers a bit, but clearly still listening and absorbing information, staying quiet for a moment once DIA's explanation is done, then glancing back at the bars and starting to nod.

"Yeah, that makes sense. Social will need experience, positive exposure, and a lot of tenacity, making it a long-term goal. Adaptability will need a safe space and means to experiment as well as guidance and study, so I can hopefully make more progress in this field short-term, and go from there." Mala does not need to say her musings out loud (well, she is speaking pretty quietly to not disturb the others too much), but the truth is that DIA is clearly involved with the databases of the academy and its evaluation process. So one of her functions is also observation. Mala may as well provide her thoughts now for any interested teacher to access, as well as showing that she isn't taking her development lightly.

The mention about bacteria is an interesting one, and the brewer mention comes to mind again, making her chuckle. "Empress of Alchemy would get a kick out of me starting to dabble in her field of work." She doubts she can get anywhere near Empress' namesake Quirk, but being able to create chemicals would seriously improve Mala's options.

"Thank you, DIA." Eyes showing a smile for the AI.

[Esprit15]

Seeing Mala not thinking twice about activating DIA, Mira shrugs and taps the button and whispers to the hologram. ”I know Mala just asked you some things, but what all goes into the other stats? It’s hard to know what we are excelling in or struggling at if we have something that vauge.” Whatever close was, she was rather proud of it. Must be short for close combat.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Julie pays attention to the introductory assembly, but beyond the headmaster's speech and the, 'big reveal,' on the guards and Cometgirl, there really isn't much going on. 'Work hard, train hard, study hard.' They're the same mantras that everyone here has probably heard all their lives. At this point, the 100 students in the class of '22 are mostly talking among themselves or talking to their personal AI.

She was already somewhat aware of the standard array of Hero Stats. Her mom posted hers on her Facebook page, and villains use them as kind of a low-resolution shorthand to describe who to watch out for in a given neighborhood. When Julie finally does look at the school's evaluation of her stats, she won't be surprised. But she's not doing that yet, because it's far more interesting to look at everyone else's over their shoulders.

Mala sounds like a real diplomat; she delivers calming, careful lines even to a computer. It sounds exhausting.

Mira wants to figure out what she's here to work on. She's probably studious, and certainly pretty social.

Shin continues to bounce awkwardly in his seat. Julie'll have to watch out for him; misunderstood nerds are like villains waiting to happen if you don't reach out to them.

Julie takes note of a boy, one of only a few people besides her who didn't activate their watch yet. Did he just mutter something about student loans?

And, of course, there's Holly. Julie leans in to get a better look at hers, since she asked.

"I guess they think you should work out more?" Julie says. "I wouldn't worry too much. Low stats just mean you're doing something crazy or brilliant to make up for it. Mirror Gallery totally sounds like that, too. You're like a living, um..." Julie rubs her fingers together when she tries to think of the word. They sound squeaky. "Panopticon!"

[Darkstorm]

DIA explains that strength is a combination of lifting, hitting and ability to destroy; Durability the ability to withstand damage or outside afflictions; Quickness ability to move or do something fast; Close and distance the ability to engage a problem – be it a villain or a natural disaster – close or afar.

The headmaster continues “You’ll be split into four classes for now 1-A, 1-B, 1-C and 1-D. At the end of the year only two classes will remain.” He starts on saying names and indicating the class and school room you’ll have your classes on. You six all are in Class 1-A that has classes from 9AM in room D10.

As you look at the names being spread Mira, Mala and Holly spot a name they each know.

Despite not seeing them at the entrance, Alexis is in class 1-B, Yuki in class 1-C with Danielle and Faith at class 1-D.

“You have the rest of the day free. Enjoy campus or even the city. Create a spot for you in this place.”

He almost leaves but returns “Ah, I almost forget, the Wi-Fi code is Plus Ultra.” And smiles.

[Esprit15]

”Ah, excuse me,” Mira says without turning around as the Julie tries to quietly sneak up to her, covering her watch in the process. After that, she just bends her head back to face the other girl. ”Any reason you’re sneaking around and trying to look over our shoulders? Ask your own DIA to show the other student stats.”

[Ridai]

"Ooh, we're all in the same class!" Mala notes, looking to the girls around her. This is a very welcome surprise. Next, she spots Yuki's and Faith's names, visibly filling her with another dose of excitement (and a little dread at the possibility of running into Faith, despite being happy she made it into Star Academy). The girl joins the applause to see the many great people on stage off.

However, something bothers her. "DIA, at the end of the year, will the best two classes be picked, or the forty to fifty best students to fill the remaining two classes?"

After, she asks the AI "DIA, could you please show me where my room is?"

Turning to the girls around her, smiling to them from beneath her filter mask: "I'll go stash my luggage and get some things in order. Maybe we can meet afterwards and explore a bit?" Mala is still very much looking forward to spending some time with Mira and Holly. She also offers her number. And while she is at it, she sends congratulations to Yuki and Faith for making it into the Academy. Yuki and Mala are still friends (even if past events has created some distance both have yet to fully come to terms with), she can't say the same about Faith. But Mala knows she also has not blocked her number. So Mala sends the message, just like she occasionally writes to her former friend, congratulating her on her birthday and her accomplishments, greeting her during Christmas and New Year's Eve, and the like. Faith never writes back, Mala being unsure whether that is better or worse than the alternative.

[Elricaltovilla]

Shin knows that class assignments don't really mean anything, but being in class 1-A still felt like a small victory for Shin.

As soon as the classes were dismissed, Shin sprang up out of his chair and bounded along the outskirts of the campus, up to a low rooftop. He wanted to go explore the city, but didn't feel like enduring the cross looks and police inquiries that were sure to follow his very visible movements. Once he was more comfortable with Star City, he'd go out and explore. As Shin munched on his lonely baked goods, he decided he ought to do something positive with his free time.

"DIA, is there a gym on campus that is available for me to use? Especially one where I could use my quirk freely?" He asked the E-watch. He choke a bit on the cinnabun, and added "And a drinking fountain too?"

[Esprit15]

”Yep, the same class!” she says excitedly.

***

Mira visibly clenches as Alexis’s name. But, she’s in another class. A class we are going to be better than. Why should she be surprised, though. Fate had a very funny way of smacking the two of them against one another.

***

“Hm, yeah. DIA, do I have a roommate, and where is my room?” Smiling, she turns to Mala. “Don’t think you’re getting away from me that easily! I still owe you a huge hug! Besides, I’m sure the girls’ dorms are all in the same direction.” Ooh, where are the boys sleeping anyways? She had been annoyed by the spring leg one, but there have got to be some cute guys around too. Maybe the three of them could go to the mall or something later and keep an eye out.

[Darkstorm]

"The best 40, if you can say that. You're all great." DIA smiles.

"The female rooms are in the west building 2nd floor. The male dorms are on the east building 2nd floor. All rooms are individual although a bit small."

To Shin DIA adds "There are fountains in these spots." A map shows. The nearest is in the square a few meters away.

"There is a gym and a large pool on site and connection to sports facilities in the lake. But all of those only can be reserved after tomorrow, after your class teacher goes with the rules with you. Most of the time will be in use by classes. But if you need a place to strech your legs, there are the fields next to the lake, here and here.

[Ridai]

Mala thanks DIA once again for her help. Mira manages to draw a muffled chuckle from Mala, who raises her free gloved hand in mock defense. "I wouldn't dream of running. Shall we?" Luggage slung over her shoulder and held in her other hand, Mala heads out to see the dorms.

If they are incredibly lucky, they might even have small personal bathrooms. Otherwise, she might need to request access to a bath tub or a separated shower cabin. Heck, even a tiled room with a drain and access to warm water would suffice. She brought a collapsible bin just in case, normally meant to help her with washing and disinfecting her suits and clothes, but it can also serve as a makeshift small tub. Anything to catch the water she is washing herself with to disinfect it later, really.

[Elricaltovilla]

The news that Shin couldn't access a gym was frustrating. He needed to work on his indoor skills. Outside, in a relatively clear area he could easily get up to freeway speeds with his bounding leaps. What he needed was experience in tight corridors, or with a lot of obstacles. Maybe the park had an area with a lot of trees.

Once he finished quenching his thirst, Shin bounced his way to the park, hoping to find somewhere he could warm up and practice his skills. At least he hand his handkerchiefs, he could practice ricochet control if nothing else.

[Esprit15]

Mira hefts her own bag, thinking more about how they were ranked while she walks to the dorms with Mala. Her strengths were obvious, but aside from a lack of distance options, it wasn’t clear if her other scores were below average, average, or above average. While growth would always be good, it’s nice to know where she was starting from, especially if this was something that could influence grades or class standings. ...this was going to just stress her out, though. It can wait a little while at least.

As the two (or maybe three) are walking, Mira looks around, taking in all the sights around her. ”Well, with the dorms so far appart, gon’ be a little tough t’ see if there are any cute guys outside class. Either of you gals want to take a look after we drop our stuff off?”

[Comissar]

Holly grins and nods at Mala's suggested application, "Yeah, that's the kind of heroing I really want to do. It's really easy for me to get around in built up areas." She rubs behind her neck at Julie's assessment of her stats, "Heh, yeah, I have a blue belt in Judo, but I guess that's not enough to bring my scores up that high, huh?"

She falls quiet as the classes are announced, feeling upbeat as 1-A were announced, and all the new people she'd met would be with her. Then feeling her heart sink a bit as she realised Danielle would also be taking classes. It wasn't that she was upset that Danielle would be here too, it was just that she was worried about how Danielle would react when she saw her.

Holly shoulders her own bag as the others start to head off, sharing in the grins at being in the same class. She gestures for Julie to come along as well, it not hurting that they were all staying in the same building. She gives Mira a grin at her comment on looking around after dumping bags, "Look around campus..? Or look around for boys..?" She gives Mira a subtle as bricks eyebrow waggle.

[Ridai]

Hearing and seeing Mira and Holly getting ready to head on a safari, Mala looks back and forth between both of them, and shrugs.

"Hm. Sure," the tall, curvaceous girl in a fitting carmine full-body-suit answers. What's the worst that could happen? "I may or may not need to make a little detour on the way, though."

[Elricaltovilla]

Shin finished tying the handkerchiefs to various tree branches in the small park. He surveyed the area, and pulled his arm back to launch a punch, compressing the spring that made up his forearm as much as possible. He eyes his target, and threw his fist into the ground. A spray of dirt accompanied the loud sproing as his spring arm's tension released. His fist bounced off the ground, off of a tree and up into the branches above. His fingers closed around the handkerchief, and he pulled it back to himself. Shin dropped the handkerchief in the bag by his feet and nodded to himself. Practice was going well.

[Esprit15]

Mira simply smiles at the question.

”Yeah, where do you need to detour? Not like we’re in a rush.”

[Comissar]

Holly finds herself a little disappointed that she couldn't get anything more than a smile out of Mira, instead nodding in agreement with her. "Yup! I'm happy to just wander a bit, can't hurt to get to know the place."

[Ridai]

"Depends on whether we have our own bathrooms or if there are separated showers. If not, I'll need to go ask for daily access to a bath tub or some place with warm water and enough space to place a large bin," Mala explains as they are entering the west tower, sounding like it is a rather normal thing to request, at least for her.

[Esprit15]

”Ah, sanitation. Right. Kinda funny, most people I see like you are afraid something might get them sick. You kinda have the opposite problem.” Mira thinks for a moment, as though an idea is occurring to her. “So what happens when you get sick?”

[Ridai]

"Oh, I am, at all times. Today is a good day, so you're not seeing and hearing much of it. Maybe a little shade around the eyes. I can't smell and taste much because of my Quirk." A short beat. "Wait, you mean getting sick through something other than my Quirk."

Mala shakes her head. "As far as Empress of Alchemy and I know, nothing like that survives inside me. Poison and various toxic gases don't seem to do much, either. She currently theorizes that auto-immune diseases also would not happen in me."

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

"You're that contagious? Geez. That sounds like a lot to put up with, even without the constant fatigue." The imagined story of a girl who grew up living in a plastic bubble but grew so tall that it gradually turned into the world's sexiest hazmat suit makes Julie a little uncomfortable, so she moves on to something else. "Anyway, yeah! Let's get to know the place!"

Julie finally hits her watch button, which considering that she's holding a heavy bag in each hand seems like it should be more awkward than it winds up being. "Hey! I need a map and our room locations!"

It's a pretty straightforward request. She uses the holographic interface to locate her window and floats up to test whether it can be opened from the outside. It probably can't. That would just be a security risk.

[Elricaltovilla]

Shin continues his training, he compresses his legs as far as they go unleashing his power in one vertical leap, shooting up as high as he can possibly go. He soars over the park until he hits his apex and starts to fall. His feet aimed properly, he does his best to absorb the impact of his landing, but falling that far isn't easy on anyone.

"Well DIA, how did I do?" He asked the AI.


Using extra effort I can increase my Leap power by one rank. So rank 8 leap is distance 6- 1,800 ft.

[Darkstorm]

With the help of DIA finding your rooms is easy.

The rooms are small tidy and luckily have a private bathroom. Each wing also has several lounge rooms where students could study or hang. There are a lot of windows and wall gardens and the enviroment is new but cosy.

The exterior, behind the wall, is mostly athletic complexes and huge green fields till the lake.

As DIA answers Shin "It was fast! But if you continue like that your stamina would be quickly drained. You should ask tips from professor yellowstar. His mach 1 punches at first had some of those limits."

A girl comes near Shin and says "Hey can I join you? Name's Sandra."

[Elricaltovilla]

Shin pants, trying to catch his breath. He looks over at the girl and does his best to smile, though he probably doesn't look all that pleasant given the cuts, bruises and scrapes from his intense training.

"Hello, my name is Shin. I would be happy to have you join me. Are you a student at Star Academy as well?" he asks the girl.

[Comissar]

Holly finds herself playing catch-up with the conversation as she tries to work out why Mala's quirk would require such an intensive hygiene routine. She manages to figure out the reason toward the end, though, and finds herself feeling bad for her fellow student. As the quartet make their way to their rooms, she asks Mala "... Mind if I drop by your room once I've dropped my stuff off?"

She continues on to her own room after getting an answer, letting her bag drop on her new bed. There'd be more unpacking to do later, but for now she was more interested in looking around the campus. She idly checked her watch, planning to give the others a few minutes to be more proactive than she was being before going over to them.

[Esprit15]

Mira just tosses her bag in the door after she opens it before continuing on with Mala. She could organize her room later.

[Ridai]

Seeing Julie's reaction, Mala feels like she should try to explain that she isn't usually dangerous to touch, it's more about that residual risk, but with her changing the subject and seeming uncomfortable, the tall girl ends up just opening her mouth and closing it (though the others can only see some movement of her jaw). Deciding against bringing the mood further down with talking about her Quirk, Mala eagerly heads towards the dorms, crossing her fingers.

Holly's question does catch her a little off-guard, answering "Oh no, not at all, please feel free." while internally wondering if she did something wrong.

Once at the rooms, Mala welcomes any of her new friends who want to come into her's. A quick look-see is cast through the room, really liking it, but while most people would probably take hang around in this part, Mala has already spotted another door. Without further delay, she sets down her duffel bag and her suitcase, heading straight through the door. A short pause. Hands going to her face, fists balling in relief. "Yes, my own bathroom!" Mala disappears inside the small bathroom, but the others can still hear her talk to herself, sounding quite excited. "I can place the bin in the shower and, ooh, I can put the disinfectants and cleaning supplies there! The air filters will fit right onto the ventilation, too! Maybe I can even get a good seal on the door and window, oh, that would be great!"

Moments later, Mala emerges into the dorm room proper with a spring in her step, looking quite pleased. "Sorry, got a little carried away. There's even just enough space to do push-ups and hollow holds in there."

With that out of her system, the girl looks back and forth between Mira and Holly, fidgeting a little with her hands. "So, um..." She is not quite certain how to go about what Mira wants to do, or does not really know what Holly came there for.

[Comissar]

Holly decides it'd probably be politer to go over to Mala's room via. the door, at least for the first visit. She's somewhat surprised to see Mira already there, but grins to herself. It seemed she wasn't the only one not wanting to unpack just yet. She gave a knock on the door, more to announce her presence than anything, then made her way in. She gives a short laugh at Mala's enthusiasm, "Heh, I hadn't even thought as far ahead as doing exercises."

She leans against one of the walls, a smile playing over her face as she folds her arms. Addressing the room at large, she asked "So, what did you want to look for first? Food? General amble around?" With a smirk, she looked directly at Mira, "Good peeping spots at the gym?"

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

It takes going inside and investigating for Julie to realize that the bedrooms are on the interior of the building and as such have no windows at all. That seems ominous, not to mention a little cramped. She shrugs it off, tosses her bags on her bed and meets back up with her new classmates in the hall. They're not hard to keep track of. She can hear Mala gushing about the bathrooms from around the corner.

"Well... you said you wanted to get to know the place, right? I was cooped up in a robot taxi for six hours this morning, so I kind of want to move around."

[Esprit15]

”Oh, do you need help unloading things, or are we going to end up in ICU if we touch your stuff?”

[Ridai]

Mala nods enthusiastically to Holly. "Part of my daily maintenance, self-care, and training."

Hearing Mira's questions, the tall girl hastily waves her concerns off. "Oh, no no, my luggage isn't dangerous, my room won't be, either, because I wear suits and masks all the time. I'll unpack later. You said..." She really doesn't know how to go about this. She doesn't want to seem like she is trying to worm her way out of the promised hug, but she can't just ask for it, either, and doesn't really know when (or if) Mira really intended to go about it. "...nevermind."

Just then, Julie pops into Mala's room as well, making the whole thing rather crowded. "Yes, of course, sorry for the hold-up."

[Esprit15]

”Ah, okay. I was going to at least get your blanket out or something. Unless that’s weird.”

[Ridai]

"Ah. One moment." Mala goes over to the large duffel bag, zips it open, and pulls out a white cover, pulling it over the blanket on the bed in a few seconds. It is not the most comfortable material, but it feels... clean, for the lack of a better word. "This should do it."

[Comissar]

Seeing how crowded the room is getting, and with most people in or around the doorway, Holly makes her way further in toward Mala's window. "I'll meet you guys down in the lobby once you're all done, then!"

Hopping up and into Mala's window, she turns gives the other three a cheerful wave as she makes her way down the windows outside the building, anyone happening to watch seeing her reflection swiftly falling past. Once at ground level, she steps out again, hands idly resting in her pockets as she ambles around to the dorm entrance to wait for the others.

[Darkstorm]

Sandra smiles and answers "Well I think these grounds are only for academy students. I am from class 1-C." she looks at the course Shin had made and above her waist a pair of small wings sprout. "Can I use it."

[Esprit15]

Feeling slightly awkward now, Mira takes the blanket and cover and uses them as a barrier between herself and Mala, the smaller girl probably looking rather funny hugging the taller girl.

[Ridai]

The situation is just about as awkward for Mala... but she starts laughing heartily, not at Mira, but the situation in general. She started out dreading what might be ahead of her, now she is having a silly moment with a new friend. Like the stupid things she used to do with Yuki and Faith. All in all, things turned out pretty well.

"Come here, you." And Mala turns the tables, suddenly wrapping Mira in the blanket and lifting her up in a big bear hug, evidently grinning beneath the mask, before setting her back down. As she puts the blanket back onto the bed with one hand, she wipes her eyes with a small tissue, immediately putting it into a sealable pocket in her suit. Small chuckles accompany the proceedings.

"Thank you, I feel much better now," Mala says to Mira, and meaning it. "We probably shouldn't keep Holly waiting."

[Elricaltovilla]

Sandra smiles and answers "Well I think these grounds are only for academy students. I am from class 1-C." she looks at the course Shin had made and above her waist a pair of small wings sprout. "Can I use it."

"Please, do." Shin smiles at the girl and gestures for her to begin. "The goal is to locate and retrieve all of the handkerchiefs in as little time as possible. I use it to practice aiming my ricochets."

[Esprit15]

Mira laughs as the other girl lifts her off the ground in the hug. It meant the gesture was actually welcome. ”Alright! Let’s go!”

[Ridai]

Glad to see Mira reacting in much the same way, Mala heads down to the lobby with her and Julie to start getting to know the place.

Once Mala spots Holly, she gives a quick wave. "I think we are ready to go, thanks for waiting, and for the demonstration."

[Steve-a-Saur]

Phil was just finishing storing his gear in his room. It was smaller than the one he had left behind at home, but it was cozy and had enough room for the essentials. He next planned to venture out into the surrounding city to find some ice cream.

His manager would flip if he found out that he wasn't eating healthy, which would normally be more than enough reason, but today was a monumental day marking the first defining moment of his life. Such days deserved ice cream.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

"...wait. Did she just..."

...yep, Holly didn't jump out the window, she jumped in the window. As in, apparently her insane quirk applies to any semi-reflective surface. "Huh! Cool!"

Julie turns around and goes to meet her downstairs while she thinks Mala is getting embarrassing cleaning stuff in order. She cheats by floating down the stairwell in one step.

"Hm! It's still nice out!" Julie inflates and lifts off the ground as a way of stretching. "I wonder if they'll let us swim in the lake. They probably use an indoor pool, usually." She uses her fancy watch to try and pull up the map again. "Either way I vote we run there first, maybe through this gardeny-looking area."

Is it weird that Julie just assumes all of these people she just met are working in a group and that she is automatically included? Oh well.

[Comissar]

Holly straightens up as the other three approach, giving them a quick wave. She grins and nods at Julie's suggestion, "Finding the lake sounds good, I bet there's some cool views there."

[Darkstorm]

Sandra smiles and quickly lifts of, her small wings beating as fast as a hummingbirds.
She seems to swin through the air, a graceness very different from the movement's made by Shin.

She is very fast and when she stops next to him she is tired and huffing.

---------

As Phil ventures out of the School gate your watc starts to vibrate. DIA or someone is calling.

---------
The trip to lake is filled with young people trying to catch the last rays of sun. Most were using their quirks freely, something that on some parts of the country wasn't allowed.
in the lake you see some students rowing, sailing or even just wetting their feet.

[Elricaltovilla]

Sandra smiles and quickly lifts of, her small wings beating as fast as a hummingbirds.
She seems to swin through the air, a graceness very different from the movement's made by Shin.

She is very fast and when she stops next to him she is tired and huffing.


Shin claps his hands together as Sandra lands next to him.

"That was incredible! You are very graceful, I have never seen anyone move like that before.
What is your quirk? Mine is Spring Limbs, I am sure you can tell. I can move around very quickly, but it is very hard for me to control sometimes. Sadly, it seems to be causing me a lot of trouble of late."

[Esprit15]

As the group gets close and maybe wades in slowly, Mira has none of that. Instead, the girl dives into the lake headfirst, clothes and all, swimming with her arms tucked in and using a very fast dolphin kick to propel herself forward.

[Steve-a-Saur]

Phil paused at the gate when his watch started buzzing at him. It wouldn't surprise him if it had some kind of GPS device inside that knew whenever he left campus, but he was certain that he had permission to go out into the city (post #66). Perhaps his manager had somehow gained omnipotence and was aware that he intended to go off his diet regime. He quickly shook the idea out of his head. Even in jest, the idea was too scary to contemplate.

Phil took the watch out of his pocket and hit the one button that operated it.

"Umm... hello?" Who could be calling him just as he was to venture out into the city?

[Ridai]

Mala smiles to Julie, loving her energy and how she expresses it with her body and Quirk. She walks to the lake with the others, but keeps her distance to the water, rule of thumb being her height with outstretched arms. Also known as accidentally falling over. She is wearing a well-made suit and is doing her best to control her Quirk, but unless the situation requires it (like saving someone who is drowning), just wading into the lake is asking for trouble.

Seeing Mira just take off in the water, Mala gives a quick laugh and whoop, watching her go, doing her best not to think about how much she'd like to go for a carefree swim.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Julie slowly rotates backwards in the air as she unties her shoes and takes them off. She has to flip herself back up and exhale at the same time to avoid floating away from the lost weight. "Hup! Okay!"

This accomplished, she leaps into the water and barely makes a splash, instead sliding and balancing on the waves with her own natural buoyancy as she tries and fails to keep up with Mira. Even though swimming was her own idea, she literally can't submerge unless she has some significant weight to pull her down. Also, she never unpacked her swimming-friendly workout clothes.

She assumes that Mala isn't joining because she is a sensible person who doesn't want to get her expensive biohazard clothes messed up. "Pfft. Sensible people."

After a few minutes of boardless surfing, Julie is struck with an impulse that she can't ignore.

"Hee hee."

She skips along the surface of the water, picking up speed and leaving a pair of wakes behind her as she settles into a stride that looks a lot like ice skating.

"Hahaha!"

With a final little hop, she crouches down to skim the water with her hands as she takes off at top speed, creating a wall of water like a speedboat's wake around her as her path spirals unpredictably. The sound of water rushing around her juuust barely conceals the obnoxious bronx cheer that always accompanies her wildest balloon antics. She barely manages to avoid beaching herself as she swings by Mala with a wave she hopes will be enough to splash her.

"UWAAAHAHAHAHAAAaaaaaaaa!"

It doesn't take long for the initial rush of a silly mission accomplished to fade as Julie realizes how much the friction is burning her hands at this point. With a semi-intentional somersault, she tumbles back to shore and comes to rest on her back. Her skin is wrinkled and soaked, and her hair sits as thin, tangled rubber strands. When she sees Mala dripping as she approaches, Julie slowly raises a fist in triumph.

*wheeze* "heh. worth it." *wheeze*

Her arm drops back town to her side with a wet *flop.*

[Ridai]

When Julie gets to Mala, she has just finished wringing her blonde hair out and is currently wiping her face (special attention to the eyes), the mask, and the rims of her mask and the suit neck (ending just beneath the jawline) with a tissue (which, too, goes into the sealable pocket). The water on her suit and mask seems to just run off, making the material glisten at the moment. Julie's taunt draws a chuckle. "Sorry about the lack of a wet t-shirt," Mala cheerfully apologizes.

Mala is just glad the mask wasn't flooded.

[Darkstorm]

"My quirk is humming bird. Well mostly is sprouting small wings all over my body. These" pointing at the waist "are the easiest to control. if wings sprout from my feet or arms... I'm terrible." she blushes a bit.

"But thank you for your kind coment."

------------

The call is from your mom "How are things baby? Is your room good enough?"
On her voice you notice a sligh note of sadness. Or is it fear?

-------------

A blue tinged guy with a shark mouth (at least his teeth), really muscled and wearing a pair of short shorts and a small tank top, and a heavy metal chain around his neck, comes and nears you "Hey freshmen ladies how are you today? Excited to be here in the worlds best academy?"

[Elricaltovilla]

"My quirk is humming bird. Well mostly is sprouting small wings all over my body. These" pointing at the waist "are the easiest to control. if wings sprout from my feet or arms... I'm terrible." she blushes a bit.

"But thank you for your kind coment."



"At least you can put your quirk away when it becomes inconvenient. That must be a very nice benefit." Shin's stomach growls, he blushes from embarassment. "It seems this workout has made me hungry. Would you like to go to the cafeteria with me to get something to eat, Sandra?"

Shin definitely shows the efforts of his labor, small cuts across his face and arms, bruising on his knuckles and several other places on his body. No one could doubt his work ethic.

[Esprit15]

Mira swims back to the surface as she sees new shadows approaching. Walking out of the water and not worrying about drying, she greets the new addition. ”Pretty awesome! You new too or are you our upperclassman?”

[Ridai]

Mala turns to the new arrival, showing her usual smile around her eyes. "I sure am! Mala Deena Kingsley, nice to meet you." She adds the customary nod.

[Comissar]

Holly opts to flop herself down on the grass beside the lake, content to watch rather than jump in with Mira and Julie. She watches their different approaches to swimming with a grin, laughing and raising her arms up to shield herself from some of the splashback as Julie skidded over the water, sending a wave toward herself and Mala. Still smirking at Mala's comment to Julie, she turns her attention to the shark-looking boy. "Hi! I'm good, really excited!"

[Darkstorm]

"Of course. ah... Do you know where it is?" asks Sandra.
-----------------

"Name's Toby, class 1A. I am the number one contender for class president! Will you vote for me?" he winks and flexes his muscles, pectorals pumping and smiles. His smile though was filled with pointed teeth.

[Comissar]

Holly gives a "Snrk." at Toby's pitch. "I think you'll want a bit more than muscles and bravado to be class president for me. Might be enough for some of us here, though." She returns his wink.

[Ridai]

The tall girl is the very picture of countenance. "I am looking forward to your pitch when we get to the election," Mala cheerfully answers, as if blissfully unaware that she is being shown the akimbo shark guns pitch right now, adding a "Good luck!" for good measure.

[Esprit15]

"Well now, we haven't had any other contenders offering such a warm welcome," Mira says, offering a hand in greeting to the shark boy, "so you might just have my vote."

"Them muscles part of your quirk, or all naturally earned?" she asks, looking the (presumably) taller student up and down.

[Elricaltovilla]

"Of course. ah... Do you know where it is?" asks Sandra.

"No I do not, but we can ask DIA." Shin says. He pushes the button on his watch. "DIA can you give Sandra and I directions to Star Academy's cafeteria please?"

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

"Hey! That's a false dichotomy!" Julie chimes in from her spot on the ground. "Some people just have an easier time bodybuilding quirk or no quirk."

She slowly picks herself up. Her blue hair is gradually reasserting its normal shape, but the rest of her isn't quite there yet. "And you call that bravado? He's just standing around looking pretty! Which now that I think of it is the perfect thing to do for a popularity contest, so good work there, but bravado it ain't."

[Esprit15]

”Still natural, easy or not, compared to a quirk,” Mira shrugs.

[Steve-a-Saur]

Phil could hear the twinge of something in her voice. Maybe she was worried about him? It was only a month after Iron Shield had died, reminding the country the cold hard truth that the heroes they practically worship are very mortal. Maybe she was having second thoughts, he certainly had. In the end though, he just didn't know what to do with himself.

Instead of dwelling on these thoughts, he smiled and continued on his way.

"Nothing to complain about. Got off the plane and made it to school, set up my lair and marked my territory, and now I'm rampaging through the streets terrifying the local population, devouring everything in sight. Later, I plan to come back to beat my chest and assert my dominance.

"Missing me already mom? How'd you get the number for my fancy new watch? Why didn't you just call my phone?"

As soon as he said that, a memory slowly began to come into focus, of when he had set the alarm on his phone to go off early. He'd groggily turned it off, and shuffled away half asleep to get ready for an early flight. He didn't recall picking it back up again.

"... I left it at home again, didn't I?"


I knew I forgot to spend my one remaining point on something.

[Darkstorm]

DIA sprouts from the phone and smiles "Sure."

She reaches her pocket and pops up a map."Cafeteria is here." a bright red spot appearing.

"The fastest way is this way." she smiles, "But this way is the prettiest."

-------------------
Toby the shark dude looks at you a bit lost and answers to the most important question and comment (in his mind of course) "All natural." he flexes his bicep some more "My quirk is my lovely charisma." he smiles "Joking, my quirk is sharkbite."

He smiles again and continues "Well don't worry lovely ladies, I'm smart and friendly too. Shaaaaarkman at your service!"

--------------------
"You did, and before I saw it, I was worried..." her voice full of warmth and love.

"But that's not why I called you about. I just want you to be carefull you hear. Don't do anything foolish." she pauses for a second and continues "Promise me."

[Comissar]

Holly bites back another snicker as Toby continues to boast about his physique. She leans a little toward Julie, "Sorry, I think you were right, Julie. Bravado's the wrong word." She gives Toby a wink, "I think humble might be a better one."

[Steve-a-Saur]

Jeez! Is it just me or is she sounding desperate? I'll just be genuine, I don't think my usual humor will do me any good here.

"Yes, yes, I promise. I won't take any unnecessary risks. Just what kind of person do you think you've raised?"

[Ridai]

Mala gives Toby the benefit of the doubt. He is probably a little nervous in his own way. And again, golden rule. She wouldn't want to leave someone with a bad feeling. Having failed to do that with Shin despite trying to explain, hopefully things will go better with Toby.

"You seem very dedicated about working out! I do daily routines, though admittedly mostly cardio with bodyweight exercises. Ten minute star planks or hollow hold intervals, hundred push-ups, burpees, or pull-ups, that sort of thing. I'm really curious how P.E. classes will look like here. Maybe we'll help each other find the best way to do conditioning for hero work, or maybe the Academy has some programs already worked out."

Wait, do boys think it's weird if girls work out like this? I mean, most girls trying to become heroes keep a schedule, right? I hope? Mala's frame of reference being limited to Yuki and Faith, she can only hope for the best, while remaining pleasantly invested in the topic on the outside.

[Elricaltovilla]

DIA sprouts from the phone and smiles "Sure."

She reaches her pocket and pops up a map."Cafeteria is here." a bright red spot appearing.

"The fastest way is this way." she smiles, "But this way is the prettiest."



Shin turns to Sandra. "Let us take the scenic route. It will give us time to catch our breath on the way back, do you not agree?" He asks the girl. As they start walking, he does his best to keep his jumps as small as reasonably possible. Such tight control of his musculature is, in its own way, even more taxing than going all out, but the earlier encounters of the day have made Shin more painfully aware of how he is perceived by his fellow classmates.

"Why did you wish to attend Star Academy, Sandra?" He asks the hummingbird girl, trying to open conversation.

[Esprit15]

”Haha, well it looks good!” Mira says, smiling at the guy’s friendly demeanor. “I try to swim daily whenever I have a body of water, but beyond that... well, actually, I guess I also do dry land work to support that...” To Mira, it was all the same. Besides, there were faster swimmers at her old school, so it hardly seemed something to brag about.

[Darkstorm]

"A good son! Of that I have no doubts." your mother adds "But star academy is a safe place. I shouldn't worry..." her voice gains an edge of determination.

"A big kiss son. Makes us proud."
----------------------
Sandra smiles "Well... I want to help people. My quirk makes it easy for me to get to places fast. But while flying I always feel alone, apart."

"And you? Why heroing?"

-----------------------

Toby smiles and his conversation gains an interested edge. Before he was just showing of but now he is discussing with interest "I have a four day parted training routine. I start with my legs - I hate chicken legs in heroes. Spandex makes that problem really big..."
He goes on a bit on his training and eating regime that's both controled and directed "... and I finish with gymn hoops."
His body is relaxed and his voice very steady "How do you feel when you work out?"

[Elricaltovilla]

Sandra smiles "Well... I want to help people. My quirk makes it easy for me to get to places fast. But while flying I always feel alone, apart."

"And you? Why heroing?"


Shin thinks back on all the events that have shaped his life so far. "I did not really set out to become a hero. When I was five, my house caught fire and I was rescued by a group of hardworking firemen. I thought they were so brave, and strong and that they did amazing things. So I wanted to become a fire fighter too. But with my quirk..." Shin waves a wobbly arm. "With my quirk, I could not possibly meet the physical requirements of the job. Fire chief O'Malley was the one who suggested that I look into becoming a hero as a way to still see through my dream of helping people. He told me my quirk was very strong, but it's hard to control. Star Academy is the best place for someone like me to learn to use my quirk to rescue people. So that is why I came here."

[Esprit15]

Mira seems to cringe slightly at the question. ”Awesome unless I’m doing ab work. I know a strong core prevents a lot of injuries, but I can never get myself to enjoy it, and I don’t feel good at all like I do after a run or swim or lifting.

Hm, maybe we could get a workout group going here.”

[Ridai]

Mala listens attentively. She much prefers having moved beyond the need to impress, on to connecting on a more personal level. At the question how she feels while working out, Mala shows an almost apologetic expression around her eyes.

"I like exercising, but it doesn't feel good in the moment, if that makes any sense. I am permanently sick due to my Quirk, and if I am doing conditioning in-suit, that doesn't help, either. Some things I just need to live with, but being able to measure steady progress helps, for my health and to be able to help others. Building muscle takes me a long time, though."

Mira's suggestion is rewarded with Mala delightedly clapping her hands together. "I think that is a great idea! I might sometimes need to join via video chat from my bathroom if I am feeling a little too under the weather do train in-suit, but I would love to make that group happen."

[Steve-a-Saur]

"Okay, love you too. Bye! Kiss, kiss,"

Phil clicked the one button on his watch and stuck it back into his pocket.

Good thing nobody at school saw that. Now, the search for ice-cream continues.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Julie sticks out her tongue playfully at Holly. "Yeah, yeah. Bragging is one thing. Bravado's about action!"

That in mind, she spots a picnic table further up the beach while participating in the workout conversation. "That sounds fun! My routine's a little different, obviously. My muscles don't work right when I'm deflated like this," she pinches one of her floppy arms to demonstrate, but it looks like she's pretty close to recovered already. "...but otherwise, I have to use weights or else I'm just floating around."

"...But enough talk!" She does an acrobatic pirouette to sit down at the far side of the picnic table, locks eyes with Toby, puts on a manic villainous grin and sets down her elbow in the universal arm-wrestling position. "Come here, Shark Man! Let's see if those muscles can cash the check your big fishy mouth is writing!"

[Darkstorm]

Toby nears the girls and pumps his bicep. "See all you want! ahah"

------------

The trip into the city close by is without trouble, and the icecream was very good, despite being expensive.

------------
"That's great. Hero rescues are awesome." Sandra says as she buys a cheese, spinach and ruccula sandwich "Well controling it should be easy if you keep using it. "

[Darkstorm]

DAY 1 - School is cool! Cool-ish!

[Darkstorm]

TRRIMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!

The alarm clock screams! Time to wake up. School, first day, first lesson is on!


I'll let you go wrap the scene and make the wake up.

[Elricaltovilla]

Shin sits up in bed and stretches. He hops out from under the comforter and takes a shower, careful to make sure he scrubs down his springs, one of the trickier parts of his quirk.

Once he was clean and dried, he dressed himself in his school uniform and opened the window of his room. He checked his landing zone and jumped out the window, bouncing back up he shut the window and headed to the cafeteria to get some breakfast. Maybe his exit wasn't strictly rules appropriate, but it was faster and a whole lot more fun.

[Esprit15]

Mira slowly opens her eyes and fumbles for her alarm. Just because this was a super cool hero school didn’t mean that it wasn’t school. Okay, supplies... some of them she laid out the night before, but others were either misplaced or still in packaging. Scrambling to get the last of her supplies out, Mira sprints out the door, dressed but hair in shambles. She tries running her fingers through it to help, which mostly does the job, but it’s clear that she was rushed this morning.

Okay, did they have a class before breakfast, or was it breakfast first, class second... Mira just tries to follow the other students once she sees one that looked her age. She could run a brush through her hair at breakfast.

[Ridai]

All in all, that was a great Day 0, apart from the very beginning! Once everyone goes back to their rooms, Mala goes to work, unpacking, equipping her bathroom with the ability to be sealed, applying filters to the ventilation, distributing her supplies, and setting her bin up in the shower. Working out, washing herself and then her suit (putting drops of the CDC-issued, highly concentrated disinfectant into the bin after each, waiting the specified amount of time, then dumping the now safe liquid into the drain, followed by a quick once-over with the showerhead), wiping down the outside and inside of her suit as best she can, then hanging it to dry. By the time all of that is done, the evening has come around, and a happy Mala calls her family to tell them about her day and the friends she's made and Yuki and Faith having gotten into Star Academy as well, all from the comfort of lying on the cool bathroom tiles in her underwear. A quick call to Yuki follows, and even if it is a little brief, still feeling the distance between them, it ends with Mala promising Yuki that she will do everything she can to improve until she can fully control her Quirk. Yuki smiles, saying she is looking forward to that day, before both wish each other a good night.

Mala stays on the ground for a while, staring at the ceiling. Things are going to get better from now on. I'm not letting this chance slip.

After the rest of her personal hygiene and disinfecting all surfaces she came into contact with, she puts on her suit for the night and the next day, studies ahead a little (and looks at the layout of the Academy, especially where the class room is), and goes to bed in a timely fashion, the same one her mother gently but surely drilled into her while passing on some of her secretarian virtues on to her youngest.

-------------

And in just the same way, Mala punctually arrives in class. Well, not quite. She's a bit early, positively beaming from beneath her mask and her yellow suit with a black stripe down the left and right sides, from neck to boots.

[Comissar]

Holly's room sits unoccupied, the only indication that she'd even moved in being her bag still awaiting sorting on her desk chair, and the reflection of her back outside within a newly placed full-length mirror. She was in the gallery again, the familiarity of it preferable to her new room. She wasn't doing all that much, just listening to music and reading a book, but it was a pleasant end to a fun day. New friends, new school, new life. A good start.

The gallery was starting to dim, brighter room lights gradually being switched off, with only the flourescent yellows of street lamps still shining through. Closing her book before it got too dark to read properly, Holly stretched her arms above her head then rolled backward into her room and up onto her feet. Setting her alarm, she changed and headed to bed with a smile on her face.

________________________________________________

A big upside to her quirk, Holly mused as she showered, was that she could afford to have lie-in's. Where other people had to rush between buildings, she could just take her time. With that thought, and a quick glance at her clock to make sure she didn't have to eat her words, she changed and started drying her hair. Finally, she was ready. Grabbing her bag, she stepped through her mirror and ambled through the gallery. To either side she could see students making the same journey she was. Those closest to her starting point were hurrying, but that quickly changed as she reached the windows of the school itself. Slowing to a stop at a ground floor window beside a staircase, Holly double checked her timetable. In future, she'd be able to just go straight to the classroom, but for now she needed to find it for the first time.

Hopping out, and ignoring the surprised remarks from some of the other students, Holly cast around for a hall sign. Smiling to herself as she spots one, she makes her way up the stairs to her new classroom. Any lingering concerns that she was going to the wrong one were dispelled as she spotted Mira heading inside, the distinctively colourful girl giving a strong hint that she was in the right place. Following her in, she gives the other room occupants a friendly grin and quick wave before heading to her desk.

[Steve-a-Saur]

Phil shambled through the halls, past the phase between awake and asleep but not quite near the stage of full alertness. It was always hard to adjust to a new school year schedule. Super-school or not, couldn't classes have waited for at least another fifteen minutes? He barely gave the other students a cursory glance as he entered class 1-A and sat into a desk chair, setting his metal forearms on top with a heavy Ka-Klunk. Phil hung his head and closed his eyes, trying to shut his eyes for at least a few more minutes.

[Elricaltovilla]

Shin finishes snacking on his breakfast as he bounces down the hallway and into Class 1A. He leaps through the doorway and lands himself perfectly in the seat in the first row closest to the window. He pulls out a notebook and pencil and readies himself for class.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

It wasn't terribly surprising when Julie lost to a shark at arm-wrestling yesterday. It was still fun! Playing the antagonist is all about losing gracefully.

Dinner wasn't too interesting, as she had to shower first and the group more or less split up before that point. Once back in her dorm, she checked a few things on her computer before falling asleep. Goth wasn't online, but there was a weird spam email full of random facts about the school, notably including how closely the wi-fi connections are monitored for security reasons. It looks like Julie will have to go off-campus if she wants to contact her friend freely.

...

"TRIM! TRIM! TRIM! TRIM!"

Julie puffs up and suddenly floats to the ceiling. "?! What?!"

Julie awakes to be greeted by the holographic avatar of her new watch, who was literally shouting, 'Trim,' repeatedly. "Time to wake up, sleepyhead! Class 1A's homeroom is conveniently located in Room 1A." Dia transforms into a map directing Julie where she needs to go. Ugh. She was so excited just to be here that she almost forgot this place is still technically a school. She drifts back down to gather her stuff and head out.

Julie arrives in class earlier than she might have liked. The default alarm left a long time for grooming that she prefers to do at night, but she hates going back to bed when she's already awake, so she spends the extra time humming to herself and scribbling half-baked song lyrics in her one notebook with her one mechanical pencil. She has clothes similar to yesterday's, this time with a symbol resembling a mountain, worn over a dark blue leotard that must be her workout outfit. She doesn't want to be caught without it if she encounters something especially stressful.

[Darkstorm]

https://image.ibb.co/gw3jtL/PXZ2-Fami-shot-09-09-15-011.jpg (https://ibb.co/mTq8L0)
Name: Yellow Star
Alias: Mach Punch, Marshal, Xeriff, Tin Star (derrogatory)
Quirk: Mach arms
Super maneuvers: Mach 1 punch, Mach 2 punch.
Likes: Fluffy pillows and blankets, Icecream, Cats


There are a few colaborators along the way pointing at the correct place, but most stiudents have perfected the use of DIA very quickly.
The school room is large and wide with five lanes. There are 14 tables each with two seats.
At the front stands your teacher - or class responsible teacher - Yellowstar - with his 2 meters of height, and large frame.

"Good morning class 1A" he starts as you seat down "My name is Yellowstar, and I am delighted to be your class teacher. As you were informed in the opening ceremony, all classes will be taking tests and along the way the 40 best will be chosen."

"This is highly competitive and very open. To the ones that eventually fail, you can re-apply next year, for a total of two more times. For instance to mr. Lavander over there this is the 3rd and last time."

"Along the way you'll learn that I don't like to lose. So, if it depends on me, you 25 will be on the last 40."

"But first I want to ask if there are any questions about this process?"

[Elricaltovilla]

Yellow Star was not the kind of hero Shin wanted to be, but he was excited to have him as a teacher nonetheless. DIA had even mentioned that Yellow Star might know how to help Shin control his quirk better.

Shin raised his hand. "What are the testing requirements that need to be met in order to pass the hero course and remain at the end of the year?
Is our class expected to compete directly with other classes, or are we going to be compared against each other without going head to head? Are you the only teacher for our class? What is the process for registering a superhero name? How are we going to... "

And on and on he goes until someone stops him.



Expertise(heroes?): [roll0] what does Shin know about Yellow Star?

[Ridai]

Mala's is halfway up when Shin starts to cover most of what she wanted to ask. There is something more, but remembering yesterday, she really doesn't want to interrupt him, fearing it would seem like she is starting to bully him. Sooo... instead, she just keeps her hand up at head level, patiently waiting for her turn, and if she does receive the go-ahead:

"Is there an ongoing or periodic ranking students can look at throughout the year?"

[Esprit15]

”How well do you think the testing does at accounting for the variety of quirks? That an aquatic oriented quirk may not be useful in some places but vital in others? Or that some quirks are useless in a fight but extremely important in search and rescue?”

[Comissar]

Holly is content to listen quietly through most of the questions, a sense of nervousness growing in her at the thought of getting kicked out for not doing well enough. She didn't have any questions of her own, though, up until Mira's question, anyway. She straightens up in her chair as the colourful girl speaks, nodding her agreement as she asked about non-combat quirks.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Julie doesn't say anything. This introduction, while relevant, is not itself a lesson to take notes about. Her attention is divided between the Q&A and the doodles, comedic insults and metered lyrics in her notebook.

The idea of an ongoing ranking clearly catches her ear, though. Didn't they implement something like that for the hero society of Japan? And then it kind of devolved into this hyper-competitive popularity contest and they had to drop it? Except it stayed a thing online because social media still exists, and her mom got so obsessed with it that they made her own account and stayed on her work computer maintaining it until long after she was supposed to pick Julie up from a field trip?

...

Sounds fun.

[Steve-a-Saur]

"I have a couple," said Phil, straightening up in his chair.

"This country has standard requirements of graduating High School. What if we were unable to meet these standards if we were unlucky enough to have to repeat Freshman Year three times?

"Also, under this system students aren't particularly motivated to help each other improve. This school only has a two out of five passing rate for its Freshmen, so out of the twenty-five students here only ten will go on to be Sophomores. Why would any student help each other if it means helping their competition and risking their own chance at passing? Perhaps some students will come to the conclusion that they can improve their odds by actively sabotaging others. Am I wrong?"

[Esprit15]

"I have a couple," said Phil, straightening up in his chair.

"This country has standard requirements of graduating High School. What if we were unable to meet these standards if we were unlucky enough to have to repeat Freshman Year three times?

"Also, under this system students aren't particularly motivated to help each other improve. This school only has a two out of five passing rate for its Freshmen, so out of the twenty-five students here only ten will go on to be Sophomores. Why would any student help each other if it means helping their competition and risking their own chance at passing? Perhaps some students will come to the conclusion that they can improve their odds by actively sabotaging others. Am I wrong?"

”I’m pretty sure teamwork is something that we are graded on...” Mira somewhat loudly mumbles.

[Darkstorm]

Yellow star waits for a second before starting to answer questions. One at a time.

At Shin he rises his hand and says "Focus. Relax."

"In the end of the course you'll have to excell in three things - Have the mental strenght to be a hero, or rather to endure being a hero. Not just endurance but knowing to do the right thing even if it's hard. Knowing how to work in teams and rely on others.

T"he second thing is to have the physical talent to back it up, in any of the hero areas - rescue, crime fighting, natural disaster relief, etc. So combat is not the most important thing a Hero does. Most of the time Media doesn't show that, and fighting heroes tend to be more popular, but the real mission of a hero is to save. To protect. To serve others. So that is the true filter we'll use."

"The last area is marketing and bureaucracy, the thing that will make your actions legal and allow you to gain enough money to live and stay active. In those classes you'll learn all you need about names and costumes also."

"So school here is for training you in all of that, besides normal classes a highschool kid should have. Education is important."

"You'll be taught by the four first year teachers, and other heroes and non heroes - victims for example - that will shed new light on some subjects or another view of the heroing world. I am your class resident teacher, so I'll be closer to you than the others."

"You'll be graded weekly - there are 40 weeks of school and 60 students will leave. That means in average 1,5 students per week will leave. They can be of any class. The grades and results will be known by all, but there won't be a ranking system."

"I know this may seem hard, but in our school, since it's inception only one student didn't get the provisional hero license at the end of the first semester. You don't have to flunk the year. You can continue your studies in another program or school. You can re-apply here the following year if, and only if, you want. Most end up doing so - graduating from Star Academy is an important step. Our games are televised. Our youngsters scouted by the top agencies. Our gear and equipment the best - pro hero level."

"In heroing you're always competing for number one spot. For the sponsers, for the public eye. But you can only be a hero if you are a hero, if you can accept and help others be the best they can. Sabotage or not making an effort or not aiding is... Not hero like. Not even a good citizen.

"Collaboration and cooperation are important. Being humble and accepting also."

"Heroes are examples, are beacons. People will follow us in their darkest time, and put their faith, their lives, their belongings in your hands. You say go here, and they'll go. They'll look at you for the best answer. That is the wheight of being a hero. And that's why the training is hard."

"You did see recently what happens when a hero falls. How this country suffered."

[Esprit15]

Mira nods, content with the answer.

[Elricaltovilla]

Shin still has more questions, but he knows better than to continue asking too many. Instead, he resigns himself to asking only one final question.

"Will we have an opportunity to display our quirks to our classmates today? In one of the gyms or somewhere else on campus?" He asks.

[Ridai]

Mala places one hand above the other on the table, nodding to Yellow Star's answer. Hearing Shin's new question causes little to no outward reaction from Mala beyond curiosity, while she can't help but grow a little tense on the inside. Her new friends were pretty accepting of her Quirk, but she can only hope that the rest of the class will mostly be as well.

[Steve-a-Saur]

Phil settled back into his seat with a better understanding of what the school was looking for.

[Darkstorm]

"Yes you will show them in the sports arena later today." looking at the wall clock he says "In a moment actually."

"But first let me talk about this week exams and classes.

"Today we have quirk demonstration, tomorrow we'll have fight exam, wednesday future evaluation, thursday written knowledge exam and friday sports evaluation. These are diagnostic tests and are ways for you to know each other a bit better."

"All these will be taken by the other classes too, but in other order."

"Ah but to move you from thoughts about tests, check on DIA your apointments on CDD - Costume design department - to start designing your Mark01 hero costumes."

"Questions?"

[Elricaltovilla]

Of course Shin had more questions, he always had questions. But even Shin could recognize when it was time to wait and listen. Sometimes.

Instead, he pulled out his notebook of costume sketches, and checked over the designs again. The fire fighters had all given him good advice, but there was a lot to go through still. He activated DIA and checked when he was supposed to have his costume design meeting.

[Ridai]

Oh. Costumes. That is something Mala had not actually thought about much yet, given the necessity and functionality of what she is wearing right now. It even is pretty resistent to wear and tear, as well as having some integrated protection due to the material used.


Mala shakes her head to indicate she has no questions at this point in time, then asks DIA when she is due for the costume apointment. If it is before Wednesday: "Could the apointment be moved back? The costume is part of the hero persona, and I was hoping to talk with the professionals here about researching and developing my Quirk first, and what options I have."

[Esprit15]

Mira nods, statisfied. First week was going to be jammed with stuff by the sound of it.

Actually...

”What’s the fight exam?”

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Designing costumes? In school? Julie doesn't know what to think about this.

Under her mattress, in her parents' house, is wedged a collection of drawings that she made when she was younger. A variety of cartoonishly extravagant designs meant to express authority, or power, or to just express herself at the expense of societal norms. Her babysitter helped her work on some of them. It was fun! Definitely not the kind of stuff the hero academy is looking for, though.

In the hero business, costumes are a little more like uniforms. Which, now that she thinks of it, probably suits a boarding school just fine. Her mind drifts into how the classic schoolgirl outfit would work on her, but she discards it pretty quickly. Considering what Julie needs a costume to do, it's really hard to make a skirt work at all. She was kind of hoping to get by with the workout clothes she already got from her mom's supplier.

...

She still doesn't have any questions. 'What's the fight exam,' is already inane enough that she rolls her eyes. It's the exam where you fight! Duh!

[Comissar]

Holly turns her attention to her watch. She hadn't actually tried using DIA yet. Something about a wearable consciousness that was always listening and was capable of constantly judging made her feel a bit funny about the device. Nevertheless, she tried asking it, "Hey, DIA? When's my costume thing..?"

[Darkstorm]

"The name says it all. you'll fight an oponent. More you'll know on the time."

Moving and pointing "Now let's go to the gym to present ourselves properly."

The access is quickly made through an all glass corridor amidst a very cared garden.

The sports room is large, wide, and has three large football field sized areas, a rock one, a water one and a paved one. Around all that a tartan field for running.

Yellowstar goes to the middle of the rock one. He turns to the class and presents himself - "To the ones that don't know me, I am Yellowstar, and am a proud alumni of this school, and always lived in Star lake city."

"I am known for my fists, and my mach 2 punch is the fastest recorded."

He looks around and turning he says "MACH 1" and punches the ground, stopping before touching it. The motion is quick and in miliseconds the sound of a supersonic soundwave crashes into the ground, shatters it, making it disapear into fine dust.

Just the punch pressure leaves a large meteor like print on the ground, and your ears ringing.

"Next!"

--------------------------------
DIA shows you the day of the appointment. It was an individual thing, and you can't postpone it, despite it being just consultive and part of the guidance and orientation.

As you enter the room, you see two persons behind a desk with computers and a lot of arts material.

The Woman was old and wore thick glasses. Next to her a stout, short youngster that spoke with a thick accent "Please seat."


As the costume appointment is personal we can, IMO, put both activities at the same time (putting the personal in a spoiler).

[Elricaltovilla]

Shin hops up to the center of the gym, and takes a deep breath before he introduces himself to the class.

"Hello, I am Tan Shin. I am from Los Angeles, but my parents are from China. My quirk is Spring Limbs. My arms and legs are very stretchy and can hold a lot of energy. I can leap as much as 550 meters in a single bound and my arms can stretch as far as 18 meters. My quirk is very hard to control, so I do not usually walk like normal people do. Please watch me demonstrate my skill."

With that, Shin bows to the class and assumes a modified southpaw boxing stance. He launches a fist at the ground, causing it to bounce up into the air and into the far wall, then back towards his face. The fist stopps a hair's breadth from Shin's own face before retracting.

He then hops into the air, and uses the momentum to propel himself all the way up to the ceiling of the gymnasium. He propels himself off of the ceiling with his arms, back towards the wall, which he bounces off of and across the length of the gymnasium to the far end away from the class. He kicks off the far wall and rockets back towards his classmates, landing just shy of the crowd, stopping his momentum with a classic landing pose.


Shin takes the offered seat, and opens his notebook. He clears his throat and tries not to let his nerves get the better of him.

"Thank you for meeting with me.
I am sorry if my designs are not the best, it is hard for me to draw sometimes. But I do have a list of things that I need to include in my costume. " Shin says to the woman. "My friends back home have all given me some great suggestions. I rely a lot on my mobility, and I fight with my fists, so I need to make sure my hands and feet are well protected. I also need some way to stick to walls for when I am scouting. I would like my costume to be a full body cover, and I need a helmet that covers my face, ideally with a gas mask to filter smoke and other hazards. I want my color scheme to match the LA Fire Department, to honor them for their help. And I need some sort of device that will help me swim in water, since I cannot swim under my own power... If that's all okay..."

As Shin approached then end of his list of requirements, he suddenly felt like he was asking far too much. He wasn't even a real hero yet. Where did he get off making these kinds of demands?

[Esprit15]

As Shin bounces off the stage and it appeared to just be a bit of a free for all, Mira takes a deep breath and takes the stage.

”I’m Mira Gerhild, and my quirk is mantis shrimp.” Crap, Shin has something super showy, and she just had... her. Wait, there was the pool! Running over, Mira dives in and does a lap at comparable speed to a solid sprint on land. “I can punch too, but nothing like the other two.” In demonstration, she assumes that same defensive stance from before and launches one fist forward. While there was no sonic boom, there was still an audible click from her as Mor chitinous portions of her skin reached their end-of-lunch positions.

“And besides that... well, I guess you could say I can see things that other people can’t,” she adds, gesturing to her rather blank, pupil-less eyes. “UV, infrared, polarization... It helps me see things more quickly and more things in general.” That was enough, right? Nervously, she steps down.

Mira sits as instructed. ”Not really sure how much were we’re supposed to prepare for this...” the girl says, rubbing the back of her neck nervously.

[Steve-a-Saur]

Phil stood in front of the class and introduced himself.

"Hey, I'm Phillip Forstner. Yes, that's Phillip as in a phillips head and yes, that's Forstner as in a forstner drill bit."

Phil paused a bit, trying to think of the best way to demonstrate his quirk. He had originally planned to play off his quirk as a joke and downplay his ability, but after a while it started feeling like a competition and he didn't want to make a bad showing. His quirk wasn't particularly flashy, but it was very straight forward and practical and he managed to put it to good use. So if his quirk was straightforward and practical, he might as well demonstrate it in a straightforward and practical way.

"I'm gonna dig a hole."

He held his arms out to the sides, his fingers together and pointed outwards. Suddenly his metal arms exploded into a screeching flurry as they whirled around at his elbows like an industrial power drill. He plunged his arms into the solid rock at his feet, squinting through the cloud of dirt and debris as he disappeared beneath the earth. He bored as much as thirty feet in less than ten seconds before angling his arms upwards and began ascending at a slope. He broke ground behind the assembled students covered in dirt and grit. He shook a cloud of dust out of his hair before turning back to his classmates.

"So... you probably didn't get a good look from where you were standing, but I want pretty deep."

He wanted to spit out the gritty feeling in his mouth, but he didn't want to look uncool in front of everyone.


Phil had his costume all ready ahead of time. The perks of early funding from his manager. Good thing his mom hooked him up.

[Ridai]

Mala leads the applause for each student, looking amazed at the many great displays (and smiling to Mira as she steps down). Outwardly having a great time, inwardly appreciating the abilities of her classmates. And thankfully, her suit and conscious control over her posture mostly hides the clenched teeth and how hard her hands are squeezing each other, especially after seeing how nervous Mira just was up there.

Mala just made the mistake of putting herself in Mira's shoes. Only that she has nothing to show, which might suck all the air out of the proverbial room, inducing some fierce stagefright. And talking about her Quirk will only make things awkward for the people after her. She knows she needs to tell the others about her Quirk. But right now, she really, really doesn't want to. But she has to. So when she is gathering up the courage to go next, another classmate is already walking forward. And it happens again. And again. Becoming keenly aware of how many students are still left, and that the number is quickly dwindling. Remembering life at her last school, still fresh in her mind.

And thus, the serene outer Mala seems to patiently await her turn at the end.

"Good afternoon," Mala greets both the woman and the boy(?), gracefully seating herself with perfect poise. "I... have to admit that cannot offer any concrete ideas for a costume yet, beyond the functional design of my suits. Without having had time to experiment with my Quirk, researching it, and finding out how to best use it for hero work, what ideas I had felt like wishful thinking at best and disingenuous at worst. For better or worse, I will need to sell an image and an ideal to the public, one that needs to be accepted by the people." And she does not need to mention that at this point in time, it is difficult for her to imagine how to make people accept a disease-based hero.

The tall girl lifts a heavy folder onto the table, making contact with a deep thud sound. "These are the CDC specifications my suits need to fulfill, design schematics for the suits and filter systems, measurements, patterns, durability requirements, material lists and samples, as well as..." Mala pauses for a moment. "...as well as specifications for full containment suits, if permission to wear my current suits is revoked."

An awkward silence follows. "Could I perhaps ask for better tools and means to maintain, repair, and sanitize my current suits, if it is not too much trouble and within budget? I will of course continue to do all three either way, but they are all... very time-consuming. And expensive."

[Comissar]

Holly finds herself both awed and worried by the performances being put on by her classmates. There were so many flashy quirks being put on display, many without hesitation. And that makes for a great first impression. And it'd be great if she could make a great first impression. And she knew she couldn't make that kind of first impression. And there weren't that many people left now...

Forcing herself to walk up as another student stepped down, she about turned on the small platform and gave a smile she didn't feel, and hoped looked real enough. "Hi! I-I'm Holly." She felt her cheeks start to warm a bit as she realised she was stammering. She started to rock back and forth on her heels, hoping the simple motion would help unstick her words, "A-and... My quirk is... Not that flamboyant..." She gave a grin that hopefully didn't look manic.

Hopping off the stage, she gestured toward one of the windows lining the outside wall of the gym, "If you'll follow me o-over here, though, I can show you how it works!"

She tried to pay no attention to what the others must be thinking as she lead the way to the wall, but her mind supplied plenty of fodder for imagined mutterings and confusion. Reaching a window, she turned back to face the class again, giving a quick wave before stepping backwards and into the mirror gallery. Turning, and moving at a light jog, she went down the short row of panes that made up the gym's windows, then stepped out at the far end of the hall. Funny, from this distance they all looked far less intimidating. Aside from Mira's colourful form, she couldn't even really tell who was who. Cupping her hands to her mouth, she yelled as loud as she could, "I'll be back in a sec!"

Stepping back into the window behind her, she jogged down the line of panes until she reached the one she'd left the class at. With one hand holding onto the upper arm of the other, she came out with a sheepish grin, "So, uh, yeah. That's my quirk."

Holly stepped into the costume department not really knowing what to expect. She gave the two occupants a brief smile and nod. "Hi. It's nice to meet you."

At the boy's prompting, she gives another nod, "Right, yes. So, I guess you want to know what kind of things I've been thinking about..? Or... Are you going to make suggestions..?" She gave the pair an embarrassed smile, "I'm... Not super clear on how we do this."

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Looks like it's Julie's turn.

"Hey," she says as she takes her seat. Or rather, hovers slightly above her seat. It's annoying to sit normally, and she has something else on her mind.

A lot happens in a few seconds as she walks to the middle of the court to give her demonstration. She lifts up her branded black T-shirt to reveal a plain gray workout top underneath. Her black shirt awkwardly catches on her squeaking balloon-hair as it simultaneously inflates.

"... I know I already have some stretch clothes from home."

The gray top tightens across her chest as she expands, conforming to the shape of a sports bra by the time she puffs up to about Mala's size. Once she's freed her hair from her small tee, it spreads out into a raft of blue pool noodles.

"So! I'm Julie!"

"... but, they were saying you have access to a lot of new materials, so..."

Of course, she just keeps inflating. Her shorts tighten around her legs and don't leave much to the imagination, but they seem to avoid ripping apart, at least. Now the size of a modest parade float, Julie looms over the class, her body seemingly unable to decide whether it should puff into a sphere or double up on her exaggerated muscles and boobs.

"And this...!"

Her puffed-out face blushes a bluish-pinkish color.

"... I thought maybe we could come up with something a little less clingy?"

Feeling defensive, she oscillates between Ball Mode and Amazon Mode as she demonstrates her strength. She rockets to the ceiling and takes out a light fixture with one breath, then blasts back down and crushes the fixture with an unsettling combination of *screeak* and *WABOOMF*

Eager to get her shirt back on, she shrinks back down to normal and walks back to her spot without another word.

[Ridai]

Being the last one, Mala steps out to the designated place, among craters, broken equipment, holes, scores in the ground and whatnot, looking calm and collected. Her natural poise is in full effect as she walks, then turns to the class, putting her hands behind her back and inclining her head with an apologetic smile showing through her eyes.

"I wish I could follow up all those amazing displays you showed, but I'm afraid my Quirk isn't much to look at. Sorry, everyone!" While outer Mala happily throws that icebreaker out there, inner Mala just wants to curl up in a ball. Behind her back, she is squeezing her hands hard. Her somewhat muffled voice becomes a bit less chipper in preparation for what comes next.

"My name is Mala Deena Kingsley, nice to meet all of you. There really is no good way to show my Quirk, as my body produces high-powered pathogens, slow and fast acting, which I can transmit by touch or by short-range aerosol. As side effects, I am always sick, no known diseases and poisons seems to work on me, and my body heals injuries relatively quickly." Outer Mala pauses, inner Mala doesn't want to look at anyone right now.

"My suits are there to avoid accidental contamination by touch, aerosol, or bleeding. If it looks like I am avoiding you, it is not because I dislike you, but because I am required to avoid unnecessary contact at all times, as the chance of an accidental infection even with the suit is not zero. Lastly, I need to mention that all measures taken to prevent contamination and informing you of the dangers my Quirk present are strictly required and enforced by the CDC, as is mentioning that these are regulations by the CDC." Outer Mala does her best to keep her calm.

At this point, she should probably end her little speech. Inner Mala is so wound up at this point that the distance between her and the class feels like a huge gulf. "I'm... I'm sorry if me being near you upsets any of you. I will try not to cause problems." She would like to tell them that everything will be fine, but that is the sort of things she specifically is not allowed to say, or anything that might make people careless.

Standing opposite of the crowd, just walking back into it feels like something malicious to do, even if she stood there before, feeling unclean. So after a moment of hesitation, Mala walks off towards the side of the crowd, trying to keep her composure while just not wanting to be there anymore in the inside.

[Esprit15]

Mala can probably hear at least one pair of hands clapping off to the side from Mira, trying to make her new friend more comfortable.

[Elricaltovilla]

Shin watches the other class members demonstrate their quirks. Clapping is awkward for him with the way his springs reverberate, so instead he snaps his appreciation. There are some definite standouts in the class: a girl who could teleport through glass; the kid with drill arms seemed a lot like Shin with a simple, straight forward quirk; the balloon girl seemed like she also had a quirk that worked like Shin's. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all.

[Elricaltovilla]

End of Class

Yellowstar claps his hands together as the last person finishes their quirk demonstration.

"I'm glad to see everyone has had a chance to show off what they can do. I know that not everyone here has a flashy or obvious quirk, but don't let that discourage you. Subtle quirks are often far more useful in heroing than simply being able to punch a badguy really hard."

He chuckles a bit at his own joke.

"I'd like you all to break up into groups now with some of your new classmates and take some time to get to know each other better. I know a lot of you may have met each other yesterday, but think of this as an opportunity to re-introduce yourself and make a new impression. As future heroes, it's important that you be able to work with just about any other hero you meet, because you never know what sort of situation might arise."

The class all starts to break up into small circles of kids, somehow leaving the six of you standing somewhat awkwardly by yourselves.


For purposes of your costume, assume you've earned yourself... 7 points of equipment/skills/abilities to add to your character through your costume. Why 7? Because we're all PL 7 and I'm still figuring out what I'm doing.

[Ridai]

Mala is grateful for Mira's support, even if the little bit of clapping makes the situation more awkward than total silence. When people are supposed to split into groups, she sees people quickly drift away, until only five are nearby. Luckily containing her new friends.

The bodysuited girl walks up to them, though keeping her usual respectful/safety distance. "Your presentations were impressive. Is... there still room in your group?"

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

"Sure! But I hope you still don't mind getting splashed once in a while!" Julie smiles, feeling a little better with the demo over with. This optimism doesn't make her any better at memorizing names, though. "You're, um... Mara, right? And Mila, and Holly?"

Hey, she got one right!

[Esprit15]

"Mira, not Mila. But yeah, there should be room."

[Ridai]

(Aren't the costume sessions sometime after this scene?)

"Mala. And I think I can take a splash or two."

[Elricaltovilla]

Shin hops over to the group, but hangs back slightly, remembering the unfriendly scolding he'd gotten yesterday. He bows to his classmates.

"Hello again. I am Shin."

[Comissar]

Holly looks a little embarrassed as Mira praises all the performances, giving a small shrug as if to say 'mine was ok'. She nods to confirm her name to Julie, then gives the others a small wave. "So, uh, I think I've already introduced myself to you all. But, uh, for those I haven't, I'm Holly. Nice to meet you."

[Elricaltovilla]

As the groups all congregate and chat among themselves, alarms start blaring throughout the gym. The windows of the gym burst inward, shooting glass all throughout the room. Heavy sandbags, painted bright red, drop from the cieling as large four legged robots, roughly the size of a small car crawl through the windows. They look heavily armored, and sport a pair of long, tubular arms that end in grasping pincers.

"Looks like it's time for your first test." Yellowstar announces. "The sandbags are civilians. They need to be taken out of the gym safely. The robots are villains. They need to be taken out. The people you're talking to now are your teammates. The team with the least amount of points at the end of the test will have to stay and clean the gym. Good luck."

[Steve-a-Saur]

Phil stood with his new classmates unsure of how to break the ice and still dirty from his latest excavation. He recognized Captain Cinnamon Buns, but the other three seemed to know each other. The only one he was nervous about was Patient Zero with her ability to make people violently ill. He tried to nonchalantly keep his distance from her.

Before he could open his mouth and say something stupid, everything happened at once. He jumped at the unexpected arrival of the giant robots slamming heavily into the ground and the sand bags that littered the floor. Hero school had officially begun. It was just his luck though. The giant robots were finally here, and he wouldn't be able to drive a fist through any of them.

"I got your exit covered!" He shouted over the battle noises as the rest of the class jumped into action, "Just toss them down the hole and I'll take care of the rest!"

And with a loud whirring of his drill arms, he disappeared in a thick cloud of dust, leaving behind only a hole which was easily large enough to fit a person but fortunately not a car sized robot. The bags in question had proven resilient enough. If they could survive a fall from the ceiling, then a short drop into his hole should be nothing in comparison. He angled his tunnel towards the nearest wall.

Spending a hero point to seize initiative to get the exit point ready to go. Digging a tunnel leading outside the gym.

[Ridai]

Suddenly, bots invade and they are thrust into a rescue training. No pressure. Outwardly, Mala does stay calm. "I can't help against the robots, I'll go get the civilians and draw fire!" She nods to Phil before he disappears. "This is a training about saving people. Treat the sandbags like people, competing with the other teams doesn't matter, just do what you can." What she says goes directly against what Yellowstar said, but she knows Star Academy seeks to make them heroes, not expert chuckers of sandbags. Even if the others won't do it, Mala will. She needs the practice, anything she can get.

Without further ado, Mala turns towards where the sandbags are and takes off, running at top speed. This is just training, but at the same time, they are constantly judged, ranked. The thought of failure enters her mind. The thought of living in that tiny cell. And it spurs her to run as fast as she can. She will not fail. She will not let her team down.

Extra Effort to add Speed rank +1 (Hero Point spent to ignore the fatigue caused by Extra Effort)

Skill Mastery for Athletics to take 10 for a result of 15, letting Mala move at +1 Speed, so together with Extra Effort, she moves at 120ft per move action. She spends two move actions to move 240ft towards the sandbags.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

"!!! Look out!"

Before we even know what the sandbags are for, Julie jumps to intercept one that threatens to fall on Holly's head. As a human airbag, she does her job as well as could be expected and has to catch her breath as she bounces back to her feet.

"*huff!* Protect sandbag people from robots! Got it!"

It might take a few moments to figure out what exactly the machines are programmed to do, but from what she knows of villain etiquette, collecting hostages seems like the logical thing to assume. As such, she sprints to ram into one that's approaching a pile of the red sacks.

[Esprit15]

Some flickering shadows outside of the windows betray the exercise, but Mira doesn’t fully pay attention until the alarms go off. As the other students begin making for the civilians, the aquatic girl smiles. ”Well, somebody’s got to take these machines down! Mira says, arms locking into place as she runs toward the nearest robot, releasing a punishing blow.
Smashing Fists
Attack: [roll0] Crit on 19-20
Damage: DC 22 Toughness (27 on a crit)

Linked Power: Dazzling Blows
DC 17 Fortitude (22 on a crit)
1 Degree of Failure: Vulnerable and Dazed
2 Degrees of Failure: Defenseless and Stunned

[Comissar]

Holly gives out a surprised yelp as the gym abruptly erupts in a frenzy of action. Mentally berating herself as she has to be saved not five seconds into the exercise, she gives Julie a hurried nod of thanks, then rushes to the nearest sandbag. "I'll help get them clear!"

As she ran, she cast around for the biggest piece of glass she could make use of to close the distance. Racing forward, she threw herself along the ground feet first, sliding and dropping down through the glass pane into the mirror gallery. Where before it had been a peaceful vista, ordered panes giving views into greenery and the gym, now there were harsh, jagged edges in a chaotic mosaic of kicked up dust and whirring robots.

Finding the largest pane she could, she peered out, trying to come up with a plan of action.

I guess a perception to spot two bits of glass that she could use to close the distance quicker than just running the whole way?

[roll0]

[Elricaltovilla]

SHIN

Shin leaps into action, jumping across the gym to grab a sandbag and leaping back to his group.

"I agree. We need to focus on getting the civilians out of danger. I can cover a lot of ground, so I will try to get the civilians back here." Shin offers as he sets the sandbag down.


Move action to jump to a sandbag. Standard action to pick up the sandbag. Extra effort to get another move action to leap back to the group. Spending one Hero Point to negate the fatigue from extra effort.


GM

The robots all spread out and advance towards the class. Some position themselves over the sandbags while others move along the wall to flank.

Your classmates all leap into action, rushing to grab sandbags or assault the robots. One boy shoots a blinding beam of light from his arm, and another sprays a jet of water. A pink haired girl throws a glob of sticky pink gel that immobilizes one of the robots.

Holly spots some glass pieces that she can squeeze through and get into the fray more quickly.

Mira's flashing fist flies forward at the nearest robot.


Parry [roll0] DC 25
Tough [roll1]
Fortitude [roll2]

[Esprit15]

Mira shouts happily has she lands a solid blow and sees the machine begin to malfunction. Seizing the opportunity, she leaps onto the twitching machine and goes for a heavy slam at it.
Power Attack: Take -5 on attack roll, gain +5 on effect.
Attack: [roll0] Crit on 19-20
Damage: DC 27 Toughness (32 on a crit)

Reminder that active defense is 0 for it.

Linked Power: Dazzling Blows
DC 22 Fortitude (27 on a crit)
1 Degree of Failure: Vulnerable and Dazed
2 Degrees of Failure: Defenseless and Stunned

[Ridai]

Mala sprints to the nearest sandbag, picking it up.

"Holly! Where's the nearest shard you and a sandbag can fit through? Stay in that shard, I'll bring it to the bags!" she calls out to her teammate, looking for a sign from Holly.

Auto-success on sprinting

Move to cross the last 60ft
Standard to pick up a sandbag

[Comissar]

Holly nods to herself at Mala's plan, clambering out so that she was propped up on her elbows, halfway out of one of the larger shards. Yelling out "Ready!" she prepared herself for the first sandbag.

[Ridai]

Glad her muffled shout could be understood, Mala immediately closes the distance to where Holly is and passes the sandbag.

"I'll grab the shard, you stay mostly inside it while I bring you to the bags. I'll shield you from attacks. Okay?"

Hero Point to get another move action to move to Holly. Free action to drop the sandbag.

Mala will also use Interpose to protect Holly and the glass shard.

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

!!! Cool! ... Looks like Holly and Mira have a nice rescue thing going.

Julie returns her limited attention span to the robots. It looks like they're more focused on picking fights with students than on stealing the bags, which is good for a distraction strategy.

"Alright, robots! Let's see what your thread assessment thing says about THIS!"

She dives between the legs of the bot she's marking and quickly inflates herself to heave the big dumb thing off the ground...

Get'm!

Switch to Inflated form

Attack: [roll0] (Damage DC 24)
- On Hit: Free Grab using STR 9

[Comissar]

Holly takes the bag off of Mala, hurriedly stowing it in the gallery. She sags a bit at the weight, not used to hauling such heavy objects around, but gets it safely through the shard. She blinks at Mala's plan, then gives her a nod. "Got it!"

[Elricaltovilla]

Shin

Shin bounces away and grabs another sandbag. As he picks it up, one of the robots comes in and attacks him.


Attack Shin

Attack: [roll0] vs. Parry 20
Damage: DC 22


Julie

Though Julie's sudden increase in size is surprising, the robot manages to just barely avoid her attack.

Mala and Holly

Your plan seems to be working, none of the robots have noticed what you're doing yet, though some of your classmates have started running your way with sandbags as well.

Mira

Your fist smashes into the robot again. Completely defenseless, it has no hope of avoiding your powerful blows.


Toughness DC 27: [roll1]


Phil

You continue digging your hole, finally finishing and ready to use it.

[Ridai]

Mala is greatly heartened by, even grateful for seeing classmates on other teams joining in. She picks up the shard with Holly in it (since she wears gloves, she doesn't need to fear the edges too much) and sprints to the next sandbag, which also moves her closer to the others approaching them, so "civilians" can be evacuated quicker. Once there, Mala presses the shard against the sandbag, so that Holly only needs to pull it inside, which also serves as a demonstration for the others for what they need to do, Mala clearly ready to angle the shard so their classmates can quickly put the sandbags into the Mirror Gallery.

Mala also makes a mental note about everyone who is joining in.

Standard Pick up the glass shard

Move Sprint (up to 60ft) to the next sandbag (which also is closer to her classmates who want to put sandbags into the Mirror Gallery) and press the shard against the sandbag.

As before, Mala is ready to Interpose if anything attacks the shard or Holly.

[Comissar]

Holly quickly finds herself appreciative of Mala's efforts to reduce the strain on her. After moving just a couple of the bags, she's already feeling the strain in her arms. Even still, she quickly finds her work is cur out for her as multiple students join in with the plan.

[Esprit15]

Mira takes a second to savor victory over the machine, before running off to the next nearest one, starting the beating all over again. ”Just leave them to me, guys!”
Smashing Fists
Attack: [roll0] Crit on 19-20
Damage: DC 22 Toughness (27 on a crit)

Linked Power: Dazzling Blows
DC 17 Fortitude (22 on a crit)
1 Degree of Failure: Vulnerable and Dazed
2 Degrees of Failure: Defenseless and Stunned

[Dr.Gunsforhands]

Julie faces the stupid robot with her torn shirt in hand. Oh, come on! I JUST did this. How do I forget about it as soon as robots get involved?

Over her shoulder, she hears Mira smashing in her second 'bot and telling the team to ignore the enemies while she takes care of the rest. Mira probably thinks she's being charitable by taking this job off of their hands. Julie doesn't take it that way.

"Hey! I can hold off some of these things too, ~thank you!~" The weird indigence in her voice is unlike the way she usually talks; the gas-filled chambers in her body give it a creepy pitched-up echo effect. Not to be shown up so easily, she takes another swipe at the machine to snatch it away from the bag-carrying students.

Same attack, same DCs: [roll0]

[Steve-a-Saur]

Great! Now with his escape tunnel all dug out, they could now ferry "civilians" out of the gym without risk of getting caught by killer death bots and having them hurt in the cross fire. Phil poked his head out of his hole, ready to do his part in the rescue operation.

He had expected everyone to follow his lead, instead two went to pick fights with the robots, two were fiddling with a pane of glass, and Captain Cinnamon Buns looked like he was going to try to rescue all the civilians by himself. Definitely not what he had in mind.

"Hey!? I thought this was supposed to be a team exercise. Why is everyone going off to do their own thing?"

As soon as he said this, he slowly came to the realization that he hadn't exactly stopped to explain his plan to his teammates. He just went and did his own thing and expected everyone to follow suit.

"Ahh... Damn it..."

Looking again, he saw the two with the pane of glass shove a civilian bag into the pane of glass they had. He hadn't realized that Alice could do that. Well, at least they had something that looked like a plan. He went underground again and dug his way to them. Popping up again, he asked:

"So what's the plan here? Does it really hinge on an easily breakable pane of glass in the middle of an army of killer robots? Do you have a backup pane it case yours breaks? Will you be able to find another one in time? Are you really expecting the civvies to be totally cool with this and not scared and confused at being shoved into a dimension totally alien to them, and to stay put where they are and not wonder off and becoming lost in mirror land forever and ever?

I'm not trying to bash here. We didn't exactly come together as a team and hash out a plan, so it's kind of my fault too. But we gotta come up with one before we get stuck with clean up."

As if to punctuate his statement, one of the giant robots crashed into the ground in a crumpled heap of metal, the teeth chattering impact sending vibrations through the floor of the gym as the robot sparked ominously.

"... I'm not picking that up. How about this? We find two more bits of glass and send one of them outside, that way we can port civilians through one mirror and out the other where they'll be safe outside the gym, the third we keep in a hole where it wont be shattered by bots, it'll be our backup. Macy, Rainbow Bright and I will be the ones to keep the robots off you while you do the rescuing, and Captain Cinnamon Buns can use his extendo-arms to rescue civvies who are out of reach. I know its not the best plan, but its the only one I can think of at short notice so if you have a better idea-"

There was a loud clang, and Phil caught side of Captain Cinnamon Buns sailing through the air, spring-like limbs flailing about like a rag doll. Great. Cinnamon Buns over extended and got himself into trouble.

"Fantastic... see if you can flag down Macy and Rainbow. I'm gonna go rescue Cinnamon Buns. If it gets bad, dive down the hole where the bots can't get you. Be right back!"


Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas

[Ridai]

While pushing the glass against the sandbag, Mala is thoroughly confused why Phil is stopping to have a lengthy discussion in the middle of what amounts to a crisis zone. This isn't a real life-or-death situation, but it still strikes her as against the purpose of the training to ignore an active threat with what is supposed to represent people caught in the crossfire. As much as she dislikes cutting someone off, she does so regardless. She can't stick around talking out in the open, not while she is supposed to be rescuing people

"Glass is the fastest way for everyone nearby to evacuate as many people as possible safely. Make more evac routes, let students know about them! Your hole over there is way too far away for someone with normal human speed." Evidently, Mala does not care at all whether other teams will also benefit from the glass evac route, or whether they might win or lose the game. Just that "people" need to be saved as quickly and safely as possible.