Molly jumps for joy and hops on the spot. She loved King of the Hill! She turned to James with a big, pearly white grin and a giggle before properly introducing herself. "Oh, yeah. The name is Madame Smash, but you can call me Madame or Molly or whatever." She was getting easily sidetracked by her excitement, and shook her fists in anticipation. "Oh man, my brothers and I used to play King of the Hill ALL the time. This is gonna be great!" She hopped from leg to leg and tried to dismiss some of the tightness in her muscles, feeling very energetic as her hair bounced with her with every step.

((Apologies Scarlett, my work schedule puts me at a slight disadvantage against those who can post quicker. Ergo I just try to post in a way that makes sense chronologically even if it makes things harder on my characters.)) As Violet offered Dimitri a position on her team, Dimitri fell in with the group without complaint. "Works for me, thanks for the offer.", he whispered in return so as to avoid incurring the wrath of Jinx. The co-headmaster, as it seemed, was becoming further agitated by the tardiness of her students as time went on, and the last thing he needed now was her perceiving his talking as disruptiveness. "King of the hill, huh? Haven't played that since grade school. I wonder how this version will be played." Dimitri mused as he eyed the co-headmaster with anticipation.

Ariella turned her attention back to Jinx as she spoke about their training. The King of the hill. She had no idea what that game was, so all she did was stand next to her team. Which was Shane, Molly and James. Hopefully someone else will join them, since it was suppose to be a group of five students. Ariella, being confused she asked her teammates. "Umm...what does King of the hill means...? Do we have to fight or something?" asked curiously, crossing her arms close to her chest, staring at her team.

"Put simply,there will be a position that all teams will be trying to take. Once taken it must be defended to prevent the other team from taking it." This was a game he had played, but never in real life. This was usually something he was more accustomed to seeing in a video game. But the same basic rules applied. It would be the other rules that would change things up. What were they allowed, or not allowed, to do to capture and defend? No doubt they would get an answer soon enough.

The sound of the waves as they crashed against the docks was accompanied by the honking of car horns, screeching of tires on the wet roads, the blaring of sirens and general noise of the city streets nearby. The air was wet and cold, it would rain soon. The perfect conditions for this job. Shane looked removed a yellow envelope from his bag. Opening it he found a picture of a warehouse along with a paper describing the detials and specifications of the job. The client was some rouge scientist is something, wanted something that would further his research, it didn't matter to Shane he just wanted the pay. "Alright lets see..", he said looking at the picture of the warehouse. It looked exactly as one would expect. Shitty but sturdy, the exterior walls were rusted and discolored. The main doors were huge and slid to the side rather than swinging open. The warehous itself was average size as well, the only thing that made this place unique was the security. The description in the envelope said it had guards on patrol 24/7 with watchtowers around the perimeter, barbed wire fences with key coded locks at every entrance, windows were locked and had alarms to go off if forced open, and the usual security cams...this would be easy.  "Alright, the main problem is the guard towers. Those spotlights are going to ruin my day if I get caught in it...they seem to be watching the fences so I just have to get past that and I should be good. The cameras can be taken down if I can figure out where it's being fed..this place was sloppy, it'd be harder to take down the cameras if they fed the video wirelessly to the monitors but these were wired directly to one of the towers. These guys were asking for this, if anything they should thank me. If I didn't break in here they wouldn't find all these problems in their security. Alright lastly the key codes, the guards on patrol will probably have them, I just gotta take on without them noticing. Time to get to work", the plan was formulated and Shane began his assault on the warehouse. He ran over to the fence after the spotlight passed his area and pulled out his bolt cutters. It took a few seconds, mostly because it's been dulled down slightly, but he managed to cut a hole big enough to crawl through and was in. He had breached the perimeter and was on his way to the mark. But first he had to take out the cameras, whoever set up the security focused the cameras on the warehouse itself than the perimeter so he was free to go where he wish as long as he stayed out of the spotlights. He ran by each guard tower, four in each, and quickly examining each for the camera feed wires. Reaching the fourth tower he found the wires and cut them as well. "They should be on their way to check out the problem. Most likely check the cams themselves then the wires...I say I got about five minutes before this place is on alert", he though to himself before running towards the warehouse itself. There was crate by one of the walls and he slid over to it just as a guard was coming around the corner. "Come on just keep walking by..", he thought as the guard approached the crate. Unfortunately for the guard he decided to stop and turn in Shane's direction. As soon as he was facing Shane, the thief punched him in the throat stopping him from screaming. Next came a punch to the solar plexus, stopping his breathing and causing the guard to fall to his knees after which he received a swift and brutal knee to the face knocking him unconscious. "Should've kept walking..", he mumbled before dragging the guard to the crate and out of sight. "I'll just take that key of yours", he said as he ripped the key card from the guards belt.  Once inside he was greeted by the sight of dozens and dozens of crates stacked and lining the warehouse. "Doesnt seem to be anyone inside, for now that is", he thought getting the papers from his bag again. "Alright which crate are you in?", he asked as he inspected nearby crates. "Ok I'm looking for 193...193 193....there we go!", once he located the crate he dragged it out and away from the others. Taking out his wedge he forced it open to reveal a metal suitcase..that was locked. "Of course another thing to break into-", the sound of the warehouse door opening alerted him to the arrival of a guard. "Out of time", were his last words of the night as he bashed the suitcase open and revealing not only his location but the contents of a case. A vial, about as big as a prescription bottle, and it's contents as black as night. He grabbed it but just as the guard managed to tackle him to the ground. "You're going away for a long time punk, just make it easy on yourself!"  "You'd like that wouldn't you, fatass!", he yelled back before kneeing the guard in the stomach afterwhich Shane managed to pin him down and repeatedly punch the guard in the face in a brutal attempt to knock him out. He only managed to get 3 punches in before the guard grabbed the vial, which had fallen onto the floor nearby and hit Shane in the face with it. The vial shattered, sending the black liquid into his eyes, mouth, and cut face from the glass. The reaction was immediate and fast, Shane's blue pupils began to fade to white and his skeletal structure changed as well. He could feel every muscle tear as they were pushed by his breaking, bending, and moving bones. The pain was insane, he wanted to pass out, he should have passed out but whatever it wass that was doing this to him was keeping him conscious. Suddenly the darkness around him began to take material form, like a cloak or robe and within seconds it would completely engulf him. What went on inside is unknown but once that transformation was complete Shane was now in full control of his Riftman form. He pulled back the hood to the guard revealing a disturbing, grotesque face belonging to something no longer human. It grabbed the guard with its bony hands by the neck and squeezed hard until a sickening crack could be heard. The guard was dead and Shane was already long gone by the time the other guards had arrived to investigate.  The sound of someone calling his name broke him from his daydream, it was the night he got his powers and to him the proudest moment of his life. "What was that? Oh yeah sure. I'm Thief, or Shane. Whatever you like. So king of the hill huh? Should be simple enough"

Molly slid over next to Ariella and nudged her slightly with an elbow. "Don't worry about it, all we gotta do is get to 'the hill'," She made air quotes as she spoke, her tone was jovial but sarcastic, "And then once we have the hill, we just stay on it. Might have to push some people off, but as long as we stay up there, we'll win easy." Molly was still smiling and hopping about as she spoke, shaking off her arms and cracking her knuckles in anticipation. With an slight gasp, she turned back to the others, a hand clasped over her mouth. "Do you think they'll let me bring my hammer in?" She spoke with a quicker pace than usual and her heart was racing after the short workout, excited in anticipation of the coming game, she felt an intense need to just keep moving and bouncing on the spot.

Ryan looked around. "Well I guess I'm by myself." He shrugged and continued to wait.

Violet looks over at him. "No you're not! We could use another person. We only have three so far. If you come one, we have another and that makes four. If Jami says yes then we have a full group."

Ryan looked around. "Well I guess I'm by myself." He shrugged and continued to wait.

Mira was about to call Ryan over to her side, but she didn't have the chance as a different girl did. She shrugged and stood up, sitting on her desk. The thought of King of the Hill was exciting, and she had plenty of ideas as to how she could be defensive. As for offense, she could think of a couple things there too. "I also need a group."

"Good to meet you Thief." Not a particularly creative name to be sure but that didn't matter much. They had four which meant they had room for one. He hadn't been paying as much attention to who was joining the other team. Thankfully Mira announced that she still needed a team. He waved her over. "We have room for one more."

"Good to meet you Thief." Not a particularly creative name to be sure but that didn't matter much. They had four which meant they had room for one. He hadn't been paying as much attention to who was joining the other team. Thankfully Mira announced that she still needed a team. He waved her over. "We have room for one more."

Mira smiled plainly at the boy who invited her into his group, she walked over to him and observed the other villains she would be working with. They all seemed like people she would like, and so she brightened up a bit. "Thank you. Do you know the powers of the other group? It would be good information."

Shaking his head lightly to Mira's question. "I don't really know our own teams powers. If we want to work together on this we should get an idea what we all can do. We'll eventually learn what they all are anyway so..." Moving the team aside he put his hands together and spread them apart creating an iron bar between them. Doing the opposite it disappeared. "I can create and destroy solid matter." A simplified explanation but he didn't want to go through a super long checklist of what he could and could not make.

Ryan shrugged and walked over towards Violet's team. "I have experience with guns, blades, and have advanced regeneration." He listed off his skills.

Mira looked intensely at the metal bar, she poked it, just to see if it was real. "Wow. That's very amazing. My power isn't much. Just plants and animals." She dug through her pockets, searching for a small package of seeds. She grabbed one, checked the name, and sprinkled it onto the floor. She pointed at the seeds and like magic, a vine grew until it was as tall as Mira, it was thick, and heavily covered in thorns. She wondered if this would impress her teammates, probably not, seeing as it was just a plant.

Ariella looked at her team as they were now all formed up into a group of five. She was now about to get a bit shy and worried that she might do something bad in the group and eventually piss them off. It has happened before, Ariella always does something bad. It's not because she wants to do, just happens. Hopefully.. this time nothing would happen, good luck! As they were talking about powers and then James illustrating his own power. So cool! "That's really cool.... but I don't think I should show you guys my power though..." she smiled at them backing away a little from the team, only Shane knew what her powers were. Well he knew half of her powers not all of em. Now Mira showed off her powers... that was so cool and natural! Plants and Animals.. wow Ariella wished she had those powers, especially when she loves flowers and animals.

As the teams continue to split up, Jinx begins to speak, hoping that they will listen and become silent. "In this version of King of the Hill, you will have ten minutes to conquer a... fairly large 'hill'." She puts air quotes around the "hill" part of the sentence. "You will work together in teams. You can do anything necessary to make sure that you win. You can knock your opponents off the top by hitting, using your powers, anything that you can think of. The team that has the most players on the top of the hill by the end of the ten minutes wins." She smiles. "Losers have to be Mammoth's servants for the whole day." She looks around at the two teams. One contained Mira, James, Molly, Ariella, and Shane. Another contained Violet, Jack, Jami, Dimitri, and Ryan. She taps her chin, thinking. "I see that some of you have teamed up with your friends, as I have seen you walking around. Let's change that, shall we?" She looks at James and points at him. Then she points at Jack. "You and you. Switch teams. I think to see what happens when allies are pinned against each other." --- Violet nods at Ryan's list of achievements, only half listening as the headmistress begins to speak again. Her eyes widen as she tells James and Jack to switch. "What?" She stares at Jack, curious as to what he's going to do.

"As for me I'm...it's easier to just show you", Without having to say a word or even think on it Shane changed within mere seconds into the Riftman. The black robe hiding the true appearance underneath. What's more he could speak in this form, it was a low and sinister voice which seemed to echo but was not loud like Mammoth's. The Riftman's tone always sounded as if it was talking down to you even when Shane did not actually intend for it to be so. The only time it was different was when it would scream. A terrible, bloodcurdling scream which could chill the blood in one's body and freeze a normal human in fear. "In this form I can move objects with my mind, I can become invisible as well. My combat skills while in this form are not as effective but if I get a hold of one of them, they are finished" Shane looked over the members of the other group. "The only person I know over there is Shadow. The redhead, she controls shadows and can sense me when in this form if I'm invisible. So I can't use stealth on her but-", he stopped himself. Better they don't know about his mind link ability. "But I don't think that will matter, if there are objects nearby I can keep the enemy team at bay with telekinesis" He didn't show it but Shane was going to enjoy this. The look on the face of whoever he linked with would be priceless, the effect it'd have on them later. Even better. But what's this? Ariella seemed hesitant to show her abilities. He turned his gaze towards her, white eyes glowing through the shadow of the hood and spoke, "Don't be afraid, your powers are something to be proud of not kept hidden away...unless it's part of your plan to get an edge over all of us then by all means" he meant for that to come of jokingly but was not sure if it would be received as such what with this new voice of his.  Another surprise, a member switch. This should be interesting. It'd be fun to see if he holds back, however he wouldn't do the same for James as he barely knew him. "This should be interesting, welcome to the team. We were just explaining our powers. Yours?"

Well, at least he had the opportunity to see some of the others powers. Shrugging slightly he walked over to the other team without a word. He only knew Ariella a little bit and the rest not at all. That was fine though. Now to learn the other group. Not much changed really. He and Dimitri seemed to get along. He was a good sport. "Hello again Dimitri. I'll be your on the fly mechanic for this venture." He looked over his new team. Square one he supposed. "I'm Synthesis, but you can call me James if you'd like." He smiled lightly. "Would you like me to explain some of the others powers?"

Ariella saw Shane showing off his abilities. "...." now his powers were cool as well. What was she going to do to show off her powers? Explode some object up causing it to blow up into pieces? Or just freeze an object in the air..? So many options but she didn't want to show her powers to them. It was going to be pretty nerve wrecking... but she really have to show them her powers and Ariella would! As she was heading back to the team, listening to what Shane said. Which he was saying the truth, she should show off her powers. Ariella smiled at Shane. "Thank you, Shane... you are right.." "Sigh." And that was the twist...James was leaving the team, making Ariella a bit sad. Ariella sighed bitting her bottom lips while looking at the new guy joining their team. Hopefully this team would do something good... if anything, Ariella would have to drop out. "Fine.. I will show you my powers... but when the game starts.."

"Fine.. I will show you my powers... but when the game starts.."

"When the game starts you'll be fine. I have a plan that, if the opportunity arises, will make great use of your powers", This would probably be conveyed better if he was out of Riftman form but every time he was like this it felt comfortable and hesitant to change back. Ah to hell with it. His form returned to normal and away went the creepy demon voice. "As I was saying, if I use my telekinesis on an object I can throw it at the enemy and you can cause it to explode near them. It shouldn't hurt them, well I don't think it should, but most likely throw them back. Waay back"