---

---

Kana thought back to how direct her words came out. I should tone it down a little bit. I sound like I'm making a business transaction. Kana was sure she would do better acting friendly instead of pushing through social norms of how and when you ask personal questions. Kana read Marks body language in the wait for him to respond. He had defiantly not expect her to be so direct. Kana couldn't real blame him it came rather out of left field.

It took time for Mark to reply. It was a little longer then Kana liked to be let waiting. She was admittedly rather impatient. Finally Mark started to say something, but then just a quickly he stopped only getting out "I". Then he gave a shy chuckle. 'Oh wow' Kana thought growing a smile. 'Okay that was adorable' Kana told herself wanting to inform Mark too, but knowing that he wouldn't get it. Kana often picked out things about people that she found sweet or cute. These things didn't necessarily mean that Kana was trying to flirt or was looking for a relationship. They only mean that Kana simply enjoys peoples little expressions and sounds.

Once Mark finished talking and then revising his talking Kana nodded her head. "Nice, you should be a veterinarian once you get out of here....but only a cat veterinarian...do those exist" Kana knew that she was about to go on a tangent, so she quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, I well I guess I manipulate animals. I sort of just ask them to do things and then boom they do them." Kana explain while picking up her glass of coke she had gotten with her food. "That and I can sort of read minds a bit" Kana awkwardly and meekly pushed out. She quickly took a sip of her Coke through a straw to try and shield herself if there was going to be a bad reaction.

---

@Heathen
@Apokalipse

---

It would appear that the Redneck came over to her. She described their first encounter as "getting off on the wrong foot". Not that Mika would call it that - she wouldn't even describe their encounter as anything at all. But whatever the Redneck says. She wanted to make peace... still calling it much more than what it is. She didn't even need telepathy to tell that she got a rise out of Zoe - mission accomplish. However, as amusing as it was, Zoe was correct. There was no reason to continue transgressions. So far. "Cure?" Mika started off, holding her cup of tea with both hands. She cracked a smirk, "Now you're starting to sound like the Pure.... As if we are some disease that needs to be cured..." She said gently, before shrugging. Zoe was offering peace, but Mika wasn't buying it. No one would notice, but Mika switched from telekinesis to telepathy. She lost all the attunements she put on the China, but gained the ability to pierce minds. She attempted to dig into Zoe's mind - wait, what? Mika couldn't do it... when she could do it before. She tried again, but harder. She still failed to get into Zoe's mind. Come to think of it, Zoe's mental presence was also invisible. Damn it, that means Zoe has some means to shield her mind from Mika's power. Maybe she was a bit hasty in revealing her telepathy. Because the only thing that she could think of was that Zoe didn't have it up beforehand, but now has a reason to guard herself. Now that she knows that she's dealing with a Telepath.

Ugh, no matter. Mika will have to handle this herself. She switched back to Telekinesis, and grabbed the picture of hot tea, and poured some into her fine white cup. "We can discuss things over some tea. I did offer you some tea." It was less to give her tea, and more to add her her telekinetic influence to it, again. Because like hell if one of these rednecks will break her China. It appeared that Zoe heard of the Baozais, and their work. That meant she must know about their ties to the Saviors. She was somewhat incorrect, however. As far as Mika could tell, they haven't actually completed the cure. Or else her family would be world renown by now. "Everything you said was correct - except, it hasn't been completed yet. But enough of that - You are one of the Gambinos, I presume?" Yes, now Mika knows who Zoe is. She heard of the project to track down and assist Metahumans. They were similar in a few ways, yes, but oh so different where it counts. Still, if Zoe wants peace, then why should Mika decline? That might stop her from being annoying. "You are correct - we shouldn't be fighting. What I did was very... childish, and I apologize for that completely." Just saying that Zoe wanted to hear - Mika wasn't too sorry for what she said. She thought it was funny. "So, I'm..."

Mika was just about to introduce herself when another girl appeared out of no where and introduced herself. In the most uncivilized way. Doesn't she know who she's talking to? Whatever. Mika choose to ignore her, and turned towards Zoe, "As I was saying, I am Mika Baozai. You are?"

---

@Shard

---

The faint flame in Diego's cigarette died the second the boy absorbed the heat out of it. He heard someone coming, and that was what he did merely by instinct. He was underaged and the last thing he wanted to do was get in trouble for that. He placed the cigarette into his pocket, and stood straight up, with the guitar only held around his neck by it's strap. He looked around, he needed to make sure that whoever his guest isn't planning on causing him any trouble-

'... And you know what to do if he does... hehe...'

No, there was no need for violence. All Diego wanted to do was talk. However, this person didn't seem to want to talk in the first place - or else he would have walked up by now. Diego listened out for the sounds of someone playing a game. Yeah, that was the person he was looking. Which he followed until he reached the source, Diego hid behind some true, peaking through it. What he saw was some kid, a small kid, Diego almost thought that he was younger. It was just that the kid was... really effeminate (What male dyes their hair pink?). Playing some game. Well, even if he wasn't the guy who was spying on him, maybe he can make some conversation. When Diego took a step forward, Agni spoke.

'You can't really be considering talking to him....' Agni growled, 'He is clearly a waste of our time. I can tell he is pathetic just from his looks. It's best if we just turn around and let him continue.'

Diego closed his eyes, and tilted his head downwards. 'You don't know that Agni... either way, you do not make my decisions. I do.' Agni merely groaned in response. In truth, Diego felt a bit more comfortable talking to this boy, than those two girls. This has far less potential to end badly. He could feel it.

"Yo," Diego said as he showed himself to Casper. "You didn't want to be in that room too? I'm Diego, I came out here to practice my guitar, and....."

---

@TaliPaendrag

---

Great! The food here was simply excellent! Michelle was warming up to this place rather quickly, eh. Still, Michelle was a bit hungry. She had a big day tomorrow. One that meant that she would probably have to transform. That meant she needed as much of her strength as possible. Another plate or two would do the trick. Michelle quickly elbowed her way back to the main counter (Leaving her plates there, someone will clean it). Back at the counter, she stacked her plates with more food. Well, she figured that she would head back now. However, at the corner of her eye, she spotted a tiny, cute little thing with red hair. She was sitting by a boy before he left - but, is she even old enough to be sitting by boys? This girl was tiny, like, Michelle wasn't exaggerating when she said that. More importantly, Michelle thought that the students would be much, much, older. Still, she found the little girl kinda cute. That was enough to engage in a conversation - her first conversation here in fact. Michelle sat down next to the girl, and placed her plates down. "Well, well, aren't you a little young to be a student here?" She smirked, as she greeted herself, "I'm Michelle. What is your name, little girl?"

Casper was so into his game that he almost jumped out of skin when the other boy came to talk with him. Damn it, had he done something stupid? He knew that it was probably best not to sneak up on people. This guy was rather scary, to say the least. Was he in a gang? He looked like someone who’d be in a gang. ‘Damn it, Casper. Stop being so judgemental, he just said hello.’ That wasn’t all he said. As Diego introduced himself and informed the smaller boy of his reluctance to be in the cafeteria, Casper immediately loosened up a bit. Needless to say, he had been incredibly tense before Diego finished his sentence.

Casper reached his hand up and pulled his headphones off, blinking a few times before swallowing his social anxiety and replied. “H-hello…” He responded, analysing this boy who had introduced himself as Diego. Diego…that was honestly a very pretty name. ‘I didn’t say that out loud, did I? Oh, good…that would have been awkward…If this guy can read my mind, I’m fucked…’ “Y-yeah…it was really…uh…” The boy looked down for a moment, what was a good word to describe the situation in the cafeteria? “Crowded…” Yeah, that worked. Casper’s eyes continued to the guitar and he nodded slightly at what Diego said. “I…I saw you play on the boat.” The boy smiled softly, lowering his eyes as he spoke. “I think you’re…really good.” It was the truth. Casper couldn’t play an instrument to save his life and if he saw someone else able to play, it always peaked his curiosity. Perhaps he could learn, at some point.

“Oh…” He slipped the game console into his bag after turning it off and pulled the headphones out. “It’s okay if you want to smoke…” Admittedly, Casper disliked the smell and the atmosphere that came with smoking but he understood why some people did it. If he had a habit like that, he’d probably swipe the whole package right about now. He needed something to calm his nerves, especially after the wondrous welcome he had been given by his two close friends.

“I’m Casper…” The boy spoke quietly, lowering his head. “…by the way.” Diego didn’t seem like the most talkative type either and he seemed nice. ‘See? He’s not going to hurt me, you’re a judgmental ass sometimes, you know that, Casper?’ The boy managed a slight smile as he looked up at Diego. He did seem to manage to run into a few good people, too. “You have a…pretty guitar.”

---

_{In collaboration with @Mr Allen J and @Apokalipse}

---

"Blackmore." Ruben replied, turning his Brainvault to face the man. Harmon lowered his head a bit as Ruben continued, "What brings you. To our. Table. This evening."

What brings Mr. Blackmore to the table? Adam pushed his glasses up his nose. That was an easy one, really. Ruben was one of the strangest teachers the Academy had to offer. Not that Adam was going to say that out loud. "I spotted you over here and thought I'd say hello." He wrapped his fingers around his hands. "It's a new year, and I plan on getting to know as many people here as possible - student or teacher."

"I see." Ruben replied, "And you started. With the two. Of us."

"Yes, I admit that you, and Harmon, are two of the most... interesting, people I've come across."

"Interesting." Ruben mimicked the word. There was a brief pause between the trio as he looked around the cafeteria. "You have. An ample. Selection. To choose from." He said, "Even. After two years. I am still. Surprised. How nothing. Happens. At these. Banquets."

Ample selection? All Adam saw was a group of annoying, arrogant, students after the other. Once one leaves, two more replaces them. That left plenty to be desired. "Nothing happens at the banquets because at least some of the students have the common sense to refrain from causing trouble in a room of teachers." Adam quickly replied. He was quick to say "some" because there were students that did start fights at these banquets before. They were stopped in their tracks.

"There. Will be cause. For trouble. Later. I'm certain." Ruben responded. Another bout of silence between he and Adam before he continued with, "Do you. Agree. With the Headmistress's. Address."

In the brief bout of silence, Adam said, "... I hope not. There's already enough problems in this school." And he was being sincere. As for the Head Mistress... that was really a mixed bag. Adam agreed with some of her beliefs - just that some of them would cause more problems for the world. Or make existing ones worse. However, that's why Adam was going to take it upon himself to make sure that those problems are prevented in the first place. Because that's the only way this broken world will get better. By prevention. "No, I believe that we should take a more active role to lead the students along. Provide more than just power training."

"My. Thoughts. Exactly." Ruben replied, "Better measures. Should be. Employed. At least. For the more. Unruly. Cases."

"The Headmistress doesn't have too much say in how we handle the students," Adam replied, "She barely leaves her office unless something important happens. I can safely say we can - and likely already have - employ these "measures". Hopefully, the students will play along."

"Hope. Is not. Reliable." Ruben replied, "Action. Is."

Before any further replies could be made, the table suddenly gained a fourth.

“Hi, I’m Sawyer!” She presented herself with, “Are you two teachers?”

Ruben and Adam both turned their heads to face the girl. Harmon kept his down, however. And he continued eating his soup. There was, yet again, another bout of silence amidst the group. Finally, Ruben interrupted the silence with, "That seemed. Somewhat. Intrusive."

Sawyer frowned and a nasty annoyance rose in her, but she quelled it - no use making enemies. Sawyer sighed through her nose before replacing her smile and taking a bite of her food before saying a simple, "Sorry." Though she, truthfully, didn't sound sorry at all.

Adam glanced around the table for a bit before returning his vision to Ruben. "Do we..." He asked, "Continue our discussion, or...?"

"Later." Ruben replied, turning his attention towards Sawyer. "Let us. Welcome. The newcomer."

Sawyer's lip quirked in confusion and she shifted in her seat. This whole encounter was weird, but it was either this or Piper and, frankly, Sawyer would choose about anything over Piper at the moment. "So, what are your names?"

"Adam Blackmore." Came the first reply, "Head of power instruction."

"And I. Am Ruben. Geraltes. Tarblatt." Came the second, "Meta. Human. Studies. Instructor." He turned his head and motioned towards his compatriot. "This. Is Harmon. Rottlage. My. Assistant." Harmon did nothing but pass a quick glance upwards, the blank face beneath his hood becoming visible for a brief moment. His camera lied at the edge of the table, watching the altercation. He slowly lowered his head again.

"And you said your name was..." Adam spoke up, "Sawyer?"

Sawyer didn't see much of Harmon's face, but she caught a quick glimpse of pale flesh and cracks and she felt disgust swell inside of her. Swallowing it down, she took a vicious bite of her meat and chewed it thoroughly, swallowing that as well, before answering. "Yeah, my mom named me after one of her high school conquests." Then, remembering she was speaking to teachers, she amended, "Er...I mean boyfriends."

Another pause.

"Rather. Uncouth." Ruben replied.

Adam continued with, "New student, I take it? What are your powers?"

Sawyer raised an eyebrow at Tarblatt before turning her light blue-green eyes on Blackmore. "Ah, my powers! I gain the attributes of animals I touch. So far I only have a gorilla, a dog, and a cat under my belt. Yours?"

"Replicator. It runs in my family quite extensively." Adam replied. He gestured towards the other two and said, "Harmon's a technopath, as well as being able to teleport at will. Ruben... well, you can ascertain his abilities from his appearance. He's also a bit of a cerebral, so, there's that."

"That's interesting." Sawyer never really liked cerebrals; most of them had the ability and habit of invading others' privacy. Nevertheless, Sawyer decided that Harmon should participate more in the conversation and hoped that he wouldn't be overly uncomfortable with what she was going to do. Sawyer pulled out her phone, and under the table, texted a quick message to Piper. So not only was she attempting to make friends with the strange guy, she was pissing her sister off as well!

Her finger pressed send and she looked up from her phone and glanced at Harmon with a friendly smile. "Harmon, what does it say? The text message I just sent, I mean."

Harmon raised his head a bit. It took him a moment to muster up the gall to speak, but he got around to it. _{"H-... h-hi, Harmon..."}

"Wow, incredible." Sawyer muttered, and her phone buzzed with a reply. Smiling mischeviously, she raised an eyebrow at Harmon and asked, "What does this one say?"

Harmon lowered his head again. _{"I shouldn't say..."} He replied.

Chuckling, Sawyer pulled at her lip in amusement and said, "Yeah, that sounds about right." She quickly glanced down at the message and her amusement increased. "She's certainly becoming creative with her word choices."

"Sawyer." Ruben suddenly spoke up, "Question."

"Yeah?" Sawyer asked, a smile still on her sunscreen caked face.

"What. Are your current. Academic. Choices. For your time here."

"Unfortunately, I'm going to be attending the high school here." Sawyer supplied, taking a bite of a roll of bread.

"Have you. Selected. Anything. Above. Normal. Courses." Ruben inquired, "I ask. Because I. Am offering. A meta-human. Studies class. For all students. New. And returning."

"Sounds interesting. I'm game!" Honestly, Sawyer couldn't remember if she selected anything above her normal courses - though, if asked, Sawyer will give a firm no. To be honest, Sawyer had given Piper the choice of more classes or not, and she would blindly follow. But now...well, it might be that time to separate entirely from the evil Bitch of the West.

"Now, Ruben, c'mon." Adam said, "Are you going to start asking everyone that?" He turned to Sawyer and said, "I myself am offering a power usage program for all students as well. I think you may enjoy adavancing your abilities over learning from the past."

"She. Has made. Her choice. Blackmore." Ruben replied, leaning forward a bit.

Sawyer felt a little awkward...and a little amused. While historical things weren't her forte, she new the importance of learning from the past, but she also wanted to control her abilities. Well, it came down to this - Ruben asked first and she had answered. But, Sawyer decided that she would rather change the subject than cause a catfight.

"Are you going to take Tarblatt's class, Harmon, since your his assistant? Well, if your doing the whole academic thing, of course."

_"Y-yes..." Harmon replied, _{"I am..."}

"Harmon. Will be assisting me. With both demonstrations. And presentations." Ruben added, "His abilities. Are superb. In forming displays. For a variety. Of subjects. What's more. He is aiding me. In the construction. Of a side project."

"Cool, cool." Sawyer mumbled, "So, after you get your whatever-that-NEST-thing-is-called, are you going to stay here and continue to assist Mr. Tarblatt or..." She inquired.

"I..." Harmon replied, raising his voice just a little, "I might, uh... go back to... the Ivory Deer Community..."

Sawyer grabbed a bite of potatoes and some steak, nodding her head in perhaps a strange encouragement or a simple gesture of understanding. "Yeah, I plan on going back home to Highroller Heights. I'm hoping to travel at some point in my life, though."

Sawyer would elaborate, but all the talking has made her hungry and she dove into her food full-heartedly. She ate several different meats, a roll of bread, and various other foods, filling her stomach.

The time onward from there, at the table, was nothing more than idle chat and food.

The boy with the bright pink stripe in his black hair stood up and left the table almost immediately after Beth sat down, though he did return Beth’s smile of politeness. Beth wondered, albeit briefly, if she had done something to upset him as she watched him leave the cafeteria before she began digging into her food. Though she hadn’t realized it until then, she was actually quite hungry, having thrown up most of her lunch during the boat ride over to the island due to her seasickness.

Needless to say, the chicken parmesan was absolutely delicious, with the texture and strength of the flavor being just right, though she wouldn’t say that it was quite as good as her uncle’s. Due to her small size, however, she became full rather quickly, even when she was feeling ravenous. That, in addition to the contribution to her fullness from the glass of root beer that she had gotten, meant that she would more than likely be unable to actually finish her meal, let alone get seconds.

As she was eating, Beth was joined by a woman of darker skin that could only be described, by Beth at least, as gigantic, easily being five or six times Beth’s size, if not more. Despite how intimidating the woman appeared outwardly, she seemed nice enough as she introduced herself as Michelle. Of course, she seemed to believe that Beth was an actual child, which wasn’t surprising at all, as that was literally everybody’s initial guess as to her age.

”Sorry to burst your bubble,” Beth said after swallowing her mouthful of food, turning in her chair to face Michelle, ”but I’m not a little kid. I’m actually just a really short fifteen year old. And my name is Elizabeth Carson, but you can call me Beth. It’s nice to meet you.” After Beth had said her piece, she loaded her fork up with more food and slid it into her mouth, inwardly hoping that she hadn’t ticked the other woman off with her tone. That wouldn’t end well at all.

@bluemoon277

---

A smile cracked across Kanala's cheeks as Mark proved uneasy about admitting - or at least partially so, given she was, as of now, not aware of what truly made him less than human - the extent of his meta-human ability. It wasn't an easy thing for him to say, let alone word. He couldn't conjure fire, hurl pillars of ice, tamper with electronics from a world away, or even fly. He was set with what he had and pretty clearly it wasn't about to change; at most he could, as stupid as it sounded to him, improve on his feline art.

Crossing his arms atop one another at the table, Mark proved to remain fairly attentive - listening to Kana's reply, but his focus elsewhere on the people around him. Too much activity for his own liking, just too many people with too many capabilities. Not nearly enough security - not obvious ones at least. There weren't security teams he could see; no rifles, no police types, nothing. Either the academy was confident these people could manage, or they had something way, way scarier than NEST or any good natured students here.

Concealed eyes shifting back to Kanala, she finished with, "That and I can sort of read minds a bit."

That wasn't what caught Mark's attention, it was the bit before; the bit about manipulating animals. Overlooking what it was she just said, he thought to himself with a bit of concern.

Control animals...?

It sent a bit of concern into Mark's person, as that worried thought crossed his mind; the concept of being toyed with like a puppet by someone. Previously he thought it harder to toy with his mind, given he had, at least in a feline shape, essentially two psyches coexisting; one him and the other the animal's inherent persona. Sure each cat was different, Mark "knew" quite a few through his ability to live through them and had done so frequently in his search to understand who he was and what was to become of him.

Pacing himself this time, aware he was keeping Kanala company here at the table, he replied.

"I know specialists exist for certain animals, but they sent mere here for more than just that." Mark spoke, bring up the topic to quickly switch gears with the intent that Kanala wouldn't catch on.

"Read minds a bit?" He said, transitioning topics whilst attempting to remain elusive to some extent - the whole time he tried to train his attention on her and less his introspective moments.

The most he could do was sort of push aside the reality that he was getting more and more accustomed to the transformation; it wasn't panic anymore. It was become smoother, more familiar and most of all... comfortable. Still by no means a mastery, but if he had the option and choice, he wasn't about to let the only person he had met know he toed the border between human and inhuman a lot. It was bad enough that his mannerisms - the way he sat now, sort of protective of his seat and the food of which he hadn't even begun eating - were tainted with predatory (feline) qualities, but those he could at least pass off as quirks of his personality.

---

---

Kana took a large bite of sushi as Mark talked. Crunchy rolls had and will probably always be her favorite type of food. The large roll unfortunately filled her mouth almost completely. It caused her to have a little bit of a chipmunk face. Kana quickly swallowed not want to look so foolish. Mark seemed to be a very precise person. He looked as though he was on the edge almost the whole time they had been talking. Kana first noticed when they sat down. Mark had been searching the room as though someone was about to attack him. Even as Kana spoke it seemed his mind was elsewhere. Kana wished she knew what was running through his head. Sometimes Kana really wished she could control her mind reading.

Kana grabbed a napkin and touched her face lightly, having a bit of a nervous tick when it comes to making sure her face was clean. Setting down the napkin lightly Kana thought over how glad she was that Mark simply smoothed over the reading minds thing. '10 points for Gryffindor' Kana thought with a small smile. cutting a piece of sushi in half, something Kana hated doing, she continued to listen to Mark.

"I know specialists exist for certain animals, but they sent mere here for more than just that."

Kana paused for a minuet to ponder what Mark meant. They sent him here for more then just a Nest certificate thingy. What else could they of sent him here for? Could he be meaning he was meant for some special program. Maybe he was the army's new secret weapon. Kana threw around ideas in her head most of them being rather silly and overly positive. This was interrupted by Mark pulling her back to reality.

"Read minds a bit?"

Kana squished up her mouth to the left. She set down the piece of sushi she was about to eat in order to reply to Mark. "Yeah uhm every now and again people think things and I hear them" Kana explained her entire demeanor slowing down and becoming awkward. "Like on the boat this little boy thought a large black girl was going to steal from him" Kana gave the example looking only down at her food.

---

@Shard

---

Huh? He thinks Diego is good at the guitar, when he hasn't touched it in ages. What he was doing was failing at playing anything remotely like a guitar. He was just trying to be nice. Diego just passed it off as patronizing and continued. He crossed his arms over his chest and continued to listen to Casper. The lingering taste of his long passed cigarette keeping him distracted... he wish he could continue smoking it, but he rather smoke another later than not at all (Though, Lupe could always get him more). Diego listened intently, hoping to find out more about his new acquaintance - making the most out of his first real conversation. He could tell that Casper lacks confidence, he can tell.

'Hmph... you say that like you have confidence of your own.' Agni muttered. Maybe he has a point. Maybe he's just taunting him. Doesn't really matter, honestly.

"Nah." Diego said as he took steps back and leaned up against the tree that was behind him. "I... I can smoke later, it was pretty stupid for me to be smoking indoors like this." He followed that statement up with a shrug. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. It was just that he needed the nicotine rush and that was enough to cloud his judgement. Not that he was a perfect straight-thinker to begin with. Plus, he wasn't going to start smoking right in front of Casper. Second-hand smoke kills. He rather do it when he's all alone. Alone with his thoughts.

Alone with that demon of his.

Finally, the kid introduced himself as Casper... Heh. Reminded him of that movie a few years back when he was just a little kiddy. If Diego could get over that name, he thought that Casper was a bit younger than him. A lot younger.... however, the way he acted swung those thoughts right back around. He seemed older, more composed. Still, Diego can feel the youth resonate off of him. His size, his facial features, the way he was glued to his videogame - all signs of youth. Plus, no self-respecting young man would dye his hair - especially not pink. Whatever is the case, it wasn't Diego's place to question what Casper chooses to do. But, three years ago, Casper would be a prime target. Weak looking, strange, more. He would warn Casper... but, he digresses, that isn't good conversation. They just met, - this being literally their first conversation - should Diego overstep his boundaries?

A quick subject change (In his mind) came when Casper mentioned his guitar. Calling it "pretty". Well. That's a pretty strange thing to call it, but hell if he was going to pass up a compliment when it came. Diego grabbed the guitar from behind his back, and grasped the neck of it - not too tightly, he didn't want to damage it, given his body heat. "This thing?" Diego angled the guitar a bit so Casper could see it. "My... Grandmother gave it to me. She used it a lot before she retired, and gave it to me." Damn, he missed grandma Cecilia. He never really appreciated her when she was alive. God bless her soul. Well... If old age hadn't killed her, then knowing that one grandson went to jail, another died, and her son is comatose, would have put her in the grave. "She taught me how to use it and I used to be really good at it...." That's where he stopped talking for a moment. Damn. He didn't want to talk about what happened.

He realized that he was standing here with the guitar, completely silent.

'Smooth.' Agni laughed.

"Shut u-" Diego, unintentionally out loud, said - cutting himself off before he looked even stranger. Though the damage was already done. He cougheed, before quickly coming up with something. "... That's a cool game you got there." Diego quickly said. "I don't really play games all that much, but what games do you like?" Not that Diego was a gamer - or that he knew what recently came out.

---

@TaliPaendrag

---

The second she was told that the lil' bit was fifteen, Michelle broke out in a loud fit of hearty laughter. Grabbing her gut - because it was just so damn funny! Kids these days must be getting smaller! Michelle stopped laughing, keeping that smile on her face as she said, "What, didn't your parents tell you that drinking milk will make you big and strong?" Just after she said that, Michelle flexed her arm. Little Beth was no thicker than Michelle's leg. Because, even before her power manifestation, Michelle wasn't that damn small. Or her depth perception is going to shit. She hoped that the girly girl was just small. She introduced herself as Elizabeth - or just simply Beth. Michelle took a bite out of her chicken, and shrugged. She said, "Nice to meet 'cha! I'd offer to shake your hand, but I think I'd break it." She said with a brief bout of laughter. Laughter to keep things relaxed. Michelle knew that Elizabeth would feel a bit intimidated by her - because It was just natural! A mouse would be afraid of a lion - so Michelle would apply the same logic here. Which was also "just natural".

After that, Michelle finished her plates of food. She pushed the now empty (And terribly dirty) plates away from herself, and grabbed a napkin, wiping her face clean of any bits of pieces of food. Because she crumpled it up and threw it on the table. That was gonna be her last plate of food for today. She'll have enough strength for tomorrow. For now, she was going to focus on her little guest. What now? Seems like, after they cleared up the misunderstanding, they ran out of conversation. Small talk? Eh. Michelle wasn't the type for that - but if there was no options other than silence. Long as it didn't get too personal, things would be dandy.

So.... Michelle sat upright, crossing her arms, "You lookin' forward to anything in particular, lil' bit?"

If there was one reaction from Michelle that Beth hadn’t expected when she revealed that she was actually fifteen years old, it was laughter. And not just a quiet chuckle, but a deep, hearty laugh that drew the eye of more than a few of the people around them. Her comment regarding the benefits of milk to a person’s growth was also quite surprising, more so because it indicated that Michelle didn’t understand that Beth was so short because she had a medical condition, though her misconception was understandable considering the fact that she towered above even tall people.

”They might have, but I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t have helped,” Beth said, cocking her head a little bit to the right while watching Michelle flex an arm that was thicker than she was at the shoulder. Michelle was not someone that Beth wanted to make angry, that was for sure. ”See, my body doesn’t produce enough growth hormone, if it still does at all. In other words, I’m a proportional dwarf.”

The idea of shaking Michelle’s hand elicited a small giggle out of Beth, though mainly because of the mental picture of Michelle’s hand completely engulfing her own hand and wrist. ”I don’t think that I’d even be able to shake one of your fingers, let alone the whole hand,” Beth replied, giggling slightly again in response to Michelle’s laugh, which was honestly a bit contagious.

Feeling full, Beth pushed her plate forward on the table a little, though there was a good bit of food still on it. Unfortunately, that was the norm for her, as usual portion sizes were far too large for her to actually finish. So, instead of grabbing another forkful of food like she wanted to do, Beth grabbed a napkin from the holder in the center of the table and wiped away the sauce that had managed to get on her mouth, setting it on the plate once she was done.

Apparently, Michelle had also gotten full, as her plates, which had been laden with significantly more food than Beth’s had, were pushed away from her and ignored. She also seemed interested in continuing their conversation, turning to face Beth and crossing her arms before asking if there was anything that Beth was looking forward to.

”I’m not entirely sure,” Beth replied after taking a moment to think about it. ”I guess I’m looking forward to learning how to keep my powers in check, but I’m also looking forward to finishing high school.” Having nothing but the flier, of which she couldn’t read more than a sentence here or there, and her uncle’s brief and limited explanations, Beth wasn’t entirely sure what all the Academy was about except for preparing Metahumans for public life.

”But what about you?” Beth asked politely, curious to know if the larger girl had any goals in attending the Academy that might shed some light on what they were all about without Beth having to expose her ignorance on the matter to Michelle. ”Is there anything that the Academy offers that you’re particularly looking forward too?”

Smoking indoors was never a very good idea, not that smoking itself was great for your health, but subconsciously, Casper appreciated that Diego would keep the cigarette out of their conversation. The gentle smile on his lips would perhaps describe such an appreciation. Diego was a lot sweeter than his appearance would let off at first sight and his voice was so calm, so quiet. Casper wasn’t good at reading people but judging from the larger boy’s appearance and personality, maybe he had gone through a few notable things which brought him here. Though, all of that could just have been judgemental bullshit. Anyone can look like however they damn well please, but Casper had a tendency of letting his thoughts travel when seeing other people. It was honestly a defence mechanism, he just liked to analyse people in an attempt to see what was hiding behind their faces. It was good to know.

The conversation continued towards Diego’s guitar. It was given to him by his grandmother, it would seem. “That’s sweet…” Casper smiled, leaning back against the tree. He never knew his grandparents. Actually Casper’s family was incredibly small. Most people on his mother’s side he had never met, or even knew that they existed, and on his father side, war had ravaged through the family. Apart from his aunt Naya and his uncle Olaf, he didn’t know what else hided within the Hayat or Sjöstrand families. Naya usually visited during the holidays but Olaf was rarely ever present in anyone’s life. He was a man with a lot of money and no time, rather spending his time at whatever office he was working at. It must have been horrible to never see your father because he was working all the time. “H-hey…” Casper continued, cutting out of his thoughts. “You’re still good…” It so typical for people with skill to be humble and deny their abilities. Perhaps in someone else’s eyes Deigo would need a lot of practice, but to Casper, he was good. “N-no one at home plays an instrument…” The smaller boy shook his head.

Khalil was into a lot of things but he never picked up an instrument. It was rather curious, actually. Being the spiritual man that he was, one would expect him to enjoy such artistic methods of getting one’s feelings out. If he didn’t spend so much time doing yoga when he wasn’t at the store, perhaps he would have learned how to play an instrument.

Actually, Casper did try to play the guitar…once. “I…” He started, but looked down slightly as he spoke, was he blushing? “I tried to play guitar once…” The boy looked down on his hands as they fiddled together like they always did when he was insecure. “I-it hurt my fingers too much…” God, that must have made him sound like a bigger pansy than Diego probably already thought.

Diego’s sudden outburst caught the smaller boy off guard, but he quickly stopped himself. Casper looked at him and blinked a few times in confusion. Was what he said that corny? Well, yeah, it was. At least Diego wasn’t laughing at him, that would have been a bit worse. Though who’s to blame, really? Some things just shouldn’t be said to people you just met.

“Oh…” Casper’s eyes trailed down to the portable game console in his bag. His Playstation Vita was, as pathetic as it sounds, his only friend. It was the one thing that kept him busy between classes and the one thing that would keep his mind off of everything else that was happening. Well, that and shooting things. On the island he didn't really get many chances to indulge in the latter, however. “I…” What was he suppose to answer, exactly? ‘I like games where you kill shit because it makes me feel good!’ “I like…action games.” Yeah, that worked, that sounded a bit better. He found them both entertaining and an escape from reality. In there, Casper could actually be someone, he was actually worth something. He would have gone on a rant, telling Diego exactly which games he likes, Final Fantasy, Ninja Gaiden, Devil May Cry, Metal Gear Rising, Metal Gear Solid…but he wasn’t going to. He already had a 'pansy stamp' on his forehead, it was best not to add ‘geek’ next to it. “I also airsoft…a lot…” And he was actually good at it! That wasn’t so corny, was it? People seemed to like action stuff so why would that be any different. It should totally have made Casper popu-…no, never. ‘Don’t even think like that, idiot…’

@bluemoon277

---

Seeing Kanala set to the sushi on her plate, Mark followed suit; it had been some time since he had even had sushi - it wasn't exactly cheap, or even really plentiful. It reminded him of the time before all of this, even before his father died. It was sort of a rare occasion to eat it, but the academy made this celebratory banquet overboard as it was, making sushi one of the more tame and comparatively less exotic things they presented. Mark had sort of gleaned over everything else there, keeping to what Kanala had more or less chosen to eat, as he considered it impolite to choose otherwise.

After all, he didn't know what her qualms were with other foods.

That said, he toyed with the chopsticks between his fingers, getting accustomed again as to how to even use them. That knowledge returned as Kanala talked, drawing Mark's attention to her more so as she described a scenario aboard the boat they came in on. Mark had been asleep then, which begged the question - or so he thought - if that made one's thoughts more difficult or easier to read; he assumed more difficult as the subconscious was a confusing, often illogical place.

All the same, Mark noted the sudden change in Kanala's voice and demeanor, listening as he took up a piece of sushi and quietly ate; doing his best to provide her an answer when he finished eating. Setting down the utensils and drinking from the condensation covered glass, Mark continued the conversation.

"I get the sense that it is an awkward thing to contend with." He said simply.

But you're not the only one who deals with the uncomfortable. His thoughts continued, on a mundane undercurrent as he dabbed a roll into the small basin of soy.

If Kanala did hear him, she'd likely get the sense there was more to what Mark was capable of. This didn't worry him, as at this point he realized there was a chink in her armor; a point of weakness. She visibly felt uneasy and somewhat awkward about her psychic eavesdropping, as unwilling for both her and her mark at the same time. This, in a way, made Mark far more comfortable; it took the focus off him. Not to use Kana as a distraction in the conversation, but to do his best to preoccupy the matter for the time being.

After all, if she was going to learn about what he really could do, short of empathic powers, he'd rather not make it known here. He had no doubt there would be a class where that would get brought up.

_@Heathen

---

Mason had spent the rest of the boat journey taking photographs. He hadn't really intended on following through with the idea, which had been born from a need to escape the conversation on the upper deck, but now that he was here with his camera it seemed like a fabulous idea. At least it would distract him until they docked at the island, where he hoped his attention would be grappled by other things.

As they drew closer still to the island, the details of the academy became more apparent. It was a large and quite beautiful building, with architecture that towered upwards and suitably ancient-looking brickwork to match; the whole building was, Mason felt, more influenced by the Germanic fortresses of Old England, and not the more Gothic designs that emerged in the years that followed. Regardless of its inspirations, the building looked magnificent on camera; the sea reflecting the sun's natural light and casting a pleasant warmth over the whole façade.

Soon enough, the boat was moored and the students were allowed to disembark in an organised fashion. Mason was pleased to have his feet on solid ground for the first time in hours; as enamoured as he was with the sea, there was only so long he could spend on a ship before he began to feel both ill and restless. His hand was shaken by a plethora of staff members, none of whom stood out enough for him to register their faces or learn any names. The whole affair was quite plastic in that none of the welcomes felt particularly sincere; it was an orchestration of policy. Mason didn't care much as soon as they were lead through the academy and into a large, outdoor auditorium.

Mason sat towards the back, surrounded by people he did not recognise; he wasn't sure if they had been on the boat with him or whether some students had arrived previously. Regardless, it did not matter, as there wasn't any time to strike up much conversation; like the rest of his short time on the island, everything moved with swiftness and efficiency. A pale woman with a pinstriped suit and an air of authority took to the stage, accompanied by a man who looked similarly tough. He half-listened to the speeches they gave; the logic thinker in him wanted to know the details, but the prevailing artist grew bored of the protocol and was distracted by the beautiful scenery. He absorbed most of the important information.

Before they had gotten too comfortable, all the students were whisked into a grand dining hall where a feast of sorts was being served. The situation made him uneasy and, though his stomach growled in protest, he decided against queuing for any food. He visited the beverage station and served himself a strong black coffee, taking a sip of the dark drink and wincing. It was as unappealing as it always was. With his coffee in hand, he began to search the hall for a place to sit, but it was predictably packed with students and the feat proved difficult.

As he hoped to spot Casper, or perhaps Kana, his eyes were pulled to one table in particular. The man who had been on stage a few moment earlier was sat there, but this wasn't what captured Mason's gaze. A grotesque, fleshy body sporting a helmet that could have been taken straight from an 80s sci-fi movie chatted with the other diners, its voice robotic and cold. Mason spotted one of the twins from the boat chatting to the fourth guest at the table, who wore a hood. Though, as he looked up at the girl, Mason caught glimpse of his face and his mind recoiled. He was as strange as the creature beside him, near feature-less aside from a cracked, sore-looking mouth. He didn't even have eyes! After the initial second of shock dissipated, Mason's imagination began to churn and his curiosity urged him to sit at the table. Alas; it was already very full and engaged in conversation. He didn't want to intrude.

He spotted another table directly opposite this one, at which only one man sat. Mason spotted him smile at the strange-looking people across from him and felt at ease. If this guy could accept them so freely, Mason saw little reason that he might be rejected. He hoped this became a recurring theme; everyone in the school was as equally freakish as the other. Hopefully there would be a sense of camaraderie.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" Mason asked politely, before sitting anyway a few spaces away from the man. He couldn't see his face all-that-well, but he did spot a septum piercing. Mason touched his nose absent-mindedly as he sipped his coffee, remembering where his own piercing had been a year or so before. Looking for something to do until he was allocated a room, he flicked on his camera and started reviewing the shots he had taken on the boat.

---

@Shard

---

Diego was glad that he didn't blow the entire conversation with his little outburst. Jeez. He let out a sigh of relief, glad that he didn't scare the kid off. Really, Diego couldn't exactly be sure. What goes on in his mind is ambiguous, really - Diego couldn't read minds. Not that he would, his own mind is broken enough as is. With the demon that's trapped in his mind. Plus, the demons that he has in a metaphorical sense. Point being is that he rather not see other people's dark side. Moving on, Casper called his story about his grandmother "Sweet". Which again, was terminology that he wasn't used to. Best guess was that Casper grew up around a bunch of girls. That's truly the only justification he has. Still, Diego listened to listen to Casper's story. Though, he did get annoyed when Casper said that he was "good". Still patronizing him. Whatever.

When he mentioned that he played a guitar before, but it hurt his fingers, Diego laughed a bit. "Probably because you weren't playing it right - I had the same problem." He then shrugged. "There's something you can put on your fingers... I forgot what it was called." He suggested. It wasn't like he was going to offer Casper some guitar lessons right now. He was a bit busy, and he wouldn't make as good of a teacher as his grandmother was. Bless her soul. Casper talked about the few games he liked - action games. Not that Diego was too into them. The only games he really played was sports games with friends - and Call of Duty, of course. "Nice... nice.... Don't really know any action games, but I played lots of sports games with my friends." He followed that up with a strong.

This is where Diego ran out of conversation topic. At least Agni was keeping quiet - so he can focus on what's going on right here. Then - he had to ask himself what was going on here. He was talking to some short kid. He looked around, hoping to find some conversational topic. Until it came to him - talk about this school! Diego kicked himself off the tree, and took a few steps towards Casper. "So, what are you here for, a education or that NEST certification?"

---

@TaliPaendrag

---

Once Beth started talking science-y stuff, it went largely over Michelle's head. Something about growth hormones... damn it! She just wished that she had a chance to finish High-school so she would know about this stuff. Otherwise, she would have deduced that Beth is just a dwarf. Maybe this is what happened to Michelle; she got too many growth hormones and turned into a tower of a woman. Heh. Probably. Unlike Beth, Michelle liked her size. It made her feel big and strong, of course. And nothing says scares off than being two feet taller than people. So, plus, plus. Beth made a comment about shaking her fingers, to which made Michelle laugh again. "Awww, not even my pinkie?" She put up her hand, and wiggled her pinkie - funny how the smallest finger on her hand was nearly the size of a regular person's finger. Funny how she thought this was going to be awkward, when she was joking around and having a good time. Though, the problem came when she stumbled for stuff to talk about. She'll drag out this conversation for long as she could.

Thankfully, Beth gave her something to go off of. Though, she mentioned that she was going to finish Highschool here... that meant she was much older than she looked. Probably about sixteen or seventeen? Hell if she could guess. She was here to learn how to use her powers, and learn. That was pretty admirable if you asked Michelle - she was a cute lil' nerd, wasn't she? Though, the subject of conversation went right back to Michelle, and honestly... she didn't know to respond. What should she tell Beth? That she was missing a highschool education herself? More or less saying that she's dumb. Nah. While she did like the lil' bit, she didn't want to say all that. Beth didn't know to know it.

"Nah, I'm just here to get my NEST certifications." Michelle simply answered. Getting an education was primary, that stupid certification was secondary. Though, she was willing to share a little bit about herself, "I preform at a circus, you know? I can't use my powers in the performances unless I get it. I don't like it, but I just have to."

---

“I believe. I will adjourn. For the remainder. Of this. Evening.”

Ruben rose from the table as Harmon, Adam, and Sawyer all turned to face him. “Leaving so soon?” Adam asked with a brow raised. Ruben said to him, “I. Have a project. I would like. To resume. Work on. Additionally. I wish to prepare. For my classes.” He turned and began to leave the table, with a rather insincere “Take. Care.” sounding as he made his way towards the crowd. Harmon quickly rose from his seat as well as followed him.

“No.” Ruben said, stopping and turning to look down at Harmon. “You. Should stay. And continue. To interact. With students.”

“A-… a-are you, are you… certain?” Harmon replied.

“Yes.” Ruben replied, “Sawyer. May even. Enjoy. Your company. Further.”

Harmon didn’t respond. He just lowered his head and nodded a bit. Ruben raised a tendril and patted his shoulder in reassurance. “You. Will be fine.” He said, turning once again to exit the cafeteria, leaving his assistant behind to mingle with the folks.



Outside, Ruben trudged along the stone walkways towards his destination; the Educational Rooms. He didn’t mind the walk any. But he had to remain wary of any new students who may have excused themselves from the cafeteria to hang about for any number of reasons. He passed through the Garden entrance, keeping the thought in mind, retaining a slow pace along the path.

At least his body looked somewhat humanoid at the moment. That might help.

---

@Mr Allen J
@Shard

Lucy stood on the deck of the boat the wind blowing freely through her hair and her jacket. Admittedly it was a little cold but being from Vancouver Lucy was used to things being a bit windy or chilly. She was especially used to sailing. It hadn't been uncommon for her family to take the ferry to Vancouver Island or for her Uncle James to take them out in his speedboat. Lucy loved the the wind slicing through her being and the smell of the ocean which no matter where you went never seemed to change.

Of course that feeling of ecstasy Lucy got from standing on the edge of the deck only lasted about twenty minutes before she started to get bored. Lucy retired to the ship's on board arcade which had all the classics, Pac-Man, Gauntlet Legends, Galaga, it even had an old version of Mario Kart. Lucy liked this part of the boat mainly because it was nearly deserted. Most kids had found something else to occupy themselves with and so the arcade was left almost barren. There were still three or four people running round the area, playing different games but Lucy snapped on her headphones and dialed up the volume till she couldn't hear what there minds were shouting at her anymore.

Lucy listened to Rebecca St. James' "Lion" as she logged onto a game of Gauntlet Legends. The trip went quicker than she expected, Lucy was almost sad to leave the boat behind. Up until now everything had been exciting. She'd seriously traveled for the time in her life. On a plane, and then by boat but now that the boat had docked everything was becoming real. Lucy was actually at this NEST mandated school for freaks. Her father was really angry with her for the first time in her life and she wasn't going back home for ten months.

Lucy disembarked hesitantly feeling like she was finally leaving everything behind. As Lucy integrated into the huge body of students her headache began again. A small mercy was that because there were so many minds that she was open to nothing was coming through clearly. Lucy was sort of just getting a vague white noise, like thousands of voices chatting but none louder than the other. Every now and again as Lucy was shunted with the rest of the student body towards a stage that had been set up she would get snatches of something coherent. Hello gorgeous. or Is Kelly going to be okay without me?. They flitted by so fast that Lucy could barely distinguish whether they were male or female let alone whose thoughts they were.

An intimating woman in a pinstriped suit ascended the stage. Lucy could tell this was going to be important so she pulled off her headphones and closed her eyes. She concentrated on pushing the voices out. It worked surprisingly but Lucy could still feel them all. Nagging at the side of her consciousness as she listened to the Headmistresses speech. She couldn't keep up this level of concentration forever but long enough.

The first bit of the speech seemed more like the Head Mistress was expecting the worst out of every student present. Then again with the kind of power houses this place must contain it wasn't all that surprising. The talk of theft hit home a little bit more than Lucy was comfortable with. Of course the logical side of her said there was no possible way they could know about the items she'd 'borrowed' from a handful of convenience stores but the paranoid side of her, the one that kept her from being caught by being way too cautious said she better be on her toes around here if she wanted to survive.

At the mention of food Lucy's stomach rumbled. She had a bad habit of skipping meals usually because she was busy then eating way too much at the ones she did go to. The moment the speech was over Lucy's concentration slipped and the voices came pouring back in just as loud as ever. It was so distracting. She wasn't sure if she would hear anything if someone tried to speak to her at a time like this. There was just too much noise. Lucy pulled her headphones back on at a volume to rival that of the what was going on in her head. This time she played something a bit more wild in tempo hoping to distract herself. Bryan Adam's "Summer of 69" played in Lucy's head drowning out her power as Lucy first went to the drinks station in the banquet hall. She loaded up a tray with three cup of cola. The caffeine seemed to dampen the severity of her powers significantly. She wasn't actually sure if it helped or if it was just a Placebo thing but either way it seemed to work.

After this Lucy got herself a poutine, a plate of Alfredo pasta and a slice of pizza. Lucy scanned the crowd looking for a place to sit. She would much rather have taken her food to the garden or dorms but she wasn't sure if eating outside the hall was allowed and she didn't want to chance it. Plus the teachers hadn't yet told them were there dorms were located.

There didn't seem to be any empty tables so Lucy decided to settle for one with fewer people. Besides they looked like they might be worth a conversation. One was a giant girl, she must have been at least seven feet, the other was the exact opposite, she couldn't have been older than five or six, maybe eight if she a late bloomer. She must have been some sort of child prodigy or something, or maybe the school offered elemetary courses for the kids who really needed help wit there powers, Lucy couldn't say for certain.

Lucy approached there table. "Is anyone sitting here?" She asked hesitantly, she didn't want to make a bad first impression.

Zoe's mental shield must have been working effortlessly because the entire time she had been across from Mika, the Asian girl did not once clock her on being fake. Her invisible energy could not only make herself unseen and manifest itself physically into barriers, but it could hide her mind as well. This was something she didn't think she could do until then and knew this new sub ability of hers would come in handy often to keep out pesky psychic intruders. The only true spy around the academy was her and she didn't want someone else one upping her. Zoe knew this ability was something she had to make happen consciously and it wasn't automatic. That meant she had to always be on her guard when Mika was around. To be honest, it didn't really bother Zoe if the girl knew she was being fake or not because she could drag a bitch from here to Africa but preferred to keep her enemies closer as the saying goes. She didn't want to admit it, but she felt threatened by another socialite like her running about the school that wasn't aligned with her. She had to be Beyonce while the others were Michelle and Kelly. Zoe knew it wasn't an option to have someone with such a strong upper class status be on her side even if she thought the bitch was fake.

"Oh not at all girl! I don't think we should be cured. God made us perfect just the way we are. I just felt it was neat that something like that could even be made. The smallest things entertain me, unfortunately," she said presenting her famous fake smile. When she gave a fake smile, she tended to grit her teeth ever so slightly which could be seen in her jaw muscles. "And I'd love some tea. Nothing like spilling that truth tea over a cup of tea, huh?" Her puns were almost cringe worthy but she had to get the girl on her side even if it meant making corny ass jokes. She realized she got her information wrong with Mika corrected her that her father didn't invent the cure yet, but was on his way to. To be honest, she could give a rat's ass if he did or didn't as long as she knew somewhat of this girl's life to get in good with her. "Oh my bad girl. But as much as people talk about him and how brilliant he is, it makes it seem he already made the formula," Zoe said followed by awkward laughter.

Zoe almost sighed with relief as Mika agreed with the fact that they shouldn't be fighting. Mission accomplished. She felt proud that her manipulation skills were spot on, unbeknownst to Mika's own skills. As Mika introduced her herself, she was interrupted by a girl who had randomly approached the two talking. The nerve of this chick to just walk up to socialites like she knew them or something. She could almost tell Mika thought the same thing and almost giggled when she dismissed her like was was invisible. Ironic.

"Oh," Zoe said as she looked down at Piper's heels that she so boldly clicked together to signal them of her prescence. "I didn't know flea markets upped their game with knockoff heels. Interesting." Zoe smiled as if she said the most polite thing ever. She turned back to Mika. "I'm Zoe. Zoe Gambino but you already knew that," the blonde said extending her hand.



Trevor had been looking down the whole time he was eating. It was a force of habit when he was around people that he desperately wanted to break. He would nonchalantly glance at the table across from him consisting of the school's major staff wishing he could just go up and talk with them but didn't want to intrude on their conversation. After all he was still a student despite his staff assistant position. He held the utmost respect for them and he was sure the teachers knew that. He made sure that he left a good impression with the staff the previous year when he enrolled. Almost immediately he realized the work that needed to be done back at the nurse's office. He had only inputted half the students in the academy into the data base and he had until tonight to finish. He groaned at the thought of not being able to get enough sleep to be well rested for class in the morning. Trevor just wished that the head nurse would be back from her leave already. He wondered why they just didn't hire the ship nurse to substitute here at the academy until she got back. That would have been a load off of his shoulders. No matter, he just sucked it up and continued to eat his lunch in peace.

As he looked down to finish his meal, someone had approached him and asked if they could sit at his table. He looked up and turned to the boy who had already began to sit down. Trevor immediately began to feel uneasy, a knot forming in the center of his stomach. He looked up at the boy with his piercing blue eyes and nodded his head.

"Yeah go ahead," he said warmly. He cleared his throat after he swallowed a mouth full of food. He smiled a bit to himself that someone saw that he was by himself and wanted to sit with him. Or that they were just looking for an empty place to sit and happen to come across his table. No matter, Trevor liked to be more optimistic about situations and excepted it for what he thought it was. The boy wasn't all that bad looking and immediately spotted an English accent when he spoke. He just loved the diversity the school brought and enjoyed getting to know those of different backgrounds and cultures. Trying not to be an anti-social hermit, he decided to bravely start a conversation with the European man. "So you're a photographer?" Trevor had happened to glance down at the boy's camera. "That's a cool hobby. Always wished I had artistic abilities myself." Oh lord he wish he could just crawl in a hole. He always felt awkward when he initiated a conversation and felt anything he said was cheesy and stupid. He just got on with his introduction. "I'm Trevor. I work as a nurse assistant in the nurses office and I take college courses here."

It didn’t seem like Casper and Diego had much in common but their conversation was a well rounded one and pleasant, in lack of better words. The more Casper talked with the other boy, the nicer and kinder he turned out to be. ‘And you thought he was in a gang…’ Perhaps he had been, but one’s past didn’t matter, right? The only thing that matters is where you’re going. He never laughed at the smaller boy as he expressed his failure in the arts of music which was honestly a sweet gesture. Perhaps Casper had indeed played the guitar the wrong way, he probably had. If Diego said so, it was probably true, given the fact that Casper’s knowledge of instruments was less than naught.

“Oh uhm…” The boy looked down scratching the back of his head. What was he at the academy for? Of course it was to get his certification, but Casper honestly had perfect control over his powers so it wasn't like he needed to learn how to master them. There was a lot to develop, however. He wouldn’t say no to some physical training either, given the fact that he had signed up for Adam’s class. That man was offering some very interesting classes. “Well…” Casper looked up again, placing his hands on his thigh as he spoke. “I want the NEST thing…” He began. “And…I’m getting a normal education, too.” All the core subjects were a must for him. After all, Casper left school to go here so he might as well fill his days with an actual education, he’d need it. “And Blackmore’s class…” He nodded.

What exactly did ‘combat training’ entail? Casper was a competent marksman, he’d give himself that much, but was it not honestly a waste of time to teach him martial arts? Even if he was a master martial artist, his size and physical weakness would be an enormous handicap not worth overcoming. He wasn’t interested in doing that, either. He just wanted to grow a spine and learn how to face danger like someone worthwhile.

It was safe to say that both boys were pulled out of their conversation once a hulking mass of flesh decided to walk by. ‘That’s the teacher…’ Casper thought quietly for himself. ‘What the hell has happened to him…?’ The mere sight of this man…thing…sent shivers up the boy’s spine. Could something even look like that? Well, yes. That question was answered rather easily, but why. Something must have happened because no one could give birth to that. At this point, Casper threw the ‘don’t be judgemental’ thought out the window. It wasn’t human to just see that and roll with it without a second thought. It wasn’t like Casper was going to run away or try to harm him or anything.

“Th-that’s one of the teachers…” He gulped, motioning towards Ruben as he turned his sights to Diego. “I…I don’t remember his name…” He had seen that other boy assist Ruben, however. Funny, he didn’t remember the names of the two most unique people at the academy. That was just sad.

_@Heathen

---

Mason flicked through the photographs, minding his own business. He didn't want to disturb the man he had intruded on. He wasn't particularly pleased with any of the stills he had taken; whilst they were lit beautifully, deepening the rich palette of colours, they were just a bit 'plain' for his liking. Nice photographs, but with little artistic merit in his eyes. He made a note that, next time he was on the boat, he should try again and pay attention to framing the shots more creatively.

"So, you're a photographer?" a voice interrupted Mason's review of his work. It was the man he had sat beside, who was now looking at him with piercing blue eyes. Mason assumed he was some sort of model; he had the right bone structure, for sure. He admired the angles of his face for a brief second before realising that he hadn't answered the question.

"Well, I try..." he laughed, sheepishly, flicking his camera off and closing the screen. The boy continued to show interest in Mason's camera, and for a second he thought that he had met another creative individual. Alas, his table-mate soon admitted that he had little artistic talent. Perhaps he's just being modest..., Mason hoped to himself. He really felt that everyone was good at something creative. How else did they express themselves? "Yeah, I'm a bit of an arty-farty type," Mason chuckled at the quintessentially British saying. It always reminded him of his grandma. "What do you do?" he asked politely, before sipping from his coffee.

"I'm Trevor." he introduced himself. Trevor? Mason mused internally. What kind of a name is Trevor, for someone so young? Mason then pondered whether this individual had some kind of power that allowed him to remain young forever. He scolded himself for making such assumptions; the guy didn't name himself, after all. "I work as a nurse assistant in the nurses office and I take college courses here.", Trevor added. Mason's jaw dropped slightly.

"Wow," he exclaimed, as he often did when words escaped him. He was always being sincere, but most of the time people misinterpreted it as forced hippyisms. "You must be pretty smart. My parents always wanted me to be a doctor..." Mason said, trailing off as his thoughts were consumed by those people who brought him into existence. His emotions regarding the matter were polarised; on the one hand, he knew that he had to pursue what made him happy, but on the other he still felt an immense guilt for disappointing them. He was academically average, a bit of a misfit, gay... Mason was just thankful they never found out he was a metahuman. If his sexuality hadn't been the final nail in the coffin, his latest discovery certainly would have been.

He realised he'd been detached momentarily, and brought his attention back to the conversation. "Sorry!", he said. "I'm Mason. I'm new here." he cringed internally at the cliché that had fell from his mouth. "I only discovered I was, uh... Different... a week ago." He took another sip of his coffee, but the mug was still half-full. A tonal bell sound signalled the beginning of a tanoy announcement that interrupted the conversation.



"I should go, I don't want to upset anyone on my first day!" he joked. "It was nice meeting you, Trevor. If you still need to find out who you're living with, you're welcome to join me," he said, slinging his camera over his shoulder as he began to stand from the table.

---

@Shard

---

So, Casper wants that NEST certification, and an education? Makes sense. Diego was mostly here for the education. Because... well, prison doesn't give you a highschool diploma. So Diego was a little bit behind on his classes. Something he seeks to rectify by coming here. Diego didn't exactly need training with his power, since that NEST prison gave him plenty. He could breeze through these trials and get that certificate. Though, he was wondering who "Blackmore" was, and what he has to offer. Perhaps he'd see for himself at some point - but his goal was his education.

However, it wasn't just Casper getting the creeps once this freak of nature came scrolling by. What... what is that thing? Diego thought to himself as his attention was stolen from Casper, and placed onto Ruben. A tall tower of red flesh that was topped off by a metal helmet. Is this what....? Diego tried to make sense of it, but found it hard to, however. He just wasn't used to the more freakish Metahumans, and that makes sense. People like Ruben stay in the shadows - until they find their place. Academy 218 must be that place, huh? Diego wondered for a moment, before he shrugged. This must be the one thing he ought to get used to. The freaks of this school. Not to say that Diego judged them - this was something they had no control over. Very similar to himself. Heh... haha...

What was more surprising was the fact that Casper said that he was a teacher. That was... certainly strange, but Diego wasn't one to judge. Perhaps he was an amazing teacher underneath the looks. Hmph. "He looks pretty scary to be a teacher." Diego shrugged. Before their conversation could continue, the speakers loudly, and surprisingly, announced:



The shrill noise of the speakers made Diego put his shoulders up, and cringed. After it was over, Diego realized that it was high time for him to leave and get that room mate of his. Nothing against Casper, but Diego felt their time together was over. They had a good conversation, hopefully they'll meet again - this isn't a big school. "Alright, I'm going to go see who my room mate is." Diego threw his strap guitar over his shoulder, until it was touching his back. "It was real nice talking to ya', Casper." He bid him farewell, before he waved goodbye, and then he was off. If he recalled correctly, the Reception Desk was this way....

'Hmph... sharing your room. How pathetic.' Agni whispered into Diego's head, only for the boy to ignore him. 'If your... room mate... gives you any trouble; you should show him the power you possess - the power to burn anything in your way.'

'We're not off to kill people, Agni. Just like I told Casper, I just wanna learn...'

'You forget that, regardless of where you are, everyone is out to take advantage of you, boy....' Agni moaned. '... Or have you forgotten what prison taught you....' Those were the last words Agni said before he disappeared - fading away. Good. Diego can focus.

Right when Agni left, Diego arrived at the Reception Room. Fortunately, it wasn't too crowded. Which meant people are still on their way, or haven't finished at the cafeteria. Diego was just going to get his room and leave. He walked up to the front desk, which had an elderly lady working hard. He put both hands over the wooden desk, and leaned forward, looking that woman straight in the eyes. "Hello, ma'am, I'm Diego Bellasquez and I'm looking to get my room...."

She... gave him a narrow stare. Eyes narrow, and squinting. The kind of look that said, "I know you're up to no good". Well, that might be true. Diego doesn't exactly look like a top-class citizen. She handed him a key. "Alright, here's your key. Your Room mate is Casper Hyat."

Really? What a coincidence. Looks like fate was pushing them together. For some odd reason. "Uh... yeah. Thank you ma'am!" Diego pushed himself off the front desk and took a few steps back.

'Good grief...'

---

@Heathen

---

Perhaps Mika could warm up to Zoe. After all, the two of them are similar - birds of a feather, even. However, no matter who her father is, or how much money she may possess, a Redneck is still a Redneck. Which is, in her eyes, a personal antithesis. The second Zoe made a pun, Mika was reminded of that fact harder than ever before. "Please, don't make puns like you're some child." She said. Mika didn't even need her telepathy and she could smell the bullshit from here. She felt as if something was off about Zoe - like there was a facade. The Redneck has probably never tasted - let alone heard of - fine tea. Before she went on in her head, Mika stopped herself. She realized that it was pointless to rant about how suspicious Zoe. Because, either way, long as the Redneck stays out of Mika's hair, then maybe Zoe would last a little longer. Doesn't matter what ulterior motive she has if Mika doesn't associate with her. Her eyes briefly scanned Zoe's hands... maybe that was one thing she could say about Zoe - she could at least keep her hands in great shape. Now, what about the intruder? The blonde-haired woman? It's amazing she hasn't left yet.

What Zoe said to Piper made Mika cringe. A comment about "knock off heels". So annoying. Mika never thought that covering yourself in the most expensive clothes around elevates your status. She took a sip of her tea, hoping to calm herself. Hmph. You speak as if walking around wearing fancy dresses makes you important. You're nothing without that hand in your father's wallet. He does good work - and you shame him, and your name, by parading yourself around like some whore from the movies. Okay. Okay. Okay. Time to go. Leave the Rich-Redneck, and her guest-Redneck alone. Mika touched the plate of tea that she had, and it began floating in the air. Now, she just needs....



... A good reason to excuse herself. At least this school is somewhat useful. Still, it's time to see who she shares a room with this year. Hopefully it won't be too big of a Redneck. Mika cleared her throat, "since we have come to terms, I believe it is time for me to leave." She stood straight up, and she put her hand out, so the plate of tea flew right on top of it. "Until we meet again-" Which will hopefully be never "-Zoe. Keep in mind you're always free to visit me if you wish to have tea. Zài jiàn." Mika walked out of the cafeteria.

The one thing that was a pain in the behind was carrying around this plate of tea in such a crowded school. With her telekinetic exertion, there was no way it was going to fall over. She marched over to the front desk, pushing everyone aside. The benefit of arriving here earlier meant that she had already received her living arrangements and set up her room. The problem was that the school refused to share who she was staying with. The concept of her having a room mate angered her to no end, as she preferred to stay alone. No matter how much money she could throw at them, they wouldn't budge. Mika sighed - it was just a fact of life. She gently placed her plate down, and spoke to the front desk worker. "Hello, Miss, I am Mika Baozai, may I know who I'm sharing a room with?" Mika said politely as possibly. Mika was one to extend her politeness and respect to people in positions of power. The rest of these heathens? They deserve nothing.

The woman went through her computer quickly, before turning back to her. "Your roommate Miss Baozai is Kanala Wabae."

Hmph. Who was that? Not even money could influence their decision. Annoying, but Mika would live with it... if she wasn't some no-good tobacco spitting commoner, that is. Mika would throw the Head Mistress's car through her office if that was the case. Mika smiled, and said, "Thank you, Miss." Before picking up the plate again and walking off.

This Kanala Wabae better be nearby. There's a few things Mika has to tell her....

"WOULD ALL STUDENTS PLEASE PROCEED TO THE RECEPTION, IN ORDER TO BE ALLOCATED THEIR LIVING ARRANGEMENTS FOR THIS ACADEMIC YEAR. THANK YOU.”

Well, that put an end to their conversation. “Bye, Diego…” Casper smiled softly as he raised his hand in a gentle wave. “Y-yeah…it was nice.” Roommates, this was the scary part. If it would be anything like last time, Casper was just about ready to throw in the towel. He would not share a room with a disgusting pig ever again. Not if he had anything to say about it! But then again…he didn’t. If he wasn’t going to live through this school, he’d have to live through another. Might as well deal with it, right?

As Diego left, Casper remained for a brief moment, just to take a breath. This was it, the real start of the school year. He felt his body shivering slightly at the thought, his hands trembling just so as he squeezed his knees and clenched his teeth. ‘This is it, Casper. Don’t fuck it up…’ Like that was avoidable. This boy attracted bullies like a vicious flame attracted moths, there was no escaping it. Though, it was rather hard to believe, honestly. Sometimes he still had difficulties believing that he was in the hole he had found himself in. This was a school for freaks. Why was he singled out? Well, that wasn’t quite true. That flesh beast that just passed by had to take a thousand times more punishment than Casper, even though he…it…was a teacher. There was that boy, as well. Casper couldn’t recall his name still, but at this point, it really didn’t matter.

Getting up to his feet, his bright red converse clad feet, Casper dusted himself off from the grass and pulled the strap of his bag to place across his shoulder. With his eyes set on the ground, he started towards the reception area. He knew the way. As he walked, the boy would look up from time to time in hopes of spotting someone he liked. That someone was one of two people, really. It was either Diego or Mason, none of which were visible through the crowd. Also, it could be nice to take a break from talking with people for tonight. Casper had spoken more this day than he had all last year. Okay, maybe that was a bit much, but he couldn’t quite remember any time where he had been so talkative.

“H-hello…” The boy looked up at the receptionist.

“Hello.” She returned, raising an eyebrow as if to wait for him to finish his sentence.

“M-my room…?” He continued, seeing her typing something into her computer.

“Name?”

“Casper Hayat...” He never really liked his surname much. It clashed quite aggressively with his first name and had a distinct, arabic pronunciation on the H. Given the fact that Casper was fluent in Arabic, he could pronounce it with ease but hearing everyone else do it was just torture. Hay-jaat, Heyett, Hay-at, he had heard it all. The boy would refrain from revealing his surname too often, simply because he didn’t like the sound of it.

“You’re with Diego Bellasquez, here’s the key.” She gave the boy what he’d need to enter his room.

“D-Diego…?” He stammered as he accepted the key. Well, that’s great! It wasn’t with Mason, but that’s okay. At this point, Mason had probably gotten a hundred other friends and had probably forgotten that Casper ever existed.

“Yes, Diego. Is there a problem?”

“N-no…m’am.” Casper gulped, taking a step back.

“There’s a line!” She raised her voice slightly, forcing the boy away from the queue that was forming behind him. Damn, she was scary.

Finally able to head to his room, Casper kept his eyes open for Diego. He hadn’t remembered seeing him before, and Diego didn’t know that Ruben was a teacher, something he should have noted if he was here last year, so he was probably new. Casper could find their room with ease, but he hoped that Diego didn’t have too many problems getting around.