---

---

I wonder if God can smell the cigarettes in my prayers.

A thought was followed by a puff of grey smoke which scattered fairly quickly when a gust of wind blew by. The waves smacking against the beach quickly reminded him that he was at the Beach Lodge. The balcony area, which overlooked the beautiful ocean. He leaned up on the stone railing, with his arms on it, and a cigarette in between his fingers. He scoped out the beach lodge and realized that nobody was there right now. The perfect place to relax for a bit, before anyone realized he was there to smoke.

Didn't you forget? The silence disappeared rather quickly when Agni spoke, his voice sounding like a raging fire... an evil that comes from no where but within. God stopped listening when you broke his law.

Diego calmly shook his head. Taking another puff of his cigarette. Not true, he got me here safely. Diego replied, calmly. The worst thing I can do now is give up my faith in him.

Hehe, that's stupid of you to- Agni tried to speak up - but Diego cut him off.

How about you shut up for a change. You wanna know something, Agni? Diego tightly clenched the cigarette until he crushed it, ashes gently floated onto the ground as he dropped it. He crushed it with his foot, and he gave Agni a piece of his mind. I'd rather spend my time believing rather than worrying about whether he's abandoned me or not.... He sighed as he put his hands together. In the end, I'll figure it out myself. He continued, as he stood straight up, and looked upwards towards the sky.

Yeah, I'll figure this out for myself. He put his head back into a neutral position, then he put one foot up on the railing - placing his hands on it for stability as he hoists himself up to his feet. He stood up on the railing, then looked down... it was about a seven foot drop to the bottom. He squatted down, and made the drop onto the sandy beach. Without injuring himself (He felt a sting in his legs, however). He slid his hands into his pockets, and began walking forward.

---

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In collaboration with @Empour

---

... Of course, Mika couldn't have one second to peacefully observe. Instead, thanks to a small guest of hers, she's now in a more active role. Much to her chagrin. The waitress came and delivered Mika's tea at just the right moment. Mika wordlessly nodded, and took the plate of hot green tea. Good timing, Mika had to say. Because she'll need it. She took a long sip of the tea, and kept her eyes on Kayla. There were several seconds of pure silence. Which is what Mika intended on. Not just to make Kayla uncomfortable... but to give her some time to peek into that mind of hers. Mika wasn't going to make the same mistakes that she did with Zoe - far as the world knows, she is a telekinetic. She focused on Kayla, seeing into her mind. She had to try hard to shift through the surface thoughts - most of them were embarrassingly excited - before Mika got to what she really wanted to see. The subconscious. The innermost thoughts and desires.... What are your intentions...? Mika asked herself - nearly sending the thought to Kayla.

The answer came in the form of a question. A question that Kayla asked. Is she lonely? Mika immediately pulled from Kayla's mind. What a nosy young child. Trying to pry into her business. Children like Kayla should know where they belong. Calm yourself, Mika. No need to get angry. Mika took in a deep breath, and holding both hands, brought the tea to her lips. Gently letting out the breath as she put the cup down. There was no need to be rude right off the bat - a proper attitude above all else, after all. She'll play this child's game and redirect her question when it pops up.

The girl opened her mouth to speak, but Mika cut her off before she said anything.

[color=fff200]"... Mika Baozai." She answered, softly as possible. "I do not recall seeing you in that class." She said.

Kayla barely heard her, but she caught the name, and that she hadn't seen her before. She didn't know if she said anything else. This, however, told her all she needed to know- this was indeed a shy girl, just as she had been! Exciting! She was going to be able to help someone be happy, just as Anya had for her. She immediately launched into an introduction!

"Oh, you didn't? I was the girl next to the, uh, the big lizard girl, when she turned all lizardey. I hope you won't hold my, uh, actions when she exploded against me," she said.

Ah... There was a lot going on in that class in that one instant. Flashes, and other displays of power were all over the room. It was hard to notice one person in the middle of it all. "I may have saw you. However, I will not hold anything against you." Until you give me a reason to.

"Good! I'm a row ahead of you at the front of the class, I'm glad to have met you here,"

It was hard suppressing the scowl - but Mika was capable of forcing a smile. "Isn't that excellent?" She said, trying to force a cheeriness that just wasn't there. Mika drunk some more tea. She knew that she had to move along before this dreaded conversation dragged out further. So, she figured that it was time to get to the point, and send her on her way. "So, may I ask you what brings you over here?" She calmly asked.

"Oh, I uh, well, there weren't any tables available, and I saw you sitting all alone, so I figured instead of taking one of the last booths, we could share this one. I hope you don't mind!" Kayla said. This girl was... a little weird. She was acting very politely, but she still got a bad vibe from her. Maybe she was just shy? She couldn't tell, she wasn't that kind of metahuman. A waitress stopped at their table, seeing Kayla's menu closed.

Of course, of course... The good old "saw you sitting alone and decided to give you company" reasoning. Like Mika has never heard that one before. Some people just don't understand that people who are sitting alone sometimes actually - surprise - want to be alone. Of course, some people are just that extroverted. Fine. Mika shrugged. It's just in their nature. Just like how being reclusive was in Mika's nature. "Very well, I understand your reasoning." She quietly said.

"What can I get for you?" The waitress asked. Kayla ordered a turkey sandwich, with hot chocolate.

"Anyway, it's nice to meet you, Mika. If you don't mind me asking, what kind of power do you have? I'll tell you what mine is, if you tell me yours!" Kayla felt a little weird asking a question like that- She'd never been around other metahumans before, and she was excited to see what kinds of magic there were.

Discussing powers.... Not exactly something that Mika wasn't too fond of discussing. She rolled her eyes. To Mika, asking someone's power was no different from the color of their eyes, or the shoes they wore. However, Mika was not the type to tell the true nature of her power easily. It might turn people away - after all, she is a walking invasion of privacy. Mika breathed outwards gently - from her nose. "... Just so you know, that question gets tossed around so many times that it loses all meaning - and becomes irritating from there on." Mika started off, taking a sip of her tea. She was still going to answer her question. It was only proper. "Telekinesis." Just to demonstrate, Mika switched back to her telekinetic powers - and let go of the cup of tea. It began floating in the air, before Mika cupped it again.

Kayla watched the cup fly in fascination. It was, like, completely unsupported, completely. Completely. AMAZIIING. Way better than her power- Oh, right, she was supposed to tell her about hers. "Mine is, um, a little weird. I can make a kind of magic water that does what I want it to, watch this," she said, as she cupped one hand under the other, and a stream of pleasant-smelling green liquid flowed from her finger into it. She then grabbed a bit of her hair, and ran the green potion over it. Instantaneously, the hair turned bright green- not a color Kayla really liked, but definitely noticeable.

"And then, watch this- I can do this, too," she said, and poured a clear fluid over the dyed area. The color vanished, and let out a small whiff of smoke.

"They can do all sorts of stuff, not just color my hair. I can make rocks melt!"

Interesting power, if Mika had to say. She took a sip of her tea, and continued eye contact with Kayla. [color=fff200]"Interesting power."[color] Mika calmly said. "I wonder what you'll discover during your time here."

"Me too! I've wanted to become a doctor for a while now, since I figured out my power can heal people. I can make all sorts of medicines that have never been discovered yet, probably," she said, getting a little excited. "Plus, I, uh, always wanted to see how I would look in a lab coat. I'm a little short for them, but I think I would look good in one," she said, getting a little quieter on the last part.

"Well," Mika started off, [color=fff200]"...I personally think you'd look lovely in a labcoat." She, surprisingly enough, complimented Kayla. It might sound off, but one thing that always interested Mika was clothing. Not the expensive nonsense only worn by people who want to prove their status (When their real status is merely a Redneck with money). "In fact, I believe that you'd look great in a variety of clothes... if you want to know."

"Oh, really? I don't really wear much variety, honestly. I never really want to, I like the way I dress as is, what do you think of it?" Kayla made a waving motion with her hands as she said this.

One thing that Mika could say they had in common (Other than the fact that they're both Asian) is that they dressed modestly. "If I were to compliment you, I would say that I enjoy your style of choice. However... you'll never find what you really look good in unless you try."

Kayla blushed a little at the compliment- she'd never been complimented on her style before, most people found it boring. She, however, liked it. Suddenly, before she could respond, the waitress appeared before them, with Kayla's food in tow. Kayla thanked her, and turned back to Mika, but she was already leaving.

Alas, their conversation was over... Because Mika was not going to sit around and watch someone eat. Heavens no. So, Mika grabbed her tea, and stood straight up. "It was... nice talking to you, but I will leave you to your meal." She nodded her head and began to walk away.

She didn't know what she felt of their conversation, truly.

---

Lenny stared into space, chewing the inside of his lip. He was sitting on a bench in the garden, where he and Harmon planned on meeting up. He had little to occupy his time, although he had been listening to music on his phone, which provided some relief. Occasionally he'd hear a dragonfly or cicada whizzing through the air, but besides that, there was only the pleasant sway of the trees in the breeze, and murmur of far-away students.

It was nice.

"Lenny!" Came a strained but excited voice to the right. Lenny turned his head to see Harmon approaching, one hand raised.

"Heya!" Lenny said, scootching to the side of the bench, allowing more room for his friend to sit. He unplugged his headphones, allowing the music to play freely.

"So, tell me about the academy. First day's been alright so far. I hear Creed got into a fight or something." He reached into his pocket and pulled out two corndogs he had wrapped in a paper towel, handing one to Harmon.

"Creed..." Harmon asked, dropping his smile a bit. He took the corndog but didn't bother starting to eat it just yet. "I, I wouldn't know... I don't go to, to the... a-arena..."

Lenny nodded, biting into his room-temperature snack. "Creed came with, but we don't have classes or room together. He took a few more bites as he leaned back, admiring the flora that the two were surrounded by. "I think he'll calm down now that he's not part of a gang and stuff."

Lenny paused for a moment, remembering Harmon's strained relationship with Creed. His brother didn't dislike Harmon -- In fact, it was the opposite. Creed adored Harmon like a brother, frequently inviting him for dinner, or to join The Immortals. He respected Harmon's experience as a physically different metahuman, and frequently spoke to Rottlage about "Metahuman Unity". Harmon, on the other hand, almost feared Creed. Although he was well-meaning, Creed was loud, rough, and outspoken. All the things Harmon wasn't. Sort of like a very big dog trying to befriend a very nervous cat.

"So, whatcha wanna play when he head to my room?" Lenny asked, changing the subject.

"I, uh..." Harmon replied, "I still don't know..."

"I brought Soul Calibur, Halo, and that one game with 50 Cent in it. And Katamari."

"I'm, I'm... I'm okay with, uh, anything..." Harmon responded, still holding the corndog and not eating it. Maybe he wasn't hungry.

"Don't worry, Harm-O. I know which game you want." Lenny said. "If you want to play the 50 Cent game, we'll play the 50 Cent game. Let's go." He chuckled and stood up, biting off the last bit of his corndog.

He stretched, pausing the music that he had left playing, shoving his phone in his pocket. He looked at his old friend for a moment, still letting it sink in that they were together again. It was a nice feeling.

"You gonna eat that?"

Pausing the game, Casper let the portable console drop to the side of the bed along with his hand. ’I’m hungry…’ The boy sighed heavily as he slid down to the pillow and rubbed his eyes. When was Diego was going to get his fight started with that beast? Hopefully that wouldn’t result in one less roommate. Diego was a good guy who had taken a little too much water over his head. Then again, how could he not have taken it too far with that guy? Creed seemed like the kind of person that would challenge you to a fight if you looked at him wrong.

Casper wasn’t quite hungry enough to eat something heavy so perhaps a snack would do the trick? Turning his playstation off, Casper lowered his feet the floor, feeling the stinging pain echoing throughout their length. ’I wonder how long this pain is going to last…’, Casper had never overdone it like he had at the obstacle course. He was proud of succeeding, of course, but it would leave him in pain for the next few days. He was sore beyond belief. Adding pressure to his feet, the boy finally managed to stand with a heavy breath. There was a snack shop at the academy and he had a little money to spend, not much but enough to get his hands on a snack.

’God, this hurts…’, he gulped as he walked across the room towards the door. He slid into his green converse shoes and headed out into the corridor, hoping for a smooth trip down to the shop but the boy would find himself stopped once he reached the bottom floor.

“Ghosty!” He heard a familiar voice.

’I am so not in the mood for this right now…’, no rest for the wicked, was there? At least this didn’t happen in the shower.

“So, where are you goin’?” Philip grinned widely at the much smaller boy. Ironic, Casper hadn’t even managed to get out of the dorms before he ran into trouble. Well, in all honesty, things had been going abnormally smooth since he arrived at the island. It was about time for some shit to hit the fan, right? “C’mon, Ghost! Why don’t you like talking to us?” Philip continued, placing his hand over Casper’s shoulder.

“Maybe he’s just ready to wet himself.” Greg pitched in, crossing his arms.

“Nah, I’m sure little Ghosty makes sure to put a diaper on every time he leaves his room.” Philip chuckled and patted the boy on the head.

“P-please…guys…” Casper mustered the courage to speak but it didn’t go beyond that.

“P-p-p-p-please?” Philip laughed louder, ruffling Casper’s hair. “He’s just so cute isn’t he?”

“Like a kitten, right?” Greg nodded.

“Why don’t you come with us, Ghosty? We’ve barely even hung out since you arrived! We feel left out! Besides, you have to show us how you get your hair so fabulous!” Philip continued, easily pulling the smaller boy along closer towards the entrance. Getting a snack wasn’t worth all of this crap. Well, that settled it. From now, Casper won’t leave his room unless he had to go to classes. There were no other exceptions. He was so tired to dealing with this crap.

The sea was desolate, and dare he say boring. Of course he dared, he wasn’t afraid to say it; the ocean was boring as hell after a few hours on it. Not only was he going to an entirely new school with no one he knew, he was already late getting there. Of course, maybe not knowing anyone would be a nice change of pace, and he didn’t regret his reasoning for being late. His brother had come back to town to see him off, but had ended up coming in a little late; there was no way Joey was leaving without saying goodbye to Isaac first. They played cards and stuff, like the old days, but that was long gone and now he had to look ahead, quite literally considering they were supposed to be approaching the academy soon. He kept his eyes on the horizon and leaned against the cold steel rail.

His pale blonde hair whipped in the wind, prompting him to finally pull up the hood on his red short-sleeved hoodie. He didn’t regret the short sleeves, even though it was a little chilly, but he liked the feeling of the sea spray hitting his arms. He decided he had had enough of hearing the boats engine though; he took his pair of headphones out from his pocket and after a quick untangling, placed one in each ear before hitting play. A surprisingly fitting song began to pour into his ears at a volume far too loud than was probably considered healthy. He mentally shrugged it off and started tapping the rail to the beat, staring off at the sea still. As the lyrics kicked in he started to quietly sing along to them.

“When you’re on a holiday, you can’t find the words to say…” He started, before yawning and taking to pacing the boat. He was getting restless at this point and was starting to want off the boat. He had an anxious feeling in his gut, normally he would be fine with just standing around all day on this beautiful floating haven, but the way he saw it the sooner he got to the academy the sooner he would get used to it.

He looked down to his attire, nothing deviating from his norm whatsoever, despite the occasion. The same short sleeved red hoodie covering his black X-men t-shirt. His dark blue jeans were baggy and the cuffs flopped over his red converse sneakers.

“Stylish to a fault.” He said to himself as he mimed dusting off his shoulder in a mock suave manner. His feet hit the deck loudly as he continued to pace; this was quite the ride wasn’t it? After what seemed like forever he could make out the rapidly approaching island in the distance.

“Hell yes, I’m in.” He said in his best hacker voice. As they approached the island his foot tapped against the deck and did not cease until the boat finally slowed to a stop and docked. Joey had never been happier to see dry land, he could have kissed it if he wasn’t kind of desperate to see what the academy was all about. He picked up the pace and headed off, but not before turning his head and making a finger pistol at the beach.

“I’ll be back for you later.” He charmed as he made his way to the academy, at last. He made the way to the academy in mostly silence, nothing but the backpack on his back slowing him down on the way there. He was late so he didn’t have much information or anything on the place, or where he was staying and that was what worried him most. The academy itself was awe-inspiring, but not enough so to fight off the anxious feeling that made him head into the school. As he made his way through he found himself lost already, not knowing at all which way he was going. No one ever accused him of having the best sense of direction. Eventually he found his way to some place that appeared to be a rec room or lounge, oddly enough. He hadn’t actually been expecting that, but maybe he could unwind a bit.

“So… who’s next?” He heard from across the room. He turned to face the source and was met with a woman over a foot taller than him… that was interesting. Joey still walked over and looked over the pool table.

“Next for pool? Dude, I’m down.” He had to practically crane his neck as he spoke to see her face. "Just promise not to accidentally step on me from up there."

@Mr Allen J

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In collaboration with @KaminaShades

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Huh? Looks like you got yourself some jokes, shortie! Michelle thought to herself as she looked down at Joey, with a toothy grin. Joey walked up and accepted her pool challenge, just another person to get knocked down. Let's just see if you got the skills to match! She thought to herself again - continuing her line of thought. "Hey now, you don't have to worry about me steppin' on you too much...." She mused, putting the pool cue to her chest and leaning on it - slightly. She didn't want to break it. "When ya' should be worrying about how badly you're about to lose!" She broke out in laughter for a few seconds, before she walked around the table, and grabbed a pool cue. She handed Joey the cue and said,."You go first, I wanna see this."

Joey looked her dead in the eyes, at least as best he could at her height. "Too much? Glad you know when to draw the line with stepping on people. Some maniacs just don't know the common courtesy." He joked sarcastically. "You're pretty confident for someone who's only seven feet tall." He deadpanned to her. He took the cue and looked it over, trying to act like some semblance of a pro. He got the chalk thing and chalked the end of his pool cue, that's what pool pros did right? I am totally killing it. He thought to himself. Grabbed the cue ball and set it on the table as best he could and lined up his cue with it, staring down the wooden stick and sort of hit the white ball with the end of it... very technical stuff. He managed to sink absolutely nothing on the break and stepped back. "I'm off to a great start, see if you can top that one."

"Ahhhhh, confidence comes with being seven feet tall." Michelle quickly replied, before she put her arm out and bent it back towards her, flexing her strong muscles. Underneath the playfulness, Michelle was competitive as hell. There was no way in hell that she was going to lose to some pencil-neck like... Wait, she never got a good opportunity to share names. They could exchange names in a jiffy, Michelle first had to watch. Her eyes were centered on the boy - well, he kinda looked like a girl, but she wasn't in any position to judge - as he walked up, bent over, and shot. From there, her eyes went from the boy, to the cue-ball. Her eyes intently tracked the ball - with every sound it made rolling picked up with her heightened sense of hearing. It was a suspenseful couple seconds - Michelle thought that he might pull something off! Though, that suspense went to waste when the ball went no where.

Okay, Michelle put her hand to her mouth to hold in the laughter. Despite her best efforts, it could be heard by the crowd! She was worried for a second there. She took a few steps forward, and shot Joey a smile, Nice one! She said - the lack of sincerity was obvious from her smile. "Since I think you're cute... I'll let this one slide." She smiled again, chuckling lightly. It was her turn to show 'em how it's done! Michelle took two graceful steps towards the pool table, and bent down over it. She spread her legs shoulder width (Pushing out her behind a bit). She placed the pool cue on the table and positioned it, putting the tip of the cue to the cue ball. Changing the angle so that she could shoot the balls. Michelle smirked as she pulled the cue back, and smacked the ball with a fraction of her strength. The balls went flying over the pool table. The orange thirteen, and the blue ten, balls went into the holes.

Michelle stood straight up, feeling accomplished. Taking steps towards Joey, and playfully said, "Sorry for making you look bad - but I had to show everyone here how it's done," Michelle started off. "If ya' like, I can show you how to play later!" Holding her pool cue in her hands, she crossed her arms.

He would have been lying if he said he didn't hear the crowd laughing at him, but he wasn;t gonna leave just on a count of that. "Normally people wait for me to say something before they laugh, but I'm glad to know this crowd preemptively knows I'm hilarious." He played it off like it was nothing and backed away from the table and leaned against the wall. "I am cute, aren't I? You're not too bad yourself, though it's kind of hard to see your face from down here so." He kept his eye firmly on the cue ball that he had no doubt she was about to use to totally destroy his chances of winning, he simply watched in interest for the outcome. He kept watching as the balls scattered more and she sunk two of them, two of them already. That just wasn't fair. Note to self, never challenge an Amazon to a competitive activity. He thought to himself as he mentally kicked himself for letting his first turn do so poorly.

Heh, more tall jokes. "Maybe if you drunk a little more milk, you'd be able to see me." She then winked at Joey. She appreciated the compliment, nonetheless. But enough of this, it was time for her to continue winning. She pocketed two balls! That means it's still her turn. "Sorry, lil' bit, but it's still my turn. Now... let's see..." Her keen eyes scanned the balls, and she noticed that the five ball was in a perfect position to be smacked. Michelle turned her body halfway towards it, and pointed one of her strong fingers at it. "I hope you're ready, because I'm gonna pocket that ball next." Her finger drifted across to the pocket in the far right corner. "... Into that hole." She slid into the table, and smiled, "... With style." Michelle leaned over the table, and got into position yet again.

This gonna be easy.... Michelle mused to herself. She put the tip of the cue in between her fingers, and held the base with her other hand. Michelle smirked, and thrusted the cue forward with force. The cueball hit the seven ball, just like she planned... However, the ball started rolling with a bit more force behind it than wanted: the ball bounced off the side of the table and started rolling back towards the middle. Away from the pocket Michelle declared. And it hit the eight ball, and went the opposite direction for a few seconds before it lost all momentum.

Michelle stared down at what she did. Well, this sucks. She was just waiting for any retort Joey had.

"All right, so if I drink milk I'll get seven feet tall too? Who knew lactose and calcium were magic." What was that wink supposed to mean? Was she hitting on him? Was she going to hit him? Either seemed as likely He cut off his internal monologue momentarily as he watched her next move, almost nervously. He was actually getting into this, damn. When she called the 5 into the right pocket he honestly believed she had a chance. Of course he wasn't thinking that when the ball careened off course and hit the eight ball. He was almost hoping the eight would fly into one of the pockets and have him win by default, but he was rarely that lucky. "Oooo, damn. You were only off by a few tons of force too." He joked in reference to how hard she hit it.

He took his own cue and began to pace around the table, eyeing all the possibilities for shots and decided that his best bet was the seven. "Seven into the side pocket." He pointed to the side pocket opposite of him. He took his cue and bent over the table, widening his stance a bit in attempts to copy what he had seen Michelle doing earlier. He took the cue in between two fingers on one hand and slid the cue back and forth a bit to get a hang of the feeling for it. Finally, he sighed and took the shot as best he could. The seven rolled across the table, going slightly off course. That would have proven detrimental had it not hit another ball and sent it just barely into the pocket he had called. "That's right, I'm actually a pool master. No need to be amazed."

Michelle could already tell that the kid was trying to mimic her "expert" techniques. Aw schucks. It filled her with a sense of pride! Looks like some of her is rubbing off on the kid. Michelle leaned up on her pool cue again, "You musta caught it from me." Michelle said, with a smile. Looks like it was her turn. She skipped over to the pool table, and once again leaned over it - she stuck her butt out a little extra this time, to distract Joey. She lined up the cue with the white cue ball, and closed one eye. Focusing extra hard this time. She was going to win! She was going to accept nothing less than victory! She slid the cue in between her fingers, and placed her other hand on the base - as usual.

However, she put a bit more weight on the cue than she intended, and given her weight and size - there was only so much the cue could take. At the center, the cue snapped in half and Michelle shouted, "The hell-!?" She almost fell over, but she quickly slammed her hand on the pool table, and braced herself. Michelle stood straight up, and held one end of the cue in one hand - looking at it. She scratched the back of her head as she continued to stare. "Uh... I think my lucky streak ran out, eh?" She chuckled awkwardly. Even though she lost, she knew to quit while she was behind. She dropped the cue, and swept it under the table with a foot like nothing happened. She leaned up against the table, crossing her arms, and that awkward smile still etched across her face. "So, I guess you won." She laughed quietly. "Just how does it feel? Oh wait - I bet you want something since you won." She got up off the table, and put one finger out. "So what will it be? I don't have too much money on me, so...."

She had seemed pround of Joey, which was odd. She almost sounded like his moter talking like that. His different race seven foot tall mother. He was surprised the pool cue was holding up under her weight, but he said nothing about it. "Maybe you're right, maybe you totally Miyagi'd me there and taught me pool without me even realizing it." He joked as he watched her get ready to line up her shot. Was it just him or was she sticking out her butt more? What was up with that? He tried not to think of it, but any thoughts he might have had were shattered at the sound of the cue splintering in her hands. He held back a laugh first at how she accidentally broke a pool cue, than at how she almost fell on her ass doing it. "Ran out? Your lucky streak just tripped face first off a cliff." He joked to her with a laugh.

He heard her out about not having anything to give him for winning. "I for one didn't even know that shattering the pool cue meant a loss. Is this the part where I'm supposed to say something suave? Honestly at this point I'm just glad the cue wasn't me." He wished he had something better to say but deep down he was still an awkward loser. He thought more about it, but secretly hoped she would come up with something and take the pressure off of him fucking up and saying someting audacious.

God you're hopeless. Michelle thought to herself as she was barraged with many lame jokes. Well, they were funny in a nerdy way - but Michelle was no nerd! Whatever. "... How about I give you my name? " She said, putting her fingers to her chest. "Michelle, it's great to meet you...?"That means give me your name.

"Sure, I could live with a name. It's nice to meet you, Michelle." He nodded and smiled slightly. "Oh, shit, right. My name is Joey... probably should have said that earlier." He shrugged in a somewhat awkward manner and his smile even seemed to turn slightly more to a grimace, though he quickly reversed it as best he could.

Joey. Yeah, Michelle will have to remember that. This pool game ended hilariously for Michelle, but at least she had some fun with the kid. Maybe they'll have more later... when Joey gets taller. Haha. "So, you new here too?"

Michelle seemed nice enough to Joey, a little intense, but nice none the less. He had never met someone who could snap a pool cue with their bare hands before, let alone by accident. "Yeah, just got in today actually. I'm a little late but hey."

Another newbie. Michelle never would have guessed. Well, she's getting bored playing pool. Maybe she'll go see what this island has to offer later. Maybe with Joey. "Since I'm pretty bored in here; wanna go do something later? I heard this island has a kickass waterfall."

Since pool was ruined due to literally splintered equipment he needed something else to do, especially after having to oh so heart breakingly give up his dreams of being a pool star. "Waterfall? Dude, I am so down for that.I actually love waterfalls, they're so cool," He stopped himself before he started ranting, but it was clear he was excited.

"Excellent! We'll go find it later." Michelle got up off the pool table and started walking towards the table. "You can go off and get ready - I'll be here, Joey."

---

_{In collaboration with @DeadBeatWalking}

---

The duo had taken a trip through the academy grounds on their way back to the dormitories. Like the usual formula, they chatted some. Mainly, about past events. Stuff that had happened while the two were off doing their own things. Harmon talked about his work with Ruben and how much he'd learned. Lenny talked about his adventures with Creed and the trouble they'd gotten into. Catching up was fast, but it was still enjoyable all the same. The two rounded the corner of a building and saw the dormitories in the distance. As well, they found a trio of folks leaving it. One, very evidently, against his will.

“Why don’t you come with us, Ghosty? We’ve barely even hung out since you arrived! We feel left out! Besides, you have to show us how you get your hair so fabulous!” One of them said to the young man he was pulling along by the arm. Another student was following alongside, watching the whole thing, smiling.

This clearly wasn't an enjoyable situation for the young man, the "Ghosty" in question.

Harmon looked at Lenny, and Lenny looked back. "Just like we did in Dead End?" Lenny asked, snickering. Harmon nodded. When all was said and done, Lenny was an awkward nerd, but he shared his brother's blood. Fortunately, Lenny was more mischievous than violent. And Harmon... well, he'd learned to be a good faker when it was needed.

A very good faker.

The two quickly walked toward the boys, as threateningly as they could. Harmon slouched and dug his hands into his pockets, and Lenny clenched his hands into fists.

"Who're you?" Phillip asked, turning his head to meet them. He let go of Casper, giving the duo his full attention.

"Lenny and Harmon." Lenny said, puffing his thin chest full of air. Under normal circumstances, Lenny would've avoided the scene like the plague, but being reunited with his old friend filled him with a newfound air of confidence.

"Harmon's a girl's name, and gingers don't have souls. Now fuck off." Phillip said with a smirk, before turning back to Casper. It was clear that the dynamic duo had left him thoroughly unimpressed, and far from intimidated. Suddenly, the boy's phone vibrated. Lenny made a quick glance at Harmon, who was keeping his head down. Focusing. He looked back as Phillip took out his phone and took a glance at it. Then a double-take. His expression turned to disbelief as he stared down at the little screen.



Phillip reared back a bit. He muttered under his breath, "What the fuck..." And then, another message.



"Dude, what's wrong?" Greg asked, placing his hand on his friend's shoulder. Phillip recoiled a bit as he cradled his head with his free hand and said, "Let's- let's just- Greg, we have to go, this is fucked up!" The student quickly turned away and began walking away from the scene. Greg looked at him for a moment before turning towards Lenny and Harmon, exclaiming, "What the fuck did you do?"

Lenny held out his hand, as if to stop the boys from coming any closer. If they had been paying attention, both Phillip and Greg would've noticed that their phones' batteries were rapidly decreasing by the second, going from 90s to 20s in a matter of moments.

Lenny shrugged. "What are you talking about?" Greg looked at his phone, and began frantically pressing the power button to no avail. The two turned tail and ran. Lenny turned his head towards Harmon and said, "Sent him something intense?"

"It was, it was... harsh..." Harmon replied, "But... it worked..."

Lenny returned a smirk, not really wanting to know anymore. He turned his gaze towards the victim of the incident and extended his hand. "You alright, bud?"

---

@Shard

Casper watched the scene unfold and stayed completely quiet as it did. Who were these two? Wait, he recognised one of them, it was that Harley guy, wasn’t it? It was. The other kid, he had no idea. Red hair, slim frame…no, he didn’t ring a bell. They had saved Casper though, and it was safe to assume his gratitude. “You alright, bud?” The red haired boy spoke, bringing Casper back from his thoughts.

“Y-yeah…” He gulped, looking between the two. What had happened, exactly? Something with the bully’s phone? It seemed like it, but it was hard to tell, not to mention the fact that Casper was ready to fall to the floor. His legs were tired, his heart was racing and he felt the little energy in his frame ready to leave. “Th-thanks…” Casper looked down, avoiding Lenny’s eyes as he did. He was saved by these two. Saved…this is who Casper was, wasn't it? A weak little coward who couldn’t stand up for himself and needed others to do it for him. In all honesty, these two were probably misfits as well, with Harley over there taking the prize. Despite this, they stood up against the bullies and saved Casper’s ass. It was so humiliating, not because he was afraid of being embarrassed, but because it showed him how weak he really was.

“I’m…” The smaller boy continued, rubbing his arm slightly. It still hurt a bit from being pulled by Philip. ’Damn, I’m fragile…’, Casper sighed at the thought. “I’m…going back to my…room…” That piece of candy wasn’t worth this. Maybe he could get it later at some point, in between classes. That made sense. “Thanks…again…” He finished.

Despite the turmoil in the boy’s mind, he wanted his saviours to feel appreciated. He was very grateful for their help, it was just that he wanted to be able to help himself, too. Everyone needs a bit of help from time to time but this was ridiculous. When exactly would Casper grow a spine? He hadn’t the past sixteen years and for it to sprout now was probably a pipe dream. “Bye…” He raised his head weakly as he turned around and started walking back to the dormitories. Inside that Playstation Vita he was actually someone. If only he could escape into that world and stay there for as long as he wanted. No…that wouldn’t be the best course of action, not that it was possible to begin with. At least not for him, some other meta probably could, but not Casper. The best way to deal with all of this for Casper was to grab a gun and shoot things, that always made him feel better. Apart from a few airsoft pistols in his bag however, he didn’t have access to anything else. This would work, though. He could go and shoot a few trees, or something. Not today, though. Not today, he could do that later. He really missed the shooting range back home.

-̷̴̸̨ ̧͟Wh̨͞͝a̷͏͡t҉͟’͜͏͘͜͞ś̡̛͡ ̷̡͢͟o̕͜n͘͢ ̵̡͢͢͝t̷̛̀͏̸h̶̷͠e̡͠ ͡҉̷̛͞s͟͠͡͏́h̵̡̢́o̸͟͞p̴̴̢̛͢ṕ̵̢͟͠i̵̵̶͜n͘͟͠͏ģ̧̀͞ ̸̡͜ĺ̡̛i̶̴͟s͟͠t̶̕͡͏͜?͘͢͝͠
̀͢-̸̛͝Ŗ̶̨͜A̡D̸̵̨́͠I҉̢͡͞Ǫ͟.̵́̀͜͝ ̶̛͘̕͢H̴̀E̶̸Á͢͠͠T͘҉̨͞͏ ̨́̕͟͠L̵̷A̴̧̕͞͡M͘҉̢̨P̷̴̧̢.̷̢́́͜ ̧͘Ḿ̷̷̢͡A͏́K̡͝E̴͞Ư̡͢P̶̡̕͢.̸́͢ ̢͏̢̨D̶̕R̶̛I̷̧͠͏N͏̶̸͘Ḱ̵̕͞S̡͝.̨́͝
̷͘-̛͘͘H̛̕҉̸ó̢ẁ̢ ͘͞a҉̸̷̵͢r҉҉̢͢͠e҉̴̨͢ ̧͜t͢͢͞h̴̢̛́͠e̶̴͞ ̢ŗ̴̵̕͘ę̷͏̀n͟͡o̕͢v́͘a̕̕t̛̛i̷̛͜͝ơ̷͘҉̨n̛͡͡s҉̷̛ ͡ć̀ó͝m҉̧̀i̡̡̛͡͠n̨͏̵̸g̸͞ ̶̨͘a͘͡l̵͠҉̧o̧͟ņg̵̸̀͘͡?̡̢́͟
̷҉̢͜-̷̡́͘͜W̵͘҉҉̨Í͡͝Ń̡̕͢D҉̸Ơ̢͜͞W̷̨ ̶̕͡I̴̸̸̛S̴̢̡͞ ̷̡̢͞A̷̧͞͡L̵̸͟M̀͝͡O̡͏S̸͜͠͏̧T͏̧̛͟͡ ́́͡͡F̸̀́͘͜U̴͝Ļ͜͏Ĺ͏Y̴̵̵̧͡ ̢̛̛͏R̵̵̡͢͜È̕͜͡P̴̴̧̕͜A̵̡҉̴I̡͠͞҉̡R̵̴̨̀͘E̶͘̕͠D̶́͜.̵̧
̶̵́̀͢-͏̡́͞͏S̕͏h̷҉̨̛͠o̧҉̕u̵̴l͏̷̛͢͠d̶͞ ͜͞I͏͠҉҉̢ ̡̨҉̀c͠҉͘͟o̷͝m͠͏̧̡͡é͠ ̴̷o̷̶̷͝ų̵̛̕͜t̛̀̕͞ ̵̶̨͝o̢͘f͡͏́͠ ̷͡ţ̷̸͡͠ḩ̛͠e͏͢ ̡̛̀̕͢p҉̢͏͡ò̶͞͞ơ͝͏͢l̶̸͜͢?̶̕
̸̸̢̛͢-̵N͜͡҉̴̨O̶̵͟.̵̨̛̛͜ ̕Ţ̶̛H͘͟E͜͏͜͟͜ ̡̀͟͡W͡͏̧À̶̸̕T̴̀͠͏E͟҉R̸̶͞͞ ͏̵̧͝͠I̧̢͢͜͝S̸̀̀͏ ҉̨͢F̨́͘͘͞I̡̡N҉͡҉̶̸E̴͘.̷͝
̡̕-̷A̡͝͏͠l̸͘͜͟͝r̛͞i͏҉͠g̸̢h͜t̢́͢.͞͏͜ ̸̨̕͢Ì̢̨͘͟’̷́̕l͡͝l͜͢͡ ́́͜͝͡k̛̕e͜ȩ̸̀p̸̴͠͝ ̶̢̕s̡̕͠w͢͝į͢m̨͜͡m̷̴̡͠i͡҉ņ̡g̸͘͟͝.̵̶̨͝
̕͏̴̵-̨̀͡A҉̀͏͞N̕͟͞D̢͢͢͝ ͏̸͜Í̴̧ ̛͘͢W̵̸Ì͘͝͠Ļ̕͢L̕͟ ͘K̷̕͜͜E̸͠E̷͘͠P̨ ̶̛̕͜T̴̶͞H̢̛͢E̶ ̸̢̨̕W̸̵̴͘H͢I̢͢Ś̛T̀͟͜L͟͝É͏̵.̡̕͢͝҉

---

---

Ruben had left the offices after his discussion with Mason regarding the young man’s abilities. He wasn’t lying before – pocket dimensions always intrigued him. They were always useful, either for storage or, in Mason’s case, espionage. NEST would definitely make extensive use out of an agent with that kind of power. Subtle and adaptable. Far better than most methods of destruction other abilities would employ. Indeed, Mason would make a stellar agent. But before that, Ruben might have to request the young man utilize his abilities to aid the professor’s pursuits.

Whatever they may be.

Ruben was on his way to his classroom once again. The Cranial Eclipse was still locked inside and he’d have to retrieve it. He was less concerned about it being stolen than he was making sure it was completed as soon as possible. But the rate at which he could work was dependent on the rate at which Harmon delivered his plucked shards to him. Ruben knew the process made the poor young man uncomfortable. But the shards were such a resilient material that he could settle for nothing less once he learned of them. So, he would have to wait. But he wouldn’t need that many more.

Ruben strolled through the grounds. Eyeing students. Analyzing them. Wondering what else he’d be seeing throughout this academic year.

So many meta-humans.

So many risks.

So much potential.

7:41 PM

The day went on, and the students continued to do absolutely nothing. Up until the night fell, and the students were wrapping up their day and kicking back. However... something was lurking...

---

---

Heh.... You got us lost.

Shut up, Agni. Diego snarled into the voice in his head, as he pushed aside a bush with his free hand - his other hand was carrying a large drop of fire. Which illuminated a large swath of this pitch black forest. All that was in his ears was the sounds of animals chirping, and the fire raging within his hands. Not the best place to be - especially after hours. Christ, maybe he should have stayed in the dorm. He went out to get a late night smoke, and now he's lost! Maybe he should have just smoked in the room - but he didn't want to bother Casper. Far as the school knows, he's gone. Whatever is out here - the bushes behind him rustled intensely, almost like something went from one bush to another. Diego stopped and looked around. What the hell was that? He thought to himself.

Trouble. Keep moving. If it attacks, then make it so that's the last move it ever makes! Agni said.

Diego nodded. He turned back forward and kept walking - just a little faster. He didn't know what it was, but he wasn't going to stick around to find out. He kept moving forward, but he made the flame a little bigger just to give him more vision. Diego pierced through the thick forests - and saw a clearing. He didn't know, but he felt extra inclined to go there. It felt safer there than playing around in the woods. He pierced through the last thicket of bushes, and walked into the clearing. His body was assaulted by rays of moonlight. He walked into the center of the clearing, before looking up skywards. There it is, the Academy. It can be seen standing tall, and it's shining lights offering Diego some direction. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out his carton of cigarettes-

A loud growling pierced Diego's vision - immediately causing him to drop his cigarettes and turn around. What was in his gaze was a silhouette of a massive creature. Quadrupedal, and has the massive predatory visage that filled Diego with the primal fear of beasts. All that he paid attention to was it's long, vibrating snout. He started shaking, as adrenaline made his heart rush. He took a few steps back. "St-Stay away!" He shouted at it, taking more steps back.

I'm giving you enough power to fry this thing! Agni shouted - and on cue, Diego's symbols started glowing with a firey light. Don't think! Don't run, fight!

The... whatever the hell it is, started running forward - Diego could hear it's feet patter against the dirt. It made a sound similar to laughter, like a crazed Hyena. Suddenly, Diego's world froze. It's like Agni said... Diego mused as motion slowly resumed. Don't think... Diego's hands erupted in a wreath of flames. He slammed one foot in front of himself, and swiped his hand from left to right. The creature was getting closer, and that meant there was no time to think. Just fight! He outstretched both hands straight at the monster, and unleashed a torrent of flames. A massive cascading spiral that went straight for the beast. He used all of his will to keep it going forward.

However, the monster seemed to be quick. It stopped dead in it's tracks and hopped to the side. Out of the way - but Diego heard it bark. It must have felt the intense heat. But that wasn't the problem. The blast of fire Diego shot continued the course he had set it on.... Right into the vegetation he had just come out of. Instantly coating it with a blanket of flames that spread. "Shit!" He screamed, his Spanish accent was loud. He quickly ran over to the flames, and put his hands out, poised to absorb the flames and put an end to this. However, he heard the beast growling, and his four legs were bent. Ready to pounce. The monster let out an inhuman cry and leaped at Diego, who instinctively rolled shoulder-to-shoulder. He saw the bony underside of the creature leap over him. He crawled up to his feet and manifested the flames on his hands again. When the creature took a step forward, Diego shot a blast of flames at it's feet. Making it take a step back. Diego did the same. The monster threw his head up and swung it in a circle, loudly roaring. It jumped forward, but Diego fired off flames like a flamethrower. He ducked and the creature went right over his head.

Fuck this, fuck this, fuck this... Diego thought to himself as he went "fuck it" and took off running towards the school. He couldn't hear the monster behind him - but he wasn't going to turn around and look. He watched too many horror movies. He made it back to school grounds quickly, he ran up to the dock, and right through the Reception Desk. He knelt over for a second, loudly panting. He felt very dehydrated, and hungry... it's what happens when he uses his power. It burns up something inside of him. Nothing that the cafeteria could fix. Diego then stood straight up, he looked around... there wasn't anyone here, fortunately. Diego walked back to the door and peaked out for a moment. People were looking at him like he was crazy. He brushed off his knees and started walking away.

Diego headed towards the cafeteria, passing through the garden. He had the strangest feeling this wasn't over....

---

After the incident, the two continued into the dormitory. Casper, the young man on the receiving end of the shit stick, didn't seem all too happy about the event in general. Maybe they'd run into him again and find a way to cheer him up, who knows. Lenny led Harmon up the staircase, up towards the third floor. They passed by door after door until they reached their destination; 269. Lenny chuckled a bit as he stood before the door. He turned to Harmon, who didn't return a smile. Either he wasn't amused, or the joke went right over him. Lenny shrugged. "Let's see if my roommate's here." He said, raising his hand and knocking on the door.

Sitting in his bed, pondering the events which had occurred, Casper managed a heavy sigh and reached for his handheld console. Why did this always have to happen? This time it was prevented but what about next time? First a teacher would save him from the clutches of misery and then two misfits would come and do the same. A third time would probably not be as kind to the boy. He had retired to his dorm only moments after the ordeal, not wanting to face any further hardships. Well, he wouldn't be left alone. Not quite yet. Breaking his attention from the screen, the boy would notice how the door swung open to reveal two familiar faces. He almost jumped off the bed first but instead sat silent, glaring at them. Was one of those his roommate?

"Oh, hey, it's you." Lenny said calmly, looking over at Casper. He did a double take towards Harmon, then back to the young man, and said, "You, uh, must be my new roommate. Cool."

It took a short moment before Casper could fully ground himself with the situation. Eventually, however, he managed a soft smile. This was him, huh? Well, at least it wasn't the pig he first expected. "Hello..." He spoke, waiting for them to tread further into the room.

As the duo walked further inside, Lenny turned his head to scan the place. "Looks pretty good, right?" He said, nudging Harmon with his shoulder. He was met with nothing but a nod as a response. After a moment he called out, "Oh, shit, uh... names, right." He turned to Casper and said, "I'm Lenny Boggs, man. This is my buddy Harmon. What's your name?"

Harmon! That was his name! Well, Casper wasn't too far off, was he? The boy looked between them before responding, turning his Playstation off. "I'm Casper..." He spoke quietly, still a bit unsure of how to approach this. Lenny seemed very confident in himself but Harmon had remained quiet. He was probably like Casper on that account, shy and reserved. Well, at least Casper had said hello, now. He could cross that from his bucket list.

"Oh, like the, uh... the friendly ghost. Heh." He tucked his hands in his pockets and passed a quick glance at the Xbox lying near the television. "Anyway, uh..." He said, "Me and Harm-O here are gonna just sit down and play this 50 Cent game. You cool with that?"

The friendly little ghost...Casper flinched slightly at hearing that but he didn't make a big deal out of it. In fact, he didn't even comment on it. Apart from the slight sting he felt from hearing those words, he knew that Lenny didn't mean anything by it. He didn't seem like the person who would intentionally be mean, besides...he had saved Casper, with Harmon at his side. "Yeah..." The boy nodded at Lenny's question. It was his room too, they could do whatever they wanted within reason.

Lenny nodded and knelt down to power up the console. Harmon continued to stand upright, but by now, he was focusing the lens of his camera - still clipped to his coat - on Casper. He felt like he'd caught a glimpse of him before the incident downstairs, but it wasn't coming back to mind. Maybe it was the shards' fault. While Lenny was getting the game ready - and by the notion that is was a game about 50 Cent, everyone in the room knew how much fun it was going to be - he worked up the gall to make some small talk. "Y-... are, uh... are you, new here?" He said softly.

Casper blinked a few times at the question and understood that Harmon hadn't noticed him last year. Well, he wasn't really that visible, though given the fact that his hair was always dyed in some way, he could be spotted easily enough. "No..." He shook his head. "I've been here since last year..."

"Ah..." Harmon responded, saying nothing further beyond that. He slowly turned his head back towards the television and slumped downward, taking a seat at the floor beside the bed Casper was resting on. At that moment, Lenny spoke up again.

"Oh, uh, girl named Kayla is gonna show up later too. Just so ya know."

---

Written in collaboration with @Mr Allen J

---

---

Classes had, for the most part, been a drag. They had spent most of the previous few days to themselves, relaxing and acclimating to their new home, keeping each other... company.

They were both intelligent, they had come from some of the best schools in the country. While they were here for entirely different purposes, as freshmen they were required to go through the basic math, science, english, etc classes that were required of college students int he first two years before they began specializing. This was... a benefit for her at least, as she didn't know what she wanted to do as of yet. However, her boyfriend, in all of his wisdom, had set a plan for himself already. Something to do with international relations, he had told her. She couldn't help but feel that it was fitting. At least for him.

"That's a king." the male said from across from her, movint the checker over and placing it on top of hers, creating a beige and brown stack. This was bad. She was at a disadvantage in this position. She looked up at him, and as she did so his concentration broke from the checker piece to her. The man gave a small smile, the left side of his lip curving upwards first like they always did. He didn't give many open smiles anymore since he got braces, she noticed. Chocolate met icy blue, and she broke out into a grin herself. She looked down at the board again, and grabbed a checker piece from her side and jumped one of his own. "Ha!" she exclaimed, grabbing the now moot piece of his and relaxing back into her chair, feeling satisfied by putting him on the defensive. He frowned, scratching the short rough hairs that were growing on his chin. It had been a day or two since he had shaved. She watched him for a moment more, a grin plastering her face, only for it to melt off as he slowly and calmly picked up a piece close by and jumping her piece back, and then jumping around piece right next to it in a terribly, perfectly legal move. With his free hand he grabbed the lost pieces and moved them to his side. She fumed, shooting forwards to the board and eyeing the pieces as if doing so would reveal a game changing move. Her concentration was at it's peak and her frustration was quickly rising.

"You're cute when you're mad, Reagan."

She looked up, to see Maurice watching her, reclined in his chair, glasses on, wiggling his eyebrows like an idiot. She grabbed the closest checkerpiece and threw it at him. He threw his arms up to block the piece, laughing. "I wouldn't be so mad if it wasn't for you, you idiot!", she raged, crossing her arms under her breast and huffing, turning to face anything but him. She knew that if she looked at him, she wouldn't be able to stay mad. However, as she looked at anything but him, she noticed a very... insect like woman enter and sit down not too far away from them. Mutated to a degree she could relate similarly too at times. She felt somewhat bad for the poor woman, but knew full well she wasn't a threat. At least not to her. She cleared her throat and looked over to Maurice, who met her eyes and looked over to the direction Reagan motioned to with her own blue orbs. A... meta human, but a very... effected meta human.

He looked back over to her and she rolled her eyes, taking over her both hands and, with her pointer and index finger, did the finger walk on the table over to an imaginary object, and with her thumb invited said imaginary object over to another imaginary object. What that f...

Oh.

OH.

---

"... M-Miss Barret!" One woman (Likely a staff member) on the boat said, as he rushed over to the side of the railing, and gazed upon Fiona's stunt.

"Yahoo!" All that could be seen was Fiona flying through the air, holding a large luggage bag over her shoulder. She hit the wooden docks with a loud thump, and in a squatting position. She literally jumped up to her feet, and turned towards the boat. "Oh..." She said, trailing off. Her antennae drooped, and her shoulders slumped. "...You guys didn't dock yet... My bad!" She shrugged.

"W-wait next time! You could have been hurt!" She replied.

Hurt? Fiona's gaze looked downwards - which allowed her to get a good look at her outfit. A simple T-shirt and black athletic shorts. Nothing else - Fiona almost never wore shoes! That wasn't the point, there was not one scratch or dent on her exoskeleton. If there was, she could just molt and be all good a few minutes later! Fiona smiled wide, and put the ridge of her hand to her forehead. "Thanks for your concern, ma'am," Fiona started off, "But there isn't a scratch on me!" She said, laughing. She turned down the docks, and bent her legs, and forcibly shooting them so that she would hop. She repeated this again and again, jumping merely to the beat of her hard shell impacting the wooden docks.

Up until the Cricket passed through the front doors of the Academy. She turned her hop into a walk, and stepped through the doors - right when she opened the door, some Spanish kid rushed past her. Her eyes opened, and she looked at the boy. She watched him pant for a second, and she creeked open the door behind her for a second. Peaking out to see that the boat just finished docking, and the late students just started pouring off. Unless this kid... Fiona noticed that the boy's scent had disappeared. That meant he's gone. Fiona casually turned her head back towards him just to make sure. But yeah, he was long gone. Fiona shrugged - she wondered what his problem was. Whatever, he must not want to talk about it.

Fiona walked up to the front desk, and dropped her heavy bag, leaning up on the desk. "Sorry, I arrived late - but I need my sleeping arrangements. My name is Fiona Barret" It was an interesting story as to why she hadn't arrived yet. Something came up at the Ivory Deer Community, and she was a little late. Fortunately for her, this happens often, so she arrived with the second batch.

Fiona nodded her head as the woman told her, "Your roomate is Cassidy Lynn Daniels. Here is your key." The woman handed Fiona a key, and nodded her head. "Your room mate will come up any minute now."

The Cricket clicked her mandibles together, creating a noise. "Sure thing, ma'am!" This was interesting, she never had a room mate before. Though, she wondered what her roomie's reaction would be to sharing a room with a Cricket. She hoped they wouldn't freak out too much. She was human like them, after all... Just a little different. Either way, Fiona turned away and walked off. Her business here was over, fortunately. She made her way through the halls - until her antennas had directed her to the scent of a vibrant forest. In here? Seemed unlikely. Fiona, eager to see what she was smelling, quickened her pace - until she had began hopping. The artifical lights overwhelmed her sense of vision for a second, but after it settled, Fiona realized that she was in the middle of a beautiful garden. Breathtaking... for a few seconds. This garden was nothing she had seen before.

Now, where are the dorms? Fiona wishes to retire to them. She hopped around the garden for a little bit longer - until another smell got picked up. The smell of coffee and other pastries. Smelled like fun! Fiona changed course to that scent - quickly hopping towards it. Until she came across a small building, in the garden. With a neon sign that said "CAFE". She smirked - the place looked like fun! She stopped hopping and walked inside. It seemed kind of active. Fiona was certain the place was more active earlier in the day. She picked up some more scents. She ignored them for a moment, and sat down in a chair, and rested her luggage bag on the ground at her feet.

---

Maurice slowly and purposefully stood up, walking over to the woman's table and stopping about six inches away from it. "Uh, ma'am," he said, trying to get her attention. "I noticed you looked kinda alone, do you... maybe want to join us for tea and get some some help with that luggage?" he questioned, motioning over to the table Reagan was at. The woman he motioned to, slapped her head to her forehead. Way to go and say they were watching her, jarhead.

Huh? Fiona's antennas perked up, as her head turned towards them. There was some guy and girl at a table - they were both muscular, and that was somewhat intimidating for Fiona. However, she realized that she was a tall mix between girl and grasshopper, and all that intimidation factor evaporated. They were inviting her to drink some tea? That was an odd request, but Fiona was certainly one to take it. "Oh this?" She slapped her shelled hand onto the luggage bag. "I carried this thing all the way from Black Fall! It won't bother me!" She said, in the chippiest tone she could muster. The bag didn't concern her at all, her shell didn't exactly have nerves like flesh did. So it was fine. Fiona pushed the chair back, and stood straight up. She bent her knees a bit, and hopped right over to their table - Over some other tables. Landng right at their table. She dropped the bag of luggage by their table.

Nailed it.

"And tea? I'd love some tea!" Fiona tried to be happy as possible - to hide that concern she had deep down. She was before two... normals, as some of the people at the Community put it. They didn't like freaks like her. Fiona pulled out a table, and sat down. Sliding herself in. There was a brief silence. And in that silence, Fiona was waiting for the moment they explode at her and call her freak and other slurs. Her fears weren't realized. "... Oh, um... I'm Fiona! Nice to meet you two!"

Maurice looked down at the spot where the luggage bag had been and kinda stared at it, as the woman he had just spoken to had so casually jumped over all the other tables to their own. He didn't know how to react to that, and he didn't know if he ever would. He shook his head and composed himself, walking back over to his table where Reagn sat, holding herself as far away as possible while still gripping the table and her eyes wide and staring directly at the newcomer. She looked to Maurice for a moment, who shrugged, and then back to... Fiona.

"Pretty name." Reagan finally commented, relaxing into the newcomer's presence. "My name's Reagan, and this is my boyfriend, Maurice.' she said, motioning over to the man who had invited her over. "Jersey Devil, and power replicator, respectively." she finished. Maurice, as if to testify to this, held up his hand to displace the blace leather gloves that covered the skin. "I take it you dont talk to people much based on... whatever that was." Reagan finished her eyes flicking to the table Fionna had just... jumped from.

Oh! They were lovers!? How sweet! Fiona was going to congratulate them, but she kept her mouth shut. Offering to provide a sweet smile instead. So, they were Reagan and Maurice? Names sounded exotic. Or at least to her. She spent awhile in the Ivory Deer Community, and that place had some weirdly named people. Then she randomly said "Jersey Devil" and "Power Replicator"... It took Fiona a moment to figure out that she was talking about powers. Fiona would be lying if she said she knew what a "Jersey Devil" is - but the thought of a Power Replicator intrigued her... and frightened her. She wondered what he was capable of. Would he want her power?

However. the conversation took a turn for the uncomfortable once Reagan mentioned how "she didn't talk to people much". Once again, Fiona's antenna's drooped, and she looked at the foot for a second. "Um... I, uh..." Come on, Cricket, you knew this was coming. They were looking down on her because of her appearance. She shouldn't have walked up to begin with! She started breathing a bit heavier, wondering the way out. Her eyes quickly shot around - looking for that escape.

"Hey now..." A voice came from a woman approaching, Fiona looked up at her.

---

Well, this day kinda sucked. Michelle started to play pool, and fucked that up. Then she tried to head out to have some adventure, and that went no where. So, for the rest of Michelle's day, she spent it in the woods. By herself. Relaxing. Fortunately, nothing in there was ballsy enough to mess with her - an Apex Predator among the savage beasts. However, when night started to fall... that's when things that frightened even her started coming out. It'd be dumb to stick around. So Michelle left the woods, and retired to the Academy. Right now, she's exploring the place. And her explorations lead her straight to the Cafe. Putting herself in a small-ass chair was awkward. She looked at the menu, with her legs crossed. Her senses were being barraged in this small ass cafe. Sounds! Smells! Sights! They were almost too much for Michelle....

"I take it you dont talk to people much based on... whatever that was."

Michelle heard it vibrate through her ears. Now, now? She turned her head to the table, and saw a group of three people. Two girls, and one cu- guy - she couldn't give a fuck about him. Her attention was on the ladies. One was perfectly normal, redhaired, yadda, yadda, yadda... but when it came to the other lass, that's where Michelle got heated. The girl looked... inhuman. A green exoskeleton, with buggish traits - good thing god let her keep her hair. She was just a big old bug! Still, Michelle wasn't the type to sit by and let her become this chick's verbal punching bag.

So, Michelle slid the chair back a bit, and stood straight up. She stretched her back, and let out a yawn as she walked over to them. She stepped up to the table, casually saying, "Hey now..." She said with a grin. "You pickin' on the Cricket here?" She said pretty playfully. "Mind if I have a seat, then?"

---

Maurice looked up to the new person in surprise, and Reagan remained relatively unfazed. She had been at a position to see the woman come over. She raised an eyebrow at the remark that the new woman made? Picking on her? Oh, no.

"Less of... Picking on, and more of pointing out an abnormal social cue..." Reagan explained. "Nothing we can't work on. I've seen worse be made into better. Like Black Fall's lizard-cop." she said, reaching forward and taking a sip of her tea. She had initially disliked tea. She still did somewhat. Green tea was the only kind she had really come to like of the many different variations. Maurice, leaned back, grabbing a chair behind them and pulling it over to the table for huge woman after acknowledging her question for her to sit in. "Maurice," he said, offering a gloved hand. "This here is Reagan. And... Cricket is Fiona."'

Hmph... that's what I thought. Michelle thought to herself with a smirk etching it's way across her lips. She probably intimidated the lass into shutting up. Michelle just has that effect! Still, she was going to stick around. She inserted herself into this conversation, and she's going to stay for the conversation. She grabbed the chair, and planted her behind down into it. "Oh?" She said as she descended, "My bad. I just got the wrong idea... Didn't know you were givin' her a bit of constructive criticism." The chick mentioned Black Fall - Michelle heard a lot about that place. She wondered if she should give it a visit at some point. That means this chick must be from there. Michelle thought to herself again. Didn't matter honestly.

They started throwing introductions around. Muscle-guy was Maurice. From Russia with Love was Reagan. And the Cricket-girl was Fiona. Noted, noted, and noted. It only seemed fair to give out her name too. "Well, since we're giving out names here, I'm Michelle. Nice to meet each and every one of ya'." She said with a smile on her face.

While this conversation was on-going, Fiona remained quiet. Very quiet. She observed for a bit - choosing to focus the various scents given off by the group. The perfumes wore by Reagan, the raw... masculinity given off by Michelle. Something's wrong with me...? Fiona asked herself, as she raised a hand to her chin. Is that what Reagan is saying? She... didn't know. Maybe there was. Maybe it was because Fiona wasn't normal. Still, what Reagan is saying is rather concerning... Maybe she should just go. "Um, hi." Fiona weakly said right after Michelle sat down. Gently waving at her.

The gears in Reagan's mind began turning as Michelle sat down, analyzing the woman very meticulously and carefully. She was heavily built, more muscular than anything else, but at the same time more bulky than Maurice. This was compounded by her height. She had yet to stand up next to her, but she was obviously incredibly tall, enough to play basketball with no trouble by the looks of it. She was African American, strong chin, bob haircut. Lots of scars. She was obviously someone she wouldn't be able to intimidate out with sheer appearance like she could others, should she need to. Creativity however, was intelligence having fun.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Reagan said only a second or so after Maurice spoke. "You seem like you'll have a lot of stories to tell, based on those scars."

Hmph. What does this girl think she is? A soap opera? Her business was her business, she wasn't going to start spilling her life story just yet. "Now, now, Reagan... Don't you think you're getting a little ahead of yourself?" Michelle put a hand on her chest as she said with an idle smile. "We just met."

"I didn't ask," Reagan began, only for Maurice to give her a look that caused her to second guess continuing the rebuttal. As if to say that it wasnt worth it. "So, what do you do?" Maurice questioned, leaning back in his seat. "And Fiona, where are you from? You never said.".

Sure sounded like it. She thought to herself - very close to saying it outloud. Michelle's face turned into a grimace, and she glared at Reagan. Before she rolled her eyes and let it go. No point in keeping this going - since even if Reagan was asking, Michelle's lips are sealed. However, Reagan decided on a simple question - where did Michelle come from? Well, that was pretty simple, actually. The most she would tell about her past is that she lived in Florida, and worked in a circus. "Well, I came from Flordia... did a lil' bit of work in a circus for a few years, before they sent me here to get my cerifications...." Michelle shrugged. That was all she was going to say.

The answer came harder to Fiona to Michelle - mostly out of uncertainy to say. Should she tell them everything? Or just the important stuff. Fiona clicked her mandibles together as her antennae arced upwards. "Um, I drifted from city to city, until I settled in Black Fall... where I lived for the last couple of years."

Maurice nodded, and met eyes with Reagan, who looked back to him with blank eyes. She was silent for a moment, before she blinked and shrugged. She had once again, not asked Michelle, who answered anyways... an arrogant gesture, but she would look past it for now. Maurice, on the other hand was completely unaware of the situation Reagan was analyzing in her head. "Immigrated from Russia to DC. Now I'm here." was her initial response. "You can probably tell where I'm from." Maurice added in, shrugging. He was severly british and he knew it.

Maurice yawned and pulled out his phone to check the time. 7:41 PM. Not too late, but they were still acclimating to the new time zone. They were up at 2AM the night before, before they forced themselves to sleep. He was hopng to get to bed at a more reasonable time. He was impressed that these people were dealing with the jetlag so well themselves. He looked back to the game they had been playing before the other two had decided to join him, and seeing as Reagan had forgotten her turn, slid another piece forward, jumping another one of Reagan's pieces. Seeing this, the woman who commanded the small checker army coughed on her drink and grabbed another checked piece of hers, and promptly threw it at Maurice. He laughed again, throwing up his arms, but was too slow and the piece bounced off his glasses.

"Fuck you!"

Not Long Before the End of Blackmore's Power Training Class.

---

_{A collab between @TaliPaendrag and @Prince of Seraphs}

---

While Beth was waiting for her turn at the next obstacle, the Slide of Life, the girl with brown hair from the banquet the night before approached her, offering her assistance. "I'm not sure if I'll need it for this obstacle," Beth said, looking at the obstacle to verify her statement. "But if the offer still stands, I see several obstacles ahead that I definitely won't be able to do without help." Gratitude and relief overwhelmed the indignation that Beth usually felt whenever someone offered her assistance like she was a child, though it helped that this obstacle course wasn't some simple, mundane task.

Eventually, it was her turn to climb the ladder up to the platform and prepare herself to go down the rope. Unfortunately, she had severely underestimated the height of the rope from the platform, meaning that she wasn't going to be able to safely reach it without some assistance, preferably in the form of a boost up. "Uhm, it looks like I'll need a bit of help after all," Beth said sheepishly, feeling like a complete idiot. "I can't reach the rope on my own."

Lucy genuinely hadn't expected the girl to accept her offer of help. It didn't really have anything to do with the girl herself more to do with Lucy. At her old school her mother being institutionalized and the fact that it was genetic through the girls in Lucy's family was common knowledge. Because of this Lucy became the subject of a lot of bad jokes and a general social leper, along with anyone that was willing to hang out with her. Lucy smiled a little at the anonymity and freedom that being at this new and much larger school seemed to have brought her.

"No problem," Lucy responded to the girl's inquiry as to whether her offer of assistance extended to the rest of the course. This whole thing was a little much for the first day of training even for someone like Lucy who was more than used to it. "If you need help just ask. I'm Lucy by the way."

When they got to the top of ladder of the 'Slide for Life' it turned out that the girl did in fact need assistance. The course was designed for someone of average height, that being said the rope they were supposed to climb across was about a foot and a half out of the girl's reach. As the girl asked for help, Lucy was overwhelmed with her thoughts of sheepishness that generally accompanied feelings of inadequacy for being unable to do something that others took for granted. In the rush of emotion Lucy also received a name, Beth. It was pretty and suited the girl quite well.

"Don't worry it's nothing to feel stupid about. Now let's see about getting you through this course." What could Lucy say, she was a sucker for kids. She'd always wanted a younger brother or sister. "I'm going to give you a boost alright?" Lucy said making sure Beth knew Lucy was going to pick her up before she did. Lucy wrapped her arms around Beth's legs and hoisted her within reach of the rope.

"My name is Elizabeth Carson, though I prefer to go by Beth. Sorry for not introducing myself earlier," Beth said, offering a small smile to the larger girl and feeling quite glad that Lucy didn't think too poorly of her for her mistake. When she warned Beth that she was going to be giving her a boost, Beth nodded, quickly forcing as much charge as possible into her bracelet to prevent Lucy from getting shocked when she grabbed her. Once Lucy had lifted her up high enough to grab onto the rope, which honestly shouldn't have been a hard task considering how light she was, Beth grabbed onto the rope and began sliding down to the end, taking care to avoid irritating her hands too much.

Once she reached the bottom, Beth waited for Lucy to catch up, taking the time to stretch out her legs and hands to remove the aching soreness from the obstacle. Beth figured that it wouldn't take Lucy long at all, as she seemed to be quite fit and physically capable. It was a good thing that she was waiting for the larger girl too, as the next obstacle appeared tame enough towards the bottom, but would be virtually impossible at the top, where the gap between the rungs became just about as tall as her. The only real obstacles where she wouldn't need help were the ones that involved crawling, as she was short enough that she didn't even need to drop to her belly, or basic balance.

When Beth introduced herself Lucy felt slightly guilty for having already obtained the information without the girl's consent. The words 'I know' rose to Lucy's lips but she quashed them down quickly. Her friends back in high school had been nervous about her ability and they'd been friends for ages before hand. How would a complete stranger react to the knowledge that Lucy could invade there minds and what was worse was that she couldn't promise she wouldn't do it to them because she was unable to control it herself. Lucy decided she wouldn't lie about her ability even though that was her first impulse, what people don't know can't hurt them. If no one asked then Lucy wouldn't volunteer the information but if Beth or anyone else asked about her ability then she'd come clean.

Lucy watched Beth shimmy down the rope on the next obstacle with satisfaction that she'd helped make it happen. Of course Beth no doubt would have found another way up to the rope had Lucy not been there but it was nice to know she could help people if only just a little. When Beth reached the bottom of the rope Lucy clamped her headphones back on and turned on a wild song before she gripped the rope with both hands and swung her legs up, wrapping them both around the rope. This required concentration and Lucy didn't need to be bothered by stray thoughts flying in her direction.

Lucy moved quickly down the rope. It was not a difficult exercise by any definition. Lucy had done similar antics on the monkey bars at her elementary school. Perhaps Lucy moved a little too quickly over confident in her own ability for when she reached the ground her hands were red and burning, like she'd clapped too hard at the end of a school play. She'd gotten light friction burns from doing the course too quickly.

The rest of the obstacles were each on there own relatively simple, balance on this, weave through those, climb that. It all began to stack up. Lucy helped Beth through any of the areas were height became a problem though in a handful of the obstacles appeared actually easier for Beth because of her lack of mass. By the last piece of the course Lucy's muscles were burning and her hair was sticking to her face and scalp from sweat. She stumbled on the last log of the Island Hopper nearly falling off before she successfully landed next to Beth who Lucy had insisted do the course ahead of her. That way if anything went wrong Lucy was right behind her to lend assistance.

Despite her fatigue Lucy smiled. "Course complete." She said with a triumphant grin on her face. Lucy raised her hand for a high five before she remembered Beth's relative height compared to hers. Lucy lowered her hand accordingly so Beth could slap it.

Upon seeing the last obstacle, Beth knew that she was going to need Lucy's assistance, which made her feel a little guilty, as the other girl was surely as exhausted as she was. Still, there was no getting around the fact that jumping from stump to stump would prove more than a little difficult for her due to the fact that her legs weren't really built for jumping distances that were large relative to her body size. Fortunately, the stumps weren't too tall for her to climb up on, even with her shaky legs. As such, it was mostly a matter of picking the path that would result in the smallest distance between stumps. Eventually though, she reached the last stump in the obstacle and climbed down to the ground, taking a few steps towards the door to be out of the way while she waited for Lucy.

By the time the two of them had completed the obstacle course, Beth's legs were barely able to hold her up, and she couldn't really lift her arms more than a couple of inches. In fact, if it hadn't been for Lucy's help, she wouldn't have finished, and not just because some of the obstacles were impossible for her physically. She had almost fallen numerous times due to sheer exhaustion, only for Lucy to stretch out a hand and stabilize her until she was able to continue. It was hard to find words to describe the gratitude Beth felt towards Lucy for her help, especially because she feared what Mr. Blackmore, who appeared strict and serious even in the best of times, would have reacted.

Despite Beth's exhaustion, Lucy's smile was contagious, and Beth found herself smiling slightly as well. It had been a challenge, and she had completed it, even if it required help from another person. She deserved to feel good about it. The fact that Lucy seemed to forget about her height when offering a high five didn't even annoy her like it usually would, though that was partially because it was perfectly understandable considering how exhausting they both were. When the larger girl realized her mistake and lowered her hand, Beth slapped it to complete the gesture, the small smile on her face growing larger.

Celebratory high five concluded, the two of them made their way into the room where the other students who had completed the obstacle course, or failed as the case may have been, had gone. The room was still pitch-black when they entered, though Mr. Blackmore followed fairly soon and activated the lights to reveal the interior. Fortunately, the next exercise, demonstrating abilities, was purely optional from how Mr. Blackmore phrased it, which meant that Beth could take a break by collapsing against the wall next to the door while others, who had completed the course with considerably less effort, went forward to demonstrate their abilities.

As awful at small talk as she was, Beth couldn't think of anything to talk about with Lucy that would help pass the time until class was over. Surprisingly, she actually did want to talk with Lucy, as she felt that she had befriended the larger girl, even if it was more or less by accident. Hopefully, Lucy felt the same way and could propose a topic for conversation.

Lucy was glad that forgetting momentarily Beth's height didn't make the younger girl angry. After the obstacle course Lucy wanted to think of the two of them as friends. God knew Lucy was not particularly good at making those. She usually ended up offending people with her manor or her opinions. Though it was still very much a possibility between her and Beth, after all they'd only been in contact for a little more than an hour.

Both girls collapsed against one of the walls as Adam began to introduce the second half of today's exercise. This room is appeared would be the site for the rest of the years training. It contained, apart from the stage that Blackmore was standing on, an arena for those wishing to challenge themselves against each other, a target range for those with distance abilities and something that looked like a parkour course. If Lucy was being honest with herself she'd most likely spend most of her time on the last of the three options... but not today. Today she wanted to collapse in her room with her computer and rest, for a very long time. She did really want to explore the campus but that would have to weight till after she'd rested.

In the meantime Lucy was not in the slightest interested in displaying her abilities before the entire class. This was not just because she was ready to fall over at a slight push of wind but also because Lucy didn't want people to know her powers, not yet. If people wanted to be friends with her or avoid her it would not be because they were afraid of her abilities or wanted to use them. It would be because they wanted to get to know her as a person. At some point she'd tell people her about her powers but only after they'd gotten to know her. It wasn't a conversation opener. As much as Lucy would have wanted to show up the teacher by reading something embarrassing in his thoughts it really wasn't worth it.

When Beth did say anything Lucy realized it was on her to start a conversation. She cast around for something to talk about. Asking about both Beth's power or her past would be a terrible idea given that the questions could very easily be turned back at her. Something simple was a better idea, after all Lucy barely knew the girl next to her. "So Beth," Lucy started not quite sure how she was going to finish the sentence. "How've you like the academy so far." Yikes that was bad, what was she a courtesy clerk? They probably had complaint forms for that type of question. Lucy waited for how Beth would react, hoping it would go better than that had sounded in Lucy's head.

"It's been pretty good, I guess," Beth replied after a moment of thought. "My classes are going pretty well, even though the teachers are all a little strange." Of course, that didn't include reading, though Beth kept that thought to herself. The fact that she was severely dyslexic wasn't something that she wanted to toss around carelessly; it was embarrassing that she couldn't read beyond a second or third grade level, and she certainly didn't want everyone to know it.

Some of the students who had been up demonstrating their powers were starting to return to the main group, which was full of those who had been far too exhausted by the obstacle course to even think about making use of their abilities. It seemed that the class was, finally, drawing to a close, and that they would be dismissed quite soon. Even though class was ending, Beth didn't want to end the conversation, even if it was a little awkward.

"What about you? Are you enjoying your time here so far?" Beth asked, struggling to rise back to her feet so that she was ready to leave when they were dismissed. Coincidentally, they were dismissed almost immediately after Beth managed to stand up successfully, though she decided that she would wait for Lucy to join her before leaving, as she wanted to continue talking and hanging out with the larger girl for as long as possible.

Lucy nearly missed what Beth answer to her question because at that moment the little girl's thoughts flared unbearably loud for a fraction of a second, but it was long enough for Lucy to read why Beth was agitated and wish to high heaven that she could control her powers. She didn't have the right to know things this way. Something like dyslexia was personal and to a lot of people likely embarrassing. If Beth wanted Lucy to know she would volunteer the information.

Lucy recovered from this in time to get to her feet along with Beth and catch her question at Adam dismissed the class. Lucy thought about it for a moment. The school was definitely strange but overall aside from a couple of unpleasant individuals it wasn't all that bad. Drama class had been fun and while 'Power Training' was grueling it also was enjoyable mostly because Lucy had someone to share it with.

As Lucy was formulating a response a thought ripped into her like an arrow finding it's mark. A single but very powerful thought no doubt spurned by surprise. 'This is the ability Mason was so ashamed of!?' Lucy didn't get anymore than that before the intensity dissipated but it was enough to cause her headache to hit such a crescendo that Lucy placed her hand to her forehead to see if she skull was expanding. As she did so a fit of dizziness hit her with just as much intensity as the thought that caused it.

Lucy's already weakened legs slipped from under her. The owner of the thought must be a fair distance from here, or at least a room or two over. It was a good thing too, if something like that had happened right next to Lucy she would more than likely have passed out. The pain still in her head Lucy pushed herself to her knees. God this was embarrassing, collapsing at the end of class. Luckily most of the kids had already left he area along with Mr. Blackmore.

Having started walking towards the exit of the training room once Lucy stood up, Beth didn't actually witness her new friend collapsing to the ground. What clued her into the fact that something was off was the fact that the electrical field emanating from Lucy's body was getting fainter, which meant that she wasn't heading towards the exit like expected. When she turned around, ready to ask if everything was okay, she saw the larger girl push herself to her knees, clearly in a significant amount of pain.

"Is there anything that I can do to help?" Beth asked, hurriedly walking over to where Lucy had fallen. If she wasn't so exhausted, she would have been able to use her electrical powers to potentially soothe the pain that Lucy was feeling, as she could partially disrupt the nerves responsible for pain from firing. But she was completely tuckered out, so the best she would have been able to do was make Lucy's arm tingle or something, which wasn't really all that helpful given the current situation. Hopefully, Lucy had some sort of medicine or something nearby that would help.

Lucy didn't want Beth thinking she was somehow defective so when the little girl asked if she needed help Lucy shrugged her off. "No I'm fine, it's just a headache. It's..." Lucy had promised herself she wasn't going to lie. She could make up an excuse, say she hit her head that morning but she didn't want to build a friendship on lies. Those she usually reserved for getting out of scraps with authority. "It's a byproduct of my ability. It'll pass. I've got some Advil in my locker, that usually helps."

Lucy pushed herself to her feet feeling really pathetic before walking out of the room and back they way they had come. In the gymnasium area she picked up her army jacket before going into the changing rooms. Inside Lucy opened up her lock and pulled a bottle of Advil out of her bag, she shook two out into her hand and swallowed them both despite the fact that she had no water. It would take a couple of minutes for it to kick in but these generally helped at least somewhat.

"Well, if you're sure you're okay," Beth replied, still concerned, sticking close by as they walked out of the training room and through the room with the obstacle course into the locker room, ready to offer whatever assistance she could if it was needed. Once they were inside, Beth left Lucy's side to get her belongings from the locker in which she had stored them and get changed out of the sweaty, bright green suit that she had worn for the class.

Once she was back into her regular clothes, which consisted of a green and black flannel shirt, a pair of blue jeans with a rhinestone four-leaf clover on the pocket, and her shoes and socks, she heaved a sigh of relief, taking a moment to enjoy the sensation before grabbing her bag and heading over to where Lucy was. "Are ya done changing yet, Lucy?" Beth said, coming around the lockers to where she had seen Lucy go upon entering the locker room, hoping that the taller girl was feeling better while also feeling a little lousy for being unable to help at all.

After taking the pills for her headache Lucy stripped out of the suit that had been provided for Blackmore's class. It breathed surprisingly well compared to what Lucy had expected just by looking at it but it still wasn't as comfortable as her own clothing. Lucy pulled on a pair of dark jeans, a tank top emblazoned with the anarchy symbol and finally her army jacket. She snapped her headphones over her ears and started to tie up her converse. The skater gloves she always wore hadn't left her hands even during classes. She didn't need anyone asking where it was she got the little white scars that covered them.

Finally changed Lucy stuffed the suit into her locker, she was going to take a very long shower, but that could wait till later after all. There was a whole campus to explore. When Beth asked Lucy if she was finished changing Lucy nearly missed the question because her headphones nearly completely blocked out sound. Lucy moved them off her ears just enough that she'd be able to hear the little girl if she spoke again. "Yeah I'm finished. Hey you want to get something to eat? I hear they have some great restaurants on campus."

"I'm starving, so getting a bite to eat sounds great. Do you want to go anywhere particular?" Beth said, coming around a corner in the maze of lockers to meet up with Lucy. Upon seeing the taller girl, Beth noticed that she already looked better, an observation that elicited a nearly inaudible sigh of relief from her. Though it seemed a little silly to have been so concerned over a simple migraine, Beth couldn't help it. It went against her nature to be callous and unfeeling towards the plights of other people, even if she usually wasn't able to actually assist them. That's why those sappy commercials that various charity groups air to bring in donations always make her start bawling, much to her embarrassment.

Focused on how Lucy appeared health-wise, it was only after Beth joined her that she noticed the larger girl's attire. Like Beth, Lucy seemed to emphasize comfort over appearing trendy or fashionable, a sentiment that Beth could appreciate. "That's a cool jacket," Beth said as they started making their way out of the locker room in order to make small talk, squinting at it for a moment before continuing. "I'm not an expert, but I think that shade of gray looks good on you. Where did ya get it?" Hopefully, Lucy didn't think that she was strange for asking about her jacket, but Beth couldn't think about anything else to talk about that was less... personal.

When Beth said she was starving Lucy smiled. She was grateful that the little girl hadn't about the power that caused her to collapse in the training room. Lucy herself was feeling a lot better after the advil. Whatever the walls of the academy were made of they seemed effect at keeping out thoughts of those on the other sides of them. A quality not shared by Lucy's old school or her home. With only one mind hovering on the edge of Lucy's consciousness it was easy to keep herself away from Beth's thoughts.

As to what they could eat. Lucy could really go for some fries right now. She didn't know exactly what the school had in terms of restaurants but she could imagine it would include a MacDonalds (those things were everywhere) as well as some higher class burger places, probably a pasta place or two then of course a couple of cafes and most likely a Starbucks.

"I'm not altogether sure what the school has for restaurants. How 'bout we take a look around and see what catches our eye?"

As they exited the change room Beth made a number of compliments regarding Lucy's jacket, the oddest one though was Beth commenting that grey of it looked good on Lucy. It was an army jacket and very clearly a somber green.

"Thanks." Lucy responded not wanting to be rude. "My ah, my Dad brought it back from his tour in the Gulf." If you looked at it closely you could see a number of places were it had been carefully stitched back into one piece. It was well done work, almost invisible but Lucy could feel it every time she touched the fabric.

"He said it protected him out there, were his life was completely uncertain. I figured I could use a little of that." Okay that was a little deep for someone she'd just met but it was the truth. Lucy didn't want to bring up the fact that Beth hadn't been able to identify the color of her cloths. The most obvious solution was that she was color blind and that was not a subject that Lucy imagined anyone wanted to discuss. It was likely right up there with Beth's dyslexia which Lucy still felt guilty for finding out in the manor she had.

"That sounds good to me. I'm not really hungry for anything in particular," Beth replied once they had exited the locker room and were making their way out of the building that housed the training facilities altogether, glad to have something to do with Lucy. Walking around in search of somewhere to eat would also be a great way to explore the campus at the same time, and it was a beautiful day for it, with the sun shining in the clear blue sky. Her uncle had made her take several heavy coats for when winter came, but for now, it was pleasantly warm, meaning that her flannel shirt was enough.

There was a bit of a pause after Beth complimented Lucy on her jacket before Lucy replied, which was just long enough to make Beth begin feeling that she had made a mistake and asked about something that was too personal. Fortunately, Lucy didn't let the silence continue for too much longer, thanking Beth for the compliment and explaining that she got the jacket from her dad, who had received it while serving in the army, though she went further and explained that she kept it around because it was sort of like a good-luck heirloom. "I can understand that," Beth said with a nod, though she didn't share the why.

As they walked, they approached a quaint, little cafe that seemed to have a decent number of patrons. "Are you pretty close to your family then, Lucy?" Beth asked, looking to Lucy as they approached the cafe to see if she wanted to stop there and eat. The delicious aroma emanating from the open doorway was causing her stomach to growl, clearly disapproving of its current state. Still, she didn't want Lucy to feel obligated to stop at the cafe if she wanted to eat somewhere else, so she tried to ignore the protests of her stomach and focus on her conversation with Lucy.

Beth agreed that looking around at what their options might be would be the best way to find something they both liked. When Beth asked about Lucy's family she paused for moment, now that was a heck of a hornets nest. She could start with her clinically insane mother's whose telepathic abilities had driven her to the point of madness, her father who up until two weeks ago had no idea Lucy had powers and was furious that she hadn't told him, then her brother who was frantically trying to mediate the dispute between them.

Of the three the most tame of course was her relationship with her brother Jackson. He at least was still on her side and while he didn't exactly approve of her lying to their father for the last five years or so he had covered for her on a number of occasions. "You could say that I suppose, me and my brother get on pretty well, when he's not calling me a pain in his ass anyways. My Dad on the other hand, well I lied to him about my abilities. He's still angry."

Lucy noticed the cafe they were standing in front of, Beth seemed interested in a pleasant aroma drifting out of it's doors and Lucy not seeing anywhere better to eat decided that it would be a decent place to share a meal. The food smelled good anyways and most of these cafes had really good apple cider. "You want to eat here or does something else look more your speed?" Lucy asked changing the subject.

"Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ask such a personal question," Beth said, sensing that there was more to the story from the length of the pause before Lucy answered her. Unfortunately, it was also a question that Beth would be expected to answer as well in order to be fair. And her answer was about as complicated as Lucy's appeared to be, what with a mother who wanted nothing to do with her, a father who left the family when she was young, and a sister with whom she had lost all contact once she went off to college.

Beth was about to say that she was only close to her uncle when Lucy, thankfully, changed the subject by asking if the cafe was where Beth wanted to get something to eat. Nodding her assent, Beth led the way into the little cafe, taking a seat in a booth near the entrance, though she was going to have to sit on her knees in order to be able to eat. When the waitress came by to ask what they wanted, Beth ordered a serving of fish sticks with french fries and a small coke after having perused the menu to see what looked good.

"Sooo, what do you like to do for fun, Lucy?" Beth asked while they waited for their food, hoping that Lucy would forget about the topic of families and that Beth hadn't explained her family situation. While she did feel a little bad about being unfair, Beth also didn't want to go through the hassle of explaining what her family was like. Really, she hadn't even meant to ask that question in the first place; she had been distracted by her growling stomach and hadn't thought about what she was saying.

The two girls had an early supper at the restaurant. The next hour or so was spent exchanging jokes and conversation though both the girls had a tendency to shy away from sensitive topics. They stuck mostly to the casual things in there exchanges, favorite hobbies, where they came from, the kind of things that wouldn't lead to deeper personal questions. After Beth and Lucy finished their meals the girls exchanged numbers and went there separate ways. They'd see each other again soon enough, after all they had Power Training together.

Cassidy Lynn Daniels

"You," Cassidy drawled, rolling a coin across her knuckles nonchalantly, "Look like you've just seen a ghost."

Cass was lying down on a bench, her longcoat (which was a bit of a misnomer, really, because hers barely came halfway down her thigh) draped over the stone to keep her from getting dirty. She had on a bit of an eccentric outfit-white collared shirt, purple vest and tie, and pants and shoes to match. She idly rolled the quarter across her pale lithe fingers, practicing the little ritual a thousand times over. Cass didn't turn and look at Diego, but if she had, he would've seen one green eye and one blue eye sizing him up, both twinkling with the gleam that precedes any prank.

"And knowing this school," she mused, "Maybe you have." This, of course, was hearsay-Cass had arrived at the Academy rather recently, and didn't entirely feel qualified to comment on any legacies the place had. For all she knew, Mr. Flushed-And-Freaked-Out had been here for years, and would immediately recognize that she wasn't an old-timer. But Cass liked to keep things ambiguous, and never saw any need to tell the truth when a more entertaining fiction would suffice. Flipping the dime (wait a minute, wasn't it a quarter?) up into the air, she palmed it, then swung her legs around and hopped up in one nimble motion. She grabbed her coat and slung it over her shoulder, glancing around. Ah, a fountain. Cass flipped the penny out of her hand and it arced lazily into the water, splooshing down quietly. "Mind if I walk with you?" She, of course, had no idea where the scared senseless boy was running to (Or from), but she operated on a sense of whimsical adventure. Cass winked and walked to catch up with him, somewhat intentionally forcing herself upon him. The truth was that she hadn't really sought anyone out at the Academy thus far, and while she was a bit of a loner...friends were nice. New schools were overwhelming, and she'd rather not pull a disappearing act quite yet.

Cass brushed some hair-the streak of purple, as it were-back behind her ear, letting her bangs fall over the green eye. "Cassidy Lynn Daniels. And you? I promise I won't tell the ghost." Cass extended a hand to Diego, a hand that was sadly devoid of any electric-shockers or live hamsters or similar gags.

---

@He Who Walks Behind

---

I don't like her.... Agni growled into Diego's mind. She speaks lightly of that incident... she speaks as if she had something to do with it.

He was ready to ignore him, but for some reason, he was making sense to Diego.

If I were you, I'd leave... Unless you want to stay and see what'll happen next.

Agni had a point, Diego felt it. At the same time, he knew it was simply a welling paranoia inside of him - rather than feeling legitimately threatened. Is this what he's been reduced to? A paranoid bastard ready to last out at the world? No. He was better than that - or he was going to be. This girl... she was most likely someone new. She seemed certainly... lively. The kind of lively that reminded him of Lupe. Playful, yes, but would she be vain, or arrogant? That's something that Diego was going to find out himself. It was the best he could do. "... Something like that." Diego dryly replied to all the Ghost comments she was making. He scratched the back of his neck as he wondered if he should have kept his mouth shut. Of course, there was no point in hiding it. Since, if she was able to tell from this far away, then he was only going to waste his time.

Diego watched as the mysterious girl, wearing a coat that didn't look out of place in detective fiction, flipped the coin in between her fingers. He was entranced by it (He couldn't make out what coin it was - didn't matter). Still, she was oddly dressed... Going off that previous note, she was dressed like someone straight out of a movie. A white shirt, purple vest - Diego got the impression that she was going for the gambler angle. She must have had money of some sort. Maybe rich parents? Whatever the case, Diego doubted it was his place to really try to find out. Just like it was not her place to find out his business. The girl offered to walk alongside him. For some odd reason. He was trying to find out why in his head. The answers ranged from attraction, to Agni's paranoia. Despite that welling fear saying yes would end badly for him, he was going to try. It's just like Lupe says; you can't spend your life worrying about who will stab you in the back first, you just gotta face them when they do. "... Yeah, sure... Just uh..." He looked around for a moment, wondering where Lupe was. Well, if she was here, she'd be trying to encourage him to flirt with her and have a good time. While she isn't here... It wouldn't hurt to relax, live a little. "... Watch out for that ghost?" He tried. He really did. Some things don't come to him. He was waiting for her to start laughing and walk off.

However, it wasn't the girl to laugh first. Smooth.... Hahahahahahaha.... Agni loudly continued to laugh as Diego closed his eyes and hope this wouldn't end as badly as he thought it would. Agni spontaneously stopped laughing, turning deathly serious. You are doing a great job at keeping the two of us alive, boy!

The girl introduced herself as Cassidy Lynn Daniels... That was a pretty name. Cassidy... He'll certainly remember that. He kept scratching the back of his neck as he walked - keeping eyecontact with her at all times. "That's a nice name... my name is Diego Juluis Bellasquez. Since we're giving our full names here." Damn. He needs another cigarette... but he dropped his fucking carton back in the woods. If he doesn't have another pack in his room, he'll have to go to Lupe to get him some more. And he hates doing that. He put his hands into his jeans, and stopped, turning towards Cassidy. "So I take it you are new here?" He let out a breath of hot air. "I'm new too... and I have to say there's some really weird shi-" He cut himself off, he didn't like cursing - nor did he think Cassidy would be impressed with his potty mouth. He cut to the chase, and outright said, "... There's something in the woods. I don't know what...."

---

---

A telepathic sweep of the area yielded no results.

That's proof that Mika is all alone.

Perfect, because, for this moment the Baozai daughter would prefer to be alone. Without any prying ears listening in on her business. Mika planted her behind on the wall, behind her was the sounds of waves slamming up against the concrete wall of the Beach Lodge. With her spectated eyes, her eyes scanned the area around her - just in case Miss Gambino was spying on her, and had hidden herself somewhere. Hmph. That Redneck better not be anywhere near here. If so, Mika didn't know what she would do. However, she calmed herself. A proper woman does not get paranoid - nor riled up about the what ifs (They get angry over the certains). Mika placed her hand down onto the wall - before she quickly raised her hand back off of it. This construct was dirty. Unfit for placing her hands upon. Just disgusting. Instead of placing her hands on unclean surfaces, she placed her free hand onto her lap. As she clenched her legs together, knees bent downwards. She felt proper. She reached into her purse, and pulled out her cellphone, an Android phone. She simply hated iPhones, and the hipster nonsense that surrounded them. She put in her password, and scrolled through her contacts. Father. She pressed call and put the phone to her ears. It was a moment before he had answered. Just in case someone was listening in, she spoke in Chinese.

To strangers, it would just sound like gibberish.

"Greetings father, I called just like you asked."

Her father was back in Black Fall... in the Headquarters of his company. The main office, standing tall and overlooking the city. The city was sleeping. He sat down in his computer chair, and turned back towards the windows, with the phone in his hand. "Ah, Mika, I forgot about the timezone differences between us...." Jiao-Long answered, in a thick-accented English. Before he switched to Chinese - which was easier than speaking in English. "I have to ask how did your first day go? Though, you are no stranger to this Academy." He said.

"It went swimmingly... It's still full of rednecks." Mika answered with a humored dryness. "I wonder when I can get my certificate and leave this school...." She looked down at her shoulder

"Your sisters... they had a great time at the Academy. Even though they have their certificates, they want to go back.... What makes you so different... Mika?" He asked his daughter in a curious tone.

"... It's because we're different people, father." Mika nearly hissed at her father in their native tone.

"Very well...." Her father leaned into his chair. "Regardless of whether or not you like that Academy, stay safe. Because there are a lot of dangerous people in the world... and I'm honestly wondering what makes the Saviors different from them." He remained quiet for a few seconds, and so did Mika - who was tempted to speak, but didn't want to interrupt him. "... The other Saviors... I can't say they approve of us us. They don't like the fact that all my daughters are Metahumans."

"... Father, excuse my haste, but what are you trying to say?" Mika asked immediately after he finished talking. She knew she should have waited, but he was onto something. She hated the fact that he was far outside the range of her telepathy. Then she would probe him for the answers.

Jiao-Long remained quiet for a few moments - a minute at most, Mika couldn't calculate the time since she was so eagerly awaiting the answer. "... Between the two of us; I know things. Things that would ruin the Saviors and everything they stand for."

Mika was completely silent. Where the Saviors that bad? Every organization has it's bad apples, but how far has this corruption spread?

"I keep them to myself on principle... but I'm asking you to remain safe... I don't know how far their corruption has stretched." He cleared his throat. "However, do not dwell too long on it, Mika. You focus on your studies and continue enjoying this Academy to it's fullest."

"Very well, father." Mika said... unsure of what to do with the information. She knew this was some sort of thin-veiled attempt to warn of something. Something.... the something Mika was going to find out. "Is there anything else you wish to tell me?"

"Yes, in fact there is." Mika listened very closely, because she felt that this would be important. "I... am ashamed to say that I have been keeping track of a few students to enter the Academy through an informant or two. The special cases... In case you are interested."

"You know I do, father."

"There is a student among you... Fiona Barrett... She's a special case because NEST found her in some lab being experimented on. Whatever the case, I figure that if anyone wants a cure it'd be her...." He said, "But, I need a favor, daughter."

"What is it? I'm listening?" Mika asked him.

"I want to know more about this Fiona... but it might be very difficult for me to get in contact with her - especially if she knows, or finds out, that I'm a Savior working on the cure," He started off, "I feel as if I'm asking for too much here, but I want you to befriend her, get to know her, and get on her good side. But do not mention you are under my orders, or even associated with me."

This was... Mika honestly didn't know what to make of it. Her father never asked her to do something like this. Nor any of her sisters. What is it about Fiona that got him so interested? There was something he wasn't telling her, she could feel it. And she felt it had something to do with this experimentation. However, she was unsure of whether or not she should take the task. One hand... Honestly. Mika couldn't think of anything she'd lose by taking up her father's mission. If it turns out to be a pain, then Mika would cut ties with the girl and continue observing.

"I... I'll do it." Mika said.

"That's what I wanted to hear." Her father said that in a way... you'd expect a parent to be proud of their child. If only Mika could see his face behind the phone. "She has a very... distinct appearance. I'll send you a picture, you cannot miss her." He stopped talking, and a moment later, Mika's phone buzzed. She got a picture of Fiona... and her father was right. She definitely is distinct. She was green, and heavily insectoid. Her father was right a second time; if someone needed a cure, it'd be her.

"Got it." Mika said.

"That is all." Her father said, "I wish you luck."

He hung up the phone after that.

Mika hopped up off the wall, and stared at her phone for a few minutes. There was something wrong here, and she just couldn't put her finger on it....

Is playing along really the best idea?

Cassidy Lynn Daniels

Cass let her lips twist into a wry grin at Diego's answer. Something like that? Oooh, how telling. She was no empath, but playing things off with humor usually meant that shit was going down. Mayhap there really was a ghost, and if so, it certainly didn't seem to be the Casper variety. Interesting. Cassidy was fairly openminded-as adventurous and carefree as she was with most aspects of her life, it didn't really serve to be narrowminded about much. And given the sorts of things schoolchildren were capable of here, a ghost didn't seem out of the question at all. She wondered if, perhaps, ghosts and those other old legends did have a grain of truth to them, and if metahumans had been under the noses of the whole world all along.

And a thousand vagabonds wearing tinfoil crowns rejoiced as Cass pieced together what they had long ago.

Cassidy strolled casually alongside Diego, looking him over out of the corner of her eyes. Looked to be about her age, taller by a few inches, and she even managed to figure out he was Hispanic before Diego Julius Bellasquez confirmed it. Look at her go. Skinny thing, not the sort she'd terrify if she was a ghost. Scrawny people get freaked out by the mundane-if she woke up dead, she'd start haunting bodybuilders first. Also, he seemed to have some tattooes on his arms and legs, but Cassidy didn't really ask. She wasn't one for tattooes, personally-they were identifying, and if she ever wanted to wake up one day and leave and become someone else entirely that little ink scar would keep it from being complete. Metamorphosis was Cassidy's preferred method of coping.

And a smoker. For a moment, Cassidy pondered the health risks of such a thing-but given that they were all throwing around forces humans weren't meant to handle, it didn't seem that big a deal. "Is that pack empty?" Cassidy asked. "Mind if I look it over?" she asked, extending a hand. She had a welcome present in mind. "And why," she inquired, hopping up onto another bench as she walked, enjoying being taller than Diego for a few steps before she gracefully stepped back down, "Would I want to watch out for the ghost? That ruins all the surprise."

Cassidy traced a finger down the scar on her face, an absentminded little tic she'd picked up God knows when. Presumably after she received the scar, that is. Diego was interesting. Skittish, a bit. Maybe the ghost did that to him-but she had a suspicion he was like that most of the time. And that simply wouldn't do-life was too short and far too interesting to spend one's time running from ghosts and going without cigarettes. Light up and go stare that motherfucker right in his undead eyes. "New, yes. Fresh off the boat, as they say. Alaska's interesting, although I'm not sure if this campus is an accurate representation..." she let her eyes wander over a boy who was breathing fire to impress a rather giggly girl. "Regardless, interesting, interesting. And ghosts, too. I don't think I'll get bored here."

Cassidy rolled over the empty cigarette pack (assuming, of course, that Diego will hand it to her) absentmindedly. She closed her eyes and took a few steps blindly, counting on luck and general common sense to keep her from crashing into anything for a moment. Closing one's eyes was interesting, there, because it was one of the few times it got totally dark-even in her room with the blinds drawn, Cassidy was convinced a little of the eternal daylight was tiptoeing in. She was sure she'd miss it come December. But this was neither here nor there; what was important was the pack of cigarettes in her hand, and the sudden, if not significant, rush of stamina that left from her. "Marlboros," Cassidy mused. "Or should I say Marlboro-looks like you only have one left." She handed the pack back to him, although it now contained a single cigarette in it. "Anyways, Mister Bellasquez, where are we headed? Assuming you have a destination in mind beyond 'away from the ghost'. Because it's normally much more fun when you don't know."

---

@He Who Walks Behind

---

Cassidy was certainly... Diego didn't know what to call her. Eccentric? Playful? Other questions that whirled around in his head was why did she take such an interest in him? He was... maybe he should stop asking himself these questions and just enjoy the moment. She took an interest in his empty pack of cigarettes. She was asking if she could see them. Well, what honestly did Diego have to lose? Unless she rats him out to the staff that is. Still, seeing the empty carton alone would have been enough to get him in trouble (If one added onto his intimidating appearance). "Yeah sure. He said, casually handing the empty carton to her. It was an odd request. At the same time, Diego thought it was a good thing. She didn't have a problem with his smoking habit. Which made the idea of a potential friendship all the more likely. She asked him what happened to his cigarettes, he wondered if he should just tell her the whole truth or just a little bit. I dropped them in the woods." He answered her, dryly. Though, he had a bit more to say. He doubted if he should say it or not, but he was never going to get anywhere by being quiet and reserved. Before he could even speak up, Cassidy continued by saying that she was new here too - and that she was far from bored. Well, if whatever the hell happened a few minutes ago told him anything, it was that this school was far from boring...

Oh yeah, that reminds him. He has to fight that asshat Creed later. Eh. Knowing that guy, he probably forgot about it to flex in the mirror or something else a douchebag would do. He leaned to the side, and kept his eyes on Cassidy. Even though Diego was new, he could easily tell that this Academy had the most diverse and interesting set of people out there. Casper, Mason, Creed, Adam, Cassidy. He could even count himself. Maybe that's just apart of being a Metahuman - being drawn. Though, his monologuing was interrupted when Cassidy closed her eyes and started walking forward. That was... even more evidence that Cassidy was strange. Diego took a step to the side so he'd get out of her way - he didn't want to interrupt whatever Cassidy was doing.

"Marlboros, or should I say Marlboro-looks like you only have one left."

Huh? Diego perked up the very second Cassidy said that (Diego wasn't too well versed in cigarette brands, he just took whatever Lupe got him, but he did know about Marlboros). He looked at the pack for a moment, and she handed it back to him. "I'm honestly a bit surprised," He started off, with a shrug, his eyes drifting back and forth between the cigarettes and Cassidy. He swore that he dropped all of them - the pack was empty! Where did one more come from...? She handed him back the carton - which he gladly took back from her. He opened it - and there it was, a single cigarette. Just like she said. His gaze drifted back up to Cassidy. How did she slip it in there? He was staring at her the whole time. Probably a simple use of her power. Where Diego has fire, Lupe has her energy, maybe Cassidy has the ability to transport objects. "I didn't peg you as the smoking type." He nodded his head.

Maybe he was just assuming - but where else would she get a lone cigarette from? He pulled the cancer-stick out the carton, but pushed it back in and stuck it in his pocket. While the urge to smoke was strong, the urge to keep it lowkey was even stronger. Two students already found out - fortunately they were quiet enough to keep it under wraps. It was only a matter of time until he ran into someone who wasn't. He was, once again, snapped back into reality once Cassidy asked him a question: Where were they going? That was simple, Diego needed to get something to eat. Using his power burned up the food and nutrients he had inside of him - effectively supercharging his metabolism. "I need to get something to eat, you can join me if you like."

Diego kept moving through the halls of the school - with or without Cassidy following him. He didn't know the layout all that well, but he remembered his first day here - and the path from the garden to the cafeteria. In no time, Diego was in the cafeteria. It wasn't exactly super full or busy. Which was great. Diego went to the counters, grabbed a tray and a few plates, before he covered them in various foods. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and some pork. It didn't matter what he ate, since his power kept him from getting fat. He found a table on the other side of the room and sat down. Eating.

HÉ̵͝͝T̀ ̀͜͜V̡͘͝H̡͢͏E̸͡͡͏Ì̢̡̢ ̨̛̕͜Ś̵͡͡H̷̨̨́̕A͏̧͜ ̸̵̢̡̀L̸̀́͡͡E̴͜C͞͡͞͠R̷͠͏̵I̢̛A̷̡͟E̡̡͝͞D̴̸̢̛́M̷̨̛͟҉ ̀͜E̴͞Ţ̴̨̛̕H͜͜҉̷͞ ̸̛Ś̨T̸̶Ớ͏L̴͘͟͢.́̕͝
̸͟͞C̀͠P̵̶̴̢̛Ù̵̕̕T̸̸̕Ŕ͡E̶̷̛͜A̷ ̵͞͠͠R͘͜͡H̶͘E͏̧ ̡̢͟͡À͡D̀͘N̴̵̵̸̕ ̛͘̕N̴͞҉̧͠S̡̀͞͡D̕҉̨͢E̕͟͢͡ ̕͜Ḩ̧Ŗ̴̵E̕̕ ̴͏҉̶Ŗ̧҉͠É̷̴̴̢H̀͠E̴͜͞.̡

---

---

Some time had passed since Harmon and Lenny sat down and began playing Blood on the Sand. They’d been playing cooperatively, Lenny taking the spotlight as 50 Cent and Harmon supporting as… one of the other guys, he forgot their names. At some point during their playtime, Casper had gotten up and left the room. To use the bathroom, they suspected. That most likely wasn’t the case, however.

After that exact moment, no one ever heard from Casper again.

The duo let the incident pass their thoughts and continued playing. However, hunger set in eventually. “Hey.” Lenny said, “Kinda hungry, dude. Gonna go get something from the vending machine outside. Want anything?” At first, Harmon shook his head, not really feeling up to eating anything. But then as Lenny was beginning to stand up, out of nowhere, he decided to suggest a different idea. He raised his hand a bit and said, “I-I’ll go, uh… get it… i-if you want, I mean…”

Lenny looked down at him for a brief moment, a little surprised. “You sure?” He asked.

Harmon nodded.

Lenny let a bit of a smile etch itself across his face as Harmon slowly got up. That smile, however, quickly disappeared when Harmon’s foot turned and caught a loose bag on the floor, causing him to trip. Harmon’s other foot kicked outwards as he feel across the floor, the crown of his head colliding with the foot post of one of the bunk beds. An audible snapping sound was heard as Harmon let out quick yell and cradled his head. The television flickered through static for a moment, and the console shut itself off. Lenny quickly knelt down and grabbed Harmon by his shoulders, calling out, “Jesus Christ!”

Harmon continued to cradle his head. The yell from the pain had already subsided, now he was just panting. Lenny looked over Harmon’s head for any damage, seeing one of the shards on the edge of his scalp looked turn, with a bit of blood spurting from its root. “Oh, shit…”

“I’m fine!” Harmon called out, “I, I… I’m fine…” He paused for a moment before unclipping his camera from his coat and handing it to Lenny, who knew just to take it and let Harmon use it to see the damage. Harmon exhaled as Lenny ran the camera over the loose shard. “Ah…” He said, his panting dying down. The pain seemed to have passed quickly. The pain in the root, that is. Harmon cradled his head with one hand as his ears rang a bit. “I, I, I need to… need to go, go, pluck this, this one…” He said in a bit of a hush, slowly getting up.

“Woah, woah, take it easy.” Lenny responded, “Let me help, man.”

“No, no, it’s…” Harmon said, waving his free hand, “It’s okay, I’ll… I-I just have to, get it out, and… and, and, give it to… to Ruben, I’ll be… I’ll be fine on my own, you… you stay here and wait for me…”

Lenny paused for a moment before saying, “You sure?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, I’m sure…” Harmon responded, turning and proceeding out the door, leaving Lenny there, shrugging. He turned his head back down towards the console and paused for a moment.

_{“Shit, did we save?”}

---

While it may seem like the beast may have given up on Diego and went back to his business, it merely looked for another angle. The beast stalked the premise of the school, searching for a way in. On the far side of the school, in the Training Wing, there was a broken window - lazily put back together with tape. The creature arced his lips upwards into a smile, and bent it's legs to prepare for a jump. It crashed through the windows, and the sounds of wood, glass, and the creature's claws, hitting the ground echoed through the halls. The creature, slowly growling, took step after step. Searching. It lost the first boy's scent, but there was so much more scent. It roamed the halls, not encountering one student. However, it heard someone walking up. Instinctively, the creature ducked around a hallway. Peaking only a small part of itself from around the corner. The person opened a metal door and went down some stairs - it could hear it. The creature started walking up quickly behind him in an attempt to quickly close the distance between himself and the person. The door wasn't even closed, the creature walked in behind him.

It followed the man's scent through the halls, hearing something vibrating. Sounded like an active machine. The man walked up to it, and opened up a panel on it. He started fiddling with the wires, unaware that the beast was creeping up on him - approaching ever so closely. Once it was close enough, the creature pounced, letting out an inhuman cry. The man didn't have time to react, only scream as the weight of the monster slamming into him shattered almost every bone in his body as he was forced against the generator. It roared over it's fresh victory, as looked towards the generator. It raised it's claws, and brought it down on the generator with enough force to put an enormous dent into it. Smashing it. Machinery that was obstructed still attempted to turn. The beast put an end to that as it took several steps back, before rushing forward and slamming it's entire body into the generator. Finally bringing death to the generator. It was completely crushed.

It had the sigh effect of making all the lights in the Academy go out.

Now, it had an advantage over most of the Academy. The beast stalked it's way out of the Generator room, and back into the hallway. It heard someone walk up, and it turned it's gaping maw towards her.

"W-wait, who's there?" A girl asked. It was in fact Sawyer Babinski, hearing the commotion that the beast caused. The beast smiled - or something close to it. It arced the corners of it's mouth upwards.

The last thing Sawyer ever said was the piercing scream that echoed through the halls of the school.

---

---

Before Michelle had a chance to laugh at Maurice and Reagan - the lights suddenly snapped off. "Oh shit!" Michelle shouted, following it up with a bit of laughter. She kept a smile on her face, as she looked around. Unlike Reagan and Maurice here, Michelle could see in the dark just fine. Just needed to give her eyes a moment or two to adjust. She was certain that Fiona could see in the dark too, but she wasn't too versed in the world of insects. "Now that was surprising now, wasn't it?" She playfully said to the two. She pushed out of the chair, and stood straight up. She looked around the room. Everyone was illuminating the room with cell-phones, flashlights, or their powers. Pttf. What a buncha wimps? Michelle thought kids would get over their fear of the dark by now! She put her hands on her hips, and started laughing.

The lights suddenly flashing off definitely surprised her - but she eased up a moment or two later. She let out a gentle sigh. Fiona was actually thankful the lights were out. One part because crickets are nocturnal, and the other reason is so nobody could see her. She let out a sigh of relief. It was like Michelle thought, Fiona was perfectly capable of seeing in the dark. She looked around, using her antennae to assist her in feeling around. Just to get to know her environment. She made sure not to touch Reagan, Maurice, or anyone else. That'd be awkward. Fiona remained seated - for she had no reason to get up. "I wonder what happened..." Fiona said (To no one in particular), looking around.

"Who knows." Michelle said, shrugging. "Someone probably stuck their dick in a-"

The loud scream was picked up by the two animal Metas - for their hearing was far above human level hearing. They picked up the shrill scream in high detail. Michelle wiped that cheeky smile off her face and perked up. While Fiona looked around, desperately looking for a source. She sunk into her seat, and started shaking. She heard it better than Michelle did due to her sense of hearing. And it terrified her.

"That doesn't sound good." Fiona weakly said.

"Pttttf," Michelle made the sound. "Probably some chicko got scared out of her mind by some dumb kid." He shrugged as she sat back down in the chair. "Nothing to worry about."

"... I hope you're right." Fiona wasn't sure... she was scared, yes. But she didn't know what she should (or wanted to) do.

---

---

In the middle of Mika's own mulling, the lights went out. Well this is a first. Mika thought to herself with a blank force. ... And annoying. Mika shrugged. This was unexpected. However, Mika was going to head back into the school. Best place to be right now was her room. Maneuvering in this location would certainly be hard in the dark. While Mika didn't like it, she pulled out her cellphone and activated the flashlight app. She stretched her hands outwards, with the phone in hand, and illuminated the area in front of her. Taking casual steps forwards from around the lodge and back into the school grounds.

"whats up" Mark asked. Kana looked back over her shoulder at the girl she had been previously talking to. "Oh you know nothing much accept this stupid thing just allowed me to hear all the insulting thoughts of that girl over there" Kana said shrugging. She looked down at the device it popping out of her bag slightly."I guess it's not to big a deal though. I mean other then in this class I'm sure I won't see her again" Kana added looking up to mark. He was quite a bit taller then Kana so every time she talk to him she was looking up at an angle. If Kana wasn't the type to look people in the eyes this wouldn't be a problem, but she was that type, so this was a problem. Kana waited for Mark's reply before starting to walk out of the classroom with him. "So got any plans for the day" Kana asked. She grasped her bag with one hand worried it would fall off with how loose it was. It was then Kana thought about her appearance. She did look a bit messy. Maybe she should go home and fix herself up before she hung out with people. Then again the people that would judge her might not be the sort she would like to hang out with anyway.

Mark, having no real desire to wear the device any longer than he had needed to, removed the armband at the first sign that the professor had no real... well, obviously negative reaction to others doing so? He had observed a bit of chaos in the classroom, tame for the most part, but a bit of madness all the same. Either way, he slipped the crimson container off his arm and back into his hand, wherein the bloody coloration began to boil away back into a dimly lit green, perhaps partially ethereal state. Breathing a long, deep sigh of relief, Mark was confident that the vast majority had their own problems to worry about as Kanala did when he approached her table.

In some ways Mark's approach was out of curiosity, wanting to know what her experience was - doubtfully positive, given how much raw energy was flooded against many of the students - but at the same time wishing to ensure he did not give the impression of being a transparent friend. Mark had no enemies, yet, but he certainly had no real friends either as Kana was the only one he seemed to anchor any connection or interaction to; every other soul avoided him outright or he avoided them.

Noting Kana's tone and directness toward another student, Mark's eyes drifted toward her then back to Kana.

"I take it your experience was hardly ideal." Mark said, keen to make no mention of his own, allowing Kanala to stand from the desk and sling her backpack.

Following behind her he proved to shake his head slightly out of habit, adding a moment later his verbal reply rather than mere motion.

"In particular? No." He began, adjusting both his hat and glasses as he soon walked beside his much smaller cohort, "But I figured it would be a good excuse to wander and survey the outdoors here. At least before sunset - I don't imagine you see very well in the dark."

Mark continued the conversation, seemingly unaware of her inner conflicts as to what actions to take, which perhaps seemed a bit surprising; his animal, no, predatory instinct garnered from the feline minds he both assumed and consorted with didn't notice small traits like that subtle hesitation - particularly not with the amount of activity going on elsewhere around them. Proving to survey around them as they began out the hall further, Mark glanced down to Kanala who seemed to be having difficulty with her bag.

Impulse wanted him to just unsling her bag and carry it, as her frustration would be easily resolved, but at the same time, Mark was wholly unsure as to how she'd even respond to that; to him it made perfect sense, as the loose straps of her pack could just be slung over his bag rather than her fighting with it. His humanity begged to differ, as it would likely have a few connotations that he wouldn't intend. Either way, he diverted his focus back on to the conversation.

"That is if you're coming with me."

Kana walked next to Mark listening intently. The idea of walking around in the woods or beach sounded sort of nice. While Kana liked the beach or the rocky part right next to the sea, but when it comes to the woods Kana didn't have a lot of experience. She thought she might enjoy the walk though. She had seen woods before and been in them. When she visited the reservation where her grandparents lived they would often walk through the woods together. She didn't visit them often.

"Yeah, my eye sight in the dark isn't the greatest." Kana admitted. They walked down the hall and Kana got a better grip on her bag. It still bopped back and forth against Kana's thigh. It wasn't to big a problem, but it did annoy Kana a bit. "but yeah walking around , checking out the outdoors. It all sounds good" Kana told Mark nodding her head in approval. "But my only condition is that you let me go change. I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, and didn't really have time to dress for the occasion of class. and defiantly not the occasion of walking around in the woods" kana explained stopping since she was about to take a turn down one of the hall ways that would lead them back to the dorms.

Mark proved to silently nod, eyes browsing through the students as they cleared from their classrooms and the hall - the duo not taking off with any great haste, at least by comparison. Mark had come to an understanding, or so he believed, that all things came in time; it was what one of his "mentors" taught him. Patience was a virtue, more than human beings could understand or comprehend, but more than anything rest or even calm was a reward all its own.

Stopping as Kanala did, Mark looked down the hallway - at first saying nothing with the expectation that he merely agreed in that her condition was non-negotiable. A few quiet moments between the pair passed before Mark proved to look down to his side where Kana stood, hefting her bag uneasily over her shoulder.

"Feel free to. I'm not hard to find, most of the time." He said, looking back toward the direction that would lead her outside and into the courtyard surrounding the massive castle-esque structure.

"I just advise you take nothing of great value with you - these forests do not..." Mark mused for a moment for the right words, "... seem particularly welcoming."

It was a strange thing Kana felt to say something like that. How could woods seem welcoming or not. Weren't all woods woods. 'Maybe Mark was also a tree whisperer, and all the woods are like "Grr get out of our woods"'Kana thought with a small smirk. "Okay I'll keep that in mind" Kana replied. She left mark in the hallway quickly not wanting to keep him waiting long. Kana rushed down the halls still toting her heavy bag that swayed with her stride. People all seemed to be rushing everywhere. Kana herself had always walked with purpose in her feet. It wasn't something she was taught she would say, just something she was born with. Kana eventually made it to her dorm. The room wasn't too terrible far away.

Kana opened the door and ran over to her side of the room. She threw her bag on a nearby chair not caring to much about it's contents. She then remembered her bags contents. She ran over to it to check on her little machine she had gotten from Mr.Ruben's class. Thankfully it was intact. Kana breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you god, I know we don't talk much but like thats a solid right there" Kana joked making herself laugh. She set the machine down on the dresser and searched through her suitcase's contents. She finally choose a suitable to fit. She fond some tennis shoes and jeans. She added a tight fit v neck black T-shirt to the ensemble and she felt she was almost ready. Kana let loose her hair only to brush it out and put it back up again in a high ponytail. Kana looked herself over in the mirror. "Okay seems good" She told herself with a nod.

Kana walked out of her room and down the hall back to where she had left Mark. Kana wished she had Mark's number, or maybe her phone. She had listened to Mark's request, and left it in her room. As Kana entered the courtyard she looked around trying to find Mark's large frame.

Mark hadn't gone far - in fact, there wasn't too much effort or reason to look for him on Kanala's half. He proved to be hiding in plain sight, or would be if he was even attempting to be elusive. It was neither worth the time nor effort, let alone serve no purpose in this case - it wasn't like he wished to avoid Kana.

Having set his bag down beside him and pursed through the contents, he had quietly taken account for everything he had brought with him - spare clothes being the most valued items, given the call of the forest lingered in the late afternoon air, even if upon daring closer to them that they warned of discomfort; it was a knowing, instinct really, within Mark that threatened him in a more positive light to avoid the forests alone, more so at dusk.

Hence why, on his need to explore, Mark preferred Kanala's company here and now. It wasn't a sense of inability to fend off whatever rubbed his metaphorical fur the wrong way, just that two pairs of eyes, ears and the assorted senses were better than one.

Noticing Kana's return, Mark lifted the heavy pack with one arm, slinging it.

"Ready?"

Kana nodded her head, her pony tail swaying slightly. She and Mark walked off towards the woods having small conversation as they did. At the edge of the woods they stopped, and Kana let mark lead the way.

Cassidy Lynn Daniels

"Dropped them into the woods? Giving the ghost lung cancer's a bold plan, but I'm not sure how effective it is long term." Cass grinned, which is a somewhat superfluous statement-at least once a minute, she found cause to smile, whether it was some funny thought that occurred to her or simply an amusing observation. Very rarely was Miss Daniels somber, and yet her energy seemed more of the self-reserved, I'm-in-on-a-joke-you're-not as opposed to effervescent optimism. "Smoking type? Oh, no, I don't like the flavor. I just find them interesting. Everybody's got a vice and smoking gets such a bad rap. No different from anything else." She didn't want to dwell on anything serious, and Cass found what she was saying flowing in and out between truth and opinion and what she actually thought. Just...filler. She enjoyed coming up with half a dozen narratives and trying to keep them straight.

Was Cass a compulsive liar? Well, that perhaps wasn't the right word for it. Or maybe it was. She bored far too easily with any one truth to cling to it for very long.

"Something to eat sounds lovely. I'm interested to see how the cafeteria holds up...lovely grounds, huge buildings, prime real estate...this place must be expensive. So the question is, where do they cut costs? I imagine they can't do it with the teachers, who probably need all sorts of health insurance for dealing with us day in and day out, and thye probably can't skimp on too much else...so here's to hoping the food gets that same level of attention, no?" Cass strolled into the cafeteria by Diego, walking at a comfortably platonic distance. She flirted from time to time, but (unsurprisingly) it was never really anything serious. She did, however, make an effort to avoid sending out unintended vibes. Cass may have had a fondness for pulling the wool over people's eyes, but she wasn't cruel about it.

She'd gotten the hang of walking with one eye covered up-it was her preferred hairstyle, although she occasionally let her hair fall back behind her-but it still had its moments of trickiness. One never would've guessed watching her-for a first day student who currently possessed zero depth perception, she sported a healthy level of self-confidence and took everything the Academy threw out in stride. She quickly filled her plate with a bit of everything, figuring she'd size up what was good today and truly feast tomorrow-after all, it just wouldn't do to pig out on the first day. Those sorts of impressions tend to stick, and Miss Daniels was very particular about what kinds of impressions she gave off. Somebody knows your first impression, they usually don't bother trying to learn too much more, and that was the way Cass liked it. She enjoyed friendly company, but relationships of any kind were the fastest way to make her squirm.

"Mmm," Cass purred, putting down a burger. "My doubts are assuaged. The food's alright. Guess I'll stay." She pulled her hair back behind her ear to see more clearly (and to keep hair out of her food and such), and the lights promptly went out. Cass chortled at the irony. "Diego," she chided, putting her food down and scanning around the darkness. "I think your friend followed us. Not here twelve hours and it's already a horror movie." Cass rolled a quarter across her knuckles, relying on touch and intuition in the cafteria's sudden darkness. She assumed this to be some sort of prank-after all, the generator was out of earshot, and this was the sort of thing that would precede a bunch of fireworks being set off. Curiouser and curiouser-Cass wanted to get a feel for the student body, scope out what the environment of the school was like. How they responded to this, whether it was with a more adult nonchalance or immature screams and shrieks, perhaps a few metas lighting up the dark out of altruism or a desire to stroke their egos-it'd say a lot. So Cass sat back, sipped on her Coke (she missed the straw the first time but smoothly recovered, grinning once more at how ridiculous she must've looked) and waited for the chaos to take whatever form it would. "If you're really scared, I suppose you can hold my hand, Mr. Bellasquez. But rest assured if any monsters come after you, I am cutting and running." She said this with an affable tone that was sort of vague as to how serious she was. Odds were, if any terrible beast came bursting into the cafteria, Cass would get a front row seat and watch.