---

Kanajiro would squint his eyes as Mika said she visited many Asian countries. She didn't seem the part to take any interesting in things beyond superficial trivialities. “That's good for you.” She had likely only seen the tourist traps, and only learned about the surface of these things. Culture and meaning must've been lost on her, Kanajiro was sure. He only grew more annoyed when Mika let out a loud 'Ahhhh' when he said he was poor, almost as if she was trying to say that that explained a lot. His eyebrows furrowed inwards even more than they normally were, as he stared her in the eyes. She was sorry that he was poor. Deciding not to go against it, he simply nodded and tried to hide his annoyed visage. He realised, however, that there must be a core of truth to her annoying behavior. If this had been Osaka, and Kanajiro had seen Mika walking on her own in the streets.. he would've stolen her purse by now, if not more.

Then she said she was interested because there was something about Kanajiro that made her want to know more. What a strange thing to say. He grinned and then burst out laughing loudly, drawing attention of some around them in other booths. “Really? That's kinda creepy you know. I hadn't taken you for a creepy stalker.” She had inadvertently managed to lighten the mood atleast as Kanajiro's annoyed look was gone now and had returned to his normal 'resting thug face' state.

Without any warning he smacked his hand down flat on the table rather hard and started moving to get up. “I'm getting bored here. For a school with super powers, this is all getting rather tame. I'll have a smoke outside and look for something interesting to do.” Without realizing he had probably called Mika boring. Whatever. He got out of the booth and took the cigarette from behind his ears, putting it on his lips for the time being. Unlit, ofcourse. He turned around and got ready to leave but changed his mind once again and turned back to Mika. “You didn't want to come, right? Wouldn't want to chip your 100 dollar nail paint.” He guessed that he was spot on, but he might just challenge her enough for her to decide to come with. She'd probably be more busy looking in mirrors than being interesting anyway. There he went, underestimating her again. He reared round and walked out of the café, headed for the exit/entrance to go outside.

As he got outside he pulled a lighter from his pants and lit up the cigarette in his mouth. He'd inhale deeply and let the smoke escape from his mouth through a small hole he formed with his mouth on the left side of it. He'd stand around in the cold weather for a bit before he'd continue down the pathway towards the beach shack. He had seen the building on his way in but hadn't seen the inside yet. And since it was one of the few places outside where you didn't get the idea that you were in a bloody school, he decided he'd like to spend most his time there, preferably alone or with a few others. Tossing the half burnt up cigarette to the side before he entered, he walked into quite a crowd. Not exactly what he was looking for, since he had hoped to just sit and pass time until he could go to sleep.

Deciding that the amount of people was too big for him, he headed for the stairs and went up them, hearing something about a monster on the way up, only coming out amidst a gang initiation. Atleast, that's what it looked like since Kanajiro hadn't heard the entire conversation that these people had had. And, above all, there was a fucking cricket person. Not being able to hold himself back, Kanajiro let out a rather loud. “What the fuck.” while he stared at the cricket.. person? The mandibles were scary looking for sure, and Kanajiro wasn't quite sure if the cricket lady was a threat or just some school going girl. He had heard rumours of monsters roaming around, and even recently of an attack. Perhaps this was one of those monsters? Nah, if that were the case people wouldn't be standing around all cool, not paying any mind to the fucking elephant in the room. Or perhaps the cricket in the room was a better choice of words. He looked around the room to the others in here, which seemed to be mainly a collection of girls, with an odd boy here or there. He couldn't really focus on making a headcount at this point, that's how weirded out he was. Putting his hand on his forehead and tilting it a bit, he spoke to himself but loud enough for the others to hear. “Kanajiro, baka.. you ask for interesting stuff, you get it. Should've just gone back to your room, idiot.”

After taking a moment for himself he looked back up at the group in front of him. “Yo,” he said, trying to act like he didn't just say what the fuck when he saw the cricket lady. “.. I heard something about a monster?” He tried his best to focus his gaze on the youngest looking girl that was around and restart the conversation. She looked to be about 6, a toddler at best. It didn't help much to stop him from being weirded out, because who the fuck lets a toddler into a school for people with powers? So he redirected his gaze once again to someone else, namely a girl with fiery red hair and a very pale skin. She looked normal, or atleast as normal as it was going to get in this room, because if girls like her walked around Osaka they'd still stand out with hair like that, and a skin color like snow. Piercings in her ear only made her stand out more, and looking at the piercings, Kanajiro also noticed the somewhat unique pointed ears. “Okay, what the fuck, Mika never told me about this. I'm out. I need more cigarettes to put up with this.” The words came rather rude and aggressively, and that was half heartedly how they were meant due to Kanajiro's nature. He turned right around and walked down the stairs, and without batting an eye walked out the door, mumbling to himself. “And I thought Mika was a weirdo..” Suddenly he had some regrets about coming to this academy, or ever leaving his room. He grabbed his cigarette supplies from his pocket and rolled another one while walking, a skill he had learned over the years. Tucking the finished cigarette behind his ears he walked back into the school, going for the café where he'd hope to see Mika again if she hadn't left, or worse, followed him to see the rude display he had put on. He needed to know more about this crazy place before he could even consider going to classes. His steps were quick and tough as he turned the corner into the café, looking right at the booth Mika had been sitting at before. Was she still there?

---

@Partisan

---

Mika's facial expression was unchanging. And she was silent as Kanajiro walked off. She expected that, but she wasn't hurt. People like him couldn't slow down. They always had to be moving from place to place, indulging themselves in whatever hedonistic activities they could find. In this case, smoking. Well, only if he enjoys ruining his lungs. Mika would sit here, and enjoy some tea. So, she sat here, calm as always. Sipping her tea, for minutes on end. Until Kanajiro came back around twenty minutes later. Looking rather... weirded out, by something. Oh dear, what sort of nonsense did he get himself into...? She thought to herself as a playful smirk found it's way onto her face. "Back already?" Mika started off with a question, speaking playfully. "Did you enjoy your cigarette? I assume you seen what the Academy... has to offer."

---

_{@SepticGentleman@TaliPaendrag@Wintergrey@Partisan}

---

Kanajiro definitely didn't go unnoticed - and he definitely didn't make a good first impression, that's for sure. He was immediately noticed by the two Animal metas (Their enhanced hearing was the primary reason they detected him). Fiona picked up his (rude) "What the fuck?" with amazing hearing and clarity. Both of them turned towards Kanajiro. Then he walked up to them.

The whole time he was before them, Michelle stared him down. With her arms crossed even tighter. He just looked like trouble - nor did she like how he was acting. It was just... Rude. Eh. She wouldn't mind throwing fists with him. He looked like a punk-ass bitch to begin with. Kanajiro confirmed that Michelle didn't like him the second he said that he couldn't deal with this. Oooooh, how sad. The little prince needed some cigarettes deal with them. He also needed mommy to apply lotion to his bum-bum. Though, she couldn't help but rub a little salt in the wound. "Didn't need ya' useless ass here anyway." Michelle taunted him as he stormed off. Quietly laughing, putting a fist to her lips.

".... Well," Fiona coughed, putting a hand to her mouth, breaking the silence. "That was awkward." She tried to follow it with laughter. But that only made the scene even more awkward. She didn't know what would elicit such a reaction out of the Japanese man. Maybe he wasn't used to the Academy? Yeah, that was it. That was the only justification she could find for such an... Unwarranted reaction. She lightly scraped the neck of her exoskeleton with her rough fingers. Well, there was little use standing around (Awkwardly). They should just head out to the Ruins. "Uh, yeah, is everyone ready? We should head out soon."

Michelle shrugged. "I was just waitin' on the rest of ya'll. Ready when you are."

"Alright, let's go! I know exactly where it is." Fiona said, beginning the trek towards the Ruins, with her group of merry men and women behind her.

---

A shelled hand pushed some bushes aside, and Fiona stepped through them. Staring up at the walls of the Ruins. "Guys, we're here," Fiona said with a smirk. She looked back at the group, as they stepped around them.

Michelle muscled her way through the bushes and looked up at the walls of the Ruins. Hm... She couldn't hear anything nearby with her senses. Which meant it was clear (For now). "Real neat...." Michelle shrugged. "... But, how do we get in?" She turned back towards Fiona. The walls were gigantic. There was no way they could get in there (These walls are clearly here to keep us out... but if I were to be cliche... are they keeping anything in?) from this angle.

"I could uh... jump up there!" Fiona replied.

"... And that'd leave the rest of us." Michelle rolled her eyes up into her head. She put her hands up. "Know what? I'm going to go look around, and try to find us a way in." She announced to the group, before she turned around started walking. She stopped for a moment, and looked over her shoulder for a moment, "... One of ya'll should come with me."

”Well, being looked down upon is a lot better than being treated like a little kid,” Beth replied to Michelle’s tease, jokingly pouting a little bit. She understood that Michelle hadn’t been kneeling down in front of her to offend her or anything. The larger woman had just been trying to keep their little mission a secret, though knowing that hadn’t made the situation less awkward at all.

Fortunately, Michelle stood up rather quickly after Beth mentioned how uncomfortable having someone kneel down on her level made her feel, though the fact that Astrid had overheard them might have had something to do with it, the other ginger girl vanishing, only to reappear a moment later holding a thin stick as if she was going to use it to defend herself.

As they were waiting for Fiona to finish doing whatever it was that she was doing, which seemed to be recruiting some other people to come along with them, a man of what appeared to be Asian descent with black hair came up the stairs, only to stop in his tracks and curse when he saw Fiona. To his credit, it seemed like he was more surprised than angry, which was understandable given Fiona’s appearance.

Seeming to be looking for something normal to focus on, his eyes rapidly moved from Fiona to Beth and then to Astrid before he muttered something about how weird they all were in a strangely aggressive tone. It was almost like he was upset at them for not warning him or something. Regardless, he had certainly not made any friends among the group with that whole episode.

The trek through the woods to the ruins, with Fiona as the leader of the little group, was certainly not a cakewalk for Beth, primarily because her short little legs couldn’t match the others’ long strides. The fact that the trail was pretty grown over with roots and small plants made it that much harder, as she had to more or less climb over them while the others just stepped across. As such, she arrived at the ruins a couple of minutes after everyone else.

”I’ll go with you,” Beth replied to Michelle after she had caught her breath. ”Astrid can teleport to the top of the wall and help Fiona look for another entrance from up there.” Hopefully, the path wouldn’t be as difficult for her to navigate as the trail to the ruins had been. She didn’t think she would be ab

---

---

As Titus struck, he felt a massive wave of heat wash over him. It stung at his eyes and burned at his lips, finer areas of skin. He felt a few hairs of his beard catch fire. Then the monster rose, taller than even he and awash with flame. It was absolutely terrifying, its black rock skin rippling with fire and its eyes full of hatred. Titus was completely powerless as it struck him right in the stomach with full force. He screamed as he felt himself lifted off through the air. He screamed.

Titus was catapulted across the room in an explosion of heat. He burned like a meteor as he sailed through the air and crashed into the wall on the opposite side of the room. His impact sent dust flying up from the wall, and the metal dented severely.

He had landed on his back spreadeagle. His skin and clothing was still burning and the hair of his beard was singed black. Second and third-degree burns covered his body; his face, his arms, his shoulders, his chest, even the inside of his lungs had been burned. In his gut was a gaping hole five inches across, the inner contents still burning. The impact had cracked a few of his vertebrae. He was completely unconscious, limp as a rag; any sane man would have pronounced him dead on the spot. A crowd of people began to gather around the crater in the metal wall. Titus gasped for breath painfully, his eyes still rolled back in his head. The Invincible Man was dying.

"Someone get a teacher!" a random voice in the crowd called out.

---

_{... And his wonderful demon.}

---

Diego stood there. Dead eyed. Jaw dropped. He watched what Agni had done. In the span of a second, Titus was flying across the room. Landing on his back, covered in flames. Leaving a crater done in the metal wall. Tears had begun to flow down Diego's cheeks. Agni faded into flames, and funneled into Diego's body like he was sucked in. Remorseless.

All sound turned into indistinguishable sound. He just stood there like a statue. Staring at what happened. Lupe had ran up to him, and started shouting something at him. He didn't listen to a thing. Because right now his worst fear had been realized. Today was the day that the world was going to hate Diego Bellasquez.

... Was it me? Hahahahaha.... Agni taunted.

You... Diego replied. Why did you do this?! I had everything under control! Y-you ruined it!

I saved you the embarrassment of losing to that fool... Besides... look around you. On cue, Diego rotated his head and scanned the room. The people in the room were looking at either the wounded Titus, or him. They whispered their rumors. The very rumors that would surely tear Diego down.

They now know what true ferocity looks like... our hatred that is just ready to be directed at them. What happened to Titus was simply a message you were too cowardly to send.

It was a message I never wanted to send. I... just want people to forgive me.

Look deep inside yourself, boy, and ask yourself; are you sure?

That question... It just confused him even further. Is there some part of him that wants to do this?

---

_{@Maxx@He Who Walks Behind}

---

The spectacle that Lupe witnessed made her jaw absolutely drop. Whatever that thing - It looks like I'm staring directly at el diabo himself... - was, it punched the living daylights out of Titus, and sent him flying across the room until he slammed into a wall. The sound of his body hitting the wall almost made Lupe panic. Her eyes shot wide open. Is he... is he dead? Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. Whatever just happened, Diego took it way too far. Almost on reflex, she hopped up to her feet, shouting, "Shit!". She ran over to the scene - first to Titus. Her various pieces of jewelry jiggled the whole way there. She came to a skidding stop over Titus, and dear god, it wasn't looking good. Wha-whatever just hit him did a number on him. Lupe took a good look at him. He was covered in burns, and there was a fucking hole in his gut. Along with plenty of broken bones that Lupe could tell from even here. Diego did a number on Titus - and it pissed Lupe off so much that she couldn't help him. Fuck. She wished that she had some way to absorb heat or something.

Someone shouted to get a teacher. Aw, fuck! That means Diego is definitely going to spend a little while in the slammer for this. Lupe looked around. There was no doubt about it now. Lupe knew that they would judge him for his appearance... He just looks like the violent person who'd do this. Adding on the fact that he's Spanish, the odds were so against him. He was just standing there, deadeyed. Like, Lupe knew that he felt bad for what happened... But that just further convinced her he had a hand in it all. Lupe ran over to Diego, and started screaming at him, "What the fuck was that thing?! Do you control him? Did you... did you do this to him?!"

Yet... He didn't reply, or even move....

---

_{@TaliPaendrag@Wintergrey}

---

”I’ll go with you. Astrid can teleport to the top of the wall and help Fiona look for another entrance from up there.”

"Glad to have ya' on board." Michelle said to Beth with a smile. To be frank, she had expected Beth to come along. And that was pretty much all she needed. She noted that Beth seemed a bit... tired out, from their trek. Going off her cute little pants for breath. Michelle smirked. This was pretty much trivial for her. She probably should have gave Beth a piggy back ride. "Let's get a move on, then." Michelle said, walking towards the massive walls of the ruins. She was quick to leave before anyone else showed up and... extra editions weren't necessary. With Michelle's bestial senses, and Beth's electrokinesis.

"Oh... Good plan!" Fiona said to Beth, as they left. Quickly waving goodbye to them so fast that it looked awkward with her exoskeleton. Okay, so, Beth said that Fiona should climb up the walls and look for a way in... With that girl she barely knew, who was apparently called Astrid. Fiona turned towards Astrid. A normal looking girl with red hair. Was pretty... And Fiona realized that she was staring at her. She looked from the left, to the right. "... Oh, um, hi! I'm Fiona!" Fiona said, attempting to rebound from that. "You're Astrid, right? Think you can show me that teleportation trick of yours?" After she finished talking, Fiona reached back to the bush and pulled off some leaves. She put them in between her mandibles, and began chewing them. Her mandibles cut them up into smaller, chewable, pieces.

Walking around the Wall was... uneventful and tedious. Making Michelle wish they had just elect cricket girl, or teleporting chick, to do it. Though, it did have it's pay off. The two circled around to what appeared to be the front of the Ruins. Inside the walls were two massive metal doors that had to be twenty feet high. Decrepit like the rest of this spooky ruins, they weren't properly hinged anymore. Michelle walked up to the walls, and put her hands on her hips as she looked up at it. She smirked, and turned to Beth, asking, "... Think you can open it?"

---

Henry stood up just as another person entered the room. Some man looking for Tobias. Another question he had no answer to. Now he wished he hadn't made Sarah leave. "Oh, uh, I'm actually not sure where exactly he is right now," Henry said, standing back up to his full height with Selena's help. "But, he did say he's going to speak with the Headmaster. His lad assistant, Sarah, should be around here somewhere.", he finished, then turned his attention to his own deputy.

"Hey, hey, Selena, I think you might have some brown on your nose." Henry replied to the shedding/weight loss comment. He looked to the newcomer. "I apologize, but you must excuse us, we have some pressing matters to attend to for now." he said curtly, nodding to the man in premature thanks. He followed Selena our the door following closely behind her and listening to her talk. Upon being questioned regarding their durability, he finally spoke up. [b]"Thank you for the compliment, I think?"[b] he said, first, before continuing. "Well, you saw the pictures of the creature itself. Looks like something straight our of Alien Vs. Predator.", he commented. [b]"I don't know first hand how tough they are, but enough so to take on several meta humans and still hold a distinctive advantage. From when I've gathered it's very intelligent and clever, as if it knows what it's doing. This could be more than an attack. This could be a form of... twisted homicide for all we know."[b] he said, stopping for a moment at the same time Selena did, almost as if they were in sync, as a young girl ran past them. When she was gone, he resumed. "The pictures we had were of one that was killed after killing several other students. When I went to do an autopsy, the creature's body was gone. Blackmore said that there's no way it's still alive so if he's right, we're dealing with someone who disposed of the body. We're working against a currently unknown force with an unknown amount of manpower." he said, taking a breath. "Meaning we could be dealing with a Roach."

A Roach, in NEST, was a term for an unknown person who had knowledge of the situation and was actively hindering forensic progress. A pest, and a problem that needed to be exterminated or eliminated. Roaches often covered their tracks and were hard to find. Once a roach's identity was found, they became a Rat.

Henry rumbled in response to Selena's thanks as he opened her door for her. As he unpacked, he continued their banter. "Please, Selena, I wouldn't be here if I didn't have ass kicking clearance. I'll be baby-sitting you in the woods at night. Don't you worry." Henry said, winking at her and crossing his arms, leaning against the doorway. The walls groaned against his weight and Henry scrambled back to avoid causing damage. His previous comment had raised another question though.

"How long until... that time of the month?" He questioned, tapping his toe claw on the floor. He quickly caught himself though, and tried to cover himself and proceeded to trip over his own words a few times. "Not-not that time, I mean the moon. I need to know when you're at biggest risk for... becoming something out of a Twilight novel. I know the moon and stuff influences that, right?" he questioned, walking over to her to look at her small armory. He whistled. "Damn girl, I only have an elephant gun and my suit's goodies. I have a spare vest in my room I'll have to you by tonight. Just show the school's security team your NEST badge. They can't deny you anything." he said, his scaly lips curling upwards into a crocodile smile.

"The only attack we've have so far has been at night with no day sightings, so we can only assume these things are nocturnal." Henry stated. "We can set some traps as soon as you're ready before the sun sets. But tonight, our first hunt is on."

Perhaps it was the stone foundation that more than likely sat beneath what they could see of the ruins, but the path along the wall was relatively clear of debris, a great change from the overgrown trail leading to the ruins in the first place. As such, Beth had a much easier time keeping up with Michelle as the two of them looked for a way that Michelle could use to get into the ruins.

After what seemed like forever, they finally managed to find a set of massive metal doors, which seemed a likely candidate for being a way into the ruins that didn’t involve jumping over the walls. Beth couldn’t help but feel as though Michelle was teasing her when she asked if Beth thought that she would be able to open the doors, primarily because Beth was pretty sure that Michelle was strong enough to push the twenty-foot high slab of metal in.

Beth was willing to give it a try anyway, oddly encouraged by thought of Michelle teasing her again. Her first thought was to create a repulsion between her hands and the door and use that to push it open, but one look at the hinges gave her the idea of blasting them off and letting the door fall down.

Making sure that Michelle wasn’t close enough to be in danger, Beth drew the charge on her body together to form two arcs on either side of her, quickly launching them at the hinges of the door and taking a few steps back as ozone filled the air. The hinges shattered as the electricity finished entering them, having been superheated by the current and then cooled back down by its absence.

As metal fragments rained down over them, Beth concentrated, pulling the negative charges together in the middle of the door and holding them there while she moved the negative charges on her body to the front so that she and the door would repel one another. With such a small base to support its center of gravity, and the lack of hinges to provide extra support, the small amount of force directed into the ruins was enough to get the door tipping, a position from which it quickly accelerated, smashing into the ground with a loud thud that echoed dully through the forest.

”Let’s go inside, shall we?” Beth said as she joined Michelle, a huge grin on her face, a combination joy that she was able to open the door and excitement over the prospect of seeing what was hidden in the ruins.

Cassidy Lynn Daniels

And....showstopper.

Cassidy watched Diego suckerpunch MacArthur with genuine surprise. Burnt flesh and roasting fabric hit her nose and made her face scrunch, her eyes water involuntarily. Uggghh.

And down, down, down...

For a moment Cassidy's mind sidestepped into something darker. Diego had...there...there was Not-Diego there. Something else. Something beyond. She'd felt it, tiptoe up her spine, some subtle little instinctual warning that Diego had not been behind the wheel when he crashed headlong into Titus. And for a moment, Cassidy thought perhaps they would come to blows, which would then bring her to blows with Lupe, which would then bring her to die. She could not fight the both of them, she didn't think, especially if Whatever That Was went in to kill Titus instead of letting him recover.

Still she was not one to die easy or let things such as this slide. She stared at Diego for a moment, watching horror and confusion roll over the boy's face. No. He had not meant this, she did not think. What she'd felt, driving knives into the monster, it had been...terrible. Awful. Fear, but something else. Some kind of primal, visceral joy, like she was waking up parts of her mind and soul that had been lying dormant for centuries, waiting for one of her bloodline to be put in a situation where humans were once again at the bottom of the food chain. It had scared her.

But she liked it.

She saw a trace of it on Diego's face, and Cassidy thought it was only because she knew what to look for-to see if she was looking at a killer or a murderer. She choked for a moment-a reaction that was both to the nauseating reek of Titus' liquefying flesh and to the feeling of steel in her throat and gut, a three and a half foot length of blade that she swallowed back into its hiding place with a sharp effort. Not today. No killing.

"Lupe," Cassidy barked, turning and walking towards the exit. This was something else-something quite else entirely. The boy might die. She'd seen Titus shrug off the heaviest hits from that demon a week back (and once again even in the midst of this little crisis the thought of what could have happened and that deep-gut-fear gripped Cassidy casting a shadow over that scarred face) but he didn't seem to be bouncing back from this one. No sense in counting on it-she didn't know the extent of his powers, how his regeneration functioned. Good chance he was down for the count, that the saw really had cut the girl in half, that the handcuffed man was drowning for real. Cassidy stopped and turned. "I'm going to get help," she said, no more easygoing aloofness. She was cold and serious. "For whatever good it will do put pressure on the wound."

Cassidy balled up her coat and began running out of the room, her choice of shoes not exactly expediting the process. Neither was the suit for that damn matter. She decided on perhaps, slightly more practical, if still fashionable, clothing for the future. Given the rather alarming rate of student casualties, it certainly couldn't hurt.

Selena Wodan Chilver

Selena gave the lizard a sideways glare at the brownose comment. "Well next time I'll skip the formalities and jump right into the ass-kicking, Odin. Hope you got some reports to fill out for NEST. I'll give you some good shi-" she paused abruptly, spotting a student walking by. "Ah, fuck it-some good shit to put down. Don't curse," she added to the terrified looking sixth grader who'd unfortunately witnessed her profanity. "Eh. I never really cared about job security."

A Roach. Hmm. Useful term. She liked crushing roaches, whether they be physical or metaphorical. Selena wasn't a violent person. But her powers-and her disposition, she could not entirely blame it upon her nature-were predisposed towards that struggle. Of establishing supremacy, of vying to see who was stronger, faster, better, fitter. She'd found healthy ways of channeling it-it'd been athletics in high school and college, and now these sorts of jobs, work that'd let her bury herself in the hunt and focus her passion without worrying about collateral damage. She didn't try and repress it-it was who she was. Some people were just born warriors, and Selena felt that itch. She didn't feel home in a place, she felt it in the tension of a nocked bow, or a pistol's iron sights...

"Baby sitting me in the woods. You just feeling all sorts of salty today. Fine by me. If you've already got salt, it'll speed up the process when I turn your scaly ass into a pair of boots."

She did stop and give him a 'You shitting me'? Look at the time of the month comment. Even between close friends, there were lines. He quickly rectified his mitake, which made Selena chuckle. Henry was just too easy sometimes. "Well, Twilight novel, hey now. I'm not asking you about the Black Lagoon," she grinned, checking through her gear one more time. Selena treated her work with the meticulous professionalism of a seasoned expert as well as the enthusiasm of someone who loved what they were doing. Her shotgun was on safe, without a shell in the chamber. This was a school after all. "Heh, spare vest? From your room? Might be a bit big on me, but I'll give it a shot." She checked and made sure her NEST badge was in her wallet-Selena didn't carry a purse. "Yup, we're clear." she tucked her supplies back into the duffel bag and slung it over her shoulder casually. She wasn't expecting a fight-not in broad daylight-but there was no sense in leaving this out of sight. She'd keep it on her until Henry could hook her up with a vest and some holsters. While the bag had weight to it, Selena was tough. Both of normal human standards, and amongst her powered brethren.

"Traps? Getting dirty. Makes sense. Kids lives at stake, after all. Yeah, let's head out. Sitting on that boat made me too long. Eager to see what this Academy's like. And then tonight-fun. Where do you want to start for traps? For hunting I'm thinking through where they might go." This process was somewhat morbid-as I've said, Selena was a huntress, the same way Socrates was a thinker and Picasso an artist. It's what, fundamentally, she was. Putting herself in the mind of a beast was not as far a stretch for her as it may have been for others. If she were to prey upon the school, she'd want somewhere suited to her advantages. She'd want the woods. Tough for them to scour, easy camouflage. Easy to get lost and separated in, harder for radio contact and cell phone reception. But that wasn't everybody. These things are nocturnal and they get inside the school. Outside, there's a hell of a lot of daylight-Selena's deeply bronzed skin was a testament to that (although her heritage helped her tan as well). That left the basement-she figured this place had to have some kind of catacombs or tunnels or something, it just seemed fitting. Maybe a bomb shelter-and for a school of this size, you'd need to get pretty deep. It'd be where she was-relatively easy to get back into the school, and people avoid the spooky underground on general principle.

Except, of course, for teenagers looking to prove a point or teenagers looking to, ah, prove a point. She wondered how many lovebirds had wandered off and turned into monster chow. Plus down there-close quarters. Better suited for a physical beast like that thing. Bow wouldn't be much use, which irritated her. "My gut's saying the basement, if this school's got one. Some kinda tunnels or something. Lines up for a nocturnal motherfucker-it's not getting much darkness outside, at any rate." She walked outside, slipping the key in her pocket next to her wallet. Selena had an athletic body, the taut muscle of years of hard work and testing what her body was capable of. That being said, she didn't do very much to accentuate it-while the outdoors were secondhand to her, a handful of social graces were not, and she'd always fumbled when it came to fashion. Her clothes were warm in the winter and cool in the summer, but that was about the only seasonal variation she had. "Tonight, we kick some ass, roast some steaks, finish this deal up in a week or two. Lead the way Doc. I'll have to start poaching middle schoolers if I get bored."

---

Perspiration formed on Astrid's brow through the trek through the forest. She wasn't used to walking and didn't like it at all. How much easier would it be if she could just teleport. Astrid's breathing increased until they finally stopped, pushing through the bushes into a clearing. In the clearing was a wall. A large ass wall, she thought. Then the group mentioned her teleporting up to the top. Despite being out of breath she grinned, "Hell yeah, I can. Just give me a moment."

Beth and Michelle continued down the path to see if they could find a gate to break into. Looking over at the only companion left Astrid watched as Fiona pulled off a handful of leaves and began to chew them up. Raising an eyebrow she turned towards her and holding out her hand, rest it upon Fiona's shoulder. "Okay, we're going to teleport as soon as I find a stable place on the wall. Just try to keep your balance when we do." Eyes scanning the wall she finally found a place that didn't look like it would crumble beneath their feet. Of course she didn't know much about architecture or construction, but she figured large cracks weren't a good thing.

"Let's go." A cracking sound resounded through the forest, and the spot that the two had just stood rippled as the displaced air flew back into position. Astrid crouched slightly when they teleported, not wanting to fall off the wall after one of her larger teleports of the day. Standing she looked over to see how Fiona was doing. First time teleporters weren't always the best.

---

---

"Alright, then." Spencer ducked his head out of the room and began to walk down the hall. He looked down at his feet and slumped his shoulders. He had met Sarah a few times before, but she wasn't nearly as capable a teacher as Doctor Wright was. He had seen her somewhere around here. If he couldn't find her, then perhaps-

Then Spencer realized that he had just been talking to a giant lizard man. There was only one giant lizard man in the world, as far as Spencer knew, and his name was Henry Olin. Spencer turned on a dime and sprinted back to the room, arms flailing. He nearly dove in the front door and clumsily slid across the room. He looked back over at the computer. Yup. Giant lizard. Now what to say, what to say. Oh God, he hadn't thought of what to say! He stood there half-awkwardly, his mouth shut. Then he shakily said:

"Agent Olin?"

---

---

Titus still was showing no signs of movement. He laid on the ground limp, his heart barely pounding. The skin on his hands and the part of his face which was not burned began to sprout a sickly red rash, and inside his body autoimmune macrophages and leukocytes began to dissolve the tissues in his joints, taking advantage of his body's sudden lack of regenerative stem cells.

A student ran back into the room, two paramedics behind her. They shoved their way through the crowd with a gurney. Then, struggling immensely, they lifted the enormous Titus and placed him on the gurney. He was so big that the gurney slumped in the middle, and his arms and legs hung off of the sides awkwardly. They shoved their way back through the crowd and shuttled him over to the Medical Wing to be treated.

---

_{@Maxx@He Who Walks Behind}

---

Apply pressure to the wound. Okay. That was something that Lupe heard in the movies, but there must be a reason for that. Diego was completely frozen, and Lupe found it completely understandable. The look in his eyes was just horror. He didn't mean for any of this. Something she should have understood herself right from the get go. Lupe nodded her head at Cassidy. Normally she wouldn't be so willing to follow someone else's orders, but she had to help in any way she could. Cassidy ran out of the room, and Lupe walked over to Titus, and knelt down. The wound that Diego had inflicted on him was just... sickening. Disgusting. A wound on his gut that was burned shut. Lupe had inflicted similar wounds on people before, but never before has she gotten close to see the burnt skin. She positioned her hands above his wounds, before she turned her face away, pressing down on the wound. Applying pressure as Cass asked. She hoped that she got help, or something.

If it was done by any other attack, then maybe Lupe would have burned the wound shut. Titus had a healing factor. She remembered him mentioning it from the night before. Shit.... Don't sue us, Big Man. Our whole family, what's left of it, has had enough. A group of people crashed through the front doors, and Lupe immediately turned back - the two paramedics weren't what caught her attention. Wait, where did Diego go?! The thought ran through her head as she looked around for him. Diego definitely was not in the place he was before. The boy disappeared. Gone! Probably scurried off when no one was looking at him. Crap! This makes things worse. Lupe let out a sigh. She got up and stood a few feet away from them - she was getting out of their way. That's all she can do now. She watched as they put Titus on the stretcher and hauled him off. Hopefully they'll help them better than she could.

That meant there was little left for her to do, honestly. She was... standing here. So shocked that all of this went down. She placed her hand on the side of her head, and began lightly shaking it. She had to talk to someone. Lupe saw that Cassidy was still here, and walked over to her. In that same position. "I...." She forced out the words, but closed her mouth. "Shit's fucked up." She said, shrugging. "I honestly have no idea what happened there.... No one did." Not even Diego. She thought outside. "I just hope Titus and Diego will be alright - As for where Diego went, I don't know. I think it's best if I don't find out." Lupe closed her eyes, and shrugged again. "It's best if I let him come out and talk about it himself."

---

_{@TaliPaendrag}

---

Silent during Beth's little lightshow, Michelle took a step back and put her hands onto her hips. She heard the light crackling of electricity and great detail, and contorted her face into a frown. Michelle watched as the doors pushed themselves over - and her nose was filled with such a strange odor that she nearly covered her nose. The sound of the doors hitting the ground reflexively made Michelle close her ears - and for good reason, it was so loud that it was probably heard for miles. Shit, shit, shit. Not good. Not only did Beth broadcast their position (To the whole school perhaps), but now whatever is nearby knows full and well that they're here - they kicked down the doors. Even a deaf man could feel the shockwave. Michelle hung her head and let out a sigh. Look like we're gonna have a little bit more fun... Hehe... Michelle thought to herself as she raised her head with a devilish smirk on her face. When the echo faded away, all that could be heard was Michelle's rather sinister laughing. "God, you're as subtle as I am, Beth!" She said in between bouts of laughter. She stopped laughing, and started walking forward. "I'm sure the others would take that as... us finding something."

With that, Michelle confidently stepped into the ruins... Feeling excited. Very excited. Not for the reasons Beth were, but she was excited at the prospect of having something to fight. She was just itching for that rematch. Getting revenge for what the first monster did. She stopped, and looked around. The ruins... They looked very familiar to her. Not in the way that she's been here before, but they looked similar to a school. A university. Yeah, that was it. There was a collection of buildings nearby, in varying states of disrepair. One building was large, and looked something like Michelle's old school. Covered in vines and moss. In fact, Michelle was walking up to a large fountain in the center of it all. Her senses told her that there was not a single person nearby other than Beth... Though, she looked up towards the top of the wall, and spotted Fiona and Astrid. Wonder if they'll get down on their own.

Though, there was something else on her mind. "... This place is very interestin', don't cha think?" She started off, she had a train of thought she was going down here. "Like... don't this place look like a... a... school? Yeah, a school." She pointed at a building with a collapsed entrance that looked like the dorms (Going off the bed springs in the pile). "Don't that look like some dorms?" Then she pointed at another building, that was much more in tact and seemed to be official looking. "And doesn't that look like a main building, or something?" These Ruins seem to be very fishy right off the bad.

---

_@Wintergrey

---

Fiona was honestly a bit surprised when Astrid approached her so casually, and offered to teleport her. Normally people are put off by her appearance, and wouldn't even think of touching her. Maybe that provides a bit more insight into Astrid than she thought. She nodded her head and cheerfully said, "Ready when you are." It was a bit of a surprise when Astrid teleported the two of them to the top of the wall. To Astrid, it was trivial, but to Fiona... Well, she was thrown off balance a little bit. Because it was just a sudden snap from one location, to another. She quickly swung her arms back and forth in order to regain her balance. Which she did eventually regain. "It's okay, I'm fine now." She said with a smile. She clicked her mandibles together as she looked around. She was supposed to be finding a way in. Fiona's compound eyes scanned the Ruins... Which looked suspiciously like a school. Was this place, like, an original version of the 218? Oh, that just made her more curious!

... Then the sounds of the walls hitting the ground created such a loud sound that it filled her poor hearing organs for seconds! It was very painful. She instinctively covered her knees, and knelt down a bit. "Ow... Ow, ow, ow..." Fiona moaned in pain. The pain would be over soon. Just what did they do? Fiona looked down, and saw Michelle and Beth walking towards the fountain. Looks like they found their way in. Which means all the two of them had to do was get down. Fiona stood straight up, and looked at Astrid. "Looks like they're in, all we need to do is get down there." Fiona looked down from the walls, and she was pretty intimidated. Her exoskeleton could take a bit of damage, but this fall would utterly shatter it - along with Astrid if she's carrying her. So, it was either up to Astrid's teleportation (The girl would probably get exhausted at this rate), or... Fiona could get them down. She had a way.

She just didn't know if Astrid would like it.

Fiona scratched the back of her neck as she looked at Astrid. "How do you want to get down?" She asked. "You could teleport us down, orrrrr I could get us down with a little trick of mine."

Beth began to blush rather vehemently, her smile withering away as she realized that Michelle was laughing, most likely at her. Her cheeks only grew hotter as Michelle made a comment about Beth being about as subtle as she was, a comment that Beth didn’t think was meant to be taken as a compliment.

”They’re twenty-foot tall slabs of metal with hinges that looked about as rusty as the Titanic is now,” Beth said as she followed Michelle into the ruins to meet up with the others, clearly pouting. ”Sorry that I couldn’t gently lower them to the ground, but I doubt pushing them open would have made that much less noise.” It didn’t help that she didn’t particularly see why they had to be quiet either. It wasn’t like they were hunting the monsters down anymore.

After a few moments, however, Beth seemed to forget all about the door incident, or at least stopped letting it bother her, her attention wholly directed at the ruins around her. Broken remnants of whatever used to stand where the ruins now lay were covered in thick patches of moss, but even so, the ruins themselves didn’t seem all that old. It seemed that most of the pieces of building, though broken and shattered, were still in rather good condition, and Beth could sense the wires running through several of them.

When Michelle mentioned that it seemed as though the ruins had used to be a school, Beth directed her attention towards the section that Michelle was looking at, nodding as Michelle continued, asking if Beth agreed that another section of the ruins looked like they might have been a dorm at one point. ”But what would have lead to… this?” Beth replied as Michelle pointed out a mostly intact section that looked like an office of some sort.

”We should probably wait for the others before we explore more,” Beth said, looking up towards the top of the wall that surrounded them and waving the other two girls on down. Frankly, she wasn’t really sure what they might find buried among all this rubble, but she would feel a lot more comfortable discovering it with more people around. Something about the ruins just felt… off.

---

Fiona's arms swung instinctively when they teleported on top of the wall. Astrid watched carefully, ready to dart forward and catch her if she began to fall. Looking over the side she could see that the fall would not be a pretty one. As soon a Fiona managed to steady herself, Astrid got a chance to fully look around the ruins. It looked like a school. Well, more like it used to me a school. Overgrown and full of broken down buildings, but still it was possible to tell that it definitely used to be a school.

Buried in thought, Astrid was surprised when a large boom shattered it's way through the air. It caught her so off balance that she jumped. Landing unprepared Astrid slipped on a pile of loose rocks that was lying on top of the wall. She began to teeter on the edge of the wall. Her heart jumped in her chest causing her to catch her breath. Her arms shot out to the side, quite like Fiona had done moments before, trying to regain her balance. The rocks beneath her feet tumbled a bit more, and Astrid plunged over the edge. She only made it ten feet before teleporting up back onto the ledge. Landing face down, her face smushed into the rocks. It took her a moment before she could say anything her voice was so shaky. "J-jesus christ. I think I nearly pissed myself." Her voice shook as she tried to crack out a joke just to calm her nerves.

She lay there for a moment trying to regain her breath. Slowly she pushed herself into a sitting position, hands trembling from adrenaline and exhaustion. Too much teleporting too quickly. She needed to make sure she monitored herself more or she would be too tired to save herself from another fall. One thing for sure they needed to get off this damn wall. Finally looking back up towards Fiona, she nodded when another method besides teleporting was brought up. "Just get me off this wall. Please." She kept her eyes locked on Fiona, afraid she might accidentally glance over the edge again. Normally Astrid wasn't scared of heights, but after her recent mishap she wasn't exactly fond of being so high up.