Kassy was surprised when Sebastian came up to claim the wriggling wolf. She barely had time to greet him, and was just about to ask about his summer when the announcement sounded. He looked as lean as ever; she'd have to push herself extra hard to keep up with him. Before she joined the swim team, competing was something she'd never dreamed of being able to do. Now she was rather proud of it.

"Bye Sebastian, see you soon! We'll catch up then!" She waved at him, amused at the pup hanging off his neck like a furry scarf. Without further distraction, she headed for the auditorium. Maybe they could get her a new uniform sometime during the journey. What was this mysterious trip, anyway? She knew no one but the teachers would know, since it had happened earlier than even the senior students. Not seeing any teachers to ask, she got to the auditorium and settled onto the bench, smoothing her skirt over her thighs in a self conscious manner.

Returning from the shopette, bag of goods in hand, Jin noticed something quite peculiar about the island. It wasn't merely overpopulated today, it was resurgent. The students were returning to the academy, which meant that today was the first day of the new year. Alarmed by his late realization, Jin sprinted back to his dormitory room, cutting between and in front of returning students as he crossed their paths. He returned to find his room unlocked, with his roommates (some of which he didn't recognize, which didn't necessarily mean they were new) within. In between dressing himself in his proper uniform frantically, he attempted to clean some of the mess that his roommates were apparently distracted by, and fussed with them over what was and was not garbage.

The announcement was read over the speaker system, and Jin grew yet more frantic. He finally gave his roommates the order not to touch anything until he returned and they could settle this formally, and bolted back out of the room. He was sweaty and tired, having not had his morning energy drink, and was quite disheveled from all of this running around. He didn't usually look immaculate, but he was a particular mess today. He had missed several buttons on his shirt, his tie was barely holding together in a knot, one of his shoes had come untied, and his comb was actually stuck in his hair, caught on a matted tangle.

About halfway to the auditorium, Jin found that he had more or less caught up with the crowd, and allowed himself a break. He leaned over onto his knees, panting. Oh, this was hell. He wasn't made to run around like a spring chicken. He wiped the rapidly gathering sweat from his forehead and continued along with the crowd, trying to gravitate toward wherever he saw the greater accumulation of green uniforms. He still wasn't particularly pleased with how this day was going, and wasn't in a terrific mood. He hoped that no one would talk to him, which seemed like the most likely possible occurrence, given that he had no friends.

"What's a World Journey?" Ailís asked herself, momentarily distracted from Edmund by the announcement. Perhaps this endeavor would allow her to develop her skill in a better way. Less invading others, more helping, right? Before the previous year had completed, Ailís had discovered that she was sleepwalking around her living quarters late at night, trespassing on the dreams of other Horse House members subconsciously. It was like her greatest nightmare had become a reality, and who would want her help after those incidents? Couldn't the others control themselves? Why couldn't she? The words of the announcer echoed through Ailís' skull like a bell's aftershock of ringing, blinding her as someone bumped into her.

Ailís landed on the slick floor with a muted thud. It was just her luck that questioning someone meant they would make an awful impression, but Ailís cast that thought aside. Often she was blinded by the good in people; indeed, she could never only focus on accidents–even if she had been knocked onto the ground. The only thing that tore at her heart was the fragile lollipop that tumbled out of her mouth and shattered like glass beside her.

With saucer eyes, Ailís looked up at Edmund with inflating sadness. It was only when he offered her the sweet that she snapped back to attentive. "C-cookie?" Her peachy bottom lip quivered at the sight of a layered delicacy. She could practically feel it crumble in her mouth, maybe it was warm and melts like most of the baked goods she enjoyed. Ailís picked herself up gingerly before snatching the cookie like a child and stuffing it in her mouth less than gracefully. Maybe Edmund wasn't so bad after all. A few crumbs stuck to Ailís' slight, protruding chin, but the warmth of bliss the dessert spread through her made crumbs seem like nothing.

"That was heavenly," Ailís sighed before bowing slightly. "Thank you, Mr. Orion of the House...Your Highness...Master?" Wasn't that what previous Orions had expected of the other house members last year? Behind closed doors at least.

"No chicks outside? Guess I'm unlucky today... The chicks might be in the dorms in this case. People of all hair colors known to us are welcome, and judging girls based on their race is a very silly idea, so silly that only an unfunny clown would do that!" Mizuki said to himself, as he began his run with an attempt on a sexy smile, to his house after roaming around and searching for girls, surprisingly without meeting anyone who matched his extremely wide definition of "a chick" for a some time, which should be an extraordinarily rare occurrence, probably rarer than a satellite hitting him with his definition considering it covered almost all the girls in the academy to say the least.

Before he could make it to the dorms and make a move on (read: harass) any girls inside, the bell rang to protect the innocents, with a public service announcement shortly after to make the girls some more time, which explained about an expedition supposedly happening all around the world without the Maebies, and the students excluding the Maebies and the Orions needed to head to the Central Auditorium by following the Whales' House Elf.

"Wait, does that mean I could potentially learn new techniques I can use from people around the world? I'm fortunate, or we're fortunate I guess!" The (mostly silently) self-proclaimed protagonist of a dating game talked to himself as he continued his journey to his house, no longer intending to make a move on and end up harassing any girls at least for now.

---

"Huh?" Edmund blinked in confusion "you...you don't have to be so formal around me. It's rather embarrassing to be honest" he rubbed the back of his head while his cheeks reddened. It was then that he noticed the broken lollipop on floor "oh dear. That's my fault isn't it? Here, let me fix that." Picking up the stick, he began to use his powers on it. The broken shards began to fly back into place, as the dirt and germs that had gotten on them were left behind. He stopped right when it reached the state it was at when it left her mouth 'I'm really glad I got that down last year.' Edmund thought 'it was so mortifying the first time I tried to fix someone's food. I went too far and the rest of it came flying out of their stomach. I'm just happy that I was able to fix that in time.'

"There you are. No need to worry, it's clean...or as clean as something that was in someone's mouth can be. It's as clean as it was in your mouth" Edmund handed her back the lollipop. "Terribly sorry about all of this he apologized again. "Since you already seem to know who I am, I don't think there's much point in introducing myself. But would you mind giving me your name?" He asked as he held open the paper bag in her direction, inviting her to take another biscuit

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Daniel jumped with the sound of the woman's voice floating across the entire school. He was not ready for that and stepped outside even faster. He looked around and saw all the other Dragon Kids going in one direction. He did not quite know were the Central Auditorium was so he followed the rest. "What is the World Journey?" He asked himself. Daniel looked around and saw all different type of people. Each had a different face and a different vibe that came off of them, each looked like a different flower to him.

---

The leaves rustled above Elisa’s head as she strolled along the gravel paths of the park. Slowly the large, glass construction in which she was to be expected came into view. In the distance she could hear the buzzing of the numerous students, the noise intensifying as she drew nearer to the main road which lead towards the entrance of the school. She could see many faces, some of which she seemed to remember vaguely from last year; it was hard to tell though from this distance. Turning her attention to the track underneath her, she softly started to hum a song. Although she was not a particularly good singer it was something which she enjoyed doing when there were no people nearby.

Her little tune got interrupted however by the earsplitting sound of the bell, her heart jolting as it appeared to echo off all buildings. With her heart still pounding in her chest, she carefully listened to the announcement.

Her curiosity had been piqued: Elisa had heard the words ‘World Journey’ mentioned before, but only by the senior students in a gossip kind of context. She thought it was kind of odd to announce it only now though, if it really was such a big thing. They could have at least told the students before the summer break so they could have anticipated on it a little bit, or send a letter for that matter. Although she was excited, part of Elisa wished there were still a few weeks in between the message and the actual expedition, such that she could prepare herself. Restlessly she looked around, searching for any House Elves or fellow housemates to lead her the way so she could hopefully find out about all the details. Spotting one of the pointy-ears, she made a small sprint in his direction.

-

-

---

Tsk! Think you're gonna bar me from the stage. Bitch better think again.

He eyed the gathering inside the auditorium from a shady spot near the entrance. Other students were still pouring in, stragglers that had yet to be seated. As Lady Morgana spoke, Nagitano found himself angered. Pre-Stars and Starborns? Just what the hell was those titles anyway? What made them any different from Maebys. Probably just another snobby titles. Where the prestige got better titles and peasantry got degrading names. Names like Maebys.

He leaned against the smooth wall with his arms crossed, a daring smirk on his lips as he formulated his plan. Amongst the others, there was comradery. None would think that another human would attack them. He would have to snatch one of those pads and a bracelet too. Shouldn't be too hard, even though she had mentioned combat training, he was sure they weren't prepared for his street fighting.

When gray, one-eyed men scrambled through the entrance, Nagitano ran away and joined with the others as a fresh face. He didn't know if they were going to fight there way out or not, but he sure was. He ran forth and crashed into the first with a powerful knee to the eye, sending it stumbling into a few behind it. He dropped his foot down gingerly before quickly snapping it back then forwards into the side of its face. This time it spiraled before hitting the wall and sliding to the ground.

“Guess I'll just have to smash you all like play-dough!” He cracked the knuckles on his hand by tensing it as he prepared to attack again.

Sebastian leaned forward in his seat, soaking up every word of Morgana’s speech. This sounded like it was going to be amazingly fun. He loved competitions, especially deadly ones. He and his friends had had a survival competition back in Australia. Who could last the longest in the jungles, and he had won. He had been one of the stragglers, coming in last because he waited for the girl to respond to him, but unfortunately, he couldn’t wait that long. He opened up the pen and notebook and immediately knew to shove it into his backpack, directly underneath Flame, who was sound asleep after her misbehavior for most of the afternoon. He smiled down at the puppy before slipping on his new Queue Device over his wrist. It locked tightly in place and he knew it wouldn’t be removed easily. He took a deep breath when they said that they had to keep track of their pen. That was going to be difficult. The thing was small. He would need to make sure to keep it attached to the notebook, that way it was easier for him to save if it was taken. But underneath Flame, it was safe for the moment. She would bite any hand besides his own that reached into the backpack. His mother learned that the hard way back when he was first leaving to come this year.

“So alas, the first leg of the World Journey is about to commence. Good Luck children.” And with that, Lady Morgana disappeared in a small flash. Sebastian immediately stood up, hiking his backpack up farther onto his shoulders. He tightened the straps to where it was pressed firmly against his back and wasn’t jostling around like it had been earlier. He felt Flame shift and he was about to leave when the lights suddenly dimmed in the auditorium. He stared around as the entrances began to open. The I-Men. He recognized them from the descriptions of past Orions who had heard about the World Journey. They were amazing works of engineering and human hybrids, but he had learned a lot from previous Orions on how to get passed them. You just need to blind their eye or kill them. He smirked and cracked his knuckles. This was going to be a lot of fun. Maybe more fun than wrestling crocodiles. He took a deep breath and grabbed the edge of the railing he was sitting in front of. The I-Men swiftly approached from the aisles, overtaking a few of the students near the back. The hall was chaos. People were screaming and fighting, trying to get away from the I-Men. All of this for a game?

Sebastian had one leg over the top of the railing when he noticed an I-Man lock his eye on him. Sebastian smirked and saluted the man sarcastically, before grabbing the edge of the railing and jumping off, pushing off the side down so he was able to land on his feet. He landed directly on another I-Men, saving a girl and having a cushy landing. He slammed a burning fist into I-Man and he caught fire underneath him. He jumped off and stomped it out, crushing the I-Man as well as a putting out the fire. He nodded to the girl before suddenly the I-Man from above dropped down next to him. He dodged under a swing from the guy and rapidly shot off a fire blast, cringing at the sudden heat to his hand. The I-Man dodged the blow, but Sebastian immediately shot another blast at his foot. The man’s foot caught fire and distracted him, which gave Sebastian enough time to turn and run…

Directly into chaos. People were fighting and trying to get out without their pens being stolen. This was ridiculous. One strong shot would clear the aisle, but it might hit some of the students. Luckily, it wasn’t a big area. “Everyone get down!” Sebastian yelled. The students looked toward him and, recognizing his Orion armband, dropped to the ground immediately. Sebastian rapidly raised his hand and a large fire blast emerged from his hand. He let out a yell of pain, but kept his hand up. The I-Men caught fire and melted almost instantly, but the sides of the auditorium caught fire as well. Luckily, a Water Elemental was nearby and she managed to put out the fire, glaring at Sebastian as she did so. Sebastian stopped quickly, drawing his now blackened hand in close to him and stared down at his palm. The X mark was now a dark red, with flashes of black. He would have to be careful. He winked at the cute Water Elemental before hurrying toward the door as more I-Men came marching in.

Dodging around students and the melted I-Men, he escaped out the door. He dodged around the remaining I-Men that were making their way in, but he managed to avoid catching any of their gazes. He sprinted out of the auditorium, heading straight for the Dragon House. He needed to grab a few things. He scanned the area for any more I-Men, which he didn’t see. Yet. He looked toward the entrance, but he didn’t see any of the I-Men. He snuck inside, but he noticed as he looked down to the Dragon House that there were I-Men guarding the entrance. He swore under his breath and ducked back behind the entrance. He would just have to go without his things.

He took off back out of the entrance and raced for the forest surrounding the area. He needed to get to the boats. He was in this thing to win. He had been to the dock many times and knew exactly where he was going. He peered back over his shoulder and saw more students beginning to make their way out. This was going to be fun. He smirked and held on tight to his bag before taking off at a jog toward the forest.

The auditorium spiraled into chaos as the I-Men were let loose on the students. The design of this test - get to the docks without loosing your pen - seemed to Cheng like an ultimate free-for-all. Students had begun climbing over the seats in a mad dash for the exit, and those with powers used them to combat the sentient constructs.
Cheng had tucked his pen in a safe place; an inside pocket of his uniform's jacket. It wouldn't be hard to lose track of it in a brawl like this. He looked over his shoulder for Hanare, instead catching sight of an I-man barreling towards him. As it ran forward, Cheng drew a deep breath and shot his hands forward. The air between them shimmered as Cheng's force field made contact with the artificial figure, launching him backwards into the ranks of several more. The sudden arrival of several new adversaries on his other side allowed him little time to relax.
Concentrating on his power, Cheng drew an extended hand towards the group, the muscles within his fingers and forearm taut. Though the naked eye would be hard-pressed to identify it, Cheng built a spherical field within the throng of I-men. With a smirk, he shut his hand into a fist, and the field expanded like a bomb, sending the constructs hurling in several directions. The light in their eyes faded as they crashed into the walls and seats of the auditorium, internal parts scattered around the floor.
By now, the majority of the students had made it out. Some still tangled with the automatons. A short ways away, he noticed a Squid House student who'd been grappled by an I-man. A second one fumbled through his pockets before drawing the student's pen, at which point which the Squid growled in frustration. Cheng thought about the Orion band on his arm for a split second and dashed towards the scene.
A forcefield shimmered, and the I-man who'd stolen the pen lost its head, which was now flying across the room. Another glint of light and the second one was speared through the side, losing its grip on the student and fumbling to the ground. As the boy dusted himself off, Cheng tossed him his pen, and his second chance at making it to the dock.
"Be more careful," was all he said before running past into the daylight outside the auditorium complex.

---

With her melodious voice, Lady Morgana managed to capture everyone’s attention in the auditorium, even those sitting in the most distant corners of the hall. Elisa payed close attention to the woman’s words as she unraveled what this World Journey was all about.
She knew there would be a catch to this; they wouldn’t let them commence on a nice adventure just like that. First things first, Elisa slipped the pen underneath her bra, hoping that no one would try to search for it there. After this she hid the notebook away in her bag, and slid the bracelet around her wrist. She briefly stroked the sleek device, the little geek in her getting a little excited.

Although the girl was thrilled at first, things soon took a turn for the eerier when the auditorium grew dim. Behind her, she heard a door opening up. Quickly she looked around only to find lanky humanoids peering at her through the entrance. For a moment she stood frozen as students around her jumped backwards in the direction of the railing, having nowhere to go. She got snapped back to reality however when others started to fight back, unleashing their powers on the I-men. Almost instinctively she leaped backwards and jumped on the railing, hunching down on it, as she changed form; a tiny sparrow was now looking out over the struggling crowd.

Elisa’s eyes widened as she saw something fall out of the sky: her pen. With a nose dive she let herself drop from the balcony, diving after the object. She did not manage to catch the thing in mid-air however, as it bounced on the ground, somewhere in between the mass of fighting students. Manoeuvring past a group of I-men the bird landed right next to the pen. She skipped the option of picking it up with her beak as she figured it was way too big and slippery to hold it tightly in there, but maybe keeping it in the grasp of her claws would only just work out. She struggled to get hold of the relatively large object with her tiny feet, but after a few tries she managed. As fast as she could Elisa flew up, feeling the gushes of air around her as the creatures tried to reach for her, aiming to swat her out of the sky like she was a fly. “I should have thought this out better! It was bound to go wrong with objects that have not have experienced my power before!" she cursed at herself inwardly as she flapped as if possessed, desperately trying to get away from the I-men.

At the highest point in the room Elisa let her eyes dart over the area, searching for a way out. She then noticed someone she recognized, a student who was in the same year as her, blasting his way through the obstacles. She grabbed her chance and soared after him, having no trouble following him; even in the huge crowd Sebastian could easily be distinguished by the columns of smoke he left behind. Mostly thanks to him and with a bit of her own agility, Elisa succeeded in escaping. Although it was not his original intention, she'd be sure to thank him for it later; mentally at least, actually saying the words was another thing.

Just before the time she could spend in this form had run out, she landed on the rooftop, letting go of the pen as she did so. Luckily, there were no I-men here to snatch it away from her. Back in her human shape, Elisa stretched her feet that had grown tense from holding onto the object so tightly. She let out a sigh of relief as she felt her muscles loosen up. Picking up the pen she decided to just keep it in her hand for now.
Standing at the edge, the girl looked out over the plaza. She saw clusters of I-men, both near and in the distance, roaming the island. She watched as gradually more and more students exited the building, some in style, others just barely. Although it had not been mentioned as a prerequisite for boarding one of the vessels, Elisa set herself the goal to try and help out some fellow students as well. But now that she was out of the hectic situation, it was time to come up with a plan.

Ailís felt her mouth fall slack and gape open as Lady Morgana finished delivering her speech. The sensation of competition that now animated the dimly lit auditorium made the young hypnokinetic swallow hard, thick saliva coating her throat, a few coarse cookie crumbs scratching it. Protect your pen at all cost, she repeated to herself hesitantly. Something told her it wouldn’t be easy, and when the auditorium doors opened to reveal a swell of I-Men, her feeling was confirmed. Without skipping a beat, she shoved the pen deep into her sock, wiggling around frantically until the cool metal tickled her toes. It was smushed deep within her shoe and sock now. Sure, it probably wasn’t the best idea, but there wasn’t time for Ailís to sculpt out a master plan--not with only an hour to reach the dock.

With the notebook tucked under her shirt and the bracelet now clasped tightly around her left wrist, Ailís jumed out of her seat and scurried to the aisle. She kept one arm tight around her torso to keep the black notebook in place, the fabric enfolding the electronic device rubbing against her sensitive skin. No doubt it would be inflamed in a matter of minutes. As she maneuvered around other students, she squealed apologies whole-heartedly. Despite the surge that was sending her running, there was always time for manners, wasn’t there? Before Ailís could answer her own question, she caught sight of one of the I-Men, fully zoned in on her. It stood two yard away, and its large, centered eye made Ailís’ knees wobble. Would her ability work on these...things? Just as she began to reach out with her own mind, the gray body lunged at her--

"Everyone get down!” someone shouted nearby. Impulsively, Ailís dropped down and clutched an aisle seat with her free hand, the blue textile grainy to the touch. Fire erupted over the I-man that had his arms outstretched to Ailís, one of its hand inches from her face. She watched with wide eyes as it melted in on itself. How long would it stay that way? Ailís did not want to find out.

Brushing stringy hair out of her eyes, Ailís sprang out of her crouching position and started towards the entrance once more. Protect the pen, she reminded herself, flinging herself faster than she would have liked, nearly tripping over her own feet in the process. The sound of the auditorium was blurry noise now. How could it have gotten so chaotic so fast? Maybe this World Journey thing wasn’t as exciting as she had previously thought. Nonetheless, she still needed to get to the dock. As she closed in on an exit, she felt another I-man close behind. She glanced over her shoulder, her breath chafing her throat, and tried to focus. Did these things work like humans? There was only one way to find out.

Ailís reached out carefully with her mind, disregarded the splashes of attentiveness she felt throughout the room, and sensed waves from the I-man’s brain. They were extremely level, unlike any she had perceived before, but now was no time to experiment. She urged signals to the organism’s brain, hushing alpha activity and manipulating an increase in delta wave activity. At the same time, she smiled as she felt the base of the I-Man’s brain send signals to his spinal cord--the same signals that stiffened a person during sleep. While Ailís didn’t sense dreams spouting from the I-man, she felt the next best thing: Sleep Paralysis. It was temporary, but it was a relief.

Sweat dampened Ailís’ tightened brow, and her pale bangs stuck to her forehead as she left the I-Man in her dust. Her legs began to ache as she left the auditorium behind; she had never been into much physical activity, and it was showing. The tire that wore her down as she slowed to catch her breath evaporated as she remembered she still had to get to the dock. Though Ailís didn’t quite recall where it was, there were several students scattered about the campus, all moving in the same direction. She would just have to trust them on this. After making a quick scan for I-Men and paralyzing one from a distance, Ailís scampered after the students warily. The silly pen she was trying to protect rubbed against her foot, taunting her.

-

---

With Edmund as physically fit as he was, running to the ships in an hour would be no problem. While the I-Men would pose a challenge, it wouldn't be too tough of one. Making a mad dash for the door, he shot out his fist in a quick jab at the stomach of an I-Man about to jump him, knocking it back on it's back. While he doubted he could take on the whole horde by himself, they weren't all after him. So with his speed, he was able to break through the mass of I-Men as he dashed to the ships.

Mizuki couldn't help but to stare at the good-looking school official, even though he already knew he definitely wouldn't be able to even touch her for various reasons.
He listened to the official intently, opening the envelope when instructed to do so, before examining the content inside for some time before continuing. He kept listening he opened the envelope until the speaker disappeared into thin air. Unlike the most students around him, he was too busy thinking about the gorgeous school official to think about the obstacle that apparently steals the pen from him aside from the fact they're supposed to exist until the very moment the entrances opened, and a tide of strange-looking humanoids started rolling into the room.

Reacting to the tide, he quickly stood up and put the tablet in his bag before putting his pen inside it just in case if it was the obstacle the official was talking about. He was proven right by one of the Whales' boys, which quickly got his pen stolen by one of the humanoid figures. He tightened his bag and prepared for a fight. Although Mizuki liked exercising, had some proper combat training, and even had an ability to destroy anything purely made out by an ability, he didn't know if any of them would be useful. Luckily, the former two was true as his punches knocked the humanoids out, but the last one was proven false as they didn't disappear, but he was too busy acknowledging to realize the fact, until he made it to the lower floor, where most of the humanoids were melted by someone. He calmed down enough to realize the fact, before being nearly assaulted by one of the humanoids. Luckily, he managed to deliver a punch to its face, knocking it out.

"Shut up bitch!" Suddenly, he heard a feminine voice. Rushing over to the source of the voice, he had found another one of the gray humanoid figures pulling her, with several of them around. He knew they could be knocked out easily by experience, and went for the group around the tide, knocking them out one-by-one. "Fine." He shouted as he went to deliver a strike to the humanoid to free a girl. Although he acknowledged he did not need to shout, he wanted to do so to sound cool anyway. "So you think whatever you want, weirdos?" He dashed into the humanoids, preparing to use his fist like a blade. "Then I'll obliterate your foolish illusion!" He slashed the humanoid's neck-alike spot with his hand, knocking it out.

"Cheng!"
The Orion turned around, recognizing the voice of his ill-reputed housemate. Cheng had almost lost track of Hanare when the crowds had started running, and from the sound of her voice, it seemed she'd been caught in a bad way. However, by the time he'd spotted her, Hanare was crouched among a pile of broken I-men and unharmed. Nearby, a young Whale Houser was plinking at the automatons with his fists and Cheng raised an eyebrow at his sudden arrival.
"Hanare? You alright?" Cheng came to her side, helping steady her up and brushing off a patch of dust that'd gotten on her uniform.
"Sorry, I was sure you'd made it out already. Do you still have-"
Before Cheng could finish his question, a band of at least twelve new I-men emerged from the auditorium entrance. They crept into a wide half-circle intending to enclose the pair of Squids and prevent their attendance. Cheng took a step back from the ring, only to bump into a Dragon House student he'd recognized from one of his classes. Thomas... Tony... Something like that. The boy had apparently been deprived of his pen, if his defeated, glum face was anything to go by. Not even his powers had helped, which Cheng found a little strange. If he recalled correctly, the kid was able to mold his arms into twisted shapes, abnormally tough bones transformed into all manner of weaponry.
Hanare, I've got an idea. Ready for a mental takeover?
Cheng grabbed hold of the student, reaching into his pocket for something to provide Hanare with a means to control him. He struggled, protesting and cursing at the Orion, but Cheng found hold of a keychain and tossed it to his housemate.
"His arms can form weapons! Let's use him to get some heat off our tail."

Jin settled into his seat in the auditorium as the presentation began. This lady, Morgana, Jin supposed she was pretty and seemed to be a pleasant person, but he found her very unnerving for reasons that he couldn't quite place. Something about her mannerisms, the way she held herself when she spoke; not that there was something wrong with them, but it reminded Jin of something he had forgotten. Jin sighed, quiet enough that neither person on either side of him could hear it. Vague recollections like these were terribly bitter for him. How much had he forgotten about himself, about his own life? He didn't even know how much of himself that he had lost from his condition.

Regardless, now wasn't the time to mope on that. Morgana was gesturing to the package next to Jin's nameplate. He had sensed an alkaline catalyst in it beforehand, so he assumed it was electronic. Ah, the World Journey. Oh, wait, they were going on it now? Jin had a momentary shock of panic. His groceries! He had just bought a bunch, and they were leaving now? What about his projects, his stocks and his various other dividends? All of it would be left unattended! They really didn't know how to time these things conveniently; he could have benefited greatly from a warning. At least he had his phone on his person, and could take care of some of his affairs from the Journey.

That was when the auditorium was invaded. Double shock! Slender, white figures were pouring into the building, attacking students. Skellingtons! Jin knew this day would come. He patted himself down to make sure his own bones weren't rebelling against him. No, wait, these were only genetically-engineered cybernetic monstrosities. What a relief. Jin had heard about these from an upperclassman the previous year: I-men they were called. Jin had groaned at the time at the dumb joke. Yeah, yeah, because they only have one eye, real damn funny.

Jin tucked his pen and notebook away in his jacket, and thought out his options. An all-out assault against the I-men would be disastrous, as his powers would create a localized lightning storm in this cramped, crowded area. Subtlety was key, and he had to be especially careful, as one misfire of his powers could short out his pen and disqualify him from the journey. Honestly, not going on this stupid thing seemed just fine to Jin, but he had a sinking suspicion that some hard labor of some kind awaited any Starborn that missed the trip.

Jin weaved through the crowd of others as they used their powers to combat the enemy hordes, as well as defend against the backfire of their own abilities. Whereas others used their combat training to attack and defend, Jin used his to evade. With surprising nimbleness, Jin ducked and weaved through the crowd, slipping between student and I-men largely unnoticed; like a breeze flowing through grass. All he had to do was get out of the auditorium, and from there he would have a lot more room to work.

A passing I-man caught notice of Jin, and moved in to attack him. Jin responded fluidly, placing his hand gently on the enclosing I-man's face, and then completely scrambling his brain with a spark of plasma. Smoke and burnt fluid flowed out of the ears, mouth and nose of the destroyed I-man, but Jin noticed a particularity; the eye still followed him, despite the I-man being flash-burned, but shorted out a moment after. The eyes were the separate cybernetic addition? If Jin had to guess, he would assume that the eyes worked autonomously to track the students, the the bodies just followed the eyes around. If that were true, an EMP wave could disable a crowd of them quite easily.

This knowledge still being processed in his head, Jin continued to weave through the crowd, occasionally destroying an I-man with as little expenditure of power as possible, until he had made it outside. He could see now that the hordes of artificial enemies were littered through the campus, but it was a straight run to the docks. Running was far from Jin's forte, but he would have to keep moving to avoid accumulating static electricity from his own powers. Jin took off at a light pace down the steps of the building, and then made a beeline for the docks, keeping wary of any nearby I-men that wanted a piece of him.

---

Soo-Jin had sat down and listened at the Andros before seeing her envelopes then Lady Morgana. Lady Morgana was very basic or traditional looking female and she listened to her every words, " Good Luck Children" After hearing her say those last few words then disappearing she sighed. The I-Men gathered into the Auditorium like flies to light, she wrapped her bracelet around her wrist then stuffed her pen into her bra, she held onto her notebook and leaped onto the edge of the upper row then swung down to the bottom and rolled as she landed on the floor. She was into to Dance and Gymnastics, so she was happy about those advantages. She slid and scooted pass each crazy student in a panic mode as she tried to make it towards the door, she looked as she realized a group of the I-men had locked onto her and had scattered over to her, she rolled her eyes and pushed any person in front of her out of the way.

Once making eye contact with the I-Men she quickly morphed her mouth into these huge chompers that took over her face, leaving her eyes behind. It was hideous but she didn't care, she loved her power and she knew how to use it. She jumped up and leaped over the first I-Men head while spreading her mouth open wildly and spitting venom out at the others behind him, she then rolled onto the floor and sprinted outside where she'd see more I-Men and others attacking and being attacked by them. She tried to make a run for it out of the central Auditorium, the I-Men attacked her and reached for her shirt trying to yank or rip it open for her pen, she chomped and yanked at their arms shaking them around like dog bones as she swung them off of her and onto the ground, other I-Men had jumped on her back from behind and made her fall to the ground as the pulled her hair an tugged at her shirt. She panicked! She is getting jumped and is in a total panic~ The I-Men had almost ripped her shirt and was about to get to her bra for the pen, she quickly shook her head and bite it's arm and elbowed its head as she reached into her bra and threw the pen for them to get off her. Once they saw the pen flying she ran after it as fast as she could so they couldn't get it.

Doing a couple of front flips and dashing towards her pen she got away from the I-Men and was making her way towards the Docks, not as close to it as she'd like she was running though, worrying about her snacks that she so readily wanted to eat.