Irina’s conversation had been cut a bit short as Uriel made his entrance into the auditorium. Irina had quieted down the voices in her head by now so there was no way that she knew he was coming. She watched him as he sat down and listened to what he had to say, her eyes widening a bit at the audacity of him actually suggesting the scientists give Irina drugs. She didn’t know whether to be angry or surprised. A bit of both would probably do, but she chose to keep quiet and not respond to him after he was done.

More people arrived, and the energy in the room began to change. It livened up Irina bit and she found herself actively listening to the other speak. Or think. That might have been the reason why the way the room felt had changed. The voices were back in her head and there were people talking around her. Usually she’d find it overwhelming but at that moment she found it pleasing. It was keeping her awake and aware. She shot Nikolai and quick glare as she got a taste at his ‘colorful’ thoughts. A bunch of curse words and fighting going on there. By the way he looked at her, she knew that he knew what he was doing. Her attention was quickly taken away from Nikolai and drawn to the other Russian girl that was there with them. She was very quiet during the day but at night it was the complete opposite. She was the one next door to Irina’s room that kept her up at night. Irina simply stared at the girl as she went to take her seat, wanting to stay away from her thoughts. They were too intense and too intimate for Irina too handle.

Luckily, Abel had walked in and had enough in his mind for Irina to become preoccupied with. She had no idea what any of his thoughts meant but they were extremely aggravating. So much computer talk. Irina had learned from Esme to tone other’s thoughts down a bit, so that was exactly what she did whenever Abel began picking up on the technology around him. What she couldn’t tone down though was the swearing that followed. She turned over to Abel as she watched him remain cool and collected. With a small smile, Irina reached up and placed a hand on his knee. “Any louder and they might hear you too.” She smiled at her own little joke which was made just as Lucie sat next to Abel. Irina smiled at her as well, mainly out of politeness. She hadn’t really spoken much to the French girl but she often found herself either agreeing with whatever she usually said or seconding whatever she said. Plus whatever snide comment Lucie made usually made Irina laugh.

“Good morning, everyone.”

The strange voice made Irina turn around immediately. She hadn’t heard any new thoughts which took her by surprise. The woman that had spoken had not been seen before which filled Irina with unease. She was frighteningly beautiful and spoke as if she had been doing this for years. Not knowing what was going only made Irina’s anxiety grow. Her mind usually leapt at the chance to read other’s thoughts, which was completely involuntary. Irina had grown used to her mind doing so and it offered a sense of relief once she knew what the others were thinking, but it wasn’t working with this lady.

Nilin was her name, and she was practically giving Irina a nervous breakdown. ’She’s probably another mind reader’, Irina thought as she looked at her up and down.
Another voice caught Irina’s attention once more and she turned to see that Arthur had turned to look at her right as he thought of her name. ’How….. What….’, The surprise on her face was clear to see, right before it turned to excitement. Arthur had just spoken to her using his thoughts. It was the weirdest experience but amazing nonetheless. She smiled at Arthur before composing herself and turning to look back at Nilin. She heard nothing that the others said after that. Her mind was in deep thought as she thought of the mental exchange that had just happened. ’What if I can do that to other people? I can have private conversations. These people wouldn’t know what I would say…’. With the thought of the endless possibilities of what her newly found discovery could bring, Irina began to slowly work with her mind. She didn’t know what she was doing, but there had to be someone in here that was open minded enough to hear her out. Sure it would be a bit intrusive but it was for the greater good, so she went on trying to probe each mind, saying the other’s names and listening intently to see if anyone heard her.

A woman walked in, she was gorgeous and Nikolai was instantly focused on what she had to say. He tried to shake himself from staring and eventually managed to keep his eyes on hers. She mentioned she had powers, and that she had been here before. That she was trained here. Nikolai was instantly joyed, it meant they wouldnt be cut into little pieces once they had a knowledge of their powers. The loud young man spoke and Nikolai instantly was ripped from his admiration of this woman, except this time the guy asked all the questions Nikolai wanted to ask. Arthur spoke next, saying what Nikolai had intended on saying. That his power was out of his control. Nikolai knew his abilities were useless, even in a group setting. They simply triggered sometimes and other times they were almost non existent. He figured his only reason for being here would be to have another body around for the other powers. Nikolai sat up in his seat and put his feet up on a the desk on the opposite side of him. He adopted his usual smirk and ran a hand through his hair.

"So pretty lady," Nikolai began staring into the blue circles that were her eyes, "I have questions, what you do? Why were you taken here?"

---

---

Stasya hadn’t responded when the Russian boy from before had greeted her. Everything about him, from the way he looked to the way he sounded, kept her nervous and on edge. Being a boy in the first place didn’t help his case either. The best she was able to manage was a murmured response that was, in all likelihood, missed completely.

She did her best to keep up with the conversation that followed the woman entering the room, trying to keep track of who said what as the little voice coming from the tiny speaker hanging around her ear translated for her. Kara had given it to her during one of their sessions, saying that it would help her communicate better with the other teens. It would be awkward, but she would manage until she felt confident enough in her English to converse without it.

So, this “Nilin” had been taken like us. Now she’s one of them. Stasya frowned slightly as she processed the new information. Then I can’t trust her either. Letting the others ask the questions, she turned her attention to the other teens, reviewing what she knew.

The one called Mara seemed nice enough, she could certainly be a potential ally. From what she could currently see, she was also uncomfortable with what was going on. That would help. The loud one, Uriel, was… well, loud. He didn’t seem to be a bad sort, just overwhelming. Avoid for the time being, at least until she had someone else to help her.

Arthur, however, seemed to be the exact opposite. Quiet, soft-spoken. He had even made an effort to speak with her once or twice, not that he had gotten very far. Not that he had really done anything, she just… wasn’t comfortable talking to the boys here, and he had picked up on that pretty quick.

Nikolai she simply stayed away from.

Lucie was the girl who spoke differently than the others. She had mostly kept to herself over the week, and always seemed slightly… sad when she did appear? Stasya didn’t have very much on her at all. The last boy, who’s name she had learned was Abe, always seemed frustrated and distracted by something, though he did go to great lengths to hide it when the others were around. Perhaps his own powers, whatever they might be, really were causing him distress? She didn’t know. Which left-

STASYA!

The sudden and unexpected shout caused her to flinch and grab her ears, jerking in her seat. Scales flared all across her body, and a ridge of spikes erupted from her spine, tenting the back of her shirt. When nothing else was forthcoming, she raked her eyes across the gathered teens, sitting as though nothing had happened. Did… did nobody else hear that? How did they not hear that? One by one, she looked at each person. It sounded like…

Her eyes fell on Irina. The one that Stasya was most uncertain about. On the one hand, she was the the only other Russian speaker there besides Nikolai. On the other hand, she seemed to change moods a lot, and kept giving Staysa looks like she had done something wrong. Why would she shout my name? And why did it seem like only I could hear it? A brief look of shock crossed Stasya’s face. Was it… in my head? Can she talk in my head? She blinked, her eyes boring a hole into Irina’s head. Is that what you can do?

---

Abel sat back against the chair as the new girl came in. She was pretty, but she seemed like she was intentionally trying to intimidate people. The only person that he'd met at this place that actually intimidated him was Ezra. He was pretty sure he'd be fine with this girl.

Listening as she spoke, the young man frowned ever so slightly. He claimed to have powers, too. What was hers? She wouldn't doubt for a second that Nilin might be lying. He held nothing of a high opinion of the staff of this facility, to say the least, so he had absolutely no reason to trust them. He smirked ever so slightly when Nikolai spoke. His head twitched to the right, however, as he heard his name. His row was empty, but he scanned the room for someone trying to make eye contact with him. No one.

Abel! A loud voice shouted, suddenly. Loud, but not out loud. He didn't hear it in his ears. It was in his head. Irina's voice. It was slightly different than what he heard through the vibrations in his auditory nerves. He glanced down at the girl, leaning forward and bracing his elbows on his knees, keeping his eyes locked on Nilin, but whispering quietly down to Irina. "Are you in my head, Rina?"

Lucie sat up a little straighter and narrowed her eyes at the authoritative young woman who introduced herself as Nilin. This woman - who seemed about as friendly and approachable as a coiled snake - looked barely old enough to have graduated college let alone be qualified to teach a ragtag group of teenagers with superpowers. Disbelief and mistrust naked on her face, the redhead continued to scrutinize the woman as she went on to claim that she too had powers. From her perspective, that was wonderful and all and much as she was looking forward for them to hold hands and form a circle of trust through which they could all become better people, there was just one teeny tiny little problem.

She didn't have powers.

An entire week had passed and she had yet to show even a little sign of being anything more than just a normal girl. There was nothing to actually prove otherwise, well, other than a bunch of papers and readings they had shown her. Of course, those couldn't be trusted. The rest of her fellow inmates, each and every single one of them, had all been known to possess some sort of ability or another. No matter how seemingly insignificant, it was still there.

But her? She had yet to do anything even slightly abnormal. She was about as normal as they came and that was her lifeline, the one shred of hope she so desperately clung to in this nightmarish situation she had been thrown head first into. Lucie Valentine was not a special snowflake.

Nervousness and frustration building with each passing moment, Lucie waited with a stomach full of vengeful butterflies as the others fired off their questions. She kept hesitating, torn between wanting to ask and being afraid of the answer she might hear. What if this woman was somehow able to prove her wrong, to confirm her worst fears with just a few words? The thought sent her butterflies into a frenzied dance and she found herself hugging her torso in an effort to remain calm.

No. Just do it. Just get it over with, Lucie.

Swallowing her fear, the girl steeled herself and drew in a breath for courage.

"And what about me? I don't have any powers. There's nothing to prove otherwise."

No sooner than the words had left her lips, she got her first questions from the group. It was Uriel Atticus, of course. Nilin allowed herself a mental smile. Just as she had expected, the outspoken and rather exuberant young man had been the first to speak up. Personality aside, he had peaked her curiosity due to his supposed power; pain manipulation. In a lot of ways, some of it was similar to her own range of talents and she looked forward to seeing how it would progress.

"That's quite the bundle of questions. Yes, I was kidnapped as well." She clasped her hands behind her back and gave a slight nod of confirmation. "It took me a couple of years before I was able to control my powers well enough to dive back into society; though it differs from person to person."

No, not at all. They keep me chained and locked up in the basement until I am needed to teach a class.

Nilin bit back the sarcastic reply on the tip of her tongue. It was a touch too early for her dry remarks.

"I don't live here anymore, so yes, I am allowed to go out into the real world. Unfortunately, I cannot currently tell you the exact date as to when you would get to leave. It all depends on how quickly your powers progress, which I'm sure you can guess by now that it would require cooperation and effort on your part."

As soon as she was done, the blond boy - Arthur Ragnarson - raised his hand and voiced his query.

A humorless smile touched her lips as she mulled the question over in her mind. It made sense that one of them would bring up something along those lines, seeing as how they were being kept in the dark for the most part. The guarded and wary expressions of her students weren't lost on the perceptive brunette as her dispassionate and icy gaze swept over them once more

"That's actually a very good point. It really does seem like having a passive power would make training and group exercises redundant, doesn't it?"

"However, I'm afraid that's not how it works. Your powers are still in their infancy, so to speak, and have only just begun to manifest. Each person's abilities are completely unique. Think of it as a fingerprint - no two powers are exactly the same. The rate of progression differs as well, in each case. Adding in these factors and then seeing as how the occurrence of these powers is few and far between, there's no way to accurately predict how exactly your powers would evolve. What might appear to be completely passive at first could evolve into something else entirely. Better safe than sorry, right?"

"The flashy aspect of your powers isn't the only thing you would need to learn. Some of you might already have noticed how your powers seem to be triggered by strong emotions. Your physical and mental states play a very big role when it comes to controlling your powers."

The Russian guy, Nikolai Arkaden the teleporter, chose that moment to ask about her powers. His second question, the reason why she was brought here, should have been rather obvious in her opinion.

Instead of answering immediately, Nilin cast an amused glance at a certain young telepath who seemed to be distracted by something. As Irina Ivanov was only just beginning to discover her telepathic abilities, it wasn't difficult for Nilin to guess what had distracted the girl. Her file had stated that the girl was having trouble sleeping due to her inability to protect her own mind.

"Discovered something interesting, Miss Ivanov? Perhaps I might be able to provide assistance, seeing as how that is what I'm here for."

Lucie Valentine, the only person in the group whose powers had yet to manifest decided to voice her question - and of course it was about the lack of her powers. Nilin could see that the girl hoped she would continue to remain normal, to be allowed to go back to her own life. It was a thought that had at least once passed through the minds of all those who had powers - herself included. Unfortunately for the girl, it was too late for her to continue harboring that hope.

“I’m sorry, Miss Valentine. There are tests to determine whether or not one has latent abilities. I’m afraid you fall into this category even though we have yet to physically see your powers.”

"And to answer your question, Mister Arkaden, I believe it would be far more interesting to show rather than tell." She looked at the faces of those gathered and decided that it would have to be something small and entirely non-threatening in case someone freaked out.

Nilin cupped her hands together as if cradling a delicate little bird, creating a controlled flame that danced serenely within her palms. The flame grew brighter and gradually changed colors, turning into a shade of pale blue that perfectly matched her eyes before growing still and crystallizing. The brunette raised it to her lips and blew gently, causing it to shatter into flakes of snow and be carried into the air as if on phantom wings.

Irina Ivanov
Auditorium: @Lillium@SheriffLlama@Thundercrash

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. If it were possible to be able to hear her mental shouts echo, that would probably be the case for Irina. From her peripheral vision she couldn't see any changes on the faces of the teenagers around her which filled the young woman with disillusionment.

Hope was nearly lost until confusion briefly flashed through Irina's mind. It wasn't her confusion though; it was Stasya? It worked with her?

Irina turned slightly to look over at her with wide eyes.

'It worked! It actually worked!' She had completely lost her concentration and merely thought to herself, so she merely have Stasya a small nod before turning slightly at the sound of someone's voice in her ear. It was Abel and he heard as well. 'He heard too?!'

Irina couldn't believe that she had actually succeeded at something by herself. On the outside she had kept herself rather collected with the occasional stare when she would blank out or concentrate. She wanted to respond either mentally or vocally to Abel but the woman in front of the group spoke, Irina froze.

'Discovered something interesting, Miss Ivanov?'

Irina simply stared at Nilin with wide eyes as she was taken by surprise for being called out. Her first words were a couple of uh' sand um's. How was she going to explain what she had just discovered? Actually, why would she explain it? No, she wouldn't. Irina cleared her throat and slightly shook her head, "Nothing interesting, just annoying. You made a big confusion and everyone has many questions. It is getting kind of distracting."
Flawless. For the first time in her life she felt as if she had said a lie as effortlessly that even she would have believed it. She wasn't exactly lying but she wasn't telling the truth for sure. Everyone around was confused but that wasn't what she was focused on.

Her eyes didn't last too long in making eye contact with Nilin though as she began to create something amazing in her hands. Without even trying, Irina's mind completely blanked out as she witnessed the illusion that unfolded in front of her. 'Is this what she does? This is why I can't get inside her head...' It left the young woman completely astounded. Her green eyes looked on with great interest once the snowflakes dispersed. She thought of all the many possibilities of how it was possible for Nilin to have done what she did. It was difficult for Irina to rule out the possibility that maybe, just maybe, Nilin could do the same thing that she could do and was causing everyone to think that they were seeing the bird that had slowly changed into snow flakes.

Their new instructor, Nilin, worried Arthur. She was constantly on guard and, at least as far as he could tell, was committed to whatever programme they were involved in despite having been through it herself. He liked to think himself a good judge of character; a perceptive observe of human nature and emotion due in part to the lack of it in himself. However, this Nilin was unreadable. Even with the other scientists Arthur could sense something under their polished behaviour and upbeat-but-still-serious demeanour, something that did not mesh with their state aims. It wasn't quite animosity, it wasn't so direct and almost moderately disinterested disdain.

Arthur was one who liked to arm himself with knowledge. Whether that be researching extra material before an academic test, watching videos of various formations and tactics used in team sports or even just observing emotional reactions of others before he invested in any meaningful relationship with them; Arthur felt that holding information gave him an advantage and made him feel safe, in control. Now he was wary, unsure of how to proceed. Nilin shrugged off his question with a perfectly adequate response but that was all. There was nothing extra, no little verbal slip that he had been hoping for.

"Thank you, that clears it up a little for me." Arthur replied, smiling as if he were satisfied while his inner self struggled to retain its strict discipline. Their new instructor carried on responding to questions in turn before speaking directly to Irina. From the stunned look on her face, Arthur suspected that she had been trying something out with her power. Maybe trying to read Nilin's mind? It was a good plan but for whatever reason, Arthur found it easy to believe that Irina would be unsuccessful despite accidentally reading everyone else's thoughts at most times.

Careful, Irina. She seems sharper than the others.

Arthur was half talking to himself, half communicating with the telepath before he clamped down on his thoughts and smoothed out his shaken mind. He ceased listening to Nilin and her interactions with the group as he tuned out any influences upon his mental state and returned to his emotional base line. The young lad managed this just in time to watch Nilin's display.

At first he thought that she had some kind of pyrokinetic power but the nature quickly changed. Arthur found himself leaning forwards, like most in the room, watching in fascination at the display of a power than could only be described as near-magical.

So, an illusion? But is it merely optical or has she planted it in our minds? Assuming that it is, in fact, an illusion. He briefly glanced over at Irina. If it's the latter then we might have a problem. If we were wanting to leave, that is.

---

---

When she saw Irina ever so slightly nod her head, Stasya’s mind began buzzing frantically. She could read her thoughts. More importantly, she could speak with her thoughts. Which meant that they could speak together without them knowing what was being said.

On the outside, Stasya kept her face as close to neutral as she could. Inside, the possibilities made her want to scream with joy. She wasn’t comfortable with the idea of someone else being inside her head (in fact, depending on how exactly her power worked, it would explain a lot of the looks she gave her), but if it meant that she could communicate with freedom, then it was a price Stasya would gladly pay in this case.

Oh, thank you! Please, I need your help, I’m begging you! I can’t stay in this place, something, she hesitated, the image of her sister and father, accompanied by feelings of fear and despair flashed through her mind. Something terrible will happen if I don’t leave.

The light show in Nilin’s hands distracted her, scattering her concentration. It was a helpful reminder, though, that she was being watched. Deciding that it was time to take a more active role, she shifted forward in her seat and spoke clearly. “Что вы имеете в виду под "групповые упражнения"? Если наши силы все разные, как мы можем помочь друг другу? (What do you mean by “group exercises”? If our powers are all different, how can we help each other?)”

I know that I can’t get out of here without help. You can talk to the others, without them noticing. A sizable amount of venom accompanied the word, leaving no mistake what Stasya thought of their so-called benefactors. Please, I will do anything ask, anything. Just help me escape this place!

Nilin answered each question in turn with a fluid grace of detachment. Mara studied her face closely but every part of her seemed guarded that was until there was a flicker of emotion that danced across her face. Her eyes directed towards the seat next to her where Irina sat.

"Discovered something interesting, Miss Ivanov? Perhaps I might be able to provide assistance, seeing as how that is what I'm here for."

Mara turned her gaze towards the young telepath. She couldn't see what Nilian had picked up on. Irina just looked tired and possibly just a tad bit frazzled at the question.

"Nothing interesting, just annoying. You made a big confusion and everyone has many questions. It is getting kind of distracting."

Her answer seemed genuine enough. With all that she's been through lately Mara didn't doubt the sincerity in her retort. Not that she was given much of a chance to ponder on it before Nilian had moved on to the next question.

Despite herself she found her body leaning forward in excitement and anxiety as she watched the woman cup her hands together. Light began to pour from her as a flame kindled into life. Mara could hear her breathing hitch in sheer shock as she watched the little flame dance in her palms. For a moment it felt like all her anxiety melted away. The warmth from the glow was entrancing as it slowly melded from the passionate red to an icy blue not unlike Nilian's own piercing eyes.

Before she could think twice Mara watched with a child like fixation as Nilian gently sent the snowflake dancing into the air before them. It took everything in Mara to keep her jaw firmly shut as she watched the once flame float above them as if pulled on the strings of an invisible wind.

Mara leaned back after the display. Blinking widely as her brain tried to work around exactly how that had just happened. Sure, she had already begrudgenly accepted the reality of powers but what Nilian just did; it had left her bewildered.

"But what can I do?"

Her thoughts turned back in on herself. Her power seemed small, chaotic in its nature and always beyond her reach despite how much she tried to call it forth. Most of the time she had just dismissed her memories of the crash as a surge of adrenaline that had saved her life but Felix had assured her over and over that was not the case. Though Mara doubted she'd ever reach a place of power that exuded such grace like Nilian had just demonstrated.

URIEL ATTICUS: LOCATION - AUDITORIUM

There was a way out. The lady out front said so herself. Uriel felt his heart tighten, a smile forcing the corners of his lips upwards. He wasn’t going to be a lab rat for the rest of his days! Sure it would take a few years if what Nilin said was anything to go by, but Uriel was a quick learner. He’d already figured out the sensor part of his powers in a week! He could feel Mara’s stinging finger, Irina and Shirtless Abel’s headaches, and gauge the severity of their pain. Speaking of which, should he do something about those headaches? His mentor stated that his full set of powers was “pain manipulation” so maybe he could tune the sensation down for others? Could he do that yet? Maybe later, right now he wanted to listen.

Can you really trust that lady's words?

Uriel shushed and quickly derailed that train of thought. False hope was better than having none at all. Desperation was the only thing directing his actions here. With the joyful possibility of freedom in the air, Uriel sat back and enjoyed Nilin’s light show. Wow, she was really giving them the ol’ razzle dazzle. He felt the usual curiosity and wonder burst from his chest. The smile on his face grew into an amazed gawp.

“So you do illusions then?” he asked eagerly.

Was it illusion or matter manipulation? Hopefully not the latter. The ability to alter the nature of energy itself was terrifying. An Oppenheimer kind of terrifying. If it really was energy manipulation and not illusion…

Maybe it was a good thing she got captured for rehabilitation then.

As soon as Uriel thought those words he felt a nasty mixture of guilt and disgust. But he couldn’t deny the reason behind it. He wouldn’t dwell on it for long though, there was this weird sensation in his head, kind of like another-

Uriel!

“Geh!” The teen jolted in his seat, hoping he wouldn’t get weird looks for the show of surprise. That was Irina, wasn’t it? In his head. Guess she was learning to do some other funky brain stuff with her powers. She didn’t hear what he thought about Nilin earlier did she? He didn’t need someone he’ll spend the next couple of years hating him any further. Time to start some distraction banter.

Atticus to Ivanov here, he thought-said, doing his best mock pilot voice, testing out the communication lines. Do you copy? Over.

@Gonzo@banjoanjo@HellHoundWoof@Lillium@Thundercrash@SheriffLlama@wolverbells@HecateProxy



Nilin looked over the group, the wary faces trying their best to hide the blossoming hope underneath. Irina's attention was elsewhere, as it might be when one has several voices sounding off inside one's mind. By and large, it seemed that they were now prepared to listen, or move on. At the very least, they were less suspicious and resistant than before her display so it had been the correct choice to display it in such a vivid manner.

"The first group session will involve everyone and from there we will assess you and divide you into smaller groups more applicable to your individual ability types. Training in groups alongside your individual sessions has yielded rapid results in the past and should enable you all to develop and control your abilities faster."

Nilin strode up one of the aisles and through the auditorium doors, turning left and taking the door at the opposite end of the corridor to where the residents had been going for their individual sessions. There was no need to tell the group to follow, they simply did so obediently although with some quiet conversation as they followed their new instructor with some small degree of hope.

After a few turns past the previously locked door Nilin came to a large set of double doors and pushed through them without pause, the group following her into a massive but empty room. The walls were shielded with metal plates and there were none of the fake-windows in here, just an array of lights in the ceiling that were behind a fine mesh gauze, presumably for protection.

"This is the main training room used for group activities. For now I'm going to split you all into pairs and you're going to work out a way to train your abilities together. Then you'll rotate partners and experiment with each other to find what works and what doesn't." Nilin had no pad or list from which to read, there was no need, so familiar was she with each of the individuals and their respective abilities.

"Your starting pairs are as follows: Irina and Stasya, Mara and Nikolai, Arthur and Uriel, Lucie with Christian. As we have an odd number Abel will join Irina and Stasya. I'll tell you when to switch partners. Discuss where your powers overlap and test them against each other. One thing though: don't do anything unnecessarily dangerous." A slight, wry smile briefly flittered across her lips before promptly disappearing. "It's still early days for that."

’Careful, Irina….’

‘What? Who?’

Irina had heard her name being called through one of the thoughts but had not caught whatever the person was thinking fast enough. It sounded like Arthur, but then again there were so many other voices dancing around in her head that she did not have the attention span to sit there and try to figure it out.

Not only did the young woman now have to deal with all of the voices, but she also had to work with her new found ability, and also try to wrap her head around what exactly she had just seen Nilin do.

’So, an illusion? But is it merely optical or has she planted it in our minds? Assuming that it is, in fact, an illusion. He briefly glanced over at Irina. If it's the latter then we might have a problem. If we were wanting to leave, that is.’

Without moving, Irina listened closely to the message that Arthur had thought. She bit her lip as her brows furrowed in concentration. Surely if what Nilin had just done was something that had been planted in their minds, Irina would have felt it. Or she would have at least felt something. Anything. Yet she didn’t. Her green eyes quickly glanced over at Arthur and make contact, which she followed by a quick shake to her head. She attempted to re-assure the young man that it was not the latter without drawing too much attention towards her.

’Oh thank you!'

The voice was louder than the others suddenly which caused Irina to slightly cringe, but not to where the others could notice. Stasya was speaking to her now which was surprising. Irina never would have figured that the young and timid girl would ever really reach out to her. Irina followed the Russian girl’s thoughts with intent and diligence as she tried to understand everything that was trying to be told.

Once Irina deciphered the thought process along with what was being directly thought her way, her own gears started turning in her head. Stasya had a point. If Irina could somehow manage to connect with everyone then maybe they could have a sort of privacy, but to do that, she would need to practice. Not only that but she had to be very careful of how she came about it. One wrong move or thought would mean that everyone could possibly hear everything that was inside of her mind which was not always happy.

’I’ll help… I will need time to get better at this but I will help as much as I can.’

Irina attempted to do everything the same in her mind as she did earlier to be able to reach Stasya, even going as far as repeating herself several times.

’Atticus to Ivanov here, testing out the communication lines. Do you copy? Over.’

‘Uriel! Can you still hear me?! Come on say yes…’

Irina tried her best to try and touch back to everyone that had heard her “mind shouting”. It was a better outcome then she had expected, which meant she was a bit stronger. Unfortunately her attention could not be kept on her inner communication for long due to Nilin escorting them somewhere else. The group exercises.

Irina would be paired with Stasya. Part of her wish she could have just gone and sat down with Abel, but the other part was thankful. Stasya seemed to have a good mind link with Irina which gave her more time to practice. Nilin went ahead and told them to converse amongst each other to be able to tell how their powers coincided. Irina simply blinked at Stasya and stood awkwardly as she shifted her weight from one leg to the other.

Irina was half Russian and half Spaniard. Her mother spoke more Spanish than Russian so she spoke choppy Russian although she understood it well enough. She could think it way better than she could verbally speak it.

With a small and apologetic smile, Irina went up to Stasya and pointed to her own forehead. “I hear you.” She followed her sentence by switching her pointing direction and placing her finger near Stasya’s forehead.

@banjoanjo



Irina's rebuttal of Arthur's analysis was somewhat comforting. Although she had not perfected her power it was still good to know that, from her experience at least, their new instructor's power was not the invasive nightmare that he had imagined. He could see that she was both struggling and experimenting with the new applications of her ability but exhaustion was beginning to take its toll.

Arthur made a note to himself to put in a request for the power nullifier to be put on, or at least to question its inactivity at night time and the potentially dangerous consequences of leaving it so; asking for things at this stage would only increase their captors' confidence in the control they exercised over the inhabitants of the facility.

"I'm really not sure I want to be testing my powers out with others..." Arthur muttered to himself. As far as he could tell, the only way to put his abilities to the test was to be injured in some way or other and then see how long said injury took to repair. Thankfully there was no one in their group likely to blow a massive hole in his chest or something drastic like that; the young Brit seriously doubted his 'Accelerated Healing' power covered gaping chest wounds and the like.

When Nilin announced his first pairing he was mildly pleased. He and Uriel got on well, both being from somewhat advantageous backgrounds; although, Arthur had a feeling that Uriel's early life had been more pleasant than his own. That, or the Aussie dealt with it very well. Looking around the small gaggle of adolescents, Arthur located Uriel and shot off a mock salute when his partner had spotted him.

"Looks like we're up first. I'm not sure how you want to go about this but... my power is pretty much entirely passive." He grimaced a little before continuing. "And... the only way I can see us 'training our abilities together', as our new coach/chief scientist/warden has commanded, is if you... y'know, hurt me. And then we see how long it takes me to recover. Fun, right?"

URIEL ATTICUS - LOCATION: TRAINING ROOM

Huh, so the students were going to be the ones organising the training session. In all honesty it seemed a bit lazy on the scientists’ part but on the other hand Uriel was all for fostering the creative minds of future generations. Kids these days, institutionalised in those stuffy classrooms, never getting the chance to think outside the box. Of course, he would have preferred to receive this opportunity without being kidnapped beforehand but hey, you can’t win them all. And so, he obediently followed the lady out to the training hall, being only a tiny bit bummed that she didn’t reveal what her powers were. Another day, perhaps.

Uriel! Can you still hear me?! Come on say yes…

Oh sweet, the Telepathy Communication worked. TeleCom? T-mail? He’d decide on a catchy name later. It seemed like she didn’t catch his darker thoughts from earlier too. Even sweeter.

Chillax fam, I hear ya loud and clear. We’ll catch up later in the training room.

The room itself was rather bare bones. No furniture, nothing but some meshed lights and sturdy-looking, everything-proofed walls. For a government funded training and confinement facility, it was quite anticlimactic. Maybe some machines would pop out from the ground later, anything to relieve his eyes from the drabness of the room.

Uriel grinned as Nilin announced the initial pairings. Arthur was a cool bloke, probably the best person he got along with during his time in the facility. He had the patience to put up with the best and worst of Uriel’s ramblings, while also offering clever insights of his own. If there was any quality Uriel could respect, it was cleverness.

"Looks like we're up first. I'm not sure how you want to go about this but... my power is pretty much entirely passive." He grimaced a little before continuing. "And... the only way I can see us 'training our abilities together', as our new coach/chief scientist/warden has commanded, is if you... y'know, hurt me. And then we see how long it takes me to recover. Fun, right?"

Nilin’s advice to “don't do anything unnecessarily dangerous" was brought to mind. But Arthur’s words had an unfortunate truth. The only way to train was to physically harm the Brit in some way.

“Well, I guess this would be an excellent time for me to learn how to erase pain too,” Uriel added awkwardly, trying to find the best way to handle this problem. “So should I just punch you around a bit then? Give you the ol’ one-two? We could start by me just stomping on your toes or something.”

He couldn’t even remember the last time he had thrown a proper punch. Sure, Uriel had encountered his fair share of people trying to beat the shit out of him (for reasons that should be obvious by now), but he had never actually physically engaged them. He was on the cross-country team for good reason.

“I’ll do my best to get rid of the pain. You just focus on the healing part.”

@Jinxer

---

Following the other girl, Stasya kept a careful, nervous eye on her as they found a slightly more secluded part of the room. She was taking a risk doing this, but she didn’t have any other choice. Not if she wanted to get out. At the very least, it was nice to speak with someone else who wasn’t yelling at her and had at least a small chance of being trustworthy.

Irina’s gestures were somewhat redundant, given how they were communicating otherwise, but it was a good pretense to put up for the benefit of their observers. In response, Stasya sat down on the floor and gestured for her partner to join her, instinctively hugging her legs against her chest. “Вы слышите , в моей голове ? (You hear, in my head?)”

Thank you, thank you so much! Um, I’ve been trying to figure out what the others can do, but since I don’t understand really any English, I’ve had to rely on the translator that they gave us. And since they’re always listening, I’ve been too afraid to talk to the others. Do you… know what their, abilities I guess, are?

@Hecate Proxy



Nikolai followed calmly as Nillin led them to their room, he was thinking about her power. Though it was a very vague demonstration it sufficed to display she had something. Nikolai was unclear as to whether or not it was a magic like thing or some kind of elemental control. It was certainly weird, maybe it was even the ability to make people see things. He pushed it from his mind as he followed Nillin to the training room. Nikolai felt someone speaking in his mind, then he realized it was likely Irina trying to establish some kind of contact that the people here couldnt read. But almost as soon as he noticed the feeling it dissapeared. The group was now in the training room.

"Disappointing," Nikolai said aloud, his accent flaring on the 'dis'.

He crossed his arms looking over the plain room, very disappointing. He had hoped for some kind of arena, or maybe a boxing ring. After they arrived she explained what they would be doing and how their powers had been paired up, Nikolai had high hopes his opposer would be someone with some strength in them. However he was mildly disappointment to find out it was only Mara. Nillin explained they were not going to be fighting but rather testing their powers. He was thankful. Mara wasnt much of a physical challenge for Nikolai. He stood easily over her height and she was hardly near his build. However these things only made him more concerned about what she could do without using her strength, what power she had that could be on par with his random displacement. He watched as a few people got with their partners and adopted a grimace. He didnt want to train with a girl. While he was an advocate of equal opportunity, well not so much equal opportunity as who cares anyway, he didnt want to possibly hurt a woman. Something about it seemed wrong. He uncrossed his arms and walked over to her, looking down at the white haired girl. This was one of the first times he'd really looked her over and he noticed she looked Asian, which only added to his curiosity about her hair.

"So, look like we will be partnered. I dont know what you do." He scratched the side of his head, "I dont know what to do here. I dont have control over my power. It happens before I realize it."

The woman had quickly shut down the question portion and began to rattle off the pairing names. 'Nikolai?' her brows shot up slightly as they had begun to shuffle towards the training room. Mara's brain quickly brought up the list of what she knew about the punk teen. To be honest she hadn't had very many interactions and while her hearr had sunk a little at the pairing she overall wasn't too overly distressed.

He was a teleporter. In fact, his power was the first thing to really greet Mara. As she had slunk out into the hallway on her first day still groggy from the slowing ebbing tranquilizer. A quirky smile tugged at her lips as she remembered the chaos he had caused from his sudden appearance along with her questioning her own sanity.

She folded her arms across her chest and audibly sighed. Mara wasn't quite she what they were going to put them through. She was in her own head when Nikolai had approached her. His size easily dwarfing the petite youth.

"So, look like we will be partnered. I dont know what you do." He scratched the side of his head, "I dont know what to do here. I dont have control over my power. It happens before I realize it."

The smile that had fallen from her lips earlier had returned as she watched the teen talk; his words slurring with his accent. 'At least he speaks English.' It would make things easier at least.

While Nikolai's rather drastic exterior appearance would usually be off putting to most it actually wasn't a bother to Mara, what did get to her was the height difference and she felt herself take a small step back to put some distance between the two.

She let her arms fall to her sides as her eyes drilled into the ground. She hadn't spoken to anyone about her power outside of Felix. Actually, that wasn't true. There was a girl that she had met that first day but suddenly she had vanished. An uneasy feeling coiled in the pit of her stomach and refused to move as she struggled to take in a deep breath.

"Ah, yeah..." she mumbled in respond as her brain sluggishly tried to find a good way of putting it, "It's nothing impressive really." Mara could feel herself stall as her inner voice sighed loudly.

'Dude can freaking teleport. Just spit it out!'

"I can slow down time...sorta."

It was still weird to admit to other people. With Felix it was always him pushing her to believe in what she knew at her core was the truth but speaking it out loud to a new face struck an awkward cord. Heat rose and colored her cheeks once more as she silently cursed her fair complexion. Though somewhere in her admission she had stopped glaring at the floor beneath them and had sought his own gaze. Mara's lips pressed in a grim expression as her eyes sparked with worry as she took in his reaction.

"I can't really control it either." Oh, no. Her mouth had begun to move of its own accord, sending a fresh wave of panic through her lithe frame."In fact it usually only lasts from two to four seconds and then poof. Like nothing happened. Except that one time...when my father and I were in a car accident. It was like hours passed in the span of seconds and I was able to move myself into a better positon. My father on the other hand didn't move and was more or less crushed."

Mara's face was now a steady pink as terror flickered within her dark eyes. Did she really have no control over her mouth? Spewing out her life story to someone who didn't ask nor probably cared and for once even her inner self was shocked into silence.

@hellhoundwoof

The time for all of them split into groups arrived, and Abel was put into Irina and Stasya's group, mildly relieved that he was paired with someone he knew and liked. He followed behind the girls as they walked with Nilin towards their room. If he'd had a choice, he would've refused to do whatever ridiculous exercise that they were supposed to do and sat by himself. He wouldn't have minded a bit of extra sleep, if he were being honest.

As they rounded a corner, the girls stepped into one of the empty, rooms. Abel's eye caught sight of a camera at the end of the corridor, which had a green beeping light to show that it was live. On cue, his eyes flashed with a series of code, which translated into the words. "Live Feed - Corridor 5" The cameras feed replaced his own sight and displayed his actions as he stumbled to the side as his head began to sear with pain. As his hand touched the wall to his right, he saw a second flash over codes, which read, "Motion Detected." The pain doubled, causing him to stumble to one knee.

Make - It - Stop! He cried mentally as he squeezed his eyes shut until it hurt. He opened his eyelids for a moment, his vision returning, but the pain remaining. He looked at the camera, gritting his teeth as he desperately waited for it to subside. "Just... stop!" He grunted audibly. Tears brimmed at his eyelids as the pain flashed white hot for a moment, then the camera began to swivel in different directions, as if it were disoriented. Then, all of a sudden, the lens shattered with a faint pop! and a small trail of smoke floated from the lens to the ceiling, like a gun that had just been fired. All at once, the pain subsided, and the flashes of the video feed left him.

He knelt in his place for a moment, staring at the destroy camera. "Whoops." He muttered with a slight smirk. He stood and continued into the room after the girls, not noticing the small trickle of blood that he seeped form his right nostril.

@wolverbells @Thundercrash

@banjoanjo



Nodding with a small smile, Arthur nodded in agreement.

"That sounds like a plan. Although 'there must be no touching of the hair or face!" He tried out his best Ron Burgundy but it was hard to hit the American accent properly without overdoing it. He laughed a little awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head. "But seriously, I think sticking with arms and chest are probably the best bet. Less accidental damage to happen there."

The other pairs were finding their partners and doing the same as he and Uriel: discussing how to test their powers out without seriously injuring one another. Although no one's power at this stage seemed likely to bring the ceiling down on all of them, Arthur suddenly felt that bunching up all together by the door of the massive room might have been a little risky. Nodding towards the cavernous space away from the others he brought this up with his own partner.

"Perhaps it might be an idea to take a few steps away from the others? We've no idea what's really going to happen, with us or them, and it'd be bad if you accidentally knocked someone else out with your signature haymaker or roundhouse, right?"

Moving away until they were separated by about six metres from the rest of the group, Arthur took a fairly relaxed position but still braced himself. Uriel looked to be a lot lighter than him, muscle-mass wise, but still it would be stupid to accept a beating without preparing at all.

"Alrighty then, time for the world's most one-sided boxing match. Ding-ding!"