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“Here, let me help you, I can take the bags.”

Her attention drawn from the stuffed toy as the sound of a new voice hit her ears, Ky’ vie turned her head in the direction that she could hear it coming from, her bright red lips parting ever so slightly from one another in surprise as her gaze came to a stop on the sheila that was standing in front of her, offering to help her as she continued to struggle with the bags and the boy on her own- it was a nice gesture, really it was, but.-...

Standing back up straight, the toy all but forgotten in that moment, she adjusted her arms around her son, ignoring the pain that she could feel building up from the constant weight resting over them as she dwelled upon the offer, unsure whether or not she should… or even could take her up on it…

“I can take them by the straps so you don’t have to shift the boy. Oh, sorry, I’m Kalinda.”

Kalinda..? That was a nice name; maybe if she ever had a daughter… Pushing the odd stray thought from her mind, she brought her attention back to the matter she was facing, her gaze flicking down to rest over the woman’s extended hand before she smiled softly, her own hand reaching out so that she could take the toy that was being offered, “..thanks… don’t think I’d be able to reach it no matter how hard I tried…”

Her unmistakable Australian accent coming out clear as she spoke, Ky’ vie brought the toy into her body, her head turning down to watch as she once more slipped the dingo into her son’s arms, making sure that it wasn’t going to be falling again anytime soon, a gentle sigh falling out through her lips before she flicked her gaze back up to Kalinda, shooting her an apologetic look before she gave her attention back to the conversation, “..Uhh… I-I dunno, I mean-...”

Pausing a moment, she sighed., a tired and weary expression crossing over her otherwise gentle features as she nodded her head lightly up and down in response to her earlier offer, “..actually… help would be bloody awesome right now- by the way, I’m-...”

“Ky? No fucking way. Really?”

The familiar voice hitting her ears, Ky’ vie turned her head, her brows furrowing together slightly and her gaze searching until eventually, she found what she’d been looking for; the woman approaching her causing her eyes to widen in surprise. It couldn’t be… there was just no way. How long had it been since they had last seen each other..? The last time she remembered was when they had gone out on a night out on the town; hitting the clubs of Melbourne in order to send her off in the right way…

“..Jayla..?”

Her bright red lips spreading into a smile, she shifted over the spot in which she stood, her shoulder once more rolling under the weight of the bags she was carrying as she watched the woman she thought she’d never see again in a million years come close space between them,, a single hand breaking from her son to reach out towards her as she grew closer, however the moment she saw her do a double take she faltered, bringing it once more back to the snoozing child she carried.

“What in the hell are you doing her- WOA-”

Shooting a quick glance down at her Simon, she slid her hand up, using it to cradle the back of his head lovingly closer against her as she did what she could to keep him from waking from the sudden loud sounds of her friend, “Shh…”

“They giving out kids instead of pink slips now? Who’s this one belong to? He’s a bit small to race…”

“Huh..?” Seeming to miss the small jab towards their happy little escapades together, Ky’ vie took a moment before understanding dawned over her features, a soft chuckle falling out through her lips as she shook her head lightly, once more relaxing and returning her arm back to where it had been originally, “Oh, hahah. Nah mate… he ain’t a driver yet, but I dunno, he looks pretty bloody good in his little leather jacket and helmet. This is actually my son, Simon.”

Chuckling once more, she turned back towards Kalinda, her body and attitude now a lot more relaxed than before now that she knew she had at least one little bit of her past there with her for comfort, “..by the way; the name's Ky’ vie Jones. It’s nice ta meet ya, Kalinda…”

Kalinda hesitated a moment after the woman took the dingo back, watching her to make sure that if it was going to fall, she could catch it before it did. She understood the mothers hesitation- Kalinda was a stranger, and a strange stranger at that. She supposed that they were all strange… but not many people went through an emotional rollercoaster in minutes, although Kalinda was sure she had managed to keep herself from effecting anyone around her… which was never a certainty, but she suspected the mothers wariness was just that. Wariness.

Kalinda tried to smile reassuringly, but it might have just come out a bit queasy looking. Okay, a lot queasy looking. The dindo suddenly made more sense as the woman talked, her accent coming through quite clearly, a rather pleasant sound if Kalinda was being honest. It wasn’t an accent she had heard often, although TV and movies tried to mimic it, often butchering the accent she now realised.

As the woman seemed to hesitate, and then accept her offer, Kalinda smiled, this time more genuinely, reaching out to take the bags, she stopped at the sound of another’s voice, one who seemed to know the woman. The new woman seemed to ignore her, overlook her, which Kalinda was, sadly, used too. She could forgive that- the girl seemed first delighted and then taken aback at the child in… Ky? Ky’s arms. Kalinda gave a soft sigh, glancing down at her gloved hands, unsure what to do anymore.

The two did know each other, Kalinda could feel that. A sense of… companionship, and enjoyment came to mind. And Kalinda felt an ache, one that had been rather constant these last… 18 months. And she envied the two their friendship. Although Kalinda had to wonder why the woman- Jayla- didn’t seem to know of the child. Perhaps Ky hadn’t wanted the child to be known, which was rather interesting, although Kalinda wasn’t going to ask any questions.

Kalinda watched the child, rather intently. She didn’t want him to start crying… children had such potent emotions, but it seemed like his mother had things handle and she let out a soft breath. Perhaps coming over here wasn’t such a good idea, but… She couldn’t have just let the woman struggle. Maybe she could sneak away in the shadows? Although how she’d face Ky’ vie again she didn’t know. So Kalinda stood there, a little lamely, waiting to see what would happen, if anything.

As Ky’ Vie turned back towards her, Kalinda could easily notice the change in her attitude, and she was a little relieved. The wariness had been getting to her a little bit, and she’d nearly considered just continuing her earlier flight out of the school. ”It’s nice to meet you too, Ky’ Vie, and your son… when he is awake” She said managing a smile.

_{Location: The Front Gates; The Academy.
Interacting With: Frank Sage @Simple Unicycle Light @Archmage MC Megumi @Scarifar Phoebe @Caits}

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Sol followed the group on foot, floating back down from his spot in the air, and was disappointed with the lack of action that went hand in hand with a fight. I mean Light said something about an orgy, the two unnamed girls didn't seem to find that funny whereas the tall, wildish-looking man with the metal claws had quite a laugh out of it before walking off and bumping into Frank, not very self-aware that guy is. Then the very same Frank figured out both the redheaded girl's and the guy with claws' parents, Poison Ivy and Wolverine, I think Dad might've mentioned the latter once or something. But he would have to hand it to his new friend, he would've figured him to be something of a detective, I guess you can't judge a book by his cover.

The sentient Infinity Stone would hover over his group of friends and moves closer to the girl with glasses who sounds quite confident of herself, "Wow. You've got to be strong to say that you could beat three of that guy earlier easily, right?" Sol unfortunately had came off as quite condescending, anyone who has known him longer would be well aware that he was in fact truly curious. "What are your powers? Wait lemme guess! Super speed? Flight? Super strength? Pyrokinesis?" The sixteen year old who outdates the universe would start rambling off his own powers without knowing it whilst deciding he was much more comfortable talking upside down parallel to the ground, his white hair tumbling down in the air.

@mskennedy615@KatherinWinter

The amount of people around was close to overwhelming. So many of them didn't look entirely human at all. There was someone entirely covered in fur, a firey haired girl surrounded by plants, and a large animal that she was almost sure wasn't from here. A leon? No, a lion, what was a lion doing here? Was it dangerous?

Before she could marvel more, she was approached by a tall girl with lots of full, dark hair, who introduced herself very bluntly. "Oh! I'm Kassandra." Greetings, she could do this. She stuck out her hand, but forgot briefly what to do with it. Hoping it was the right one, she gripped the other woman's wrist. "It's nice to meet you. There are so many people here, I'm almost scared, and I thought we were supposed to be insi- OOF!" She was nearly knocked off her feet, and turned to face another red-haired girl, different from the one with the plants.

"Oh, I'm sorry, are you okay? It's very crowded here, I should have moved, I'm... I'm sorry." There was a note of panic in her voice.

Light

Interacting with: Sol Quill @TechnoWizROK, Frank @Simple Unicycle, Phoebe Wayne-Isley @Caits, Deon Howlette @YoshiSkittlez, and Megumi Takaki @Scarifar

Light was a little bit confused to the red heads reaction to her joke. What students would even dare to try to kill other students when whats his name... that Superman fellow, was nearby? The guy ended up being a jerk sure, but he didn't look like a psycho. Still, considering how everyone, including the redhead was acting about the plant powers, Light figured that something something secluded something must've been going on. "Jeez, calm down lady. It was just a joke, lighten up." Light said to Phoebe's snapping comment. She did continue saying shortly after "Though that guy was kind of a jerk from how he left."

The other girl had also spoken up, saying that the guy that had walked off wouldn't be much of a challenge for her to try to calm her friend's worries. Light chimed in as well. "If your that worried and I'm nearby, just say something. I'll snuggle him. Like in a cartoon!" Frank wasn't too much of a help with his rambling, Light didn't know who Poison Ivy or Wolverine were, so she could only tilt her name when people took them as sort of big names, Sol seemingly lost in his own world as he rambled on and on about powers. Which did give Light a good idea to maybe make the mood much less tense.

"Mr. Sun here has a good question, what can everyone do? Here, I'll start." Light said, and when those who wanted to pay attention were looking, she stabbed her fingers into her own arm, ripping it off at the shoulder barely holding back a grimace or her pain, giggling near the end. After that though, her now severed arm started to walk around on its fingers, climbing up Frank's leg and shaking his hand before Light walked over, picked it up, and put it back on herself. After a bit of fidgeting, her arm was attached and she showed everyone she was ok. "Best part as you saw, no blood! No mess! And its great at parties when I take off my head and do that poet gag thing for a few seconds! Would help if the pain wasn't there, but what can ya do?" Light said, posing flamboyantly, jazz hands included.

Dressed in leather, the tall, blonde haired woman studied what was quite clearly a wall. She pursed her lips, and looked back to her mother, raising an eyebrow. [color=ec008c]“I think this is the wrong entrance, mummy dearest. After all, there isn't even a gate” she said with amusement dancing in her voice, sticking a lollipop in her mouth, and grinning at her mother. “Why, mother, it’s almost as if you want to give me a challenge, how nice of you, but… “ She gave a small chuckle, “i’d prefer an actually challenge” She grinned at her mother, lollipop stick between her teeth, before she took four quick, running steps towards the wall.

She propelled herself up, as high as she could, her feet landing on the wall, one hand pressed against it, before leveling herself up again, and her hands gripped the edge of the wall, before she vaulted over the wall, landing smoothly and bending her knees to take the impact, her laugh echoing around her. ”Parkour, Bitches” She said to no one as she stood up, and smoothed away imaginary dust and creases, biting down on the lollipop, making a crunching sound. She waited for her mother to join her. She had said goodbye to her father a couple of days ago. While her parents had stayed together a few year’s, Eve had been nearly a toddler when they split, and since then had spent most of her life traveling back and forth between them.

Not that she minded. She loved her father with all her heart, but this wasn’t something he could understand. Being a super? Sometimes she could hardly believe it. And sometimes she thought that that was why her parents had split- her mother had had very specific ideas about how she was to be raised… less traditional. In the end she had been raised learning how to fight, and kick ass, as well as the normal, typical childhood things. She had learned to have a healthy taste of freedom, which to her meant making her own decisions, and not letting herself be controlled by anyone.

She glanced up at the wall, and watched her mother join her ”I’ll see you later, than, Mum. I think I can make it to the front gate from here” She said, accepting the duffel her mother handled her, the backpack she wore on her pack the only other thing she had. But it was more than enough, Eve had learned how to travel light and efficiently. Just because she’d spend longer at the school than her normal trips, didn’t mean she had to lug half her room with her. She gave her mother a hug, ”I love you, mum. I can handle myself, go home. And make sure dad doesn’t starve? He never did seem to get the hang of that cooking thing, blew the microwave up last time I was there!” She chuckled, rather shamelessly trying to manipulate both her parents, before nudging her mother back toward the wall.

”Bye!”

She watched her mother vault back over the wall, and then stood there a moment. She glanced about her, thoughtful. She appeared to have landed in a garden, and a rather extensive one at that. She pursed her lips, before slinging the duffels strap over her shoulder and making her way towards what she hoped was the exit of the gardens. It seemed that a lot of the plants there had just been put in, and yet, they were already budding, and seemed to be thriving. Well, the brochure did say Pamela Isley was a teacher here, makes sense the plants would be thriving She thought to herself, finishing the lollipop, she chewed on the stick, humming to herself, before finally finding the exit.

Which lead her onto a rather large area of green grass. Wondering why a school, even a super school, would need such a large area of grassland. She shook her head, and began to jog across the field, settling into a easy rhythm that she could maintain for a long time. Her blonde hair, loose, moved with the breeze, and without stopping, she reached back and tied it up. Eventually as she continued running, she reached the school buildings, and slowed, before walking towards the main building.

Coming towards groups of students, Evelina moved along the outskirts, watching them all with a passiveness that was almost predatory, all the while moving the lollipop stick along her teeth.

@Mistress Dizzy


"Interacting with: Kassy
The collision knocked Katherin off her feet. The fall caused her to lose control of her power. Snow flakes started to fall around her. She gasped as she hit the ground. Her breath was visible because how cold the air was around her. As she hit the ground ice formed beneath her caused her to slide. Luckily she didn't slide far. 'Way to go Katherin. You've been at school less then an hour and you've managed to become the school klutz. That will make your dad proud.' Katherin scolded herself. This was not the impression that she wanted to make.

"There's no need to apologize. It was my fault. I should have been more careful." Katherin assured the girl immediately. She could hear the panicked in the other girls voice. She didn't know if it was because of her list of control or if the girl feared she would get angry.

'Get your act together Katherin. This is a school for people with powers. No one is going to panic if you lose control. As long as you pull yourself together everything will be fine. No get up and show the girl that your fine." Despite the ice she easily stood to her. "See? No harm done.

In a house in Central City, there's a gentle POC sound, like something light hitting something harder. Maybe someone dropped a pen or was bouncing something?

Ricky, with one flick of his wrist, sent the pingpong ball spinning away to hit the backboard. He could sense its speed, its momentum, and it shot away. Of course, Ricky was currently moving at nearly the speed of sound (he was careful to stay just under, Iris Allen had long ago made it clear that speedsters who sonic boomed the windows better have been fighting Doomsday or else they'd be facing her wrath) so from his perspective the pingpong ball might as well have been rolling through treacle. It might seem odd to those without the ability to move at mind boggling speeds that Ricky was so often sending the pingpong ball back and forth but he found that the stupid thing kept him centred.

After all, when you can circle the world almost eight times in a second, conventional clocks rather lose their meaning.

So instead Speedsters tend to cultivate their own ways of measuring time, some external action that would act as north star to guide them. For Ricky, it was the time it took the pingpong ball to hit the backboard and bounce back into place for the next shot. While he was moving higher velocities around the house, he always returned in order to hit the ball again and counted how many times he'd done it. That way he didn't spend what felt like several hours working on some physics calculations, get up and discover that it had only been ten minutes.

It was also something of a stress reliever, a mindless repetitive action to take his mind off whatever was weighing it down. It was stressful enough having to manage the complexities of the speedforce every day, not getting lost at the higher speeds and remembering to slow down and embrace what was in front of him, let alone what was being asked of him now. This whole academy idea seemed like a joke, teaching not only heroes but villains how not to destroy the world. Wasn't destroying the world the whole point for villains? And why did heroes need to be taught not to destroy things? Wasn't that their point?

Still, if what his dad had let slip about the current crop of students was true, there was no doubt he was needed as an example. Ricky prided himself that under the intense training his father, uncle and 'uncle' (Barry, Wally and Jay respectively) had given him, he had his skills honed down to a fine point. He never accidentally exceed to speed of sound, could assemble a house of cards at mach 10 and then slow down without it falling, had mastered the tricky skill of harnessing the speedforce's ambient energies and using them to create a suit for himself, he was a Flash in his own right.

Only he wasn't. He couldn't wear the suit, couldn't use the name or the symbol, they'd been retired along with all the others. It bothered him, as much as he assured his dad it didn't. He'd never be able to run alongside the legions of speedsters from the past and future who had born the title 'Flash'. Uncle Wally had been able to, when the world thought Barry Allen was dead, and Ricky couldn't help feeling a little jealous of him. There was much in the name that Ricky desired; continuity, reliability, legacy. The Flash had saved the world dozens of times. How many times had Red Lightning done it?

That wasn't the only reason of course. While he had the skills and the speed, Ricky knew he wasn't his father, not yet. Barry Allen had an almost irresistible charm, an unassuming nature that made him instantly likeable, that had been as much a part of the Flash's mantle as the lightning bolt. Wally had it too, though he tended to make people laugh more, and Jay was more reassuring than anything else, like a kindly grandfather. Ricky, however, tended to trip over his tongue and forget himself in conversation.

They just moved so damn slowly, all of them! It was hard to slow down enough to talk to people when he could spend the time it took the sound waves to reach them to do a circuit of America. Barry said that was part of the key, knowing when to run and and when to be still, but Ricky sure as hell hadn't found the moment for standing still yet. Why should the fastest man alive ever stop moving?

All these thoughts were swirling around his head as he slumped at his desk and looked at the page of calculations below him. They were pretty standard, just your average quantum physics problems that dealt with post-light speed travel measured against the drag force of time, the vibrational properties of some rare alien materials and the potential calamities of time travel. Ricky was sure his dad had set the time travel questions to scare him off from pursuing it but if anything, it made him want to crack lightspeed even more.

As he moved through the problems, generally without much difficulty, Ricky reflected on the other things that separated him from the real speedsters. There wasn't much, mostly things that he thought of as issues of maturity or focus. They were generally better at managing their lives at different speeds, balancing going fast with slowing down in a way that Barry assured him came with time. It was about then that Ricky's dad went all misty eyed and started rambling about all the appointments he'd missed during the early days, when he was still...

Appointments.

Cursing, Ricky leapt out of his chair, grabbed a satchel full of books, pens and other learning materials and sped towards the door. He managed to restrain himself and stay under the speed of sound until he'd hit the open road and then let it rip, sending out a colossal BOOM after him as he shattered the sound barrier. Central City wasn't so far from The Academy and he couldn't be very late, he'd just completely forgotten that today was the day. This was exactly the sort of thing that would give his father grounds to say he wasn't ready to go solo yet...

With a sudden but carefully controlled stop, he arrived at the gates. There was a mill of people who couldn't be anything other than the rabble of students he'd heard about. Some were posturing, showing off and threatening each other, some were standing alone and watching as he was. He hoped he hadn't made too much of an entrance and at least he'd controlled the momentum of the air around him enough that there hadn't been the signature whoosh of air that signalled an arriving speedster.

He spotted a girl a little way off from the others regarding the group with the same trepidation he felt and smoking, an antisocial habit. It wasn't much bother to Ricky, whose metabolism could demolish almost any ailment within a few minutes, but it was often an effective social shield to the less durable. He decided he'd better start as he meant to continue (finding one equally antisocial friend and avoid anything too crowded) and went over to her.

"Hey, I'm not too late am I? They haven't started classes or something without me?" Not a particularly complex social gambit but the surroundings hardly called for much creativity. Now all he had to do was resist the urge to speed off before she answered.

Far off, back in his bedroom in the Allen house, Central City, the pingpong ball hit the table, bounced and rolled away and under the bed.

---

@Caits@TechnoWizROK@Simple Unicycle@Archmage MC

Megumi looked at Sol, moving back ever so slightly from his quirkiness. He did come off as a little rude as well, but Megumi didn't mind it too much. "Super strength and durability," Megumi answered, simplistic and to the point.

Megumi turned towards Deon at the sound of metal blades, stepping back as his blades sliced through the vines cleanly. Her reaction was slow, though, and she received a tear on the sleeve on her shirt from one of his blades. Staring down at the hole that was made, Megumi couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if that had actually reached her. Normal blades had a difficult time cutting her, as she had learned on multiple occasions with knives, but those claws of his felt far more deadly than any common kitchen knife. Megumi still glared at Deon as he made his leave, but this time her gaze contained apprehension as well. Megumi had little proof, but she had no doubt that if Deon was serious, he would've inflicted some pretty bad wounds. Megumi didn't want to acknowledge it, but she realized just how overconfident she had been in her declaration. Megumi still believed that in terms of raw strength, she was the winner, but Deon had his own strengths as well, and Megumi had not taken that into account. Here, she could no longer just overpower her foes with brute force and expect everything to be alright.

The others continued on, Light already revealing her own power, which was quite bizarre. Megumi was fascinated by Light's performance, wondering how one could just remove and reattach their own limbs at will. Admittedly, Light was clearly not human, but it was still a sight to see. As this was happening, however, Megumi couldn't help but be frustrated at what had happened with Deon and Phoebe. She clenched her fist in annoyance, keeping it behind her back so as to not let others see it.

All this time, she had considered herself the most powerful being her age, but now she realized how foolish she had been. Everyone had their strengths and weaknesses, and Megumi was no exception. Having been undefeated for so long, Megumi had never considered being weak. Megumi even considered the possibility that Phoebe might be stronger than her, and frankly, that was frustrating. Here Megumi had tried to protect her, but it felt like a joke now.

Interacting with Cole @BlackPanther

Well this was an unusual situation, or at least the alien assumed. She had not run into a proper living being that she couldn't at least telepathically communicate with. However she wasn't completely without options. Taking a breath she sighed, which was hardly audible. Anyone else and she might have simply continued without trying. However Cole had shown respect to a lady and introduced himself.

Moving her luggage beside her she knelt down and fished through the tightly packed clothing and items contained within before pulling out a thin pad. She had been given the device so that, if nothing else, she could type out her messages. Esuterura would have much prefered something she could telepathically send her messages to, but the detailed workings of her mind and the technology wasn't quite there yet for her race. Despite her frustration of having to type in a new language she had to gleen from scientists the woman kept a reserved expression. But she did manage to get it typed out.

"Esuterura Kuinu. Have you a surname?"

At least the method was simple even though tedious. Clearly she was not used to using the technology just yet. Lifting her eyes back up to Cole she awaited a response.

It's funny. So often you hear about places like Arkam Asylum, the Cube. Places where villains and criminals are temporarily kept once they're caught. They always get out. They always get caught again. An endless cycle, every time it loops, people die. Now there's a Juvi version.

It's a school, actually. Not that there's much of a difference. I'm going by choice. I'll deal with the rules and the punishments, because I have to. I have to be better. But I hear that it's not always voluntary. It can't be. They say it's a choice, but it isn't. Not for everyone. Can't blame them. If a teenage crackhead has the strength of a hundred men, that's not something you want on the streets. But perhaps the illusion of choice is what differentiates it from a prison.

Saw something strange this morning. Someone. There was something off about her. Not sure what. She was strangely discolored, movements differed from the civilians that dropped money into my hat. Don't think she noticed me. Could be fellow student. Keep eye out.

Sign got sto-

The bus lurched to an abrupt stop, causing Katie's hand slide up the page of her journal, the pen it was holding leaving a black streak of ink across the entry. The girl looked up and around. The bus was just as empty as it had been when she first boarded, with only the elderly woman and the baby in her arms to keep Katie company. Not that she needed company, of course. In fact, the woman hadn't said a word to Katie. The baby, on the other hand, had been crying for most of the ride, save the blissful ten minutes that it was asleep.

Out the window, Katie could see she was in some sort of small town. Townspeople were bustling about, all seemingly on their way to some place or another. Over the sound of the baby's wails, she heard the busy sounds of the early morning crowd, presumably walking to their places of work, their combined voices resulting in one loud rumbling. Katie recognized the sound. It was the sound of a peaceful town. It had been so long since she heard it, but there was no mistaking it: this town was far from the sins of man, the kinds that plague the cities she's so used to.

As she directed her attention back to the interior of the bus, Katie saw that the elderly had gotten up and was slowly, shakily walking towards the front of the bus. Katie stood up to follow, grabbing her messenger bag from the seat next to her, putting it around her shoulder, and grabbing her black fedora off her suitcase, placing it on her short, messy hair. She then followed the grandmotherly woman, her black suitcase rolling behind her, until she reached the front. It took a solid minute for the woman to pull out her wallet and give the money to the bus driver, but when she was done, Katie stepped up and took her place. The bus driver was, like the woman, very old. He had a snow white mustache, and his hair was a monochrome mix of grays. His thin frame made him appear frail, but something about him reminded Katie of a young hedonist, still joyful with a long life to live. On his face he wore a pair of tinted shades, which, for the most part, covered his eyes.

Katie stuck her hand into the pocket of her overcoat, pulling out a five dollar bill, the last of the money she earned from uncovering a man's infidelities to his wife, as well as $1.50 in various coins, before placing them in the nearly empty moneybox next to the man. He gave her a smile and a small nod, the latter of which Katie returned, before stepping off the bus. Immediately as her foot hit the ground, Katie noticed two things: a large wall surrounding the campus that Katie recognized from the Academy's brochures, at the center of which was gate, and a soft crunching under the foot of her boot. Katie quickly looked down and noticed that she stepped onto what appeared to be...frost? The temperature of the place was nowhere near frost-worthy. That's when Katie realized that the frost was, in fact, in the form of a small path. It was then that she put two and two together. "Metas..." she mumbled. It wasn't a big surprise. In fact, it wasn't even a small surprise. Katie knew there would be metahumans at the school, that was guaranteed. She just didn't expect to find traces of them before she even stepped inside.

The black haired girl followed the icy trail through the gates of the school. Even from the outside, the place looked amazing. From what she could tell, some of the architecture was a tad experimental, but it ended up looking alright in Katie's eyes. The sight, however, was immediately ruined by what surrounded it: people. And not normal people. In the crowd, she saw, as expected, the last things that one would expect to see. Humanoid beasts, scorch marks decorating the ground, a clawed boy, plants that had seemed to have been sentient. Katie swore she saw a duo of lions. All of which were happening just inside the Academy. Naturally, Katie stayed toward the back of the crowd. Slouching to make herself as small as possible. She took a deep breath and sighed out, "Hurm..." She could tell this was going to be a long year.

@t2wave

Interacting with: Estella

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Cole tilted his head as she moved. She had seem disappointed? Or perhaps frusterated. Either way he felt almost bad for creating a problem for her. After all she was certainly unique. He watched as she rustled about in her bag and pulled out a thin pad.

Cole straightens and raised a brow. She seemed more frusterated with the technology then she did with not being able to communicate normally with him. He watched her type and show him what she had written. He focused on the name and seemed to silently mouth it for a few seconds before giving a small smile. "Esuterura Kuinu. What an elegant name miss kuinu"

Cole looked down to read the rest and his posture seemed to go rigid for a moment his jaw clenching before unclenching. He regained his composure and nodded. "I do but it reminds me of someone whom I hate to my core. And usually saying it results in a lot of unpleasantries. I would rather not have that occur at the moment if you don't mind Miss Kuinu" a glance in those grey eyes would confirm he was telling the truth. Showing how much like his father he actually is in the fact that he considers lying to be beneath him.

Almost instantly Phoebe realised what her words might mean, to Megumi, and felt utterly horrible. She hadn’t meant it like that, but she could see just how Megumi might see it like that. Here she was thinking she was doing alright, and doing the right thing and she still somehow managed to stick her foot in her mouth. ”I didn’t mean that… not the way you think… You’ve shown you’re capable... “ She sighed, shaking her head. She should just stop trying… she was probably just making it worse.

She winced at Megumi's words... Deon hadn't done anything to her other than try his luck, and she had egged him on. Still, he was an ass. She glanced over as Deon laughed, frowning at her vines. She curled her hands, hating someone laughing at her... even if it was at the whole situation. She sighed again, glancing back to the newcomers. She doubted there were words that could describe how much of an ass this guy was, and she shook her head slowly. Maybe Deon wasn’t as dangerous as she thought, if the guy was nearly breathless with laughter at mere words.

As he slashed through her plants, they regrew as soon as they were damaged, slowly, and Phoebe grimaced. The destruction of plant life, even ones she would have had to take down, was horrible to her. And it seemed so pointless, what, so he could prove what a big, bad wolf he was, by trying to scare all the little piggies? She shook her head at his childish behaviour. Childish, and a dick. Not a good combination. She was suddenly sure that she didn’t want anything to do with him that was more than simply being friendly. A good kisser meant nothing if it was just going to come with the complications of a childish ass.

And then he spoke to Megumi, and Phoebe felt her blood run cold. A calm deadliness fell over her, and her expression went hard. ”If he tries anything to someone against their will, he will be lucky to use his favorite toy ever again” She said, her voice soft, and hard as steel. She narrowed her eyes, watching him go. She knew there would never be a part two.

When he was gone, she turned to the newcomers, her expression softening, but only slightly. ”I was raised in an orphanage. I have never met my mother” She tried to keep her tone light, but knew it came out harshly. It wasn’t the boy’s fault she’d grown up essentially an orphan. She sighed, shaking her head, and would have just stepped away, taking her vines down, if the girl hadn’t spoken. She narrowed her eyes, looking to the strange woman. ”Some situations do not call for jokes." She said, growing weary of this. And still, the girl thought the whole situation was a joke. How could being excited over maybe having a friend turn so wrong?

She sighed once more. She had thought that today would be amazing, yet it was steadily falling apart, and she felt like she was losing control over everything. She turned to her vines, carefully deconstructing them. She knew she was being… bitchy, but she didn’t want to find that the girl had been torn to shreds because she couldn’t see that this situation wasn’t a joke, in anyway shape or form. She doubted cartoon like powers would help the girl then.

”It doesn’t matter now, I suppose” She said softly, looking to Megumi, ”I’m sorry, my words came across wrongly before”

Interacting with:
Zack scanned the crowd. He needed to find someone none threatening to interact with. Griffin was so on edge that he was likely to start a fight. Which was the last thing they needed. He needed to prove that they were safe here. The problem was that he had no idea what kind of powers and abilities he didn't know how to prove to Griffin that they were safe. The first group hadn't been all that reassure. Not that they had been threatening. With the exception of Light, who had challengedchallenge Griffin, they had just seemed odd to him.

The problem was that all of these people were unknown. There was no way to know who might be a threat to them. This school was filled with people who were the children of heroes and villains equally. Some of them would be looking to prove themselves. Others just looking to learn what they could. He had no doubt both friends and enemies could and would be made here. A friend might convince Griffin to calm down atleast A little. The question was how did he make a friend? How would he knew how would be open to such an unusual friendship. As odd as everyone here was, atleast compared to the rest of the world. They were odder.

---

Frank raised a brow at Phoebe as she explained that she was raised in an orphanage and had never met her mother. 'Interesting... It appears that my theory was correct.' Though he noticed her rather harsh tone, he chose not to comment on it, figuring it must've been a sore subject with her. Still, his mind was whirring. 'Still do not know who her father is... Perhaps just a normal man? Unlikely. Must investigate further.' After a moment, he noticed that Sol had asked Megumi what her powers were before listing off random powers, all while floating upside down. Light then spoke up and asked what everyone could do, before demonstrating her own power.

Frank watched as Light took her arm off, absolutely amazed at the lack of blood. He was even more amazed as the arm started to walk around on its fingers. 'Fascinating... Limbs that can move even after being taken off? It appears that I have another reason to be intere- Wait, what is it doing?' It appeared that during Frank's inner dialogue with himself, Light's arm had begun to crawl up his leg. "... That's... Creepy. But cool! ... But really, really creepy." He said, still watching in fascination as the detached limb made its way up his leg and shook his hand. Soon after, Light made her way over and took the arm before reattaching it.

"Absolutely fascinating... It's times like this that I'm jealous that I don't have powers of my own. Though I do make up for it with my fighting prowess, investigation skills, and hacking expertise." Frank said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his suit jacket. "Is there anything else you can do?" He asked Light after a moment. "While I admit that your power is useful, it seems like it's part of a package deal." And while he said this, he thinks, but of course doesn't add: 'Must also know your abilities in case you ever turn on us. Not taking any chances.'

---

---

High in the sky, an owl-shaped airship was about to finish its course from New York City to rural Virginia. The pilot, one Daniel Dreiberg, was talking with the person in the passenger seat, that person being his son Hollis.

"Be sure to call us every week or so, you know how worried your mother will get if you don't." Dan said, receiving a "yeah dad" from Hollis in reply. "Don't forget that you have a remote to call Archie on your utility belt, I'll be sure to call you once I get back to New York so you can call Archie and have him brought here."

"Yeah dad," Hollis replied with the same phrase he had used 27 (now 28) times during the flight. And yes, he counted. 'Jeez, why does he have to keep repeating what I already know? Yes, I'll call mom, yes, I know about the remote for Archie, yes, I know New York is hundreds of miles away and if I need anything then I'll send Archie so you can come as soon as possible... You don't have to reiterate it for me.'

"Yes, I know I don't, but I just want to be sure that you'll remember." Dan said, and Hollis mentally facepalmed upon realizing that he had apparently said the last part out loud, verbally expressing said facepalm with a groan. His father chuckled, "I'm sorry, it's just that it's like sending you off to college. I want to be sure you're ready, and I want to make sure you know what to do."

"Don't worry, dad. I understand what this must be like for you." Really, Hollis didn't and couldn't considering he didn't have a child of his own, but it's the thought that counts. "When you get back, tell mom I love her and that I'll call as often as I can."

"You'd better." Dan smiled, and Hollis rolled his eyes and smiled as well. Before long, Archie arrived at the gates of the school and slowly descended to land, Hollis preparing to climb out through the hatch on the floor. 'Well, time to see where I'll be spending the next year or so.' He thought to himself, whilst climbing down the rope ladder with one hand, holding the handle of his suitcase in the other. "Don't get in too much trouble!" Dan called, and Hollis shouted back "Yeah dad!" for the 29th time that day.

And soon after that, Hollis was standing with suitcase in hand before a big school that seemed to be an architect's wet dream and a large crowd of students. Among them, he saw things from a yeti to a cartoonish humanoid to lions ('Wait, frigging lions?') to a vast array of hair colors ranging from snow white to bright pink to an alarmingly high amount of redheads ('I thought that was a dying gene?'). Nervously, Hollis adjusted his glasses before walking along into the crowd.

---

---

A... kid? Ky' vie had a kid? Jayla blinked at the new information, her mind trying to process the strange fact. She had never mentioned a kid before... then again they didn't have much time to talk about their personal lives between the racing and the partying. It was clear that there was a lot about Ky' vie that she didn't know. The fact that she was even here said that loud and clear.

"Huh?" Turning her attention to the girl that Ky' vie was talking to, Jayla then realized that she had probably just interrupted the two of them. She gave a small smile and wiggled her fingers as a "hello."

"Sorry - didn't mean to interrupt. I'm Jayla."

Kalinda stood, almost trying to make herself seem as small as possible, grimacing slightly at the emotions she was feeling, letting herself calmly keep her breath steady. She was contemplating just walking away now- Ky' vie had someone that could help, but that would be rude...

And Kalinda didn't want to be rude.

She shook her hand at Jayla's words, "It's okay, I understand. You were shocked and surprised to see an old friend" she said softly. She couldn't begrudge this girl that.

"I was just offering some help... " Her words reminded her that she hadn’t yet taken the bags, and she reached to do so, taking them gently, slinging them over her own shoulder.

“Offering help..? More like a bloody lifeline- thanks again, Kalinda.” Shooting the woman a thankful smile, Ky shifted once more, though this time it was with relief now that she was free of the weight that came from the multitude of heavy bags she had brought with the both of them. Traveling on her own had great… one, two, maybe three bags at the max; she had nothing else to occupy her arms, but now that she had a child-... Now that she had Simon…

Honestly, she couldn’t imagine her life without him anymore; bags filled with toys and all…

“So, I know why I’m at this academy- but what led you two sheila’s here..?” Letting her gaze flick down to her son for only a moment to make sure that he was still okay, Ky’ vie let her attention drift back to the two women standing in front of her, “I’m gunna guess that you guys ended up with an invitation like I did.”

At the question, Jayla's hint of a smile faded completely. Invitation? If she had been so lucky. Breathing in a sigh that made her thin frame look almost sickishly, she ran her fingers through her dark hair, avoiding eye contact with the both of them.

"My dad didn't exactly give me a choice. He just dumped me here so he could take care of some things - So I wouldn't fuck it up." At the curse, Jayla's dark eyes snapped over to Simon, then issued Ky' vie an inaudible, "sorry!"

Kalinda smiled, although she wasn't too sure about that. All she'd done was offer to take bags... it wasn't like it had been anything truly amazing, still, she supposed it would be a lifeline, with a child. So she smiled, and said softly "You're welcome", as she shifted the bags to feel more balanced. She supposed she could have just... held them in the air with her telekinesis, but feeling unstable as she did it probably wouldn't be a good idea. Poor bags might end up on the moon.

At the question, Kalinda shook her head softly, although she waited for Jayla to finish talking before she said ”No, I… I applied to come here. Something happened, and… well, I thought it best I learn how to control what I can do” She explained, hesitating and leaving it at that.

“Oh… uh…” Glancing slowly between the both of them as they gave their rather… vague answers, Ky furrowed her brows slightly in confusion, though didn’t press the matter any further than she already had- if they didn’t want to tell her why they were here, that was fine, she wouldn’t press the matter or topic. Why should she..?

“..I just assumed… sorry…”

Jayla shrugged her narrow shoulders, stuffing her free hands in her pockets and rocked lightly on her heels. She didn't have anything to apologize for - it at least proved her thought that everyone here had a different story; everyone had done something in their past to be judged for.

Jayla shut her eyes tightly. That was the Ghost Rider talking. She couldn't let her out - not here. Not in front of someone she actually liked...

"If I had known you were a super... I think our time is Oz would have been a little different." she commented lightly, doing whatever she could to keep her thoughts distracted.

Kalinda sighed softly. knowing her answer wasn't the best, and could be considered rude. "No, I'm sorry, it’s... what happened was rather bad; you see, I'm an empath" she said, knowing that she should probably explain. Sometimes her behaviour could be strange, and considered weird and abrasive.

If she was going to have friends, then they needed to know why she could be so. ”And I don’t really have much control over it. Which affects my other abilities. So that’s why I’m here. To make sure I don’t cause any more damage with them.”

“An empath..?” Her confusion becoming even more apparent as she thought on what Kalinda had just told them, Ky’ vie shot a quick glance over at Jayla, hoping for some semblance of understanding, though when she couldn’t tell if the woman understood or not, she chose to instead just bite the metaphorical bullet and ask.

“Don’ take this the wrong way… but what’s an empath..?”

Kalinda was a little surprised. She hadn’t thought to come across someone that didn’t know what an empath was, but she supposed it wasn’t that common, anywhere. Most people talked about being empathic, as in sympathising with another's plight, but no one never spoke of actually feeling others emotions. ”Oh. It… it means that I can feel others emotions. And the emotions affect me, especially when I’m a little overwhelmed” she explained.

”Like, just before, you were confused” She said, which she knew was pretty obvious, given her question, ”And... there’s a lot of emotions around… all of them pretty typical of a school setting”

“Huh…” So that’s what an empath was. It seemed pretty simple enough; anything she or anyone else in the vicinity felt was going to effect Kalinda- while it sounded as though it could be interesting… it also seemed like it could get pretty tiring, pretty fast. No wonder the woman looked overwhelmed., and honestly, she couldn’t blame her.

Jayla's dark eyes bounced back and forth between the two, having nothing to input. Though she couldn't help but relate, somehow. Her penance stare brought on all sorts of things whenever the Ghost Rider chose a victim; she could feel their pain as she looked into their life. The more wrong deeds they had committed, the more painful the process - like she was supposed to atone for their sins. She looked down at her feet.

A small whimper came from Simon, a very tired and fussy sound that indicated that he would soon be waking on not very pleasant terms. His hand bunched up the leather of Ky' vies jacket, his head turning from one side to the other as he fought waking up. But sleep lost, and Simon began to cry.

Kalinda wasn’t too sure if she felt awkward because Ky’ vie felt awkward or if because she was just awkward. It was a situation she found herself in more and more, having to try and work out if her emotions were actually hers. She shifted a little. ”It makes things hard at times.” She said softly, which seemed to cue the child waking.

Which was what she had been afraid of, and had been hoping the boy would stay asleep until she wasn’t near him, but that obviously hadn’t happened. She swallowed nervously, knowing exactly what the boy was feeling. Which wasn’t a good thing. ”Um... “ Should she do something… she didn’t want to hurt the child… and she could feel her own eyes prickling with tears- whether or not it was the child’s emotions or her own frustration overwhelming her, she didn’t know. She glanced away, drawing in a deep breath.

“..Simon…”

Shooting the both of them an apologetic glance, Ky’ vie turned so that she was instead giving them both her profile, her face scrunching up for only a moment as she shifted the boy in her arms, a single hand coming up to support the back of his head as she held him close against her body, gently bobbing up and down in an attempt to sooth the crying boy.

“..shh… it’s okay, sweetie… mama’s here; you’re safe…” Her expression changing almost the instant that she set her gaze upon her son, Ky pressed a gentle kiss against his temple, her voice soft… full of love as she continued to speak to him, letting him know that she was there; that she wasn’t going to be going anywhere; not without him there with her… there was no force in heaven, Earth or otherwise that could ever get her to part ways from her Simon…

"Iwa ice cweme." the boy tiredly fussed, closing his eyes even tighter as he tried to bury his head into his mother's chest, his whimpering increasing.

Ice cream… of course he still wanted the ice cream… Chuckling softly, Ky’ vie stooped her head down, the soft smile she wore refusing to leave her lips as she gently nuzzled up against his cheek, “..soon sweetie… but first, mama wants you to meet a couple of friends of mine… they’re special, just like we are…”

Pulling back slightly, she lifted her hand up, using the backs of her fingers to gently brush the tears away from his face, making sure they were all gone before she lightly poked the very tip of his nose, “..can you wait just a little bit longer for ice cream..? Please..? For mama..?”

Sniffling, Simon sat up a bit in his mother's arms, his hands pulled into his chest where he could fidget with the tips of his fingers as he looked to the strangers his mother was talking about. His lower lip was sticking out, quivering, the boy right on the verge of bursting into tears at the tiniest of things.

Jayla couldn't help but to notice how Ky' vie called them special. Did that mean that the kid had powers too? She refrained from asking. If she did, it was possible that would open up a conversation on what it was that she could do, and she wasn't too sure she was ready for that conversation yet.

The love that Ky’ vie felt for her son just about slammed into Kalinda, and she struggled hard to keep her balance. There simply was no describing that feeling… it was, quite clearly, indescribable, and yet, Kalinda knew it for what it was. Love was… powerful, to say the least. She knew her own mother loved her, but… Her mother knew how to hide her emotions….

Kalinda had never felt anything like this- oh, there was lust, and plenty of it all around, but love? Sometimes Kalinda thought that was a lost emotion. She was distracted by this emotion, when the boy’s distress became apparent. Frantic, Kalinda was at a loss what to do. She shook slightly, anticipating that cry, the emotions that fueled it. She was speaking before she even knew what she was doing. ”Ice cream is the best, but I hear it’s for good little boys and girls…. Can you be good for your mama? For ice cream? And maybe I can show you something special…. Do you like magic?” She asked, managing to keep her voice soft, and throwing in a bit of excitement, and trying to give it the tone of a secret.

Cheeks and eyes red, Simon looked at Kalinda before resting his head back on his mother’s chest, as though he were trying to disappear into her. He sniffled loudly once, and slowly nodded his head up and down.

Now she actually had to come up with something. Kalinda hurriedly tried to think, what she could do with her abilities that wouldn’t result in something drastic happening. She rocked back on her heels for a moment, shifting the bags she now carried, slipping her hands into her pockets, before she gently put the bags down, going through her own and bringing out a few things. A few well-worn stress balls, and a couple of rolled up socks. They were soft… should be okay if her powers went wild.

Telekinesis seemed to come easier to her than anything else. She turned back to the others, throwing the items in the air, she held up a hand, concentrating. The items floated, thankfully, and after a moment, Kalinda made them move in patterns and shapes, like a… mobile, only more… intricate.

Simon said nothing, though his sniffling seemed to slowly subside. His eyes were fixated on the rotating objects and lifted his hand to gently nibble on the tip of his pointer finger.

”Well… that’s something…” Jayla wasn’t sure if she was talking about Kalinda’s ability to quiet the boy, or the ability of levitation itself - either way, she was a grown-ass woman and even she found the “magic” to be pretty awesome. So Kalinda was more than just an Empath… and just what could Ky’ vie do? She had felt that she had known her pretty well. Then again, Jayla also had her own secrets…

“..wow… look at that, Simon…” Not bothering to hide the fact that she was impressed with what it was she was seeing before her very eyes, Ky’ vie shot a quick glance back down to her son, her smile widening, and the back of her pointer finger lightly brushing over his cheek a couple of times as she tried to encourage him to remain calm.

Kalinda was relieved that it seemed to be working, and she didn’t dare stop- what if he started to cry? She didn’t think she could take that. She smiled slightly, but watched the objects as if she were expecting them to fall, She managed to keep them afloat, keeping up the moving patterns, ”Pretty much the only useful thing I’ve done with these powers” She said softly.

”What, entertain kids?” Jayla raised an eyebrow. Huh, if only. The Ghost Rider and kids didn’t exactly… get along…

Simon had calmed down considerably, his face trying to melt into his mother’s chest a little less and more transfixed with the floating socks. But after a few moments, he tore his gaze away and looked up to his mother.

”Ice Cweme?

“..I’m sorry, sweetie… mama doesn’t have any ice cream; but she does have bikkies… and some jumpy’s in her bag…” Smiling softly, Ky once more returned her arm back to where it had been supporting his small body, keeping him held close against her, a slight questioning glint flickering across her eyes as she offered him an alternative to what it was that he actually wanted, “Would you like some of them instead..?”

“...bikkie…”

“..bickie it is…” Stooping her head down slightly, Ky let the tip of her nose brush lightly back and forth against his for a few moments before she pulled back, the smile on her bright red lips never once fading as she turned her attention over to where Jayla was still stood, her gaze meeting with that of her friend before she motioned to the smaller of the three bags that Kalinda was holding for her, “..would ya mind..? They’re in the big pocket, just grab one and if he’s still hungry after then I’ll grab him another when he’s finished with it.”

”Huh? Oh.” Looking from the Ky’ vie that she had never yet experienced before to the bag in question, Jayla forced her feet to move towards it. ”Still sounds like something a kid sucks on, though.” she grumbled, more to herself as she bent down and unzipped the front pocket of her bag. Grabbing the bag of cookies, she pulled out a single one and moved to stand up.

Simon, who had been watching Jayla intently, looked back to his mother and using one hand, he placed it on Ky’ vie’s face, forcing her to turn and look at him again. When he had her attention, he held up two fingers.

”Two! Okay? he told her, as though it weren’t up for discussion.

“Two..? Two..!” Narrowing her eyes at the boy in a playful manner, Ky puffed her cheeks out slightly, feigning anger and indignation before finally, she let out exaggerated a sigh, her smile once more returning to her lips, causing her eyes to sparkle slightly as she gave into his demands. How could she say no to that face..?

“Alright, alright… you can have two bikkies. Happy now, mister..? Hmm..?” Bringing her hand back around, she dove it in between them, her fingers wiggling about as she gently tickled his stomach, doing what she could to get him to smile, “..heheh, cheeky boy…”

Giggling lightly (though still tired), Simon squirmed somewhat in his mother’s hold, using his little hands to try and push hers away.

Blinking, taking the hint, Jayla returned to the cookie bag and took out one more before zipping everything back up tight and returned to them, eyes glancing at Kalinda’s still floating socks before handing the two cookies to Simon.

”Can I just say that this is weird?” Jayla asked Ky’ vie, eyebrows raised. She had never seen this side of Ky’ vie before - it was a complete one-eighty from clubbing/stuck-in-a-jail-cell-Ky’ vie. Not that there was anything wrong with mother-Ky’ vie. It was just… different.

Receiving the two cookies from Jayla, Simon took one in each hand. His large eyes looked between the two, trying to decide which one to eat first before choosing the one on his left. Then, using his right hand with the cookie still in it, he pushed it into his mother’s face, expecting her to eat it.

“..ahhhh-umm…”

Opening her mouth wide as she caught sight of the biscuit heading her way, Ky’ vie once more over exaggerated the action, being sure to swing the biscuit back and forth a few times in order to show him that she had it before she turned back to Jayla, shooting her an apologetic look as she lifted her hand, removing the biscuit from between her lips, a small portion of it missing as she took a bite before speaking.

“..I know… I’m sorry…”

Knowing that this wasn’t exactly how she had been the last time they seen one another, Ky lowered her gaze, allowing it to linger on Simon, watching for a few moments as he nibbled happily on the biscuit he held. Sure she was acting like the mother she was, but… was she really that different..? Lifting her head back up, she glanced between Kalinda and Jayla, a soft sigh falling out past her bright red lips, “..I’ll explain everythin’ if you want… just… well, it’s kinda a long story…”

Jayla shrugged, showing that she didn’t feel upset about it.

”Isn’t everything that’s worth telling?” Really, Ky’ vie didn’t owe her an explanation - she didn’t owe her anything. They were good friends for a period of time that made a shitty situation somewhat fun. But after it was all said and done, the believed that they wouldn’t see the other ever again; having no reason to cross paths. Until that day. Jayla didn’t use to believe in fate, though seeing a thing or two as the Ghost Rider had definitely altered that perspective. She just hoped that whatever brought the two of them back together wouldn't spell out disaster for either of them.

Kalinda listened to the conversation, eventually returning her socks and stress balls to her bag. She had long ago got over the fact that she could be easily overlooked.- even before her abilities had manifested, she hadn’t really been a social butterfly. So she merely listened, Although she did finally speak up, ”Not everything has to be said… to have meaning. We’re all here for a reason, whether it’s just running from something, or because we had no other choice, or even because we need to be here. We don’t need to know why for everyone… and that is for just about everything… if telling your story makes it better for you, that’s what you should do”

“..thanks guys…”

Shooting them both an appreciative glance, Ky’ vie let her attention turn back down to her son, the biscuit once more between her lips as she shifted him body in his arms, her own body crouching down only long enough for her to place him down on his feet before she was once against up straight, her hand lifting to run back through her vibrant red locks, tousling them for a moment before she stopped, instead reaching out to take her bags back from Kalinda now that she no longer had Simon occupying her arms.

“..honestly; I was worried… I’m not just here for me- I’m here for Simon as well. To give him the life he deserves.” Dealing the weight over both of her shoulders so that it wasn’t as bad as it had been before, she brought her hand back up, neatly tucking a few stray locks of hair back behind her ear before she reached down to take hold of her little boy’s hand, holding it gently in her own, “..meeting you both here; it’s just made my choice so much easier… and I know I’ve done the right thing, now. So, whatchya say..? Should we go in, or you sheila’s wanna keep blockin’ the entrance..?”

Kalinda shifted her own bags back onto her shoulder in an easier balance. She clasped her hands in front of her, and nodded, glancing about and realising that they were blocking some of the entrance. ”We probably should move…. I’d rather not have someone crash into me” Despite the fact that she was covered in clothes, she really didn’t want to risk a stronger emotional impact… it was hard enough as it was, but she did feel better. So there wasn’t any point risking making it worse again.

”Uh…” Jayla looked from Ky’ vie, Simon and Kalinda back to her bags and batcage she had left behind when Ky’ vie had initially caught her attention. She had been so ready to leave - so ready to track her father back down and demand that he let her help. Hesitating for a few moments, she finally brought her attention back to the three and nodded. ”Yeah… let me just get my things.”

It didn’t take long to walk over and pick up her luggage and the cage. It seemed Mephisto had gone back to sleep - not even so much as a chirp of annoyance from being lifted from the ground. Things were only going to get more interesting from here - the thing was, Jayla had no idea if she was excited for that, or terrified.

---

---

---

---

“..h-huh..?”

Her attention drawn by the sound of a new voice, Adeline turned her head in the direction that she could hear the voice coming from, her soft pink lips parting ever so slightly from one another before the sudden pull of her dog against the lead caused her to stumble forward a step, slight worry flickering across her gentle features as she struggled with the lead and keeping the canine under control.

Hesitating a moment as she felt the strain on the leash let up, she eventually relaxed, letting a single hand break away from the lead so that she could lift it up, using the tips of her fingers to gently brush some of her long and wavy bubblegum pink hair, neatly tucking it back and behind her ear as she began to respond, her voice soft… almost barely audible as she spoke, answering his question, “..Ce-Jay… his name is Ce-Jay…”

“Ce-Jay.” Alan repeated,, keeping his eyes on the dog as he continued to rub his ears.

The lab’s ears perked at hearing his name, his head turning to look back at his owner, though the added stimulation of Alan’s attention had his tongue lolling to the side.

“Such a good boy - God I love dogs - then again I’ve never actually owned one. I bet they’re a lot of work.” Running his hands over the dog he rubbed Ce-Jay’s head a few more times before looking up at the owner and giving her a sheepish smile. It hadn’t occurred to him until just then that what he had done might of come across as rude. They didn’t exactly teach things like proper etiquette in the circus.

“I’m sorry.” He breathed out a laugh and stood himself back up, extending a hand out for her to shake. “I lose myself sometimes around animals. My name is Alan.”

A small smile playing over her lips, Adeline brought her free hand back down to the leash, holding it close against her chest as she shook her head lightly from side to side, doing all she could to let him know that it was okay; that he didn’t have to apologize for anything; besides, he did nothing wrong.

“..it’s okay; you have nothing to be sorry about…” Not truly sure why he was apologizing to her in the first place, she brushed it off as nothing, a soft pink blush crossing over her cheeks at the thought that someone was talking to her… that a guy was talking to her, “..my name is Adeline Wilson… it’s very nice to meet you, Alan…”

Wilson? Alan stood up a bit straighter. He knew that last name… he just couldn’t think of why. Smile faltering for just a moment, Alan looked down at his hand, gone untouched by the young girl. He slowly dropped it down back to his side and stuffed it in his pants, his shoulders slouching a bit. It wasn’t until he really began to feel foolish did he look at her; actually look at her. The bubblegum pink hair was obvious - he saw that straight away. But now he was able to see the way her cheeks rounded out, the way her soft pink lips seemed to naturally pout, the dull, glossed-over daze in her eyes.

Oh…

She was blind. Now it all started to make sense - why she didn’t think he needed to apologize for petting her dog, or why she hadn’t shook his hand. She didn’t see any of it.

Alan chanced a look around. Was there anyone here with her, helping her? He looked down at Ce-Jay, who once more found his privates to be more entertaining than waiting for more pats on the head. There was no way that someone just dropped her off here with a - no… he wouldn’t even call it a seeing eye dog.

“So… are you waiting for anyone here? Could… could I help you to the school?” It was a strange situation. He had only just met the girl and he was already feeling a slight amount of responsibility on his shoulders - or was it protectiveness? He wasn’t entirely sure. He just knew his inner conscious would never allow him to just leave her there, unattended.

He… wanted to help her..?

Biting down softly upon her lower lip, she let her thoughts wander somewhat. Could he help her..? She still wasn’t sure if she even wanted to go through with this; whether she wanted to go the school, or whether she wanted to just head back home where her parents had said they were always waiting should she change her mind.

“..no…” Dropping her head down slightly, Adeline shook her head once more in response to his question, her unseeing gaze lingering in the direction she knew her hands to be as she began to play with the lead, “..no I-I’m not waiting for anyone; my parents couldn’t come with me… and I-... I don’t know if I can do this… I-I think I just want to go home…”

Alan’s head tilted slightly, blue eyes looking the young woman over once more. She was clearly feeling uncomfortable, perhaps even unsafe. His heart went out to her. He didn’t even have to change his vision to know that she would have changed from a blue hue to white. He still wasn’t entirely sure what white meant, but usually it meant that he needed to do something for them, that either he needed them or they needed him.

“Is this your first time away from home?”

Hesitating for a moment, Adeline nodded her head lightly up and down in response to what Alan was asking her- was it really that obvious..? Guess so… especially if he was pointing it out like he had. Shifting her weight slightly over the spot in which she was stood, she lifted her hands back up, holding them close against her chest as her mind began to dwell on the fact that he was right… that she was alone… This had never happened before; it was her first time away from her parents- her first time out of San Francisco. They couldn’t be there for her; and while she understood that, she missed them… so, so much already.

"Hey... no worries. I remember the first time I left home - not all that long ago, either." Alan smiled, not able to help but reminisce his first day at Xavier's school. "It's a big deal, and everyone reacts differently. I think the Academy is probably the best thing for people like us, now that Xavier's school is no more and the other schools are struggling. A lot of powerful people are putting their time and effort into this place and I'm willing to give it a chance. But if you want... if you really want... I can take you and Ce-Jay back home..."

Pausing, realizing just how weird that might have sounded, Alan let out a small laugh and ruffled his fingers through his hair. "I... uh... I fly..." It felt so weird to explain; to so freely be able to tell someone what he could do. Someone, he felt, that wouldn't judge him for it. A year ago he wouldn't have been able to tell her anything about himself. He really owed Xavier a lot.

“..I walk through dreams…”

Lifting her head back up so she was once more looking in the direction that she knew him to be, Adeline hesitated, her soft pink lips parting ever so slightly as she thought over what she had been taught about her abilities, and about what it was she had been told what to do if ever someone had asked her about them. Her parents had always told her that what she could do had to be kept a secret… that she couldn’t tell anyone… but Alan wasn’t a normal person; this wasn’t a normal school… it was safe here, right..?

"That's... actually really cool!" Alan tried to think on it. It didn't make a whole lot of sense, but really, neither did his color-coded vision. Neither did any ability. "How does it work, exactly? Like, you can control your own dreams all the time?"

Nodding her head softly in response, Adeline took a moment to think on her ability- it was… hard to explain; not that she had ever really had to try in the past. Sure she could control her dreams; but it wasn’t as simple as that, at least, her father didn’t seem to believe that it was as simple as that….

“..yes… but I can also control and manipulate other people’s dreams, not just my own…” She paused, her attention dropping once more to where her hands were resting up against her chest, her fingers playing lightly with the light blue leash that kept her in (semi) control of her excited dog, “..I can walk through them… talk to people… see them… change them… I can give people really nice dreams, and sometimes-... sometimes I can give them nightmares too…”

"Wow." Alan nodded his approval, though stopped the second he remembered that she wouldn't be able to see it. This was going to take some getting used to.

"So you can, see dreams? Yours and other peoples?" He didn't want to come across sounding insensitive, but his burning curiosity got the better of him. He couldn't imagine - being able to experience all the fantastical things and sights in dreams only to have it taken away in the real world.

She knew it was strange… her own parents didn’t really even understand what it was she could do, not that they hadn’t tried to figure out the ins and outs of her powers. Ultimately it was that very fact that had them allowing her to attend the academy in the first place.

“..yes… I know it doesn’t really make sense… but, it’s true…” Frowning ever slightly, Adeline tilted her head lightly to the side, her long and wavy bubblegum pink locks falling lightly over to one side as she thought on what it was she could do, and wondering whether or not she might actually be able to learn more about her powers if she chose to stay and attend the academy like she had been given the chance to, “..I-I’ve never been able to see… but when I go into the dream realm; I can… I don’t know how it works… or why it happened this way, but… I-... I guess I’m used to it…”

"Hey... I've seen and been around a lot of things that don't make sense." Alan told her with a smile. "Sometimes you can figure it out, but most of the time it just stays that way. And you know what? That's okay with me. If everything made sense, well... that would just make for a whole lot of boring, dontcha think?"

“..I-I guess…”

Her voice trailing off somewhat, Adeline allowed herself think on his words… He was right. If they knew everything, then what was the fun in life..? Nothing would be special. Shifting ever slightly over the spot in which she stood, she turned her head, her beautiful though ever unseeing gaze moving back to where she could hear the voices of others, a flicker of fear and uncertainty crossing over her delicate features as her mind was drawn back to the reason they were there in the first place.

School…

Their first day at school… she still hadn’t made her choice. Was she going to stay..? Or was she going to leave and go back home..? Her grip tightening over the leash, she hunched her shoulders over slightly, seeming to try and make herself seem as small as she possibly could as he nerves once more began to overwhelm her.

Alan seemed to pick up on her hesitation - it hadn’t exactly eased up any since he first found her standing there, unsure of what to do.

“If you need some time, that’s alright. It doesn’t look as though anyone has been let into the school yet. I can sit here with you for a bit if you want…”

“..I, uh… I…”

Alan had been so caring… so encouraging… He didn’t even know her, and yet he was right here, willing to help, and to sit with her until she was ready to make her choice. It-... It was like, for the first time in her life, she had a friend… one that her parents hadn’t chosen out for her. If she could do that, then maybe-... maybe she could do this too…

“..n-no… actually, I-... I think I might be ready…” Fighting against her hesitation, Adeline slowly broke a hand away from the leash, her head lifting up to where she could hear his voice coming from, she bit down softly upon her soft pink lower lip, trying to keep her nerves at bay as she reached out towards him, offering him her hand.

Unable to help the wide grin that spread across his face, Alan wanted so badly to exclaim his happiness at her decision at the top of his lungs, though thought better of it when thinking on what a random shout might do to her. He didn’t know why he was so excited - he barely knew the girl. Perhaps it was simply that she wasn’t giving up, and that in itself gave cause to any sort of celebration.

Reaching his own hand out, Alan took hers (albeit loosely) and made sure Ce-Jay’s leash wasn’t going to get them tangled.

“Alright! Well then we better get going!”

A gentle blush creeping over her cheeks as she felt the warmth of his hand resting in her own, Adeline hesitated, taking a moment to think things over before she slipped her fingers forward, entwining them with his as she took a step closer towards him, her side brushing lightly against his as she nodded her head in understanding, “..okay… l-let’s go…”

_{Location: The Front Gates; The Academy.
Interacting With: Frank Sage @Simple Unicycle Light @Archmage MC Megumi @Scarifar Phoebe @Caits}

---

---

"Super strength AND durability? Neat!" Sol would exclaim with a playful grin on his face, already excited for the chance to first hand experience everyone's powers, he floats back down onto the ground up-right from his upside-down position hovering in the air "We got to have a fight! Although Dad might not like that I put a classmate in the hospital soooo maybe some other time?" He would have dropped down in front of the two girls and extends a hand out for both to shake, "Hello! Name's Sol Quill and- WOAH!" His attention being instantly shifting to Light and her demonstration of her bizarre powers, dashing back over to where she and Frank were standing to witness how the arm that was a moment ago, torn off, walked by itself, shook a hand, be reattached without any blood spilled at all in the whole process. Frank would admittedly note his own lack of powers and slight envy of the others as he observes Light as something like puzzle to be solved, "Hey but you're pretty smart to figure out who her parents was along with that other guy who was just here, right?" Sol heartily chuckles as he ruffles his own hair, still slightly covered in some traces of ash. He was still expecting some kind of action, the promise of a fight early had certainly let his hopes down but the living Infinity Stone was quite enjoying the time spent with his new friends.

Light

Interacting with: Sol Quill @TechnoWizROK, Frank @Simple Unicycle, Phoebe Wayne-Isley @Caits, and Megumi Takaki @Scarifar

"Your a real downer, aren'tchya there red? You shouldn't worry so much." Light said at how serious and cold Phoebe was being. Really Light couldn't get too much of a read on her still, she was a lot more reserved then her 'super strength' friend. Though Frank reacted just as Light had hoped, intrigued, yet spooked. And considering him and Sol were both asking about a bit more detail as to what Light could do, she just said in a more humdrum voice, almost mirroring Missy 'super strength/invuln' "Oh, Super strength, regeneration as you saw, personal teleport hole, some cartoony things, and other things." Of course, she didn't mention everything she could do. If she mentioned that she was creepy to touch for example, or stole their reality, she wouldn't be able to get near them for some friendly hugs or jokes.

"And Red, if its any consolation, I don't care about your parents. They aren't you." Light said, mumbling airily under her breath. "why is everyone so stuck on their parents?"

Phoebe was a little unnerved at the way that the guy kept on staring at them, as if he was analysing them, breaking them down, breaking everything they said or did down, to try and figure them out. Like they weren’t people. Was he a sociopath? Psychopath? Whatever he was, Phoebe decided he creeped her out. And right then, that was all that she cared about. It was like he was expecting of them to try and tear his head off, and had to know everything about them to make sure he could stop them… which given Deon’s display might not be too far off he nose… but she still didn’t like it. She glanced over to Sol, and raised an eyebrow.

”It’s not that hard to figure out who my mother might be. Given that my abilities, after all, reflect hers” She said, her voice soft, although she was seriously contemplating just walking away. She’d been excited to meet new people, and having Megumi come up to her had pleased her immensely, but now… now it seemed like she was being portrayed as the bad guy, simply because she was annoyed that they could have turned a difficult situation into a terrible, horrible one.

"You’re a real downer, aren'tchya there red? You shouldn't worry so much."

Phoebe turned her gaze to Light, her expression blank. Inside, she was angry. She was beyond frustrated, and she felt like she had given enough of her patience on these people. Her hands curled into fists, nails digging into the palms of her hands, as she sought to keep herself from lashing out. She could feel her skin flushing with heat, her heart racing. Her jaw clenched tightly, to stop herself from lashing out with words, and she could feel the muscles in her arms, shoulders, tensing as she kept the urge to punch at bay. The audacity of this girl… to her, there were only two options. Leave, or stay and do something she'd regret later.

She turned to Megumi, ”I apologise, I must leave. But I'll talk to you later, unless you want to come?” she tried to keep her voice soft- it wasn't Megumi’s fault she was angry. She did manage to make her voice hopeful, before she stepped away, starting to walk off. It was the best for this situation. The girl couldn't see that her words and behaviour were just making Phoebe more and more frustrated. So best to remove herself before things got worse.

She sighed to herself, not wanting to look back and see if Megumi was following her, or not. Instead she glanced about her, to see if there was somewhere she could go, that would be a little bit alone, she didn't feel like approaching someone else and striking up a new conversation. So she moved off to the side, towards a path that lead it seemed towards the dorms. She leaned against a tree, and sighed heavily.