Dex' Schaffner
Location: Venture Academy
Interactions: Open to Anyone

The pickup had gone off without a hitch, a squad car having arrived within a few minutes to recover the would-be thief and Dex'. A ten minute car ride followed by a twenty minute debrief and half-hour air-car lift delivered Dex' back to the academy grounds in good time. With the morning's hero work taken care of, the shapeshifter had plenty of time for lunch before any afternoon activities.

Having shifted back into their casual form, Dex' heads into the sprawling multi-level "food court" and makes for their favorite spot; World Cuisine. One of the smaller and less frequented restaurants, what World Cuisine lacked in specialization, it made up for in diversity. The place primarily offered three things; Build your own "pizzas", sandwiches, & rice bowls. During the colder months they also carried a pair of rotating soups, one vegetarian, the other not. On top of that, W.C. carried an eclectic mix of craft sodas and hard ciders for those of age. No Pepsi or Bud Light here.

Stepping into the small restaurant's interior, Dex' grabs a seat at the bar and orders their usual; a rice bowl with black beans, sauteed mushrooms & onions, shredded chicken, sharp cheddar and Italian seasoning.

Venture Academy - Venture Wok

Interactions - @Cio@Bea

Sipping a soda afforded the boy by Connie amidst their conversation, Neoh had managed to place his order, following his dear brother's decision. Soups were a common choice, indeed, one Miles had surely made based on experience, his tongue familiar with the menu page.

A beige, warmly colored parchment coated in a pocket of plastic, Neoh would be one of the first to admit how comfortable it felt in his hand. The boy's fingertips gently traced a path down the soft plastic, not so much in a search for meals, but rather, as a therapeutic motion against his pale flesh.

Though a pleasant scene, the softly inlined menu resting in his hand while a cold, soothing glass of soda brushed the hero's lips, Neoh would soon come to experience change.

She knew the boys well, this most elusive girl by the name of Astra. As was the typical development of social interaction, her main allegiance was towards Miles. However, Neoh was quickly swept into their duo, which could perhaps have been expected. Her powers, and the way in which she weaved them was an impressive sight, to say the least. Neoh could respect that, a soldier in her own rights. One who leaned toward tactics rather than brute force.

These very same powers were, however, quite incredible at causing fright. Neoh nearly choked on his drink in response to the girl's sudden entrance. It was a peculiar mix of reactions, as a spectral spear manifested over the boy's head. Purely a reflexive motion, however, only a split second following this conjuring, Neoh noted their ambusher's identity.

His broken concentration allowed the spear to drop, hitting him on the head before rolling onto the table. As it vanished into a mist of azure sand, Neoh rubbed his head with a sigh. "Astra.., " came a soft, if disgruntled voice in greeting.

Unable to stifle herself, Connie burst out laughing at the young hero, before clearing her throat. "Sorry, totally unprofessional," she smirked. Luckily, there weren't many customers present at the restaurant.

Attempting to ignore the pain aching through his head, Neoh took a breath and made his order. "I'll have the chicken cashew."

"Excellent choice," Connie continued, attempting to strangle the laughter clawing at her throat. "And the soup of the day is Peking duck, Milly." She finished, before turning to Astra with a wide smile.

Astra. Someone who Milly had known for years; inadvertently bringing Neoh in on the friendship as well. Milly had always admired her for her positive glow and friendliness. He hadn't gotten used to the scares though, definitely not.

So when Astra blinked in, it startled Milly so much that he jumped in his chair, accidentally pushing off the ground with his feet and causing him to lose balance where he sat. The chair fell backwards, and took Milly with it.
"Agh! Astra!" Milly said a few moments after his chair fell over. Rubbing the back of his head, his face smushed as the new pain in his head ached for a few long moments. "No I.., eh, didn't see that coming." the dark-haired boy said as he stood his chair upright and sat back down. "I'll take the soup Connie, thanks." he said, smiling slightly up at the waitress before looking over at Astra.

No wonder he and Astra got along so well. Milly knew that if he had her power, he'd definitely use it to startle his brother every now and then. Despite the pain in his head, he laughed a little after the thought of what she had caused.
"How's uh.., how are your studies goin'?"

---

At the moment of her blink, Astra realised she hadn't really thought this through. She rarely did, despite her love for well thought out plans. As she appeared in front of the two boys, she got two different reactions, both of which ended in the boys rubbing their heads. Neoh was full on attack mode, an instinctive azure spear popping into existence above his head. As he recognised Astra, his spear fell on his head before disappearing. The other brother, meanwhile, got so taken aback he fell off his chair. Astra couldn't help but laugh with Connie who couldn't help but crack at the siblings' antics. Both boys greeted Astra after. The girl smiled only semi-apologetically.
"Whoops," the freckle nosed girl said with a sheepish smile before settling into her seat. "Next time I'll give you a heads up," she promised, feeling prideful in her choice of words. She could quite literally drop something on them from the above if she wished so. Would she do it, though?
Probably yes, if Astra was honest with herself. But nothing that would really hurt her friend or his brother.
The boys made their orders, probably having already had time to mull over them. Astra caught up, trying to think of something she knew she'd like.
"Uhh... I'll take the veggie wok, please. And no broccoli this time! Thanks," Astra gave her order in with a wide smile. Connie nodded before leaving their table. Astra waited until she was gone before turning to face the Dapper brothers. She looked at Milly, who seemed, in hindsight, to appreciate her little prank. At least he laughed. Then he asked Astra how her studies had been going along. To this, Astra grimaced a bit.
"Weelll.... uh, to be honest, I skipped the morning class just so I could dedicate a moment to completing my Kirby Triple Deluxe," Astra admitted, "but other than that? I s'pose I'm doing fine. Missions are taking up lotsa time, though." she continued. She wasn't usually all that talkative, but sometimes she was more in the mood than others. There was a brief pause before Astra remembered to bounce the question back.
"And you? No, actually, do you have any missions coming up?" The latter seemed like a more interesting topic. Astra really hated just plain small talk, this topic seemed much better.

_{Location: School Grounds / Cafeteria
Time 9:00 AM
Interactions: @Moyai}

---

Alexya didn't really enjoy normal classes so as soon as the bell rung she picked up her things in a hurry and rushed out. She wanted to meet up with Alex to make sure she took notes so that she wouldn't fail classes.

As she stepped out of the classroom onto the school grounds she felt the fresh air hit her face, it was a good feeling after 1 hour in a room with 10 other students. There was one person in that class that made the 1 hour bearable, his name was Kato Redan, and was one of the B-tier heroes on the school, if she can remember correctly his hero name was Trickster he can create 3 exact copies of himself that can help him in battle, he looked like he could easily be a model and seeing as his copies could be used to help with her research on new versions of her gas while he got to train on creating multiple copies in a row they were usually paired together during classes, she kinda has the hots for the guy but she has decided not to ask him out as to not jeopardize their friendship.

Anyways she thought as to snap out of her own head and focus on finding Alex, usually, Alex placed herself in the cafeteria while eating instead of one of the high-end restaurants on campus so she started heading towards the cafeteria. While walking the intercom buzzed. "Dear Students, we in the faculty of Venture Academy have decided to create a small competition for you. Now we know some of you don't enjoy the normal run from A to B competition since some of the students have a lot of advantages so we have decided to make this a Capture the flag event, I believe everyone knows what it is so we won't explain it just know this, your powers are allowed." and as suddenly as the intercom started it ended.

"Capture the flag? This is gonna be easy pickings." Alexya thought to herself while she started walking, she had the perfect defence. Her ability made it impossible for anyone to grab her flag, or well. Almost impossible, her ability had one weakness, gasmasks so as long as the other students didn't get gasmasks she was gonna be fine. Maybe this was the perfect time to test out her knockout gas.

"Hey Alex!" She shouted as she walked into the cafeteria. "How was your class? Did you take notes? Have you heard about the Capture the flag events happening" She asked as she sat down at the table after grabbing a sandwich

Alex heard her name and turned around, searching the crowd until she saw Alexya. She waved at her before finishing her purchase and going to her side, sitting on the table quite casually. This wasn't exactly permited, but usually the Academy had more worrysome breaches to care about than some girl sitting on a table. Drinking some sports drink, she looked down at Alexya and nodded.

"Class was a bit boring, I made notes, the history book pictures kinda distracted me a bit but I don't think I lost anything important. I wouldn't worry too much about this one, I got the overall idea... I think." she said, before smiling. "Yeah! I totally heard about this Capture the Flag event. Heh, I already have my inscription form ready. It will be a good opportunity to test my speed against other students, and did you see it will be on the TV?"

Ghost, Supernova, Dynectro

It was just after classes at the academy, and many of the students were still buzzing around the campus. Most of them were eating, meeting up with friends, or using one of the many facilities the academy had to offer. Even more people were signing up for the Capture the Flag tournament, hoping that the would be chosen to compete in front of the thousands fans. Kane and Meleena had already signed up, using Kane's powers to sneak to the front of the line so they didn't have to wait. Although, it seemed like Angel had no interest in joining, and he never went to sign his name up. It certainly wasn't for everyone, but such an opportunity didn't come up often. What did come up often, however, were emergencies.

The three students felt their phone vibrating and ringing, almost like an alarm as a large notification plastered the screen. The notification read "EMERGENCY: A rank mission, report to the transportation depot ASAP. Your suit and weapons have already been accounted for, you must immediately drop whatever you're doing and head to the depot for transportation and debriefing."

It only tool the three students a mere few minutes to get their, however, Kane was the first, followed by Angel and Meleena. They were quickly huddled into a jet, strapping on their suits and equipment within a moment's notice before the jet suddenly took off in a blink of an eye. After a few moments the three superheroes huddled around the cockpit, while a staff member stood at the head of a holographic table. Images of a city were displayed, but it looked like people were running. There were small fires, broken building, and what seemed like a decent amount of robots. This city was being run down.

"It is believed that a powered individual like yourselves with the power over machinery has started terrorizing the town. He's not well known in our data books, but it's suspected that he is working for somebody bigger than himself, based on some data we've gathered over the last few days. We called you three at last minute because you guys were available and had the talents and skills necessary for this mission. Ghost will lead your three man squad. Your mission is to fight of the robots terrorizing the town, save and protect the civilians, and capture the culprit alive. We need to investigate him to get to the bottom of this investigation. Saving people is your number one priority, and kill him if you absolutely have to, but do not let him get away. This is a matter of life and death."

After the debriefing, the back of the jet opened a few hundred feet over the town. "Good luck, This is your drop." Kane didn't even bother grabbing a parachute, standing at the edge. He turned around and gave a salute. "See you down there guys." as he immediately fell out of the jet, quickly falling to the earth. "God dammit Kane." Supernova muttered, flipping her hood over her head. She gracefully dove out of the jet, making a bee line for where Ghost was landing.

"You might want to get a move on." the instructor laughed, slapping Angel's back. "This is an emergency situation, but try not to be so nervous. This is what you train for. Just go out there and do your best."

Angel made the mistake of having his gaze follow his teammates as they leaped off the jet. It was bad down there, really bad. At the instructor's words, he only nodded before jumping after them. Upon the heroes' arrival, a horde of nearby seemingly-sentient machines turned its attention towards them and lunged at them. Landing beside the other two, Dynectro immediately shed his parachute and instinctively struck their first group of attackers with multiple lightning bolts at once, causing them to crumple to the ground either from overload or the external damage taken. He involuntarily flinched at the racket his opening attack had made.

"Sorry, should have warned you to cover your ears," he remarked to his team.

The angular humanoid machines seemed to pick up on sound, and even more were scrambling towards the team of heroes. Well, at least they were drawing them away from civilians. Dynectro drew his silver long sword and flicked a switch as he swung it, allowing it to expand into a ten-foot whip which cut another mob of robots to pieces. As the three moved along the street of the town taking the aggressive machines out, it nearly slipped Dynectro's mind that they were there to identify the source of the attack and apprehend him. He figured that the robots were moving away from their source, and the fact that they were going against the flow meant that they were heading in the right direction.

Sure enough, a figure in a blue circuit-patterned suit of armor was soon spotted zipping over low-rise buildings. It moved with the fluidity of a real human being, and it was therefore safe to assume that there was actually one in there.

Dynectro quickly brought it to his teammates' attention. "Over there, in that direction!"

Upon entering the city, Ghost had managed to land first, using his phasing ability to not take the brutal force of landing without a parachute. He surveyed the area, seeing as multiple armed robots has taken a liking to destroying buildings. Just a few moments later, a loud whistling sound could be heard as a bright streak of red descended from the sky. Supernova landed in typical superhero fashion, causing a red shock wave that cleared out about a dozen of them.

"Alright, let's wait for Dynectro before we..." and Ghost was cut off as Nova was having a great time making heaps of scrap metal. Just then, Dynectro came down and was suddenly shooting lightning bolts at the nearest robots. This caused him to instinctual phase, so that his ear drums wouldn't bleed and he wouldn't be half blind from all the nonsense.

"God dammit you two... just clear them out and try to apprehend the target. Please don't kill anybody while you're at it? We're supposed to be saving them." he said, just as Nova sent a larger robot careening into the distance and exploding. while the fight went on, Nova was wildly breaking machine after machine like a blender, while Ghost went around getting civilians out of danger and saving people. Between Dynectro and Nova, it was a matter of time before the majority of the robots were cut down, and the culprit had been spotted.

"I'm on it." Supernova shouted, and she sent a shockwave at her feet to propel her into the air. The man in the blue circuit suit had little time to react before a young woman in a black and red suit dropped kicked him in the ribs at high speeds. The man was sent rolling across the rooftop, groaning as his body skidded across the rooftop and flew out across the street. Supernova caught up to the man in mid-air, using her powers to shoot her into the sky right above him. She took both her hands, lacing her fingers and putting them high above her head before slamming them into the culprit's chest. A bright flash of red and a large shock wave erupted. sending him into the street and creating a sizable crater with a sickening BOOM.

Supernova landed next to the man, brushing off her suit as Ghost unphased right next to her. Dynectro was just coming over and finishing the last of the robots. "It's over, just give up and come with us. We can do this the easy way or the hard way." Ghost said, bringing out a pair of state-of-the-art handcuffs. Without any robots, beaten badly, and surrounded, he was as good as done.

"Oh I feel the same way." the villain said, half of his suit torn to shreds, and probably having some broken bones. However, his suit seemed to shield him enough from the blows as he waved his hand in a weird motion. Suddenly screams could be heard, as multiple robots sprang up from the ground and started attacking the civilians. One in particular dug up a hole underneath the two heroes, sending them falling several feet. The villain started to run away, and it seemed like Dynectro was the only one close enough to get him.

"We're fine, just grab the robot guy. We'll save the civilians. Don't let him get away" Dynectro could hear over his earpiece, as Ghost and Supernova appeared to phase through the ground next to the new swarm of robots.

Dynectro jumped back, startled as the ground right next to him caved in, taking his teammates with it. He immediately rushed over to the pit to check on them and was relieved to hear Ghost telling him that they were alright. At the older boy’s instruction, he nodded and dashed after the technopath, leaping over debris and wrecked vehicles. However, they were quickly approaching a massive cloud of smoke that had engulfed the street ahead – a product of the destruction of a nearby establishment. It would provide the perpetrator cover, and Dynectro could not have that. He swung his metallic weapon forward, successful coiling it around the technopath and proceeded to pull him back towards himself. It was common for captives to resist only slightly, with the pain inflicted by the blades of the whip discouraging them to do so.

The thought of sending a current down the whip to stun him did cross Dynectro’s mind. It would definitely make things easier for him and his team, but no, he could not risk killing this man when there was still a chance to bring him in alive. He did not have much time to ponder over it, however, for the sight of neon red snapped him back into action. It happened way too fast. The compact laser weapon that the technopath had suddenly produced from the cuff of his sleeve sliced cleanly through the metal restraining him, right after which its beam shifted towards the electrokinetic who ducked out of its way just in time. Using Dynectro’s momentary shift of focus as an opportunity to escape, he then darted into the smoke. Without thinking, Dynectro bolted right in after him, but such an action was unavailing, as one was basically blind once they entered the cloud of dust and ash. Once the smoke cleared, the villain was nowhere to be seen, and it seemed pretty clear by then that Dynectro had lost him.

The words of Ghost and their instructor specifically saying not to let the perpetrator get away started to creep into his mind. Unbelievable. They were counting on him to do this one thing, and he screwed it up big time. If only he had attempted that stun, even killing him would have been better than letting him escape, but it was too late for that. Dynectro thought that he had him, but who was to know what the man literally had up his sleeve? There was no way he would have known, was there?

It was not long before he could hear Ghost and Nova coming up from behind. Taking a deep breath, he mentally prepared himself for the onslaught his own teammates were about to unleash on him as he turned to face them.

“I’m sorry. H- He got away…”

---

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick.

Beep-beep-beep-beep! Beep-beep-beep-beep!

Heralded by a pained groan, a large hand reached out and engulfed the whining clock, muting it while its fingers blindly searched for the off-switch. When the beeping was finally killed, silence returned to the dark, bland room. And for a few moments it remained, before yet another groan cut through it, followed by the creaking and whining of a bed frame being pushed to its absolute limit as its large occupant began to shift around. He rose with a grunt and turned with a wince. And with both feet planted firmly on the ground, the man began to stand.

A sharp spike of pain sent him right back down, much to the bed’s horror. After a few moments, a deep laugh rumbled in the dark room.

Here sat the ‘mighty’ Preacher in all his glory - bruised, beaten, and bedridden. His hand went to the soiled gauze on his abdomen and lightly pressed it. Another sting. Eli grinded his teeth together to muffle the yelp. When it passed, he couldn’t help but chuckle again. It was funny. They call him bulletproof in the media. And for the most part, they’re not wrong: Eli had caught far more than his fair share of bullets ever since putting on the suit. Typically, they just bounced off, which, to be fair, wasn’t exactly pleasant, but definitely not a threat.

Get a big enough gun, however…

Eli powered through the pain and got to his feet. His wound throbbed, but it was bearable. He stumbled over to the dresser across the room and pulled out a change of clothes for the day, before entering his bathroom for a shower.

After washing off the prior night’s shame, Eli stood before his mirror and removed the gauze to take a look. The wound was closed, and it was going to leave a pretty nasty scar, but overall he made it out alright. The bullet did some work inside him, but Venture Academy’s healers are miracle workers. The major damage was taken care of, but he was going to be sore for awhile. His condition made healing a bit troublesome, so it’s honestly a blessing that they could do anything at all for him. He’d take a couple sore days over the alternative anytime.

After changing into the day’s clothes, Eli left his room and made his way towards the kitchen.

---

“Ooooo, damn man.”

Eli chuckled and shook his head. The heckle came from Quinn, of course, who was currently sprawled out on the couch, watching some foreign news coverage of Eli’s botched mission last night while being fed grapes by his roboservant like a black Julius Caesar. Of course he was.

“Language.” the older brother warned, walking around the counter island into the kitchen.

“English, sir.” a synthesized voice chimed in. Eli chuckled out of pure exasperation. He rooted around the cabinet for a few seconds before pulling out an unopened box of Honey Nut Cheerios. He quickly grabbed the deep bowl, a large spoon, and the half-gallon of milk from the fridge.

“Africa has not been kind to you. You really look like shit-” Quinn said matter-of-factly.

“-Language-” Eli interjected.

“-English, sir.” The roboservant followed.

“Man, I liked you better as a trash can.” Eli fired back, pouring half the box of Cheerios into his bowl, followed by the remainder of the milk. After considering it for a moment, Eli added the other half of the cereal as well.

“Sir, shall I fetch another week’s supply of breakfast cereal? We appear to have run out.” the robot asked Quinn, ignoring the trash can comment completely.

Eli’s jaw practically hit the counter. “Di-did your robot just sass me? Man, who builds a sassy robot?”

“Me. I build sassy robots. Now hold up - they’re about to show the money shot.” Quinn replied, holding up a finger. His attention never left the screen. Eli frowned, but tuned in himself.

The anchor who had been reading the headlines was then replaced by a shaky cell phone video the clearly showed a giant, unanchored Preacher looming tall over a dirt road by some kind of compound. Men on the roof were spraying him with gunfire, but the giant seemed unaffected. Eventually, Preacher clasped both hands high above his head and swung downwards. Part of the roof caved in. That’s when the garage opened and the vehicles began to swarm out. Preacher managed to flip the first over, and kicked the second into one of the compounds outer walls…then the third came out. Preacher went to step on the van to hold it in place...but he didn’t put his full weight on it. The van’s driver booked it and Eli obviously wasn’t expecting it. The giant lost his footing and fell to the ground. The van got away. And with it, Babajide Olawale - leader of a rather new and growing hyper-violent rebel faction in Northern Nigeria.

When the piece finished, Quinn paused the stream and a silence hung in the air for several moments. The mood in the room had shifted. Eli nodded, letting the shame hit him anew, before finally digging into his cereal.

Eventually, Quinn broke the silence.

“You were injured.” he stated.

“Yeah.” Eli confirmed. There was no use in lying about it - he had a suspicion that Quinn had already put everything together.

“How?” the younger brother drilled. Eli could sense that he was starting to get angry. Quinn wore his emotions plain as day, and while he still refused to look at Eli, the shamed man could hear it in his half-brother’s voice.

“One of the patrols I ran into on my way in. Caught a bullet in the gut.” he admitted.

Quinn didn’t take that well. His head snapped towards Eli, “Caught a bul- man, you’re fucking bulletproof! The fuck you mean you caught a bullet?”

“Language.” Eli began, inviting another interjection of ‘English, sir’ by the cyberbutler. Eli ignored it, however, and carried on. “I mean, maybe I’m not as bulletproof as they say. Whatever the guy had, it went right through me.”

Quinn wasted no time in firing another accusation. “So, you get injured before your mission even starts, and you don’t think to bail? Or at least call in some backup? Man, what were you even thinking?”

He considered that for a moment before pushing his bowl away and leaning back, arms crossed. “I was thinking Olawale was in that compound. And I was right. I didn’t have time to wait around for backup. That was the best shot we had of catching him.”

Quinn scoffed. “Oh, you’re not wrong, bro” he started, the last word practically dripping with vitriol, “that was our best shot. That was our best shot and you blew it.” He got to his feet and crossed the living room towards the main door. He paused at the counter. “Man...right now he’s being shuffled around to God knows where. It’ll take weeks to find him again. Maybe even months.” Quinn turned to look Eli dead in the eyes. “People are going to die, Eli. And that’s on you. Every single person that he kills because you fucked up? Their blood’s on your hands.”

His words hung in the air for a moment before Quinn put on his cheesiest, most insincere smile and playfully slugged Eli in the arm. “But hey, at least Big Bad Preacherman didn’t have to hurt his pride and ask for help, yeah? He’s got this all on his own.”

As he backed off, Quinn’s fake smile contorted into a look of utter contempt. “Brobot: let’s go. We got some real hero shit to do.” he ordered while disappearing around the corner. A moment later, the ridiculous looking tincan followed suit. Eli could make out some voices coming from the doorway, but didn’t pay it any mind.

He shook his head and leaned back onto the counter. He had kept his cool, but just barely. Quinn had gotten a bit out of line there but...he wasn’t entirely wrong. Eli knew that. But still…

---

“Knock knock.”

The unexpected voice pulled Eli right out of his thoughts. He looked over to see a goofy, smiling face peeking at him from around the corner. Eli couldn’t help but laugh that deep, rumbling laugh of his. “Shouldn’t you be in class right now?” he chuckled.

“Shut up and come here, you big lug. I missed you!” Gabrielle laughed, closing in for a hug. She juuuust so happened to land directly on the wound. Eli winced, but she didn’t seem to notice. Or if she did, she didn’t mention it. When she pulled away, she hiked a thumb over her shoulder. “So...Q seemed uhm…”

“Cheerful and optimistic?” Eli threw out completely sincerely with absolutely no sarcasm whatsoever.

“I was thinking something more along the lines of ‘bitter and hateful.’” she clarified by adding air quotes.

Eli feigned shock. “I know you’re not accusing our brother of being unhappy?”

“Never.” Gabrielle chuckled. “Please tell me you’re not already fighting?”

“Uhh…” he stalled.

Gabrielle rolled her eyes. “Lie to me?”

“Well…” he hummed.

“Eli!” she scolded playfully.

“What?! You know how it is.” He laughed. Eli loved his brother. But they didn’t see eye-to-eye on a lot. Gabrielle though? She and Eli were thick as thieves.

“True.” she said, moving to the counter and hoping up onto it. Eli just shook his head. Her mother would bust her hind end if she ever caught her doing that back home. Give a kid some superpowers and they immediately start rebelling. “So, how’d it go?”

“It’s gone better.” he admitted. It certainly couldn’t have gone much worse. That much was a fact. Eli opened the fridge and pulled out a couple of sodas. He offered one to Gabrielle who quickly snatched it, popped it open, and took a swig.

“That’s why you need me to go with you! I’m so ready now.” she hastily pitched.

Uh-oh.

Eli could feel his smile falter. This was definitely going to lead to a headache. “Not going to happen.”

“What? Why? I can hold my own!” she protested. Eli had his doubts.

“It’s too dangerous.” he explained. She wouldn’t like that. In hindsight, probably not the right thing to say there.

“I’ll be fine! You won’t have to worry about me AND I can help you.” she pleaded. Of course he’d worry about her. How could he not? It would be impossible. If he, the Bulletproof Giant could still manage to get shot, then what hope did this fifteen year old girl from New York have?

“I’m sorry, but no.” he stated, rejecting her offer and desperately hoping she’d drop it.

She didn’t. Instead, she got off the counter and sized him up much like Quinn had just a few minutes prior. “I’m not a little girl anymore, Big E. I can do this. Let me help you.”

Maybe it was the headache from Quinn’s interrogation. Maybe it was the stinging pain throbbing in his side. Maybe it was the stress from failing at his one job. Whatever the reason, Eli snapped at Gabrielle, raising his voice. “I said no, Gabby! End of discussion.”

He regretted it immediately.

“That’s not fair.” she muttered. He had obviously scared her - he could tell that she was on the cusp of tears. Her eyes had that glossy look to them. Eli sighed and started to reach out for her, but Gabrielle started backing up.

“Gabby…” he started but the girl threw a thumb up over her shoulder, motioning towards the door.

“I should probably go. Wouldn’t wanna be late for class.” she claimed, her voice hitching. Before Eli could say anything else, she turned around and stormed out, slamming the door.

And with that, Eli had managed to upset two out of two siblings in less than an hour of being awake. New record. Oh well. Things would work out. Eli was sure of it. They always did. In the meanwhile…the gentle giant grabbed his bowl of cereal and headed around the counter to grab a seat on the couch. Or at least, he was going to. But fate sometimes has different plans in store. Rather than successfully walking around the counters as he had planned, a sudden announcement caught Eli completely off-guard, causing him to trip over his own feet and stumble forward. He bounced off the counter, wound first. The sudden spike of pain shocked him. It shocked him so much, that he dropped the bowl of cereal, which tumbled to the ground and promptly shattered.

…

…

…

Eli sighed. Then he grabbed some paper towels. Certainly things could only go up from here.

It was final the day of capture the flag, and a few days had passed so that students could apply for a spot on each team. There was only a certain amount of spots, however, so the staff picked the students based on their performance in and out of school, among other factors. Once all the applications were in, white envelopes were slipped under the dorm room of each person who had made the event with their team name on it. Every one of you received an envelope under your door, looking to see that your team name was "Blue Team". Evidently, the other team was the red team, and thus the trash talk began all that friday afternoon. Lots of people complained about which team they were put on, if they got picked or not, and trash talking the opposite team. The teams seemed pretty even, veterans and rookies, older and younger, only the best of the best were chosen to compete on this large stage in front of thousands of people. There was a lot of ads and publicity for the event, heroes such as Ghost and Supernova getting interviewed before the event.



Friday was the assembly where both teams were called together so that the rules could be explained. There were two teams, with squads making up 7 people. There were 26 squads on each team, alphabetically assigned, so it was clear that this would be a huge capture the flag game. The map was kept under wraps, but each team had a base with a large flag they had to defend inside the base. It was big enough to it would take a normal person two hands to carry it. Once a flag was grabbed by the opposing team, it would be shown to every single person on both teams via a tracker. Once the flag is brought back to the opposing base, it would count as a point, and a new flag would replace the stolen one. If the enemy team takes the flag from the flag carrier, they must return it to their base right away. The event would last the whole weekend until the time ends, and the team with the most points would win the event.

Other small things were also discussed, such as the safety measures that were in place. Students were allowed to use the full extent of their powers, and even injure classmates to extent, but you weren't allowed to murder your fellow classmates. There were trained staff and medical teams on stand by observing the fighting area and taking those unable to fight anymore. The flags were also not to be tampered with in any way, otherwise the flag would not grant the team points for capturing it. This also was true for defending the flag, but if a defending team tampers with their own flag, the other team will be awarded a point and a new flag will spawn. The superheroes would be wearing newly made costumes with their team color on it. It could be just like their old suit or completely new, but it was important to have the team color in order to establish teammates in combat. Super suits much be worn by participants at all times, or risk disqualifications. Any kinds of weapons, however lethal, will be allowed for this event, according to school regulation for the event. For example, no nuclear missiles.

The assembly was long but it was very informative, and any other questions were fielded by the staff members there. Team captains were also assigned to each team, assigned with helping coordinate their teams and were based on skill and seniority. The area would the capture the flag match was held would be secure, allowing no members to exit the area, unless for medical or extreme purposes. Last but not least, there was an incentive to winning this whole thing, and there would be some kind of secret prize given to the winning team. This was an event the whole world would be watching, many agencies and fans seeing which of their favorite super heroes would come on top. Teamwork, individual performance, and other abilities would be closely watch to see which heroes, win or lose, are the cream of the crop. Winning is the priority, but showing that you got what it takes was also very important for up and coming heroes.



It was a small little lecture hall, and there were all the blue team members in attendance. The blue team captains were sitting in the front row, with a black band around their arm to signify this. This would also be the case for the red team captains. A staff member stood at the front of the lecture hall, tapping the mic to get everyone's attention.

"Good morning ladies and gentleman, boys and girls. Today is the day! You will fight for honor, glory, and bragging rights in front of thousands of fans. The pressure's on. You will get one hour to discuss your plans before you are transported to the field. On the field, you will have half an hour to prepare defenses and get a good layout of your home base. Once the signal sounds, the game will officially start. Good luck everyone."

Kathrine Vale:

With a stretch and slight yawn, one Kathrine Vale set down her pencil and leaned back in her chair. She'd been poring over mission reports of past graduates, taking notes on their abilities and how they used them to complete their objectives. She felt it was important to learn about those who'd come before so she could apply those lessons to her own work.

She'd never admit it out loud, but part of her unerring work ethic was in part due to a fear that she wouldn't be enough in some far off scenario. That when the chips were down and she had to lay it all on the line.... she'd come up short.

It was for this very reason she'd ended up not signing on to the Capture the Flag event, at least in part. Her studies took precedence to what she'd assumed was a simple game.

As it had turned out, it was more of a large group exercise and much to her chagrin probably would have been very useful in getting practice in using her abilities in unorthodox ways. With no way to sign up now, however, she'd opted to double down on her studies and to at least go and watch the others. To that end she stood and snagged her leather jacket as she headed out for the day, making sure to lock the dorm behind her as she went.

---

---

"Approaching 35,000 feet, prepare for HALO Jump."
Came the Venture pilot's voice over the headset worn by Venture's own Atomic Angel. Alec nodded to the assistant pilot, who was visible from the cargo bay of the jet.

"Verify Assignment Details."
Came the voice a second time.

"Touch down north of Dogon Dawa on Niger-Nigerian Border, proceed East towards Target's last sighting, 3 kilometers north of Kaita. Confirm visual on target Babajide Olawale, relay confirmation to Academy POC and recieve further mission details." Alec replied over the headset, preforming a last minute once-over of the Academy Flight Suit he was wearing over top of his usual garb, made custom by none other than Quinn Pierce. Everything was in place, as far as he could remember from the brief overview Q had given him.

"10-4, Jump in 3... 2... 1..."

The Atomic Angel tore of his headset and leapt backwards from the jet, turning his body mid-air to nosedive towards the desert sands below him. He kept his legs closed and his arms to his chest to prevent as much wind drag as possible, and with a blink he activated the micro-computer on his mask, allowing his flight trajectory to appear over his left eye, along with an altitude meter. He made small, minor adjustments to his path as he fell by angling his body in a variety of ways, all the while keeping a close eye on his altitude. He spent about 2 full minutes free-falling, reaching speeds of almost 200mph before extending his arms at 600 feet, slowing him down drastically. He angled himself once more, and hit the ground hard. As he slid through the sands, he flipped himself on to his back to avoid sanding his face down a few inches, and waited until he came to a complete stop to shed the flight-suit. He then stood, took in his surroundings, and began to follow the compass hovering over his left eye.

---

---

"You're keeping me here how fucking long?" Alec shouted into the public telephone, grimacing at his own volume as several of the nearby civilians looked towards the flamboyantly dressed red-head with an Australian accent. He was standing outside of some sort of convenience store, which had clearly seen better days. Like most of the buildings here, it was run down and decrepit, and most likely completely unsafe to operate a store from. However, a three hour drive to the nearest town meant no building inspector could be bothered to care, let along make the trip.

"You'll be conducting this mission for the next six months," Came the smooth, collected voice of his handler. The man hadn't given his name, and Alec didn't care enough to ask. "Long enough to thoroughly document the associates, hideouts, and bases of operation for the Hadin Gwiwa da Mutum; Along with identifying Olawale's commanding officers and affiliates."

"The briefing said that Olawale was the only person of interest. If I'd known I was staking out an entire organization I would've brought a change of clothes!" Alec hissed in response, with a significantly quieter voice.

"The mission briefing stated that Olawale was the primary person of interest, Not the only one. Additionally, Venture Academy determined you were the most qualified operative for this mission. We will extract you discreetly if necessary, but it will negatively impact future considerations for missions. Would you like to request an extraction?" The man replied monotonously, as if he was reading from a script.

"No, extraction is not needed." Alec replied with a sigh. "But I want a 35% increase in my Per Diem, and a 65% increase in completion bonus, consider it Hazard pay."

"I'll see what I can do. Update your report log daily, and contact me in two weeks to confirm."

"10-4. Over." Alec responded, hanging up the phone. Taking a glance around, he made sure no eyes were on him before entering the convenience store. He'd need something less conspicuous to wear if he didn't want to stand out.

---

---

Alec shot forward from his bed, hyperventilating, with a knife gripped by his white-knuckled hands. His eyes frantically searched his Academy dormitory as adrenaline coursed in his veins, his breath shallow and ragged. Another failed attempt at getting a nights rest, for the last few months, he'd been barely been able to sleep more than an hour or two a week, and the exhaustion was taking an even greater toll on his psyche. Upon realizing where he was, he loosened his grip on the blade and looked down to his torso, where half a dozen fresh scars looked back. He spent several moments normalizing his breath, before throwing off the sheets of his bed and getting dressed.

After putting on his singular outfit he walked from the bedroom to his kitchen, turning on the television to a foreign news station to watch the results of the six months he had spent in Nigeria. He knew that Eli had been assigned to apprehend Olawale, and although they had difference in their brands of 'heroism,' Alec respected the man's capabilities, and expected the news report to confirm what Alec figured had happened. The news station droned on in the region's Nigerian Dialect, something he had picked up fairly well during his time spent there, adding to the list of languages he was able to converse in.

The red-headed young man turned his back on the television for a moment, pouring himself a cup of coffee. He then moved to the fridge to retrieve creamer, which he mixed in to the mug before taking a sip of the scalding liquid and refocusing on the television. His eyes narrowed in anger as he watched the failure of Eli's mission unfold on the television.

"Fuck!" He shouted, hurling the mug at the television. The ceramic cup shattered against the screen, although the glass-encased television was unharmed. Coffee dripped down the wall as Alec stormed out of his dorm, bee-lining straight towards the Preacher's room. A number of students, younger and older, made way for him to pass as he walked quickly through the hallways. The Atomic Angel was infamous for his rage, more so even then his well known field expertise, and better-knowing students knew well enough to avoid the knife-thrower when he was in a good mood.

Eli's dorm was a fair distance from Alec's own, giving him time to 'reminisce' over a number of events that had occurred in Northern-Nigeria as he made his way to the Giant's living quarters.

---

---

Alec's eyes opened slowly, a throbbing pain echoing throughout his entire body as he took in his surrounding. He was chained, naked, to a metal pole in the center of what had once been a warehouse, but was now being used for something much darker. The building was poorly lit, but he could make out a table in front of him which held his clothing, his knives, and a number of barbaric looking devices.

"Ah, you're awake. Good." Came the deep, accented voice of a man to Alec's right. "We have much to discuss." He said with a chuckle, picking up one of the Atomic Angel's blades from the table as he approached.

---

---

Alec continued to storm through the Academy Halls, his blood practically boiling as he continued towards Preacher's room. He was enraged, practically blinded by fury. Six Months... He though to himself as he shoved a younger student who hadn't stepped out of his way into the wall, Six fucking months spent tracking this asshole, and you let him GET AWAY? He roared within his own mind, pulling a pair of knives out of his jacket as he neared the dorm. Eight different attacks, 95 innocent lives gone, hundreds of more hospitalized by these fucking terrorist pricks, all because you couldn't seal the fucking deal? He finally reached the door, and immediately lifted his boot to slam it against the door frame. Luckily for Eli, the doors were much heavier than most, and far sturdier against someone lacking superhuman strength.

"Open the fucking door Eli!" He yelled, stepping back to kick it again, and again.

"You've got five seconds before I kick this shit down, then we'll find out just how bullet-proof you really are!" He shouted, the door beginning to crack and give way to the impact of his boot.

Alec kicked the door once more, before giving up. Reaching in to his jacket, he pulled out one of his numerous knives, and buried it into the center of the door. The Preacher would recognize Alec's blade, and with that, he turned on his heels and made his way towards another dorm. He had enough clarity to know that he shouldn't be left alone to boil in his anger, so he made his way towards the one person he was capable of being vulnerable with.

He hadn't slept in nearly a week out of sheer terror, however he wasn't comfortable enough with anyone but Hana to explain how much fear was running through his veins. Even in the fortress of safety that was the Academy, he was filled with paranoia of waking up in a warehouse once more, and it did little to help his exhaustion that every time he closed his eyes he revisited the week he spent with that man.

Without the fuel of anger, his pace was considerably slower, and more of a shamble in all honesty. He was exhausted to his core, and moved in a haze of semi-awareness as he made his way to the girl's dorm. The various students and staff he passed still made way for him as he walked, but their expressions were more so ones of concern, rather than anxiety. Prior to this last mission, Alec had always walked with confidence and pride, and here he was shambling pathetically down the hallways, it was a change that anyone could notice.

It took considerably longer than it should have, but he made it to the dorm eventually, and knocked softly a handful of times before propping himself up against the door frame. With the comfort he was craving so near, he had already began to lower his guard, and his exhaustion was taking a strong hold of him as he began to nod off while waiting for Hana to answer the door.

“Blue… huh…” Alex said while looking down at her clothes, almost the same as always, except the color had changed, now clearly saying to which team she belonged. “They could have at least made it electric blue! This washed out color just doesn’t feel like me…” with one last pout, she walked out of the changing room and moved into the main gathering room. It had come to her attention the ruleset of the event was quite… lax, when it came to its application, she was almost scared she could hurt herself seriously and be out of commission for a while, but then she filled her mind with childish bravado. “Bleh! They can’t hurt me if they can’t catch me, and I for sure won’t be caught!”

Having to deal with such a large map, there were already whispers of forming squads to perform different tasks, Alex found herself caught in a balanced squad, meant to play the objective but be less light weight than a team full of speedsters such as herself. It bothered her she had not asked to be in such a squad, but she would take what she got. “Yeah yeah, I can scout as well. No worries about that. But don’t think I won’t try to get the flag as well, heh, once I am done with the other team they will regret not having interviewed me.”

_{Location: Unkown. Meeting with Vanguard Squad, Blue team
Time: Unknown
Interactions: N/A}

---

"Alright listen up" The large man in the middle of the room said, he hadn't said his name yet but with the Russian accent she guessed it was either Vlad, Vladimir or Vladislav. "My name is Vladimir" "Bingo" she said to herself in a hushed tone "you can call me Riot, I will be the leader of Vanguard Squad. Our job will be to defend our flag at all cost and when I say at all cost I mean at all cost" he said looking at the person next to me dressed in all black. "Now let's get some introductions going well start from the right" he says pointing straight at Alexya.

"Hello, my name is Alexya my nickname is Venom and I would advise using a gas mask if you are going to be close to the flag." she said as she released a small amount of knockout gas from her hands. "Alright good to know we have some really good crowd control on the team." he says while trying to wave in front of his face as to not accidentally inhale the gas "I guess im next" the guy in all black said as everything in the room turned to a black void, you couldn't see anything and Alexya had a problem breathing, and as suddenly as it became dark everything came back. When Alexya looked around she could see everyone staring at her. "Why are you looking at me?" she said in a confused tone "So yeah that's my power, I can put someone in something I call a pocket dimension where they can't get out until I let them out or after 30 minutes because it drains me a lot to keep someone in there" he says in a relaxed tone the two other people in the room explained their power which was the same since apparently, they are identical twins, they could split into 8 copies each. Riot was last, his power was to morph his two arms into big shields made out of pure metal, Seeing as our goal was to defend the flag she felt it was a good team.

Dex' Schaffner
Location: V.A. Blue Team Meeting Hall
Interactions: @Moyai, Anyone

Their eyes & hair changed to a rather intense shade of teal for the purpose of the event, Dex' yawns and stretches, propping their feet up on a desk. "Having an outrider is always useful. Alex, how fast and mobile are you with your power? Depending on how things pan out, I can see relying on you to get captured flags back to base." While not familiar with the detailed ins and outs of Alex's power, Dex' liked to make a point of keeping abreast in what her peers and potential squad mates were capable of. "I'll probably be of the most use in my standard combat form, serving as the center point front-liner for the squad." Dex' says, one arm briefly morphing into their combat form, shirt sleeve an all, before morphing back to 'normal'. "So, what's everybody else bringing to the table?"

This is looking good. Vanguard squad, if a little weirdly named for a defensive unit, is looking solid for protecting the flag, so all we have to do is make sure to capture the red flag... Dex' thinks to themselves as they look over their assembled fellow students.

There was once a place known for its overbearing trees and always-active insects and rivers polluting the ears. It was said that none were allowed to step around the edges, but stepping into it would make the earth recoil, bending the ground separating you from the rest of the forest backwards. The wind would serve as a warning to turn back, with the bitter smells of plants and the stuffy, warm air pushing whoever dared to enter it away. The trees themselves would grow larger, the canopy blocking the sun and shrouding you in complete darkness. Within it, the sounds of the rainforest would begin to ebb. Lively birds and monkeys fell silent; all that would be left were the footsteps and growl of the animals walking their rightful hunting ground.

Although her decision making was questionable, a single woman did not let the forest’s attempt to fear them succeed. She continued walking across the shaky ground that was covered in predators’ footsteps. She began to hear the footsteps of the aforementioned predators, quickly scanning her surroundings for the animal. She managed to force down the growing lump in her throat and slowly walked further, making sure her step was as light possible. To be heard by anything here would spell death. One, two, three, four, she said in her head, counting her steps to clear her mind. It was on the fourth step that she heard a bush rustle to her left. Turning to face it, she unsheathed a sword to block whatever jumped out of it and...

One-shot.

“Stupid game,” Hana mumbled. She patiently waited for the ‘YOU DIED’ text to stop rubbing her failures in her face before her attention was brought to her door. Someone was knocking on it? Who could it have been? She didn’t expect anyone she knew to be at her door, so it was probably one of Angel’s friends. She lifted her head from her desk and pushed herself off from it, launching her backwards in her rolling chair. Getting up from her chair was a daunting task, one that was absolutely not contributing to her comfort, but she did it nonetheless. She opened the door.

“Alec!” To both her surprise and excitement, her friend was sleeping by her door. She quickly covered her mouth and quietly said, “Sorry,” before getting a closer look at him. Hana hadn’t seen Alec in a while, but he looked... off. He usually looked angry when he slept, but this time he didn’t. She would carry him into her room, but she wasn’t the strongest, so she decided to wake him up instead. “Wake up, Ally,” she said, taking one of the few chances she would get to call him a slightly-embarrassing nickname while also nudging him.

Alex was pumped up, doing little jumps to warm up, stretching her legs and arms, even sprinting with her water powers active so she could go fast without moving towards the wall she was facing. She looked drenched in water, as if she had just left a pool, though that was obviously her power already in action. She turned to Dex when they spoke.

“Oh. It depends on where their flag is, right? Like, humid places such as forests and muddy terrain are ideal, I can go really fast! But if its a sandbank, well, the water on my feet gets absorbed and I start to gain friction with the ground again. I have been training my ability to slide, so I can move fast while still being all sneaky, gliding under the bushes and the like.”

As she finished her explanation she gasped as she saw the person by her side suddenly start to shift into another form… it was something strange to see, but to Alex, it was very fascinating. “Oh! That is SO cool! You just need a cool pop rock song to play along with that and you will have a full transformation sequence.” the 13 years old said.

It seemed they were waiting for the start of the event, though she wondered who else would join their plans.