| Southern Plateau - Pacific Royal Collegiate & University, Dundas IslandLeaving Tad to watch over Blackjack as the team continued to break into pairs while setting up the campsite, Jim made his way toward the center of the Southern Plateau. His eyes drifted skyward, once again eyeing the darkening sky above him. In his youth, the man from Corpus Christi had spent plenty of time at sea, learning to both sail and fish in the Gulf of Mexico. Jim was plenty familiar with storm clouds.
Perhaps that’s why the impending storm made him so nervous.
The last time Jim had seen clouds resembling the ones hovering above the campus islands he had lost friends to the Atlantic. There was no doubt in his mind that the Pacific wasn’t any kinder of a mistress. If given the chance, she’d gladly swallow the campus, island and all.
Exchanging a nod with Victor Bordeaux as the two faculty members passed each other, O'Neil continued to navigate through the numerous campsites until he made his way to the construction site and consequently the line of trailers belonging to the various heads of House and of course, Dr. Lehrer himself.
Rapping a pair of knuckles against the trailer door, Jim barked to the occupant inside.
“Lehrer, was wonderin’ if I might have a moment of your time?” A roll of thunder echoed over the horizon. It was almost ominous in some ways. Jim wouldn’t put it past Lehrer to have arranged this whole storm himself to drum up anticipation and atmosphere for the trials. But if it wasn’t artificial, then Jim had some serious concerns about leaving students out for the night in tents. Even ones as advanced as those used by H.E.L.P. and subsequently the school.
The door of the trailer slowly opened as Jonas stood there, buttoning up his blazer before stepping outside.
“I assume you have a concern to voice, Mr. O’Neil.”
Jim pointed to the sky.
“This us?”
Jim's question was met with a quick shake of the head.
“I’m afraid not, Mr. O’Neil,” Lehrer replied, “I try not to make it a habit of disturbing the fragile balance that is Mother Nature. We only have one planet after all, we’d be better off using our abilities to heal it, not bend it to our will.”
“You need to postpone the Trials,” Jim replied. “If you’re thinkin’ everybody is going to stay warm and dry tonight, that dog won’t hunt, Jonas.” He gestured towards the horizon again.
“See them clouds? They’re blowin’ up a storm that I can’t decide if we’ll be hearing thunder of the trumpets of Armageddon. Last time I saw clouds like that, the waves rose up and swallowed an entire town. Men died. Move the kids back to the campus and bunker down for the night.”
“In all my years running this school, we have never once postponed the Homecoming Trials, Mr. O’Neil. Not under threat of siege or terrorism and I have no intention of letting a little rain put a damper so to speak on what is sure to be an event for our new students.”
“You’re being damn ugly right now, Jonas. I hope this doesn’t come to bite us all in the ass.” Jim retorted, turning to leave before pausing. “If the Senator’s daughter gets lit up by lightning, it’s on you.”
Interaction(s): AllPreviously: The Rising Storm
Thaddeus ‘Tad’ Finch was too occupied in preparing the meal to notice the sound of approaching footsteps. In fact, it was the sweet smell of an aromatic perfume that caught his attention before a tap on the shoulder caused him to jump out of his skin.
It was in moments like these that Tad almost despised his Hyperhuman abilities. Even though he was only startled, already his ability began to adapt as Tad disappeared from sight, an evolutionary camouflage cloaking his person.
“I’m not that scary, Thaddeus Finch!” The familiar giggle caused Tad to relax and prompt his body to return to normal as he turned to the familiar face. She ran towards him while Tad extended his arms, the pair happily embracing in a tight hug.
“Sarah! My favourite Friend!” Tad exclaimed, evoking an exaggerated groan from Sarah at the unoriginal play on her surname.
“You’ve used that same joke every fall for the past eight years, and nearly every morning back in the Canis dorms,” She smiled, raising her hands with their palms facing up towards the dark sky, “Howl at your momma!”
“I don’t think they say that anymore,” Tad laughed. “Hey wait, don’t you have to watch over Firebird?”
Sarah shook her head with a mischievous smile.
“Nah, I left them bonding while preparing food together,” She answered, “Turns out when your meal is on the line, you learn to work together pretty quickly.”
“Smart,” Tad replied, “Don’t think Jim would go for that, man wants to ensure his steak and potatoes aren’t screwed with.” He let out a small chuckle before pausing, taking a moment to look over towards the commotion that was occurring between most of the Blackjack members.
“Also instructed me not to intervene unless they draw blood or burn the tents down if you can believe. I swear for the past twenty minutes they’ve been ebbing back and forth from being a punch away from an all-out battle royale.”
“That might be over now,” Sarah pointed out, gesturing towards Banjo as the teen walked away from the main group and over toward Lucille.
“Think any of them will step forward for the Team Swap tomorrow morning?” She asked, referring to the tradition where teams of the same program met before the Trials to allow students one opportunity to switch teams. While discouraged, it had been a long-standing tradition to ensure students were given the best opportunity to create a friendly environment for themselves since there were instances where people simply didn’t fit in with their team.
“I’d wager Cassander over there might volunteer. Hard to say about the rest, Banjo is the wild card of the bunch.” Tad commented, nodding his head towards the teen in mention with his chin. Jessica and Tad both turned to watch as Banjo broke away from the main group, brow furrowed and headed towards Luce. Tad had a sinking feeling in his stomach as he watched Banjo move directly toward the girl standing by herself.
Suddenly Luce turned away from the approaching teen, hand over her mouth before she stumbled away from the approaching teen. Tad knew exactly what was going to happen next before the retching sound echoed across the campsite. Grabbing a cold bottle of water from the nearby cooler and a wet cloth, Tad and Jessica rushed over to Luce.
"Hey, hey, it's alright." Jessica started kneeling down beside the Blackjack member, "Hi, I'm Jessica Friend, like Tad I'm a student rep, just for a different team. Can I help you to your feet?" She asked, extending a hand to Luce while Tad looked around for Banjo.
"Andr-" He started, catching himself, "Banjo, can you and-" Tad scanned the rest of the team, noting Calliope heading towards Banjo. "Banjo, can you and Calliope get the rest of the team around the fire? The food is all set there. There are three kinds of kebabs, let Makenna know one is chicken, and one is veggie. The one with the red peppers is beef though. Make sure you tell her, she specifically requested no red meat."
"Shut up, Tad! Don't tell me how to live my life, we all know you got entrusted with the food so we wouldn't have to deal with you!" Banjo yelled back. "So, uh... anyway... you want, we should go get everyone in for food, Calli'..?"
"Umm....yeah okay. You want to talk about it or..?" Calliope asked from behind Banjo.
"No." He replied, "I'm fine." Banjo added, prompting Tad to roll his eyes before turning his attention back to Luce.
At Jessica's offer, the younger girl quietly nodded her consent before Jessica took Luce's hand and helped her back to her feet. Graciously accepting the water bottle, she quickly rinsed her mouth out before the three made their way back toward the fire. Helping Luce down, Tad handed her a second bottle of water to be safe before turning back to the group just as Jim arrived.
"Good timing,"
"Sure ain't," Jim retorted, his expression told Tad it was best to leave it at that.
"Jess, I think you should be gettin' back to your own team," Jim ordered as Jessica sheepishly beat her retreat. Looking around before sticking two fingers in his mouth, Jim silenced the Blackjack campsite, whistling sharply, either oblivious or unsympathetic to Luce's current state.
"A'ight, listen up!" Jim yelled, as the team slowly gathered around.
"Tad here did an excellent job putting together a meal, and I want to give him some respect. Secondly, I want you to give each other some respect, don't think I don't know about your squabblin' while I was gone. Glad you're working things out but let's stop acting like everyone here is out to undermine the other. Thirdly,"
Jim paused, finally sitting down as he served a helping of the potato wedges and a couple of the steak kebabs onto his own plate.
"Tomorrow morning before the Trials, each team in the same program meets for what's known as the Team Swap. You've already met Team 18 who also is going to be completing the H.E.A.T. program, and there's also Team 78 who you might have seen around the Intake House. They were on a different floor and their vehicle came after yours, so if you don't recognize them, it doesn't really matter. Point is, tomorrow morning, if you don't feel like this is your team, if you don't fit in, hell, if you just can't stand me, tomorrow morning is your chance. At the prompt, you can step forward out of the line-up, at which point you'll be traded to either of our competing teams. You get a fresh start to your time here at P.R.C.U. and your former teammates get a wild card going into the Trials."
Jim paused, looking around to make sure he still had everyone paying attention.
"If you still don't like your new team, that's too damn bad and that's on you. You get one chance to make a whole new first impression. There are no takebacks, we ain't into that wishy-washy whiney stuff here."
Jim leaned forward.
"Likewise, if you don't like who gets transferred to the team there's no point in trying to bully them out as you're stuck with them. So I hope you all can muster a bit of a warmer welcome than what you've been given each other."
He sat back up.
"That's all I have for you tonight, eat up, enjoy your food and then I advise you batten down the hatches and head to bet. That storm is going to be a bad one and despite my best interests in your protection, we're staying put." Jim explained.
"If you need anything in the middle of the night, Tad and I will be available. For those that don't know, my Hyperhuman abilities grant me the privilege of projecting a barrier that I intend to use to ward off any stray lightning strikes." He stood, taking his food with him before stepping back from the fire.
"Oh, and that does mean we'll be out here if any of you try anything during the middle of the night. I don't want to wake up to any students tied to the hood of the truck or someone screamin' bloody murder about their missing clothes." He warned, "Get the rest, y'all need it."
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__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ | H.E.L.P. Black Site - Zayas Island
| Several Hours Later...The sound of thunder and the constant plummet of rain drowned out the sounds of any snoring camper or mischievous student lurking in the night. Flashes of lightning periodically illuminated the night sky. Every few seconds the world disappeared into a blinding void of white before the darkness returned, the massive boom of thunder echoing across the Pacific and the Southern Plateau, literally shaking the island.
“Some storm eh?”
From the H.E.L.P. Blacksite, Agents Perry and LeBlanc watched the storm continue to rage above Zayas Island.
“May as well get comfortable, I have a feeling our replacements won’t be making it out in this,”
LeBlanc let out a sigh before leaning back in his chair.
“Don’t suppose you brought a deck of cards or something?”
“Think there’s one around here somewhere.”
Standing up to look in the nearby desk, Agent Perry paused to look out the window, staring up at the sky above. The clouds above Zayas Island seemed to be swirling as though the storm had decided to stop and stay in one spot.
“Hey, Joseph?” Perry asked, “When was the last time you scanned for HZEs?”
“I didn’t,” Agent LeBlanc replied, “It’s the Homecoming Trials, we always suspend the scan leading up to the event because the kids throw off the reading.”
“This don’t look natural.”
“Don’t tell me that Chandler is afraid of a little thunder and lightning.” Joseph teased as he stood to look out the window himself. A blinding flash caused both men to shield their eyes, fire appearing briefly on the nearby foliage before being just as quickly doused by the pounding rain.
Another flash illuminated the night sky, covering all of Zayas in a nearly blinding level of illumination. Lightning shot out rapidly from the dark clouds, striking the ground outside of the bunker and beyond its boundaries. The sudden onslaught extended beyond Zayas, to even the cliffs dotting the Southern Plateau. Trees were downed across both islands and fire attempted to spread from the burning wood.
Above the bunker, three branches of lightning suddenly came together before plummeting downwards, scorching the ground below. A shockwave smashed against the window, the reinforced glass fracturing as both Agents were knocked to the floor.
As the dust settled and the smoke cleared, there stood a sole figure, cloaked from head to toe in a black overcoat, a large hood draped over their head, concealing their face from view. Lightning crackled overhead again, the blue light illuminating a metallic mask beneath the hood. Its vacant, empty eye sockets staring directly at the Agents on the other side of the reinforced glass.
“Call it in!” Perry stammered, “CALL IT IN!”
Time seemed to stand still, the blood in the veins of both agents suddenly turned cold and thick with fear. Seconds felt like hours and all their motor functions seemed to be gone. Scrambling for the radio, Joseph's fingers barely touched it before the world went black.
With a wave of his hand, the hooded figure effortlessly lifted Agent LeBlanc into the air. The adult man rag dolled through the air, the back of his skull colliding with the reinforced concrete ceiling before he plummeted to the ground, laying in a growing pool of his own blood.
Reaching for his weapon, Perry attempted to steady the standard issue sidearm, aiming at the assailant through the reinforced glass. He knew his bullets wouldn’t reach the hooded figure, but he didn’t have any other plan at the moment.
Outside, the hooded figure stood eerily still, the empty eye sockets causing the cold sweat to build and bead on the back of the Agent’s neck. Suddenly the figure cranked his head to the side, Perry’s own following suit as a loud crack echoed through the bunker before being silenced by the sound of his body hitting the floor.
Raising an open hand, the figure closed it into a fist, exploding the barrier that had previously stood between him and the agents. Vanishing into a cloud of black smoke, the figure entered into the bunker, gliding over Perry’s corpse once before becoming corporeal again above LeBlanc’s barely breathing form.
The sound of angry buzzing echoing within the small guard’s office caused the figure to turn, eying the various insects that had braved the weather to see the intruder.
“With all due respect,” The hooded figure spoke, its voice raspy and androgynous as it acknowledged the swarm following them, “Queens rarely make good pawns, I’m not here for you.”
The buzz of their wings almost seemed to turn to an upbeat hum as the insects departed, leaving the figure alone to continue storming the bunker.
“FREEZE!”
Turning towards the door, the hooded figure was met by the rest of the security detail, their weapons drawn, laser sights set on the intruder.
“I thought I dealt with the insects.”
The deafening sound of gunfire exploded in the tight walls and corridor. Bullets clattered to the ground, but not at their intended target, instead, they fell at the feet of the men and women who fired them.
With a twist of the wrist, the fallen bullets rose back into the air, arcing around the figure before moving back toward the agents. Like a hail storm of angry shrapnel, they ripped through armour, skin and bone until the entire security detail fell to the cold ground.
“Excuse me.” The figure hissed, stepping over their bodies as they moved deeper into the facility. Expertly navigating the hallways as though intimately familiar with the bunker’s layout, they passed cell after cell, pausing momentarily by one that was labelled ‘Ripole’ before continuing to their true goal.
“Hello, Miss Miracle.”
Looking up from between her knees, Autumn looked towards the figure before turning towards her cell camera and smiling widely.
And then the feed went dark.
|
| _______________________________ ■ Eat dinner as a team.
■ Contemplate the Team Swap.
■ Get some rest for the Trials. |
1x Thank
