[color=gray][INDENT][INDENT][i]
[color=white]|  A Few Years Earlier |[/color]

Rory rested on the benches in the stadium, watching the Chimeras playing a Hyperball scrimmage match against each other. He was sipping on his hyper-aid, having overdone it earlier in the match. He tried his best to sit up straight, the wooziness of intoxication wearing off. His eyes remained trained on the upper goals, keeping a close eye on the defenders and strikers vying for a spot in the air. He looked down periodically at a set of index cards resting on his lap, sorting through his fellow athletes. He could always copy a flying ability, sure. But training them for a prolonged period was dangerous. And it left him open and vulnerable to those more skilled at flight than he was. The lack of vertical game was going to be a problem, both here and in the ARC.

Rory switched over to his index cards covering some of the first folks he met. Lorcán... Hot Shot. A jet of flame to launch him up could work. He'd have to keep that on the short list. Haven... wings. The body horror of that was enough to send a chill down Rory's spine. She made them look good, but they were not his vibe. She made them look-

Rory's eyes shifted up to look back at the field, to another one of the younger members on the Hyperball team. She cocked back the ball and launched it nearly halfway down the field, and into the clear and open goal. It was an impressive shot, and a remarkable show of muscle. Rory looked back down at his notes. Another one of the folks he met early on... Katja Kruger. Density Manipulation. He looked back to see Katja lift up another teammate in a bear hug during a wave of congratulations, and watched as she tossed the teammate up into the air slightly with ease before catching her again.

[color=04cf3a][i]Wait a second...[/i][/color]

Rory stood up, making his way towards the rest of the team after downing his hyper-aid. He scooped up his index cards, shoving them into his pocket as he jogged towards Katja to catch her before she got back to the locker room. [color=04cf3a]"Kruger! I've got a new play idea... I call it the-"[/color]
[/i][/INDENT][/INDENT][CENTER][COLOR=04cf3a][sup]________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________[/sup][/COLOR][img]https://i.imgur.com/uxnptlQ.jpg[/img] [/CENTER][indent][sub][COLOR=04cf3a][B]Location:[/B][/COLOR] [I]The Matrix - Dundas Island, Pacific Ocean[/I][/sub][sup][right][COLOR=04cf3a][b]Hope in Hell #2.018:[/b][/COLOR] [color=white][I][b]Rocket Man[/b][/I][/color][/right][/sup][/indent][COLOR=04cf3a][SUP][sub]____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________[/sub][/SUP][/COLOR][INDENT][sub][color=04cf3a][B]Interaction(s):[/B][/COLOR] [I]Haven - [@Skai], Katja - [@Zoldyck], Doppelgangers - [@Lord Wraith][/I][/sub][SUP][RIGHT][COLOR=2c2c2c][b]Previously:[/b][/COLOR] [color=2c2c2c][url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5528330][I]I Want to Run and Hide[/I][/url][/color][/right][/SUP]

[INDENT] 

As soon as the lights turned off, and Haven’s hand squeezed his with every ounce of strength she seemed to have, the absolute gravity of the situation dawned on him. In his defense… alternate versions of themselves as opponents? It felt like something that Blackjack would do: pit new Pacific Royal students against a simulation of senior hotshots. It was safer to assume Haven, Calli, and Amma were overreacting. It was becoming clear that this wasn’t the plan. This wasn’t the simulation that was programmed by Pacific Royal. The specific implications were lost on him, but he took the moment to squeeze Haven’s hand back. As his environment changed, Rory instinctively tried to take a step forward. The unexpected resistance from the tar-like substance drew his eyes down. The walls, the ceiling… everything on initial view screamed action set-piece.

[color=#c7500c]“Hey, [i]bro[/i].”[/color]

Rory raised his gaze up towards the metal-grated ceiling, eyeing a pair of boots. He could see, faintly, the mop of orange hair and practically glowing eyes peering out from the dark figure. Rory’s mind raced at a million miles a second. How did Lorcán get all the way up there so quick? And where was everyone else?

[color=#c7500c]“[b]Run[/b].”[/color]

The jet flames, the sudden heat, everything… it was enough to kick Rory into full gear. He eyed the grates above, the dark corridor in front of them, and then looked towards Haven and Katja. There wasn’t a lot of vertical space… and he knew they weren’t going to be able to run faster than the flames. Split second, though, Rory saw Katja’s eyes meet his. The grin on her face told him enough. Vertical was the way to go… and there was only one way Rory was getting up there. His gaze then shifted to Haven, who had a death grip on his hand. His words had a surprising confidence to them, a decisiveness reserved only for when he was on the field. Simulations would have to qualify for now. [color=04cf3a]”I’ll make a path… follow me up.”[/color]

Rory quickly pulled his hand away from Haven. He took a step next to Katja, immediately squatted and lifted his arms to protect his head.

Katja looked over at Haven for a second as Rory got into position. [color=#FF7514]“Don’t worry about it Valkie, he’ll be fine. As will I. I’ll scale the walls to come after you guys. All you’ve gotta do is stay close to him and back him up, no matter what happens. But I think you’ve got that sorted already.”[/color] She gave a playful wink before finally turning to the pressing matter at hand.

Katja reached down to grab Rory by the collar of his A.R. suit. Picking him up with ease, as he felt about as heavy to her as a Hyperball would for an ordinary person. Katja then steadied herself as she stretched her free arm out in front of her, using her hand to estimate the distance between herself and the [i]endzone[/i]. That being the exact spot anti-Lorcán’s boots were located on the overpass above. 

Closing her fist as if to mark her target, Katja pulled her free arm down to generate just that extra bit of momentum for the one that held Rory as she used all the strength she deemed necessary to get him where he needed to go without risking him going into any of the dangerous machinery above. [color=#FF7514]“Now!”[/color] She barked out as she executed the move that she and Rory had rehearsed so many times, tossing him up in the air with a throw that would’ve been the envy of many quarterbacks.

The surge always felt… unnatural. Warm. Alien. He could practically feel the space between muscle fibers knotting themselves together. He felt the weight of gravity pulling on him more than usual second by second. On the outside, he didn’t appear much different. Especially not as he had left Katja’s grip and hurdled through the air like a missile. Internally, despite the horror of the situation, there was a rush. The adrenaline that coursed through his system was a byproduct of his power. As much as he hated the aftermath, the endorphins made using his powers was intoxicating in its own ways.

[color=04cf3a][i]Harder.[/i][/color]

He kept his muscles straining, tightening the bonds between the muscles in his arms and shoulders and neck as he rocketed up towards the grate ceiling where the anti-Lorcán stood. As soon as he felt hard contact against his back, Rory lifted his head and spread out his arms. The metal grating barely stood a chance against the human cannonball. The section bent and broke, metal cracking and snapping against Rory’s upper back and arms.

The boots flew off of the grating before they suspended in mid air, hanging by a silk string as the figure who had once represented Lorcán now hung upside down angrily eying Rory.

[COLOR=ffc725]"I thought you were taking me to the dance."[/color] She hissed venomously, firing webbing towards Rory in an effort to stick him to the ground.

[COLOR=ffc725]"But no, that feathered floozy got to you first."[/color] Her tone was split between malice and sobbing as Mei swung herself up to the ceiling and stuck there. 

[COLOR=ffc725]"I thought you were one of the good ones, decent and honorable. A man of his words, but no, you're like all the rest. Just another dick that thinks with the small head between his shriveled up balls."[/color]

Rory’s heart sank as the words cut deep into his chest. He recognized her voice instantly. As he had rocketed through the grating at an angle, he ducked his shoulder into a roll and slid out of the way of Mei’s first web attack. His eyes shifted between the hanging Lorcán and the swinging Mei. His heart raced in his chest as he kept himself low to the ground, ready to spring forward at the next volley of attacks. His voice was loud, and his gaze harsh at his targets. They wanted to provoke him, and get him to slip up. He couldn’t resist talking back, just a little. Distraction worked on people… maybe it would work on the sim too. [color=04cf3a]”You don’t have to be mean just because you were too late with your moves, man… the real Mei would have hit that shot.”[/color]

[COLOR=ffc725]“Of course I have to be mean, it’s the only thing that penetrates your thick skull, unlike Haven who is penetrated by anything that moves. Do you really think what you have is real? Wasn't it all a little too easy? Think, Rory! Think! She probably brings someone new home to roost each night. You were just easy, you were convenient. She doesn't actually care about you. You were today's worm and tomorrow she’ll fly away the second things get hard. Haven already has her bags packed in case she doesn't like how things go with the Foundation. Four years here means nothing to her, she’s always had one wing out the door, ready to run.”[/color]

That... that couldn't be true.

Rory's heart dropped, as he remained ready to pounce in a direction the second Mei made a move. He stared her down, his body language screaming that he was ready. A fist remained clenched, knees bent and one hand touching the grates. But the slightly agape mouth and wide eyes were enough of a sign that the words had gotten to him. He hated that it knew... and he wished he could just shove it down. But in that momentary instant, he couldn't help but feel it was true.

But it didn't matter if it was true or not.

Rory's mouth closed, he grit his teeth, and he never let his eyes leave Mei for a moment in the brief staredown. He would ask Haven about it later... but until then, no matter what, they had to live to talk about it.

[/INDENT][/INDENT][/color]