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[sup]________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________[/sup][/COLOR][img]https://i.imgur.com/m0wKyfZ.png[/img][/CENTER][indent][sub][COLOR=silver][B]Location:[/B][/COLOR] [I]H.E.L.P.'s Black Site[/I] - [I]Zayas Island, Pacific Ocean[/I][/sub][sup][right][COLOR=silver][b]Hope In Hell #2.048:[/b][/COLOR] [I]Tick Tick Boom[/I][/right][/sup][/indent][COLOR=dimgray][SUP][sub]____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________[/sub][/SUP][/COLOR][INDENT][sub][color=silver][B]Interaction(s):[/B][/COLOR] [I]None[/I][/sub][SUP][RIGHT][COLOR=silver][b]Previously:[/b][/COLOR] [I]Monkey Wrench[/I][/right][/SUP]
[INDENT][color=#ffffff]“Do you have any idea what it’s like cleaning up after these kids that treat you like you’re invisible?”[/color] 

The Harbinger continued to rant from the balcony above while Jim and his allies defended themselves against Hyperion’s Children.

[color=#ffffff]“I nearly got frostbite after the senator’s daughter blew up a sink in the bathroom. And what thanks do I get for fixing that? She just left the sink exploded to thaw out and flood the place without telling anyone. And did you or any of the rest of the faculty even ask her about it?”[/color] He screeched,  [color=#ffffff]“NO! Because she’s part of your precious little Blackjack.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“So you thought trapping them in the Trial would show them the error of their ways?”[/color] Jim retorted, grappling an attacking student and wrapping his mechanical arm around their neck before putting the cloaked figure into a firm sleeper hold. 

[color=#ffffff]“No,”[/color] The Harbinger replied smugly, [color=#ffffff]“I thought it would break them, leave their minds nearly catatonic so that you’d have a mess on your hands to clean up and have no one take responsibility.”[/color] He turned towards Torres, still hiding his face under the mask he wore.

[color=#ffffff]“And if I managed to frame the Foundation and its transfer student in the process then so be it. I do have to wonder why the late Chancellor, or rather Hyperion, took such a vested interest in Amma?”[/color] The Harbinger purred.

[color=#ffffff]“Did no one else find that interesting? Oh trust me, as a janitor I was a fly on the wall, privy to all sorts of private conversations. When no one sees you, they are their truest selves in front of you.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“Whether Amma Cahors was transferred here by Kowalski or not, it doesn’t matter now,” [/color]Torres retorted,[color=#ffffff] “She’s now a member of this student body and far safer here than she was with the Foundation.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“Is she though?”[/color] The Harbinger taunted, [color=#ffffff]“One of mine has gone missing, where is Robert Arkwight, Miss Torres? Don’t ‘sub-class’ Hyperhumans have a tendency to go missing with the Foundation?”[/color]

Jim watched as Torres turned three shades lighter, it was the first time she had shown fear. 

[color=#ffffff]“I assure you, I had nothing to do with that.”[/color] She replied before Jim turned to her.

[color=#ffffff]“Are y’all as sick of listening to this blowhard as I am? Mind tossin’ me up there?”[/color] He asked Torres whose stern expression seemed to crack a smile if only for a split second.

[color=#ffffff]“It would be my pleasure.”[/color] Torres replied telekinetically vaulted Jim into the air. Behind them, Tad, Jessica and Miranda were doing their best against several other members of the splinter house. 

[color=#ffffff]"The winds are blowing."[/color] Tad blurted out, throwing his hands up as the Orcinus members stopped dead in his tracks. Miranda and Jess both paused, turning to look at Tad.

[color=#ffffff]“Wait,”[/color] A voice came from under one of the hoods, [color=#ffffff]“You’re one of us? Sorry, I had no idea-”[/color] A fist smashed into the robed figure’s face crumbling him over as Tad stood over him, shaking his now throbbing hand.

[color=#ffffff]“Hey, not cool,”[/color] Came a reply from another hooded figure, [color=#ffffff]“You didn’t have to do that, we don’t hit our own.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“Nope, not one of you”[/color] He snapped, decking the other speaker as his hand adapted to the pain and force. 

[color=#ffffff]“Just testing a theory.”[/color] His facial experience steeled as he turned to Jess and Miranda while resuming the struggle with the remaining members of House Orcinus.

[color=#ffffff]“We need to get Blackjack out now!”[/color] He yelled,[color=#ffffff] “I think Mike might have one more card up his sleeve to play even if we get the Trial turned off.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“Which is exactly why Mr. Tableau here is going to tell us how to turn it off.”[/color] Jim growled, his mechanical arm lifting the quivering man in front of him. Behind them, Naira was imprisoned in a purple case of psionic energy while the rest of the House Orcinus members knelt on the ground with their hands raised above their heads. 

[color=#ffffff]“Y-you should be shaking in your boots, not me!” [/color]The Harbinger snapped before Jim removed his mask and any remaining bravado. Under his hood was an active neural link, the LEDs illuminated indicating it was connected.

[color=#ffffff]“Sorry, I choose my friends a whole lot better than y’all do, Miranda’s been keepin’ everyone’s minds guarded from your abilities the minute we walked in here.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“Telepath.”[/color] Mike sneered, [color=#ffffff]“But even you were blind to me.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“I won’t make that mistake twice,”[/color] Miranda replied coolly, her eyes fixing on Michael. [color=#ffffff]“Amazing,”[/color] Miranda muttered, a hand rising to her temple as her voice quivered slightly. [color=#ffffff]“Someone taught you how to resist me,”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“Looks like he’s plugged in,”[/color] Jim stated, turning Michael around to show the others, [color=#ffffff]“I’ll get the techs to take a look at it, see if they can’t use this uplink to end the entire simulation.”[/color]

Putting Michael down on the ground, Jim moved his hand to his belt looking for the restraints he had brought from the crashed Manticore. 

[color=#ffffff]“Long Live Hyperion.”[/color] Micheal suddenly shouted, breaking free from Jim before throwing his robe open to reveal a bomb strapped to his chest. 

[color=#ffffff]“Jim!”[/color] Miranda cried as Torres quickly pushed her and Jessica out of the way before reaching for the Chancellor. In the chaos, no one noticed Tad tackle Michael to the ground. The pair of men sliding along the catwalk while Jim was pulled into the air.

And then, the bomb went off.[/indent][/indent][/color]