DISCLAIMER:This is a Private RP. New Players are through invite only. Thank you ~Lord Wraith

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| THE MAVERICKS |
~Valiant Heroics~

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/ˈmævəɹɪk/
One who does not abide by rules.
One who creates or uses unconventional and/or controversial ideas or practices.
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"A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength
to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles."
- Christopher Reeves

It's kind of funny the stories we tell ourselves just to make it through another bitter day. We give each other hope despite the odds always being stacked against us. We were always taught good would triumph over evil, the plucky hero would topple the evil empire and the knight in shining armour would show up one day to sweep the princess off her feet before riding off to their happily ever after.

But this hope, in many cases at least, is false.

Happy endings seem to be as much of a relic, an artifact long forgotten, as the knights which appear in the stories. Instead of allowing hope to encourage us to new heights, to explore new frontiers and to keep pushing on, we use hope as a shield. It merely protects us as we keep our overwhelming fear at bay. The fear we've allowed to rule over our lives. We work jobs that we hate, and that make us sick because we're too afraid to take a chance on a job that would make us happy but comes with less pay. We constantly settle in our lives, too scared to take a risk or face rejection despite the possible outcome being one of the best moments we could ever have. And when we witness each other coming into harm, we don't try to stop it because we fear harm coming upon us. For this reason, the crooks, thieves, thugs and murderers prey on your fear. They savour it's smell as they feed upon you and where there is fear they are quickly drawn to it. Their kinds spreads faster than any known cancer as they corrupt every system they come up against, wearing it down and bringing it to its knees.

Such is the story of Kilbride, a city that could easily be one of the most beautiful cities in all of America. Instead it lies infested and rotting like a dying man on his prison cot. Helpless to stop the infection as it grows worse every day. The criminals run this city, they have their hands in every pocket, every industry and every home. But change is coming, the winds are shifting, something new has come to town. Their reckoning will soon be upon them. Eventually the people will push back as leaders rise up to guide them. Heroes will come forth to lead the revolution and evil will know what it means to feel fear as they are banished.

For no darkness can exist where the light shines, and the light will soon fall upon the city. Criminals beware, your time is at an end.

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Wednesday July 31, 2035

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The golden rays of light danced across the glimmering water as the sun began its descent atop the Pacific Ocean. The last of the great yellow orb slowly sinking into the sea as long shadows cast themselves over the city of Kilbride.

The dark glass on the tall skyscrapers turned crimson as the light flicked gracefully across its reflective surface, Standing up from his desk, the well dressed man strolled over to the wide window as he looked out over the city below. Nearly twenty two years ago the city would have been an entirely different place past sunset, the streets would have looked as though one was in an different city. Gazing out the window, even from fifteen stories up, the man could see children playing in the streets, where as two decades ago parents wouldn't even think to let their kids out after sunset. The street below would of had prostitutes walking up and down it, their drug dealing pimps keep a watchful eye from the shadows and a coked up hand on a weapon.

Turning around, the man walked back to his desk, a relieved smile crossing his face as he picked a Scotch glass off a nearby table and scooped a couple pieces of ice into it. He sat down as he shook the glass, listening to the ice clink against the crystal prison that held it. Pulling open a small drawer, the man lifted out an aluminum can that gave a carbonated hiss as he opened it. Pouring the cherry enriched cola over the ice, he listened as it fizzed before taking a small sip. Moving his chair in line with his desk, the man put his drink down before moving his mouse to rid his screen of the 'Fitzroy Foundations' screen saver. Sitting there before him was the tantalizing blank page he was supposed to be filling with words.

"How long before the Camaraderie Day festivities start ?" His voice asked to the seemingly empty room.

"Approximately one and a half hours, or did you need that precise Boss?" A perfectly articulated female voice chimed back. Her diction and speech was almost too well put together but still passed as natural.

"No that's accurate enough." He paused taking another sip from his drink. "I can build a submarine, a jet or a tank and yet I can't think of where to begin telling this story."

"Might I suggest the beginning Boss?" The voice came again, a small humanoid female shape appeared on the desk. No taller than nine inches, the holographic image was perfect and flawless as she moved across the wooden surface.

"That's... actually a good idea. The beginning it is then, as I recall it was about a month into senior year. If I recall, the exact date was..."

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Friday October 4, 2013

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Homecoming.

You could say that one might never know what the school year was going to be like until after homecoming. Whether the home team wins, how the dance goes, what the after parties were like. These were all viable factors to set the tone of the rest of the school year. At least that's what Caleb Richard Fitzroy had overheard some of the rich kids saying. Kilbride College Academy Secondary School was in a lot of ways like every other highschool in America. Firstly, it sucked, at least in Cal's not-so-humble as opinion as he found no merit in either their education system or faculty. Secondly, it had cliques, there was the rich kids, the poor kids, the jerk jocks, the goths/emos/scene or whatever they were this decade kids. The sexually liberated kids whether that meant promiscuous or not, Cal had no idea, there was also the preps. Lastly, like any other highschool in America, no one knew where they fit in, Cal certainly didn't and ever since the first week in September had been counting the days till he could graduate and go off to California. Maybe even attend the University of Advanced Sciences in Los Paraíso.

But for the time being, there was the yearbook committee to keep him busy and they wanted pictures.
"Say cheese!" Cal said with a forced smile and sarcasm as he snapped a picture of his friend Bryce Kane stuffing his face with a hotdog.

"Shouldn't you be taking pictures of the game?" Bryce managed to ask as he emptied his mouth of the greasy meat tube made with every animal that wasn't loved enough before it went to the slaughter house.

"Yeah, but I wanted to see what a half chewed hotdog would look like in thirty six point three megapixels." Cal said as he turned the camera around to show Byrce. "Man, I'm so tweeting this at you later. New profile picture, photo creds to Cal."

Bryce laughed as he pushed the camera out of his face as he looked over at the field. "Man I hate this sport, why the big deal about it? Hockey is way more interesting."

"You mean to tell me you're not cheering for our city's beloved Kilbride Wraiths?" Cal replied with a look of mock horror. "I mean I get that, but to like hockey more than football, are you sure you didn't swim across the sound from Canada eh?"

"Don't go in to comedy Cal, unless you want people to laugh at you, then by all means go into comedy."

"Don't you have a hotdog to finish?" Cal asked as he snapped a photo of the game. "Oh look, I think a got a picture of the kicker groping the quarterback's behind. Scandal in the change room!" He added with a smirk.

"Cal, it's football, they slap each other's asses all the time. It's like a twisted high-five." Bryce said dismissively.

"You call that a slap?" Cal retorted as he turned the camera's screen to show the kicker's hand having a full grip on the quarterback's right cheek. "You don't even get that much action on a good night."

"Ouch!" The other teen exclaimed. "Alright enough of that, Veronica Mars or Chloe Sullivan?" Bryce said with a smirk as Cal absently snapped another photo.

"Oh that might actually be a good shot." He muttered before turning to answer Bryce's question. "Easy, Veronica."

"Not worried Logan would come after you?" Bryce said with a cocky grin.

"As opposed to Clark Kent...?" Cal replied as he gave Bryce a look that explained how stupid Bryce's point was in retrospect.

"Oh right... uh, Vicki Vale or Lois Lane?"

"Vicki, Vicki Vale, Vicki Vicki Vale." Cal replied as he did a mock imitation of a DJ with a turn table. "Inara or Saffron?"

Bryce sat thinking for a minute, "Is Saffron going to leave me butt naked in a desert?"

"Only after really good sex!" Cal said as he pumped his arm for emphasis.

"I'll take my chances." Looking around, Bryce suddenly nodded a few bleachers behind Cal. "Alright, Roanna or..." He suddenly looked straight ahead behind Cal as a blonde was making her way towards them. "Samantha! Don't you just love how that name sounds Cal?"

"I hate you." Cal muttered quickly as he caught a snapshot of the Wraiths' touchdown while the crowd began to boastfully cheer. Samantha Ramona Russells had been Cal's crush since their first class together in freshman year. Though had flirted a few times and had been close friends for all of highschool, Cal had never made a real move on her, who knew though perhaps this year would be different.

"That's not an answer!" Bryce yelled over the cheering as he waved a finger at Cal.

"Hey guys!" A familiar female voice rang out in Cal's ears as he turned around to see Sam taking the seat beside him. He could hear Bryce stiffing a chuckle behind him as Cal's ear began to feel a little warmer. "What'cha talking about?"

Cal smiled before muttering to himself, "Vicki, Vicki Vale." Looking up at Sam, he gave her a quick smile. "How about a pose cheering on the Wraiths for the school yearbook?"

"Sure!" Sam said as she smiled and winked at the camera as Cal snapped the picture.

"One for your personal collection Cal?" Bryce whispered behind him before being silenced by a quick elbow.

"You going to the dance later Sam?" Cal asked.

Pushing her a few golden strands of hair behind her ear, Sam smiled. "I'm not sure yet, are you guys going?"

"I am," Bryce chimed in. "Don't know about the ol' stick in the mud here."

"Come on Cal!" Sam said giving him a poke. "It'll be fun!"

"Save me a dance and we'll negotiate." Cal said with a smirk.

"Pick me up at six and you can have as many dances as you want." Sam said with a wink, "I'm going to get some popcorn. You guys want any?"

Cal's jaw dropped as Bryce nearly doubled over laughing. "I'll take some popcorn, I think Cal might need something to help ward off the shock."

Giving his head a shake, Cal suddenly couldn't help but think this might actually be a very good year.

Homecoming day was finally at hand, and Roanna couldn't have really cared less. She wasn't so much into school spirit as some of the other students were, nor did she really care too much about the school's football team and it's rivalry. And yet here she was, sitting in the cold metal stands at the homecoming game bundled up in a puffy white coat and hands shoved as far into the pockets as possible in hopes to keep them warm. As a design flaw, in Roanna's opinion, the coat had no hood so she had a generic black beenie over the top of her head and over her ears, practically covering all of her short brown hair and with her chin burried in the top of the coat, all that could really be seen of the sixteen year old was her soft brown eyes.She should have probably been watching the game more intently, but football was one of those sports she just couldn't follow, not to mention she was sitting with three of her friends from school who were much too busy talking amongst each other rather than watching the game as well. Roanna was only half listening to the latest story of the head cheerleader getting expelled for arriving to school that day intoxicated, instead her eyes were scanning the stands aimlessly until they found a particular person that made her heart flutter each time she laid eyes on him.

Senior Caleb Fitzroy wasn't sitting too far away from her small group, and he looked just as bored as she was. Cal was that single crush Roanna had since Freshman year and he probably knew it; her friends weren't exactly the most discreet when it came to crushes anytime they were around. Even though he was a year older than her, Roanna tested higher than normal in her academics and thustly was put into advanced classes with the likes of him. It was then that she realized  just how smart he was, and not to mention good looking. She knew she  could probably never date him, from what she knew about his personality they were just too different...but that still didn't keep her from  wondering what kissing on him would be like. Then again there was that new boy Thomas who had been assigned as her Chemistry partner. Roanna had never felt that she was short until she stood next to him. At over six feet the southerner towered over her making her feel considerably dwarfed, and her slight complex about her scrawny frame seemed to scratch at the surface once again. He was remarkably good looking as well, and his accent was just down-right adorable. He should be around here somewhere...

"ROANNA!" Roanna felt a painful jab to her ribs, snapping her out of her thought process in an instant and noticed that her smallest friend, Caitlin, who stood at a tiny 4 feet 9 inches, had been the one that had jabbed her. The small group of friends all laughed at her when her mind finally came back down to earth. "The it's halftime, and now the dance team is taking the field." Caitlin informed her friend.Roanna sat up a little straighter as she looked back to the field and saw that a rather large group of students were indeed taking over as people got up to leave. Despite them all being dressed in matching black under-armor tops, black sweatpants and cheap white Jabbawockee masks, Roanna could immediately pick out her best friend Stephanie who was towards the front. She had to laugh a bit, sure the school had cheerleaders in their skimpy little outfits, but they just looked like elementary students in comparison to talent when the dance team started their routine.

"I'll be right back." Roanna said getting up from the stands and waved to her small group of friends as she headed towards the football field. It was quite the effort on her part; weaving through mass amounts of students hurrying to the concession stands or bathroom. By the time she got to the edge of the field the dance team had finished their routine and was filing off the field."Steph!" Roanna called out after spotting the blonde. Stephanie met up with Roanna quickly and took off the white plastic mask, handing it to Roanna to hold for her. Things had been a bit different between the two friends as of late. After last years yearbook incident lots of harmful things were said, secrets were spilled and an eight year-old friendship was nearly over. But Roanna refused to give up that easily, she would never give up on Stephanie. The two made small-talk as they casually walked around the campus, not feeling so much to join their friends back up in the stands.

"You still don't have a date for the dance tonight?" Stephanie asked, practically in shock. "I can give you one of mine." She offered. Roanna just shook her head.

"I don't have a date because I don't want one, you know I have two left feet." Roanna replied and to change the subject, she snapped the white jabbowocky mask on her face and did a half-assed attempt at the dance routine that Stephanie had done on the field, and it was just plain awful. The blonde burst out into laughter.

"Okay okay, I get your point. Your horrible." Stephanie giggled.

Thomas Campbell. New to the school, new to the city. But still the same old life. He still went to school, and even if the school was different, it was still the same. People still acted the same. He could see resemblances to people in his old school here. There were the preps, the goths ,the emos, the jocks, and sexually liberal, the preps and the junkies. It was nothing he didn't already know. Most of the subjects were boring. They didn't appeal to the boy very much. Sure, he still studied, a lot, and he aced every test. He always smiled, because he was happy to be here. He was content with life. Even if this part of his life was.. Dull, at best.

And there he was, at the end of the day at the football game. Sitting alone with his earbuds in. He didn't mind it. He didn't enjoy letting people get close to him. Because if they would, they would probably figure him out, and he didn't want any of that. He wanted to keep his lives separate. This wasn't Texas anymore. And since then, he had gotten more careful around people. Sure, he had been around the school since the start of September, and everyone weren't dicks. But it wasn't home. He wished he could've stayed home, with mom and Jason, well, of course, Jason were in Juvie, and Thomas's friends were gone. Micheal, Zach and Hanna were all gone. They had all gotten busted, saving Thomas's behind.

He didn't like feeling the way he did today. He felt so.. Melodramatic. And it was annoying. Thomas scoffed at the players on the field, football was a fun sport, and all. And he didn't appreciate the fact that he couldn't participate. Partly because he'd hurt someone on accident if he would play, and partly because it was too risky. Bursting out wings in the middle of a match wouldn't be too great. Not to mention having people ask him about the scars that never seemed to fade on his back, but only got worse once every week.

Thomas kicked into a ACDC song on his phone, as he decided to move up from his seat. He looked around, and saw the face of Roanna, his lab-partner in Chemistry, and one of the few people in the school he enjoyed getting along with. Of course, Thomas got along with just about anyone, he got along with the emos, the nerds, the preps and most of the jocks. He stood up against the bullies, and he taught people how to stand their ground. Many did like him, and Thomas did enjoy their company, too. But then again, maybe all this thinking was just the lack of action Thomas had been feeling for quite sometime. He needed to get out. He let out a smile and wave at Ro, before heading to the exits. He'd leave the stadium, despite it just being half-time, but he was so bored and he really didn't care how the match would end. Homecoming was gonna happen tonight, and Thomas needed to go get changed. He didn't have a date, even if there had been several of the girls, and even one or two of the guys whom had asked him to be their date. He had kindly given them a "I'll think about it". He was actually unsure if he'd even go to the dance.. He had better things to do, he thought.

But he remembered that the number one rule was to not draw attention to yourself. People can't suspect a thing. Hiding in plain sight is how he'd keep himself safe.He shrugged. "Come on' Campbell. Cheer up." He thought to himself. He fiddled with his phone, and changed the tune to something more cheerful. Bowling For Soup, a group from Thomas's home state's music came up on the phone. Thomas would head out and get into his car, the blue Ford Pickup Truck, it wasn't fancy, and it was pretty old, but it was in good quality.

The Texan drove home to his apartment, It was a 25 minute drive from school. Thomas was driving as usual, but he saw something odd at the side of the road up ahead. " What's going on?"
Thomas thought as he slowed the truck down, and parked on the side of the road, a good 20 meters from the situation. A guy was being held by another one, while a third one was punching the young man, probably about thomas's age. 5'7, black short hair, red-hoodie on his body, torn jeans.

Thomas walked towards them, causiosly, he could hear them talking now, shouting something like "You like that, huh? Fucking bastard" from the guy whom was punching. The guy being punched grunting and trying to break out of their grip. "Who sent ya?!" The guy punching said, Thomas now began walking rapidly towards the guy, Thomas dug into his pocket getting out the brown leather-mask he always carried on him, just in case. The guy drew a knife, and was about to stab the boy in the hoodie with it. The man with the blade drew the blade backwards. "Fine, I'll slice ya' up then, conjo!" The thug said as he tried to bring the knife down at the boy, only to feel a grip around his wrist. Thomas janked the guy's wrist to the side, as he punched him in the face, still holding the thug by the wrist. His partner was now distracted ,so the guy in the hoodie elbowed the second thug, hit him in the croch, and then kicked his knee in, before punching the thug out cold. The boy ran away before Thomas could even react.

Thomas had a steady grip around the thug's throat, stopping him from breathing untill he'd pass out. Thomas would then go back to the car and get zip-ties and tied the two thugs up. He'd call the cops on his way back to the apartment.

Some 15 minutes later, he'd arrive. Now he felt better. He couldn't explain it, but something about the adrenaline surging through his veins just.. Cheered him up. It was strange. "Maybe I should take up boxing." He said to himself as he opened the entrance to the

He walked up the stairs
and got into his apartment. He took off his jacket. And his shirt, hanging up the jacket and folding the shirt in his hand, he walked into the bathroom, kicking off his shoes in the hall on the way. He tossed the clothes he had been wearing into the "dirty laundry" bin. He had laundry day on Thursdays.

He'd get undressed and into the shower, coming out five minutes later, drying himself off with the towel, he headed into his bedroom, where he'd get dressed. He had actually bought new clothes he for these kind of things.

He put on a white cotton shirt, folding the sleeves of the shirt up to his elbows. He considered putting on the jacket, but he shrugged that thought off. The suit jacket wasn't very comfortable, or warm. The young man put the black leather belt to his waist, and then headed into the bathroom. He applied deodarant and a little cologne he had been given by his friends back in Texas "In case he had to impress someone". The bottle hadn't been opened till now.

He sprayed little on each wrist, and then rubbed his wrists around his neck, since that's how he had seen others do it. He thought about shaving, by he had nothing more but a four o'clock shadow, anyway.

Thomas got out of the bathroom and looked around. "Sigh. I still have like an hour and a half to go. You need friends, Campbell!" He said, with a chuckle, deciding to watch TV, there was an American Dad Marathon on one of the TV-Channels.

From the rooftop, Cassie had a pretty good view of the school playing field. Some kind of football game, maybe a friendly between the school team so that moods weren't spoiled for the dance later - she'd seen the flyers around the school buildings, there wasn't a soul in Kilbride who didn't, whether they were driving, running, fleeing past - but maybe it was more important. Maybe the students were on the bleachers to cheer on their team, some for their boyfriends, some because they liked the game and the sun, some because they had nothing better to do. Cassie certainly had nothing better to do. Her burner phone - a cheap piece of shitty plastic that Locke replaced weekly, the model disappearing from wherever she'd left it before going comatose and a new one appearing on her kitchen counter, fully charged, and screen lit up with a single message. Always the same. 'Your sister loves you very much.' Roman Locke was a bastard. Cassie spat, and stood up. The game was winding down anyway.

Her wrist tweaked as she pushed herself up, fingers gripping the corner of the brick edging around the building's outline. She absentmindedly tapped it, and then held two fingers over it, a habit she'd picked up and continued unconciously since the day she got the tattoo that rested there. An imperialist eagle design, overlaid with a simple graphic of a Trojan helmet, bold and blunt in black and gray ink. Locke had sent one of his strongmen with her - a convincing actor - posing as her...father? 'Legal guardian' came to mind, but it had been father. She never thought of her parents anymore. She only thought of Jo, and whatever name popped up on the screen of the burner phone.
It wasn't difficult getting down from the building, although it had gotten dark since she'd pulled the access door open and kicked the breezeblock she'd used to prop it open aside, making her way down the stairs through the guts of the office block. Most of the building was empty, ceiling fans whirling down and a few lights clicking on on some floors where motion-sensors had been installed. Cassie flurried past them all, moving blindingly fast. It wasn't that she didn't like buildings - it was just that since Locke 'hired' her, she came to trust them less and less. To say nothing of their inhabitants.

The tattoo was the real wake-up call. She's heard of Locke before her encounter, of course she had, fucking everyone had, you didn't live in Kilbride and not know about Roman Locke, and Damian Locke, and the secret empire only talked about in hushed whispers and the rustling of loose notes exchanging palms. Money for information? Money so you wouldn't be killed for talking about it. But even if you didn't know about the syndicate, even if you didn't suspect the pigs had their trotters knee-deep in their own bacon fat, even if you didn't see every building as a looming grave, waiting ever so eagerly to carve your name onto its headstone - even if you didn't, you knew about Locke's casinos. Because someone you knew, and everyone you didn't, would have lost their money there. And then they'd have a story about how tightly Kilbride held on to your money.

Cassie exited the building, an automated rotating door spinning up as she approached. She felt like it was an apt representation of her life the past few months. Things just...letting her through. And if they didn't the first time, amber eyes looking up at them with a raw ferocity from behind shock-white hair, then they did when she pulled her sleeve back and almost thrust her wrist at their face. The naive might thing she just fancied herself charmed at the slots, Locke Casino logo on her wrist. But the clued-in would know it was her all-access pass. The clued-in would knew who she worked for. The clued-in would know not to ask what it was she did for the man.

As if on cue. Her thoughts and ruminations were interrupted by a rumbling from her pocket, and as she fished the burner from her shorts, she shivered as the cool evening air hit her. She bore a long, thick scarf, and her jacket was decievingly warm - but her leggings were torn up, and rather than pants, she'd chosen shorts for the aesthetic. Like what she looked like was even close to her top priority. She didn't need to stick out, not in this town. She was plenty safe. Sort of.

'Marco X. Del Fierro peddler. Dock Warehouse 12-A, 00:34. Gasoline tank through skylight.'

And that was it. Cassie's evening decided. Like she had other plans, anyone to make other plans with. Other than Jo, but even Jo was distant these days. It was Cassie's own fault, deliberately holding back, keeping secrets, doing anything not to let Jo know about the arrangements they had fallen into. All Jo knew was they were in the care of a wealthy benefactor who worked in meta-human research, putting together an initial theorem that wold propel him to the top of the scientific world almost instantaneously. Cassie hadn't meant to layer on all the detail - even the stupid fucking fake name, 'Dr. Sorquez', married, no children, wife equally brilliant. It had just tumbled out in an attempt to convince her little sister, something in her mind telling her that over-lying was always more successful that under-lying. Whether that something was right or wrong, it had worked. Or Jo had cottoned on and knew not to press for the truth for fear of what it was. Jo always had been clever.

I guess that's that then. Time to head home and gear up. She looked at her watch. Thirteen minutes past Three in the afternoon. She had plenty of time.

IllAdvised

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Friday October 4, 2013

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Still reeling in the shock of Sam going to the dance with him, Cal didn't notice the dance team and their half time show until it was almost over. Quickly recovering as he tore his eyes away from Sam, he quickly snapped a couple shots of the dance team and their snazzy white masks.

"Those masks are kind of creepy. I have to wonder though, how much peripheral vision they have in those things? Like if your buddy beside you missteps do you truly see it?" Cal paused as he looked over to Bryce who was clearly more interested in paying attention to something else. "You don't even know which one of them is Steph, you're clearly just drooling over all of them." Cal quipped with a slight elbow to his friend's ribs.

"Don't need to know which one is Steph, I like figuring it out. See by watching the movement of their 'Come Hither' hips and the supple shape of their assets, I can determine which one is the beautiful lady I so seek." Bryce said adopting a brutal English accent.

"You couldn't deduce which one Steph was if she was grinding on your lap with that mask on. Besides, how are you ever going to have a chance with her when the only thing you've ever said to her was 'Hey' all sultry before freezing up and just staring awkwardly."

"You promised not to mention that again!" Bryce shot back with a quick punch to Cal's upper arm. "It was an off day for me! Even Batman has them man."

"Whatever," Cal mumbled as he rubbed his arm before turning his head to where the girl was now standing talking to another familiar face. "Look their number ended and she's down there talking with Roanna. Why don't you go offer to get her a drink or something, I'm sure she's parched after dancing."

"Maybe I will!" Bryce retorted with a grin as he stood up. Taking a deep breath, he stuck his thumb in his mouth as he pumped out his chest and flexed his arms. Bryce wasn't exactly a scrawny nerd, he was more broad than Cal but he wasn't an athlete either. That said no one would mistake him for being overweight. What Bryce appeared to be was a lot of potential for a boxer like build, he just loved Doritos and video games too much to bother attempting it. Jumping down a few bleachers, Bryce made a beeline for the gridiron. Looking around the stadium, Cal examined the faces of the other students and even members of the community that were gathered there today. Snapping a few pictures, Cal noticed that the new kid, Thomas Campbell was it, was leaving the stadium. Apparently he didn't care for the game or didn't have much interest in it. Looking down at his camera, he scrolled back through the pictures noting how even the roof tops in the background seemed to draw some focus to themselves. Not enough to distract from the focal point of his pictures but enough to say 'Hey we're here, look at us.' Pausing on one particular picture, Cal zoomed in only to be surprised by the discovery of a person standing on the roof. In subsequent shots she was suddenly gone. Though intrigued, Cal's thoughts immediately brought elsewhere as he remembered Bryce had gone to talk to Steph. Smiling, Cal looked down towards where Bryce should be before catching sight of a familiar golden head. Across the pathway, Cal spotted Sam as she made her way back to where he and previously Bryce had been standing. Smiling, Cal knew Sam thought she got along with Roanna and Steph, or at the very least they were amicable acquaintances, however Cal had a feeling that Roanna especially harbored some sort of ill feelings towards Sam. It was likely that Steph reflected these feelings in support of her friend which could make things interesting. Holding up his camera, Cal played around with the zoom as he snapped a picture of Sam before watching Bryce run towards Steph.

Hopping off the bleachers, Bryce landed on the ground with about as much grace as an elephant. Staggering as he took a step forward, he smiled smugly at Sam as she rolled her eyes with a laugh, like Cal she knew of Bryce's crush on the younger girl and his previous failed attempts to 'woo' her. Pausing to catch his breath before he spoke, Bryce gave a quick wave to the pair of girls as Sam walked by.

"Don't let this one fool you ladies, he thinks he's as sly as fox, but really he's just a teddy bear." Sam remarked with a wink as she jabbed Bryce on the way by. "Oh and Steph, I really liked your latest piece! Ms. McCalister had it put up outside the art room, the emotion in it was amazing and I loved your use of color." With a quick wave, Sam continued on her wave. "Hope to see you both at the dance tonight!"

Bryce forced a grin as Sam antagonized him before he turned to Roanna and Steph to address them himself. "Hey guys, err umm gals? I mean, umm" He paused before attempting to recover himself. "Hey, sup?" Bryce could feel his ears going red and out of the corner of his eye he could tell that Cal was definitely laughing at him from up on the bleachers.

"Anyways, I came over here to ask Steph, not that I don't like talking to you Ro, I mean you're always a good conversationalist in math. But umm, Steph has anyone asked you..." Suddenly he froze up, his mind going blank. Steph was looking at him while he searched for the words. "Has anyone ever asked you if that's your natural hair color?" Idiot Bryce muttered inwardly. "Not that I don't doubt the carpet..." Hardwood "I mean that's not what I meant..." Shaking his head, Bryce finally spit out the words he was looking for. Kind of... "I mean, has anyone offered to get you a drink, you must be thirsty after all that ass... dancing. After all that dancing." Bryce said with a smile as he tried to recover himself. Please kill me now, meteor strike, spontaneous combustion, stroke? Anything please!

"How's he doing?" Cal looked up to the source of the female voice as Sam sat down beside him.

"I think the Titanic fared better against an iceberg." Cal said with a smirk as he showed Sam a zoomed in picture of Bryce's beet red ears. "I take it you didn't give him any help while you were down there?"

"Nope!" Sam said innocently as she popped a kernel into her mouth with a satisfied crunch. "He could probably do better anyways. Not that I have anything against Steph, I just feel like putting her and Bryce together would be like dropping a Mentos into Diet Coke. Oh on that note," Sam held out a Cherry Coke towards Cal. "I got you something anyways. Figured you must like the stuff since I rarely see you drinking anything else."

"Oh thanks!" Cal said slightly surprised as he scrambled for his wallet. "How much do I owe you?"

"Oh don't worry about it! You're picking me up tonight anyways, so consider it gas money or something." Sam said with a giggle as she tossed another piece of popcorn into her mouth.

"Yes but that doesn't mean you owe me." Cal replied as he held out a couple dollars towards Sam. "You don't take this now and I might be forced to take you out to dinner before the dance."

"Oh my, dinner and dancing! When I can I expect the ring Caleb?" Sam quipped back as she forced a Southern drawl into her speech. "I haven't even introduce you to dear old Daddy yet.

"You know me, I'm old fashioned like that." Cal said with a smile as Sam burst out laughing.

"You old fashioned?" Sam pointed towards the touch screen device strapped to Cal's wrist. "Last I checked you were always ahead of the curve, at least in technology." She paused as she mockingly scanned his outfit. "Fashion meh... Not so much I'm afraid."

"Ouch, that gets me right here." Cal said holding a hand to his chest before Sam suddenly jumped up cheering as the Wraiths scored another touch down. Standing up himself, Cal snapped a couple of rapid shots as he watched Cliff Ryder, the team's quarterback do his little touch down dance. Naturally he had got it in by running the ball, but who could blame him after all; 'No one can catch a Wraith'.

The sound of heavy breathing caught Cal's attention as both he and Sam turned around to a red faced Bryce.
"I need to leave, I can't take this anymore." He said shaking his head. "Lets get out of here, I fear half the football team might come after me for talking to Steph."

"Don't you think you're over reacting a little?" Sam asked with a raised eyebrow as Cal slid his camera away into his bag and walked over to Bryce giving his friend a pat on the back.

"Allow me to humor you, I think I got enough pictures anyways for us to leave. Six tonight then Sam?"

"You got it Pontiac, don't be late, a girl hates to be kept waiting." Sam replied with a wide grin as Bryce stood up with a grin of his own.

"Then how come girls always keep a g..Ooph!" He groaned as Cal delivered a quick elbow to his stomach. Bryce doubled over half wheezing and laughing as Sam rolled her eyes at the two boys.

"Come on Sly," Cal said with a groan as Bryce followed after him while Sam waved goodbye to the two boys.

Walking out to the parking lot with Bryce tagging behind him, Cal looked around the multitude of cars as he searched for his own. His ears twitched as he caught muffled voices and he turned to see a small group of students attempting to be out of sight as they talked under the bleachers.

"Drug deal." Cal muttered as Bryce caught up to him and followed Cal's gaze.

"Aw yeah, they're the new guys in town. I heard from a real stoner friend of mine they bought the stuff on a trip down to California and have been slowly selling it off since they got back. Supposedly they're setting up a deal to travel there every weekend now and get this, they sell it cheaper than the Fierros." Bryce said in a hushed voice as he leaned towards Cal slightly. Turning his gaze slightly, Bryce noticed a van by the ongoing deal shaking back and forth. "Man, someone is a lot luckier than us." Bryce said with a laugh as Cal groaned and pulled out his camera, walking over to the vehicle before setting the flash off rapidly as he put the camera against the various windows. Before he had time to laugh about it with Bryce though, a rough yell caught his attention.

"Ya filthy narcs!" A rough looking teenager had departed from the group and had made a beeline for Cal and Bryce, the others not following too far behind. "Cough over the camera now and no one gets hurt." The three others behind the leader grinned wickedly as they sized up Cal and Bryce.

"We didn't take pictures of you and your posse man!" Bryce said as he stepped forward puffing his chest out. "Why don't you guys go back to your little deal and we'll pretend we didn't..." *CRACK*. Bryce toppled to the ground as the dealer sucker punched him. Cal looked up at the dealer recognizing the man as Luke Bard, resident bully and wannabe gang banger at Kilbride College Academy. Luke wanted nothing more than to drop out of school and join one of the gangs around the city making it quite clear he found them to be the most profitable career in the city. Looking behind Luke, Cal nodded towards Brad Simmons, Luke's personal lackey, the other two with them must have been their prospective customers.

"Oh hey Brad," Cal said with a sarcastic wave before turning to Luke. "Should have known your personal butt monkey wouldn't be far behind. So tell me, when you guys shower after gym, which one of you drops the soap." Luke took a step forward, kicking sand at Bryce as he did so, but Cal continued to mock the larger teen. "I'm willing to bet it's you Luke, I know, I know, you want everyone to believe that it's Brad but it's so clear to me that being dominant in public must be exhausting for you so sometimes it must be nice to be the bi..." Cal groaned as Luke buried his fist into Cal's stomach before pushing Cal backwards onto the ground.

"You think you're so clever Fitzroy, maybe you even think you're funny. But at the end of the day, you're nothing but a little nerd who can't fight his own battles. Where's your cop friend now? Ain't nobody going to save you here, just you and m..." *BTZAP*. The loud crackle of electricity filled the air as Cal brushed himself off. Flicking the tazer in his hand off, Cal looked down at Luke as he flopped around on the pavement like a fish out of water. Looking up at Brad, Cal smiled through a grimace as he pointed to the body.

"If you're lucky, he might vibrate for you tonight." Extending a hand, Cal helped Bryce up as the other teen placed a hand on his aching jaw. "Not a good day for you pal, I'm hoping you get lucky tonight." Looking back, Cal watched Brad picked Luke up only for the latter to push him off and flop to the ground again. Their customers meanwhile stood waiting not really sure what to do.

"Ugh lets just get out of here. I need ice... and pizza." Bryce groaned as he opened the passenger seat door on Cal's Volvo while Cal himself climbed in the driver's seat and started the vehicle. Backing up, Cal pushed the pedal down as they left the school parking lot swerving into the middle of the road to avoid a car that had parked on the edge of the street.

"Why would he park there." Cal muttered as he looked back in his rearview at the driver who was casually staring out the window of the older muscle car. Deciding it wasn't worth his attention at the moment Cal decided to focus on the night ahead and his date with Samantha.

"What about Jordan? He's had a crush on you since middle school." Stephanie said, continuing on their conversation after snatching her white mask back from Roanna.

"Since when? I've never once heard him say that. Face it Steph, the kid is gay even if he doesn't know it yet." Roanna said with a bit of a twitched smile on the corner of her lips earning a light chuckle from the blonde.

"Hey, who said you can't take a gay guy to a dance? At least he won't try to take advantage of you."

This made Roanna shake her head a bit, though she didn't have time to respond to her friend as Sam passed them by. Roanna only heard mush coming out of her mouth as all she could think about was how Cal had a crush on this girl for who knew how long. Maybe Cal just went for the more outgoing type and that's why he never even gave Roanna a second look. Maybe it was the longer hair...or maybe it was because she was more artistic than kinesthetic. Whatever it was, Roanna didn't like it, not that she was ever vocal about it; some things you just keep to yourself. It just wasn't fair. Girls like Stephanie and Sam, although extreme opposites of one another, they always got what they wanted. They were always happy and cheerful where as Roanna always had to scrape whatever happiness she could muster every morning just to get through the day.

"-----when I tried, but still I don't think that it was as good as yours."

Roanna shook her head a bit, catching the very end of Stephanie's remark back to Sam and then waved back enthusiastically to her.

"You know it!" Stephanie answered back, jabbing Roanna subtly in the ribs making Roanna realize that she should probably wave back too. Then, just as soon as she realized that Bryce had come over to talk to Stephanie, she quietly excused herself so that the two could talk alone. Poor kid was nervous enough talking to Stephanie, he didn't need yet another woman staring him down. She at least hoped Stephanie would be nice to him, he wasn't at all Stephanie's type and sometimes she could just be flat-out-rude when she wanted to, but upon looking back to the two of them from the bleachers, she saw Stephanie nod her head yes and walked with Bryce to the concession stand. Figures, Stephanie never said no to anyone if there was something involved like food. God what a mooch.

"Oh my, dinner and dancing! When I can I expect the ring Caleb?"

Roanna felt her stomach sink down into her shoes, she couldn't have just heard that...quickly turning in a fashion that she had hoped didn't cause anyone to notice her odd behavior, she then spotted Sam yet again, but this time she was with Cal, and that sinking feeling in her stomach started to turn sour. So they were going to the dance together tonight then...and dinner. Roanna felt her cheeks flush a bit as her temperature started to rise...even more-so than what was normal for her which was pretty high for a human. She should have expected as such, those two had been friends for years, it was only natural for them to want to be with one another on the most important high-school night until prom. She wanted to be happy for them, at least for their friendship as she was praying to God that's all it was between them for tonight, but jealousy was starting to eat away at her heart, forcing rather quickly a hot liquid to be pressed at the corner of her eyes.

"The hell?" Roanna quickly turned back away from the bleachers and started walking in the opposite direction, rather quickly to avoid being stopped by any of her friends that wanted a quick conversation. She kept walking, it seemed for forever, the noise of the came slowly getting quieter and quieter until all she could hear was the dull roar of the game as she had assumed the second half had just started.

She had walked quite the distance, however, as she now found herself at one of the three of the school's baseball diamonds. Not a single light was to be lit in her immediate area, the only lighting she had was from the moon and stars above and the very far-off distant lights from the school and football field. Perfect, now she was alone. Stuffing her hands into her puffy white jacket pockets, she slowly made her way to one of the dugouts and sat down on the cold wooden bench. Looking out through the gate onto the field she was directly across from the pitchers mound, though recognizable it just didn't feel like a baseball diamond, more of a ghost-like portrayal of what she was feeling inside; empty.

Finally, she gave up trying to hold back her emotions as she had so often done throughout her life and let the three tears that she had been holding back fall down her cheek without even bothering to wipe them away. Things were supposed to get easier this year, but it seemed as if that were the complete opposite of what was going on. It wasn't just Caleb and Samantha that bothered her, it was plenty of other things, mostly her home-life. Roanna's father had been killed nearly a year ago and the changes that had to be made would have rattled anyone her age. She wasn't at all close to her father, he was always the business man, gone what seemed like all the time and the times that he was home, he was always locked in his home office. It was a very strange and rare occurrence when he would join the family in watching t.v. or eating dinner at the table, and when he did he rarely said anything. So it wasn't his death that had her upset, it was the fact that she and her mother were forced to move from a cozy three-bedroom two-bath home near the shopping district where they weren't rich, but they never had to worry about finances all to much, to a 342 square foot studio apartment in the Industrial district where her mother was forced to work three jobs just to make sure they had something to eat and rent was taken care of. Her father, in his will, hadn't left them a cent and instead all of his investments were to go directly to his work.

One whole year in a studio apartment with her mom, and Roanna could deal with that if she didn't have to see the pain and fatigue that her mother was going through just to keep the two of them alive. A morning job delivering newspapers to three different areas in the Industrial district, a day job as a receptionist for a book keeper downtown, and a night job where her mother never talked about with Roanna but she was smart enough to gather that it had something to do with selling her body to sleazy men. Just the thought of the latter broke Roanna's heart, but there wasn't a thing she could do about it.

That was when she decided that she couldn't just sit around at 'home' anymore, she had to do something that she felt was productive and helpful. But being as she was too young at the time to get a job, she took to the streets of the Industrial district, honing her combat skills and helping those that fell victim to the predators of the night. Stephanie had always said that she could become a super-hero, though joking most of the time, but Roanna thought 'why the hell can't I?' and that was when Necia was born, her alias having a Latin meaning of 'fiery', 'intense' and 'passionate'. Everything Roanna was in every sense of the word.

Suddenly, the phone in Roanna's pocket started to vibrate frantically, forcing Roanna to pull it out and answer Stephanie's phone call.

"Where the hell did you go? I've been looking everywhere for you!" Came Stephanie's somewhat worried voice.

"Baseball diamond number 2, I just...wanted to be alone for a while."

There was a pause on the other end, as if Stephanie was already putting together the pieces of what was bothering her best friend.

"Do you want to go? We can go and get a bite to eat before the dance, or I can take you home..."

Roanna nodded, though realizing Stephanie couldn't see her said that would be fine and that she would meet Stephanie at her car.

Finally, when the two friends had met up once more, Stephanie threw her arms around her friend in a hug.

"Hey...you okay?" She asked tenderly, slightly rubbing Roanna's back in comfort.

Roanna answered her friend with a slight nod and a half-fake smile.

"What did Bryce want?"

"To buy me a soda. He's kind of a cute kid...the way he searches for all the wrong words." Stephanie giggled. "But Gage, you know the football player that wasn't able to play tonight's game because of his grades? Well he came up to us and wanted to buy me some nachos, so when I turned back to Bryce he was already gone." She shrugged, as if completely oblivious to the fact that the six-foot-3 second string quarterback probably scared him away. "

C'mon, I'm buying you North Shore." Stephanie said with a wide grin which got Roanna to smile fully.The two climbed into Stephanie's green and tan Jeep Wrangler which had the top connected for the cold months coming ahead. Needless to say, the car-ride was very quiet on the way to their favorite eating joint.

Cassie shivered, but it didn't bother her. It was cold up here, overlooking the dock warehouses, number 12 below her slightly to the right. Initially, she'd thought of moving her set up to the edge of the rooftop, getting a straighter shot, but after an inital scan through the scope of her rifle after the sun had set she saw the skylight that the message had specified. She didn't know why her instructions featured it so clearly, but after tying the location of the skylight, the angle of her shot, and the placement of the gas tank - she'd made a mental note of its position after her afternoon recon of the warehouse before heading home to prepare - she could guess. It was toward her, against the wall facing the rooftop she was on. The other side was sea, no rooftops to take the shot from there. Fuckin' Locke always liked a show. Apparently her targets counted.

She'd have to bounce the damn shot. The shot would go through the glass - despite the lovely open window that someone had left propped open - and glance off a support beam that was conveniently exactly where it needed to be. It was why she hadn't moved over like she thought about earlier - the angle would be wrong. She looked through the scope of her rifle again, but moved down along the wall to the small white chalk-mark she'd made earlier. It was, roughly, the center of the gas tank. She rechecked her shot for the third time. She wouldn't even need to, when the focus came, as long as she knew her target - but still, it afforded some confidence. Or, at least, kept her mind busy. She hated thinking about her targets. She hated what she did. She thought of Jo. She thought of her afternoon.

-

After she'd received the message and descended from the office building, she'd walked leisurely to the docks. It was a fair distance from where she was, but she was used to walking, and the dull aching of her soles didn't bother her. She'd checked out the warehouse, subtly pushing up the sleeves on her arms to show her tattoos when someone looked to approach her. She'd wandered 'innocently' through the warehouses, pausing only slightly at 12-A to scan the layout before stealing away. She left the docks completely, heading to Jo's apartment to spend as much time as she could - Jo talked excitedly about a school dance her 'benefactor' (that was all Locke was to her, and Cassie meant to keep it that way) had somehow afforded her passage to, including a beautiful dress that Locke had allowed her, and a cute boy for a date that Jo had managed quite all by herself. Cassie was jealous, but reminded herself that her life was not that of frilly fashion and handsome men anymore.

After that, she'd bid Jo good luck, and given her the customary kisses and assurance of love, and returned to her own apartment. Cassie still hesitated to call it her home. Once there, she'd taken an hour to herself. A rare luxury, but fuck it, she was paid enough to afford it. It wasn't even eight by the time she was out of the shower, and despite the contrast between Jo's evening - already begun, spiked punch and fumbling male hands aplenty - and Cassie's - still a few hours to go, focused hands and a steady eye - she managed to enjoy herself as she lounged about half-naked, drip-drying because why not, that Locke motherfucker can pay to get the waterstains off the wooden floor.

Come ten, she was ready. Wig in place, contacts in, outfit changed. White was the colour she'd chosen when her disguise was ordered, and she liked it. Everything about Quintain was designed to be as far from Cassie as she could manage. Quintain's bright, conspicious garments to contrast the dull, plain fashion Cassie sported. Quintain's fair, messy hair, to counterpoint Cassie's dark, sheer-cut fashionable bob-like hairdo. Quintain's unnatural shining amber eyes to displace Cassie's low moss-green. It was all carefully constructed to allow Cassie to distance herself, deindividualize Quintain, assume a persona and protect herself from what she was doing. It worked. So far.

Eleven. She was on the rooftop, despite an hour and a half - and four minutes - still between her and the appearance of her hit. Still, she was always early. Settling down, setting up her rifle, leaving to mark the gas tank position on the outside of the wall, coming back. Checking her shot. Checking again. She looked at the guage she had set beside her rifle, completely unnecessary but she liked it. Mostly for the time display. Half an hour to go.

Cassie started breathing.

IllAdvised

---

Friday October 4, 2013

---

The wind whipped through Cal's hair as he drove, the top on the Volvo had been retracted into its trunk with the simple push of a button. Having dropped Bryce off at his house, Cal turned off the highway onto one of Kilbride's main streets as he ventured into the Historical District, heading towards his legal guardian's home. After the death of his mother just under two years ago and his father's admission into the Murdoch Mental Hospital, Cal was left in the legal care of his father's best friend and former college room mate. That said, Cal's father wasn't his only living relative, his father's parents lived in Mississippi while his mother's parents lived locally in Kilbride. His mother's father, Alan Faulkner was even running in the Mayoral Election that was currently ongoing. However Cal had never been close with his grandparents, the Fitzroys due to the distance and the Faulkners due to their disapproval of their daughter marrying a Fitzroy. The feud between the two families was as old as the city itself, and only got worse when the Faulkners absorbed the Murdochs through marriage.

Technically that made Cal the only living descendant of all three of Kilbride's founding families. His history teacher had found it fascinating during his limited venue in the course through sophomore year but behind that Cal saw no significance to it. Though the way he figured it, he was set to inherit a rather large sum of money once his grandparents passed away. Not that he would wish that upon either set of his grandparents. Tapping his brakes as the black car went up over the small curb into the condo's parking lot, Cal steered the car into his usual parking spot beside Landon's black Charger before putting the car's top back up. Slinging his bags over his shoulder, Cal moved across the parking lot quickly before swiping his access card and entering into the large building.

Moving past the elevator, Cal rushed up the stairs. He had a thing against elevators, personally never liking the sensation that it created when moving, but often kept that to himself as most people accused him of being afraid of elevators. It wasn't that Cal was afraid, it was just that he didn't enjoy them. Bursting out of the stairwell, Cal dropped from his brisk jog into a walk before opening the door to Landon's condominium. The daily run up and down the stairs kept Cal in a decent shape, but he also enjoyed going for runs and doing other light sports. Cal and Bryce often went to Thistle Park to toss around a football.

"Who won the game?" Landon's voice rang out clearly across the apartment. Sometimes he forgot that Cal wasn't a suspect but rather his 'god son' returning home from a school football game. The voice carried that law given authority one would use to ensure the accused knew who was in charge.

"Home team of course! Don't worry, I was asked about you, they still say you should have gone pro y'know?" Cal said as he walked into the kitchen and pulled open the fridge. The satisfying hiss of a soda can opening filled the small space, taking a whiff of the Cherry Coke before he swigged back a long sip, Cal smiled as the sweet liquid washed over his taste buds.

"I'm happy doing what I am. Helping people out, protecting innocents and putting away bad guys. All that fun stuff." Landon said as he grabbed himself a Cherry Coke.

"In this city? How much traction are your wheels really getting? I mean Kilbride has one of the highest violet crime rates in all of North America. If not world wide, I mean we're what a real Gotham would look like with less gargoyles." Cal took another drink of his soda before continuing his thoughts. "I mean in this city, how many other honest cops are their? Is there even enough of you to fill a squad, half the city is bought off and the most of the other half is oblivious to it.When the mob isn't running the city, the drug cartels are bleeding it dry. I'm not saying the police are useless, I'm just saying we need a more effective method, there may as well be a revolving door on our prison."

"Cal," Landon paused as the larger man put his hand out towards Cal. "I understand what you're saying, but there's not much you can do besides full scale vigilantism. And we all know that never goes well. Anyways, I'm running late and you have to get ready for your date tonight." The man finished saying as he grabbed his gun belt and strapped it to his work clothes.

"How did yo...?" Cal asked as Landon cut him off.

"Detective!" Landon said with a wide smirk as he disappeared out the door of the condo. Giving his head a shake, Cal chugged back the last of his Cherry Coke before he went to his bedroom to find something to wear. It was a real shame he hadn't asked Sam what colour of dress she would be wearing tonight.

---

Straightening the lapels on his vest before pulling a blazer over the crimson garment, Cal admired himself in the mirror one last time as he straightened his tie. A quick text to Sam had solved his worry of not being able to match as she thankfully had chosen a red dress. Adorning himself with a black dress shirt and pants, combined with a scarlet tie and vest Cal finished it all off with sleek blazer. Pulling his sleeve up, Cal quickly fastened his 'Glitch Device' to forearm before buttoning up his cuff and putting the sleeve back in place. Quickly locking up the condo as he grabbed his keys, Cal walked about three doors down the hallway before rapping his knuckles against the door.

The door in question opened with a creak as a balding middle aged man answered it, looking down as he scaled up Cal.
"Can I help you Caleb?" Kirk Russells asked, fully knowing full well who Cal was, his mother's murder had been all over the media when she had died. Rebecca Michaels had after all been a rather high profile citizen especially now that her own father was riding on her murder to ensure he would be voting into office.

"I'm here to pick up Samantha for our Homecoming Dance." Cal replied with a small smile. Kirk had always been apathetic towards Cal's relationship with his daughter. Perhaps Kirk had always known of Cal's romantic interest in Sam or perhaps it was more mutual than Cal knew. Then again, perhaps Kirk was just protective of his 'baby girl'.

"Oh Caleb you look so handsome!" The voice of a woman came from around the corner as Samantha's mother Carol walked up to her husband. "Samantha! Caleb is here!"

"Coming Mother!" Sam's voice rang out from down the hallway. Cal looked up just as she emerged, a hushed 'Wow' escaping from his mouth as he gazed upon her. Sam's hair was lightly curled and it bounced around her face showing off the earrings she had chosen. Her body was tightly wrapped in a short red dress and on her feet gold stiletto heels which nearly made her as tall as Cal.

"How do I look?" Sam asked with a bubbling smile as she twirled around in front of her three admirers.

"It looks a little short." Kirk mumbled before smiling and hugging his daughter. "That aside you look like a princess Samantha." Looking at Cal, Kirk half smiled as he dropped his voice. "We'll be keeping our hands to ourselves tonight I presume Mr. Fitzroy?"

"Yes Sir." Cal said saluting with one of his hands before he brought a bouquet of flowers out from behind his back, presenting a dozen white roses to Sam and holding a single one out to her mother. "Thank you for allowing your daughter to attend the dance to with me tonight."

"Where's my rose?" Kirk retorted with a gruff laugh as Sam's face lit up with a huge grin at the roses.

"Finally a gentleman!" Carol added with her own grin as she took the rose Cal held out for her. "Now hurry and stand together by the mantle I want pictures." Sam looked at Cal with a smirk as he reluctantly went over to the mantle putting on his most photogenic face.

---

The Volvo came to a stop as Cal put the car into park. After what felt like an hour of photos, he and Samantha had finally been released to continue onto their way to the dance, but not without a stern warning from Kirk about coming straight home from the dance and ensuring their plans were to stay at the dance for its whole duration. Reaching into the back seat of the car, Cal pulled out a corsage that he had picked up for Sam.

"I'm hoping this will go along with your dress." Cal said as he held out the white orchid corsage towards Sam. Opening the plastic container that held it, Sam put her wrist towards Cal with a smile.

"Would you do the honour?"

"My pleasure," Cal said as he picked up the wristlet and put it over the Sam's small wrist. Stepping out of the car, Cal walked around to the passenger side as he opened the door and extended his arm fro Sam. Happily accepting, she began to walk with Cal as the pair entered into the school. Once inside they were treating to the pounding bass that echoed from the gymnasium which had been converted into a dance floor for the remainder of the evening. The beats of the familiar pop songs made even Cal begin to tap his foot as they entered into the gym, people everywhere moving their bodies along with the rhythm.

"C'mon Cal!" Sam said with a laugh as she dragged Cal into the center of the room. As they danced, or in Cal's case, attempted to, Cal's eyes darted around the room constantly moving back and forth as he took in his surroundings. Nodding to Bryce as his friend waved from a few feet away, Cal laughed as Sam did some 'old school' dance moves to the latest Britney Spears hit.

After about five upbeat songs, the first slow song of the night came on and Cal extended his hands to Sam who guided them to where they belonged on her waist. Swaying back and forth to the power ballad, Cal smiled as he wondered how tonight could get any better and how he couldn't believe his luck. Just as he was getting lost in his thoughts, the song changed to a distinct club beat as the strobe lights in the gym cued up with the music.

Just as suddenly as the music had changed the lights suddenly went out and screams could be heard from the front doors of the school. Gunfire echoed from the hallway as students screamed, the doors to the gym were slammed shut as men dressed in all black and wearing animal masks over their faces entered into the gym, guns raised above their head as they squeezed the trigger firing off warning shots.
"Ladies and Gentlemen!" The man's voice was accented and stressed as he spoke. "We are tonight's entertainment!" He pulled the trigger on the submachine gun in his hand as he adjusted the fox mask on his face. Students all around the gym screamed as they instinctively ducked. Cal himself shielding Sam as she tugged on his blazer trying to get him to duck despite the fact Cal was defiantly resisting her.

"Scum." He hissed under his breath as he lowered his body to shield Sam further.

"See," Fox Face began, "To my understanding there's a drug problem here at Kilbride College Academy, the problem is you all are buying from somebody else. See we've worked really hard to meet your supply and demand and we even came here tonight to make you an offer you all can't refuse. In fact, I've got a big ol' bag of Ecstasy here with me. And I'm willing to turn your little 'dance' into a full blown rave. But you all need to do me a favour." Suddenly he pointed his gun towards the nearest student. "Hand over your valuables, you want to deal then you pay the price. You cut into our profits and now we'll ensure you regret it. Anyone who wants to resist will find out I negotiate aggressively." Suddenly he squeezed the trigger cutting the student down where he had been standing, the smell of his blood causing those standing beside him to gag as cries and screams echoed through the gym.

"Get down and crawl towards the auditorium." Cal muttered to Sam who didn't hesitate as she dropped to her knees and began to crawl towards the back wall of the gym. On the other side of that wall was a maintenance hallway that linked the gym and the auditorium, normally the hallway was off limits to students but Cal knew of it from stealing blueprints when he had been working on a case for a class mate. Avoiding detection of the animal masked assailants Cal and Sam slowly made to the wall where Cal quickly opened the door. The hallway wasn't lit so it didn't draw the attention of the gunmen allowing the pair to safely enter. Once instead, Cal locked the door as he rolled his sleeve up and activated the LED light on his Glitch Device. Pulling off his jacket, Cal stuffed it at the bottom of the door before flicking on the hallway light. Finding a couple folding chairs, Cal quickly arranged a couple to ensure the door to the hallway would be incredibly hard to open.

"Cal what are we going to do?" Sam asked, Cal could tell she was fighting back tears but her resolve was still strong. She was doing well in terms of looking calm. Cal himself was screaming on the inside but he remained unfazed on the outside.

"I don't know, but we can't allow them to rob hundreds of students." He said lamenting as he slumped to the ground. Thinking through his options, Cal didn't see them as being too good. "I need to get to the science wing, it we have any chance of getting out of this I can assemble something in there. At the very least I'll be able to create a distraction."

"So what are we waiting for, lets go!" Sam said wiping her eyes before Cal stood up and held out a hand stopping her.

"I need you to stay safe, I don't want you leaving this hallway." Cal said as he rolled up his other sleeve, loosening his tie and vest off.

"Cal, you can't do this alone!" Sam protested as Cal shook his head.

"No I can't, keep an eye on the dance floor for me. Give me your cell for a second." He asked as she handed the phone to him. Activating the Bluetooth on the device, Cal linked the phone with Glitch. "There, our phones will work like walkie talkies now. If there's anything significant happening in the gym let me know." Cal ordered as he turned to leave before Sam stopped him one last time before kissing him on the cheek.

"For luck." She whispered as Cal went red before rushing up the stairs towards the science labs.

Thomas would've finished watching the TV, before he'd get ready for the dance. Then a thought hit him. “Well.. Ma' did tell me to wear it..” He let out a light sigh, walking to his bedroom. He dug into a box in his wardrobe, opening the box a red bow-tie lied. Thomas buttoned his shirt properly, and then tied the bow-tie to his neck. He got his keys and headed out his apartment, walking down the stairs. He started up his pickup truck and headed towards the dance.

He was gonna be late to the dance, it seemed, at least by a few minutes. He parked his car, and walked to the gym, he got his drink and leaned against the wall, enjoying the welcoming drink. He watched as several faces he recognized were at the dance, enjoying themselves. He scoffed lightly, as he finished up his drink, just as a girl, another senior approached Thomas.

“Hi, Thomas, right?” She said, as the tall Texan nodded. “You wanna dance?” She asked him, and Thomas smiled and nodded. “Sure.”

Thomas wasn't much for the upbeat music. He was a good dancer, as long as it was actual dancing. This just felt rather wrong. Inbetween the songs, Thomas learned that the girls name was Tiffany Reid, she'd lived in Kilbride all her life. Thomas equally told her his full name, and that he had more or less just moved here.

The slow song came on, and Tiffany wanted Thomas to dance with him, but he had noticed something. “Sorry, I need to use the bathroom.” He excused himself with a obviously worried face, she nodded. Thomas looked back a few moments later, just to see her dance with someone else. It didn't bother him, he had other matters to think about. Thomas had already gotten into the bathroom when the bullets ran out in the gym. He dug into his pocket and got out the mask, putting it onto his face, he saw a vest and a women's blouse hanging in the bathroom. Thomas tied the blouse around his waist, and then put the vest over his torso, the vest fitting him strangely well. “One of the jocks wore this?” Thomas let out, keeping his calm. He removed his tie, putting it into the pocket, as he hauled himself up onto the sizeable bathroom window. Thomas thought to himself what his course of action should be here.

Part of him wanted to just spur his wings. But he had no way to hide his identity then, not to mention that it exhausted him very greatly to either grow or retract the wings. No, his plan was a simple one. Thomas opened the window, and crawled outside, carefully. He saw a guard watching the entrance, the man was in a gorilla mask and holding a machine pistol.

Thomas made his way, silently to his car on the parking lot, getting out his hat. He also walked to another pickup truck, closer to the gym. Elbowing the window, no alarm. He hotwired it, killing the lights in it, and drove towards the gym, so that the car had a clear pathway to the gym. Thomas put the car in drive, and then put a rock on the gas, making the car come driving towards the doors in the gym, towards the guard.

The guard noticed the car when it was about 15 meters from him, as it had already been dark, and the sound from inside made the cars engine harder to distinguise. The thug fired several rounds into the car, but naturally, the car didn't stop, there was no driver, after all. He dashed to the side just as the car came for him, hitting the wall where the doors were, tearing into the wall, and breaking down one of the doors.

The guard was crawling to his feet, as the masked man kicked him in the face, knocking him out.

It took about twenty minutes. Quicker than usual, but she felt calmer tonight than she generally did in this position - sitting behind her rifle, barrel bi-pod holding firm, stock shunted steadfast into her shoulder. Her legs were splayed forward, and she was leaning against a break she'd set up. Her eye was down the scope, and from her position she had a good vision through the skylight on the open door at the opposite side of the warehouse. The first half of the meet-up was already there - and they'd already given a surreptitious wave to the Quintain they knew was watching before walking over - presumably, Cassie was guessing since she didn't have a direct line of sight - to beside the gas tank. Where the hell does Locke find these people. Cassie thought, and then it occurred to her that the poor bastard didn't realize that the shot was for the tank, or that he was going to be vaporized alongside the target. Cassie swore. She didn't want to kill him if he wasn't the target. Fuck you, Locke. Fuck you. If it wasn't for Jo...

Twenty minutes. In, out, in, out. Deep breathing coupled with closing her eyes - counter-intuitive for a sniper, but necessary - and a trained meditation to clear her mind. Force it blank, push utter calm on yourself. Force the world to slow down for a moment, and it actually will. Twenty minutes. Cassie opened her eyes and looked down the scope again. She could feel it coming, a sluggishness in her movements and a strange blurry fuzz to the world, movement leaving trails. The blur that preceded the utter clarity. The target walked in, shaved head, briefcase, tight-fitting suit. Cassie inhaled. The target walked across the warehouse, to the side with the 'buyer' and the gas tank. Quintain exhaled. The world almost stopped, and she could see the path of her bullet, the explosion from the end of the barrel. The glass shattering, raining onto the floor, and the shot bouncing off the steel support beam back toward the warehouse wall, landing square in the center of the gas tank and setting the whole thing off with explosive decompression, the gas lighting off a bodyguard's cigarette and pushing ferociously through the warehouse, incinerating the target, the bodyguards, Locke's buyer - but leaving the briefcase.

She squeezed the trigger, and it all happened. A few seconds and the lives of four men were extinguished, the fire bursting out the other side of the warehouse, throwing off the closed door, and lashing out into the night toward the sea before collapsing in on itself, exhausted, spent. Cassie wrenched her eye from the scope as it did so, avoiding the brightness of the flames. She paused for a second, listening to the night air, still and dead. A single siren, but not coming toward her. Locke's money went far. She stood, stretching her legs and clicking her back, prepared to pack everything away and head home, Jo safe for another day. Then her phone buzzed.
Perhaps you should have hired a babysitter?
The dance. Cassie thought, horror washing over her. A second hand gripped her, wrapped tightly around her throat, stifling her frightened whimper. Jo.

It took ten minutes to get from the docks to the school, taking every shortcut she knew, exploiting Kilbride's winding passages and fake dead-ends. Down an alleyway and over the wall - harder with a rifle than it was when she did this as Cassie - and then through the lobby of a closed building, in one side and out the other. Down the street, over a fence, through a recreational park. The school was one block over, she was close, she just needed to - to what? Storm in there and get yourself shot before you can lift your rifle? Dammit. She was right. There was an office block across from the school, with a good sight on one side into the gymnasium where the dance was being held. Set up there, use the open floor plan to scan back and forth. Go mobile, follow Jo's escape, keep her covered. If they wanted money, then let Jo give it to them and walk out safe. She was smart enough to give them what they wanted. Cassie had made sure of that.

It was a good plan. Cassie was on the third floor, looking down on the dance through the upper windows, and her scope was on Jo and her date. There was a guard beside them, but another one holding a bag and shouting. So they were robbing them. Good. That was safe. Or as safe as the situation could be. Then Cassie heard something. A revving, some shots, a yell. And then a car came through one of the walls, and the guard nearest Jo grabbed her by the arm and pulled her into him, holding his SMG to her side and shouting as students screamed and the other guard dropped the bag. Get the fuck off of my sister thought Cassie, and then squeezed her trigger. The man flopped instantly like a ragdoll, a fresh hole clean through his temple, gun clattering to the floor, and Jo out of his grip. She dropped to the floor immediately, pulling her date down beside her by the sleeve. Good girl. Cassie thought, smiling slightly from behind the sight of her rifle. Now find an exit. Someone's looking out for you. They started crawling, and Cassie started looking for guns pointed at them. No guarantee she could hit a moving target, not without bringing on her Focus - but her heart was racing, and her mind was frantic with panic and worry for Jo. At the very least, she thought, high-caliber shots through the windows would be enough to make the assailants reconsider their actions. Or dive for cover.

They tried the the door, first. Locked, obviously, and Cassie had to shoot a guard standing nearby, about to bring the butt of his gun down on Jo's spine. Jo screamed as the shot rang through the air and the man fell back yelling, hand no more than viscera, and Cassie felt a fresh pang of fear strike through her. She remembered the night her parents died, what Jo had done out of pain and distress, a lack of control condemning them both. She knew Jo was receiving 'training', but she had no idea what that meant. Jo was stressed and agitating her further could set her off, and the other students didn't have Cassie's Focus to slow down imminent death to be avoided. Jo had to be out quickly - not just for her sake, but for the sake of maybe a hundred young lives. Cassie swore again, noticing her voice was thick and shaky. She quickly moved her sights down from Jo and shot out a lower window. There. Immediate escape route. Take it, girl. Come on.

Jo took it. She heard the shot and then the glass shattering, and realized the significance. Whoever was watching her - her own personal guardian angel - was watching out for more than just angry men with itchy trigger fingers. She seized the arm of her date - the boy was pale as a sheet and shaking, adrenaline obviously wearing off and paralyzing shock and terror settling in to replace it - and pulled him and herself toward the window. There was another shot as Cassie punched a hole through the shoulder of another guard with his sights on Jo, and as she leapt through the window into the open night she realized it was higher than initially thought. The landing was going to hurt - and she braced herself for the impact, date yelling beside her. Then the world closed up and got dark, and she felt the ground appear beneath her, but no pain. She opened her eyes to see metal receding, unfolding, a plane sheet of steel that had cocooned her flattening to let her out again. She didn't question it. Taking the boy's hand, they stole away into the dark. Cassie smiled, breathing heavy, a few tears down her cheeks. That was a hell of a thing to see, but she was glad that Jo's powers had saved her, rather than repeating the last incident.

"Don't you have anything with more fabric?" Roanna asked. The pair had arrived at Stephanie's house deep within the shopping district after grabbing a quick bite to eat at North Shore, Stephanie's treat. Roanna was currently going through Stephanie's closet trying to find something to wear that didn't make her feel half-naked.

"Hey, I offered to take you shopping a week ago when I went to go get my dress." Stephanie said sitting on the edge of her bed and adjusting her earrings before pulling up her black strapped shoes.

"A week ago I wasn't going." Roanna grumbled, tossing aside a bright red dress.

"Try that blue one..." Stephanie said getting up off of the bed and pointing to a deep blue dress from over Roanna's shoulder. Roanna grabbed it off of the hook and slipped into the dress, having some help from Stephanie with the zipper in the back and making sure the shoulder straps were where they were supposed to be. Stephanie then took a step back to admire her friend and gave out a low cat-call whistle.

"You look hot!" Stephanie grinned, taking Roanna's hand and moving her over to the full-length mirror for Roanna to check on how the dress looked on her. Roanna frowned, the color was alright, but it was just too huggy in her opinion.

"Oh stop, you're supposed to have an ass!" Stephanie said noting the look on her friends face. "You want to get Cal's attention right?"

Roanna shook her head.

"No, not really."

"Liar."

The duo had arrived to the dance a little late which was nothing new for Stephanie, and Roanna didn't particularly mind. The only reason she was coming to this thing was moral support for her small group of friends who also didn't have dates, not to mention she couldn't pass up an opportunity to see Stephanie getting rejected by someone she wanted to dance with. Like that would ever happen.

Stephanie immediately took to the dance floor, finding one of her little 'boy toys' which left Roanna to slink into the back of the room to stand against the wall watching everyone have a good time. Throughout the evening, a few boys she was somewhat familiar had approached her and asked to dance, but she politely declined, telling them all the same excuse that she had sprained her ankle which seemed to work since none of them asked her to dance again.

"Roa-nna Sa-nne!" A male voice cut through the gym's music reaching Roanna's ear, making her flesh crawl.

"Jakob..." Roanna said through clenched teeth as the heavy jock approached her with a twisted smile on his face. Jakob put his hand on the brick wall behind Roanna, seemingly trying to make it so she couldn't just run off.

"How about a dance Roanna? You owe me one remember? 8th grade Valentines day dance? You said in a couple years. Well guess what babe, it's time." Jakob said with a chuckle.

"Drop dead Jake." Roanna said ducking underneath his arm and moved across the dance floor, maneuvering between the slow-dancing couples with her eyes glued on the gym's doors that lead out into the hall. Unfortunately, Jakob was following her. Once out in the hallway, Roanna felt as if she could breath for the first time,and it wasn't because of the tightness on her dress. There were just so many people in the gym, and Roanna wasn't exactly a people-person.

"Oh c'mon babe, just one dance. It ain't gonna kill ya." Jakob said coming through the doors, finding Roanna alone in the hallway.

Roanna turned around hotly to Jakob, about to lay into him about personal space when she saw what looked like a group of masked men entering the gym. As far as she knew, the school hadn't been able to hire any live entertainment...so who were these guys? And then it hit her, like a ton of bricks. The school was in trouble, and Jakob kept blabbing his mouth.

"SHUT UP!" Roanna hissed in a whisper, pushing Jakob against the wall and pressed herself flat against the wall too in order to not be discovered.

"Don't tell me what to do bitch! I said I want a dance!" Jakob said loudly.

"JAKE! QUIET!"

"Hey, you two, in the gym now." A voice called from directly behind Roanna. There was a familiar click of a gun being cocked and Roanna turned around slowly practically staring down the barrel of a standard pistol. Finally, Jakob seemed to realize what was going on.

"Oh please! Please don't shoot! I'll go, I'll do whatever you say I promise! Shoot her, she's a bitch anyway..." Jakob blabbered on and on like an idiot, his lower lip quivering on the verge of busting out into tears. Roanna had to roll her eyes a bit.

"Tough until it matters aren't you Jake?" Roanna grumbled.

Suddenly, there was a loud crashing sound as a car barreled itself into the school, causing just the moment of distraction Roanna needed. Reacting quickly, Roanna jumped the gunman, wrenching the gun from his hand, kneeing him in the groin and then delivering a punch to the exposed part of the man's neck. Roanna watched as both the gunman and Jakob passed out in succession and shook her head.

Now, if she was going to go around playing hero tonight, she certainly couldn't do it in this dress.

Hunching over the gunman, she stripped him of his mask, pants and shirt and quickly swapped her dress for his clothes. They were incredible baggy on her, and the finishing touch of the turtle mask didn't help matters as she not only looked just like one of them, but a male as well.

"Can't afford to be picky Ro." Roanna said taking the gun from the ground. She emptied the clip, making sure there wasn't a single bullet left inside and gripped onto it. If she was going to pretend to be one of them, it had to be convincing. Taking a deep breath, she then headed back into the gym.

Thomas had noticed the two guards who had dropped to the floor, bullet wounds. It had given him enough cover to move into the gym, without getting shot at, since the truck wasn't exactly a stealth-maneuver. He'd swiftly walk through the halls, till he saw the guy holding his bleeding hand, most of the hand being shot off. As he saw the masked man in the hat, he went for his weapon, but too late as Thomas punched him out before he could take aim, Thomas's punch deforming the mask on his head. Thomas turned around, towards where he saw the bullethole in the window, and smiled, tilting his hat slightly. It was too dark, but with his enhanced sight he was fairly certain he saw a figure up on the rooftop the next street-over.

Thomas noticed the running couple whom had jumped out the window, it didn't take long for him to connect the dots. “ Guess I'm not the only guardian angel of this city.” Thomas noted to himself, as he moved to forward, towards the dance hall, approaching another thug, looking into the gym, watching over them from the stands where the crowd was during a indoors-match. Thomas grabbed a firm grip around the man's throat with his forearm, using his other arm to hold the man's arm back, so he wouldn't fire his weapon. “Don't fight. Just relax. You'll be okay.” Thomas told him, his voice hushed as the man lost consciousness from oxygen deprivation. Thomas could see two more mask-wearing thugs but they had too many people to use as hostages. He had to think of a better approach.

What I'd give for tear-gas right about now..

“And you’ll always, ALWAYS, be what they told you you would…”

“17...18...19…”

“Always be what those fucks’ll be…”

“20...21...22…”

“Faceless.”

“23.”

“Nothing.”

“24.”

“Degenerate.”

“24!”

“Scum.”

“24!”

“Monster.”

“Twenty.Four!”

The silent room of solitude was pierced with a loud “thwacking” sound and a metallic cry of protest from the chains an unfortunate punching bag had been hanging on as it separated and sailed into the wall behind it. The slap of the punching bag against the concrete wall resonated in the air, hanging like a sickening ooze over a stalactite in a dank cavern. Eventually it dissipated and all that was left to convey life in the still gym room was the ragged breathing of the man who had created the sound.

Sweat created a sheen that glowed in the dim light of the empty gym and Makarios Lilis stood up from his formerly hunched position. Running a hand through his chestnut hair, he released a sigh. The sigh contained no catharsis, no release nor relief, only exhaustion. Exhaustion that shouldn’t have been felt by a man under the age of 20. The exhaustion riding on the airwaves of his sigh seemed to resonate around him more than the sound from the punching bag only moments before.

Today hadn’t been a good day by the stretch of any man’s imagination. His urges were coming more frequently, his impulses harder to control, his thoughts wandering a little farther. Try as he might to stave off all suggestive stimuli, Makarios knew he was fighting an uphill battle. He constantly wore his body out with any plethora of physical activities, honing his mind to become one with his body and all of the like, but even in exhaustion, he felt the Flare. He felt the rise in his senses, bursting through his mundane plane like a ceramic knife slicing through a plastic bubble. The pulse that rocked through him would serve as his only warning, a siren for his mental security to try, mostly in vain, to step its protocol to Defcon 1. After the pulse, he could almost rely on his eyes to become a tad narrowed, his nostrils to flare, though only for an instant and his heart beat to quicken. It would signal its awakening.

His amulet.

The amulet that hung somewhat loosely around his chest at all times, the seemingly nondescript object that seemed to house his ability.

‘But it isn't just the amulet,’ Makarios thought as he got up, his eyes briefly resting on the fallen punching bag. His concern for it was minimal as he began to pack up his things. He was supposed to be at the Homecoming Dance regardless and he’d cleared his mind for the most part to join his classmates. ‘It’s something more. There’s some type of...draw, I have to move more. I want to release all of my emotion and charge in to a battle of sorts.’ He made his way to the locker room of the mini-gym that was for school athletes near the back of the school. Changing, his mind continued to wander. He knew that the amulet wasn't something to blame for his feelings. He knew they were something born of his own mind, the amulet only seemed to act as a catalyst. The unnerving thing about the entire situation was how quickly Makarios was giving in to the amulet and his impulses.

***

Dressed and ready to go, Makarios checked himself in the mirror of the locker room, mentally noting every imperfection and every passable flaw he saw in the mirror and making the executive decision that his current look of a gray vest and slack ensemble with a deep carmine pink tie and black button down would have to pass for now. Alyssa Edwards, his closest friend, had already sent him a slew of texts, bombarding his phone. He packed his bag and gym clothes away and made his way out of the door, giving himself a final once-over.

The vague excitement that Makarios started feeling about the dance was suddenly dashed by his amulet. A pulse stemmed from his chest and flowed through his entire body. Something didn't feel right. Something in the air was off...something was too still.

His amulet pulsed again and he felt his nostrils flare. But, this time, unlike so many others, something told him to let it wash over him. He imagined a wave of power enfolding him as he allowed himself to open up to the amulet. If his senses were right, something was happening. A chaotic amalgamation of scents bombarded his nose and Makarios reeled back from the volume of them all. But two in particular gave him pause. The smell of iron, so much of it...and a copper scent.

“Blood,” he stated. It wasn’t a question, he recognized the smell and the smell of gunpowder. Something wasn’t right for sure. He stole down and creeped forward, getting closer until he neared the school gym. Trying his best to stifle a gasp, Makarios looked at the scene in front of him.

Men with guns. All hooded and masked. All stoic as could be. What the hell was going on?

Makarios turned on his heel and took off in the other direction. He felt the familiar sensation wash over him. In the midst of his fear and adrenaline he felt another emotion, one that disturbed him: Excitement. As if on cue of his identifying it, his amulet pulsed once more. Makarios placed his palm over the necklace as he made his way to the second floor of the school. If was lucky, these men, whoever they were, wouldn’t think to cover the lesser known entrance to gym. Makarios might be able to drop in on them and help the situation somewhat. But, before he could do that, a friendly call to the authorities couldn’t hurt.

***

Hanging up his phone, Makarios stood on the second floor of the auditorium, he ducked down. Shit! One of the gunmen was stationed below him. Either they knew about the side-entrance to the gym or someone was wandering from his post. Regardless, Makarios had to do something. Placing his hand on his chest, he felt his accelerated heartbeat and delved into his mind and amulet.

With a deep breath, and a prayer that he might not lose his sanity or kill himself, Makarios envisioned an animal. He brought forth the form, the power, the gait, sound, aura and even smell that he attributed to the animal, and felt it settle over his body, the heavy weight forcing him down slightly. He came up to the balcony, Horse in his mind and jumped up, sailing higher than any normal man could dream of, and came down behind the gunman below him. The jump, backed with the power of a horse, was strong enough to cause a deep thud. The man spun around, gun raised, his reaction time admirable. But Makarios was faster. He stomped down, backed with the power of Horse, on the man’s foot. A crack backed with a sickening crunch could be heard as the man attempted to cry out in pain, but Makarios shoved his hand over the mans mouth, acting on instinct.

“If you scream again,” he began, trying to cover the quivering in his voice, “I’ll break the other foot, okay?”

He released his hand slowly and the man, as expected, tried to bring up his gun but met Makarios’ foot, backed with the force of Horse. The kick was enough to send the mail sailing back an easy ten feet as he slammed into the stage, where he slumped down and moved no more.

Releasing the Horse, Makarios sank down, catching his breath. Even just one animal seemed to take a plentiful amount of energy if he wasn’t prepared. Taking deep breaths, Makarios let his heartbeat even out before turning to the balcony and preparing to head in to the fray.

IllAdvised

---

Friday October 4, 2013

---

The auditorium was dimly lit as Cal emerged from the maintenance hallway onto the balcony. Like everything else in the school, no expense had been spared when designing the auditorium and it truly did show. The gold railings, the red carpet and sloped seating, right up to the classically design stage. In fact, almost all major theatre productions in the city were held right here in Kilbride College Academy. It was not uncommon for graduates to believe that if they had been a success on the stage here in this school that they could travel to New York to break into broadway or down to California to make their way onto the silver screen. Noticing a lone gunman walking up and down the aisles below, checking for any students that might be hiding between the rows of chair, Cal bent down below the railing as he slipped his tazer out of the back of his belt. His golden rule was never to travel anywhere in Kilbride without the handy stun gun, the city was not a nice place. That said, one would perhaps wonder why Cal didn't simply call the police, but as he had already ranted to Landon earlier, the police in this city were definitely useless.

Out of nowhere, the building abruptly shook violent as the sound of metal and brick echoed from through near empty corridors. Accidentally squeezing the trigger on his tazer, the weapon gave off a sharp buzzing sound as it lit up the area Cal was in. The gun below suddenly turned towards the sound as he raised his weapon only for another figure to strike him down from above. Letting out an exclamation of surprise, Cal's eye widened as he realized the other man had just leaped nearly ten feet unharmed. A shiver ran up his spine as he heard the sickening echo of snapping bones as the newcomer delivered a quick beat down on the gunman only to send the downed man flying another ten feet across the room. Scrambling to his feet, Cal suddenly didn't care about his cover as he just wanted to put some distance between himself and the freakishly strong man who had entered the room.

Bursting out of the auditorium into the upper hallway, Cal ducked around a corner and paused to catch his breath for a second. Closing his eyes, his eidetic memory haunted him with images of what he had just witnessed. Breathing in deeper, Cal slowed the memory down, recalling all the information his darting eyes had taken in, despite how dark the room had looked he felt he recognized the 'super man', Quickly giving his head a shake, Cal decided not to worry about it at the moment, Sam and everyone else were still in a lot of danger an from where Cal had been crouching it looked like the other man was an ally and that was good enough for him at the moment. Pushing himself off the wall, Cal took a step forward, as he reached to his wrist and removed the earpiece from the bottom of the 'Glitch Device', placing it in his ear before pushing a button on the touch screen to talk to Sam.

"Sam." Cal kept his voice low as he held his tazer at the ready in case he came across anyone. "Sam are you there?"

"I'm here Cal." Sam's voice came back shaky, it didn't take a detective to realize she had been crying. "Cal there was more shooting and a crash."

"I felt the crash." Cal replied as he rounded another corner slowly, the hard bottoms of his dress shoes tapped against the tiled floor a lot louder than Cal would have liked. Looking around he reluctantly slid the shoes off as he stepped onto the cool floors in his socks. "Was the shooting in the gym?"

"No, at least I don't think so. A window broke and another guy was screaming about his hand. The one in the fox mask sent out more guys to investigate."

"Okay well stay as calm as you can and stay silent, I'm about to get into the science room." Cal said as he approached the door and gave the knob a twist only to find it was locked. "Frak," he muttered to himself before pulling his tie off and wrapping it around his knuckles. "Here goes nothing." Pulling his arm back, Cal let loose a feral punch as his hand collided with the small window mounted about the knob with a resounding thud. Stumbling back as he let out a loud yelp of pain, Cal rapidly shook his hand trying to subside the pain.

"FRAK!" He hissed with more volume than he would have liked. Grinding his teeth, he bit down on his lip as he pulled his hand back and let it fly again, this time the glass splintered and began to weaken but it hurt no less than the first time as Cal dropped to his knees, tears forming in the corners of his eyes as he pushed he palm against the floor trying to flatten out his hand. "Argh." He groaned loudly as he stood up, unwrapping the tie from his hand, feeling the dampness as he pulled it back to reveal the throbbing and bloody knuckles before. Gingerly he wrapped the tie around his opposite hand as he let loose a third punch, the glass breaking as he arm slid through, stray edges opening the skin as he twisted about and opened the knob. Looking down at Glitch's screen, Cal shook his head angrily as he noted it too had been damaged by the glass as the edges had scratched the screen. He'd need to replace that if he lived past tonight, but thankfully it still seemed to be fully functioning.

Walking into the classroom, Cal rushed over to the counter at the back of the room as he opened the cupboard above his head and pulled out the plastic case containing the room's first aid kit. Removing Glitch from his arm, Cal laid the device down on the counter while he quickly bandaged his arm. Throwing the tie aside, Cal pulled out more bandages as he mended the knuckles on his right hand, all the while feeling for anything broken or out of place. It seemed he had gotten lucky in the regard, perhaps someone was watching over him after all.

Cal had a deep grudge against Kilbride's criminals, especially gang criminals. More specifically however Cal hated the mafia run by Roman Locke, it was on that man's order his mother had been taken from him. An event that caused his father to have a psychiatric break which left Cal more or less an orphan. Not that he resented living with Landon, it was like living with an older brother, but that said no one wants to effectively lose both their parents on the night of their sixteenth birthday. Landon had said earlier that the only way to make a real impact in this city was through vigilantism, perhaps he didn't mean it literally but something inside Cal told him he was going to take it literally. Strapping Glitch back on, Cal grimaced slightly as the device's straps dug into the fresh cuts beneath the bandaging. Choosing to ignore the pain, Cal walked over to the supply cabinet, suddenly kicking it in frustration as he realized it was kept shut through means of a padlock. Sprinting over to the teacher's desk, Cal quickly tore through the objects and materials covering the desk until he found a small box of paperclips. Grabbing a handful, Cal stretched one out and jammed it in the lock while using another to turn. It took a few tries but Cal finally got the lock to pop open, a trick his mother had been so kind to pass on. It turned out that being a private eye was a lot like being a vigilante for hire, just there were still some rules to follow. What Cal was doing would be considered an ill advised idea, he was playing a hero in a situation that he didn't fully understand, but it was what he guilt told him to do.

His eyes quickly scanned the cabinet as Cal suddenly went into a trance like state, grabbing chemical after chemical before gathering up beakers and other instruments he would need. Combining various agents in the glass containers, Cal lit up a bunsen burner and began to brew, he had no idea what he was doing and yet he perfectly knew he was making an adhesive that once it hit the air would spread before hardening. He didn't recall ever learning about such a compound and yet the information flowed through his head as clear as the lyrics to 'Smells like Teen Spirit.' His mind suddenly filled with recent memories of the teacher's desk as though he was retroactively searching for something. Walking over to the floor, Cal bent down and picked up a pack of balloons. He was going to use these to create a sort of 'grenade' to contain the compound. Quickly pouring a second substance into the balloons, they began to take a round, semi solid state before Cal added the 'glue' to them. Making about dozen of the grenades, Cal looked around the room noticing a satchel. Striding over to it, he dumped the contents of the bag to the floor before gingerly placing his grenades inside. Turning back to the counter, Cal checked on a third compound he had brewed before corking the vials and tucking them in his belt. Stripping off his dress shirt and leaving just his black tanktop, Cal tossed it and his bloody tie in the incinerator shoot. If he was going to be a vigilante he may as well stop leaving evidence around. Pulling out a bottle of bleach, Cal dumped it over the bloody glass shards in the door, watching it wash away the crimson liquid before he jumped out of the water of the burning puddle and headed for the door on the opposite end of the glass room. Pausing, Cal noticed a black 'Science Olympics' champion t-shirt pinned up on the wall. Ripping it down, he turned it inside out, as he put his head in the neck hole before tying the arms behind his head. Pulling the bottom of the collar up over his nose and top to his brow, Cal crafted himself a makeshift ninja cowl like he had seen on Reddit. Turning back to the door, Cal opening it slowly as he peered around the corner, the hallway still seemed to be empty as he pulled his tazer out and made his way back towards the gym.

Coming back into the gymnasium, Roanna's nostrils were immediately filled with the smell of blood. Despite the turtle mask wrapped over her entire head, the smell had still leaked its way inside the thin rubber since the body of the boy wasn’t more than ten feet away from the doors she had just walked through. Feeling her stomach churn and flip like a rabid washing machine, it took every amount of composure she had to not fill the mask with her own bile. Taking a few steps into the gym discreetly and passing the body by, she was able to identify the boy as Victor Bonnet, a sophomore here at the school that had already made a name for himself by breaking more than a few school track records the previous year. Tearing her gaze from the body, she walked as casually as she could through the mass crowd of frightened students. First, she had to find Stephanie…

Pushing her way through the gym, Roanna headed to the spot that she last saw Stephanie dancing. It was easy to pick out the blonde amongst the small group of guys that had put themselves in front of her, showing off their sense of bravado by putting themselves in the immediate danger should the assailants feel that another dead body was in order. Now that she knew that Stephanie would be okay, Roanna was finally able to take a detailed look around.

Counting the masks from where she stood, she realized that there were at least five guys remaining in the gymnasium, two of which were on crowd control, keeping the students twenty feet or so away as two others went to investigate the car that had crushed its way into the school.

Wait…a car? Suddenly, those noises that Roanna had head while she was out in the hallway with Jakob were starting to make sense, but just how the car ended up there in the first place was enough to make Roanna want to scratch her head…and the itchy, claustrophobic mask wasn’t helping.

A plan was beginning to form in Roanna’s head, though not a very good plan, it was something. Finally, Roanna took the initiative and quickly walked over to the crowd of boys that kept Stephanie hidden, though the closer she got, the faster the boys seemed to squirm away. Roanna was able to push herself right through, pointing the empty gun at the students immediately around her as Roanna wrenched Stephanie to her feet, putting the gun behind her back and a hand over her mouth.

“It’s me, I need you to go with this okay?” Roanna whispered, doing a quick glance to the other masked men. Her plan seemed to be working so far, not a one of them was beginning to question the person in the turtle mask, which meant an immediate green light for the next part of her plan.

“I’m going to create a distraction and I need your help. Look to your left, those doors are unguarded. When I tell you, I need you to lead as many people as you can to those doors and get the hell out of here. Do not look back, no lot look for me. Getting these people out is all that matters got it?”

Stephanie didn’t make a sound, but only nodded her head up and down making Roanna smile under her mask. She was going to get hell for this later from her…if there was a later. With a rough shove, Roanna cast Stephanie aside, pushing her towards the doors she had pointed out to Stephanie earlier. Turning quickly on her heel, Roanna held up her left hand, feeling the atoms in the air circling immediately around her. She pushed her thoughts through that though, and extended it to the area surrounding the car. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Roanna found the gas tank.

Feeling the atoms surrounding the gas tank starting to heat up quickly, Roanna turned her head back towards Stephanie and nodded, indicating that she now needed to do her part. The second that Stephanie pulled herself back up to her feet, the entire gymnasium seemed to shake as the car seemed to suddenly explode, breaking the brick walls around the car immediately and causing other parts of the building to crumble and shake violently, however it was only the immediate wall the car had been sharing that was blown to pieces.

Three different distinctive screams of pain rang through Roanna’s ears as the two masked men that had been checking out the car had been caught in the immediate explosion, and a third masked man who was seemingly on crowd control got taken out by a flying brick to the head.

Once again the auditorium was full of screams of terror from the students, and hell even the remaining masked men seemed to not know what to do for a few seconds. Roanna had to work fast though, given the opportunity these men might start to open fire on the now even more terrified students. Roanna pushed her way through the crowd once again towards the second crowd control man, happy to see that there was suddenly an organized movement to the flow of students heading in the direction of the doors. Stephanie was actually doing her job for once.

Reaching the man in the pig mask just as he was brought to his senses and raised his gun, Roanna tackled him from the side sending the both of them to the ground in a struggle over the loaded weapon.

With Jo out - and her date, who Cassie wasn't looking out for, admittedly, but it seems Jo was - Cassie didn't, frankly, have much of a vested interest in the rest of the proceedings. As callous as it seemed, Cassie's life was very much centered around Jo and her protection. Jo was all she had left, and Cassie held onto her with an almost religious fervour. And she'd made sure Jo was safe from the masked men who'd broken in to the school dance. Christ, it wasn't even Jo's school. Cassie had half a mind to think Locke knew this was going to happen and put Jo there for the fun of it. She shook the thought away. Locke valued Cassie's employment enough to not senselessly put Jo - his key bargaining chip - at risk. Hopefully.

She was about to pack up and return home to change and head over to Jo's - 'I heard on the news!' was the story she initally thought up, but she realised there weren't any choppers in the air or media presence at all yet, so 'police scanner' or even 'how was the da-oh my god!' would have to be good enough - when something happened inside the school. The car she'd seen, but apparently the evening wasn't done with it, and she looked down the scope at exactly the wrong moment; the car exploded and she wrenched her eye away from the sight, swearing as the brightness burnt her eyes. For a second she panicked, but the afterimage faded and she rubbed her eye, still able to see. She looked back. She noticed someone punching out a guard and tipping their hat toward the window, but ignored it.

Someone - one of the masks, a crappy turtle in baggy clothes - had their hand stretched out toward the car, now smouldering, two burnt figures collapsed on the floor nearby and a third K.O.'d by a lucky brick from the blast. Had they...caused that? A meta working with the gangs? For a given value of 'with', Cassie thought, taking note that the explosion had taken out exactly three of the intruders and zero students, and had in fact given distraction enough for the students to leave. Still, they'd threatened Jo, and Cassie had at least two more shots lined up. Sure, why not. For Jo. Unwind a bit.

She knelt and lined up her shot, taking the time she had for this one now that her focus wasn't on frantically covering Jo. The unconcious guard first - crosshairs centred, barrel steady. Cassie breathed in and squeezed the trigger on the exhale - even without her Focus, she'd still taken the initiative to learn a few things about shooting. Boom. Through the window, a clean hole with splintering fractures worming there way outward, and zipping into the lying figure's neck. The body shuddered, and sputtered blood from both the wound and the mouth, and then lay still. One for my baby, she thought, and then lined up again, quicker this time. A bit more merciful, but she needed to at least incapacitate them until she figured out their game. She exhaled again and pulled, and the bullet made another hole that blew out the window this time, and then a second through the lower calf of the guard she suspected to be meta. That ought to stop them from causing any more trouble with...whatever it was they could do. They hit the ground, presumably yelling, and Cassie lifted her rifle up and away. Now was the time to leave.

Cassie head home, discarding her wig and contacts halfway there. She had replacements at her apartment. She didn't want to be Quintain any longer tonight.

Looking back on that night in the coming years - the first night Cassie knew she wasn't alone, the first night she saw the people she would eventually come to know as her closest and most trusted friends and alllies - Cassie often thought that as first impressions went, she'd given her future teammates a spectacularly poor one.

And just as if someone did hear Thomas's prayers, something that wasn't quite a teargas grenade caught the attention of the gangbangers that were holding the school up. The two that Thomas had been watching before was now looking away from the students, drawing their attention to the sound of the explosion. Thomas took this as his time to strike, the students were moving on the other side of the gym, too.

Generating speed while springing, he jumped off the bleachers where he had been standing, hidden in the shadows. Jumping from them, Thomas had calculated his jump perfectly, making the three meter jump with grace , landing behind the two thugs. Bending his knee, he was crouching to avoid injury, when the thugs was turning around, Thomas put his hand on each of their shins, and jerked forward, making them both flip in the air, and fall forward on the ground, hitting the ground with loud thuds. A Third guy came at him, as one of the ones he had knocked down was crawling back to his feet. Thomas pulled the guy from the floor, ripping the gun from his hands. Thomas quickly threw the gun with it's broad side towards the third, still standing guy, the gun hitting him in the face, disorienting him, and by the time he had regained his compuser, Thomas punched him in the chest, knocking the air out of him, as the gangbanger bowed forward, Thomas ripped the mask off, and then with an uppercut sent him to the floor, out cold.

He heard sirens. “So.. Someone did have the brains to call the cops, huh?”
Thomas figured there'd probably be a few more thugs left, but he couldn't take them on. That'd be too risky, instead, he decided to cover his bases, keep his secret safe.

Thomas saw how the students all ran out for the doors, as he himself ran back up the bleachers, where he made sure he was out of sight, he removed the mask, hat and vest from his person, throwing them all into a trash-bin, He grabbed the bow-tie from his pocket and tied it around his neck, he grabbed a shard of glass and cut a shallow-cut into his left arm, and then he used the shard to graze his cheek. Thomas letting out a painfilled groan while doing so. “Dammit I hate cuts..” Thomas mumbled to himself under his breath. He saw a lighter, and lit the lighter up, as he tossed it into the trashbin, destroying the evidence. “Waste of a 200 dollar hat..”

Now all that the Texan had to do was keep himself out of danger and wait for the authorities to clean up.

After only a few minutes of struggle, and Roanna having the upper hand by forcing her way on top of the man with the pig mask, she finally managed to wrench the gun free from his grip and used the butt end of the gun much like a baseball bat and wailed it into the pig mask as hard as she could, knocking the man unconscious immediately. Getting off of the now limp body, she was able to react just in time as one of the men on fire from her explosion took a bullet to the neck, collapsing quickly into death. Part of Roanna wanted to smile, karma was a bitch, but then she had to stop and think about just who the hell was shooting and why. Then it hit her, if someone shot that man, it was because he was a member of this group…and now since Roanna was wearing a mask…

“Oh SHI-AAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHH!”

Hot tears streamed out of Roanna’s eyes, making the mask all that more uncomfortable as the distinct smell of both blood and tears filled the hot mask nearly to the point where if she hadn’t been crying, she would have vomited. Collapsing down onto her ass, Roanna gripped her leg, pressing her hand over the fresh bullet wound and forced herself to check the other side of her calf. She rolled up the baggy pant leg just enough to see that it had a clean exit wound, but rendered her leg useless regardless.

“Shit! God dammit! Fuck!” Roanna hissed through her clenched teeth, rocking back and forth slightly as if that would ease the pain. Never before had she been shot before; grazed by a couple bullets here and there yes, but never shot. Thinking quickly, Roanna tore off the pant leg at her knee, using a small amount of heat to burn the fabric so that it would tear easier and wrapped it around the wound tightly. The last thing she needed was her blood all over the crime scene. Once the fabric was tied tight enough, she tried forcing herself back to her feet. She had to get out of here, and now. But the slightest amount of weight she seemed to put on her leg caused her entire body to scream out in pain, and a series of hot, fresh new tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Bastard might as well have shot me through the neck.” Roanna seethed angrily, getting back down onto the floor on her hands and knee and drug herself towards the closest locker room, it being the men’s. Dragging her leg behind like a useless bag of potatoes, she used most of her upper body strength to drag herself there, ignored by the screaming, frantic students that continued to pile out of the gymnasium. If Roanna hadn’t been so caught up in trying to get out of there in one piece, she would have noticed a man sporting a cowboy hat helping her with these…thugs.

By the time Roanna made it to the mens locker room, most of the gym had been emptied of students. Not wanting to take her chance with any of those thugs coming in here, she forced herself back onto her feet, shut the door and with a quick burst of heat, welded the lock. She would worry about getting out of the mens locker room later. Roanna slipped back down onto the ground, sliding down the door with her back braced against it and tore off the turtle mask, tossing it angrily to the side. Her forehead was soaked with perspiration, making certain parts of her ash brown hair stick to her hot skin. Using her forearm to quickly wipe her forehead, she quickly turned her attention back to her leg. She untied the ripped pants fabric now soaked with her own blood and examined the wound again. Letting out a series of curse words she didn’t even know existed, she knew what she had to do.

She placed both hands on either side of her wound and closed her eyes tightly. She could feel the muscle and tissue around the wound pulsing, and with each pulse pumped out more blood coating her hands. Holding her breath, Roanna felt her hands starting to heat up slowly, and then with a scream that echoed through the entire locker room, the hissing sound and smell of burnt flesh wafted it’s way around the room, filling her nose now with blood, sweat, tears, and burnt flesh. As soon as Roanna felt the wound on both sides close up, she jerked her hands away and let out a grunt of exhaustion. Looking over her ‘handy’ work, the wound had been successfully cauterized which bought Roanna more time. Chest heaving and sweat pouring down her forehead and neck, she rested her head back against the door just trying to collect herself. Her hand reached out lazily towards the mask and ripped pants fabric and watched as they both began to smolder, as if placed on a somewhat warm bed of coals.

She would just have to wait until after the police left, which could be hours, hell even days. Still, she was in no shape to try to figure out an escape route just yet, and the fatigue that plagued her body threatened to take over as her eyelids kept slamming shut. Finally, in the end the exhaustion won over her willpower and Roanna slunk down on the mens locker room floor unconscious.

Makarios stopped as his nose picked up the scent of a cologne. It hadn't been present before, or at least he hadn't noticed, but trusting his instinct, he spun around, only to see the door to the balcony open and figure run out. Shit! A fellow student had seen him! Makarios found his breath caught as he began to panic. This was a foolish idea! But, he was already committed now, and he needed to follow through for the sake of his fellow classmates.

As he began to turn around once more, Makarios caught site of someone else on the balcony. There'd been a second! Looking a bit more closely, Makarios could make out a mask, and his stomach constricted briefly as he realized it was another gunman. The man stole out of the same door as the first individual and something told Makarios that the first individual didn't realize he was being followed. He took one last look to the gymnasium doors before deciding that he had to help the person he'd seen run off.

***

Makarios tore out of the auditorium, chasing after the gunman as he made his way to the science department. But why was he heading there? Was the student taking that route? There seemed to be no sense in it, but Makarios had no time to concern himself with that as the pair ahead of him had a significant head start and he was only following them from the gunman's muddy boot prints on the floor. He stopped himself before proceeding farther. It would be fool's run to go in there without some type of disguise. But, what could he use? He looked to his right, noticing the row of lockers. Well, chaos had already broken out in the school, a broken locker wouldn't cause too much concern. He touched his amulet, feeling the necklace flare up once again and radiate energy that slowly wrapped around him. He felt the familiar energy of Horse well up in him. His calves began to flex themselves as he reared back, lifting his foot, and slammed it in to three different lockers.

With the amount of noise he had just caused, Makarios wagered he held about forty-five seconds before the gunman made it back to him, if he heard the noise. He delved in to the lockers, rummaging through until he found a pair of sunglasses, a balaclava and a hockey mask. Apparently, fate was on his side. He tossed the hockey mask to the side and donned the balaclava and sunglasses. He quickly released Horse, feeling the presence leave him and a wave of energy slow evaporate from him.

He needed to move quickly. He hadn't heard any sign of a struggle yet, but he knew he would. For some reason, his mind was working...differently. His ability to process information was slightly off center from how he usually did. He found his attention to detail centering on they physical environment, his moves more calculated. He was tracking. He was hunting.

He was thinking like a hunter and it was because of the amulet. And, if his assumptions were correct, the gunman would be thinking like hunter as well. He wouldn't just attack the student, he would try and ambush him, lying in wait for the student to come to view. Makarios had to act quickly. He'd never done so before, but he placed his hand on his amulet, now tucked safely under his shirt, and began to Call another entity. This one, more vicious, he could feel blood lust, aggression, he could hear the breathing, feel the hairs on his back stand up, bristling almost. The urge to snarl overtook him as Wolf settled over his body, causing him to hunch over slightly. The darkness became a bit more vivid as his eyes made out the details of everything around him. Scents wafted around him, and he could hear the ambient noise of much more settling around the school. Taking off down the hall, his footsteps somehow softer even at his increased speed, Makarios narrowed his eyes, seeing his prey: the gunman lying in wait. Without a second thought, Makarios let out a snarl and lunged at him, giving the man just enough time to turn around. He didn't even have time to raise his gun before Makarios had taken him to the ground. Their bodies slid slightly on the floor and Makarios brought a fist down, striking the man, regardless of the mask. He ripped the gun away from him and brought his hand down, throttling the man slightly before bringing his head up slamming it down.

The man seemed to shocked to cry out as Makarios slid off of him and grabbed him by the scruff of the collar, reeling him up and slamming him in to the wall, bringing his elbow up and around to clock the man in the face again. He grabbed both of his arms and dragged them down, bringing up his own hands to rip the mask off and release a final punch to the face. The force was such that the mans head flew back and connected with the wall again, where he slumped down.

With a heavy breath, Makarios allowed himself to catch his breath before turning to see a figure staring at him.

Collab between Lord Wraith and Stein

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Friday October 4, 2013

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Freezing as he rounded the corner, Cal's eyes could hardly believe the sight before him as the powerhouse from earlier finished off another gunman with a hard blow to the face. He felt his breathing increase as his grip on his tazer increased, his eyes darting towards the gun that lay upon the floor. Was this man friend or foe? Everything Cal had seen so far indicated that this man, who now was masked; a detail Cal was sure he wasn't before due to the shadow cast from what had to be loose strands of hair, was in fact a friend. However, the man had jumped from the balcony down to the main floor and yet here he was now, hot on Cal's trail. That seemed to make him an enemy, which meant Cal needed to be on guard. Based on what he had already seen the other individual do, there was no way Cal could take the man in a straight up fight, tazer or not, the man's speed and agility far outweighed Cal's own reaction time. But perhaps with one of his glue grenades, Cal might be able to throw the other man off and maybe even lock him down. Reaching slowly into his sack, Cal decided he had best at least make a verbal attempt to reason before coating the lower half of the man's body in a hardened adhesive.

"Are you with them?" Cal asked, trying to mask his voice, though his fear showed slightly as his tone quivered. His left hand holding his tazer forward shaking slightly as his right hand twitched anxiously inches about the first glue grenade.

Makarios narrowed his eyes, not from aggression but mainly from trying to discern what the other individual had in his hands. This person was poised to attack, but Makarios wasn't sure what he held. He instead raised his hands slowly, speaking with a low gravel that was aided by the fact that his voice felt somewhat horse. "Do you think I'd have taken this guy down if I wasn't? You went to the science department in a crisis, obviously to concoct some type of weapons, so c'mon, I know you're smarter than that." Even as Makarios spoke, he could feel his body beginning to ache. He wasn't accustomed to the effects of his necklace and it was starting to wear on his body. His body cried for rest and his mind felt a little sensitive. Raw almost. The cops were here, but it was a hostage situation, so they needed to act quickly.

"C'mon" he told the other male, noting that they were both disguised, "we need to get back to the gym. Whatever you've made better work."

Cal smiled beneath the t-shirt mask, the other man was clever as well, though obviously a lot more street smart than Cal. His fear must have slowed his thought process something terrible. Of all the things to ask, he asked the other masked man if he was with the guy he just gave a really bad headache too. C'mon Cal, get it together.

"They're glue grenades." Cal said with a smile as he relaxed. "Lets make sure this guy doesn't go anywhere when he wakes up." He added as he lobbed one of the glue filled balloons at the body. It landed with a bounce before rupturing, the liquid inside splashing over the body before it began to expand and harden, pinning the body to the floor until someone came along with a decent solvent. "Looks like they work." Cal remarked with a satisfied smile as he turned towards the gym.

"Hey you still there?" Cal said as he tapped his ear, not wanting to reveal Sam's identity before realizing it would likely be futile if they met up with her. Whatever, it wasn't like the guy beside him was going to take Cal to the police, he had a lot more to hide from where Cal was standing.

"I'm still here Cal. Did you feel the explosion, something blew up by the main entrance. A lot of gangbangers have been either wounded or killed. I honestly only think that the leader is left in the gym. Most of the students escaped but he still has a small group held hostage. I think the police are here but he's been shooting anyone who comes through the door."

"Alright, I'm on my way and I have help with me." Cal replied before bursting back out onto the auditorium's balcony. "There's a maintenance hallway back this way." Cal called back to his new ally as he motioned for him to follow him down a staircase.

Maki had to admit he was impressed by his new ally as they neared the gym. 'He thinks quickly, acts the same as well. Rebounds and seems to have a good tactic going.' Hell, it would make his job much easier.

"You have someone on the inside? Is everyone okay?" He asked the smaller male as they came up to the maintenance hallway. For a second, he paused at the doorway. If this was a type of trap, Makarios wasn't sure how much he could do. His wrestling training worked best in an open area and he couldn't bet to rely on his abilities, he was still trying to get a sure footing with them. But, the gunmen had been chasing this person, so...

'The enemy of my enemy...' he thought to himself before heading in the door.

"I got my date to safety just after the attack started." Cal replied as he began down the stairs. "Been keeping in contact with her through my umm..." He pointed to the device strapped to the underside of his wrist. "Calling it a phone wouldn't do it justice, but for simplicity's sake lets call it a phone. Anyways, it looks like the majority of the students have managed to escape however the leader has a small group held hostage in the gym." Opening the door into the maintenance hallway, Cal pulled the t-shirt off his head as he was greeted by Sam who was huddling on a chair with Cal's blazer wrapped tightly around her.

"What are you..." She began just before Cal removed his mask. "Where on earth did you get that and who is this?" Sam stood up, looking towards the man in the balaclava.

"I didn't ask, he's watched my back thus far, lets give him the benefit of the doubt." Cal replied, "The main focus right now is taking down the leader in the Fox mask. To do that we're going to need a plan." Turning to the man beneath the balaclava, Cal continued unveiling his plan. "Would you be able to evade his weapon at all? He's carrying some sort of semi-automatic but I'm hoping he's low on rounds. I can give you a few glue grenades. If you can hit his gun, it'll be useless leaving him very open to plain old physical assault." Cal held up his tazer giving it a squeeze causing the prods to arc with electricity. "And I plan to administer it with extreme prejudice. That said, if we aren't able to do that, the weight room overlooks the gym, we could try bombing him from above. But it'll take time to go back that way and around to the weight room, time in which he could kill innocents. A third option is that we both run out, he can't hit both of us and the gym is still dark, so we have that to our advantage." Turning to Sam, Cal pulled out the keys to his car and handed them to her. "I need you to go through the auditorium and out the side doors to the parking lot. Start the car and pull around to the far end of the football field. We can't leave with the rest of the students, but if I know Landon he'll hear about this on the radio and come over here. If he sees my car here he'll come looking for me, we can't have that. So Sam I need you to get the car out of there and then wait for us. Can you do that?"

Sam nodded nervously while looking back to the man in the balaclava, not sure what Cal wasn't telling her about him but choosing to trust him as she turned to him. Planting another kiss on his cheek she ran towards the door.

"Don't die, you owe me dinner still." With that she was gone as Cal turned back to his masked ally as he began to pull his own mask back on.

"So what do you want to do?"

Shifting his weight, Makarios watched the girl, Sam, leave the small space. His eyes narrowed on the male, who had now unmasked himself. He knew him! It was enough to reel him for a moment, and he had to work not to utter his name. He had to remain detached. "She's wracked with worry, but she's doing a good job of controlling it. That's a good....friend you've got there." He paused, focusing on his amulet and his body. Soreness radiated all over him, but he was still in control of his mental faculties. A headache pervaded his mind, but it was still bearable, allowing him to focus.

He took a deep breath before answering. "I think we should go with the first option. Though it's more dangerous, it's faster and we can move swiftly. But, if we're going to do it, we have to use the sandwich tactic." As Makarios spoke, he clenched his left fist, focusing on his body and mentally preparing himself for the fight ahead. "The sandwich would be you bursting, quickly drawing his fire, while I launch to the side and get in position to draw his attention from the other side, giving you the opportunity to get in close." He knew there was a better term for the tactic, but that's what they'd call it in the projects where he grew up when they would play tag. But, shaking the budding memory from his head, Makarios looked to the new ally, Caleb, from a few of his classes.

"So, I think I can draw his fire, provided I've got some room to duck and weave. Can you get in on him quickly and use one of your grenades?"

"Lets hope so." Cal replied as he popped the door to the gym open slightly. "On the count of three then?" He asked as he turned back while digging a grenade out of his satchel. "One... two... three!" He hissed as he burst out the door and ran towards the man in the fox mask. Watching the barrel of the gun flash as the gang banger recklessly pulled the trigger, Cal hit the ground rolling hoping he could count on his ally to do his part. Fox-Face chortled manically as he pulled a young girl close to him using her as a human shield all while still hammering down the trigger and releasing a volley of bullets towards Cal. Lobbing a grenade quickly towards the firearm, Cal readied another one as he realized he missed. Without being able to slow down and take a moment to aim, there was no way Cal could hit that small of a target. Looking back towards the door, he kept moving all the while hoping his ally would soon make a move.

As Caleb took off in to the gym, Makarios took a line of shallow breaths, each one sucking in more anxiety than the last. He could feel his heart rate rise. He was terrified that he would die before he even had a chance to prove that he was something. But, there were lives at stake, and he knew he could help. "C'mon!" he growled to his amulet, before slapping his hand over his chest and feeling surge of power erupt from his body. He knew that wasn't a good thing, it meant he was losing control slightly, but that was a worry for another time. He felt the energy flow up and around him, like an aura-filled fountain, each drop bringing the essence of the animal in his mind. His pupils expanded and contracted, his breathing leveled out and then shot up again. He extended his fingertips, feeling the very air around him pulse slightly and he took off running.

"C'mon, c'mon!" Cal muttered as he waited on the planned distraction, bullets bit into the floor where he was standing nearly grazing Cal as he not so gracefully fell aside, sliding across the floor. Scrambling to get to his feet, Cal rolled to the side as more bullets came in. Landing on his chest, Cal pushed himself up, rolling backwards before finally coming back on to his feet. Jumping over the DJ table, Cal put all his strength into tipping it as he dropped down behind it, taking cover and catching his breath. "Anytime now would be good." He said to himself as splinters exploded around him as the gunfire began to rip through the table.

Makarios burst from the doors, the essence of the Cat enveloping him. Things seemed more vivid and slightly slower. He picked up a stray shoe, taking a brief moment to aim at the man in the fox mask, aptly focusing on his new ally, and chucked the shoe full speed. The shoe smacked him in the chest, enough to draw his attention to Makarios, who had already darted to the side. His eye caught site of the giant fan in the corner of the room, used to air out and cool the gym down. An idea forming in his head, Makarios leaped behind it as the bullets began to fire. He pressed his back to the fan, trying to find the switch without moving too much. He flicked it, the whirring sound growing louder by the second and dodged out to the side, narrowly missing a bullet to the head. His cat reflexes sent him spiraling back, his body moving on instinct. Even in the midst of battle, Makarios felt a touch of ecstasy in his movements. He kept low and ran fast, ducking, weaving and sliding to confuse his enemy. He was putting on a bit of a show, keeping all eyes on him, while his friend got in close. Finally, he made his way over to the side of the gym quickly pulling down on the string that held the net of balloons for the dance up, that had no doubt been slated to be released around this time anyway. The balloons fell in a flurry, obscuring Makarios from view and the fan acted as a further distraction as it blew them around and towards the man in the fox mask.

Makarios never stopped moving, his body twisting this way and that, the epitome of flexibility and agility. But he could feel the strain of the amulet and he knew his partner would have to act fast.

The gunfire suddenly stopped, at least in Cal's direction as the gym was suddenly filled with balloons falling from all directions as the large fan kept them afloat in the air. Loud popping sounds echoed in the large room as bullets ripped through the inflated balloons as the gun man tried to take out Cal's ally no doubt believing the Cal himself was likely dead at this point. A few of the bullets had nearly grazed him, and while there were definitely a multitude of tiny slivers embedded in Cal's skin, he was otherwise unharmed, exhausted but primarily unharmed. Groaning as he pushed himself to his feet, Cal weaved through the balloons as he closed the gap between Fox Face and himself, raising the glue grenade and throwing it with all his might as it collided with the gun, coating it in goo which promptly hardened and rendered the weapon useless.

Makarios found himself suddenly on the ground, hands over his head, as the last bullet was fired. He had survived...for the most part. He brought his hand down and felt a warm liquid beginning to flow from his side, where a bullet had only grazed him. "Fuckitall!" he growled. He couldn't feel the pain yet, but he knew it was coming, he just needed to take out the fox-faced man.

The gym suddenly fell silent save for the sound of the fan's whirling blades and the steady drop of rubber hitting the ground. Fox Face tossed the weapon to the ground as it landed with a loud 'thud'. Pushing away his hostages, the man with the mask approached Cal before looking towards Makarios and then back at Cal.
"How about we do this mano-a-mano?" The mask almost seemed to smile as Cal suddenly found himself surrounded by a multitude of Fox Face's as he spoke again. "A-mano-a-mano-a-mano!" He ended with a shrieking laughter as suddenly he and all his duplicates went into a frenzied run as they dashed every which way. Cal found himself hit from both sides as his feet left the ground and he hit the ground hard. Rolling to his feet, his head began to spin as he felt a warm wet liquid running down his face. Apparently he had hit the ground a lot harder than he had thought.

Makarios watched as the fox-faced became....well more fox-faces. He rushed to scramble to his feet as Cal was surrounded and clearly outnumbered, but as he stepped, he felt pain shoot through him. Apparently, his wound was going to make it's dramatic pain entrance at this very moment. Regardless, he bit his lip and moved quickly to meet up with Cal.

Swiping out blindly with his tazer, Cal's lips twisted into a satisfied smile as he struck a Fox Face only to frown as the victim of his tazer melted away into mist. Blocking an attack from another, Cal made his way towards Makarios as the Fox Faces suddenly stopped moving and surrounded the pair.
"I've played this level." Cal said dryly. "Watch for the one who moves first!"

With narrowed eyes, Makarios let out another growl, facing their opponents. There was something about them that wasn't right. It wasn't a visual stimuli he was picking up on, but something else. He couldn't quite hone in on what it was, but unlike an actual video game, they didn't have a pause screen and the internet to fall back on at this moment. The situation really reeked of an impasse or them dead.

That was it! "Reek..." Makarios muttered to himself. "That's what they don't have...they don't have a scent! But..." Makarios whirled around and lunged, tackling one in particular "you smell like shit." At that moment, it seemed like his head would burst. He'd been holding on to an animal for too long and his mind couldn't take the vulnerability tied to it. His vision began to blur and his sight slipped in and out. But, he wrestled with his foe nonetheless.

Breathing a sign of relief as the apparitions of the man vanished as his comrade took a hold of the real Fox Face, Cal lunged forward and delivered three quick jabs of his tazer into the side of the masked man watching as he dropped from his ally's hands to the ground, flopping about like a dazed fish.

"C'mon, the police will be coming any second now." Cal stated as he put a shoulder under one of the man's arms to help support him. Tapping his ear, Cal opened the channel to Sam. "Sam, we're on our way out. Open the top, I have a feeling we won't have time for doors." Looking over at the main gym doors, Cal saw the police suddenly enter in full SWAT gear. Looking at the balaclava on his ally's face and then having the dawning horror that his own face was masked, Cal suddenly began to move towards the maintenance hallway as fast as he could with his friend in tow. "Hope you can hold your breath." Cal said as he took a deep breath of his own and pulled out the vial he had made last. Tossing it over his shoulder, it collided with the ground, cracking open as its contents billowed into the air a thick fog coating the gym. The first few officers into it suddenly fell to the ground, passed out from the fumes while the others retreated.

Pushing through the school, Cal took every short cut he knew from the blueprints until he and his masked friend burst onto the football field. Across the green grass, he could see the headlights of his Volvo waiting as he began to struggle to support the larger man on his shoulders. Ripping his mask off his face again, Cal tucked the t-shirt in his back pocket as he gasped for air from the suffocating fabric. Pushing himself on his reserve strength Cal finally made it across the field as he turned to his companion.

"Did you need a lift? I can drop you anywhere you'd like."

Makarios could feel his consciousness slipping away as he hobbled along with his new-found comrade, thankful for his support. The wound in conjunction with his mental exhaustion was weighing on him rather quickly as they hit the football field. Even while they were walking, Makarios couldn't help but notice the other male's quick thinking. What had the solution been and how could he have possibly made it in such a short time? Makarios was sure that Caleb had only been in the classroom lab for all of five minutes, if that.

As they neared the vehicle, Makarios felt relief wash over him, realizing that this hectic night was coming to a close. He reached up to pull his mask off, before hesitating. But why? This man had just saved his life and he his. Weren't they past the point of secrecy. Caleb had enough respect to show him his face, why couldn't Makarios do the same?

'Because you're a coward.'

The thought, in his father's voice, hit him worse than anything tonight did. He couldn't show his face because he was scared, and that type of fear was something he couldn't just grit his teeth at and storm through it, regardless of suffering or bodily affliction. It staggered him.

'You're just like me.'

"Like hell I am!" Makarios swore to himself before stopping in front of the vehicle, standing on his own two feet and ripping off his mask for the pair before him to see. He ran a hand through his matted hair, looking each of them in the eye. "Yeah," he began with a huff. His breathing was still slightly labored, "I really could use a lift, if you wouldn't mind. I don't...I know I wouldn't be able to get there on my own feet."

With a nod, Cal opened the door, allowing the man who he recognized as Makarios Lillis to take the passenger seat while Cal slid into the back behind Sam. As soon as both men were in the car, Sam punched it into gear just as flashlights began to light up the football field. With the sound of screeching rubber, the black car took off down the winding roads towards Thistle Park as the sounds of sirens grew distant until all that could be heard was the cold night air whistling over the car as it blew around the hair of those inside it. Exhausted and tired Cal was nearly asleep by the time they dropped Makarios off. Nearly twenty minutes later, Sam and Cal arrived back at their condo as Cal escorted Sam home. Her parents were worried sick as they opened the door overwhelmed to see Sam alive and unharmed, so much so that they didn't notice Cal's own condition as he bid them all good night and went back to his own suite. Opening the door, Cal was surprised to find that Landon wasn't home. Checking his missed notifications on Glitch, Cal nodded Landon had called more than likely worried, giving him a quick call back, Cal explained the situation briefly and how he had made it home, though leaving out the parts about playing hero and escaping as a fugitive. Collapsing onto his bed, Cal barely had time to think about closing his eyes before he sank into a deep slumber.